Dragons!
Today I completed my self-imposed prerequisite for getting Skyrim, which was to beat the main quest chain in Oblivion.
I have only just barely begun - I did the first dungeon and killed by first dragon (which was really, really epic, by the way - must find way to avoid dragon breath.) Anyway, I'm getting a feel for the changes to the system.
My character is Ternis, a Nord who's got lots of destruction magic going on. My original intention was to go for a pure caster battlemage - wearing full plate armor, but using spells exclusively for combat. However, it seems that the bonuses on cloth armor really do encourage you to stick with it if you're a caster, so poop.
First things first: the graphics are worlds beyond Oblivion. I particularly like the changes to the elf races (such that I might even consider playing one,) going from generally goofy-looking to both distinct and interesting. The wood elves now look kind of stick-like, and the dark elves look truly menacing, instead of just preposterous.
While you can't achieve the bizarre face-shapes of the previous game, some key additions to the customization were added, like actual facial hair, scars, war-paint, and dirt, as well as far more eye-color options. Ternis is an older Nord, with long white hair and a full beard. He has a streak of blue on his left eye, which is blue, whereas the other is amber. He looks pretty damn awesome.
Stats have been super-simplified, making Health, Stamina, and Magicka the only things you upgrade with your levels, but also granting you perks on each level that allow you to upgrade skill trees based on the various skills (at level 3, I've put both points into Destruction, reducing my magicka costs and granting me bonus damage when dual-wielding a spell.)
In the game's intro level, I found myself mistakenly joining the loyalist side of the civil war, though I imagine there might be some way to change. Still, not the end of the world.
The dungeon I went to was very cool as well, with catacombs full of dangerous undead draugar (norse zombies) and deadly traps (that I believe are of Dwarf design.)
The dragon fight was very epic, and I came very, very close to dying. So far my strategy for tougher enemies has been to find a place to hide where they can't fit while my magicka recharges. I'll need to get better gear (or just more magicka from leveling) to be able to last in these tough fights. Still, for a first dragon fight, the difficulty was welcome (I also actually used spell scrolls, which I almost never do, releasing a giant fire ball that took him to within a sliver of damage away from death.)
I intend to try out the Warrior and Thief playstyle, though I hope that it is not too difficult to create hybrids (the thief will certainly be using illusion magic.) At the moment I do feel a bit pressured to play as a standard cloth-wearing mage, but perhaps we'll see this change.
I have only just barely begun - I did the first dungeon and killed by first dragon (which was really, really epic, by the way - must find way to avoid dragon breath.) Anyway, I'm getting a feel for the changes to the system.
My character is Ternis, a Nord who's got lots of destruction magic going on. My original intention was to go for a pure caster battlemage - wearing full plate armor, but using spells exclusively for combat. However, it seems that the bonuses on cloth armor really do encourage you to stick with it if you're a caster, so poop.
First things first: the graphics are worlds beyond Oblivion. I particularly like the changes to the elf races (such that I might even consider playing one,) going from generally goofy-looking to both distinct and interesting. The wood elves now look kind of stick-like, and the dark elves look truly menacing, instead of just preposterous.
While you can't achieve the bizarre face-shapes of the previous game, some key additions to the customization were added, like actual facial hair, scars, war-paint, and dirt, as well as far more eye-color options. Ternis is an older Nord, with long white hair and a full beard. He has a streak of blue on his left eye, which is blue, whereas the other is amber. He looks pretty damn awesome.
Stats have been super-simplified, making Health, Stamina, and Magicka the only things you upgrade with your levels, but also granting you perks on each level that allow you to upgrade skill trees based on the various skills (at level 3, I've put both points into Destruction, reducing my magicka costs and granting me bonus damage when dual-wielding a spell.)
In the game's intro level, I found myself mistakenly joining the loyalist side of the civil war, though I imagine there might be some way to change. Still, not the end of the world.
The dungeon I went to was very cool as well, with catacombs full of dangerous undead draugar (norse zombies) and deadly traps (that I believe are of Dwarf design.)
The dragon fight was very epic, and I came very, very close to dying. So far my strategy for tougher enemies has been to find a place to hide where they can't fit while my magicka recharges. I'll need to get better gear (or just more magicka from leveling) to be able to last in these tough fights. Still, for a first dragon fight, the difficulty was welcome (I also actually used spell scrolls, which I almost never do, releasing a giant fire ball that took him to within a sliver of damage away from death.)
I intend to try out the Warrior and Thief playstyle, though I hope that it is not too difficult to create hybrids (the thief will certainly be using illusion magic.) At the moment I do feel a bit pressured to play as a standard cloth-wearing mage, but perhaps we'll see this change.