The following is a guide to improving our chances of survival in a dead is dead playthrough. I used these tips myself to bring a character all the way to level 50. The guide has been divided into two sections: Tips for early level gameplay, which will help you survive the first few levels and set yourself up for the rest of the playthrough, and general tips for survival.
Before we get into it, I'd like to thank everyone who contributed to this discussion when it was in the workshop. I'd also like to give shout outs to Albino, Alastor, Teccam, Rune Red and Vazgen in particular for their contributions.
Tips for early game (level 1 - 11)
- Performing jobs like mining ore and cutting wood is a safe way to earn money early on.
- Take the time to recover your health, magicka and stamina after every fight.
- Stick to the outdoors. With the way level generation works you have a higher chance of easy enemies, which, compared to bandit chiefs and boss enemies, should be relatively easy.
- Stay away from Bears and Sabrecats.
- Enter caves/ dungeons early, then exit and return later. The enemies will be locked at a lower level.
- Keep health/invisibility potions in your inventory. One of those can be a difference between life and restart.
- Don't enter cities after 7 if you have Dawnguard installed. Vampire Master at level 12 along with two Death Hounds is not something you wish to encounter.
- Don't fast travel. Roads are surprisingly safe in Skyrim and fast travelling can land you near some random encounter.
- Use the environment to stay safe. Hop over fallen logs while the enemy has to walk around them. Swim in a lake to escape tough enemies, water really is your friend!
- Hold onto enchanted rings and necklaces, rather than selling them. You can carry many and switch between them as needed due to their light weight. A good example would be the amulets of the divines.
- Equip items that fortify speechcraft or give better prices before buying and selling gear.
- Make investments with your money. Buy items that improve your crafting skills, and you can make back the money you spent by selling the better quality goods.
General Tips
- Be careful around level 14. That's when tougher bandits and mages start to appear. Before that Bandit Thugs are the toughest but easily manageable. Bandit Highwaymen though are tougher and pack quite a punch (not to mention the killcams).
- Staves can be a great way to augment your damage and are relatively easy to find.
- Choosing a Standing Stone that offers a Greater Power or passive effect over the experience-granting Guardian Stones could easily save your life. Experience points come secondary to survival in DiD. The Shadow Stone and Serpent Stone make great Oh-Sh*t! Buttons.
- The All-Maker Stones are easily accessible at early levels and only require you to finish Dragon Rising and absorb one dragon soul to learn the first word of Bend Will. The Beast Stone in particular will get you through just about any battle and is always a good show.
- Muffling enchantments and the Muffle spell are amazing tools for an adventurer on foot. Enemies are often alerted by your footsteps before they gain a line of sight. Muffling your footsteps will give you a better shot at getting the drop on enemies or at least avoiding surprise attacks. You can also evade tough battles if need be.
- Alternatively, purchase a horse for travel. You'll get places quicker and can avoid most fights easily.
- Take a follower with you. It is worth having to fight to get through a door every once in a while for the assistance in tough fights.
- Kill cams are the bane of a DiD player. This infamously lame death can only be delivered by NPCs and dragons. A squishy player has a better chance of surviving draugr-infested tombs than a bandit camp because the undead can't close with a kill cam. So if you're looking for easy loot early on, you know where to go!
- Vampirism...for DiD?! Not as crazy as it seems. Vampirism only has one drawback – 50% weakness to fire – if you like being nocturnal . If you're adventuring in caves or don't mind scheduling your outings vampirism offers 50% resistance to frost effects, 25% boost to Illusion spells and Sneak, as well as three awesome Greater Powers and night vision. Just watch out for fire dragons or go Dark Elf, the ultimate vampiric race!
- Dragon shouts obviously add tons of survivability through various abilities. Unfortunately, obtaining dragon souls is dangerous work! The Wabbajack is one tool that will markedly turn the tide of your dragon-slaying career. Its randomly generated abilities are essentially negated against dragons and instead deals 50 elemental damage consistently. The quest to claim the staff is harmless and short. Make haste and kill dragons!
The following is a guide to improving our chances of survival in a dead is dead playthrough. I used these tips myself to bring a character all the way to level 50. The guide has been divided into two sections: Tips for early level gameplay, which will help you survive the first few levels and set yourself up for the rest of the playthrough, and general tips for survival.
Before we get into it, I'd like to thank everyone who contributed to this discussion when it was in the workshop. I'd also like to give shout outs to Albino, Alastor, Teccam, Rune Red and Vazgen in particular for their contributions.
Tips for early game (level 1 - 11)
- Performing jobs like mining ore and cutting wood is a safe way to earn money early on.
- Take the time to recover your health, magicka and stamina after every fight.
- Stick to the outdoors. With the way level generation works you have a higher chance of easy enemies, which, compared to bandit chiefs and boss enemies, should be relatively easy.
- Stay away from Bears and Sabrecats.
- Enter caves/ dungeons early, then exit and return later. The enemies will be locked at a lower level.
- Keep health/invisibility potions in your inventory. One of those can be a difference between life and restart.
- Don't enter cities after 7 if you have Dawnguard installed. Vampire Master at level 12 along with two Death Hounds is not something you wish to encounter.
- Don't fast travel. Roads are surprisingly safe in Skyrim and fast travelling can land you near some random encounter.
- Use the environment to stay safe. Hop over fallen logs while the enemy has to walk around them. Swim in a lake to escape tough enemies, water really is your friend!
- Hold onto enchanted rings and necklaces, rather than selling them. You can carry many and switch between them as needed due to their light weight. A good example would be the amulets of the divines.
- Equip items that fortify speechcraft or give better prices before buying and selling gear.
- Make investments with your money. Buy items that improve your crafting skills, and you can make back the money you spent by selling the better quality goods.
General Tips
- Be careful around level 14. That's when tougher bandits and mages start to appear. Before that Bandit Thugs are the toughest but easily manageable. Bandit Highwaymen though are tougher and pack quite a punch (not to mention the killcams).
- Staves can be a great way to augment your damage and are relatively easy to find.
- Choosing a Standing Stone that offers a Greater Power or passive effect over the experience-granting Guardian Stones could easily save your life. Experience points come secondary to survival in DiD. The Shadow Stone and Serpent Stone make great Oh-Sh*t! Buttons.
- The All-Maker Stones are easily accessible at early levels and only require you to finish Dragon Rising and absorb one dragon soul to learn the first word of Bend Will. The Beast Stone in particular will get you through just about any battle and is always a good show.
- Muffling enchantments and the Muffle spell are amazing tools for an adventurer on foot. Enemies are often alerted by your footsteps before they gain a line of sight. Muffling your footsteps will give you a better shot at getting the drop on enemies or at least avoiding surprise attacks. You can also evade tough battles if need be.
- Alternatively, purchase a horse for travel. You'll get places quicker and can avoid most fights easily.
- Take a follower with you. It is worth having to fight to get through a door every once in a while for the assistance in tough fights.
- Kill cams are the bane of a DiD player. This infamously lame death can only be delivered by NPCs and dragons. A squishy player has a better chance of surviving draugr-infested tombs than a bandit camp because the undead can't close with a kill cam. So if you're looking for easy loot early on, you know where to go!
- Vampirism...for DiD?! Not as crazy as it seems. Vampirism only has one drawback – 50% weakness to fire – if you like being nocturnal . If you're adventuring in caves or don't mind scheduling your outings vampirism offers 50% resistance to frost effects, 25% boost to Illusion spells and Sneak, as well as three awesome Greater Powers and night vision. Just watch out for fire dragons or go Dark Elf, the ultimate vampiric race!
- Dragon shouts obviously add tons of survivability through various abilities. Unfortunately, obtaining dragon souls is dangerous work! The Wabbajack is one tool that will markedly turn the tide of your dragon-slaying career. Its randomly generated abilities are essentially negated against dragons and instead deals 50 elemental damage consistently. The quest to claim the staff is harmless and short. Make haste and kill dragons!
