Breaking Morrowind with Alchemy: Probably Overkill

It's not cheating. It's creative use of game mechanics.
What mods am I using? Nothing gamechanging. I'm using the OpenMW engine with their curated "I Heart Vanilla" modlist. It's mostly bugfixes and graphical enhancements.
Follow me on Twitch: / justbackgroundnoise
#elderscrolls
#morrowind

[@jackdaniel3135]

I love how Morrowind's vanilla Mechanics are somewhere between perfectly balanced and completely broken. Everything was made in such a way that you can become a God within minutes of character creation, but you would almost never notice it if you're playing casually.

[@KopperNeoman]

Hilariously enough, it most likely was an oversight, otherwise there would be a hard cap. That cap being something boring like 500 or existing purely to prevent crashes would be another story.

[@chrisbfreelance]

I randomly broke the game by being allowed to train past 100 at a trainer in Sadrith Mora, I forget the skill. Ended up level 180 or something like that, costly but I was a god.

[@LadZeroUltra]

⁠​⁠@@KopperNeomani am still mad that todd decided skyrim needed to be “balanced” (fortify resto loop not withstanding) like who cares you dope its a singleplayer game where im the literal physical manifestation of shor, carry akatosh’s blood and drink the immortal souls of dragons like a pina colada

[@po1arbear156]

​@chrisbfreelance You're supposed to drain you skill to below 0 first so its only 1 hold per level lol

[@goreobsessed2308]

I love how younger me found this and felt invincible with his magic and health when in reality it's morrowind gain enough levels and have healing spells and you'll be good anyhow

[@TheREALTheRealAdam]

There's a cave just across the river from Shulk Egg Mine (the one south of Balmora from the early Fighters Guild quest) called Vassir-Didanat. Just walk inside and immediately leave. Then, Mage Guild your way over to Vivec and stop by Janand, the merchant by the exit, and buy a Scroll of Unhinging. Then go to St Olm's Plaza, and find the Haunted Manor. Inside is a level 50 locked door, use the scroll on it. That leads to the basement, and one Hlaalu Councillor Dram Bero. Tell him about Vassir-Didanat and he'll give you your choice of free Daedric weapon (specifically Bow, Battleaxe, Katana, Wakizashi, Spear, or Staff). No consequences for House Hlaalu btw.

[@planescaped]

The go-to strong weapon I always know of is that enchanted ebony longsword hidden atop a dresser in the Balmora guardtower. Absurdly op to find so early in the game, and quite easy to steal using positioning shenanigans. But the free daedric weapon from Dram is the best you can get.

[@nicholausstevens1262]

​@@planescapedThe Sword of White Woe. Also, never take the staff, Daedric staves are dogwater compared to the other daedric weapons.

[@GoldanSaint]

@@planescaped Theres another one of those Ebony Swords in the Suran tower too :)

[@shodan6401]

@TheREALTheRealAdam I have never heard of this little Morrowind hidden gem - I'm probably the last to know, but now I definitely have to check this out. Thanks!

[@prinnywizzard9608]

Fun fact that's mildly relevant to this video. Any of the standard fast travel options *outside* - like the Silt Striders or Boats - take in-game time. It's quite possibly why your Levitate potion wore off on the way to Ald-Ruhn. (Myself, I found out in a mod while fast travelling as a vampire - I died en-route due to the sun damage 😅) Any fast travel options *inside* - like the Mage's Guild teleports - are instant. (The Almsivi and Divine Intervention spells are also instant.) On a tangent, I very much enjoy how interconnected Morrowind's fast travel systems were. Between the Intervention spells and the other systems, you could get around the map decently quickly.

[@KindredBrujah]

I hate modern fast travel mechanics. Getting around Vvardenfell (the way it was intended, not after breaking the game) was legitimately a fun part of the game in itself. "Hmm, I could take the boat from Balmora to Sadrith Mora, then cross the swamp to the silt strider and take that to Vivec, then head out of Vivec to the Dwarven ruin in the mountains to the north."

[@EnergyBurst2]

@@KindredBrujah I came to hold a similar opinion towards fast travel mechanic such as Skyrims a few years back (it can be nice and convenient don't get me wrong and in a game the size of Skyrim I do think it is warranted to have such an accessible one even if Skyrim's can be a bit overkill) after playing Dragon's Dogma 1 and noticing how unbothered I was by the near lack of fast travel in the base version of the game due to the relatively small map size and the several conquerable dungeons as shortcuts that exist, that said there is a fast travel system, but a very limited one in that early game the items to use it are a bit pricey and overall it only initially unlocks after reaching the main city of the game and only allows you to jump back to said city until you acquire the 1 settable warp item that exists in the base version (the Dark Arisen version added like 2 more that are much easier to get and available earlier as well if I recall) part way through the main quest. Overall if you want to play a medieval fantasy game with a magic system and a restricted fast travel system then I recommend giving base DD1 or DD1 in general a try since the way it does classes is also rather interesting.

[@nickoliekeyov746]

@@KindredBrujah I just placed a Mark at the caldera guild guide. With the propylons and him you can get to pretty much anywhere on the island in about a minute

[@acolytetojippity]

Balmora guard tower. top floor, on top of the dresser is one of the strongest one-handed swords in the game. it's not unique (there's one in I think the Suran guard tower as well) but it's an Ebony longsword with a good Damage Health on hit enchantment. It's great.

[@N1korasu]

Ahh yes the Sword of White Woe good easily obtainable OP weapon

[@DeusExBrockina]

Came here to say this. Absolutely this.

[@Arcanua]

Easy to get to but not THAT OP...it's one of several early game OP weapons you can get sure. But not at all on that list of best weapons for the game.

[@MrWheeLMakerMan66]

The Cosmere joke hit me like a fucking truck Just found your videos already loving all of them

[@MoonshineSazerac]

Literally never heard a Taravingian reference, ever. Top notch stuff.

[@ryant2389]

Loved the stormlight reference. I put hundreds of hours in morrowind in the early 00s and Sanderson is my fav author. So yeah, very correct about the crossover 😂

[@velstro]

After watching your last three videos, I swore to myself if you made another TES video I would subscribe, and I have never been more happy to keep my own silent vows. Keep up the good work, JBN!

[@r4dios1lence92]

Alternative title: "Walter White imitator kills a god, retires to the countryside flying naked"

[@attilad.8142]

Great video! I really like your Morrowind content.

[@albusjustalbus7988]

Regarding the dryness of wines: All wines are made out of grape juice. Said juice is full of sugars, which are fuel for yeast that produces alcohol. When people say that the wine is "dry", that means there's little or practically no sugar available for conversion left in the wine - it's not the same as having no sugar in the wine, however. This ups the alcohol volume by a few percent and changes the taste significantly. Sparkling wines usually don't get to become dry, seeing as they are supposed to be light, easy to consume drinks, although it can happen with bottles which were left out for long enough. I don't know how much flavour those eggs have, but it they are anything like our usual ones, then this combination might just be good enough - provided that you only have a single glass, for dry wines have a subtle, but dangerous kick to them.

[@tammycnoteheart-ib5mm]

Ty for making me realize I've been playing the elder scrolls games for almost 20 years now! Now I feel old!!

[@mwolsen96]

As a chemist I can tell you not even chem labs have retorts or almenbics anymore.

[@johnjohnson3821]

BROO!! I love the fresh content and the commentary, as well as the comments!

[@eshasunrise]

Dry wine means it has less sugar, but most people use it to mean richer in tannins, making a bitter, almost dry-ing flavor. Even though alcohol basically always dries out your mouth... Also, no, most alcohols don't go with eggs. At least not breakfast style anyway.

[@RipOffProductionsLLC]

9:40 "what the hell are you?" Is the correct response to a man flying into your room at supersonic speeds to chop you in half with three swings on his axe.

[@bapho-p]

"A mortar and pestle is still a common kitchen appliance, right?" Funnily enough, my kitchen does (in fact) have a mortar and pestle set aside.

[@mcgrubby2536]

I came for the Runescape videos but I've been really digging the Morrowind/Oblivion videos and glad to stay for whatever else. I've always felt your videos were criminally underrated and I think a lot of that had to do with how small Runescape's audience is. Either way, I hope these new projects have been fun to make!

[@machera523]

Honestly did not expect a Cosmere reference in a Morrowind video, but I certainly won't complain

[@alexackayak1]

The cosmere reference gets a subscribe from me

[@GoonTownUSA]

You are an amazing youtuber. Keep up the great content!

[@baltulielkungsgunarsmiezis9714]

Champagne is just the short and quick way of saying sparkling wine I think thats how they say it in english.

[@lordfizzz]

Todd put this slide in the sandbox, best believe im sprinting backwards on my hands up that slide

[@shodan6401]

"I don't understand how a liquid can be dry" "There's no Champagne region of France in Morrowind...It's Preseco" Just imagine a liquid that's dry - like your humor! (My favorite kind of humor.)

[@speven371]

Potion seller, I’m going into battle, and I need only your strongest potions

[@Zavyyn]

Back in the day, I broke the game with alchemy. Every stat was in the billions, except speed, as there was only one ingredient with Fortify Speed. Nothing could hurt my character, everything died in one hit, merchants would trade me their entire inventory for a flower from their windowsill. But I would never become Sonic fast. There was much gnashing of teeth in the Wolverine Guild. Then I realized that Levitation potions determined your floating movement speed! Aha! One Levitation potion in the billions later, and my game locked up. I never played Morrowind again.

[@Quackerilla]

this kind of content makes me happy like gilmore

[@Slay_No_More]

My man made Yakub, thanks for creating my people.

[@tobiasaibot1317]

Ah yes, those words all of us Americans live by "By the Sload, of the Sload, for the Sload" 😂

[@IveBeenWithBruma]

What hapoens when the dreamer takes part of the dream... This, this is what happens.

[@carlchapman4053]

I loved Morrowind but preferred the infinite Mana spell combo where you have 40,000+ mana with normal stats, rather than massive potion abuse. Each to their own.

[@Omfghellokitty]

You've got a good voice and attitude for these type of videos. Keep it up! and good luck with the scripts

[@jonothanthrace1530]

I can't wait to see further refinements in the Potion% speedrunning category.

[@anonymousli4204]

8:32 Dry wine is kind of like when you get out of the shower And the soap kind of dries your skin out so it doesn't really feel normal. After you drink the wine and you lick the inside of your mouth, that's how your mouth feels.

[@N_0_I_Z_E]

Bro the Oblivion music in the background💀

[@hammertime9183]

This is a classic method along with soultrap + another spell that means it lasts forever. Like soul trap + fortify strength means the fortify lasts forever and you can stack it. You can also damage your own skill level with a spell to train for 1gp each level. E.G damage long blades 100pt for 1 second, cast and immediatly use a long blades trainer to get a level for 1gp, you can also fortify skill on the trainer so they can train you to level 100. It's annoying because you'll need 2 spells for every skill unless you use master trainers. Luck is the most broken attribute as it affect every single skill, getting 50k luck means you can buy anything for 1gp and sell anything for max cash. There is a "legit" way to make an op character thats lore friendly, when you get corprus disease, every single day you have it you get 1pt fortify in strength and endurance. This stays even after you get cured, so sleep 500 days while diseased and you'll have a permanent 500 boost to strength and endurance. There's loads of unbalanced things in the game which isn't bad because you'll have to notice them to use them. Like souls are way over priced, you can buy grand soul gems in mournhold for a few hundred gold each, summon a golden saint and trap its soul. The soul gems now valued at like 50k. Boots of blinding speed + resist magic. Azuras star + golden saint soul to make constant effect enchants. You can make hilariously over powered exquisite rings, belts, and robes so you constantly restore health, stamina, and can perm levitate/water walk/water breath. If you can kill a summoned golden saint before it aggros on you (in less than 3 hits) you can loot it for infinite daedric tower shields (highest enchantability in the game), ebony staffs etc. Theres loads of other things as well, like archery seems pretty under powered untill you make a bow with levitate 1pt for 20 seconds on strike. Any melee character you hit becomes a flying turtle, sure they can fly now but they move slower than walking speed.

[@feiradragon7915]

With how busted Morrowind's potions are, I wouldn't be surprised if the Nerevarine invented the type of skooma present in Oblivion.

[@wyattwagner7768]

Interesting bit of lore is that Creeper is Barbus

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

people: alchemy is Skyrim is broken and exploitable meanwhile Morrownd: laughs in self-stacking potions

[@dejannincic9671]

Dagoth Ur ,The Tribunall and Azura: What are u? Nerevar: A God now KNEEL!

[@tf2g44]

Potion seller, i need your strongest potions.

[@MalikCustoms123]

In this video, Steve Harvey takes drugs and kills a god.

[@billy6044]

5:17 my boys wicked smaht

[@skeleton_craftGaming]

The fact that Skyrim came out 11 years ago. Makes me feel old

[@vulpesdecinere972]

"I'm not Nerevar I'm just on a bunch of uppers" Man, these moon sugar addicts are getting out of hand these days.

[@mariosonicfan2010]

despite the infinite-strength infinite-length buffs, i think the morrowind protag is arguably still only the second-strongest alchemist i've seen in any video game. that crown belongs to the Noita.

[@84cch]

Aww...it's almost it's like the granddaddy to the resto pot. exploit in Skyrim. I never played Morrowind really, but this video tickles me pink!

[@pestilenssi8979]

"We're a god damn airplane" "...ehehehe.."

[@swedichboy1000]

One of the reasons why i like Morrowind above all other Elderscrolls games. The game does not try to balance itself for the player, if you want to make something truly gamebreaking and busted, the game wont stop you from doing so. I like this "old school" approuch more so than the newer games´s streamlining.

[@JustBackgroundNoise]

To be fair, Skyrim has it's own gamebreaking nonsense with the restoration loop. Enchant your gear with fortify alchemy. Make fortify restoration potions. Drink the potions, requip the alchemy set, make _stronger_ restoration potions. And repeat. Finally, you make fortify enchanting potions and use that to make an even strong fortify alchemy set. Takes more effort than Morrowind, but it's still doable.

[@SimoExMachina2]

Of course by the time those Fortify Health potions expire, sometime in the 4th Era, the character will instantly die.

[@jrag1000]

He drank so much sherm he became an X-Man

[@joshuawells5953]

Dry wine is just wine that isn't sweet. It leaves a dry sensation on the sides of your tongue.

[@HK_541]

"Take potions, kill a god"

[@nwahbard3433]

I carry an orcish shield It's very heavy to wield I want to use it more often If it's not smell that weird -Nwah Bard

[@ThisGuysMason]

The smartest godlike entity in morrowind would much rather beat a man to death for a key than buy a lock pic

[@loljk8815]

How to become Morgan Freeman in morrowind

[@touchscreenhater9413]

Bruh really just fucking snuck in that Taravangian reference smh.

[@cyberflightfpv4184]

Morrowind is the only game I’ve ever wanted a remaster of. I like the moods and all, but i want a next gen mw😍 They keep dumbing down elder scrolls with each release

[@Nohhbahdi]

23k+ fucking INT. our boy is SO SMART! He realizes he's in a game, and being puppeteered by a highschooler. xD

[@nean9894]

i seriously think they should tie each potion with a power number the more potent a potion the higher stats you may need to be able to take it without negative effects or even death derive your tolerance from base stats without taking into consideration effects

[@HeeeyTooom]

Steve Harvey in the thumbnail had me 😂😂😂

[@hektoerdonovan2121]

Dry alcoholic drinks means that the yeast metabolized all the sugars into alcohol during fermentation, so a dry wine has no sweetness. Dry is the opposite of sweet, in other words.

[@autorobo1000]

What a journey to witness.

[@sebastiangibson9671]

something Im wondering if you'll cover is the soul trap perma stat boosting exploit

[@MrTylertherockstar]

Nice Stromlight reference!

[@sacredxgeometry]

Noticed your accent. Are you from Massachusetts? LOL

[@JustBackgroundNoise]

yeh

[@bongosmcdongos4190]

Its been so long since i played that i cant remember what kther potion effects there are. Im sure

[@koldfire7253]

I like how a guy with 26000 strength who can one shot a godlike being can't break the door guarding the same god anf patiently and politely unlocks and untraps it. I guess manners are a thing in Tamriel

[@bingelister5091]

seloth sold sload soap down by the seashore

[@benjaminharmon6541]

Buy the glass dagger at the merchant in Suran. It looks expensive, but because it's so damaged you pay a really low price for it. Repair it yourself and sell it for a hefty profit!

[@arkai2165]

isn't there an axe in a log behind the light house in the starting village? i believe its also enchanted.

[@georgelionon9050]

I remember discovering this myself about 6 weeks into the game.. when I was, noooo I could have had so easy, why did I ignore alchemy for so long? I just wonder if Bethesda was initially aware of this and decide to keep it for the lols for players to discover, or it was a true oversight. Remember 2002 was albeit the web existed before the time people could and would look up all things on the internet..

[@TheVorran]

By Sload, of Sload, for Sload

[@figuures6098]

I always start this game by picking Breton for magic res, sell the platter, buy saltrice and wickwheat, make pots and sell, rinse and repeat to alch 100, go through mage guild to make pots and spells to the point I have infinite duration stat buffs, so I can have 1000 speed and 30000 everything else, then do like 2 quests and stop playing, because I’ve already achieved CHIM

[@alphabitserial]

OpenMW is such a sick project

[@ethanGuitar]

"I'm not Nerevar, I'm just on a bunch of uppers" subbed

[@Andreas_Mann]

>chug a few dozen potions >pick lock with a soggy spaghetti noodle >slap vivec with a pot and watch him burst into a bloody mist

[@tinnitusintensifies]

im sorry this comment made me laugh for the first time in a while. cheers

[@dsouth7754]

Potion seller, I'm going into battle and I want only your strongest potions.

[@isabellanoble1280]

My potions are too strong for you traveler!

[@donotdisturb275]

@@isabellanoble1280 my potions are too strong for you, Outlander*

[@sipinosapa]

The chosen one: flying through the air with the most demonic look in his eyes wielding a hammer Vivec: 👁️👄👁️

[@Kevbo2040]

Checked out a random Morrowind video and it lead to a shockingly enjoyable channel. Low-key but charismatic. I'm already back for more and this latest video is only a few minutes old. Here's hoping JBN makes it.

[@alegwound3564]

Agreed

[@twoshirts1842]

I found him through looking FOR RS3 content. Been one of my favorites since.

[@twoshirts1842]

I don't play rs3 btw.

[@ma2perdue]

Dude you should clip the vivec bonk, add the vine boom, submit to jjmmyhere

[@henotic.essence]

seriously! I'm so glad I took a chance on this channel popping up in my feed!

[@Trever101]

"It's not cheating. It's creative use of game mechanics." so true

[@honeybadger6275]

I really do love rpg's where you can absolutely break the mechanics and become god. Never understood developers obsession with "balancing" everything.

[@Thefanciestdugong]

Funny thing about Morrowind's strength mechanic is that not only do you deal more damage your weapons also TAKE more durability damage as well. Sunder despite its immense durability actually lost a chunk of its durability when you hit VIvec. If you did that with most other weapons they'd probably shatter in a single hit!

[@almightyk11]

Great idea for a mechanic. Just needs to be capped by the targets remaining health, or maybe armor value or something.

[@KopperNeoman]

​@@almightyk11It actually works by inflicting all the overkill damage to your weapon. Do 5,000 damage to a guy with 50 HP? Your sword takes 4,950 damage.

[@almightyk11]

@@KopperNeoman that's like the worst way to do it XD

[@danieladamczyk4024]

That awesome!

[@EvelynNdenial]

gotta use summoned weapons, they dont break.

[@DDTRAINER]

I remember first learning that Solstheim was actually loaded into the map the whole time when I traveled there from the closest point in Morrowind by swimming. Yes, it took forever, yes I was very satisfied with having done it. 😂

[@nicholausstevens1262]

Using icarian flight and some slow fall can get you there in about 5-10 mins of starting the game. You literally jump across the ocean to get there 😂

[@bigdaddydons6241]

​@@nicholausstevens1262went the barbarian route

[@ZoeBateman]

The best part about these potions is that the effects scale exponentially better (in terms of strength AND duration) each time you make them and drink a few. I’ve made potions in morrowind that lasted more than 1 real life year, making the effect in game functionally permanent unless you encounter some effect that removes potion effects (dispel doesn’t seem to do this and only effects spells iirc). Anyway, when I got really into morrowind alchemy I made a handy list of various fortify ingredients with no overlap in effects, so you can have always the exact same amount of X and Y so you can make Z potion (I hope that makes sense). Use them and become a god! My “masterlist”: Intelligence: Ash Yam + Bloat Endurance: Guar Hide + Netch Leather Agility: Ectoplasm + Sload Soap Luck (+ Bonus Restore Health!): Corkbulb Root + Corprus Weepings Willpower: Scrib Jelly + Wickwheat Strength: Daedra Skin + Dreugh Wax Speed: Kagouti Hide + Moon Sugar (don’t make these too strong, over a certain speed you WILL clip through stuff and probably end up crashing the game) Personality: Kresh Fiber + Stoneflower Petals Restore Magicka: Frost Salts + Comberry

[@highr4nksteel636]

Hands down you're one of my favorite new channels I started watching this year, I really hope you'll enjoy doing Elder Scrolls content as much as I enjoy watching the newer vids of yours

[@TravelAboveMe]

The Taravangian bit landed brilliantly. Beyond this, I wish I knew how glorious this exploit was when I was a young 18ish year old playing on a rickety 20" CRT style TV in my parents house. Great video dude!

[@KindredBrujah]

Yeah, I never realised how overpowered alchemy was. Spellcrafting and magical item crafting, however? Oh yes. Regeneration spells bound to several armour slots and the ability to permanently fly. Lovely. Would have been even more OTT if I'd known you could get stats in the thousands to boost the effect of the magic.

[@karyoplasma]

8:32 "Dry", when talking about wine, refers to a lack of sweetness in the wine. During fermentation, yeast breaks down the grape sugar into alcohol and this, in turn, reduces the overall sugar level in the wine, making it less sweet. So, it's not a lack of moisture, but a lack of sugar. Hope I could help.

[@liberatetheforks]

Just don't make the mistake of fortifying health beyond doubling your health pool. You turn into a ticking time Bomb if you do

[@SleepingOnScissors]

I remember doing this back in the day, I forgot that jumping causes you to glitch out the map with the sheer amount of power this exploit gives you.

[@zetoma16]

my main method of travel is fortify acrobatics and jump 100 points for two seconds on self. can jump from balmora to vivec in 2 secconds.

[@nicholausstevens1262]

​@@zetoma16you can also throw 1 point of slow fall on the spell or a armor piece to take zero fall damage.

[@Amarenamann]

"Alchemy is the only thing that brings me joy in life." -Bilbo Baggins

[@brentramsten249]

"what the hell are you!?" was the perfect reaction for what' just background noise' did to that man

[@mortisCZ]

I am speed!

[@Uncreative_Idea]

Glad people still make content on this game. It was my childhood before runescape and then alongside it.

[@t.b.cont.]

There’s an iron shardaxe in a stump by the lighthouse in seyda neen, it takes some parkour to get into the stump though since it’s literally hidden within the cavity of it. But the best early game axe is definitely cloudcleaver, talk to the naked nord north of Caldera and take him to the witch. Kill her and then take the axe for yourself. He’ll try to kill you but the nord is naked and can only punch you so as long as you have some fatigue potions he goes down like a chump. From my knowledge the three best early game weapons are the demon tanto from the khajiit merchant beside the guildhalls in balmora, one of the daedric weapon rewards for rediscovering Vassir-Didanat Ebony Mine, and cloudcleaver. There’s probably others but these three are the easiest to obtain within 30 minutes of starting a new character

[@nathanthomas3811]

You can also create spells to fortify your attributes stacking with a soul trap effect to make them permanent. Other buffs act the same as well.

[@Zmorris666]

This was always my go to exploit in this game.

[@darthdangermouse1453]

Gotta love breaking alchemy so hard, you turn into an actual god and crash the game.

[@arkantos1571]

Stormlight archive reference in a video about my favourite elder scrolls game? Truly a blessed day, thank the diagram!

[@badusernam]

The cosmere reference jumpscared me into subscribing

[@ripleyriley]

"We're a goddamn airplane" was delivered perfectly.

[@TheMegabandidos]

Try getting Sword of White Woe in one of the Balmora Guard tower, Its Really good and Easy to get, just throw something at the guard, run down the stairs and let him come and pay the bounty, run up again and get the sword before he returns.

[@SovrinnK]

The last minute of this video made my face hurt from laughing. Well done.