Immersive Skyrim

[Ubercat]

How did you guys even get very far in the game, let alone kill dragons, without a stealthy archer type? I thought that was the only way to finish the game. How do you kill a dragon in melee when it's just going to hover and flame you?  ???

[Kushan]

How did you guys even get very far in the game, let alone kill dragons, without a stealthy archer type? I thought that was the only way to finish the game. How do you kill a dragon in melee when it's just going to hover and flame you?  ???

Because they land periodically and try to eat you.

[JasonPratt]

Also, it isn't strictly necessary to be stealthy to be an archer. I mean, I was reasonably stealthy (or unreasonably stealthy via skill) despite my heavy armor, but I didn't have to stealth to POWERBOW a nearby dragon.

Then again, I rarely hit a dragon flying around anyway, unless it was (a) hovering to flambe someone and (b) not flaming me.

So yeah, all dragon kills I got basically came down to

1.) dodge dragon air attacks or wait for it to be aggro'd by something else

2.) wait for it to get tired of flying and land for a minute

3.) rush up, throw a couple of spells and shouts, pound it with my dual maces, just not directly in front of it so it won't instakill me with a bite.

4.) maybe repeat as necessary. After two or three times tops it'll be too wounded to fly.


(Also, I'm glad Gus unlocked the thread? What happened there? ???)

[Toonces]

Hey Uber- just saw your question.

I've played through twice as a spellsword, one handed with sword and one hand for conjuration.

I've found that the key is to find something to hide behind or under.  Cast your conjuration and let the atronach (or whatever) do the heavy lifting until the dragon lands and then go melee on him.  Or, use a bow and duck and cover when able.  Patience is key- a good dragon fight can take 5 or 10 real time minutes.

But my question is to PE:
I'm thinking of restarting Skyrim.  I've tried this random start mod which spawns you somewhere randomly and also gives you basic kit.  My question is what you are doing to keep Skyrim fresh and interesting.  I've completed the main quest and DLCs twice now, so figuring out what to try in Skyrim with a new character is eluding me.

[BanzaiCat]

Just as advice has been given, you want to find something to hide under OR not stay still. Keep an eye on the dragon. I never bothered with archery though I carried a bow and would maybe let loose a shot or two at it. It moved too much when airborne and I was a bad shot so I never stuck with it.

Usually I'd play an Orc with a warhammer. When the thing landed I'd simply run up to it and start doing the mighty blow thing (holding down the mouse button) until Stamina gave out, then just keep swinging. In the early stages the dragon would usually take off again so it meant more dodging and hiding until it landed again. Later in the game I found I could take out the dragon in two or three swings with a mastercraft warhammer (which IIRC did 150 damage a swing).

I just started to tinker with it again as an Imperial and not sure if I'm going to try one-handed weapons. I just can't resist the warhammer as it seems that it's the most powerful melee weapon in the game!

[JasonPratt]

While that's the most powerful single weapon, it doesn't put out the most damage. Any dual-wield will crank out more damage per second; my experiments on swings per minute, assuming equivalent skills in light swords, maces, and axes (so that the experiment wasn't salted by having extra perqs in something), indicated that although the maces were a bit slower than axes which were a bit slower than swords, the superior base damage for a mace plus its advantages vs armor made it the best at damage output.

In other words, two 'small warhammers' will beat one large warhammer in any fight where the target is strong enough to last for a few seconds; but the large warhammer will kill weak things faster if a solid hit can be landed early, because its base damage is obviously higher.

[BanzaiCat]

Huh, I never thought about trying to dual-wield maces. Thanks JP, I might give that a try when I run into more of them. Just started a new game and only just now reported in to the Jarl at Whiterun. Doubt I'll get back to it any time soon though.

[Kushan]

@Toonces:

For me the game has never really been about the story lines themselves, but the individual encounters. How during my mage play through one of my melee followers got a fireball in the back of the head during every fight because he insisted on getting in my way. Or during the same play through I got the killing blow on Miraak with a lightning from a staff right before he killed me.

Another thing that seems to keep my games interesting is that I don't play optimized characters. A duel mace wielding orc might be the most optimized for damage but I'll do a nord or an imperial to keep things interesting. With my bow wielding assassin I had perk points into just about every category except heavy armor and 2 handed weaponry.

Alternate start mods help, but I normally have to restart a couple of times until I get a start location that fits the back story of whatever character I'm playing. Taking a few months between play throughs helps keep things interesting as well.

[Rayfer]

Yes, that alternate start mod is really fun....you have no idea where you will start.  Once I was safe on the second floor of an inn in some remote town, the next time I was in a dungeon and was immediately attacked by two bandits before I could get my bearings....died real fast.

[Nefaro]

How did you guys even get very far in the game, let alone kill dragons, without a stealthy archer type?

Because:

[Kushan]

How did you guys even get very far in the game, let alone kill dragons, without a stealthy archer type?

Because heavy armor and a big ass sword works just as well.

[Kushan]

T3ndo has finally released Perkus Maximus, his successor mod to as grim Redone. Been really looking forward to this one. Going to hopefully give it a go this weekend.

Perkus Maximus

[Gusington]

Dual wielding of anything is uber. I played as a damned high elf but because I could dual wield I could beat dragons and all your moms thought I was cool.

[Sir Slash]

My mother did tell me often that she thought you were cool Gus. But she said that you could only wield it once not twice. :(

[Gusington]

She's trying to protect your sensibilities.