![]() I was urged to try tanking or magic, and to grind up my weapon skills. The resulting Twitter, IM and email blow-out of the next 48 hours convinced me of one thing: Skyrim's difficulty really is dynamic, and in more than one way.Ī number of replies informed me of my newbstastic newbity newbness, boasting of how the players had turned the difficulty up to eleven and found the game way too easy. Even spamming my potions and poisons and stealthing like the love child of Solid Snake and Adam Jensen, I was just cannon fodder. Every quest I pursued resulted in me confronting dozens of monsters, all of whom chopped through my health bar in three or less hits - even wolves, mudcrabs and rats. Then I hit level 19, and ran smack into a difficulty wall - that's four levels later than in Morrowind and Oblivion, I guess. Boss fights and group encounters knocked me down a few times, but this just encouraged me to explore the delightfully broad range of abilities at my disposal - further contributing to my random ability spread. It is ludicrously easy to level up in Skyrim, which gave me pause, but as I was meeting a fair few monsters in my travels and having no problems dispatching them, I didn't worry too much. I picked flowers, made potions and stole to my heart's content. Once through the introductory sequence, I set out questing with my rudimentary equipment and a refusal to think about mechanics. Along with classes, Bethesda had jettisoned the cumbersome system of major and minor skills, which allowed players to force level and achieve perfect stats - and to dig themselves into a great big hole. I was bang behind this, and in the opening moments of Skyrim, I almost believed. I chose wrong.’ So we’d like to sort of alleviate some of that," director Todd Howard said back in July. "What happens in Oblivion is you start the game, play for three hours, and then think, ‘I want to start over. Venturing into Skyrim for the first time, I had high hopes that this had been corrected. It's humiliating, and frustrating.Įnemies with a majority of ranks in "bash people up" do the virtual equivalent of give you a wedgie, put your head in a toilet, and then stuff you upside down in a rubbish bin. When you, a level 15 character with a majority of ranks in non-combat skills, finally venture into a dungeon with a pocket full of potions and gold, the level 15 enemies with a majority of ranks in "bash people up" do the virtual equivalent of give you a wedgie, put your head in a toilet, and then stuff you upside down in a rubbish bin. It is entirely possible to go up a handful of levels without encountering a single enemy. Towns are full of houses bursting with sweet loot, the acquisition of which requires lockpicking, sneak, and pickpocketing. ![]() As you wander along the highways and byways, you pick flowers, and eat them, and turn them into potions - just to see what happens. The problem is, The Elder Scrolls has so many distractions. ![]() Eager to capitalise on the free-form character building, you flit hither and thither, practicing whatever skill you most enjoy, until suddenly you find the scaling enemies beat you to a bloody pulp at every encounter. ![]() ![]() The Elder Scrolls series has developed a reputation for gaily leading the player down dead end paths of progression. Brenna Hillier takes on a pack of giants armed only with a love of floral arrangements and a tendency to run away in fear. Reports of Skyrim's difficulty vary wildly. ![]()
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