Forums » Elder Scrolls

Can't decide on a combat style.

    • 77 posts
    November 26, 2011 10:11 AM EST

    I have a pretty big problem in Skyrim. I like ALL the different styles of combat. I'm trying to make my new "main" character but I get put off because I can't decide on how to fight. I like two handed, but aslo one handed, destruction and archery. Hell, I'm even considering sword and shield.

    I forced myself to eliminate one handed, just because I like two handed a little bit more. But that leaves the problem of choosing between Destruction, two handed and archery. 

    See, I would pick them all, but that spreads my perks out over too many skills imo. I absolutely love the finishing moves, putting an arrow right between the eyes, and burning, impaling, disintegrating my targets. But it's so hard to let one of them go :/

     

    Anyway, the point of this topic is to ask the Skyrim blog, did/do you have the problem of liking too many things?

    • 5 posts
    November 26, 2011 11:33 AM EST

    Well I have a character that is a witch hunter, they are "Swift on foot, and clever with spells, they use distance as their ally. Slower adversaries are fodder for their arrow." I love this class because I love using bows and magic, I also add in a little dual sword action in there when necessary, or when I feel like it. They use light armor and are basically Adventurers that use magic. So you would put points into destruction, one - handed, light armor, marksman, sneak (should have it, but don't need), and everything else is pretty much optional (smithing, illusion, restoration, pickpocket, etc.) Hope this helps!


    • 739 posts
    November 26, 2011 11:41 AM EST
    Mate, i am really struggling with this too! All the playstyles are so engaging! The problem is that if you mix your skills to much you become weaker overall! You just have to choose, my vote would be warrior/mage or warrior/archer.
    Or, you could do what i'm doing at the moment and invest strongly in conjuration, this allows you to run a diluted build of all three playstyles but with two mighty dremora/atronachs in reserve for when im in real trouble.
    • 8 posts
    November 26, 2011 11:50 AM EST

    Thats the damned thing, there are so many diffirent playstyles and so far they all seem pretty viable. so i already have 3 diffirent characters.

    My first character is the typical Swordsman-type, dualwielding two one-handed swords. Master at melee, some skill with a bow but no magic. Heavily on the Smithing aswell. Augmented by strong Stealth, getting a Sneak powerattack on a boss is generally a one-hit kill. I was mostly just trying diffirent things on this guy. I quickly found myself turning up the difficulty to Expert.

    My second was a mage, like purely focussed on magic. She does very well with the aid of her Atronach, dealing very high damage with magical powers. But a glass cannon, very low armor and low health. She really relies on keeping a distance, which makes dealing with multiple strong enemies a challenge. Still doable on Expert.

    My third character i wanted to try something more specialized. I dubbed it an Imperial Agent, but names are just names. He relies on sneak damage, mostly with a bow. And to really drive the point through (lolpun) high Alchemy for some very powerfull poisons. Half the fun is experimenting and figuring out a strong poison to use. However, i wanted to use daggers but i find myself not being able to sneak close enough for backstab bonus. And this one seems to stand up poorly in melee combat, some times i dial back to Adept. But its satisfying to deal with strong enemies by applying some toxin to some arrows, with the right recipe its very easy to deal with boss enemies.

    And i got plenty of more ideas i want to try. Ranging from a healer with companion, to a brutish two-handed warrior in heavy plate. My advice to you, just pick something you want to try. Get used to it and you'll be fine, the game allows for alot of variation to work out. One of the big upgrades from previous Elders Scrolls games. And when your done, make another character and play a diffirent way

    • 1 posts
    November 26, 2011 1:33 PM EST

    Couldnt decide between one handed and mage but sided with majic just because Its so much better than Oblivion

     

    • 16 posts
    November 26, 2011 2:09 PM EST

    What I did was my level 1-15 work on warrior skills. Than level 16-30 work on mage skills. And right now im workin on thief skills.

    • 4 posts
    November 26, 2011 3:08 PM EST

    I play as a Warrior/ Archer. I have 100 Smithing so i can use full deadria and it owns everything. I make sure to put some enchantments on my armour though to lower damage from spells b/c dragon priests are a pain. I also have restoration and conjuration up a little for when i need to heal or need an ally in tight spots.

    • 18 posts
    November 27, 2011 12:56 AM EST

    What I do is spread each combat style out through different playthroughs. My first character was my warrior who used a sword and shield, but also a bow for ranged. My second playthrough that I started was my mage, and my third was my thief/assassin. I am currently playing my thief/assassin the most right now, but he also uses a bow. In fact, he has a higher archery level than one-handed.

    That's how I go about doing things. I split them up for different playthroughs, that way, I fully enjoy each combat style, rather than trying to use all of them in one playthrough. It's a lot more enjoyable and you get more out of each style. Eventually I will create another playthrough that will use two-handers, and another later on that will probably be a 'warlock' that studies the 'dark arts'. Not sure how I am going to go about doing that, yet.

    • 966 posts
    November 27, 2011 4:31 AM EST

    I use a bow for long distances and a mace and destruction spell when i get closer, although, i also use other magic schools like restoration and alteration.

    But some things like sneak get upgraded too, even though i never put any effort into sneaking, i only sneak to get the 2x damage with my bow.

    I also forge/upgrade and then enchant my armor and weapons.

    I think this is about the best balance, considering you can use magic to attack, defend and heal yourself aswell as companions.

    So i like alot of skills but i use alot of em too, wich is why i,m an imperial wich i think is the best well balanced race.

    • 12 posts
    November 27, 2011 8:07 AM EST

    I know exactly what you mean.  I'm trying to use a shield, a battle-axe, and a war-axe, plus some destruction in there.  I'm like a kid in a buffet who tries to take everything on the first trip!  But I guess that's the solution too: we can make trips back to the buffet of Skyrim with every new character! ... But that knowledge still hasn't stopped me from overloading my plate! :)

    • 77 posts
    November 27, 2011 8:17 AM EST

    I would do this, but I don't like it when things get too vanilla. I don't want to be restricted to being a thief, warrior or mage. I like combination classes. Except I end up trying to be a combination of EVERYTHING.

  • November 27, 2011 8:27 AM EST

    What I'm doing is I'm doing every fighting style in one campaign

    • 5 posts
    November 27, 2011 8:40 AM EST

    I do as well. The only problem is I'm about 70 hours in and I'm level 36. So I usually use whatever come along.

    • 132 posts
    November 27, 2011 8:55 AM EST

    I've made a character for every generic playstyle, so next I think I'm going to make some combination ones.

    Idea 1: Vigilant of Stendarrr. Uses one handed, destruction, restoration, alteration, heavy armor and enchant.

               Playstyle: Wear a breastplate for protection, apply mage armor, then wade in with enchanted      mace and spell.

    Idea 2: Wetboy (from Night Angel Trilogy) 1handed, archery, sneak, alchemy, light armor, illusion, pickpocket.

              Playstyle: Relies heavily on stealth and speed. Strikes first from stealth with a poisoned weapon, then relies on maneuverability to avoid the enemy's blows.

     

    That's all I can think of off the top of my head.

    • 77 posts
    November 27, 2011 9:10 AM EST

    This isn't what this topic is about, go post it in the Character Builds group.

    "the point of this topic is to ask the Skyrim blog, did/do you have the problem of liking too many things?"

     

    Did you at all read the topic?