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Unmodded.


Which was the best game, or the one you enjoyed most?

Skyrim. I know people love the Fallout games, but I could never get interested in the world. It was just too damn ugly which really hurt the exploration IMO.

I think I enjoyed New Vegas the most.

Skyrim is cool too though.

Never played New Vegas, out of the others, Skyrim for sure.

Didn't play Fallout in earnest, but I preferred Oblivion to Skyrim.

Fallout 3.

The pretty ****ing awesome experience for me. The combination of Bethesda gameplay and subject matter was my jam.

I basically went in 4 directions to the edge of the map to explore and was completely immersed. Fantastic game.

Fallout 4 was second while Skyrim was third.

Comes down to New Vegas vs Skyrim for me. Too close to call.


Fallout 3 is a great game for sure but after a couple of playthroughs it started getting boring to me. There are really only two or three different possible endings for the game, unlike NV, and I greatly prefer the faction system in NV over the karma system in Fallout 3. Not that NV doesn't use karma but it has very little actual effect on the game. New Vegas improved on F3 in so many ways. Hardcore mode, for example, is one of my favorite things about NV and it would've made Fallout 3 so much better had it been an option for the game.



One thing, perhaps the only thing, I liked better about F3 is the fact it ran much better on my XBOX than NV ran on my PS3. NV would run ok up until my character made it to the actual city of NV then the crashes and massive frame rate drops/lag would start happening very frequently.



I've never played Oblivion but after practically falling in love with Skyrim after I started playing it last year (and still playing same playthru lol) I'm strongly considering going back and playing Oblivion eventually.



So it comes down for me between Skrim and NV and it's just too close to call. There are some things I like better about Skyrim and some things I like better about NV.



I actually prefer the fantasy setting and the rich lore of Elder Scrolls over that of the Fallout series. Use up so much of my game time reading thru all kinds of books I find throughout Skyrim and storing them in certain order on the many bookshelves I have among the 6 or 7 different houses I have in the game. Fallout lore is ok but it's not nearly as deep and rich.




Prefer the levelling-up system in NV though over Skyrim for sure.I hate how in the latter , for example, that you can stand in fire, keep taking damage, and constantly heal yourself up to speed-up your skill advancement in the restoration skill. And overall, I just like the skill points system based on your intelligence in NV over the skill system in Skyrim in which you only level-up skills after using them a lot. Not that I think the Skyrim way of doing it is bad. It's a refreshing change but I still prefer the one NV uses.




Dragons... what else can you say? Skyrim has them, NV doesn't. I love fighting dragons in Skyrim far more than I like fighting any enemy (even deathclaws) in NV. I know they aren't really a challenge once you start getting pretty high in level but even at level 82 as my character is now I still love fighting them even though they go down pretty easily.




I'll go into more detail at a later time regarding which things I like better in NV vs which things I like better in Skyrim. Just don't have that much time at the moment.

I'll take any of the Fallout games, The gameplay in those games is more my style then what the Elder Scrolls games do.

Originally posted by eThneoLgrRnae
Comes down to New Vegas vs Skyrim for me. Too close to call.


Fallout 3 is a great game for sure but after a couple of playthroughs it started getting boring to me. There are really only two or three different possible endings for the game, unlike NV, and I greatly prefer the faction system in NV over the karma system in Fallout 3. Not that NV doesn't use karma but it has very little actual effect on the game. New Vegas improved on F3 in so many ways. Hardcore mode, for example, is one of my favorite things about NV and it would've made Fallout 3 so much better had it been an option for the game.



One thing, perhaps the only thing, I liked better about F3 is the fact it ran much better on my XBOX than NV ran on my PS3. NV would run ok up until my character made it to the actual city of NV then the crashes and massive frame rate drops/lag would start happening very frequently.



I've never played Oblivion but after practically falling in love with Skyrim after I started playing it last year (and still playing same playthru lol) I'm strongly considering going back and playing Oblivion eventually.



So it comes down for me between Skrim and NV and it's just too close to call. There are some things I like better about Skyrim and some things I like better about NV.



I actually prefer the fantasy setting and the rich lore of Elder Scrolls over that of the Fallout series. Use up so much of my game time reading thru all kinds of books I find throughout Skyrim and storing them in certain order on the many bookshelves I have among the 6 or 7 different houses I have in the game. Fallout lore is ok but it's not nearly as deep and rich.




Prefer the levelling-up system in NV though over Skyrim for sure.I hate how in the latter , for example, that you can stand in fire, keep taking damage, and constantly heal yourself up to speed-up your skill advancement in the restoration skill. And overall, I just like the skill points system based on your intelligence in NV over the skill system in Skyrim in which you only level-up skills after using them a lot. Not that I think the Skyrim way of doing it is bad. It's a refreshing change but I still prefer the one NV uses.




Dragons... what else can you say? Skyrim has them, NV doesn't. I love fighting dragons in Skyrim far more than I like fighting any enemy (even deathclaws) in NV. I know they aren't really a challenge once you start getting pretty high in level but even at level 82 as my character is now I still love fighting them even though they go down pretty easily.




I'll go into more detail at a later time regarding which things I like better in NV vs which things I like better in Skyrim. Just don't have that much time at the moment. Ever played Dragon's Dogma or Dragon Age: Inquistion? Dragons in those game are so much better then the ones in Skyrim.

Love the Fallout games but Skyrim works as an RPG in much better ways than Fallout, you can really create very different characters every time you play, I also have fun setting myself character challenges, like no armour or weapons, just conjured swords and spells like stoneflesh, on my latest playthrough I am only using weapons and armour that I come across, no smithing or enchanting allowed, Fallout gives you less room to do that I think.

Originally posted by samhain
Love the Fallout games but Skyrim works as an RPG in much better ways than Fallout, you can really create very different characters every time you play, I also have fun setting myself character challenges, like no armour or weapons, just conjured swords and spells like stoneflesh, on my latest playthrough I am only using weapons and armour that I come across, no smithing or enchanting allowed, Fallout gives you less room to do that I think.

JQSNbTfUI4o

That's a terrible video and full of shit.

RPG does not have a set amount of genre defining qualities. If you put these "rules" to other RPG games than they would fall into the same thing.

Seems like the guy from that vid has never actually played an RPG.

So who here attacked the mammoths, and paid for it?


Riling up the giants is like a rite of passage.

Originally posted by Jmanghan
Ever played Dragon's Dogma or Dragon Age: Inquistion? Dragons in those game are so much better then the ones in Skyrim.



I have one of the DA games. Not sure which one it is but "Inquisition" sounds very familiar. I've played it for a couple of hours (not long enough to see any dragons) and started getting bored with it. Haven't played it since.



I have a hard time believing dragons in it are better than the ones in Skyrim. If by 'better' you mean that they are more challenging in combat then I could probably believe that. Once you get the dual-casting destruction perk that allows you to stagger opponents you can "stun lock" dragons with most destruction spells and they become a joke. If you mean they look better and more majestic then I seriously doubt it considering how, imo, Skyrim as a whole looks much better overall than DA does. That's justy my opinion though and you might think differently.

Originally posted by samhain
Love the Fallout games but Skyrim works as an RPG in much better ways than Fallout, you can really create very different characters every time you play, I also have fun setting myself character challenges, like no armour or weapons, just conjured swords and spells like stoneflesh, on my latest playthrough I am only using weapons and armour that I come across, no smithing or enchanting allowed, Fallout gives you less room to do that I think.



Although I have a tough time choosing which game between the two (NV & Skyrim) that I overall like better I think it's laughable to say that Skyrim is better as a purely RPG than F3 or NV. I create very different characters every time I play a fallout game though I agree that in Skyrim you have way more options in how your character looks at the beginning since you have a bunch of different races to choose from. In Fallout 3 and NV, iirc, you can play a human and human only.



In the fallout games though, other than the character creation at the start, I think your character has many more and much wider range of choices to make than in Skyrim and the choices you make also have a much bigger impact on the world as a whole, imo.


Originally posted by Smasandian
That's a terrible video and full of shit.

RPG does not have a set amount of genre defining qualities. If you put these "rules" to other RPG games than they would fall into the same thing.



Agreed. The person who made that video doesn't know what he's talking about. Skyrim definitely has lots of RPG elements in it and I do consider it a part of the RPG genre but I would never think it's even more of an RPG than the fallout games.

Originally posted by cdtm
So who here attacked the mammoths, and paid for it?


Riling up the giants is like a rite of passage.



lol I did that when I first started playing at around level 7-10 and got my a** handed to me repeatedly. Finally, I learned to just stay away till got higher in level and a follower to help out. Now, at level 82, giants are a joke though but then pretty much everything else is as well, including Alduin.

Originally posted by eThneoLgrRnae
I have one of the DA games. Not sure which one it is but "Inquisition" sounds very familiar. I've played it for a couple of hours (not long enough to see any dragons) and started getting bored with it. Haven't played it since.



I have a hard time believing dragons in it are better than the ones in Skyrim. If by 'better' you mean that they are more challenging in combat then I could probably believe that. Once you get the dual-casting destruction perk that allows you to stagger opponents you can "stun lock" dragons with most destruction spells and they become a joke. If you mean they look better and more majestic then I seriously doubt it considering how, imo, Skyrim as a whole looks much better overall than DA does. That's justy my opinion though and you might think differently.





Although I have a tough time choosing which game between the two (NV & Skyrim) that I overall like better I think it's laughable to say that Skyrim is better as a purely RPG than F3 or NV. I create very different characters every time I play a fallout game though I agree that in Skyrim you have way more options in how your character looks at the beginning since you have a bunch of different races to choose from. In Fallout 3 and NV, iirc, you can play a human and human only.



In the fallout games though, other than the character creation at the start, I think your character has many more and much wider range of choices to make than in Skyrim and the choices you make also have a much bigger impact on the world as a whole, imo.






Agreed. The person who made that video doesn't know what he's talking about. Skyrim definitely has lots of RPG elements in it and I do consider it a part of the RPG genre but I would never think it's even more of an RPG than the fallout games.

PI-mII75krw

They're designed a lot better and yeah they don't fly a lot but imo they behave a lot better.

It's like you're threatening their territory.

I see. Well I think the fact they don't fly much means I probably wouldn't like them very much. Also, I checked and the DA game I have is not "Inquisition", it's "Origins". Don't know if that makes any difference or not in regards to the dragons.

Originally posted by eThneoLgrRnae
I see. Well I think the fact they don't fly much means I probably wouldn't like them very much. Also, I checked and the DA game I have is not "Inquisition", it's "Origins". Don't know if that makes any difference or not in regards to the dragons. The ones in Dragon's Dogma fly a lot if that helps, and you can climb them!

Originally posted by Jmanghan
PI-mII75krw

Christ was Inquisition a bore. That fight just looks awful.

On the subject of dragons, the lore behind the dragons in TES is ****in fantastic. It is incredibly rich and fascinating. the Dragons from DA, on the other hand, are rather bland. I've heard good things about the dragon from DD but I've never played it nor plan too.

Originally posted by ares834
Christ was Inquisition a bore. That fight just looks awful.

On the subject of dragons, the lore behind the dragons in TES is ****in fantastic. It is incredibly rich and fascinating. the Dragons from DA, on the other hand, are rather bland. I've heard good things about the dragon from DD but I've never played it nor plan too. Why not? Its a great RPG dude.

I know I recommended DA, but DD is on a whole different level, I enjoy the game even more then I enjoy Dark Souls in terms of combat (depending on what class I'm playing.)

I rarely play games nowadays. So a massive RPG needs to have something very special to get me interested enough to commit.

Originally posted by ares834
I rarely play games nowadays. So a massive RPG needs to have something very special to get me interested enough to commit. Fair enough. I feel personally that its an essential game to anyone into action-rpg's especially, but I also feel its the game that will convert people who only like traditional RPG's, one of the best combat systems ever and boss fights that'll make you rethink what boss battles should be in games and action-rpg's.

I got a review from a friend of mine on PC who has 681 hours on Dragon's Dogma:

"1) After dumping a hundred hours into Skyrim I felt a void.

2) Witcher 3 came out and filled that void, but then I finished it and the void returned.

3) Some days I would log into Skyrim and try out a new mod, but the void remained.

4) Some days I would hop onto Witcher and revisit a favorite scene, but the void remained.

5) I tried filling the void with Dark Souls and it almost worked, but the void remained.

6) I say "it almost worked" because I loved the combat mechanics of Dark Souls.

777) And then I discovered Dragon's Dogma.

ding-ding-ding-ding-ding: JACKPOT.

Suddenly, this new, super-massive world opened up... this insanely gorgeous rpg that, for me, didn't only rival Skyrim and Witcher, it TOPPED them-- not just in the scope of the world, but in the sense of adventure and exploration. Not only was the void filled, but my inner child was awakened.

......AND.........

THE COMBAT MECHANICS ARE AMAZEBALLS.

This game is like the open world of Skyrim with combat mechanics superior to what you find in Dark Souls, and that's not even scratching the surface.

The truth is: Dragon's Dogma is its own thing, and it is absolutely WONDERFUL. It is, hands down, my favorite RPG of all time. It hits that magic Goldilocks spot for me: juuuust right.

DRAGON'S DOGMA HAS:
• Challenging, diverse AI. You'll forget it's AI at points.
• Challenging open world boss fights that rival Dark Souls.
• Incredibly fluid, not-clunky movement mechanics.
• AMAZING dungeons that awaken the kid inside.
• A super-massive and gorgeous open world that feels alive.
• Winding trails, waterfall caves, hidden crags and endless exploration.
• Parkour mechanics that feel solid, not gimmicky.
• Crazy amounts of charm.
• Rich lore that is part of the world, not spoonfed to you via exposition.
• Truly unique NPC's with nuanced voice acting.
• A great modding community.
• Many romance options and variations.
• The best dungeon crawls I have ever seen, like Indiana Jones on steroids.

AND... you can build and design your own companion (called "pawns". You want a tiny little petite female to flit around in her panties with blonde hair in pony tails as she lathers you in healing spells and sends fire balls into bad guys AND calls you master? Done. You want a super massive amazonian woman with a battle hammer and a deep, throaty voice? Done. You want a longbow-wielding chode-shaped man named "Booboo" with a swarthy little brown mustache? No problem. I don't know why you would want that, but no problem. And you can share your pawn with the entire player base, and you can (in turn) use other players' pawns for yourself.

If the sentence "Skyrim-like open world with Dark Souls-like combat" makes your balls feel like they have tiny wings on them, fluttering and lifting them ever-so-slightly (or, if you don't have balls but suddenly feel like you do) then this is your game.

Cons:
The opening scene and tutorial do NOTHING to show you how great this game is.
Takes a couple hours of game time before the world really opens up.

MODS:
Here are the three main mods I use which I highly recommend:
• Great Mod Compilation 1.6
• Gransys Texture Improvement Project
• Sweet FX Preset

NOTES: I have played Dragon's Dogma in 12 hour blocks for a week straight. My mouse-wrist is in a splint now. My fingers look like bloated sausages and my wrist looks like a dead trout and the pain is unreal. Doctor told me to stay away from the computer for a week. I laughed and cried and then aimed a haunting howl directly into the doctor's face and navel. I have typed this entire review with my left index finger and nose.

UPDATE: Because of this game I lost my job and had to sell my gaming computer and gorgeous 40'' monitor to feed my family. Now I'm on a crappy laptop and the game is unplayable and I am going through major withdrawal. The only games my system can handle are pixilated Runescape-style games like Stardew Moonvalley or whatever the christ it's called. I constantly google Dragon's Dogma to read about it, and watch videos of other people playing while weeping softly at my vague reflection in the tiny, dim monitor."

Originally posted by eThneoLgrRnae
Although I have a tough time choosing which game between the two (NV & Skyrim) that I overall like better I think it's laughable to say that Skyrim is better as a purely RPG than F3 or NV. I create very different characters every time I play a fallout game though I agree that in Skyrim you have way more options in how your character looks at the beginning since you have a bunch of different races to choose from. In Fallout 3 and NV, iirc, you can play a human and human only.


When I consider if a game is an RPG, I think of classic D&D style roleplaying and not other RPG video games if that makes sense. Skyrim offers much more than in depth character creation (they need to have a Ghoul option in a future Fallout game), you can join the Thieves Guild, become an assassin, take part in a civil war, etc. You'll likely do all or most of these things with a major playthrough, but you have options that help a layman RPG player. In Fallout, especially FO4, you're choices are pretty much; be a prick, don't be a prick (with guns).

I love both series' of games and it's very close, but I have a bit more fun making vastly different characters and exploring Skyrim. Playing Fallout you largely spend the first 10 hours of a playthrough doing the same things you did on your previous 5 playthroughs.

Originally posted by samhain
When I consider if a game is an RPG, I think of classic D&D style roleplaying and not other RPG video games if that makes sense. Skyrim offers much more than in depth character creation (they need to have a Ghoul option in a future Fallout game), you can join the Thieves Guild, become an assassin, take part in a civil war, etc. You'll likely do all or most of these things with a major playthrough, but you have options that help a layman RPG player. In Fallout, especially FO4, you're choices are pretty much; be a prick, don't be a prick (with guns).

I love both series' of games and it's very close, but I have a bit more fun making vastly different characters and exploring Skyrim. Playing Fallout you largely spend the first 10 hours of a playthrough doing the same things you did on your previous 5 playthroughs. Skyrim doesn't recognize anything you do though.

Why does this guy I talk to still threaten to bash my skull in even though I'm the f*cking guildmaster of the thieves guild?

It's just a questline thats there, once you finish it you get rewarded with armor, maybe a spell, then...?...

Seems like they forgot to put in the portion. They should've put in more dialogue for people when you became a full member, moved up in rank, etc.

Why are the Dark Brotherhood and Thieves Guild basically the same thing in a lot of ways? Neither of them feel weird or mysterious. The Dark Brotherhood doesn't provide you be sneaky with any of the quests, like you apparently have to be in Oblivion.

Originally posted by Jmanghan
The Dark Brotherhood doesn't provide you be sneaky with any of the quests


If an RPG forces you to do a job in a specific way then how do you have choice? If a GM or a developer thinks I only have a set number of options to do a mission/quest and I can do it a different way that they didn't foresee, that's their problem and the essence of roleplaying.

Fallout has similar stupidities with character interaction, like when you go to a settlement and the settlers just act like you're a visitor and they run the place, even asking you to leave their presence in some situations. "*****, I built this place, told you to farm mutfruit and even designated this bed to you, now put this Gunner harness on and have some respect."

Originally posted by samhain
If an RPG forces you to do a job in a specific way then how do you have choice? If a GM or a developer thinks I only have a set number of options to do a mission/quest and I can do it a different way that they didn't foresee, that's their problem and the essence of roleplaying.

Fallout has similar stupidities with character interaction, like when you go to a settlement and the settlers just act like you're a visitor and they run the place, even asking you to leave their presence in some situations. "*****, I built this place, told you to farm mutfruit and even designated this bed to you, now put this Gunner harness on and have some respect." Yeah, but you're an Assassin, it'd be pretty dumb role-playing as the leader of an Assassin's Guild, killing someone in front of tons of people and everyone is like "Good work, brother."

Kind of breaks immersion. In both games.

Originally posted by eThneoLgrRnae
lol I did that when I first started playing at around level 7-10 and got my a** handed to me repeatedly. Finally, I learned to just stay away till got higher in level and a follower to help out. Now, at level 82, giants are a joke though but then pretty much everything else is as well, including Alduin.


Yeah, it's hilarious how they knock you into the sky.



I was obsessed with taking them down at level 10, but nothing worked. Always detected sneak, kept walking away from the river (And got me when I came out). Finally made a run for a guard tower, went inside, and when I saw they couldn't fit in, I just unloaded from safety.


It's cheap, but I got them. The worst part was the slow crawl back to Whiterun, to sell the spoils.

Gotta go with Skyrim, even unmodded. It's not perfect, but truly something special.

Originally posted by Jmanghan
Skyrim doesn't recognize anything you do though.

Why does this guy I talk to still threaten to bash my skull in even though I'm the f*cking guildmaster of the thieves guild?

It's just a questline thats there, once you finish it you get rewarded with armor, maybe a spell, then...?...

Seems like they forgot to put in the portion. They should've put in more dialogue for people when you became a full member, moved up in rank, etc.

Why are the Dark Brotherhood and Thieves Guild basically the same thing in a lot of ways? Neither of them feel weird or mysterious. The Dark Brotherhood doesn't provide you be sneaky with any of the quests, like you apparently have to be in Oblivion.

Another thing that bugs me is that Oblivion and Skyrim have no real requirements for becoming the head of a guild other than beating quests. In Skyrim the only thing you need to do in order to join the Mages Guild is be capable of casting a basic spell which requires only a skill level of 25 in whatever the spell school is for the spell you're asked to cast(the school can vary, but the spell is always low level).

After that, you can become the arch mage simply by doing all the mage guild quests lol. You can do so without further improving any of your magical skills. Doesn't that seem silly? And in Oblivion you're not even required to show *any* spell casting ability.

They did it better in Morrowind. After you did a certain number of quests you couldn't move up in rank until you raised some of your magical skills to a certain level. In order to be able to become arch mage you had to have one magical skill at level 90 or above and at least two other magical skills at level 60 or above.

Originally posted by samhain
When I consider if a game is an RPG, I think of classic D&D style roleplaying and not other RPG video games if that makes sense. Skyrim offers much more than in depth character creation (they need to have a Ghoul option in a future Fallout game), you can join the Thieves Guild, become an assassin, take part in a civil war, etc. You'll likely do all or most of these things with a major playthrough, but you have options that help a layman RPG player. In Fallout, especially FO4, you're choices are pretty much; be a prick, don't be a prick (with guns).

I love both series' of games and it's very close, but I have a bit more fun making vastly different characters and exploring Skyrim. Playing Fallout you largely spend the first 10 hours of a playthrough doing the same things you did on your previous 5 playthroughs.



I haven't played Fallout 4 but from what I hear it sucks as a RPG.


I also have more fun exploring in Skyrim than I do in Fallout games but there are other things I like better in NV than in Skyrim. Obviously Skyrim looks much better than any Fallout game but then it should considering Fallout games are set in a post-apocalypse setting while Skyrim is a fantasy setting.

Originally posted by Surtur
Another thing that bugs me is that Oblivion and Skyrim have no real requirements for becoming the head of a guild other than beating quests. In Skyrim the only thing you need to do in order to join the Mages Guild is be capable of casting a basic spell which requires only a skill level of 25 in whatever the spell school is for the spell you're asked to cast(the school can vary, but the spell is always low level).

After that, you can become the arch mage simply by doing all the mage guild quests lol. You can do so without further improving any of your magical skills. Doesn't that seem silly? And in Oblivion you're not even required to show *any* spell casting ability.

They did it better in Morrowind. After you did a certain number of quests you couldn't move up in rank until you raised some of your magical skills to a certain level. In order to be able to become arch mage you had to have one magical skill at level 90 or above and at least two other magical skills at level 60 or above.


I agree that it's ridiculous how you only have to cast a spell like "candle light" or "magelight" (or whatever it's called) to get into the guild.


However, in order to become arch-mage you have to do a bunch of more quests and you also have to save the college from the Eye of Magnus and defeat that powerful elven mage (forget what his name is). I'd say after that you deserve to be arch-mage.

Originally posted by ares834
Christ was Inquisition a bore. That fight just looks awful.

On the subject of dragons, the lore behind the dragons in TES is ****in fantastic. It is incredibly rich and fascinating. the Dragons from DA, on the other hand, are rather bland. I've heard good things about the dragon from DD but I've never played it nor plan too.

Well, Skyrim has all those books. Dragons Dogma is more action rpg, then straight fantasy candy like Skyrim.


I can't really speak about dragons in DD, but hunting a drake in the middle of the night, hearing it's rumbling footsteps and seeing nothing but the glow of its fire, is quite the experience.

Originally posted by eThneoLgrRnae
I agree that it's ridiculous how you only have to cast a spell like "candle light" or "magelight" (or whatever it's called) to get into the guild.


However, in order to become arch-mage you have to do a bunch of more quests and you also have to save the college from the Eye of Magnus and defeat that powerful elven mage (forget what his name is). I'd say after that you deserve to be arch-mage.

I think you deserve the eternal gratitude of the college for doing those things, but I don't think it says anything about innate magical ability and IMO the arch mage should always be a powerful mage.

Originally posted by cdtm
Well, Skyrim has all those books. Dragons Dogma is more action rpg, then straight fantasy candy like Skyrim.


I can't really speak about dragons in DD, but hunting a drake in the middle of the night, hearing it's rumbling footsteps and seeing nothing but the glow of its fire, is quite the experience.

I own DD and have always been meaning to play it, but I never have.

Originally posted by Surtur
I own DD and have always been meaning to play it, but I never have.


It's a can't miss game.


There's a learning curve, but once you can switch classes at inns and start applying skills, it really opens up.


Play what you want, but I'd recommend Assassin to start. Bow and daggers, jack of all trades.

Originally posted by Surtur
I think you deserve the eternal gratitude of the college for doing those things, but I don't think it says anything about innate magical ability and IMO the arch mage should always be a powerful mage.



Oh, I agree with that totally that he/she should always be a powerful mage. But considering that you single-handedly defeat that evil mage who had the eye of magnus I think that qualifies. You don't think so?

I know your character uses the staff of magnus to do it but it was also your character who went thru the trouble of retrieving the staff, iirc.

Originally posted by cdtm
It's a can't miss game.


There's a learning curve, but once you can switch classes at inns and start applying skills, it really opens up.


Play what you want, but I'd recommend Assassin to start. Bow and daggers, jack of all trades. Thats if you don't wanna worry about min/maxing.

Assassin isn't as stat-heavy as the original 360 and PS3 versions in dark arisen on PC.

You don't technically have to min/max, I mean if you wanna play the whole game as 1 class you can totally do that, but it restricts your base stats a lot.

Thankfully armor and weapons make all the difference, but base stats can be somewhat important.

Originally posted by eThneoLgrRnae
Oh, I agree with that totally that he/she should always be a powerful mage. But considering that you single-handedly defeat that evil mage who had the eye of magnus I think that qualifies. You don't think so?

I know your character uses the staff of magnus to do it but it was also your character who went thru the trouble of retrieving the staff, iirc. But you didn't really need magic to do that, IIRC.

Plus as I said being a guildmaster, no one cares. I've been looking more into Oblivion and it seems like they actually CARE that you're the guildmaster. Even random-ass guards care what you do.

Ever walk up to a guard and talk to them? "I-It's you, the Hero of Kvatch, truly an honor!"

Also read you get your own statue? Wtf man Skyrim desperately needed some of that game feel.

Dragon's Dogma also can allow you to provide changes through-out the story.

I helped a dude in an optional sidequest, wayyyy later he showed up in a main quest to help me take down a giant monster, all because I helped him.

Helped a family keep their home in, later on they end up dying and their son scolds you, but if you force them to move, they don't end up dying and are grateful.

Both actions committed by you, the player, and things you do help make the game feel more alive.

Again, I should never ever be referred to as "Brynjolf's protege" when I'm the ****ING GUILDMASTER.

At least in the mage guild you get a room, no one cares, but you at least get that.

@Jmanghan: Oh, I definitely agree with pretty much everything you said there. And yeah, you're right that you don't really have to use magic to save the college from the evil mage & eye of magnus but you do need to at least use the staff of magnus to do it. I know any type of character can use a staff but it's more aligned with a mage-type character than any other type, imo.




I also wouldn't say that no one in Skyrim is grateful for all the helpful stuff you do. After defeating Alduin, for example, I've had several guards in different towns around the map give me the respect I deserved for doing it by basically telling me I've saved the world or whatever. It's pretty rare but it does happen from time to time.




I haven't played Oblivion yet but it would indeed be nice to get your own statue.

Originally posted by eThneoLgrRnae
@Jmanghan: Oh, I definitely agree with pretty much everything you said there. And yeah, you're right that you don't really have to use magic to save the college from the evil mage & eye of magnus but you do need to at least use the staff of magnus to do it. I know any type of character can use a staff but it's more aligned with a mage-type character than any other type, imo.




I also wouldn't say that no one in Skyrim is grateful for all the helpful stuff you do. After defeating Alduin, for example, I've had several guards in different towns around the map give me the respect I deserved for doing it by basically telling me I've saved the world or whatever. It's pretty rare but it does happen from time to time.




I haven't played Oblivion yet but it would indeed be nice to get your own statue. Also in Oblivion from what I've seen from that Cantina dude's videos, people even call you "Guildmaster".

Originally posted by eThneoLgrRnae
Oh, I agree with that totally that he/she should always be a powerful mage. But considering that you single-handedly defeat that evil mage who had the eye of magnus I think that qualifies. You don't think so?

I know your character uses the staff of magnus to do it but it was also your character who went thru the trouble of retrieving the staff, iirc.

Yeah, but you can be an uber powerful warrior with no magical skill above 25 and still beat all the quests. Why should such a person be made arch mage?

Originally posted by Surtur
Yeah, but you can be an uber powerful warrior with no magical skill above 25 and still beat all the quests. Why should such a person be made arch mage?



I see your point.

Originally posted by Jmanghan
Thats if you don't wanna worry about min/maxing.

Assassin isn't as stat-heavy as the original 360 and PS3 versions in dark arisen on PC.

You don't technically have to min/max, I mean if you wanna play the whole game as 1 class you can totally do that, but it restricts your base stats a lot.

Thankfully armor and weapons make all the difference, but base stats can be somewhat important.


Haven't found much cause to switch from Assassin. Strength + Stamina is all you really need.


With Gale Harness and Fivefold Flurry/100 kisses, you're too busy killing anything that moves to ever worry about defense. Ninja Gaiden class, I call Assassin.



I can hire pawns for other vocations, or level Mule (My main pawn Mule, who carries all my stuff.)

Originally posted by Surtur
Yeah, but you can be an uber powerful warrior with no magical skill above 25 and still beat all the quests. Why should such a person be made arch mage? This is one of the bigger problems I have with post-Morrowind Elder Scrolls games. By refusing to gate certain aspects of the game to certain characters it makes the game less immersive. A brutish retard should not be Archmage of the College of Winterhold, nor should a fragile flower bookworm be the Harbinger of the Companions.

Originally posted by Jmanghan
Thats if you don't wanna worry about min/maxing.

Assassin isn't as stat-heavy as the original 360 and PS3 versions in dark arisen on PC.

You don't technically have to min/max, I mean if you wanna play the whole game as 1 class you can totally do that, but it restricts your base stats a lot.

Thankfully armor and weapons make all the difference, but base stats can be somewhat important. I just used a mod to give me good stats generally.

Phuck forcing you to switch classes to min/max your stats, that's phucking gay in every game that does it. It was gay in Final Fantasy Tactics and it's gay in Dragon's Dogma.

Originally posted by NemeBro
I just used a mod to give me good stats generally.

Phuck forcing you to switch classes to min/max your stats, that's phucking gay in every game that does it. It was gay in Final Fantasy Tactics and it's gay in Dragon's Dogma.


Yeah, but stats are just a means to an end. I mean, if you don't care about magic (Which I don't), why level it?



Of course, if you were dabbling and weren't too sure on what you like, that's another story. That's what happened to me in Skyrim, where I ended up going through the Companians guild, after getting healing and destruction magic leveled, after grinding my sneak, after grinding my archery.


So I ended up constantly switching gear to conjure a flame minion, then to the crossbow, then to the sword and board, rinse repeat.

Originally posted by NemeBro
I just used a mod to give me good stats generally.

Phuck forcing you to switch classes to min/max your stats, that's phucking gay in every game that does it. It was gay in Final Fantasy Tactics and it's gay in Dragon's Dogma. Isn't that the point behind classes though? It's been a staple since Final Fantasy 1.

Usually classes give you different stats.

I think it makes sense, why should I be great at magick if I've been using a 2-Handed greatsword for the entire game?

Why should I be a powerhouse in strength when I've been destroying my enemies with casting?

Wouldn't make much sense.

It would eliminate the point of having classes if there weren't benefits and consequences to each class, it'd remove a crucial part of the whole "role-playing" element.

Originally posted by Surtur
Yeah, but you can be an uber powerful warrior with no magical skill above 25 and still beat all the quests. Why should such a person be made arch mage?


Though I see your point don't forget that you don't have to do any quests related to the college if you don't want to. Iirc, none of those quests are related to the main quest so they're not required unless you really want the trophies associated w/them which you could always get in a different playthru of game if they're that important to you. If you are focused primarily on warrior skills and you think doing the college quests would break the immersion for you then simply don't do them.

One thing is certain.


Skyrim > Dragons Dogma.

Originally posted by cdtm
One thing is certain.


Skyrim > Dragons Dogma. How can you say that with a straight face?

You're someone who has sung the praises of Dogma over and over and who even liked exploration in the game more then in Skyrim.

Originally posted by eThneoLgrRnae
Comes down to New Vegas vs Skyrim for me. Too close to call.


Fallout 3 is a great game for sure but after a couple of playthroughs it started getting boring to me. There are really only two or three different possible endings for the game, unlike NV, and I greatly prefer the faction system in NV over the karma system in Fallout 3. Not that NV doesn't use karma but it has very little actual effect on the game. New Vegas improved on F3 in so many ways. Hardcore mode, for example, is one of my favorite things about NV and it would've made Fallout 3 so much better had it been an option for the game.



One thing, perhaps the only thing, I liked better about F3 is the fact it ran much better on my XBOX than NV ran on my PS3. NV would run ok up until my character made it to the actual city of NV then the crashes and massive frame rate drops/lag would start happening very frequently.



I've never played Oblivion but after practically falling in love with Skyrim after I started playing it last year (and still playing same playthru lol) I'm strongly considering going back and playing Oblivion eventually.



So it comes down for me between Skrim and NV and it's just too close to call. There are some things I like better about Skyrim and some things I like better about NV.



I actually prefer the fantasy setting and the rich lore of Elder Scrolls over that of the Fallout series. Use up so much of my game time reading thru all kinds of books I find throughout Skyrim and storing them in certain order on the many bookshelves I have among the 6 or 7 different houses I have in the game. Fallout lore is ok but it's not nearly as deep and rich.




Prefer the levelling-up system in NV though over Skyrim for sure.I hate how in the latter , for example, that you can stand in fire, keep taking damage, and constantly heal yourself up to speed-up your skill advancement in the restoration skill. And overall, I just like the skill points system based on your intelligence in NV over the skill system in Skyrim in which you only level-up skills after using them a lot. Not that I think the Skyrim way of doing it is bad. It's a refreshing change but I still prefer the one NV uses.




Dragons... what else can you say? Skyrim has them, NV doesn't. I love fighting dragons in Skyrim far more than I like fighting any enemy (even deathclaws) in NV. I know they aren't really a challenge once you start getting pretty high in level but even at level 82 as my character is now I still love fighting them even though they go down pretty easily.




I'll go into more detail at a later time regarding which things I like better in NV vs which things I like better in Skyrim. Just don't have that much time at the moment.



Just wanted to update my thoughts on which game I like better of these two after I finally finished my first playthru of Skyrim last year. I can now say, without a shadow of a doubt, I like New Vegas MUCH more.

I like Skyrim, for sure, but it doesn't hold a candle to New Vegas, imo, other than much prettier scenery. NV is not exactly a game with breathtaking visuals lol. To be fair though, seeing how it is a post-apocalyptic game set in a desert it's not really supposed to be all that great looking.

It more than makes up for the boring landscape with superb RPG elements though and it blows Skyrim out of the water in that respect (I can't help but laugh at people who suggest that Skyrim is more of an RPG than FNV lol). That is where the game shines and why I love it so very much.

I plan on doing yet another playthru sometime this year probably before PS5 comes out. Oh yeah, that's another thing, I play on PS3 and yet I still love the game. No mods, constant freezing/lag after save file gets too big, and inferior graphics compared to PC but I'm willing to look past all that because the role-playing is so damn good.


One thing that I've completely flipped-on is the comments I made about the lore of the two games. Yes, as I said above, Elder Scrolls lore is much deeper than Fallout but I now think that's what makes Fallout lore better overall: it's simplicity. I can delve much deeper into Fallout lore and learn all the details much more thoroughly because there isn't nearly as much to learn.


Been watching a lot of You Tube videos over the past year on Fallout lore and reading a lot about it on the internet as well because I've been so interested in it. Skyrim lore just doesn't pull me in and get me addicted to it like Fallout lore does. I know many people will feel the opposite way but I really do personally enjoy Fallout lore much more than ES lore now. Maybe I felt the way I did about the respective lore of the two games when I posted above becaue Skyrim was my first intro into the ES series; it was all new to me and it piqued my interest for a while while I was playing but it's magic has all but worn-off on me now, mostly.

I also now think Fallout 3 beats Skyrim as well although it's not as good as FNV, imo. I probably rank NV as one of my top 3 videogames of all-time... and definitely my favorite RPG.