Malygris on 3/4/2006 at 14:56
Okay, current (and hopefully final) build:
Armorer
Blade
Block
Alchemy
Alteration
Illusion
Marksman
Out of that whole mess, the only ones I'm really using are Marksman and Blade, with a little Block thrown in now and then. I found Alchemy handy in Morrowind later in the game, I've used Armorer precisely once, and haven't even looked at the other two. So, needless to say, while the skills I'm actually using heavily (Sneak, Acrobatics, Athletics, Security) are rising rapidly, it's not throwing my character level out of whack. It's a much slower process (I've done a few dungeons, closed the first Gate, made my way into Kvatch, and I'm still only about 3/4 of the way to level two) but it feels more "comfortable," for lack of a better word. The funny thing is, it strikes me as being quite similar to the old AD&D system, in that I'm only getting experience (that counts toward my level) by killing stuff.
PeeperStorm on 4/4/2006 at 02:27
My current build
Race: Breton
Sign: Atronarch
Major Skills: Blade plus all six of the spellcasting skills
By keeping many of the skills that I use a lot (both kinds of armor, alchemy, marksman, stealth) as minor skills, I've slowed down my levelling quite a bit. Makes things easier. Now that I've got Alchemy up to a decent level, I can keep that massive Majicka reserve topped off while casting spells, make effective poisons for my arrows, and make a tidy profit by selling off "bread and cheese" potions. Who knew that sandwiches could be so profitable?
As of my last savegame, I've reached level 3, and I'm standing next to the Sigel Stone in the first Oblivion gate. My magic sword broke from not having enough repair hammers on hand, so I've been waving a dremora mace around.
Aerothorn on 4/4/2006 at 03:24
Well, can't say I've had too much difficulty in fights so far without doing any of this level-gimping (though perhaps I should stop standing around and casting illusion on myself over and over for the sake of leveling up). I mean, I realize the monsters get higher level, but so do you, with more stats and skills - so what's the problem? I dunno, so far I haven't had any forced combat that I couldn't face - died on in the early Thoronir quest (at the end) but beat em at a second play-through - encountered a nasty Troll walking to Bruma but was able to just run backwards for a mile or two and pelt him with arrows (very big pin cushion).
ignatios on 4/4/2006 at 13:25
Haven't you been reading? The problem is when they're the wrong stats and skills.
For example: you can't Speechcraft your way out of breaking into someone's house only to find 2 champion skeletons and at least one wraith.
You can run away, sure, but when all of your encounters are similarly matched, it becomes an awful chore to pick and choose your tactical situations just so you have a hope in hell of actually winning a fight.
Aerothorn on 4/4/2006 at 13:45
Ah, I get it - hence people using combat skills to level up. Makes sense. Has Bethesda commented on this issue? Plans to address it in a patch? Would make sense if enemies leveled up to correspond with your combat skills combined with your stats, not just your level.
In that case I'm screwed, as I've leveled up mostly with speechcraft, alchemy, illusion and security. Guess I better stop using those skills and/or leveling combat ones.
ignatios on 4/4/2006 at 14:12
No official word yet on a patch; meanwhile debate rages on in the TES forums. A common response is "turn down the difficulty slider" but that doesn't fix the core problem, which is that the game is fundamentally unbalanced in at least a couple of ways.
I have a feeling this has only gone unnoticed for so long because until Oblivion, non-combat activities have hardly been worth a damn.
Malygris on 4/4/2006 at 15:18
Doesn't really matter whether they address it in a patch or not. The AD&D approach works; it's shitty that it needs to be done, and that we end up with characters whose major skills often have nothing to do with the actual type of character we're playing, but it's a reasonably effective solution. Besides, I'm not sure a change of that magnitude could just be patched in, and even if it could, it'd fuck up all the existing character builds that were created to compensate for the flaw.
The problem needs to be brought up and discussed and screamed about, but only in preparation for the next TES title. Oblivion is what it is and we can live with it, but as the series evolves and non-combat skills become more pronounced, the flaws inherent in the usage-based leveling design are going to be further exposed, and really need to be fixed.
Lacerta on 4/4/2006 at 15:34
It's almost like there needs to be three paths to the end, one combat style, one stealth and one magic, but with the option to try the others if you want. Kind of like finding the best path for your character. But then that's three seperate, but linked, games really which isn't ideal. I think I might try that mod (with a bit of my own tweaking) that lets you encounter enemies above and below your level at random. That ought to sort out the constant slog effect, and be more realistic to boot.
Aerothorn on 5/4/2006 at 03:57
The AD&D approach works if you know about it - the vast majority of us are not sitting around on forums asking what character to build, and don't want to start the whole game over once we've learned we've screwed ourselves by having Alchemy as a major skill. I'm finding combat tough but not undoable, just long and slow and relying on pathfinding exploits (HAHAHA STAND ON TEH BRIDGE AS I SHOOT YOU FROM BELOW STUPID GOBLINS). So yeah, think I'll start going with the 'slow leveling' approach.
And yeah, I know I should turn down the difficulty slider, but...I'm too macho to. Bleh.
