Skyrim Analysis | A Quick Retrospective - Act 2

[@Patrician]

KZbin age-restricted and demonetized this video, so I'm going to shill my Patreon here: www.patreon.com/patricianTV You can get the Elder Scrolls games on GOG with my link as well: af.gog.com/partner/PatricianTV?as=1708616954 Will try to update this comment

[@VVAZI]

Shame on KZbin.

[@IvdW_]

Why and how in god's name did this video get age restricted? Wow

[@robinsoncruso4538]

what the fuck, so much for that, i guess.

[@mill_8108]

Please find a way to remove the restriction or us bongers can't watch without handing over our licenses. I was 40% in when it dropped. Can I watch It elsewhere? I apologise, I am old.

[@coomanderkeen299]

Lame, I'd contest that if you can

[@petrus9067]

"This is technically a new direction for the series. Downhill is a direction" this is one of my favorite lines from this analysis lol

[@jasper_the_ghost]

Somehow read this the exact moment it was said. Prophecy.

[@Armorion]

2:03:22 (for anyone looking for it)

[@NevadaCowboy576]

Don’t think it’s a new direction though lol

[@MegaStromboli]

My favorite line is "Oh man old man Patrick's got himself worked up again, who asked him about Skyrim this time? I told the nurses to not engage whenever he brings that shit up!"

[@Armorion]

@@MegaStromboli that's during one of his magic rants, right?

[@CrusadiaIX]

The fact that there is no point in Dawnguard at which one of the contentions is somebody (preferably Isran) either suggesting or outright attempting to seek Meridia’s aid to battle the vampires (y’know, the undead-hating Daedric prince of Light and Sunfire), especially considering her GIANT SHRINE is literally a ten minute mountain walk from Castle Volkihar… Bethesda’s refusal to actually incorporate their world into their stories is flabbergasting for a company that insists their greatest strength is world design.

[@Xelkyr]

The tremendous irony of the Paarthurnax "dilemma" is that he is the only surviving dragon left alive in the wake of the Dragon War. Despite being Alduin's brother and one of his highest lieutenants, despite having the most to gain from the continued enslavement of mortals, he instead chose to teach them to wield the Voice after being contacted by Kyne and helped to fight against Alduin who was his own kin and the embodiment of the dragons' creator and god. These people he taught, the ancient Tongues, suffered unimaginable cruelties under Alduin and the dragon cult. They knew more than anyone, better than any living being alive, how cruel and evil the dragons and their cult were to their mortal slaves. And when the war ended they consciously chose to spare Paarthurnax despite hunting down and slaying most of the other dragons. They had all the cards on the table, all the powers required to slay him as they did the others. But they didn't. They chose NOT to kill him. The very mortals that he had once ruled over, who hated dragons more than anyone alive could even imagine such that they literally weaponized that hatred into a Shout against the dragons, chose to spare Paarthurnax after the war. And then in comes Delphine, smashing through all of that and declaring that Paarthurnax has to pay for these ancient crimes that she never endured and which he had not only already atoned for but was already forgiven for by the very people she claims to be avenging. In her sanctimonious LARP to reclaim some tiny sliver of relevance for the Blades she's trampling all over history itself and trivializing the suffering, struggles, and forgiveness of uncountable ancient people to try and make this a strictly black-and-white issue in order to stroke her unwarranted self-importance.

[@aedican9719]

Exactly that. The worst part about Delphine is how she reflects that ignorance/disregard for history onto the rest of the Blades. Asides from Esbern (and *potentially* that one guy in Nightingale Inn), she is the last living Blade left in Tamriel; the sheer amount of responsibility placed onto her shoulders to not only restore the order to its former glory (i.e, through the Dragonborn + recruiting new members) but to also represent them in this new age is staggering. And what path does she choose to go about this? Pitting the Dragonborn (who they are meant to serve and protect) against his most powerful ally and even mentor. But my question is: what if the Dragonborn actually follows through with this? Let's think about it. Delphine tells the Dragonborn- who at this point has slaughtered dozens of Dragons, attaining great power and cementing themselves as a legend amongst the Nords and those found within the region- to now kill the Dragon who has gone against all the stereotypes of war-mongering and power-craving primordial beings he has now faced up to this point. He has discussed the issue of Kalpic cycle, the issue of Alduin and him going off his path, as well as general philosophy with Paarthurnax, revealing the ancient Dragon's wisdom and intellect, as well as his capability to think and discuss these topics with someone as 'low' of a being as the Dragonborn.. He also aided the Dragonborn by revealing the time tear as well as the means to discover the shout necessary to render Dragons immobile, chaining them to the earth and unable to fly. A Dragon did that. A Dragon told the Dovahkiin the means to defeat Alduin, as well as the means to replicate this unto himself. He took a gamble that the Dragonborn wouldn't kill him and go to defeat Alduin, his own brother, and aspect of his father, Akatosh. Now imagine if the Dragonborn did actually slay the fucker. In Paarthunarx's eyes, he lives with the guilt of succumbing to power-lust and following his brother, slaughtering and enslaving countless humans, but chose to aid Kyne in helping the Nords throw off their chackles and ascend with a new power. But despite this act of genuine repentance and his aim to assist those he once ruled over, he still feels the guilt- even after eons of time has passed. And now there's this mortal who sent the Dovahkiin- one with his own blood- to kill him. To me, this is an act of treachery and one which could cement Man as a species unable to think critically, as well as a species that cannot percieve another form of retribution, punishment, or redemption other than arbitrary execution. At this point, Paarthurnax and the Greybeards would be right: just let reality sunder once more, for a new and, hopefully, better world be born through the ashes and war of the old. I wrote this all poorly, but my main point is essentially that Delphine represents an Order of legend, and one with a task to aid and protect the Dragonborn and those that follow him against all threats- not to pit them up against an ancient and powerful ally and teacher; an ally that has repented for his rampant slaughter and enslavement, and one that can aid Man in the years to come.

[@druffner]

reperashuns!!!!!!!

[@imdurrtydann396]

Wasn't there a dragon other than him currently alive during Daggerfall? I literally only know of this based on a Daggerfall retrospective video so idk I could be wrong

[@imonke5303]

@@aedican9719 perfectly spoken actually

[@doghat1619]

@@imdurrtydann396 There are actually many many many dragons alive after the dragon war, but they're scattered, unorganised, and not attempting to rule humanity. Tiber Septim had a dragon working for him during his conquest. Paarthunax is just the only surviving dragon that seemed to stick around in Skyrim. The rest probably fled far away from the province, fearing dragonrend.

[@makiiavely]

honesly the most impressive thing about this analysis isn't how long it is or how in-depth it is, it's that you actually understood TES lore, holy shit

[@capital1624]

it really is a breath of fresh air hearing someone talk about ES with zero cope lol

[@loneskankster2242]

You have to give Bethesda credit. They've managed to cultivate a mass following of fans, who care more about their games than they do, and who are actively expected to fix their mistakes and fill in their gaps. It's nothing short of impressive.

[@TheMadTurtle]

Also baffling. Then again, the gaming community rewards all kind of corrupt practices by throwing money at the studios and companies.

[@hunterm.7140]

It's a testament to the early writers and world builders, they did great work.

[@jesshorn257]

I would say that is because the genre is so lacking now(and bethsada open world lite rpg at best)...it is either mmo or fps clone

[@richardlionerheart1945]

let's all laugh at an industry that never learns anything tee hee hee

[@ginge641]

@@TheMadTurtle Honestly, it doesn't shock me at all given how many games are labelled masterpieces for doing the bare minimum.

[@ghostoflazlo]

I was so disappointed when I realized every jarl sat the exact same way. The first time I saw a jarl sitting on their chair in such a relaxed manner I thought it showed so much personality and got excited what the other jarls would have to show. But yeah, they went to Todd it up and all I got was bored jarl after bored jarl.

[@Naxhus2]

Better than that, anybody who sits in the throne assumes the position, including the playable character. Look at me. I'm the Jarl now.

[@ghostoflazlo]

@@Naxhus2 dude, I had no idea. I guess at least they were consistent in their lack of inspiration

[@jmediaa9226]

yeah, animations have never been bethesda's strong suit. and a lot of times like this, theyre just lazy.

[@coomr419]

Hey bebe jarl

[@gewuerzwanze5627]

Elisif doesnt. She sits straight up clenching her knees in her hands

[@Jereb343]

"it's symbolic, you wouldn't get it" This is what Emil sees in his dialogue box whenever an another dev challenges him on a story idea

[@MrSpartan993]

So arrogance and an unwillingness to even TRY to improve. I believe history tends to label those people as “total hacks”.

[@buttpiratesbuttpirate5913]

​@@MrSpartan993emil is a charlatan. Him and Todd Howard are two peas in a under 5 foot deformed pod

[@matrix3509]

@@MrSpartan993 Yes. Emil is on record saying he doesn't read or watch critical analysis of his work. He completely insulates himself so he doesn't get his feelings hurt. The only reason a creative person would ever do that is if he already thinks he's an unparalleled genius.

[@JoshSweetvale]

​@@matrix3509Or people who are too nuts to function as leads.

[@okagron]

@@matrix3509 Which makes it hilarious that he actually responded to the criticism Starfield got. And he sounded so butthurt while doing it.

[@punishedbung4902]

10:44:54 the Dovahkin trying to find the word dragon word for “dragon” is like trying to remember what Obama’s last name is.

[@KBXband]

That's pretty funny. I thought it was weird too. Also weirds me out that Mario and Parthurnax have the same voice actor.

[@drewgoin8849]

I'm frustrated by the fact that the Bend Will Shout truly falls short in its scope and usefulness. Can the player character bend the will of ALL men (just like Miraak) in his/her wanderings after attaining this Shout? Nope. Can the player character resculpt Tamriel's landscape (just like Tiber Septim) after attaining this Shout? Nope.

[@gameboycolor47]

it's crazy they took away spell crafting then added in the three word shout system and didn't gives us a shout creator. literally wielding an ancient powerful language would have been sick

[@coleG112]

As soon as he brought up the way word walls work, or Esbern's dictionary, I instantly thought of that. Some way to pick and choose what words we learned. Even if it was just a "pick three" system. Learn the base word, then next time you learn 3 new words to "pick the class" for that word, then the final time you learn 3 more to specialize it. Instead of just Fire Breath and Ice Breath, give us Breath. It's useless for now. But then the second one, we can choose Fire, Ice, and some third option. Bonus damage to health, stamina, and some sort of "mechanical nerf" that makes them weaker overall. Then the third word gives us how the word is used - is it meant to be loud, dealing damage to a small AOE? Or is a whispered, dealing damage to only a single enemy but doesn't alert enemies? We'd learn them all, could visit High Hrothgar to customize them, and they'd all be available to us once we know them. Increased Dragon Soul requirements for using the same word in multiple shouts for "gameplay balance" because that's what BGS likes. Varying levels of cooldowns depending on the shout. Or maybe it's reworked, and souls are used for both learning AND using shouts, like a secondary mana bar? But that seems excessively complicated.

[@octav3k]

@@coleG112 That would've been so cool! That's what Tyranny did with spellcasting (spell components being words to describe the base, form and an extra effect of the spell) and I loved it there!

[@thesenamesaretaken]

@@octav3k Tyranny had a lot going for it. I feel that it's kind of an anti Skyrim, it tried to allow too many decisions but the writers couldn't manage the load, and eventually they had to give up before they ran out of money. It's a shame because I found the game's world compelling.

[@urabraskthedeplorable725]

I'm willing to bet that was an idea that got canned. Bethesda has a real problem of not trusting the intelligence of their players. Either that, or a lack of creativity figuring out what combining effects together would functionally do.

[@deutschesmodding5874]

@@urabraskthedeplorable725 I would say the problem is more that they never finish anything. They aim for the stars, then set an unrealistic deadline, and then just cut everything that doesn't make it in time.

[@hyperbrug9328]

Bruce Nesmith referring to Auriel's Bow as a daedric artifact really shows how much stock Bethesda puts into internal consistency.

[@Kr0noZ]

Glad I wasn't the only one who noticed; I thought I misheard and went back to listen again... Funny how even Bugthesda can't keep rack of all their deities and the various names each one has depending on which culture you're talking about. This is a pretty big fail tho, I wonder if the quests are sometimes so inconsistent with lore because they were written by their designers instead of someone with lore knowledge and they just messed up due to confusing things.

[@Xalantor]

Fans just care more about those franchises than the actual people creating them and it is dream crushing.

[@Edmitsu]

It’s cause they fired the one person who cared. Micheal Kirkbride.

[@DIEGhostfish]

@@Edmitsu No, Kirkbride was a side angle on all of this, and not the most respectful of things that came before Had something of a bug up his butt about Ebonarm being blonde.. Though the people who set down the pre-kirkbride lore also mostly retired/quit.

[@mikeschwartz1764]

I'm by no means an Elder Scrolls expert, but if Auriel's bow was fashioned before the Aedra/Daedra split could it be argued that it was a Daedric artificact?

[@frostsoul4199]

there is one massive criticism i have for the Blood on The Ice side quest. if you break into Calixto's house and find his journal that basically confirms he was the murderer and has been killing people for a while now, you can't use it as evidence. hell i found it in his house by sheer happenstance because i simply thought he'd have something expensive worth stealing. and it's something that taunts me to this very day.

[@DangerSmoog]

I did the same. I was on my thieves guild grindset just burglarizing any house I could get into at night. Imagine being a petty night-time thief and while crouched in a house you're stealing from you start reading their journal about all the bodies they have cut up in the basement.

[@ghostoflazlo]

The quest is TOO DEEP, that's why

[@garth4712]

​@@ghostoflazloIt just works.

[@CrusadiaIX]

@@DangerSmoog That sounds like a banger of a novel premise; thief steals the insane murderer journal of a seemingly normal guy and has to figure out what the fuck is going on.

[@Sammy-S]

​@@CrusadiaIXWhat I'd pay to read that novel...

[@Ellisepha]

The thing about the Thalmor party that gets to me is that Skyrim could've included the "become leader of every faction" thing that way. Like, instead of Delphine faking you an invitation, she suggests that you try to get one naturally by making a name for yourself in Skyrim. Obviously it would mist likely not work with all guilds (like Thieves and DB), but it'd be some way to make it count. I got that idea when I was doing a run where I had already been Archmage by the time I did this quest, and would've LOVED to talk to Elenwen about how her "advisor" had caused the death of my predecessor...

[@kylegonewild]

You could find ways to work in the shady factions. The Thalmor after all are literally torturing people beneath the party. Thieves Guild could want an inside man for this meeting of wealthy socialites and has you stow away in someone's carriage who *has* an invitation or something then knock them out and enter the party in their stead, maybe you need to forge an invitation that will fool the Thalmor. Maybe for DB there's a contract to assassinate Elenwen at the party and Astrid secured an invitation and a concealable blade via the person who requested the contract. You don't even have to let the player actually kill her there, something could just go wrong and threaten to blow your cover or force everyone to flee and then in a follow-up quest after her presence at the negotiation meeting either Astrid or the Night Mother depending on how far you've progressed the quest line send you out to finally finish the job with intel on her location. There's SO MUCH potential just left on the table.

[@Zorothegallade-rpg]

Even other major/minor factions could work. Bard's college? You get hired for entertainment and catering, perhaps have to make some speech checks to keep your cover. Finished the Civil War? Tullius or Ulfric send you in as part of a delegation to gauge the Thalmor's next move. Volkihar? Either Harkon or Serana (depending on where you are) suggests you track down a guest and dominate them so that they bring you in as their +1. Dawnguard? A bit iffy but I guess Isran can cash in a favor to sign you up as a personal bodyguard for a guest.

[@8xottox8]

This would work best as an optional route, more as flavor text that anything else, similar to how you get in Sovngard and can tell Tsun you're this and that guilds boss. You could do a persuasion check at the front door demanding that you be let it as the leader of X guild, or something. Adding a requirement to join a faction wouldn't be fun if you didn't want to.

[@Zorothegallade-rpg]

@@8xottox8 Oh yes, every main quest should always have the "failsafe" route. Perhaps making it more convoluted or less rewarding but not impossible. And technically the main quest is also the questline for the Blades faction past a certain point even though they act quite differently from the other factions, but the fact you HAVE to align yourself with them to proceed is even worse than if you were forced to pick any faction at all.

[@kekero540]

the fact the Forsworn aren't the werewolf faction when one of their gods is literally hircine

[@zoroasper9759]

Considering they probably created the entire companions thing in a few weeks and shoe horned the furries in just because bloodmoon had them is hilarious

[@imonke5303]

@@zoroasper9759 the fact werewolves are called furries just goes to show how much some people can ruin things lol (Edit) I'm reffering to those who would give such terms to werewolves, they've been around since before degenerate furries, no correlation beyond the one you've drawn yourself

[@rpspotify4841]

@@zoroasper9759 >werewolves >furries Sir the werewolf enjoyers are monsterfuckers smh get it right

[@uryenatienza4093]

​@@imonke5303 why are you taking the concept of joking about something fictional seriously? Sure werewolves pre-date furries but I think the concept of something beast-like being seen as attractive to some people definitely pre-date even that. Besides, don't look at somebody seriously in the face in the modern day and say werewolves can't be something related tl furries. They are literally dog people. The only thing differentiating them is all the magic shenaniganry that surround them.

[@MrOnay-px1jx]

@@uryenatienza4093 it ain't that deep

[@Khalkara]

6:42:48 - "Achievements are disabled whilst mods are active" There is a mod for that. I love that so much about the modding scene of Skyrim.

[@GhostLink92]

Wait what? I assume it's on console then?

[@Khalkara]

@@GhostLink92 I don't know about console, sorry. I just know that there's an 'achievement enabler' mod on the Nexus for PC and that it works, because I've used it myself since I started playing Skyrim and I've got a ton of achievements.

[@Donnerbalken28]

Not as if you could just cheat the achievements when you know the triggers in the in-game console, which is hilarious. I found out when i didn't want to grind money, so i just wanted to cheat 10000 gold, and typed in one zero too much, endling up with 100470 gold, and steam still gave me the achievement for having 100000 gold.

[@nascentKiller]

​@@Donnerbalken28 only like 10-15 commands disable achievements (i.e. tcl, coc, setstage, etc.) and for whatever reason they completely forgot that you can just player.additem pretty much anything lmao

[@Arkangel630]

"There is a mod for that." Every time anyone says this sentence they should be rightfully executed by quartering.

[@jordancantrell6598]

Burying a Wes Johnson feature unique to your channel 17ish hours into your review completely unexpectedly is an absolute GOATed move

[@The_Yukki]

I don't think it's Wes Johnson, there's a dude on fiver that does a pretty good impression of him tho, it's like his thing on fiver. One of the mods uses him for voice acting Sheogorath.

[@spookmeyer970]

@@The_Yukki You see his face in the Dark Brotherhood section in part 1.

[@Artosk]

Well there was me thinking i might leave it at 8 hrs

[@mads_in_zero]

Sheogorath demanding a two year long youtube video is so wonderfully on brand.

[@HuckleberryMcRib]

@@ThisIsNotMyRealSelf 5:52:01

[@Slender_Man_186]

16:19 the fucking Evangelion “congratulations” montage with all of the Jarls will never not be the greatest thing ever.

[@brianlinden3042]

Man, that "final" line really hit home. "This isn't bargaining, this is acceptance" might just be the best summation of my current feelings on the Elder Scrolls that I've ever heard.

[@planescaped]

With the way Bethesda has gone, I don't expect TES6 to be anything more than Skyrim 2.

[@FanDidlyTastic]

@@planescaped you mean Skyrim-lite, as Skyrim was Oblivion-lite, and just as that was Morrowind-lite. Just watch, they'll celebrate removing alchemy to instead replace it with a flavored estus flask system. Gotta go back to your house and sleep to refill it. Maybe if you die you can run back to the dungeon, running past all the still dead enemies to pick up your dropped loot. ._.

[@matrix3509]

@@FanDidlyTastic Nah, they aren't going to do any of that. What they WILL do, however, is lean even harder on their godawful base-building shit they shoved into Fallout 4. If you've seen the trailers for Starfield, you'll know that they are going all-in on the base building garbage. Its a straight developmental line from Skyrim's Hearthfire DLC, to Fallout 4, to Fallout 76, to Starfield in terms of the base building, because for some ungodly reason, they've gotten it into their heads that people actually like that stupid shit. I'm fully expecting TESVI to just be a completely barren field and they'll make you build the entire gameworld with their terrible base building system before you are allowed to go questing.

[@NorthContact]

"Good-bye Skyrim... " That also hits a certain way.

[@FanDidlyTastic]

@@matrix3509 what is modding?

[@smivan.]

Heard they're reforming the Dawnguard. Vampire hunters or something, in the old fort near Riften. Might consider joining up myself.

[@eliott.b76]

I know you want to smivan, but dont forget that you took an arrow in the knee!

[@ech5517]

GET OUT OF MY HEAD GET OUT OF MY HEAD GET OUT OF MY HEAD

[@GhostOfSnuffles]

Saw a mudcrab the other day.

[@reidparker1848]

​@@GhostOfSnuffles Horrible creatures

[@jackwhite2654]

Let me guess...

[@leahd4016]

It's worth pointing out with Blood On Ice that you can break into Calixto's house, find the chest full of embalming equipment and the confessional journal, and there's no path to arrest him directly.

[@cefirodewinter9086]

I mean, not directly, but you can report the crime early to Wuunferth and then get to Calixto, and as far as I remember, that chest is locked with a key that Calixto drops once dead, I haven't tried to check his inventory and look if the key is there though, and it would have been clearly more engaging to have the chance to prove he is the murderer and get him arrested instead of killed so we ask him directly instead of finding out in a journal

[@leahd4016]

@@cefirodewinter9086 from the wiki "By pick-pocketing the key, it is possible to discover this journal before discovering that he is the killer, and before he blames the murders on Wuunferth the Unliving; however, doing this will not affect the quest in any way, and the Dragonborn will still have to discover who the killer is."

[@spartanq7781]

​@@leahd4016 That is a dumb oversight of Bethesda like how the coc cannot notice the differences between the death drops even if the player has. Or how the game will not let you figure out the true traitor to the Dark Brotherhood not even when you drop the guy's mother's head and get him to gasp because of it.

[@hereniho]

And yet Patrician still acts like it's a really clever quest, despite stuff like this and it breaking at 20 different points...

[@spartanq7781]

@@hereniho By Skyrim's level it is impressive.

[@JRexRegis]

TO BE FAIR, Harkon being the most divorced man on Tamriel and deliberately letting half his own castle fall into ruin purely because his ex-wife liked those parts is pretty realistic.

[@JoshSweetvale]

"The most divorced man on Tamriel" is a line Molag Bal would laugh raucously about, _especially_ when it's about one of his lieutenants.

[@benjiusofficial]

Hell, I'm laughing about it right now. Uncle Molag's got a good sense of humor

[@vm_duc]

i used to think harkon was pretty unrealistic as far as characters go. then el*n m*sk showed me that he was the most grounded character in the entire series.

[@benjiusofficial]

​@@vm_duc Why are you censoring 'Elon Musk'?

[@kinkinkijkin]

@@benjiusofficial why aren't you?

[@tripple-a6031]

9:32 In regards to the dragons getting themselves killed by random NPC, I had one encounter in Dawnstar where the miners killed the dragon without my help, including a finishing move done by a miner with a pickaxe. Not like I was taking them serious anymore at that point anyway.

[@berilsevvalbekret772]

Yeah limitation of the engine and AI is really not great. Eso dragons on the other hand...oohhh boy now THOSE are the ones from the lore! Both in size and strenght!

[@zuser]

I find it exceedingly hilarious how literally everyone, including the homeless beggar in the street, will square up to a Dragon when it shows up, beating it back with everything they've got, all the while shouting various taunts and phrases of panic and help.

[@swedneck]

@@zuser "HELP! HELP!" *casually suplexes attacker* "HELP ME PLEASE!"

[@DIEGhostfish]

2:17:59 Tullius knows enough about "You Nords and your damned Honor" to realized that ambushing Ulfric under a flag of truce brokered by the *Greybeards* would instantly make the Legion a pariah even in the Holds that are currently on their side

[@luccafortestoledo1300]

The orc talking over the cutscene dialogue and getting smacked at 7:25:20 was comedy gold

[@kiiwikiori7542]

Fun thing to note: You can find a ton of regeneration and health potions in High Hrothgar, implying either that the voice is hell on the throat or that one if not more of them is in rapidly declining health

[@MarieCrossbow]

Or they are so healthy they accrue a lot of health potions from supplies, due to their lack of use

[@DW51380]

This is why I watch these videos because all I think is yoink 🤣

[@Ett.Gammalt.Bergtroll]

They need them due to their daily troll beatings when going about their day.

[@varietywiarrior]

Nah fam, it's just for the old man joints lmao

[@etherealMcCoy1]

Kind of a chicken/egg situation - could be either the potions are staving off declining health, or they're responsible for the long lives they've lived... or one then the other.

[@DSFARGEG00]

Perhaps the reason the Companions test new members against someone in the inner circle now is specifically because the 'pit two newbies against each other' method ended up with a body on their hands.

[@tylerslittlecafe1288]

That would be interesting world building, if it were intentional

[@DSFARGEG00]

@@tylerslittlecafe1288 I'm skeptical it was, but it's there, so I gave it at least the benefit of consideration.

[@gabby3036]

​@@DSFARGEG00I was just replying to another comment where I made a similar observation about intentionality - it seems to be a common refrain that if something *does* work out with regards to worldbuilding/lore in this game, there's always a question or skepticism as to whether it was actually intentional lawl.

[@0uttaS1TE]

Patrician, I award you the title of Big Longman for your efforts

[@reactiondavant-garde3391]

We have really good roster for Longmans this days.

[@Hagashager]

Not even Longdick Johnson can compete with Patrician, and he had a fucking long dick.

[@0uttaS1TE]

@@Hagashager Hence the name.

[@Voreniusqt]

You mean Big the Longman or Big Long-man?

[@jonny2931]

I didn't think I would see a twitter mutual from 4 years ago on an account I don't have anymore in the YT comments but hey there you go.

[@aarondennis5000]

The way you critique the stories of Skyrim and Starfield has helped me be more attentive when I Dungeon Master. Trying to make my stories and worlds feel open and detailed.

[@alexanderl3176]

My man, your plot re-writes for the Skyrim Main Quest are fantastic, straight up.

[@spartanq7781]

I know right? Thing is it was based off the lore of the series connected into the sum of thier parts. It is was lore exists for but Bethesda doesn't think that way. Antagonists just have to be unambiguously evil just cause.

[@AdblockWillWin7853]

Can we play _that_ game? 'Cause this one sucks.

[@kazmark_gl8652]

​@@AdblockWillWin7853It's too good for this sinful earth.

[@sebiv-s2q]

Would love to see mods that change the quests to what he suggested

[@ravensflockmate]

The merunes dragon fanfiction stuff is just irritating and time wasting in the video

[@carsonsviben707]

I love Neloth’s voice actor. I was doing the water dungeon and I kept thinking about how familiar he sounded, only to realize it was Mung Dal from Chowder

[@bevvvy1374]

This information will never leave my brain now

[@benjiusofficial]

Oh no What have you done?

[@kanaka118446]

I knew he sounded familiar. Mother fucker I'll never unhear it

[@zeo5527]

Oh my god.

[@aggrodkreg4321]

...fuck.

[@robertriley4759]

Your alternative story/take on the nature of the Dragonborn to make them more interesting is immensely more intriguing and engrossing than how it is actually written. Great work and brilliant video.

[@ThommyofThenn]

Yea I love Skyrim but tbqh a lot of the writing is just terrible and is only good when it's relying on lore of the previous games

[@minihercules317]

I doubt you’ll read this but I just finished this 2 part series, watching every second over the course of a few weeks. I absolutely love this. I’m so glad you made this video because it has some of the most necessary traits of any long form content, especially about a game this old. My knowledge of this game, quest design, game design, and general analysis has increased tremendously. I cant thank you enough for putting your time and effort into such a lengthy and valuable project, I genuinely may watch this all over again at some point.

[@petrus9067]

Its one of my favorite long form video essays too. Very detailed and well argumented

[@minihercules317]

@@petrus9067 I agree, I have since watched the full morrowind analysis and while it’s an incredible video, it really made me appreciate this one

[@crimsonjapery3103]

The most disappointing thing to me in even my first playthrough is that every guild seemed to be heavily depressed and on their last legs.

[@Elijah-Bailey]

​@@goblinfairy1032 I disagree, I've recently replayed the game and focused on guilds, especially thieves and the dark brotherhood. In the thieve guilds, you actually see as you progress through the quests the base gets better beds, more people, more gold, you get to fill the chests room with treasures, as you get more traders they fill what were useless area that are know used so your base feel more alive with a lot of light and sound, it's good

[@degayify]

I know it's a bad excuse but it's kind of "the point". Mundus is decaying and the world is reaching the end of its Kalpa.

[@okonkwojones]

@@degayifyyeah, I think it was designed to feel like popular conceptions of Europe in the twilight years of the Eastern Roman Empire in a N. European colonial province.

[@paulpangilinan6671]

Most of the guilds are mostly operating ok with just some issues. I think it's guilds like the dark brotherhood and thieves guild that perform illegal acts that are suffering but for reasons that make sense. Dark brotherhood would have eventually lost to the Thalmor ran Empire if even the Blades couldn't survive them in Cyrodiil. Tbh the reason for the thieves guild's downfall is not as interesting as the dark brotherhood's as it's not as connected to the rest of the world's lore but still the death of their leader and the war making people less afraid of them is still sensible enough.

[@stevengull6703]

​@@Elijah-Baileyexcept to get that I have to know I need to do 20 radiant quests and 5 from each city. They aren't good and its not worth the effort especially if you have survival mode on. So while it does have that progression it is also the only guild that does and its too tedious to get. Its bad.

[@Mateus_Pereira_Silva]

Patrician talked about Elder Scrolls for 40:04:11. While MauLer talked about Star Wars for 22:37:58 up until the day of the making of this comment. So, it's fair to say that Patrician has truly earned the title of Longman.

[@Raven_Frame]

Plus Patrician's content comes across as more engaging to me.

[@RealBakuStar]

@@Raven_Frame id say the opposite for me, but I think it comes down to personal preference, love em both tho

[@peaceprinceshaxi5978]

@@RealBakuStar yeh. mauler tends to come off as a buturt nerd sometimes - screaming into the mike

[@RealBakuStar]

@@peaceprinceshaxi5978 I disagree, MauLer doesnt really come off as that ever imo, if anything hes very calm or steady. Theres a difference in using a tone than coming off as “butthurt”. More of a matter of fact, or maybe a smart ass voice, but it fits his brand, and honestly his videos are extremely well put together and further a good amount of evidence. Tbh if you swapped Patricians voice with his, you might even say Patrician comes off as “Butthurt”. Just a dif style of doin stuff

[@peaceprinceshaxi5978]

@@RealBakuStar fair enough

[@markointhesky]

4:33:37 The idea of Aela getting the Beacon of Meridia mixed up with the totem of Hircine and assuming its some moon relic and prays to it too brings be great joy, joy that is cruelly crushed under the weight of the fact that Nirn has two red and blue moons so there's almost no reason for the wolfgirl to associate something white and round with the moon in this setting

[@moosecannibal8224]

It also doesn't have a sun (as we know a sun to be in our world at least, I guess you could argue that it's still technically "A" sun, just not a sun like OUR sun) but you don't see that fact being held up as relevant anywhere in any single Elder Scrolls game past morrowind. Sorry but, despite your argument actually making sense, Skyrim doesn't make sense, so you're point is still invalid due to their shoddy development of the game. The sun and moons in Skyrim may as well just be earth's and our moons just globally affected by double vision. I swear the only people who cared about being lore accurate are the book writers, and even then that's only due to necessity. I doubt they'd know the lore if it wasn't a hard requirement to be able to write about history in this game. so, white+round=moon is probably the level of thinking you're going to get when it comes to skyrim quest lore, despite neither of their moons being white ever at any point in their universe. It's the same reason the Sun looks like a sun instead of a rip in space and time with the golden light of the fabric of reality pouring through upon Nirn.

[@markointhesky]

@@moosecannibal8224 dude what are you talking about Masser is blue and secunda is red, there'd be no reason for white to be associated with the moon on nirn and the sun looks the same because it's a massive circular glowing hole into the infinite energy dimension, as compared to a massive glowing round ball of (practically) infinite energy And if anything Meridia would be more closely associated with the sun than the moon considering she is a Magna-Ge

[@KazuyaKujo-Kun]

@@markointhesky he's referring to the meta reason for the devs making that mistake. The people who wrote the dialogue aren't interested in catering to the built world but instead will fall to meta irl references

[@markointhesky]

@@KazuyaKujo-Kun But they didn't? Meridia's beacon isn't the moon or associated with it, nor is it ever referred to as such Aela mistaking it as an additional relic of Hircine and howling at it was a hypothetical in the style of a mini comic some japanese artist might draw that I came up with It was a joke my guy

[@richardlionerheart1945]

@@moosecannibal8224 bro it was a joke he came up with it 💀

[@jwhizard_1822]

I just came off of the 9 hour act one and let me just tell you I wasn’t expecting act two to be 11 hours long. I love this form of long detailed content and I look forward to journeying with you all for these next few work days.

[@mandaloretheproud6622]

Something I've never seen anyone bring up about Skyrim is how no one's face ever seems to emote. Oblivion had facial emoting, and while it was kind of silly, I prefer that over literally nothing.

[@Viljarms]

Oooh, I didn't think of that. Is that why they made such a ridiculous amount of haughty characters that makes the world so hostile? To match the lack of emotes.

[@MoonMilk64]

Especially when drinking, or talking as they gulp a drink

[@kenn_foxx5563]

They do though but barely visible. There's a mod that enhances and improves them. That mod plus Oblivion camera mod is great :)

[@bigcraudio3066]

They do actually, is just very hard to notice it, even the player character can become angry at certain points

[@mandaloretheproud6622]

@@bigcraudio3066 Yeah I think they can, but it's hard to notice and it seems quite rare.

[@DovahRS]

Incredible, during this 20 hour experience I didn't ever feel like you were babbling to fill time. Well done friend.

[@Rievax17]

That’s because it’s well organized into chapters, which could be videos on their own

[@pygmybisoncomtedebournon4207]

During your Sanguine section you mention that they don’t use wedding rings in Skyrim and instead use amulets of Mara, this is a misinterpretation, they use amulets of Mara to show availability and actually do have wedding rings once you get married, you yourself should’ve gotten one when you married Ysolda. Edit: I believe it’s called Band of Matrimony and I believe it’s a golden ring that gives a restoration cost reduction

[@mellified6500]

When he's taking about hearthstone and dumping stuff in one of his creation homes he even shows the band of matrimony in his inventory lol.

[@Bersekr21]

It's given to you at the tample after your marriage by the priest though. You don't need to buy an engagment ring

[@QTZALCTAL]

Imagine being so desperate for love in your life that you resort to wearing what is equivalent to an Aphrodite shirt to see if anyone else is lonely 💀💀

[@trabnas]

@@shaynehughes6645 Resto bonus is for "you're gonna need magic after I destroy your pussy" pick up line

[@deptusmechanikus7362]

He also calls ancient Tongues "Dragonborn" multiple times

[@xspoole]

I am stuck at an airport with a 15 hour layover. Going to try and watch this in one sitting. Wish me luck.

[@kekero540]

Lydia is only as popular as she is because almost everyone doesn't bother to change companions because they are functionally identical

[@jbear3478]

I end up changing them pretty often because they die lmao Lydia never lasts very long

[@iami3rian394]

I still can't believe he fell for the jzargo trap. Yeah, he levels to 81, due to an error in his coding... but due to another error hell (almost) never cast anything but sparks. He's literally the worst follower in the game for dealing damage, and his only value is in tanking. ...and yet he's also coded to take cover and retreat from melee combat, so he's completely useless at that as well.

[@deutschesmodding5874]

@@jbear3478 Huh? My Followers are always essential, do you play with a mod that removes the essential tag?

[@deutschesmodding5874]

@@shaynehughes6645 Then use Followers that are essential, like Mjoll the Lioness

[@deutschesmodding5874]

@@shaynehughes6645 No I said nothing about Lydia. I said MY Followers are always essential. I absolutely hate Lydia, she is never my Follower.

[@MikeyP109]

After watching all three long form videos for TES franchise, my conclusion is that this is the best content I've ever watched. The closing speech was one for the ages. I must point to the line "goodbye Skyrim". Tough to hear even though I just watched a 20 hour video I didn't want to end. Unless I missed something, it seems it's going to be a very long time before we are graced with another video similar to this. This is sad. These 3 series of videos will always hold a place in my heart and will be a reminder of how great these games are, even when they aren't. Thank you for everything you've done.

[@LezbionestHere]

I guess the 40 hour dagger fall video will be next

[@commiecat5879]

@@LezbionestHere TWO YEAR VIDEO KZbin

[@flowerthencrranger3854]

@@LezbionestHere There is a 4 hour analysis on it, I recommend it.

[@rhysharrison1595]

Big sad

[@vamisk]

I am one of those people that just can't say goodbye to Skyrim for good. I always go back to it and play it for a few weeks before setting it down for a year or two but Morrowind is a permanent installation on my PC

[@JohnAppleseed]

I always find that thinking about playing Skyrim always ends up more enjoyable than actually playing it.

[@HeliodromusScorpio]

Thats what always happens to me in the end. I start a new game and nothing feels like how i "remembered" it and the especially the awful combat pulls me out quickly.

[@jasperfox6821]

@@HeliodromusScorpio people age, games do not, I always find myself getting pulled into skyrim, not because of the combat, but because of the music, world design, characters, environments, its why I like skyrim, but I'd personally always go for oblivion, oblivion is my most favourite.

[@turkeylegs5431]

Same I've started 2 new characters and abandoned them since I started the first video

[@HeliodromusScorpio]

@@jasperfox6821 Me too but the combat ruins the immersion for me.

[@jasperfox6821]

@@HeliodromusScorpio lol

[@ironarcana970]

Bruh the Evangelion 'Congratulations' bit isn't just comedy gold, it's comedy platinum.

[@kayoyoh6725]

8:54:15 can we just talk about how Bruce Nesmith refers to Auri-El, literally Akatosh, principal god in the Imperial and most elven pantheons, the absolute definition of Aedra, as a Daedric lord

[@EA_SP0RTCENTER]

Wow.

[@MrSpartan993]

Damn, it’s like calling God Satan in earnest.

[@subtractahandletocontinue]

just a usual mix-up at the watch

[@jockeelly]

Also, how he talks about being excited to bring content in the game about Auri-El, cause he was a being they hadn't given much attention in the games, even tho with Akatosh and Auri-el being the same god, Martin literally became an avatar of Auri-el in Oblivion and used his powers to save Tamriel from Dagon lol

[@buttpiratesbuttpirate5913]

​@@jockeellyBethesda sucks so much

[@MrNukebomb99]

I really love your point at 5:41:57 I felt like there was never any role playing motivation to join Castle Volkihar off the bat besides “well I’m currently a vampire so I guess I shouldn’t join the vampire hunters” Hell, the quest doesn’t even let you start with the vampires; you need to go to that old fort near Riften

[@harperna3938]

hehe off the bat

[@gratuitouslurking8610]

Same issue of the Companions and the Circle except they force you to play the good guys first.

[@spartanq7781]

Thank you! As a vampire we should be contacted by another vampire to tell us about Castle Volkihar. I also hate the vampire lord form. That was a unnecessary and ugly design.

[@timetct]

These two videos are a full, highest rating that I can issue 10/10 and they easily earn the badass seal of approval. I cannot wait for the next videos to come, now if you'll excuse me I need to watch them again as evil.

[@tristikov]

Nice. This comment provides the exact memetic demonstration of approval that I was looking for.

[@arwahsapi]

"Now if you'll excuse me I have duties to do" ...proceeds to sleep

[@petrus9067]

"And play trhough the THIEEEEV-

[@c_ornato]

2:01:57 To note that, in Daggerfall, the ending of the main quest involves Tiber Septim (or well, his totem) telling you that you aren't of any significance and that you should give the totem to someone actually destined to greatness so that they can complete their prophecy. Just like in Oblivion your character is a third-wheel to someone actually important.

[@Brandelwyn]

I honestly prefer that to being the chosen one

[@childishgrimm9610]

I also like how in Morrowind it's heavily implied that you're not actually the reincarnation of Nerevar. You're just a guy that happened to meet the criteria to get the support for it.

[@schrogar]

Dawnguard feels like a second attempt at the Companions questline. With most of the quests being radiant, a power to transform into a 'powerful' beastform and artefacts to augment the transformation. However this time they included the option to turn down the 'gift' by continuing along the dawnguard side.

[@JoshSweetvale]

And on that side you have a pack of quirky people you get to recruit one at a time.

[@den1613]

Pat randomly smacking the npcs or dragging them around in VR is fucking hilarious

[@AeyakS]

I liked the part where he was in an altercation with Mikael, so he beat him up and then held his face in the fire. Or when he beat up the priest of Arkay for not accepting help

[@Cowslippoetry]

Pat may have included an entire section about Serana, but it was pretty clear from this entire two-parter that Delte Fyr was his one true waifu.

[@JoeFF85]

@@shaynehughes6645 Delte Fyr: waifu Azura: MOMMY

[@NoLifeKing_0]

@@JoeFF85 that’s Meridia

[@peregrination3643]

Delta Fyr married Ysolda...seemingly earlyish. I don't think Pat prefers just one true waifu. That's a whole genre.

[@Hegataro]

I really dislike the end of the main quest because it implies that, with enough ingenuity, the nordic afterlife can be reached physically and it has a big door Odahviing's spiel about "needing wings" doesn't make sense when the temple very clearly is IN the mountains (and if you open the map it's in the the bordermountains between Morrowind and Skyrim) Sure, there's a dragon priest protecting it and you have to use his staff as a key- but he's dead after the events of Skyrim And it's not limited by race, either, because the Dragonborn can be whatever race Come the equivalent of 20th century earth and there's a ski resort which has literal nordic heaven as one of its attractions

[@Majima_Nowhere]

Tsun, moments after sending the Altmer dragonborn back to Nirn: "...Fuckin tourists"

[@alexberkeley4921]

It is so impressive to make a 20 hour video this engaging. Having not watched long-form reviews before I feared rambling to the highest degree, but what I got was genuine and researched thoroughness. I also have to commend your consistent objectivity, and slices of humour that came at just the right frequency. Great video.

[@notsyzagts7967]

I have watched many long-form videos before and this is certainly rambling to the highest degree. There are SO many videos like this that slog through a series of repetitive complaints and run through the same tired analyses from similar creators. The only difference is the order the information is presented in. Objectivity? LOL, You can't make a set of videos this long and be objective; nearly every video like this is a bloated opinion piece. The sooner you realize that the better. If you still like it great but don't misunderstand the nature of these video essays.

[@TheAbortionWhoLived]

@@notsyzagts7967 tl;dr. Could you give me a summary of your point? I am afraid these many lines are too complex for my black and white view of the world.

[@TaCo0oCaT]

@@notsyzagts7967 Just because something is long does not mean it lacks objectivity. If the person doing them explains and shows why they have the opinions they have it shouldn't be a problem

[@lunarluxe9832]

@@notsyzagts7967 watch his Morrowind video, lots of objectivity and criticism for a game Patrician loves

[@Phaden27]

@@notsyzagts7967 Gatekeeping and contradiction in the same comment. Nice man!

[@artifica0]

Mechanic Timestamps 7:00 Dragons 1:06:09 Puzzles 1:08:03 Loot 1:15:35 Followers 2:59:20 Radiant Story 6:37:35 Survival 9:12:28 PlayerHomes Thank you pat for this wild journey

[@731freeman]

Thank you for the service you just rendered. Thank you for helping to navigate this wild journey.

[@hellaflex2797]

51:36

[@breezyq6449]

i love that the magic system issues had 4x the length of the **main quest**

[@benjiusofficial]

It makes sense though; the elements of the game we interface with should be consequences of the most primal forces of the world. Magic is one of those and should have a more substantial explanation than any one narrative borne from that mechanic. That there are parts *longer* than the magic, combat, and stealth parts are problematic.

[@MrSpartan993]

Theta because they reeeeally fucked up the magic in the game.

[@okagron]

The magic system in this game is the perfect representation of the game's quality: style over substance.

[@Zorothegallade-rpg]

@@okagron "Do you like the spell effects? Good, now that it takes 2 full minutes of constant blasting to kill trash enemies you will be looking at them until you go blind!"

[@AeyakS]

Mechanically, Skyrim is one of the worst games in the series. Bethesda was so bent on making the game really pretty looking and flashy with cinematic interactions; this was obviously a huge blunder, as the core gameplay systems should never have made it past even pre-development. It's truly unambitious in how there's a complete and total lack in any sort of strategic melee, as well as a total lack in the defining RPG elements of its predecessors; just pick one guys... Melee is quite unresponsive, unreasonably slow even despite two-handed weapons realistically being easier to wield than one-handed weapons. The preset moves invite you to accidentally team kill your companions because the only way to aim a two-handed weapon to not be a wide swing is to do a standing power attack, which is not sustainable. Also, magic is a trap because it's designed to be unable to keep up with the melee/archery fighting style due to flat damage scaling versus an deluge of endlessly leveling enemies. Worst of all, is that magic is still super clunky. No QoL that gives spell casting follow-thru, so that you don't stumble over inputs and get power-smacked for the third time in a row while desperately wishing for your goddamn heal to go off. You can't cast anything unless it's actively selected, meaning you can't hit a key to quickly start a cast animation: you actually have to charge it which takes too long and can lead to user-error, which causes even more frustration. Also, you can't cast magic mid-air... WHO MADE THIS DECISION??? Every time you try to shout, there's a chance it will fail, causing you to be unable to cast magic, change power abilities, or use shouts because it thinks you're currently in freefall. Literally game breaking, and immersion ruining. You can't make any sort of convenient spell combinations like an all-in-one buff because the developers didn't want you to see just how badly you're missing out on spell crafting by giving you a half-baked iteration of it. So they gave you a no-baked solution 😅. I hope that Bethesda is driven by developers that really do want to give players an engaging game, rather than assuming that piss-level combat is good enough if it's merely a vehicle to tell interesting stories of their crafted universe. It's not worth it, because said stories aren't truly baked that well. Could three months longer of evolving the melee/ranging/spell system to be highly responsive, give immersive feedback, and reward player creativity and strategy actually have been a better approach to game design rather than enforcing the triple-A law of make it max graphics, gameplay later?? I want Bethesda to make a good game. I DO think that TES VI will be better, but I don't think it will be what we wanted or that unique.

[@jasper_the_ghost]

I’ve been replaying Kingdom Come Deliverance and, on top of doing literally everything better than Skyrim, the Sanguine quest in particular stands out. In that, your character does some wacky and zany things out of your control. In KCD, you get drunk with a parish priest, punch out the ‘mayor’ more or less, commit fornication, and baa with sheep in a field. Afterwards, in a drunken stupor, you have to speak a sermon for him since he’s too hungover. Truly magical.

[@BiakSkull]

Love how you can tell how some parts were written or recorded in clearly different mental states where you go from reading an argument to "its 1am"

[@ZorotheGallade]

I suddenly got an idea on how they could have addressed the dragons not talking to you except for shouting. The Dragonborn, or at least a newly awakened one, may not be FLUENT in the Dragon tongue. But the very fact they are able to learn and use shouts means they understand certain words and the concept they signify. So, why not have subtitles with draconic runes appear when a dragon speaks, only to replace some of them with their human equivalent. Words like "challenge", "death", "danger", "fear", "rebirth". And as the Dragonborn absorbs more souls, learns more shouts and progressed through the main quest, more and more words would be translated until you can roughly understand the gist of their banter. Heck, you could even have Greybeards sidequests that reward you with more knowledge of Draconic. And who knows, perhaps if your grasp of dragon language is complete enough you unlock more dialogue options with prominent dragons like Durneviihr or Odahviing, persuading them to help you without having to fight them. In essence winning the "violent debate in the Dragon tongue" that shouts are supposed to be. Hell, maybe straight up add an option that requires the right dialogue choices and perfect completion of draconic knowledge to talk Alduin out of his plans of conquest à la Fallout.

[@BananaGatorProds]

[Speech 45] "You're an abomination of dragonkind, you have to die"

[@alecstewart2612]

Pity that shouts just ended up as awkward spoken spells that I'd rather not waste time getting any words for 60% of them and tediously fighting dragons to learn the full shout. Heck Unrelenting Force, the most marketed one, loses its novelty really quick because I'd rather end fights quicker by killing off enemies instead of rag-dolling them away from me. It's frankly incredible how Bethesda made being Dragonborn seem _so_ lame when they have Tiber Septum and Reman Cyrodill.

[@Zorothegallade-rpg]

@@alecstewart2612 Yeah, not to mention if you want to ragdoll enemies and don't care about being a vampire you can just become a Vampire Lord and spam Vampiric Grasp to throw enemies around.

[@Gameproducer6]

11 years later on 11/11, how poetic!

[@beregondibram2985]

Eleventh day of eleventh month of eleventh year the greatest of Skyrim review shall be born

[@Rannos22]

I think it was just happenstance that he started working on it with enough time to get it done for the 11th anniversary

[@vincentthekeeper2163]

Dreamcast 2 , Skyrim Ultimate Edition as a launch title kinda poetic

[@ChaoimhinKev]

Started 11 hours ago for me

[@amberyoung6316]

And 11 hours, 11 minutes & 11 seconds long

[@miltonfine947]

This man came up with yandere Serana and none of you thanked him.

[@benjiusofficial]

I haven't put either hand on my keyboard and mouse until now to do so.

[@goosewithagibus]

Couldn't help but get emotional at the end alongside you. I know what it's like to finish a big art project and there's a hole in your life where that thing occupied your life.

[@Evarakeus]

2:38:00 The funniest thing about this is that Bretons, widely regarded as the most boring race in the series, actually got the most notable development in Skyrim with the exploration of the Reachmen and their culture. If TES VI does include High Rock then I'm willing to bet Orcs will end up being the most interesting race in the game

[@agihammerthief8953]

Reachmen are generally not regarded together with Bretons, I don't think. Culturally they're almost completely distinct from the Iliac Bay kingdoms. Like, you wouldn't mistake Eltrys the miner from Markarth from Anton Viraine, a chef who lives in the same city but comes from Daggerfall. Plus the Reachmen are supposed to have some Nord ancestry. Then again, the Dunmer have a similar cultural divide, and the Imperials **should** but Todd hath willed it otherwise

[@Samm815]

@@agihammerthief8953 Imperial should? How?

[@MartianYT]

@@Samm815 nibenese vs colovian

[@berilsevvalbekret772]

They get incredible development in eso actually. Reachmen culture is fascinating.

[@berilsevvalbekret772]

@@MartianYT isn't it still the case in lore though? They don't fight but they are certainly don't like each other all that much culturally.

[@elziepsilon4475]

1:12:40 Fun fact: there's a pretty common scripting bug that causes Delphine to not light the braziers. It prevents the main quest from progressing further.🙃

[@MUSE_Maki]

I literally just encountered it for the first time last week during my most recent modded playthru, assumed it was a mod thing with all the bug fix patches I have, guess not

[@Cyromantik]

It took me like 5 reloads to get her to do it. Pretty annoying!

[@JoboKobobo]

Fucking hated this

[@lb5818]

cultured pfp

[@rustyshackleford3316]

That must be why they didn't do more scripting like that.

[@deeohpee]

That ending! I've rewatched both videos twice now. Enjoyed them both. You've inspired me to try making videos of my own. So thank you.

[@gabelachenman408]

29:21 Even as a child I always thought Delphine somehow getting the horn was so stupid. They couldn't have made Delphine's character introduction any worse. The dialogue you have when you first meet her is some of the worst in the game, up there with the "You're going to turn ME into a werewolf???". Her character has only a few redeemable qualities and your interactions with her just become worse and worse, I actually tried killing her on my first play through lol.

[@patrickn.4113]

Yeah it's really sad that there is no "Bitch shut the fuck up" speech option in game.

[@DoubleXP-u1g]

bruh we're really saying "even as a child" about Skyrim. 2011. god damn.

[@aetherkid]

​@sefik2809 the game came out 12 years ago. A 9 year old can drink mead now.

[@DoubleXP-u1g]

@@aetherkid pain

[@axelord4ever]

Delphine, Karliah, and Seranah are the prime examples of characters that would die VERY quickly if the game actually let you... roleplay. Seranah perhaps the worst of the lot, because she's introduced in a DLC centered around two major factions, Vampire Hunters, and Super Vampires, and you are *NOT* allowed to be a hardline Vampire Hunter. Your ultimate picks are either Help This Vampire, or Help That Vampire. Was I actually allowed to get off Mr. Todd's Nordic Ride, I would have cut her head off the very moment I saw those orange-gleaming eyes. The only good vampires in the world have the consistency of talcum powder.

[@hikiwa1]

I just finished the video. There's something bitter sweet and somber about the end of this whole journey. I remember watching (many) times your Oblivion and Morrowind videos. I cannot express how grateful I am for the marvelous content you've provided. "Wake up, we are here. Why are you shaking? Are you okay? Wakeup!" Almost brought me to tears. I'm sad to see it end - but really, I should be happy that it happened at all.

[@jsomeone9226]

Plus the comment about TES 6 destroying the community, that was a hard line He didn't elaborate, but in my head, I think the idea is that TES 6 will lay bare just how little Bethesda deserves the die hard fans, the active and huge community that will mod their games to perfection and fill in the gaps of their lore That's pretty sad and scary to me. That we'll realize it's just not worth the effort

[@hikiwa1]

@@jsomeone9226 I mean, so far there's very little evidence that Bethesda would even try to placate their hard-core fans, because they're a guaranted sale. There's far more evidence of Bethesda watering down their systems, their lackluster writings, their Keep It Simple attitude can only water a game so much before there's nothing left. I sincerely think that it's possible that ES6 could remove a lot more, like potions (and instead have a Mass Effect 2/3 Medi-Gel system, but they'll be Health/Magika/Stamina coloured variety.) These removals are all there so they can have the largest audience possible... I think he said it best in the Oblivion video that Bethesda has essentially traded their RPG elements for financial security and you can't really blame Todd, who lived through the 90s Bethesda that was always a hair away from bankruptcy - and that's a hard decision to make, if it was indeed a dichotomy... which it really isn't. A return to RPGs mechanics would be seen as a novelty at this point lmao. A product with such a large mass appeal, will be to nobody's taste imo.

[@baitbait65]

"Skyrim is a comfortable blanket" you nailed it. After suffering through Elden Ring recently, jumping back in to Skyrim (thanks to these two videos) is like slipping into an old (somewhat smelly) shoe. When Skyrim came out I was one who complained that the character and level up systems weren't like Oblivion. But now I realize there's space for both complexity and simplicity in the gaming world. I'm fortunate to have experienced both and look forward to seeing what comes next. Thank you for this. It's obviously a lot of work and I hope to see you tackle more games.

[@ulture]

@@henrycrabs3497 Smell the glove

[@pawelos4rpg2]

How do you go from a comfortable blanket to a smelly shoe?

[@731freeman]

Suffering though Elden Ring. Lol, way to sound edgy.

[@exucia669]

@@731freeman ?

[@sylphidstriker6909]

Is the blanket smelly too?

[@hannahbun]

The Black-Briar Meadery actually seems to be just a few years old, maybe a decade at the absolute most. When asked about his involvement in the meadery Asgeir Snow-Shod says "Yes, actually. I'm partnered with Maven Black-Briar. I put up a chunk of the gold she needed to get the place off the ground. We've been staggeringly successful so far. In fact, I'm almost surprised how quickly she's generated business for us. My name may not be on the label, but some of my blood, sweat and tears are in every drop. Uh, figuratively of course." It just doesn't really give me the impression the business has been around for 70+ years.

[@benjiusofficial]

TES 6 canon is that Black-Briar meadery was actually gifted to the Falmer by Auriel. That's why Maven is Imperial-aligned; she is an unwilling servant of the elvish super power.

[@max7971]

@@benjiusofficial words can’t describe how much contempt I have for ESO lore.

[@tobiasgorgen7592]

I just reached 10:20:00 and I am filled with sadness, realizing this amazing piece is about to end

[@Pvt._Rico]

I took me until the end of this video to realize, that the reason I always liked Skyrim (despite being aware of its flaws), was because of the quiet moments between fights with the music and scenery. Those moments were trancendant and gorgeous. It's sad that the rest of this game didn't live up to that standard. I thought of this post, months ago when I watched this video. I'm posting it now.

[@heinzketchup4558]

the vibe it creates when you look atr the gorgeous night sky while wandering around with the amazing music is just fantastic. It´s borderline magical.

[@raivin7172]

Landscape design in Skyrim was legit breathtaking and Soule's music makes it even better, shame that everything else stinks

[@alecstewart2612]

Unfortunately that's used as an excuse as to why the game is "good." Though when you ask someone "what do you remember about the main quest" you'll get something like "uhh...I remember Alduin and Paarthurnax" and further questions make them realize they remember almost nothing, and at best they remember bits and pieces of the side quests.

[@okagron]

Shame that doesn't make a game good.

[@haruhirogrimgar6047]

​@@okagron That could make a good game if you built your experience around that. Creating buildup and payoff to those moments. Add some surrounding context to give them additional value. And go all-in on art design.

[@andriypredmyrskyy7791]

Seeing the stark contrast between what they wanted the radiant quest system to be, and you explaining the "typical Skyrim character tree of alliances and relationships" as part of the Markarth prison storyline really hits home how much missing potential there is in this game. It's hilarious.

[@MatterMadeMoot]

Huge respect for the dedication and passion you have for these games. Now when I have pedantic arguments with my friends about Skyrim I'll be able to articulate my feelings a thousand times more clearly. Oh and your cheeky little references and visual gags throughout were a real treat. 20 hours went by in a flash.

[@benjiusofficial]

Just be sure not to parrot the arguments but consider their validity and decide for yourself what is true. We don't need more sycophants spewing regurgitants.

[@crptpyr]

just now thinking about how weird it is that you fight alduin at the throat of the world and he's like "ha, you fool, you can't kill me in the mortal realm" and then immediately goes to sovngarde, the place where he can be killed either he's got a death wish, he wasn't banking on you being able to follow him, or I'm missing something

[@thomasallister3446]

also when he meets you in sovngarde he should really flee, the Dragonborn is already proven to be stronger than Alduin at this point so Alduin has to be stupid to fight you again here (especially considering you have backup from other people who have also already defeated him before). Skyrim really makes Alduin out to be a complete idiot

[@kalashnikovdevil]

Sovngarde is where Alduin gets a lot of his power and safely recovers from danger. He's been getting strong feasting on the souls of the Nord dead. He also wasn't banking on you being able to follow him. After all the temple you can access Sovngarde from is in a place only someone with wings can reach, and the PC might have Dovah blood, but flying isn't something you can manage without a little help. I also feel like he'd somewhat need to stand his ground there, because losing that power source will likely diminish him significantly and cause significant trouble for him within the draognic power structure. Further, Alduin's great sin has been noted several times through out the game to be pride. Which makes sense, he's the first born of Akatosh, the greatest of the dragons. The mortals could not kill him previously, merely unanchored him in time. An annoyance... but something he can overcome. You have your little tricks, but in his place of greatest power, without the anchors of Nirn, he cannot possible be defeated! Is what he's thinking. Because no matter how well you do. What blood you have... you're still just a pathetic creature to be ruled over and controlled. Unruly livestock that must be taught your place. Then there's the whole killing him thing. Paarthunax notes, it's likely even then that you did not permanently defeat Alduin. You don't absorb his soul in the end. The World Eater will likely return eventually to play out the role that has been set for him. True immortals just see things differently in the end.

[@iluvmahname]

@@kalashnikovdevil I'd agree with you on most points but he really doesn't get stronger at all. In fact he doesn't change much at all because the boss fight may as well be a cutscene for how much freedom is involved as Todd probably thought he hyped Alduin a bit too much and needed the boss fight to be some cinematic sequence to make you feel super special as the epic reddit Dovahchad. Does he have higher lvl scales that make it impossible for him to be damaged by low grade weapons? Nope, you can kill him with bare fists. Well does he use a new thuum so you can't use your cheat shout like making himself ethereal? Nope, this lizard who's essentially a leader of his faction is dumb as bricks because Todd Howard thinks most players are also dumb as bricks and he's right lol there's no doubt that most of skyrim fans would crumble in the first few main quests if the game respected you enough to throw intelligent enemies at you.

[@kalashnikovdevil]

@@iluvmahname I wouldn't blame Alduin for a failure in boss design by Bethesda.

[@Heroman3003]

I think its really second. To get there you need help from one of his underlings, which he didnt expect youd be able to get; and its the place where he can vore some nord souls to recover AND power up before the next fight to not be as much of a wet rag next time. He's basically going "Screw you guys, I'm going home".

[@alexbenishek6638]

"This isn't bargaining: this is acceptance. Goodbye, Skyrim." As a kid the end of a story would always sadden my. I had a fantasy that the series would continue on. I scoured the internet for any rumors of sequels to whatever story I had just finished, whether that be a book series like Eragon or a videogame like Halo. Now that I am older I am happier to see a conclusive end because I know its better for a series to die a hero than live to be a villain. While I don't have the same nostalgic attachment to the Elder Scrolls as you do, hearing your ending brought up those same feelings. Thanks for making this video.

[@HiddenDragon555]

I am surprised that the Forsworn is a faction written for Skyrim. Due to their cooperation with Hagravens and the dudes who's hearts you could can pickpoint I assumed that they came from earlier lore where Skyrim was weirder and more interesting. Which says something about the overall writing in Skyrim.

[@NostalgiaVivec]

From everything that i can remember from my thousands of hours with the franchise Skyrim is more weird and esoteric than oblivion but less so than morrowind

[@alecstewart2612]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there a Forsworn camp where you see a Briarheart rise up from a table after, allegedly, the whole ritual for that? Would've it have been cool if we could've witnessed the full ritual instead of being attacked on sight by the Forsworn...hmmm? What's that, Todd? We just need a slightly different flavor of bandits to put in the world? Oh...okay...

[@ZorotheGallade]

@@alecstewart2612 And as it turns out, "Bandits but they associate with witches" kinda loses its uniqueness when every regular bandit camp has a mage or two on retainer

[@johnjeppsson17]

Beekeeper here…. Timestamp relevance 5:24:00 It’s surprisingly easy to manipulate genetics of honey bees, instrumental insemination is tedious yes but possible. Also the use of isolated breeding yards is a common practice among breeders. Cheers everyone!

[@benjiusofficial]

Is torching beekeepers and hives with fireballs common or is that a dark elf clone daughter thing?

[@johnjeppsson17]

@@benjiusofficialdefinitely an unhinged dark elf thing! They just hate us nords for our sweet meads, when all they have sujamma and flinn.

[@harharhero]

Thank you for the many hours of entertainment. Looking forward to the next project

[@Rajibaldo]

Thank you for the Skyrim essay, because of it I finally downloaded Morrowind.

[@EinFelsbrocken]

Well done. I wish you tons of fun; confusion that is slowly replaced by "aha"-moments, and many unique playthroughs 😁

[@Empyrean55]

Same here lol

[@TheGreenKnight500]

Skyrim made me wonder why people liked the setting of The Elder Scrolls so much. Morrowind made me understand.

[@Jdudec367]

@@TheGreenKnight500 I mean...Skyrim is good and has good stuff in it so I understand why.

[@zoroasper9759]

@@TheGreenKnight500 Same and it also made me realize that bethesda always was a sub-par game company... Morrowind is an awesome game in terms of setting and lore but frankly I've never had the urge to re-play it. The only reason I played Skyrim so much is because of mods obviously, I'd never play vanilla Skyrim again even if they paid me, but Morrowind was mostly a good starting point with plenty of issues that could have been fixed... instead it was a one hit thing never to be expanded upon

[@Wingdiver_Ocelot]

Skyrim was one of the easiest escapes I had growing up and with how simple the game is I could just auto pilot for days on end never caring about how hollow everything was in game. Graduating high school and college I worked hard to improve my quality of life and started playing games like Skyrim and Fallout 4 less and less wondering why they never felt like they used too when I was a kid. Thank you for making your videos man.

[@nihilisticpoet]

I am 31 and playing this game is auto-pilot, no real highs but no real lows either. There's no variance in its presentation or content, whilst I can play 'lesser' games repeatedly because their core gameplay is still engaging.

[@arackan1]

@@nihilisticpoet Overall, the core gameplay has become more and more important. Many games, especially open-world games tend to feature side-content that engages the core gameplay more than the main quests, and has caused me to often not complete the games before burning out.

[@JackVogel2024]

Damn, what a project. Probably can't even imagine all the work gone into this, but definitely felt the emotion by the end of it. Big thanks for twenty hours of thoughtful quality content. The community surrounding these games says something in itself, and hopefully Bethesda picks up on it at some point and really turn it around. There is a certain magic in their games and they should do everything to build on it instead of slowly letting it die

[@JinxeBlaq]

This has to be the, hands down, most critical two part review of Skyrim penned by an Ulfric apologist I’ve ever seen. Hands down. And it’s pretty damn good, my hats off to you sir. And that’s from the viewpoint of an Imperial dog. Edit: Man, I just realized how drastically different an experience I had by starting Skyrim with the special edition.. I had every DLC already downloaded so I had a few of these issues fixed right off the bat giving me a more positive experience then those who started on the normal version. Wild..

[@MoswenMedia]

Talos and Shor bless Chadcloaks, and has impcels seething 🥱

[@jingleding9002]

@@MoswenMediaTalos made permanently killing Umaril the Unfeathered possible, praise Talos

[@kenanureeves2693]

you know that feeling you get at the end of a movie when the credits roll and you feel kinda like life has no meaning and there's nowhere to go after this moment? This video gave me that feeling, and Skyrim itself never did. Fantastic video. Thank you, Pat.

[@suzy.crabgrass]

This

[@robink.9966]

get a life..

[@wile123456]

You spent 24 hours watching these videos so it's obvious why it gave you that feeling lol

[@CommieApe]

changing the voice to be dragon language instead of nordic wind magic was one of the biggest missteps of the series. They could have had dragons and th'uum without combining the two and breaking previously established ideas.

[@nakanoyuko]

what

[@EinFelsbrocken]

​@@nakanoyuko get lore'd on 🐸

[@vincegalila7211]

Do you mean making "Nordic wind magic" a weaker but easier to use variation of the original Dragon-Speech based Thu-um

[@Angels-Haven]

his source is that he made it up lol @@nakanoyuko

[@UHpaytypeSleepschedule]

@@Angels-Haven The form of the Thu'um that we see, the dragon cult and their use of the Thu'um, and the disappearance of the dragons are all an invention of Skyrim. 1. The Thu'um was originally a type of wind magic native to the Nords that let them use their voice/breath to enchant weapons and armor, directly attack, and even siege whole cities. The most powerful of these Nordic practitioners had to walk around gagged and communicate in sign language/written word (which is what pat said in the video as making more sense)[Lore book: Children of the Sky] 2. there is no reference to the Dragon cult before Skyrim and ESO or their use of the Thu'um 3. Dragons were in/mentioned previous Elderscrolls games. Skakmat who was the familliar of, Nulfaga, the Queen of daggerfall. Nafaalilargus who served as a soldier for the empire under Admiral Richton in the Battle of Stros M'kai. Dragons are mentioned numerous times in the 1st Edition of the Pocket guide to the Empire I mention the Second and Third thing because I think they go along with the concept of connecting the Nords and Dragons in ways they weren't before Skyrim, as well as Bethesda's general trend toward homogenizing their fantasy world and Skyrim just being an excuse to make an unlicensed Reign of Fire: The Game

[@kwisatzhaderach9591]

The conclusion was pretty spot on. Upon release there's no denying how amazing Skyrim was at the time. The world was incredible to get lost in, and it was enough to shut your brain off and string you along to see what it has to offer. My problem with Skyrim and FO4 is after the roller coaster ride is over, with all its content and expansions, they're very hard games to go back to. There's very little replay wise, unless to see the world again, the gameplay gets stail the more you play, and problems with the writing and over simplicity it all is becomes more obvious. Skyrim is a game that will live on for a long time, for better or worse, I don't think it will be well visited by those of us that have played it several times to the point its weaknesses are too much to handle. But I see the game as one to pass down. When I eventually have kids and start to share my life long hobby of Legos and video games, Skyrim will be a game I'll be looking forward to sharing because of the feelings and sense of wonder you get on first play through.

[@TheUranium92V]

With you making the longest analysis on youtube of a game you don't even like, you definitely earned your place in the Shivering Isles. I earned my place in the Isles as well for dropping everything to watch this video in one go.

[@JinglyJohn]

Did you have to sacrifice anything? Miss work? Neglect a loved one?

[@TheUranium92V]

@@JinglyJohn I sacrificed everything and I regret nothing.

[@JinglyJohn]

@@TheUranium92V Perfect

[@vowgallant4049]

The reason it is Calcelmo is because the overarching theme of Mara's questline is love across time: Young love, old love, love beyond the grave.

[@ZorotheGallade]

It's good to see a character that is initially framed as "that cranky old guy who only exists to forbid you entrance to a place" act more, you know, like a person who has a life outside being a plot roadblock. Must be the reason Enderal writers made a similar quest in Duneville, though that one also involves a beach picnic and a ghost pig

[@KBXband]

Right? But Pat doesn't care because he's too busy tearing Skyrim down because he's burnt out on it.

[@dylanandrew7490]

​@@KBXbandawful take, he's tearing down skyrim because it's not hard to tear down a temple made out bricked shit all settled on top of already broken toothpicks

[@KBXband]

@@dylanandrew7490 in my opinion it's better than Morrowind and Oblivion. But then again I am a console player and not as much a PC player. To its credit Morrowind on PC is fun but I stand by my comment.

[@KBXband]

This literally reminds me of 1984 but in real life

[@nimboslice7012]

My 12 year old stupidity caused the thalmor embassy mission to be one of my best experiences in gaming to this day I misunderstood the instructions “give malborn your gear because you CANNOT bring anything to party” as “you CANNOT bring anything to the party” so, my sword and board character, gave malborn a set of fine clothes and got in the wagon to the party. Fast forward to when i open the chest with my gear in it and I realize the mistake i had made. So after dying dozens of times trying to run past everyone i had to continue thru the thalmor embassy planning out every encounter in front of me with the tools i had at my disposal. This one mistake forced me to actually interact with multiple mechanics i had not touched up until that point (magic, sneaking, voice of the emperor power) and had me scavenging gear off the corpses of the thalmor until i finally got to the dungeon where i could get an actual sword and shield back and now the power dynamic of the quest had shifted back into my favor after all the hard work, right before having to fight the troll. I came out of it thinking this was the intended experience. This quest took me 3 real life days to complete but was some of the most enjoyable and memorable gaming ever. I really do wish bethesda was brave enough to lean into their mechanics and allow the players to experiment cause TES universe is the perfect playground for that.

[@SandGentleman]

I HAD THE SAME EXPERIENCE but I accidentally backed out of the "Give Item" menu and Malborn just ran off. That was one of the most frustrating, interesting, and fun gaming sessions I have ever had. When I finally got my hands on a good weapon, an Elven Mace, (after dying many times) it felt like sweet victory! It felt like a real infiltration mission the whole time - I was *actually* in danger and had to use all of my skills, spells, mechanics, and scavenged items to survive. See what happens when Bethesda actually uses their mechanics to restrict the player and compel them to make the game interesting for themself? See what happens when Bethesda stops focusing on ""player freedom"" so much and actually focuses on game design?

[@peterzeger7263]

i had a similar experience during my first play through 😂

[@zoroasper9759]

I love when stuff like this happens, bugs or misinterpretation creating better experiences, because it really goes to show how most of these issues are entirely from bad or lazy design and not technical or skill limitations.

[@Gotttlobbb]

Yeah, the same thing happened to 11 year old me, I also remember this quest fondly because of the same reason. The feeling of having to improvise with the game mechanics was so different.

[@markmartin2819]

Almost like getting the player out of his comfort makes the game interesting for the player.

[@Whocares792]

That Mt.Rushmore history lesson was great and a great companion to the video’s argument at that point!

[@Frisken894]

I watched your Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim videos and loved them. I decided to try out Morrowind for the first time and I love it. Roughly 8 hours in and I have a feeling I haven't felt in 10 years when playing a game. Thank you, man.

[@dragonborn164]

Was the graphics difference made it difficult for you to continue playing it?

[@Frisken894]

@@dragonborn164 Running it with OpenMW made it run smoothly and upscaled it looks ok. The gameplay makes up for the old graphics imo.

[@theIJPmexican]

Welcome brother

[@benjiusofficial]

This honors the Sixth House and the tribe unmourned.

[@petrus9067]

Same here. Decided to give morrowind a better try because of this channel and man, makes me think of the wasted potential of "current" (10+ years old with sequel coming in maybe 4 lol) TES games..

[@ellieswagaye]

you have no idea how high the entertainment value are on these, typical hour long retrospectives can't keep me engaged normally but all 20 hours of this are a must watch. I died laughing at every single time you'd cut to the low quality audio of todd it was fucking gold.

[@garmagarmagarma]

In 2013 I graduated HS and was taking a trip through Germany reconnecting with family. Skyrim was my favorite game at the time. I loved the game but the most magical moment the game ever gave me was when we were driving through Thüringen. Through those rolling green hills and beautiful clear blue skies, Far Horizons randomly came on my mp3 player. The world peaceful, optimistic, and life perfect for those five minutes. I still get goosebumps thinking about it. So that's nice, thanks skyrim for a good song, and a few good years modding.

[@simeoncox8336]

To be honest, your videos have restored my own faith in merit as well. These are the best video essays, let alone video game analyses, I've ever seen, and the fact that you have millions of views makes me so happy.

[@erikjones9957]

2:03:41 - 2:08:22 By far the best concept for a skyrim main story rewrite I've heard so far

[@squidddinator]

don't expect you to see this but if you do, thank you for this. I cannot imagine how exhausting this entire project was, but this video has gotten me through so many soul crushing amazon shifts

[@thewalrus3541]

It's kind of fun to hear the long form analysis video creators have opinions on each other's work.

[@freyja-athena957]

"Later in the future, when they need that blanket again, they reach for it. But it doesn't work as well twice." Without going into too much detail, I recently had a rather terrifying near-death experience. After it happened, I went home and talked to a couple friends on discord to calm my nerves. I went to bed later that day and figured that was that. I had a quick reminder of my own mortality, I moved on, and tomorrow would be a new day. Except, the 'new day' kinda felt off. I chocked it up to just some odd feeling that would subside after I woke up enough, and turned a couple videos on before I got out of bed. One of which being the first part to this review, which got me playing Skyrim again, completely unaware of why I found the game so alluring. Until that quote at the top of this comment kinda made me stop in my tracks. I realized that I had been using Skyrim to escape, just as I did as a child back in 2011. I'd been using the game as a blanket to protect me from the cold reality that I wasn't as okay as I thought I was. That my brush with death, however brief it was, had affected me. As I write this I'm taking steps to properly address the lasting effects that my experience left on me. With luck, support, and a little bit of time to process, I'll heal from this experience and maybe even come out just a bit stronger. But I have you to thank for helping me realize what was going on. so, Thanks, Patrician. Hopefully, (on the off chance you actually read this random comment on a 12 day old video,) I don't come off as weird.

[@PrayForTanqueray]

Nah, that's not weird at all. Especially in that scenario it is more than just relatable to seek somewhere or something to that'll take your mind of things, make it feel at ease. You are most certainly not alone in that, rest assured, and hope you find a way to get through this.

[@KingFluffs]

Did you have a deadly run in with a pack of famished sausage dogs too?

[@feedmewifi_477]

it’s crazy the lasting effects traumatic experiences can have on us, even if it doesn’t feel like it at the time and we only realize later (if ever)

[@drewgoin8849]

Hope you are doing well!

[@melanora]

wishing you the best ❤

[@KombatUnit91]

So this marks my second time watching your TES analysis series all the way through and I had to stop by this time and say the statement about Skyrim being a comfortable blanket that comes to you during low points in your life was so true I refused to admit it the first time around. I won't sadbrain out a life story but a lot of things went tits up for me in 2012 and yes, Skyrim was there to hide in days at a time. Same in 2015. It's nowhere near the best game I've played but half the fun is the ship of Theseus aspect of modding it to look and function just a bit better. Being able to plop down on a Friday night, relax and wander and not have too much asked of me for a few hours is really all I personally want out of it at this point and it does just fine. Thank you and Private Sessions for the longform content, it is an absolute blessing when you sit and solder small electronics 8+ hours a day.

[@artuurdupont3999]

I always felt like the original draft of the Thalmor embassy infiltration was supposed to revolve around freeing Esbern. That's why the embassy's escape route is near a prison cell and we can free someone else instead. Instead Bethesda replaced "getting the guy who knows all the info about the dragons from the Thalmor" with "getting info about the dragons from the Thalmor" so they can show the player Riften and the thieves guild later without having to cut a quest they put a lot of work into. That's why the quest is so inconsequential and out of place. It really sucks because it makes Delphine seem like a complete idiot who's just irrationally paranoid about the Thalmor when the original draft probably had her be more competent.

[@EWrath.23]

Fave lines & visual gags: +Main Quest+ - 17:51 - "You could argue that maybe the '7,000 steps' includes the climb up from Ivarstead. I would argue that I have a 15" c*ck if you start measuring from my prostate." - 21:16 - "Ah, yes. The Great Filter. Step aside, Bridge Wizard™, you've been replaced by.. a frost troll. I will remind you that reaching this point in the quest line required us to slay a dragon. But the filter that actually stops people is a f*cking snow ape." - 23:34 - "Technically, their name is The Masters of the Voice, but everyone calls them Greybeards because calling them Tongues would have led to ceaseless cunnilingus jokes on r/Skyrim." - 32:47 - "Delphine is kinda the OG Q-Boomer of conspiracy theories accusing every unexplained plot point of being involved with the Thalmor." - 2:09:33 - Ancient Dragonborn: The Middle School Theater Performance Rant - 2:39:34 - "Dying from from a heart attack is dying in battle against your own cardiovascular system. Shor would appreciate that one." - 2:41:19 - "And there it is, friends: the ugly truth." +Daedric Quests+ - 4:34:06 - Clinging to the leg of the statue of Meridia in VR lmao +Dawnguard+ - 8:11:08 - "Serana S*x Mods" gag + moth priest rant - 8:13:03 - Dawnguard Crossbow Creation Rant - 8:14:56 - "'Oh man, Old Man Patrick's got himself worked up again. Who asked him about Skyrim this time? I told the nurses not to engage him when he brings that shit up.' Where were we.. Oh yeah, beating some nerd up." - 8:33:10 - Surprise! It's Saint Jiub. +Dragonborn+ - 9:28:59 - "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, alphas and omegas, sigmas and ligmas, give it up for... NeLoTh? Seriously?" - 9:36:27 - Only new dungeon type? Apocrypha: "Creepy plane of Oblivion filled with free literature and monsters." - 10:44:26 - SUPERCUT of Learning the Word "Dovah" for Bend Will

[@willegan1823]

Someone linked this video in Discord because of the prostate line and didn’t bother providing a timestamp. I volunteered to come in and find the timestamps for the quote, and when I saw that the video was 11 hours long, I decided to look in the comments to see if anyone had timestamped it. Thank you for doing so.

[@DSFARGEG00]

based

[@PurpleIsAmazin]

2:18:00 I had never actually seen this quest before because I ignored the main quest on my single playthrough of Skyrim, but it's wild to me that Elenwen is just chilling across the table from Delphine after her own dossier regards Delphine as a kill on sight, extremely dangerous threat. And also that Delphine doesn't immediately try to kill her or escape considering how hard she's been trying to hide from the Thalmor.

[@Otakupatriot117]

Meanwhile Ulfric is willing to give up the entire Rift just to not be in the same room as her. That quest is a joke, but it's a funny one.

[@linminsu3443]

@@Otakupatriot117 I wouldn't call a 20 minute slog a funny joke tbh. That quest single handedly makes me want to put off the main quest, and since I don't really like the civil war either my playthrough gets deadlocked until I decide to sit through one of them.

[@Otakupatriot117]

@@linminsu3443 You have to at least give it credit for being unique. It isn't another fucking draugr dungeon. I guess we have different perspectives, because by the time I got to Season Unending I was ecstatic at the chance to be doing something that I hadn't seen before. A quest that I assumed would be based around speech. Of course I was disappointed to learn the speech skill had no impact, but it was still something that wasn't a draugr dungeon. My bar for Skyrim's quality is set pretty low.

[@caseycox1002]

Tbh, the civil war discussion quest is one of the only realistic quest interactions in the entire game. Several characters actually voice an opinion against each other, and the player gets to make a decision. Might actually be one of the ONLY instances of false choice in the entire game, lol