Skyrim Character Building » Discussions


Event Build: The Arcane Architect

Tags: #Character Build Witchhunter  #Character Build Alchemist  #Character Build Unarmed  #Race:Redguard  #Rank:Event Recognized  #Event:Crossworlds2 
  • December 17, 2015

    I just watched Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood (yes every episode from when I last commented) and I have to say that this feels a little different from Scar. Did you base it off of Brotherhood or FMA? 

    Still I feel like I get this a little better and it definetly makes me appreciate the character more, and the way you've converted it into Skyrim

  • Member
    December 17, 2015
    I based it off Brotherhood. Could you put into words how he differs from the anime? It would help me try to sculpt his personality better. Thanks!
  • December 17, 2015

    I kind of feel like two things were a little different, not in a, character-crushing way or anyting but just a few things that didn't come across as strongly.

    Warning: May be FMA: B spoilers for those that haven't finished the show.

    1: The lack of pure hate. While Scar later becomes a bit more mellow, for the first half of the show he basically just killed any Alchemist he could come across, it wasn't a calculating choice (well when he went after them was) it was just kill them. You kind of did this with the Thalmor but I don't think it came across as much as it could have (the idea of simply killing any Altmer he comes across or something.) It also didn't feel like there was any end redemption for this fella, unlike Scar (which really made Scar a bit more lame so I'm not going to complain).

    2: His views on Construction/Deconstruction Alchemy. Personally I though that the most striking thing about Scar was his very strict lack of using any form of creation Alchemy until his eventual fight with Bradley later on. The fact that he only uses Destruction (don't quite remember the official term but I hope the point still comes across) is a totally awesome character trait, and one that isn't as apparent here. Though I do really understand this one because playing this character with basically only Destruction and Unarmed would be incredibly difficult, so really I think this just shows how logical your conversion into Skyrim is. 

    I'm definetly not saying that I don't like your build because of these things, or that the representation of Scar was bad because of them, they just stood out as little differences that I thought I should mention. Plus I did kind of want to hear your reasoning, personally I thought they were aimed at making him more playable in Skyrim (which definetly works) so it's honestly still a really cool build 

  • Member
    December 17, 2015

    Yeah, you're on the spot on those differences. There aren't sufficient opportunities to go on morally-supported anti-Thalmor rampages in Skyrim, save the few buildings they inhabit, so there wasn't so much I could do to migrate his State Alchemist hunting into Skyrim. I kinda tried putting the fact that he will not condone Conjuration in any form, especially since his religious teachings and personal opinions go against Chimera synthesis and Soul harvesting, and luckily, Skyrim has tons more Necromancers, so I felt that that point came across a bit stronger than the Thalmor hatred. 

    About the Alchemy Dilemma... I was very conflicted on when the Build would start to use the barriers, and it was a tough decision. On certain playthrougs, I collected the boxes at level 1, and started using them at level 10 against the Boss at Bleak Falls, as a point of desperation and change in attitude. But on others, I set it to a level cap, around 20 or so. It needed to be early enough to let players experience the awesome new method of battle, but late enough and at a substantially pivotal point where it fits with Scar's epiphany in Canon lore. AKA the issue was not much of having character go against his own values after a realization, but rather finding an apt opportunity in-game to let him do so without it sounding absurd or corny. In the end, I resorted to the arguable lamer choice of putting it at a level cap, prioritizing gameplay over lore, and kinda masked the entire "no Reconstruction"  policy he had at the start of the anime.

    My bad,  it might have gone off tangent from the anime, but I tried my best  。゚・ (>﹏<) ・゚。

  • Member
    December 19, 2015

    Why didn't you perk sneak? With it you could place these DnD boxes without risking an attack from the enemy before setting up your fort.

  • Member
    December 19, 2015
    Sneak is, to everyone'sknowledge, a pretty broken op skill in general, and I was pretty bored of the stealth characters I usually play. Besides, with sneak, it's possible to seal a choke point, then hide from a hoard of draugr, and still come out unscathed. It's not the playstyle i wanted the build to have, but more of a stand-your-ground mage. Other abilities like slow time, paralysis and become ethereal are less stealthy but equally effective ways to drop dnd boxes on the field.
  • Member
    December 27, 2015

    I have only heard of Full Metal Alchemist, so I really can't comment on how you transition your character into Skyrim, but I can comment on an awesome idea when I see one... building a fort out of invisible merchant boxes? That's just too awesome xD

    This looks like an absolute blast to play! :D

  • Member
    December 28, 2015

    I really liked your build! What's the most Do not Delete Boxes that you've had at one time? I'm going to use this for my next playthrough.

  • Member
    December 29, 2015

    I stopped with 1 stack of 11, but you can easily go above 30 with more hunting and research. I'm glad you liked the build, have fun playing it!

  • Member
    December 29, 2015

    I made a few modifications, I only use Enchanting, Destruction, and Restoration. Basically, Destruction is my main offense, with wards to protect me. I wear no armor, and don't use flesh spells, so wards and cover are a must. I just put lots of magicka regeneration enchantments on my armor, and do a very run out then run back in playstyle. I have to say though, getting some chests is very difficult. I think of it like compensation for getting the ability to alter the environment. I also am an Argonian, and don't use Heavy Armor, so Unarmed is fairly powerful, but still definatly a back up for when things go wrong. Also I love going underwater, so Argonian's make that easier.