Elder Scrolls Skyrim

GilaMinumBeer said:

Find an alchemist to train you. Kill them and take your money back!

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Or just pickpocket the money back, maybe?

Also, waterbreathing is a helmet enchantment. Find a jeweled circlet or make a cheap hide helmet, enchant, and you can sell all your waterbreathing potions.

schmoe said:

Giant toes + wheat and you can make more gold selling potions back to the vendors than what they cost to buy.

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Giants toe + wheat + (whatever).

Just be cautious. Some combinations can be valued over 4000 once you gotten past level 30. Not too many vendors have that much cash at one time.

And, collecting every potion you find and selling them to vendors is also a big money maker.

schmoe said:

Giant toes + wheat and you can make more gold selling potions back to the vendors than what they cost to buy.

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Giant toes are hard to come by, but worth the effort.

The most spam-able way to quickly level alchemy (in my opinion) is to run around collecting wheat (from farms - fast travel) and blue mountain flowers (found in abundance in the reach and around Falkreath). They combine to make pretty valuable potions. Also putting perk points in the first slot of the alchemy skill tree will greatly increase the value (and subsequent gained skill) of your potions. I think wheat regenerates after 48 hours, and blue mountain flowers are about the same.

H-ost said:

What does equillibrium do?

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Converts health to magicka. (Opposite of healing).

mightynintendo said:

Giant toes are hard to come by, but worth the effort.

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**** you say!

You get a free toe with every giant you kill. Childs play with any bow, and a out of reach rock ledge.

Just watch out for Mammoths!

Where are you finding an abundance of giants? There's those mammoth skull icons on the map that represent giant camps, but in my experience after you kill them they don't respawn.

bernerbrau said:

Where are you finding an abundance of giants? There's those mammoth skull icons on the map that represent giant camps, but in my experience after you kill them they don't respawn.

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There are a couple caves with giants
http://faqs.ign.com/articles/121/1213206p1.html

bernerbrau said:

Where are you finding an abundance of giants? There's those mammoth skull icons on the map that represent giant camps, but in my experience after you kill them they don't respawn.

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They do re-spawn. Usually takes a couple game days.

FWIW, despite their value, giant toes are too much work if you're wanting to quickly level alchemy. You'll get much more time value by farming wheat and blue flowers.

bernerbrau said:

Where are you finding an abundance of giants? There's those mammoth skull icons on the map that represent giant camps, but in my experience after you kill them they don't respawn.

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They don't respawn that I have seen. But I seem to find them in lots of places. Not just at camps.

My very first run-in was with two giants and a mammoth on teh back side of Labrynthian. Took everything I had to get through the trio. Then I mosey into Labrynthian like I am the king of teh castle and got wasted by Frost trolls.

Any place Mammoths wander, there are bound to be Giants.

mightynintendo said:

FWIW, despite their value, giant toes are too much work if you're wanting to quickly level alchemy. You'll get much more time value by farming wheat and blue flowers.

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Yup. Hell, I pick up everything and mash as many potions together as I can.

mightynintendo said:

FWIW, despite their value, giant toes are too much work if you're wanting to quickly level alchemy. You'll get much more time value by farming wheat and blue flowers.

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Hmm. Maybe. I guess it depends on the character type. An Ebony Bow of shocks, Circlet of Archery, Ring of Archery, Old Gods Gauntlets, and Philter/Potion of True shot (if needed) can take a Giant down in 3 shots with the first hit getting 2x stealth damage.

That Bow alone has 122 damage for me right now. Add in the rest and a decent arrow and it's a single shot weapon for most everything else.

But, factor in the travel time and yes. LOT more work than harvesting weeds or break and enter alchemy shops.

schmoe said:

Did you piss them off? I just shivved the one guy and kept going. I guess it helped that my sneak was 90+ by that point.

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I became a werewolf (they couldn't take that from me) and massacred them all for fun. Then I did it the sneaky way, got they keys from the guardsman and snuck through

Yeah, I just use the elder scrolls wiki to help me "discover" the unknown effects when I need to. Otherwise, I just go through the potion list one by one until I'm out of items to use.

Trouble is I've been doing this for a month and I still haven't maxed out alchemy.

BTW - NEVER use a daedra heart for potions. Save those for smithing. I gave Mjoll a dual enchanted legendary daedric warhammer. Almost nothing gets past her. The only problem is I don't level as much.

bernerbrau said:

Yeah, I just use the elder scrolls wiki to help me "discover" the unknown effects when I need to. Otherwise, I just go through the potion list one by one until I'm out of items to use.

Trouble is I've been doing this for a month and I still haven't maxed out alchemy.

BTW - NEVER use a daedra heart for potions. Save those for smithing. I gave Mjoll a dual enchanted legendary daedric warhammer. Almost nothing gets past her. The only problem is I don't level as much.

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You just have to make sure you are making the high value potions first. They level you up faster. Making a ton of damage health potions won't level you quickly.

bernerbrau said:

Otherwise, I just go through the potion list one by one until I'm out of items to use.

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This. The only reason I collect any ingredients is for this. In teh hopes that eventually I'll be leveled enough to mash up some Extreme Health/Magick/Stamina with ease.

Otherwise, it's easier to loot, sell, and buy what you use.

bernerbrau said:

Yeah, I just use the elder scrolls wiki to help me "discover" the unknown effects when I need to. Otherwise, I just go through the potion list one by one until I'm out of items to use.

Trouble is I've been doing this for a month and I still haven't maxed out alchemy.

BTW - NEVER use a daedra heart for potions. Save those for smithing. I gave Mjoll a dual enchanted legendary daedric warhammer. Almost nothing gets past her. The only problem is I don't level as much.

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"Discovering" that way is a long chore. Better to just put the perks in "experimenter" and then eat your way through everything to find all four attributes up front. makes potion creation much easier!

mightynintendo said:

"Discovering" that way is a long chore. Better to just put the perks in "experimenter" and then eat your way through everything to find all four attributes up front. makes potion creation much easier!

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Nice tip.

Okay. Time for a dumb question.

In skills, when leveling up and or when choosing a perk, WTF does it mean when the number is green?

My first guess is that it's the game engine "suggesting" that item be increased. But, that also seem counter-intuitive since last time I saw it Stamina was the highest leveled and green.

mightynintendo said:

"Discovering" that way is a long chore. Better to just put the perks in "experimenter" and then eat your way through everything to find all four attributes up front. makes potion creation much easier!

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I plan on getting that perk it sounds very helpful if you get it early enough in the game.

GilaMinumBeer said:

Okay. Time for a dumb question.

In skills, when leveling up and or when choosing a perk, WTF does it mean when the number is green?

My first guess is that it's the game engine "suggesting" that item be increased. But, that also seem counter-intuitive since last time I saw it Stamina was the highest leveled and green.

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It means you have a an active effect that is increasing your (insert green number here) Put on an amulate of arkay(?) and you will see your speech is green.

GilaMinumBeer said:

Nice tip.

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I think that the three perks in experimenter and that one perk in smithing that allows you to improve enchanted objects are perks that every character build should incorporate no matter what.

mightynintendo said:

I think that the three perks in experimenter and that one perk in smithing that allows you to improve enchanted objects are perks that every character build should incorporate no matter what.

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Hmm. I agree with the smithing perk. Experimenter does sound nice but, I don;t see it as something my character can't live without.

I think Archery and restoration follow closely.

I'm at level 50 right now, and I haven't leveled in weeks. Questing just doesn't improve my skills much anymore. Whatever perks I've got are pretty much the perks I'm stuck with.

Unless I feel like starting over with a new character. I'm really starting to get bored of this build - quests just feel like tedium because I can pretty much hack and slash through anything but I don't get any decent bonuses from them.

bernerbrau said:

I'm at level 50 right now, and I haven't leveled in weeks. Questing just doesn't improve my skills much anymore. Whatever perks I've got are pretty much the perks I'm stuck with.

Unless I feel like starting over with a new character. I'm really starting to get bored of this sorta jack-of-all-trades build - quests just feel like tedium because I can pretty much hack and slash through anything.

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Yep. Have read several time that once you hit 50, leveling comes really slowly.

bernerbrau said:

I'm at level 50 right now, and I haven't leveled in weeks. Questing just doesn't improve my skills much anymore. Whatever perks I've got are pretty much the perks I'm stuck with.

Unless I feel like starting over with a new character. I'm really starting to get bored of this build - quests just feel like tedium because I can pretty much hack and slash through anything but I don't get any decent bonuses from them.

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I've never gotten to that level but that is why I do not play my orc much anymore. At a lower level one time I left a dungeon and a dragon was there that I could not beat so I fast traveled away. I must have glitched the game because when I got close that area again there were two dragons and I avoided them once more. The next time I was in the area there were 3 dragons circling so I think I really gliched the game but I was pretty strong and looking for a challenge so I took em on. It took a death or two before I killed em but it was the coolest fight I have had in the game! They were pretty much taking turns landing infront of me while the other two were swooping over casting shouts at me. There was another fight where I fought two dragons at the same time for some reason as well.

A little tip on dragons that refuse to land and drain all your health and potions waiting for them... Become Ethereal. I thought the shout was useless until I had this fight but it saves potions and lives.

H-ost said:

A little tip on dragons that refuse to land and drain all your health and potions waiting for them... Become Ethereal. I thought the shout was useless until I had this fight but it saves potions and lives.

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I haven't found it yet but, "dragonrend" forces a dragon to land too.

H-ost said:

I've never gotten to that level but that is why I do not play my orc much anymore. At a lower level one time I left a dungeon and a dragon was there that I could not beat so I fast traveled away. I must have glitched the game because when I got close that area again there were two dragons and I avoided them once more. The next time I was in the area there were 3 dragons circling so I think I really gliched the game but I was pretty strong and looking for a challenge so I took em on. It took a death or two before I killed em but it was the coolest fight I have had in the game! They were pretty much taking turns landing infront of me while the other two were swooping over casting shouts at me. There was another fight where I fought two dragons at the same time for some reason as well.

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PC or PS3?

I play XBox 360. You cannot fast travel anywhere if an enemy is nearby.

GilaMinumBeer said:

Hmm. I agree with the smithing perk. Experimenter does sound nice but, I don;t see it as something my character can't live without.

I think Archery and restoration follow closely.

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if you're making potions, restoration and illusion are useless IMHO as potions are faster and require no magicka. technically you could even argue that an avid alchemist wouldn't even need enchantments but that's going a bit far. enchantments and smithing are crucial as you can make better equipment than anything you'll find in the game if you get these all up high enough.

GilaMinumBeer said:

PC or PS3?

I play XBox 360. You cannot fast travel anywhere if an enemy is nearby.

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PS3. I can't fast travel when enemies are near either. I either snuck away and fast traveled or I just got on my horse and B-lined it I can't 100% recall.

GilaMinumBeer said:

I haven't found it yet but, "dragonrend" forces a dragon to land too.

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Yeah dragonrend you get with the main quest towards the end I believe. My roomate did only the main quest first so he spoiled some of the game for me but oh well.

bernerbrau said:

I'm at level 50 right now, and I haven't leveled in weeks. Questing just doesn't improve my skills much anymore. Whatever perks I've got are pretty much the perks I'm stuck with.

Unless I feel like starting over with a new character. I'm really starting to get bored of this build - quests just feel like tedium because I can pretty much hack and slash through anything but I don't get any decent bonuses from them.

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it would be worth your efforts to level all the skills to 100 so you can get all the perks.

mightynintendo said:

if you're making potions, restoration and illusion are useless IMHO as potions are faster and require no magicka. technically you could even argue that an avid alchemist wouldn't even need enchantments but that's going a bit far. enchantments and smithing are crucial as you can make better equipment than anything you'll find in the game if you get these all up high enough.

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To be straight, I only really use restoration for the Healing Hands. Despite giving her healing potions, Lydia doesn't always use them effectively and I have to force heal her so I am not left carrying all the **** I have loaded her down with.

mightynintendo said:

it would be worth your efforts to level all the skills to 100 so you can get all the perks.

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And find everyone that can train and spend some money.

H-ost said:

Yeah dragonrend you get with the main quest towards the end I believe.

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Well that is silly. A useful shout that you don't get until you need it least.

Damn. Now I am jonesing for Skyrim!

From what I have seen you need it more than once for the main quest... I've said too much....

H-ost said:

From what I have seen you need it more than once for the main quest... I've said too much....

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Nah. I have read a lot about functions of Skyrim but avoid the walkthroughs.

I've been very choosy about which shouts to learn. From those of you farther in the game, is this necessary? Will I have enough souls to fully learn them all or should I keep picking which ones I want?

H-ost said:

I've been very choosy about which shouts to learn. From those of you farther in the game, is this necessary? Will I have enough souls to fully learn them all or should I keep picking which ones I want?

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I have 16 unused souls right now.