So as more and more Zergadins play this game, specifically Zyley, I decided it might be beneficial to offer some tips, tricks and general FAQs. (That’s Frequently Asked Questions to those of you don’t speak Internet.)

First we’ll start with tips.

1. Do not randomly assign points wherever you damn well feel like it. Decide early on after fighting your way out of Helgen what you want to be. The game gives you plenty of opportunity to decide how you want to handle a situation and what moves you want to use, so by the time you exit the cave you should know.

The reason for this is because if you assign points willy nilly, the only way you can reset them to correct your mistakes is to buy the Dragonborn DLC and beat the last boss. (and I’ll tell you now, he isn’t a pushover like some other bosses) So with this all in mind, decide if you want to focus on magic, heavy armor/2h, or sneak. Your point choices will matter for the first part of the game, and as they advertise you can play a mage that wears heavy armor, but you need to focus on JUST those 2 to start if you want to be able to get anywhere.

2. Probably the most difficult class to play is the magic style. Magic doesn’t do massive damage at the start, this generally coincides with the fact that heavy armor doesn’t have a lot of +to magica until later in the game. As such, you are rather squishy to start out. However, once leveled up, Magic users can nuke the shit out of mobs. I watched a heavy armor elf fire off a bolt of lightening and one-shot a Giant.

Stealth based is probably second easiest. You can Sneak one-shot most mobs in the game if you build it right, but it takes a bit of strategy. I’ve cleared entire forts without anyone ever knowing I was there, but I’ve also missed a shot and had the entire fort in an uproar.

The easiest is heavy armor sword-and-board. If you want a challenge then play one of the other 2 or increase the difficulty up to max.

3. Going with that final point, the Difficulty meter isn’t exactly…. consistent. I’ve played on max difficulty and cleared a dungeon without ever taking more than 1/4th my health in damage… then I walked out and a bear came up and one shot me. It’s a tad inconsistent, so if you ever feel like you’re just stuck, knock the difficulty down a peg because it probably isn’t you: it’s the game.

4. ALWAYS always ALWAYS hire Mercenaries. Always do side missions. Always accept challenges to fist fights in towns. They ALWAYS lead to you having a companion.

At first I hated having a companion because they got in my way, but you soon realize just how valuable it is to have a peon to trip any traps you dont notice or just having an extra body that helps thin out the heard. Give ’em some gear and let ’em loose. They might be a poorly designed AI, but they are invaluable in some situations. (They can also carry gear for you if you get over the weight limit of your inventory)

Tricks

1. The Bucket trick.  Pick up a bucket by holding down the action button while targeting a bucket or cauldron. Flip it over and cover the shopkeeper’s head.

Now you can steal everything in the game without ever being caught. WARNING: If you download some of the Unofficial Skyrim patches they fixed this.

2. If you max out Pick-pocketing you can steal the weapons and clothes people are wearing.

I actually adopted this into a strategy: a bandit cave is much easier to clear when they are all in their skivvies.

3. They nerfed it, but it’s still a pretty good strategy: if you ever need some levels, go into sneak mode, sit in the corner of a shop and just move back and forth.

You can also just sit and craft, enchant or whatever different items. (Alchemy or Blacksmiths etc)

4. Level lockpicking. Doesn’t matter if you aren’t a thief, it is INVALUABLE and a great way to earn cash and items.

5. I share this only because it can be a useful tool: hit the tilday key, ( It looks like this ~) and a console command menu should come up. This is where you can type in codes to give yourself items. OH BTW ONLY PC USERS GET THIS, LOLSUCKITCONSOLES.

TGM = God Mode

Click on a locked door/chest, then type Unlock. Congrats

These are the only 2 I’ll give you. The rest you can find on your own.

FAQ’S

How do I reset my skill point choices? You have to pay 20$ to get the Dragonborn DLC. It is DEFINITELY worth it, but it’s the most recent DLC so it might spoil some things if you haven’t beat the main questline.

What are the DLC’s about? The first DLC is about Vampires. It’s actually really cool and has a decent amount of puzzles and a great main storyline. You can choose to join the Vampire hunting faction, The Dawnguard. OR you can join the Vampires themselves. I chose the Vampires since I was a sneak based character.

The other DLC is called Dragonborn and it’s basically the best DLC I’ve ever played. It’s based roughly on C’thulhu… so it’s just fantastic. The story is that you obviously were not the first Dragonborn, and that somewhere out there the FIRST Dragonborn is still alive, gathering power…and the reason he’s still alive is that he’s made a pact with Hermaeous Mora, the Daedric god of  Forbidden Knowledge and Secrets.

Why is the game so buggy? Because it’s made by Bethesda

I hear people talk about Mods, what are Mods? When Bethesda releases a game, they also release all the source code and allow players to create and add their own DLC. As it is player generated it has and adds its own bugs to the game sometimes. Sometimes, however, players will add “patches” that fix some of Bethesda’s mistakes.

If you have any questions I didn’t answer, ask them in the comments and I’ll see if I can’t shed some light on it.

(That includes Lore questions)