Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
How I play Skyrim (how do YOU play your game?)
Trolldefender99
Member UncommonPosts: 416
Do anything special? Like make the game you play more challenging or have your own house rules or anything?
In Skyrim
-No compass
-No crosshairs
-HUD off (no text when the (invisible) mouse cursor is over an item. Makes archery quite hard, but this gives it a more realistic and immersive feel).
a. no hp bar (mine or enemies)
b. No stamina or mana bar
c. reliant on more sound and sight
- .ini tweaks to make archery more realistic (arrow shoots in proper place, instead of magically higher...in vanilla, it shoots from above where it should actually be)
- no looking at the map, except near a camp(fire) or in a town or in/near a city. Maybe not the most realistic thing, but it is my "personal" house rule...I find it to be a lot more immersive
-Modded races to carry a LOT less than vanilla. Why would every race be able to carry the same exact amount? Why can everyone carry 60 weapons and 40 armors, and still not be encumbered? Okay, maybe an exaggeration...but I modded it to be a lot more realistic for each race.
-Modded in no fast travel
-Modded in MUCH MUCH tougher dragons. The first dragon you meet in Skyrim (not the one in the prison scene, but one you fight after)...took 30-40 minutes of fighting, NOT counting the reloads I did due to death. Vanilla skyrim dragons are such pansies
a. Modded in a overall tougher game experience
-Modded in hyporthermia and sleep/thirst/hunger
and that I think does it for the immersion and tougher gameplay mods, tweaks and house rules I did.
But yeah, that is how I play Skyrim. Not so hardcore that I do that I play death is death...but I still have a tougher game.
So what about you guys...do you play a certain way in games? Make it more challenging? Or heck, do you cheat in games and make it easier?
Mostly aiming for singleplayer/multiplayer games and not so much MMOs (hence why this is here)
Comments
I did a mix of cheating/more hardcore after I beat the main quest line for the 3rd time.
I have the quickstart, cause I am sick of the opening event. I have modified stones so that they do something else on top of what they already do, (The Lady also adds Magicka regen now). I have a bunch of armor mods, just for looks. I tend to cheat and max out my crafting via .bat, since I hate that leveling your crafting too much in Skyrim can effectively gimp a character. I have a more robut skill tree system, adds a bunch of additional options (like make shouts better via Speech). I also have starter kit mods, that give some armor and weapons in Riverwood. I tend to just use the armor. Also, I use Bandolier mod for more carry weight. I do have horse mods to make them less annoying.
On the more hardcore side, I use the hypothermia mod, and have that set pretty hardcore. I still can fast travel, if I have firewood, but I house rule that I can only fast travel to places I have been to. I always make sure I set up a campsite before dark, and then make a home cooked meal, sit around the fire and sleep for 8 hours (to make things a bit more realistic). I also don't use followers, unless I make a summoner and summonables only then. Additionally, other house rules I have is that if I am one of the less desirable races, I never stay at an inn in a city, and only enter cities for quests, with the exception of Riverwood which seems to be fairly non-racist :P
In all honesty though, I stopped playing once Dawnguard was announced. I want to miss the game when the xpack comes out.
Wow you guys are hardcore! I like to carry as much as the game will allow. I play more methodically. I try to do all quests and most factions (haven't decided on stormcloaks or the imperials). Now in Dark Brotherhood and Thieves Guild. I get my house in Whiterun as soon as possible and use that as my home base. I store almost everything I find.
House rule only to use companion and typically my house carl. Lydia must survive all events otherwise I have to reload. I guess its a challenge tyring to keep her alive when she is down on one knee and you try not to accidentally deliver the final blow.
I start out with warrior stone to build up strength and stamina (to carry more), then when strong enough I switch to thief and build up archery, one hand combat, pickpocket and sneak. Also in thief mode I crawl everywhere. Its slower but gets my sneak up pretty good. I finally switch to mage and begin to buid up magic (Im partial to destruction and conjuration).
I love the (limited) crafting, or making things then selling them increasing my gold.
I tend to do one quest line at a time unless a radiant quest or side quest comes along that is more interesting. But I like ticking off all of my quests. I use steed stone to increase carry capacity when I go in a dungeon. When complete Ill fast travel home and unload, maybe craft a bit, then fast travel back to the dungeon to continue exploring.
I use ALL my HUDs :-D Crosshair. Health. Mana. Map. mini-map bar. I guess the only house rule I have is never go into third person, and stay first person always. Which is why I never use my horse.
I like to create the strongest build I can in one playthrough to level 81 then see at the end if I was more mage, than thief, than warrior or any of the other possible combinations.
Im not a multiple playthrough person... but will go back when Dawnguard comes out for PC. Right now Im enjoying the Dark Brotherhood becoming a professional assassin. Cant wait to see the loot I get!
Pretty much the same as you OP, but I leave the hud on and look at the map whenever I like. Also got a mod that makes the combat a alot harder, NPC's block more, fight in a grp better ect, cant remember the name but its the main combat mod on nexus.
Also using alot of char/world remodels/textures and whatnot
Vanilla version, I only mod once I've done absolutely everything the game has to offer in vanilla first.
I clear a town of all side quests before moving onto the next.
I only do 1-2 guilds per character, and have them specialize in that kind of gameplay.
I grind out things I want high and don't wanna bother with later (Block/Speechcraft), then let the rest come as it will.
I do the main quest once I've done everything else in the game first... yeah, haven't beat it yet.
~My gaming habits are similar to my eating habits. Hand me a plate and I'll eat everything that will either be nasty cold, or if I like it the least of all thats on the plate, first. Then I move up to the better stuff. I simply do not eat a couple fries and then mack on the burger and go back to the fries - the fries are gone before the burger gets touched. I don't cut my steak up into bite-sized pieces first, though, so I doubt I have serial killer tendencies (but that's a maybe).
Writer / Musician / Game Designer
Now Playing: Skyrim, Wurm Online, Tropico 4
Waiting On: GW2, TSW, Archeage, The Rapture
Can you PM your list of Mods please? That sounds fun
Death is nothing to us, since when we are, Death has not come, and when death has come, we are not.
I like to plant seeds and grow stuff
This isn't a signature, you just think it is.
I use SkyUI for interface overhaul, it isn't finished however.
Immersive HUD does about the same as what I will recommend tweaking in the UI, and a bit more
SkyRE completely overhauls Skyrim. Not compatible with a lot of mods...but think of it like an Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul from Oblivion. But Skyrim style. Makes the game really really challenging, but if you don't want to change vanilla Skyrim...probably not the mod for you. It changes pretty much everything.
Deadly Dragons makes dragons actually fearsome and adds new types. Not counting reloads+deaths (which would add the time up)...on my low level character...I literally fought one dragon for 30-45 minutes lol. It was epic.
Sky Monster Mod is sort of like Mart's Monster Mod for Oblivion, shouldn't cause CTDs
SkyTEST overhauls animals, and adds some...but its main focus is on animal AI. May cause CTDs
Imps more complex needs, is a rather complicated hunger/thirst/sleep system. But I like it.
Frostfall - Hypothermia adds it to where you have to worry about being warm and not getting cold. Kind of like name implies.
Better Quest Objectives lets you turn off quest markers (or leave them on), but gives a more detailed description on where a quest is located.
Those are the main mods I use.
Then in SkyrimPrefs.ini (Skyrim documents folder), find these
[Main]
bCrosshairEnabled=0
fHUDOpacity=0.0000
[GamePlay]
bShowFloatingQuestMarkers=0
bShowQuestMarkers=0
HUD is automatically set to 1.0000...turning that off does make the game a lot more immersive. But, can be a bit more annoying. Specifically...picking up items is a challenge ;P And it kind of just makes the game tougher overhaul. Like no health bars or anything. Makes the crosshairs disappear as well. Can try it off, and see how you prefer it.
And those are the main things that I can think of.
(edit)
Whoops forgot two mods.
Bandolier -Bags and Pouches...which lets you increase your carry weight, by crafting...well...bags and pouches
This then lets you be able to lower each race's carry weight, to a more realistic level.
I went in creation kit and manually set the carry weight for each race. Which is really easy. Find "Realistic Carry Weight" on Nexus, and that is what I based my edits off of. I use a custom race, so I had to decide what was realistic for that race in terms of how much the race can carry.
I also play with invisble hud/ui and installed a mod with alot tougher dragons.
I still use fast travel for main city's but rest i walk around so im only a littlebit pansie:P
No i never ever used in any game cheats or make game easyer.
I also never ever go to wiki's walkthroughs or any info on the game if its solo or mmo's ill find out ingame. Dont use second monitors for maps or any other info.
Ive played Darkfall and when i joined a clan i first started to find out if they even slighest cheat macro use outside sources to make game easyer if so i left clan, thats why i mainly soloed DF for more then 2 years.
Now i play DayZ pure no cheats or any enhancements to make game more easy.
Skyrim is best played as you described hardcore thats way games should be played.
All who say ive no time and use easy casual ways are still pansies:P
CPU:Intel Core i7-3770K 4GHz
GPU:ASUS HD 7970 DirectCU II TOP
MB:ASUS P8Z77-V DELUXE
Case:Cooler Master HAF X
RAM:Corsair 16GB 1600
PSU:Corsair gold 850
HD:SSD OCZ 256 GB vertex4
Each character is different so each character does different things.
In other words, if one character is more 'evil' then they will do assassin's guild and thieves guild. otherwise "not'.
I have one character that is more of a conan type character so except for healing magic he doesn't use any magic. Also, only steel weapons.
My main character is my "same" charcter from morrowind and Oblvion. He was granted long life for being Nerevarine and Oblvion though doens't exactly know "how".
I'd love to use an eating mod but I havne't found one that I think is suitable. I'll take suggestions.
Tougher dragons all on hardcore.
I always do the start of the game for a new character. Try to always sleep each day and read my books in Inns at night.
I only fast travel if it makes sense dramatically. Sort of like a movie and/or book.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
So far, all of the mods I've used are ones that enhance the graphics (landscape, ice, snow, water, and blood) and sounds in addition to a few crafting mods.
The character I'm playing now is forbidden to kill anything. Which means I can't even have a companion to join my adventure because their kills count as my own. No summoning either. I'm a thief/mage that uses block but is not very good at sneaking so I have to use resoration often. It is working out well so far. I do a lot of sneaking and run my ass off if spotted. In the circumstances where something has to die (getting the Dragon stone from the I Draugr Overlord) I have to get creative and lure them into traps or into a creature that would attack it.
It is surpisingly fun to run through a dungeon nabbing all the loot you can while an angry mob of dragur is chasing after you. If I'm not careful I can easily be surround and pummeled to death.
Only mods i use are ones that fix bugs and increase the graphical fidelity of the game.
Edit: I like the sound effects mods also. The ones that add in effect to dungeons and the environmet enhance the experience without fundamentally changing the base game.
Playing: Nothing
Looking forward to: Nothing
I love it. I think I'll try to make a similiar character.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
I want to thank Isasis! Since he started this thread and PMd me, I have been loving the game all over again and then some. His idea of making the game harder using the mods he suggested to me made it more challenging and immersive. No Fast Travel is one of the main mods I love. You are basically forced to slow down and "smell the roses".
I have always hated playing non-human races in rpgs, but all suggestions for a thief were for the big kitty. I decided to play a khajiit thief and used Isasis suggested mods and a few more I liked. I hadn't looked over mods or even played the game since the mods had been made several months ago, so it was all new to me.
I noticed a mod with a khajitt thief follower and thought I would give it a try for something different. The addition of this follower/partner is so engaging to me! It is like I have my wife playing along side of me, and we have to protect each other and struggle through Skyrim. In ways the battles are easier because she is helping, but setting her up and preparing for the fight takes longer so it's a wash when it comes to challenge.
If you are waiting for GW2 to release like me, or haven't tried Skyrim in a while, you should try mixing up Mods that may appeal to you and give it another shot!
Vashira the Crimson Flash by coolster
Death is nothing to us, since when we are, Death has not come, and when death has come, we are not.
I loved Skyrim until I became a vampire and couldn't go anywhere anymore without being attacked by guards....... I have the quest to cure it but for some reason just have no desire to do that quest.......
here's on an older post in these forums that talk about these kinds of things. Caiden's Crazy Challenge: http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/332324/page/1
what i would call my main is a plate 2hander. he's a legit level 81.5 with all skills maxed and got me all achiev points for the 360.
i also have a rogue/assissin/thief type with illusion, bow, light armor and duel wielding blades of woe (ftw).
i have a full on mage all mastered.
a sword and board spellsword.
a 40hp vampire that is fun as hell. build can be found here: http://www.gameskyrim.com/master-playthrough-vampire-assassin-t162366.html
a full on healer that can't attack and only heals the companion.
and a couple other playstyles but kind of mix and match with what is already mentioned.
love this game btw.
Yeah, that thread linked by DaddyDazzle was where I got a couple ideas from. I couldn't find it, or I would have linked to it. Probably just missed it or something.
And glad I could renew life into Skyrim, for you Amjoco
It is quite a different experience. And its cool how varied playstyles Skyrim supports.
I don't really have house rules, but this made me think of how I approach Skyrim.
When the game first came out, I played it like your other typical games: you blow through it. After about 35 hours.... I got bored with the game.
Then I had to remember something..... if you are rushing an Elder Scrolls game, you are doing it wrong. So I downloaded a ton of graphics mods to clean it up. Really looked like a brand new game. so I started a new character. And I did finish the main quest....... after 130 hours.
When i played, I made a rule. Whenever I saw something on the map, I had to go there. I'd stop at the site, explore around. Try to find lore about the site and I'd read every bit of it. These places really had character. You never know the kind of stuff you come across in the wild. The best was father and daughter on their way to a wedding, and the daughter didn't want to go, and didn't like dad's ideas of her own arranged wedding. So i decided to grant her freedom..... by shooting her father. She was ungrateful, so after she ran for a few, I had to shoot her as well. Okay, so I didn't want to kill them, but it started out with a very interesting story!
When you do these kinda things, that is what makes Skyrim Skyrim. Ultimately, it is the freedom it provides. I finished the main quest at level 48 with every shout except one. Now I just have to go to Labryinthian and spend some more time in Blackreach. I've hit a wall though. after 130 hours with one character, over 3 months, that gets a lil tiring. So taking a break til Dawnguard comes out.