The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Collect/buy/steal all the ingredients you can and just spam potions. I take/steal all the ingredients I come across, whether they're mine or not and when I've got enough for 50 or so potions I'll just run through them. I'm not actively trying to skill up alchemy but I get quite a few levels in it every time I go through all my ingredients.

That's what I've been doing but it just isn't doing it very fast, and I also break a lot of potions because I have no clue what ingredients make what, unless there's just a chance of failure depending on your alchemy level. Also do i use two or three ingredients when I make a potion.

You're supposed to eat the ingredients first when all 4 effects are unknown. I only ever broke one potion, I basically figured out to do that before I ever did alchemy, I just happened to throw in some unknown ingredient by accident.

If you're just trying to skill it up, I would say just use 2 ingredients. You add 3 when you want extra effects or something.

Also, when you enchant, does it just take the soul from the gem away, or do you lose the entire gem?

You lose the entire gem.

Weapons also have to be recharged every so often, which consumes the gem as well.

It takes the entire gem. Azura's Star is usually the only exception, it can be refilled and reused an infinite number of times. I don't know if it works that way this time.

anyone find the gray cowl and the skeleton key yet? :x

It does :O but only if take back to her shrine when given choice

Just forged half of my daedric armour, looks sick.

Where did you find your Daedric hearts and ebony ingots?

i think skeleton key is a perk, unless there's an item version of it too.

Daedric Hearts - Enthir sold 2 in the Mage College, 1 stole from the companions living quarters (used Unrelenting force to blow it out of view)

Ebony Ore - There's a mine full of Iron and Ebony veins southeast of Windhelm, there's an Orc village just outside who tell you to go away, unless you bring them an item, just run around their walls and into their mine.

You're thinking of Wax Key.

Should not have purchased this until Holiday break.... All motivation to do anything else has been destroyed ; ; .....

is it just me or does anyone else get giddy like theyre just getting the game for the first time each time they load it up? >.>

also i just realized you can see high hrothgar from the clouds district of whiterun =O

I feel more like I did when I was into XI..

I start it up, then the first thing that runs through my mind is "Okay, now what am I going to work on today".

Azura star counts as the highest Soul gem right? I forgot what the highest was.... Grand?

i've noticed I've had alot more late nights(more like 4-6am Early mornings) since getting this game. <.<;

When it comes to normal gems yes, grand is the highest you can get.

You would be right, but with light armor and slightly more of a roguey vibe because I like lockpicking, sneak, etc in these games. They involve a layer of complexity that I find is usually lacking from the combat. So I artificially add my own.

I'm not competing with anyone else in a single-player game, so I'm fine with being weaker, if it means I get a character who's dictated more by how "I" would play the game than how the numbers dictate I "should."

I don't think I've even cast a spell yet. I tried spellcasting in both Oblivion and Morrowind and was kinda underwhelmed.

It's basically a graphical/strategic thing... I want to be summoning massive fireball explosions with egregious particle effects, with interesting and different range-based mechanics, etc. The Elder Scroll games seem to be much more "either run at the baddie or have them run at you, then spam click your button" and hitting people with point-blank fire over and over just doesn't do it for me.

At that point it's kinda just "why." I'll just hit them in the face with a sword if I'm gunna be in that position instead. Maybe it's better in Skyrim than it was in the other two, but given the spell selection at Step 1, (hit them in the face with fire), I figured it was more of the same.

Tee hee!

Another good way to get some fast skill ups is to find the skill shrine that increases either thief, warrior or mage skill up rates by 20%. All of the crafts are tied to these different class signs. So when you want to skill up blacksmithing make sure to be under the warrior sign and when you want to skill up alchemy make sure to be under the sign of the thief (enchanting mage).

Trying to find 3 more Daedra Hearts, really annoying :p. Found another in the Alchemy shop in Whiterun. Just need gauntlets, an axe and a sword for Lydia. x.x

Screw getting a 2nd set of Daedric for Lydia, she's cruising in Dragonplate.. which is for somereason worse than Daedric :/

woo nightingale armor yay

Dual daedric swords and set of daedric armor (all legendary) + elemental fury = <3

(get smithing to 100 as soon as you can, cheapest way is to make iron daggers)

Elemental Fury?

Is the NPC companion AI any better than it has been in other Bethesda games? (Fallout, Oblivion, etc?)

In the past I've found their pathfinding to be so terrible as to be immersion-breaking, and in combat they're either laughably weak (Oblivion) or hysterically overpowered (Craig Boone.)

So I haven't done anything with Lydia since sending her to my house to hold down the fort.

<_< There are enemies that can use the disarm shout and it works on you!

cant find or select skyrim :/ (gotten via steam)