Warriors of Skyrim | TES 5 Analysis

[@Patrician]

First, and since it's not in the video: the explanation for the Unicorn being in Skyrim, despite having gone extinct as part of Hircine's Oblivion quest is simple. It's not that unicorns are ancient and magical, capable of time/dimension traveling, or even particularly capable of fooling Hircine and the world into thinking they are gone. No sir, the Creation Club posits that the Psijic Order, noted non-interventionists part of a race that honors Aedric worship, decided that a Daedric animal getting killed as part of a Daedric ritual was an injustice, and decided to transport one into the present. They did not do this to their island where they could protect it, but into the middle of nowhere Skyrim for biologists (no seriously) to discover and write about in a journal so that adventurers can locate and very quickly tame this ancient and notably essential mount and finally achieve the true justice of giving it Horse Armor.

[@JCdental]

Im going to live on pretending that was a joke its just better that way

[@Thyrork]

Yes but how big is his c-....

[@joaxarkus4648]

It feels like everything Bethesda does nowadays, especially the Creation Club, is one big unfunny joke. I knew the moment that the program was announced that we were going to be dealing with this level of idiocy and blatant nostalgia bait. Can't wait to see how they royally screw up Starfield next year. Happy Holidays everyone. As I say every year: Things are only going to get worse.

[@donatodiniccolodibettobardi842]

They WHAT?

[@travus111]

Pat loves corse hocks

[@agroed]

Jarl Balgruuf be like: "Man, these werewolf attacks are getting more and more frequent. We should hire the Companions to get rid of them."

[@spartanq7781]

The Companions: "uhh sure thing.......how do we tell him?"

[@zephyrus339]

@@spartanq7781 Simple: Invite him to join the companions then wait till he has come to the point were it's impossible to progress without becoming one.

[@spartanq7781]

@@zephyrus339 Lol....still hate that part.

[@abdalln8554]

​@@zephyrus339Balgruuf is essential so wouldn't that be an immovable object vs another immovable object?

[@zephyrus339]

@@abdalln8554 I don't know. Does essential make you immune to werewolf curses?

[@BiakSkull]

Dude that highelf officer dungeon guy doesnt get his outfit confused. If you listen to what he's saying to the other npc (and read his note) you can see he just tells whoever's passing through that he's an officer and sends them inside, then once the player finishes the dungeon he switches outfit because he's pretending to be the other facton's officer and gets startled because he expected the player to not make it out alive

[@TheMichaellathrop]

So as someone who has worn armor in real life I would say rather than negating the weight of your armor from your carry weight, instead mitigate how much wearing it slows you down. Because until you learn how to move in it it will slow you down above and beyond just how much it weighs. Learning to both properly wear and move in armor is going to allow for more grace and not tiring as quickly while in armor on top of any increases in strength agility or endurance which would be represented by the level up process it's self.

[@Jamie-st6of]

one of my favorite skyrim memories was during my first playthrough as a kid. i had trouble with the 7000 steps' frost troll. but i remembered seeing a book about fighting trolls, so i read that book and took its advice (a shield and fire damage), and i was able to defeat the troll by taking advantage of its weaknesses

[@EinFelsbrocken]

Oh man... good times... I had pretty much the same memory stored somewhere; now awakened... oh; melancholy

[@squirrel_killer-]

You know, what was funny was as a kid who grew up on stuff like DnD, I nearly got clapped by that troll (I was rushing the main quest to get it out of the way) and after running away and regrouping, I remembered I had a fire spell and casted it on the troll thinking "It seemed to be healing a bit, so I should just counter its regeneration with this" while I battered it with my axe. After all, the traditional method of killing a troll is to pelt it with fire or acid to counter its regenerative abilities. I am really glad that this traditional bit of adventurer's knowledge was put in a book for a new generation to discover, follow, and have pay off.

[@Da_maul]

The worst part is trolls are actually not weak to fire, the burning damage from fire spells just happens to damage them at the same rate as their boosted healing.

[@AsapRockyOG]

Same haha I was terrified of it back then

[@kylegonewild]

@@Da_maul They are weak to fire. They've had a 50% weakness to fire since Oblivion. It's just barely noticeable because of how flat the damage curve is for magical effects. In Oblivion you could tell a difference when using fire magic against them vs other magic.

[@crystalizedfae]

31:32 Metal Gear Solid V did something like this if I recall. If you constantly played the game getting sleepdart headshots from stealth for example, the enemies would begin to wear helmets and faceplates to force you to adapt.

[@ryanw531]

Or run sabotage ops to deprive them of said equipment.

[@sup1602]

Well sort of. When I did a only chokeout/cqc run of mgs 5 the enemies still ended up wearing helmets when I got to about misson 23. I think the gear esclations has to do more witb where you are on the mission number than what you do on the maps.

[@ryanw531]

@@sup1602 I suspect this is prob due to the game only tracking lethal vs non-lethal takedowns, with dead people = balistic armor and unconcious people = sports gear. Since there is no real defence against a hay maker or bear hug from Snake, it just groups it under non-lethal.

[@bug_stonkin_wess1221]

@@sup1602 tbh, playing through the story and stopping there doesn't give the system the time it needs to truly take effect. I have over 400 hours on a save and only really started seeing response to my strategies around mission 30 or so, when i already had more rhan enough choice to simply go around their resistances

[@PhoenixEnforcer101]

Yup. I used smoke and sleep grenades and they started wearing gas masks

[@bezel95]

One thing I’d like to add about the civil war: if you join the Imperials after assassinating the emperor, the dialogue changes from swearing to serve Titus Mede II to just swearing to serve the emperor. The death of the emperor is so inconsequential that the whole of the Civil War only has that one small change to reflect what is possibly the biggest political blow against the empire in the game. I have no idea if there is a Stormcloak version where you can tell Ulfric you assassinated the emperor.

[@mattblack3813]

I wouldn’t be shocked if there were quest designers/writers who weren’t aware that the Emperor could be assassinated in one of the guild plot lines.

[@briankeys5941]

There's a civil war in Skyrim? 🤣

[@Otakupatriot117]

The Dark Brotherhood is my favorite questline (Isn't it everyone's?) and one of the reasons I pretty much never go Imperial, because it just feels wrong not to be a Stormcloak if you're taking out the Emperor himself. And unless I missed something, there's not a single line acknowledging that the dragonborn basically destroyed an entire country just for a quick paycheck.

[@HontounoShiramizu]

@@Otakupatriot117 You don't destroy the Empire by killing the Emperor the same way most countries didn't just collapse when the ruling monarch died in battle (or the Empire itself after Oblivion). It's pretty much implied that both Claudius and Augustus Mede were both more liked and more capable than their father and the assassination is more than likely a plot to accelerate the succession. That could still be a reason to go Imperial after killing the Emperor - you removed the weak link to replace it with a better one. It's still absurdly disappointing how little major events get acknowledged outside of their own story lines

[@tselis]

@@Otakupatriot117 I genuinely despise the Dark Brotherhood storyline (even if I think the companions is worst). Astrid is too stupid imo as a character and the whole you're the listener on top of being dragonborn thing ticks me off. Idk I always bring an empty black soulgem and put Astrid in a Shiv

[@dylanmeloy5161]

Fun Fact: If you have the unoffical patch and side with the Imperials in the Civil War you can go to Tullius during Missing in Action and get him to pardon Thorald. You can then take the pardon to Northwatch Keep, give it to the guard at the entrance, and then be slowly guided through the whole keep to where Thorald is being kept, without bloodshed. Its only available if you've sided with the Imperials, I think the original intention was that you had to complete the legion questline to get Tullius to do it. Without the unoffical patch, the dialogue is bugged and Tullius's refusal always takes priority regardless of your rank in the legion, making it impossible to resolve the quest peacefully in vanilla.

[@jacehuman5357]

I've never played with the unofficial patch and i've been able to do this tho

[@koolaidman4869]

Wait so I need to patch the game myself in order to actually free that guy peacefully? I've been doing the whole Empire storyline just so I could free him. I keep thinking, "maybe if I rise high enough through the ranks I can get the political sway to have him freed!" And now I find out that you literally cannot help him without using violence? Sad.

[@dragonhunterg6137]

​@@koolaidman4869 it's due to the game being bugged out in that instance, it was intended but never fixed

[@koolaidman4869]

@@dragonhunterg6137 bro they've released the game like 10 times and never got around to fixing that?

[@F2PMegaGod]

@@koolaidman4869 im almost sure thats a feature in the main game, unless it got bugged since. But i think you can always get Thorald free with Tulius' help, even in vanilla

[@ziodice6166]

My number one complaint about first person melee combat is actually one I've never run into outside of like, HEMA circles: Why the hell doesn't anyone in first person games ever hold their sword in, I don't know, some kind of fighting stance with the pointy bit between you and your opponent? Unbelievably the only first person game I can think of to fix this is fuckin' Cyberpunk 2077. That's insane to me. It's very simple. Point the pointy end of the object at the other guy. That's 90% of what it's for lmfao. Don't hold it weirdly to the side of your face, don't hold it at your hip, *point it at the bad guy in combat* I know it's a real silly thing to complain about but still.

[@Tocroach22]

I’m sure you’ve probably heard of it or even played it because you’re a HEMA nerd like me, but there’s a fencing game called Hellish Quart that is currently in early access that actually had the sword play you’re looking for

[@TheHashtagSquad2K15]

You might want to check out Kingdom Come Deliverance

[@ColtNomad]

So the merging of armor slots really triggers me because they removed the pants slot from previous games and then a lot of armor sets are missing pants. It's so infuriating me that the lands of skyrim are cold yet so many armors are pantsless

[@lillycline1414]

Agreed

[@soggyflipflop]

and how one of the hide armors is missing the torso..

[@justme0910]

Seriously. It's super immersion-breaking, especially on non-Nord characters. Nords are canonically resistant to cold, so I can buy them running around in fur bikinis and topless hide skirts, but you can't tell me a Dunmer bandit in the same type of get up running around Winterhold isn't freezing their pointy ears off.

[@poilboiler]

Skyrim secretly has very strict unspoken fashion requirements and coincidentally a burgeoning medicine industry specialized in curing pneumonia.

[@YouTubecanfuckagoat]

Assless chaps … a true Nord goes into battle with his cheeks out.

[@valthorix7347]

Interesting thing about blood on the ice, I didn't actually know that you could complete this _without_ wrongfully imprisoning Wulferth. I thought it was part of the scripting that he HAD to go to jail and that you couldn't do a thing about Calixto until the fourth murder.

[@arcanedoughnut2016]

I didn't even know you could accuse Wulferth. I accused Calixto the first time I did the quest and did it the same way on subsequent playthroughs (Although i didn't replay the quest much)

[@RollerbladeCat]

i thought the same thing for so long!

[@jacktaylor6253]

You're shitting me. How the actual fuck

[@kalashnikovdevil]

Balgruuf being able to side with either faction seems like the most obvious upgrade to the civil war quest line.

[@gewuerzwanze5627]

Yeah. Especially when you. His thane and resident dragonborn. Tells him to side with your faction with the incentive that successfully defending from whatever faction you oppose would keep him in power. Baalgruuf is a good character and i hate to lose him no matter what side wins

[@arcanedoughnut2016]

I like the idea but I also like the consequence of being forced to displace this character you're really fond of because of who you decided to fight for. It's honestly the only real consequence of the civil war.

[@Deathelement53]

Wish fulfillment. The game is better the way it is so that he can be his own person and so the moment can be memorable

[@shadowzero3983]

Ever heard of Tiber Septum? You know the Dragonborn that conquered most of the world... Became a literal God... Yeah that guy, now I'm a Dragonborn that's the Archmage of the College of Winterhold, Leader of the Companions, leader of the thefts guild, listener of the Dark Brotherhood, champion of about 17 Daedric prince's with there artefacts to boot... YOUR THANE!!! A unstoppable killing machine! and you still want to stand in my way?

[@DigimontamerB]

Seconded

[@MellowDarkflower]

Me: **Waits anxiously and patiently for Thieves of Skyrim**

[@Warpded]

I'm with you there. I'm back after a while and I want my preferred playstyle covered

[@saltypotatochips9094]

same man its been so long

[@MadMamluk88]

You can thank Starfield for delaying it

[@dalken_isthun]

It's been 84 years! XD

[@johndoesutobexd8110]

​@@MadMamluk88 damn star field, not only delaying TES VI but now also Thieves of Skyrim :(

[@panzeratom695]

The juggernaut perk doesn't represent knowing how to wear your armour it represents knowing how to use it. Effectively using armour also means knowing how to angle yourself so that blows have the least chance to bite in, anyone can wear armour but it takes skill to use it to its full potential

[@марияставарова]

Exactly. Wearing a full set of armor is like having an extra shield around your body. It's not some get out of harms way for free card. it's a tool that you have to put to use, like if you hold your shield in a forward strethced out hand, then all you get is two splintered pieces of wood and/or a dislocated elbow joint. It's all about positioning and letting the strikes run along you without transfering all of the impact force.

[@richardlionerheart1945]

Also armor is a bunch of plates of varying thickness you should direct blows toward your strongest points instead of letting yourself get stabbed in the elbow or armpit

[@barrydabwob5321]

@@марияставарова well said man!

[@Evarakeus]

Same could be said for conditioning, it has nothing to do with how well you're wearing the armor but rather with how accustomed to wearing it you've become. It was an actual thing historically that knights and squires would train in their armor quite literally to condition themselves for wearing it, similar to how people today with train with firearms while wearing their full kit to simulate actual combat better

[@dreadedworld8864]

Juggernog

[@chack321]

there are 2 dungeons that do, actually, shave off travel time. One goes through the mountain range that Bleak Falls Barrow is on and the other goes through the mountain range that Labyrinthian is in. Both go North/south.

[@asturias0267]

Brittleshins Pass! This one is memorable to me for this very reason. It's a shame the the fast travel system leads to most players not interacting with the world in a way that makes this pass useful.

[@travus111]

It's funny the cc/anniversary stuff put like three creations in there so I guess Bethesda lives it

[@LaSerpentDEden]

@@asturias0267 I always unlock it because it's to the right of Bleak Falls Barrow exit in the side of the cliff on the south side of that mountain range

[@FidgetTheMidget8P]

There's also one in the NorthWest of Skyrim, near Castle Volkihar and the thalmor fort where the entrance is at the top of the mountain and the exit is at the bottom. Makes getting there from Solidude easier as I don't have to skirt around the shore

[@mcsmash4905]

since i completely ignore fast travel via the map screen i really appreciate such shortcuts

[@altsadhara]

To this day, one of my fondest memories with the Old Orc is how much my friend insulted me for using a fear spell to ensure the last moment they had before their "honourable death" was running in terror from an unarmed, unarmoured mage.

[@PossiblyOmegon]

Damn that’s just cruel lol

[@lasarousi]

I always found that trope completely laudable and always humiliate the old fart too, often reviving it's corpse.

[@YouTubecanfuckagoat]

That is deliciously dark.

[@demonicloaf2100]

Can we all take a moment to appreciate the way the dwarven shield landed perfectly upright when he died?

[@saber7534]

I'm going to be honest. Back in the day when I played skyrim for the first time as a kid I thought the Civil War was the main quest until I was told by friends afterwards that it wasn't. ...man ten years goes by fast.

[@clancys_creed3037]

Its okay. When i was a kid i didn’t know you could use perk points at all. I thought they were just for aesthetic.

[@Slender_Man_186]

Same here, except when I was a kid playing for the first time, I completely missed the pull chain in Bleakfall Barrow, thought the Restless Drauger was the boss, and I just went off and did other stuff.

[@boneman-calciumenjoyer8290]

I know that feeling. Wanna feel real old? Mario sunshine came out 21 years ago...

[@slymarbo6324]

@@Slender_Man_186 players like in this thread are why bethesda continues to water down their games. Some of you are lucky you navigated out of the birth canal

[@Snaplock70]

@@slymarbo6324 They were literally kids my dude

[@PinkManGuy]

I'M SO excited for the stealth segment. You have given me SO much to think about with this game in terms of Magic and Combat.

[@mups4016]

Combat is one of the principal ways you're going to be interacting with a tes game (especially after they gutted speech/charisma systems), so frankly it has to be a little bit more than just adequate.

[@mups4016]

Your jabs at dark souls combat are confusing to say the least. Because dark souls combat has never been about fast reflexes and more about taking it slow and avoiding damage altogether, same thing with monster hunter. It's confusing especially after you accused people of having an agenda and misrepresenting skyrim's combat because your ideal version of skyrim's combat where you're smart and methodic and use your tools accordingly and learn what your weapons can do... is darksouls combat in a nutshell. Dark souls just leans a little heavier into the difficulty side when you ask the average player. Something that, at least for the first game, is somewhat untrue regardless of what the devs had to say about it. If you *actually* play the game with a critical eye like you did skyrim you'll realize that dark souls merely has expectations of the player and it's disingenuous to say that perfect frame inputs are one of these considering that parrying in particular is a win more button, not a requirement for engagement like resource management and observation is.

[@ertawanderer1062]

​@@mups4016 yeah his melee combat is fine part really frustrated me. He sets up a situation and then criticizes you for being a Melee character and saying you should do everything that isn't melee to make it work including things that wouldn't have worked in the situation he put forward. He then proceeds to say the best way to make it work is to completely break the system in order to ignore one of the Core Concepts of melee combat. On top of using a optional skill being blocking as mandatory despite him being very outspoken about role-playing your characters

[@Miszorov]

​@@ertawanderer1062Honestly he almost would seem to much more enjoy combat if it were closer to Divinity or, funnily enough, RuneScape. Like yes, we get that too much 'mechanical skill' dependent on the player and not the character doesn't fit an action*RPG* but he also seems to forget that the *action* part is as much important as the role-play. Lower time to kill, simple parrying and meaningful directional attack system combined with dodging (if jumping in first person isn't giving you nausea then a quick side/back step also shouldn't) and some meaty audio-visual response would go a long way. Just imagine that you still had to tacticaly use all your poisons, shouts and what have you to defeat that legendary bandit, without the actually dealing DPS part looking like a slapstick comedy of bashing and slashing until the damn damagesponge finally falls over after the 45th stab to the head (because obviously higher difficulty in RPGs just *must* mean out-proportionaly higher numbers which instead of achieving higher danger, simply turns into a slogfest, even when using your tactics properly)

[@georgethompson913]

I still dont think dark souls combat is the best way to do this. Dark souls is a much more linear game with a very different end goal. Elder scrolls games would probably benefit from mount and blade directional combat.

[@utes5532]

Yeah, his whole combat segment seemed like a gigantic cope. He kinda brushes aside the whole "mannequins whacking each other with pool noodles" argument by basically saying "yeah but you can block and do power attacks and use scrolls and spells", ignoring that just whacking the enemy mindlessly over and over is the most optimal way of dealing with 99% of combat situations. "But whacking the enemy and chugging potions means you're playing the game WRONG" maybe so? But is it my fault the game doesn't incentivize doing something different? That's why a more skill-based and elaborate combat system would be a boon. Force the player to think of combat encounters on the fly and how they should go about approaching them. Very few encounters in this game can't be reliably solved by walking up to it and facetanking. Ironically right after going on and on about how much depth there is he points out the soup "exploit" that encourages mindless whacking even more

[@civildisorder]

Something that never gets a lot of attention on discussions about the Skyrim Civil War (that I've seen) is how a government / leader's rationale for a cause will not necessarily be reflected by the people of the region, or vice-versa. Ulfric could 100% be benevolent minded, but his cause might be misinterpreted by others like the two guys at the entrance of Windhelm. Or the other way around where Ulfric is racist, but other Nords might be trying to give him a benefit of doubt that is not earned. This goes to the Imperials too, to be fair. You run into some NPCs talking about a united Empire being in everyone's best interest RE: the elves, and then you run into some like the Battle-borns who go, "Um excuse me, but I'm rich, you pleb."

[@HickoryDickory86]

Something that I have noticed on my numerous replays is that there are far more self-serving NPCs on the Imperial side than on the Stormcloak side. Siding with the Imperials, there are Maven Black-Briar, Olfrid Battle-Born, Erikur, and Jarl Siddgeir. Each one supports the Empire purely because it's "good for business" (translation: it makes them rich). And each one is unapologetically transparent and arrogant about their motivations, too. They make no efforts to hide any of it, and even go so far as to poo-poo the notions of tradition and honor. Siding with the Stormcloaks, there's really only the Silver-Bloods who are similarly predisposed. But even then, the Silver-Bloods are not really the problem; Thonar Silver-Blood is. As his wife correctly points out, Thonar is the real head of the family as he's the one conducting all the Silver-Bloods' business. More to the point, _he's_ the one responsible for all the Silver-Bloods' corrupt affairs (like imprisoning Madanach and using him as a puppet to manipulate the Forsworn's actions from behind the scenes), making the Silver-Bloods the ignoble bastards we think them to be. All the while, his older brother Thongvor (who becomes the Jarl in the Stormcloak government) spends his days demanding entrance into the Hall of the Dead so he can honor his ancestors, as well as demanding audience with the Jarl, which is repeatedly denied him, to spur the Jarl into action against the increasing Forsworn menace (he has no knowledge of Thonar's machinations with Madanach). So, if you do "The Forsworn Conspiracy" and "No One Escapes Cidna Mine," Thonar and his wife are obliterated (good riddance) and the only Silver-Blood left is Thongvar, the only honorable one of the bunch. Honestly, first helping out the Forsworn and then siding with the Stormcloaks to put Thongvor in charge are two of the best things one could do for Markarth. You cleanse the Silver-Blood family of its corruption and then put on Markarth's throne an honorable man who has not only the will but also the means to accomplish what needs to be done. Win-win.

[@HickoryDickory86]

Oh, and the Thalmor in Markarth are executed if you side with the Stormcloaks. Win-win-win.

[@civildisorder]

@@HickoryDickory86 One of the things that seems damning to the Imperial leadership is that they don't spend any time condemning the people who are only in it for the wealth. That could easily just be a symptom of "the writers didn't think to address it" but we have to take the lore as-is so it could also be a matter of the empire not having a problem with the wealth seekers / greed as motivation. Not even as a survival-against-the-elven-empire matter. It's just culturally rooted in the empire to be that way.

[@iami3rian394]

"Ulfric is racist..." No. He isn't. Tulius on the other hand....

[@civildisorder]

@@iami3rian394 They both are. Ulfric is less overt, not making declarations the way Tulius does. But how he rules over his own territory is indicative of it. Just remember that racism is not always displayed (in real life or fiction) by someone declaring, "I am going to say my racist thing now."

[@Carno836]

I think Todd rushing the game, cutting corners and forcing the release just to have a cool 11/11/11 release date sums up all the issues perfectly

[@iami3rian394]

I don't disagree, but they squandered the months and months that followed. The game was in active development for two years afterwards. It's inexcusable to not fix things. I point you to no man's sky, and how they're STILL iterating.

[@SGTMasterBean]

I dont think Todd Howard controlled when skyrim came out?? He was the lead designer.

[@Carno836]

@@SGTMasterBean ok what does it matter if not todd then some other bethesda ceo still rushed skyrim, stop getting caught up in unnecessary detail its about the bigger picture, which is: skyrim hasnt become what it could have because of bad management decisions, doesnt matter who exactly made them

[@adambryant4149]

@@SGTMasterBean Todd is just the scapegoat for all of Bethesda's problems. It doesn't matter if it was him, Pete Hines, or anyone else. The fact is that it was rushed for the 11/11/11 date.

[@savlecz1187]

It's encouraging to see he has finally learned from this.

[@panzeratom695]

I think the reason the companions were so bad was that lycanthropy barely made the cut. They likely had ideas at first that relied on werewolf concepts that were trimmed, leading to the faction getting shaved down last minute to fit what actually made it into the game

[@alekz8580]

I also have a feeling that the Companions were intended to be "werewolf faction" and the civil war was going to be the fighters guild replacement.

[@sweypheonix]

Is that 3 hair cut puns in a comment about the werewolves? Unintentional or not that's still very funny

[@panzeratom695]

@@sweypheonix haha I didn't even realize. It was two with a repeat at first but now there's 3 seperate ones

[@grayearly3116]

We live in a world where I'd rather re-watch a multi-hour Skyrim video than watch any movie or TV show. I respect

[@reffa2858]

I rather watch a video on Skyrim, rather than play Skyrim....

[@grayearly3116]

@@reffa2858 ngl facts yo

[@areawen8266]

Facts I just play Hearthstone and listen to this over and over lol

[@yaldabaoth2]

That's because it's more entertaining to hear someone talk about what they like than what they are paid to say.

[@grayearly3116]

@@yaldabaoth2 FACTS YO

[@HarryPotter-uv8yp]

Double dipping on my comments, here. Standing power attack doesn’t just deal extra damage on the first strike. It allows you to combo in two extra regular attacks at increased speed (or reduced swing time, I honestly don’t know about the exact stat names or mechanics) as follow-ups. This essentially makes it a guard-breaker combo. Surprisingly satisfying to pull off. Also worth noting that it was an in-game book that taught me this trick, so I’ll give some props to the devs and writers for working it in.

[@kaitlynkitty1917]

Just wanted to make a point about armor skill. Being skilled in armor isn't just about wearing it correctly. It's also about knowing your armor's vulnerabilities and how to minimize them, maneuvering in ways that minimize the chance of your vulnerabilities being exploited.

[@whirl3690]

This isn't really the issue he's pointing out. A large part of effectiveness with a weapon is using it to exploit the enemy's vulnerabilities, and this is quite obvious, no doubt also to the video creator (they mention flavoring a higher critical hit chance like this). The problem here is with how the values in the game represent real world concepts. Skyrim isn't like D&D where HP is an abstract concept which doesn't necessarily equate to health, health is pretty definitively representative of physical endurance in Skyrim (down to it being derivative of the Endurance attribute in earlier games). The same would naturally apply to armor, with better armor rating equaling better protection, as opposed to AC in D&D simply being how well a character avoids being hit.

[@kaitlynkitty1917]

@@whirl3690 Would love to reply but it's been over a year since I watched this video and I don't remember what he said. I think I'm just gonna take the L and assume you're making a good point.

[@whirl3690]

@@kaitlynkitty1917 I'm coming back to these videos after a long time too. It feels like 2 years, but it hasn't even been that long since its release.

[@trustedking8798]

I also appreciate the story telling you provide in the perspective of your characters. It’s addicting to listen to

[@HarryPotter-uv8yp]

Bound Weapons ARE affected by the Elemental Fury Shout…if you haven’t grabbed Mystic Binding. Which is the only way to improve Bound Weapon damage beyond grabbing a potion. *THANKS BETHESDA.*

[@iami3rian394]

Came to say this, as the guy who originated the bounder build. = ) Glad I didn't have to.

[@graylyhen9490]

Get a mod, it takes less time than typing this

[@foofet]

@@graylyhen9490 some people play vanilla?

[@asturias0267]

The research you put into this video is really commendable. I can't imagine putting myself through the torture of extensively trying out all these weapons under a variety of circumstances.

[@algerianelk7079]

while i appreciate the take on dark elves relating to the civil war because it’s relatively new and not one i’ve really heard there’s still a inherent misunderstanding. the metaphor isn’t your house burnt down and crashing on a guys couch and not defending him, it’s your house burnt down and after asking everyone you thought would help and they refused you turned to someone who you didn’t know that well and jumped in hastily to it with a promise of shelter and tolerance. then after crashing on their couch and taking care of your space the other roommates start hating on you and blaming you for everything. while that’s happening the home owner goes and starts a fight with a group of people and you don’t go to help him start that fight, and now they’re mad at you. a lot of people tend to forget regardless of the duel and of the execution when you enter solitude, it’s a war of storm cloak aggression and just because windhelm has refugee dark elves does not mean they should help in that aggression.

[@PANCAKEMINEZZ]

Okay but further recontexulizing your example, the people the homeowner went to fight with were basically another group who were trying to move in while also making concessions to the homeowner that they needed to remove some furniture they found distasteful. Some of the roommates wanted the newcomers to move in, but the homeowner and the other roommates didn't... Meanwhile, the Dunmer crashing on the couch who weren't invited but tacitly accepted, won't lift a finger to aid the homeowner in keeping the new roommates from moving in.

[@Jeff_denHartog]

Right, those Dark Elves/Khajiit/Argonian, "crashing on your couch" are working hard, taking care of their families, children and lives, they are not standing around looking at the sky, they are trying to live a peaceful life, that's is not they war. Duke of Whales "A narrative critique of TES V Skyrim" is certainly more competent in analyzing both sides, and much more competent in presenting his points..

[@iainhansen1047]

Thank you

[@ThePsiGuard]

Really looking forward to the stealth video. Light armor & sneaking are staples of almost all of my elder scrolls playthroughs, and I really want to see how the systems compare to your experience with the other two major playstyles.

[@johnlindsay7301]

This is the first time I’ve heard someone mention Marcurio. What an under appreciated gem he is as a player partner. He even brings up new dialogue way after any npc should. And his talent in battles is unrivalled. Not to mention his style. He is such a joy to journey with.

[@civildisorder]

I said this during premiere chat but I only realized recently that werewolf form puts your combat based leveling 100% on pause if you're dedicating to using it. There's a lot to unpack with that sort of thing. Here's to hoping they refine it if TES6 ever exists. EDIT - BY THE WAY this is ON TOP OF being a werewolf preventing you from getting the rested XP bonus from sleep.

[@jacktaylor6253]

I never slept so the xp thing didnt matter to me, But i found it fucking annoying that if i was leveling my werewolf, all the goddamn timer extensions, for transforming back, stack. So i'd have to sit there and wait like 3-5 hours after raiding several bandit camps cause you couldnt force yourself to turn back by yourself. Honestly, just make that hircine's ring's 2nd passive ability "can turn back at will". Then the infinite transformations are really useful.

[@calebbonney4193]

Not saying it decides the issue, but on the topic of the Nords harassing the Dark Elf when you enter Windhelm it's worth noting that while they aren't currently Stormcloaks one is brother to the armies commander and the other was a Stormcloak until he became badly wounded and could no longer fight.

[@Warhammer_lover]

And? Two individuals, who are not even in the faction, don't represent Stormcloaks' views and beliefs.

[@aetherkid]

@@Warhammer_lover your name fits your views

[@calebbonney4193]

@@Warhammer_lover one has extremely close ties and the other was literally in the army, I'm not sayijg they represent them all, but you cannot discount them just because one isn't a warrior and the other got hurt.

[@Warhammer_lover]

@@calebbonney4193 so, in your words, an old, veteran-drunkard and one general's brother represent the entirety of army? I guess the entirety of American army is just junkies, because I saw two junkie vets.

[@calebbonney4193]

@@Warhammer_lover no, but I'm saying they can't be ignored, especially considering it's a video game, we're never gonna get to talk to and really learn about the thousands of soldiers, so we have to rely on just a few to get the idea of what they want and why they want it.

[@scumbad7953]

56:27 Dark Messiah of Might and Magic was really good at this. I'd love to see more environmental objects which you can mix into combat with a touch of creativity.

[@uriziel38]

Speaking of mounted combat, on my most recent playthrough I had a lock-on mod installed and thanks to it the horseback archery became an incredibely powerful and fun way of dealing with outdoor enemy encounters. Strongly recommend to give it a try to anyone who is reading this.

[@tristanhale8558]

The only reason elenwen was at the beginning of the game is because she wanted to get ulfric out of getting executed. You can find that at the thalmor Embassy in ulfrics dossier he’s basically an unwitting thalmor tool with the purpose of weakening the empires hold on Skyrim. She isn’t there WITH the empire… tullius is making sure that she doesn’t intervene

[@Slywyn]

In the part around 2:37:30 where Farkas transforms, I'm pretty sure one of the Silver Hand falls over without ever being touched, lol. Oh you go over it later but it's still just. So very funny that they kill each other.

[@arifhossain9751]

that first guy had a heart attack. the others freaked out and went into a panicked frenzy and killed each other. Hircine OP

[@josephpercy1558]

Bethesda mastered the art of cinematic storytelling. Truly. 😆

[@squishgod9094]

Still in the dungeon philosophy section. Hoping when you get to the Companions you have in character inserts like with the previous one. Loved that goofy shit

[@cowboycurtis4944]

I am really looking forward to you talking about the dreaded Stealth Archer build in the next video, but please take your time to craft another great video.

[@ZorotheGallade]

The Mount and Blade games really spoiled me regarding mounted combat. Whenever I try fighting while mounted in Skyrim I expect that charging at an enemy and clotheslining them with a greatsword while running at top speed will instantly destroy an enemy or knock them down with a large part of their health sliced off. Instead it will do the same thing as if you just stood there and awkwardly swiped at them.

[@niquitobonito]

I kind of like brittleshin pass because the boss is at the center of the dungeon, you can choose which way you enter and exit so you can choose to backtrack or face more enemies. And with day travel is doesn't matter which exit you take

[@delornegg]

I know for me personally, being a hiker and backpacker - I aaaalways look for loop routes because I hate out and back trails lol. I'd rather not retread steps if I can help it, it's just less interesting (for me). And I know I definitely appreciate mechanics in games that prevent you from having to just retrace everything you've already seen/killed just to get out as well. I definitely get it.

[@0utskirtsOfNowhere]

I'm really glad Serion had little cameos in this. I really liked his comments here and there in the last video.

[@SnakeWasRight]

The civil war is actually my favorite quest line to replay, I'd say the biggest flaw is that we get so little of it. But it is very shallow and a major wasted opportunity. It should never really end, but killing Tulius or Ulfric should just change up the world a bit. Whatever faction loses should still take over forts that need to be taken back every once in a while, and should still raid the countryside. Imagine having to defend or liberate an occupied village, or run across an army trying to make a base out of Roriksted or something. And the ability for the player to command troop movements, resulting in changes to which parts of the map are at threat of being attacked, would be amazing, and probably pretty easy to implement.

[@JHS270694]

Something like Assassin's Creed: Revelations system where you defend your territories after taking over them, otherwise they end up being reoccupied if you ignore the prompt. You command different types of troops, with a point based system to upgrade existing troops and deploy new ones, micromanaging your resources as you do so.

[@arcanedoughnut2016]

To me the worst thing about playing the civil war is that you only have to play it once. Literally both sides have you do the same things in the same order you just get to decide if the nameless goons you fight are in red or blue Maybe that's a little disingenuous. The siege of whiterun is different albeit much more fun being on blue team.

[@SnakeWasRight]

@@arcanedoughnut2016 to me it also affected whether I could get the house in Windhelm lol

[@arcanedoughnut2016]

@@SnakeWasRight I've never bought a house that wasn't Breezehome, Usually I just make a Hearthfire house so I never considered that lol.

[@SnakeWasRight]

@@arcanedoughnut2016 it's got a hidden room so it's kinda cool 😎

[@AzazelTheMisanthrope]

"There's far more overlap between a warhammer and a claymore than there is between a warhammer and a mace" Game design aside, I had to comment here on how extremely inaccurate and backwards this statement is. Having a large weight on the end of a long handle is extremely different than handling a blade of any length. They require an entirely different manipulation of physics and have nothing in common.

[@CErra310]

What about the axe and the hammer then?

[@AzazelTheMisanthrope]

@@CErra310 Still distinctly different experiences because of the way edge alignment works, but more similar than either of them has to a sword of a similar length. In all honesty, having axes benefit from both blade and blunt skills simultaneously makes the most sense, with the scaling tweaked to compensate.

[@CondemnedGuy]

Exactly, this is literal mall ninja speech. Only blade he's held is a kitchen knife.

[@naunau311]

The way you wield all three still have nothing to do with each other. If you're gonna classify things, one handed/two handed still works better than blunt/blade. It's absurd to expect an expert with a knife to wield a claymore efficiently. It's also absurd to expect said expert to wield a sword efficiently too mind you but he sure as shit is going to be a lot better with it than with the claymore

[@cheekibreeki4638]

Well we used to have short and long blade as seperate skills.... axe and blunt as well. Hmmm.....

[@Warpded]

Imagine if you could actually side WITH Alduin. I'm envisioning a quest line where you take down each major faction and slowly gaining power. By the end, Alduin realizes your Thu'um is truly powerful, and he gives you the honor of taking the Greybeards and Parthurnax down

[@AniGaAG]

This "wrong perspective / it's misunderstood" argument, so I feel, isn't a good one - it's the _game's_ job to make itself understandable and satisfying... _not_ the player's job to fine-tune their mindset and approach to the game in order to be able to ignore the flaws. The player having to do that to enjoy it _is_ a design flaw. If swinging a hammer feels like swinging a wet towel, that's the game's fault. When potion-chugging is easy cheese, that's the game's fault. Et cetera. ... I agree with you regarding the "MaKe It MoRe LiKe SoUlS" thing though. That's stupid. TES combat needs refinement, not replacement. And the Souls combat system is good, but it has a totally different point that's not very compatible with TES.

[@KhorneBrzrkr]

Wow! The conclusion to 1.2 is exactly what I’ve said forever. Outward does risk/challenge exploration really well too, along side Valheim. But it’s absolutely amazing how many mods for Outward simply remove all the need for planning. Adding in infinite carry weight. Potions that give you all the buffs. I think I even saw one that added in fast travel. These things don’t make the game more fun. They just strip them of their individuality and turn them into another generic rpg.

[@mightystu49]

I think the motion-sickness claim is overblown, but there have been a number of decent first-person melee games that don't rely on dodges that are jarring, namely the Vermintide games, Dark Messiah: of Might and Magic, and the Zeno Clash titles. i think leaning into those game designs would help a lot, and make an emphasis on blocking, stamina management, and positioning matter more would be ideal. I also think if they made weapon classes have different movesets to differentiate them it would help a lot (and to bring back spears and thrown weapons). I'll say your claim about real-life weapons is wrong: fighting with swords, two-hand and one-handed, has more in common than fighting with a one-handed sword and a one-handed mace. Axes are with blunt because they're closer to a mace technique than sword. Really they should have brought back axe as a skill.

[@wolfgangspiper]

This series is great and I especially enjoyed this chapter of your huge epic. I'm a TES video junkie and this might be my favorite one so far. I almost want to join in on the fun making one of these. I feel like the way I perceive Skyrim isn't really addressed in any of them, but this is the closest, this still means there is some room to add something new. But for now, I just thoroughly enjoyed your entire breakdown and it'll likely be rewatched by me a dozen times over the next year. Kudos for sure! Blessings of Mystara upon ye.

[@panzeratom695]

I appreciate you being so clear about the future videos at the end. This was a well put together and refreshing take on skyrim as a fun game with plenty of flaws. I'm excited for the stealth video but I hope you take the time you need to do it justice, I'm sure whatever comes next will be interesting too

[@Terrahex1]

I like factional radiant quests... After the story of the guild is over. That way, it sells the fantasy that the faction doesn't just stop doing anything after you complete their story. I can also see it being inoffensive if they're a side activity during the story of the faction, and clearly marked. TO THIS DAY, I talk to no bartenders in games. I didn't even realize I did this until recently, and I completely forgot talking to bartenders for quests was a trope. And all this is because Skyrim burned me when I realized the last five bandit gangs I hunted down for bounty quests were all useless quests, so I thought that all bartenders must just have useless quests. I conditioned myself into ignoring them, and I didn't even know what a radiant quest was!

[@panzeratom695]

Falmer being blind is lore only, they absolutely can detect the player based on sight alone.

[@iami3rian394]

Correct. That's how all detection works... that's kinda why you put a basket on someone's head before a crime. Kinda sad he bought into this particular urban myth.

[@panzeratom695]

@@iami3rian394 some detection is based on "sound" (more like a dice roll based on the weight of armour)

[@iami3rian394]

@@panzeratom695 this was definitely debunked. I can try to find the video, if you'd like.

[@panzeratom695]

@@iami3rian394 the sound detection? Buckets over their head works for stealing because they don't witness a crime, but you can still be detected by sound It's a dice roll based on the weight of your boots

[@TheReZisTLust]

​@@iami3rian394 It is neat that enemies can go investigate if you throw something

[@jahoppey]

I am here, patiently waiting and praying to the Dwemer Gods for the stealth video to release. 🙏

[@lucybrown1013]

Ive watch both Patrician's video and your 2 now, and the depth and care put into both on a game over a decade old is astounding, and amazing to watch

[@manydoogs]

It's been a year and a half. Are the other two parts still getting made?

[@Terrahex1]

Thank you again for this video. I've listened to this multiple times. For some reason, this and to a lesser extent your mage video are my favorite video essays to relisten. Once every few weeks, I can spend a day chilling out without needing to find anything else to watch, and I can use it as background when my mind is too busy to focus.

[@Carno836]

OMH FINALLY! After watching the whole 7h of mages of skyrim i was so hyped for the enxt part, was doubting it would ever come but you delivered! Amazing work!!!

[@DanteGrey]

Shoutout you private sessions I just woke up was you were giving out that outro. I will learn what the videos about after maybe the 20th time I've watched this entirely in my sleep

[@gmh3]

Tilius can give you a letter to release the gaymane son from the fort without bloodshed but only after you finish the civil war questline in favor of the empire

[@PrivateSessions]

Yup I just went and tested this and you're right. I did the quest on a character that was siding with the Stormcloaks, and the UESP states there's no peaceful way of resolving the situation. As well, I had a bunch of people saying this was restored by the Cutting Room Floor mod, so I didn't think to test it on my Imperial character.

[@Loromir17]

Thorald Gaiman

[@bobrubins8976]

A critique of critiques of the Civil War quest line: something I’ve noticed not being talked about the Civil War is the aftermath. Yes the Jarl’s change after the war, but some of the NPC’s talk about the changes too. My playthrough was a Dunmer mage so I sided with the Imperials of course. After we beat the Stormcloaks I spent a lot of time in Windhelm to see if things would actually change, and they did. All the other Dunmer were optimistic and cheerful (very strange for Dunmer). Brunwulf said he was already gathering resources to renovate the Gray Quarters now that the war is over. In contrast, if Ulfric wins he only talks about getting ready to kill Elves (not the Thalmor specifically, just Elves in general). I do agree with PS that there is a lot of wasted potential with the Civil War. Windhelm is honestly one of the only cities that have really acknowledged the changes. If Ulfirc wins, almost no one at Solitude talks about the imperial loss which is strange. I didn’t look into the other cities, but it didn’t look like the civil war affects the dialogue much their either. I also agree with his ideas about the Empire collapsing and not being the best choice, but I just can’t see why any non-nord would join with Ulfric. He uses elf and Thalmor interchangeably which is just as intolerant and ignorant as all of Tulius’ nord nonsense. Skyrim for the Nords is at the least off putting if not offensive. And sure, the Dunmer aren’t any better, but do the stormcloaks say anything to persuade any elves that they’re wrong and the stormcloaks are right? I don’t think so. I really enjoyed your video PS and have watched it a couple times now. I just got done playing the civil war and immediately watched the correlating part of your video. If there are any points in my comment he addressed that I missed or that I just got wrong, please let me know. Really enjoy your stuff and can’t wait for the next video!

[@herbin45]

Actually, why is Meridias temple a nordic ruin identical to the ruins of the undead that she hates??

[@admiraltonydawning3847]

Actually, why is Meridia allowed to give a quest and later proclaim PC as a champion if they're a vampire lord, an undead that she hates??

[@Treasure_hunter_21]

​@@admiraltonydawning3847 oversight. Before dawnguard there werent even a proper vampire gameplay.

[@admiraltonydawning3847]

@@Treasure_hunter_21 A player could've been a base vampire at last stage in vanilla and oversight was still in action.

[@TheWritersBlockOfficial]

Hey man, I make videos that are 20 minutes max and that feels overwhelming. I can't imagine how much effort, commitment, and sheer will a video like this takes. Congrats to you. This is easily the best Skyrim analysis I've seen. It took me awhile but I finally figured out why that is... There's a real sense of purpose to this analysis. It's a fair critique that admits to the games strengths and addresses the weaknesses in hopes of encouraging positive change. There are some videos in this vain that lean more towards venting or "look how much smarter than this game I am." But your video honestly feels hopeful and positive, even though it focuses so heavily on the issues with the game. Kudos to you and thank you for adding this to canon of Skyrim discussion. Glad to see its doing well, but even still it deserves WAY more viewership. Keep up the great work!

[@athok98]

It is incredible how after 11 years after release there is still such a vital community. Great video!

[@wildthaddeus478]

The KZbin algorithm blessed me with your mage video and now this one. Your connect is fantastic and I can't explain the void it's filled in my deep dive documentaries filled heart. Please take your time with the third video because your content is incredibly unique in its delivery and analysis. Your passion and dedication shows through and does not land on deaf ears. I will absolutely check out your other videos and I believe they will live up to the mental standards I've made after your first two!

[@OsirisGrimoire]

Blood on the ice should give players the option to investigate calixto further, since there are hints in the present version of the quest that point at him being the butcher ("always sad when someone HAS to die", embalming tools, tries to take evidence off your hands). Not selling the amulet should be an option that allows wunferth to identify it, giving you an uncursed version without the regen debuffs. Jorleif should offer you the house as soon as this quest is completed, because normally you either have to kiss Ulfric's ass halfway through the war, or finish the entire war if you went imperial.

[@weckar]

It can /feel/ like enemies in Skyrim are not varied mostly because all enemies by necessity of design need to be doable with all combat styles. That means, effectively, that any tactic ultimately works on all enemies - making them feel the same as your own strategies hardly need to change.

[@isaacm4791]

the part you mentioned no longer looting anymore with it being paired with a loot method I have never seen before got me to think about skyrim loot in a way I hadn't before. I have sometimes presented a list of rewards in table top, but individually picking up piles of gold and splitting things up more may make the rewards feel more rewarding.

[@geenoix2357]

Man, your idea that things being convenient for the player, like removing weapon durability, really rings true to me. Like, Dawnguard is my favorite DLC for this game, but Dawnguard sucked all of the fun out of being a vampire simply by removing the mechanic where NPCs attack you on sight if you haven't fed in 4 days.

[@iami3rian394]

They really screwed the pooch on "common" vampires. Hell, just the eyes giving away sabille stantor and the two at the mill take away from the overall experience.

[@PunkZombie1300]

Honestly I'm fine with people not attacking me for not feeding on them. There's no real point in being a vampire if you can't use your unique abilities, and if anything feeding should make you more powerful, while starving leaves you weaker. They could have revamped the system entirely so that it made more sense and was also balanced (so not just change it so feeding grants you abilities and not feeding makes you weaker, but some reasons for both), but I'll take what they gave us. Also yeah the cosmetic changes suck.

[@jacktaylor6253]

​@@iami3rian394 i legitimately didnt know she was a vampire till that cosmetic change. Like i knew she was different, but just figured she had some magic she was using to look younger. The eye thing fully had me spitting my drink on the floor cause i was like "YOU'RE KIDDING ME"

[@iami3rian394]

@@jacktaylor6253 right? Her story hunts at something MESSED UP, but without detect life (etc), you just don't know. Now the eyes just ruin the entire thing

[@Tosnoob]

Skyrim sword and board combat in VR is actually insanely good, just by virtue of actually having to attack and block properly with timed blocks and stuff. Lotsa fun.

[@ir6734]

But it's not. It's like slapping enemies with a wet noodle even more than in the PC version. You can just wiggle your weapon on the enemy and it has the same effect. Just like PC, you need mods to make it feel at least adequate

[@trustedking8798]

This is some quality stuff. I fucking love that even after watching 20 hrs of partican’s review, your point of view and video style brings new perspectives. I highly enjoyed your takes and I thank you for putting in the time and effort in creating this wonderful piece of art. I look forward to your third video on the roguish lifestyle of skyrim

[@TheUnrealjester]

Thank you for bringing up the fun of proper blocking, I've actually been playing a shield/magic build in recent playthrough as a mostly pure mage with the Odyn magic overhaul mod, ans been having a joy doing it. I even pushed the difficulty up a bit, I'm still very fragile, but as long as I'm smart, block when necessary and use illusions to create favorable enemy groupings, its a blast

[@romkoppel5302]

19:20 This only works if you have a specific perk. IIRC, it's the one that gives forward moving power attacks higher crit chance.

[@NarutoxinZ]

Man, I've been playing Skyrim off and on for 11 years now and this video taught me a lot that I had no idea about. Great job!

[@iami3rian394]

I've got over 10,000 hours in game, and at one point knew _MORE_ about the game than UESP. Even I learned some things. That's, in my opinion, a very impressive feat.

[@adeptusfantasticus]

3:36:00 my impression of the argonian ban in the city limits is it's because of the rightful uprising against the dark elves the argonians did and if ulfric let them in the grey quarter would become a bloodbath

[@lumendrake2265]

I'm not an expert by any means, but if you were to ask any HEMA fighter whether a "blunt/blades" or a "one handed/two handed" distinction between skills would make more sense, I think most would agree with the former. Cutting with a blade and smashing something with a hammer are very different things, regardless of how many hands you're using.

[@elloo98]

I don't know if I agree with that. How you fence with a sabre or an arming sword and a buckler are completely different, even though both are bladed weapons of similar lenght. Sabers are a lot of swings, while the arming sword is all about thrusting. Delivering a cut and delivering blunt-force trauma are very similar. There is a difference in technique, sure. But that difference is nothing compared to how the weapon was designed to inflict that dammage, how long it is, or how many hands are intended to be used. I will clarify that I don't fence much saber or arming sword. But I do fence a fair bit of rapier and longsword, which under your deffinition would be the same thing, but I can assure you that the carry-over between the two is more or less things common for all martial arts. If that could be said for saber and mace, I would probably say no.

[@lumendrake2265]

@@elloo98 Yes thrusting motions and moves are in a whole other category, but outside of that you're going to use blades in a more consistent way regardless of one or two hands compared to maces or staves

[@thejake1453]

Perhaps, but on the other hand a lot of HEMA folks end up training and being skilled amongst a lot of different weapons and a lot of fundamentals work across all of them etc. It would make sense that an actual warrior would have good knowledge and experience of multi weapons as well. So you have to clump them together somehow.

[@dbelow_1556]

I wish Bethesda would just throw in as many skills as possible, have a one handed skill, 2h skill, blade, blunt, axe, short blade, spear skill, and all of them can govern how you any weapon. Overlap between skills would mean more specializations and synergy between playstyles, and give more progression for the perfectionists

[@elloo98]

@@lumendrake2265 A rapier is a bladed weapon, so it would go in blades, same as longswords. If we make the concecion that thrusting is its own thing, then why wouldn't swinging be that as well? (swung) Blades and blunt are not only vague, but there is a good amount of overlap in technique, more so than there is between one-handed and two-handed. I promise you that there is more similarities between a mace and saber than a longsword and a saber. The best system if you would want to be realistic is a skill for each, but where a lot of skill in one gives a bit of skill in others. If you want to keep it to two, then either one/two or thrust/swing would be more representative of differences than blade/blunt.

[@LostAstronaut482]

Love how much effort and nuance you put into your analysis!!

[@tyndownes]

The real crime of Skyrim's combat is how versatile and dynamic sword fighting actually is. With an actual two-handed weapon, you can snipe an exposed limb, close, bind, and overpower your opponent, or let an overwhelming blow slip harmlessly past you while you snap a shot into your opponent when he is forced to recover, not to give an exhaustive list of options. Instead, we get an animation that looks like someone swinging a baseball bat. Do that until the red juice goes away. Imagine coming across a heavily armored bandit leader swinging a greataxe wildly over his head in a swooping Montante-type style. You might decide now is a good time to use a bow or a scroll, or alternately to close quickly and attempt to grapple, pulling a one-handed blade to plunge between his ribs, or into the eye slot on his helm. Or, maybe you think you're better than him at his chosen style and engage in a clear test of ability. It doesn't have to be punishing in the same way as Dark Souls to be rewarding and have depth, but Skyrim's combat too often boils down to just clicking until someone is dead. It seems they're already leaning towards greatness with directional heavy attacks. Expand on that! I didn't even know those were in the game before this video (seriously, I saw "baseball bat swing" and went immediately back to one-handed and shield). These devs aren't making boring combat systems on purpose, they're doing it out of a lack of understanding what they're simulating.

[@Aceice234]

Having just binged this and the mage part over 2 days, I can say that I wait with baited breath for the missing parts of the series. Beyond that, I can say that the dedication and meticulousness that you obviously created this analysis with is nearly unparalleled.

[@Pooh.Shiesty]

It makes sense that having high level skills makes leveling low ones less effective to leveling up your character. Having the high level skills just naturally puts your character at a higher level so leveling the low level ones which are significantly easier to raise shouldn’t be just as effective in raising your characters level. If the system wasn’t like this you could just level a bunch of low skills and artificially inflate your level way too fast which would either make everything way to strong or punish people only playing with a few skills. What results from this system is basically a system where the exp needed used to level up a skill is translated over to character exp when you level it up. And of course making skills legendary wouldn’t make leveling low skills effective again because your character is still a higher, which was basically the point of legendary skills to begin with. Also, it is actually pretty easy to get a new skill to a respectable level and change your play style by just sitting behind a tanky follower and spamming whatever you want to grind, and the first 50 or so levels are far easier to grind because all the enemies have more health because of your higher level. This can be extremely boring though.

[@Pixel-Lucas]

You've convinced me to side with the Stormcloaks. Fuck. This is why I love videos like yours and Patrician's they're deep and thorough and incredibly well done. Thanks for all the good good content. Took me a while to actually finish because I am one of those who listens to fall asleep. 😂

[@tranquilitydove1155]

I love finding random 5 hour videos, thanks for giving me more stuff to listen to while I mindlessly grind haha

[@happydemon3038]

A thing to note with the Forsworn Conspiracy quest: The pickaxe is one-handed. It adds a weapon exclusive to the questline, the Shiv, providing a good one-handed option. But that leaves any two-handed fighter having to use a one-handed weapon. Mages can use their full magic and archers would likely have a sidearm they're trained with. Had the pickaxe been two-handed (which pickaxes generally are), then that would've been a viable prison two-hander.

[@tommykelso3592]

I love how you got beef with the unofficial patch lol

[@OffsetCivicaI]

Being able to talk for a straight 5 hours and making it both entertaining and investing is wild, amazing video

[@Adys301]

Thank you for another amazing video

[@марияставарова]

Greatly enjoyed Patrician's vids and your series on Skyrim so far. I really like how you are taking a more rp reliant approach, giving the game a fair shot and playing it the way it wants to be played. Shame it still doesn't hold up too well

[@csam9167]

The Lady at the start was secretly Preston Garvey trying to fill your quest Log with a bunch of shit

[@mintdragon5382]

This is mostly a comment for the algorithm, but if you do end up seeing this, thank you for the content. You have the kind of voice that's really easy to listen to, and having you on in the background really helps me focus on projects that I'm working on

[@sadboiz4lyfe]

I don't think the writers botched Wunferth the Unliving, I think it was their way of doubling down on making him the red herring by also making him a liar, I think it's for the player that knows he's incorrect to assume that he's making up his College affiliation and being a Windhelm Nord, he probably does assume necromancy is banned.

[@OrganicMechanic270]

Just discovered these Skyrim videos and I’m loving them! Thanks for all the hard work put into making these and really hoping for the stealth video in the future.

[@TheBlueArmageddon]

I disagree with your argument that the civil war would be more interesting than dragons in terms of sales. When the game came out, I remember there were massive hype about the dragons, and that was not just due to the advertisement

[@AniGaAG]

Uh, no. The reason I dislike radiant quests is because they're worthless nebulous "content" that stinks up _a whole lot_ of the activities in the game. Like, sorry, but... yeah. Again - no misunderstandings and wrong approaches and mishaps here on my side for thinking something very prevalent in the game sucks, it's just me thinking something prevalent in the game... sucks.

[@dbelow_1556]

I really don't see the complaints about Vignar... other than that he's old and doesn't like his rival clan, which I don't think we see affecting his judgement or policy in any meaningful way. Balgruuf on the other hand has a serious issue with his kid who may be illegitimate, and he's far too naive about the brewing civil conflict by keeping neutral until the very last second while maintaining a centralized position of serious territorial power. I feel like Balgruuf is held in higher regard than he's owed by simple virtue of being the first one you meet and giving you goodies and a top tier follower for just doing the extended tutorial. He's not necessarily incompetent or openly corrupt but it's not like he's a genius or squeaky clean either

[@CErra310]

4:39:15 This random diatribe about ripping other players in Runescape 20 years ago was hilarious. Aside from all the other qualities of your videos your tangents are _wildly_ entertaining. Keep them coming pretty please!

[@applesthehero]

it would have been interesting if the geography of skyrim had fjords everywhere, and thus boats were the main means of fast transport instead of running and horsing across plains and mountains like every other elder scrolls game

[@YujiNakaSonic]

The no bloodshed option for saving Thorold from the thalmor is possible I know I've done it before it leads to an awkward walk through the fort with that guard standing outside you do have to have finished the game on the imperial side though I believe then Tulius will give you the writ to let him free

[@nerevalis]

Only if you have the unofficial patch installed, in a standard game General Tullius won't give you the letter to free Thorald.

[@YujiNakaSonic]

@@nerevalis I'm certain I've had this happen and have never installed mods at any point

[@henbone9]

Can’t wait for stealth overview including thieves guild and dark brotherhood. Wondering if you’ll be playing a kahjiit or dark elf or possibly other? Either way love the longform content

[@TheGabs468]

I am absolutely loving these skyrim analysis videos. I couldn't agree with you more on the missed potential of the Civil war...so much more that could've been explored there.