Some newbie questions

[Gimli]

Hi all - I just got the game and am trying to digest what's in the manual, and also over on gamefaqs.com as I think about creating a character.

I want to basically make character who would be elven, an archer, sneaky, and use some magic. So I am trying to figure out the best way to do it.

One question I have concerns the attribute increases you get on level ups. I am reading where it's possible to get 3 x5 multipliers. It looks to me like this is possible only by doing something like this:

- raising (a) major or minor skill(s) that have the same governing attribute by 10 points. Then that attribute gets a x5 bonus.

- raising 3 misc. skills that have the same governing attribute; two by 4 points, one by 2 points. Do this in skills that cover 2 attributes to have 2 more x5 bonuses.

Sound about right so far?

My question is about the misc skills. I am reading one article that says you can buy training, and abother that says misc skills need to be advanced by at least 1 point naturally first, then can be trained, in order to qualify towards adding to the bonus point multiplier. Which is it?

For a race I like the Wood Elf, with the Lady birth sign.

Next I was looking at making a custom class. I was going to make it specialized in stealth; and take speed and agility as the primary stats. Then skills like this:

Major:
Light Armor
Mysticism
Restoration
Alteration
Alchemy

Minor:
Marksman
Short Blade
Sneak
Security
Mercantile

Any pros/cons to these choices? Any suggestions for changes?

Which stats should I try to raise the most? That will infulence which skills I try to develop the most to get the higher multipliers. It's a very different level up system than I've seen before and I hope some experienced people can give me some advice for this elf. Thanks!

[Kakero]

To get 3 x5 multipliers. you need to train 1 major or minor skill by 10. and 2 misc skill by with each 10.

eg, you train light armor skill to 10 which enable you to level up and gives you x5 to Agility stat but..

to get 3 x5 you also need to train 2 more misc skill ie,Heavy Armor ( govern endurance stat )by 10 and Destruction ( govern willpower stat )by 10.

by doing this you'll get x5 to agility, x5 to endurance and x5 to willpower. remember, only train 3 skills which are govern by different stat. do not train skill which are govern by the same stat.

Because of this, there is not much different in where you put your skills in. You can still get 100 in every skill or stats provided you are willing to train them.

However, for the sake of Roleplaying, put the skills in either major or minor which you think you will use the most.

[Grungi]

remember with the multipliers to choose at least one in one different type, so intelligence, strength etc so that way you can always boost stats to the maximum, i missed two out so was unable to get the maximum id have liked. (see online faqs for how the multipliers work then you'll see what im on about)

[Chris77Se]

I read somewhere, that every skill-increase furnishes a .5 multiplier. Thus, to get a x5-multiplier, you need to train 10 skills belonging to a certain stat. Misc. skills alo count for this, but the multiplier from these can sum up only to x2 per skill, i.e. after 4 increases of a misc skill all further increases are wasted concerning the stat-multiplier.

Chris

[Gimli]

It's certainly a confusing system, and I may just make a plain vanilla "test" character to play around with first to get the feel for it, something like an Orc warrior.

Kakero, I had read on gamefaqs that misc skills can only give a maximum modifier or x2 per skill, so to get to x5 it seemed like you'd need to raise 2 to x2 and one more to x1, all for the same stat (Chris also pointed this out).

Also, if all the skills I raised were the major/minor variety, then once I raised one by 10, I would need to level up, so how could I raise 2 more by 10 to get the 3 x5 multipliers? That is why I was saying to raise 10 points in major/minor skills, and also raise the misc skills, as the misc ones won't trigger a level up.

Or is it advisable to level "squat" in MW? Ie, not take a level until you get 10 skill points in 3 major/minor skills? Can you go long enough without resting to make that feasible? Wouldn't that restrict your max level?

I'm not so much into cheesy training techniques, but I've played elder scrolls games before, and I know I tend to run around and jump around alot, so I figured for my character, speed and strength would get multiplier bonuses from athletics and acrobatics - and that they'd probably be better as misc skills so they don't go up too fast. Some hand to hand would be for more speed from misc and there to KO people when needed; also unarmored for the last speed misc skill. For strength, the two others I was thinking of were armorer and some heavy weapon for variety (axe, blunt, etc). Then agility can go up via sneak and marksman from the major/minor skills. That is at least the initial plans I had for him.

Also is it worth it to consider the block skill for a character like this? He'd use a bow alot, but I do see him sometimes in melee with short blades. Does the game let you dual wield them? Or would I be better served with a shield in the off hand?

[ 01-17-2003, 09:55 AM: Message edited by: Gimli ]

[Grungi]

i once did about 10 levels in a row in a few minutes [img]tongue.gif[/img] so yes its feasible to go without resting, one way to make sure is rest but hope you get interrupted, so reload till your interrupted, normally happens 1 in 3 so shouldnt take too long, that way you recover some hps (sometimes) without gaining a level. Or just rely on buying potions and the like to keep your health and magicka up, you can certainly get by without any resting, esp as you advance in the game you'll find u barely ever need to.

its worth level squatting if you want to tank your character, its not needed though, i didnt even know how to use multipliers till i hit about level 20 so i missed out alot and im still maxxed in most stats.

[Rhea]

I try to select major and minor skills that not only fit my character, but also cover the range of stats (and all three areas - combat, magic and stealth).

To raise your stats quickly, make sure you train in skills associated with the attribute you want to raise BEFORE you train in your major/minor skills. That way, when you go to level up, you'll have several stats with multipliers available.

For instance, let's say I'm in Seyda Neen, the first town. I'm woefully low in strength. Even though Acrobatics isn't one of my major or minor skills, I'll train in Acrobatics to raise my Strength. I'll train in Short Blade (not one of my major or minor) to get the Speed multipliers. THEN I'll go train in Long Blade and Medium Armor (major/minor skills that will get me the "rest and meditate" message), which will cause me to level up, and I'll have available multiplers in :

--Strength: Acrobatics and Long Blade
--Endurance:Medium Armor
--Speed: Short Blade

If you consistantely do this, you'll be able to raise your stats 2-5 points at a time instead of one. You'd be amazed how quickly your attributes go up.

Another point: There is absolutely NO ADVANTAGE to continuing to train after you get the "rest and meditate" message. Run, do not walk, to a place where you can rest and level up. Then head back and train some more. If you keep training beyond where you get the level up message, you can sleep several times in a row and go up more than one level, but you'll lose your chance to get those all-important multipliers more than once.

I could skip training in Short Blade if I'm going to be using long blades, but I may want to use a short blade at some point, for it's a twofor: I get skill in short blade and I kick up my speed. I could just as easily have chose some other speed-governed skill.

After I had been playing for a while, it really began to make sense to me to make the most of multipliers to increase my stats, and it quickly becomes second nature.

[ 01-17-2003, 12:54 PM: Message edited by: Rhea ]

[Kakero]

strange, this is what I usually do, and yes I do get 3 x5 multiplier ( without tribunal ).

Since I don't have morrowind in my computer perhaps someone would like to test my teory?

[Gimli]

OK, I have even more questions. Your reply makes alot of sense Rhea, but I am not 100% clear on a few things from this part:

"For instance, let's say I'm in Seyda Neen, the first town. I'm woefully low in strength. Even though Acrobatics isn't one of my major or minor skills, I'll train in Acrobatics to raise my Strength. I'll train in Short Blade (not one of my major or minor) to get the Speed multipliers. THEN I'll go train in Long Blade and Medium Armor (major/minor skills that will get me the "rest and meditate" message), which will cause me to level up, and I'll have available multiplers in :

--Strength: Acrobatics and Long Blade
--Endurance:Medium Armor
--Speed: Short Blade

If you consistantely do this, you'll be able to raise your stats 2-5 points at a time instead of one. You'd be amazed how quickly your attributes go up."

What I want to know is if I have the way it calculates the modifiers right. So let me fill in your example with some numbers and see if I have a clue yet.

Say you went up this much in each skill:

Misc:
Acrobatics: 6 pts
Short Blade: 4 pts
Major/Minor:
Long Blade: 2 pts
Meduim Armor: 8 pts

For Str, you got 2 points from long blade, and 6 from acrobatics; *but* acrobatics is a misc skill, so it can only add 4 points for the multiplier. So you get a total of 2 + 4, divided by 2 means a x3 multiplier.

For Speed, you get a 4/2 or a x2 modifier.

For Endurance, you get the 8 pts from Med Armor, divide by 2 for a x4 modifier.

So let's say I want to be greedy and shoot for all x5 modifiers. If I raised up say Axe and Blunt (as misc skills) also by 4 points each, then I'd get the x5 modifier to Str;

For speed, let's say I also raise (as misc skills) athletics by 4 and hand to hand by 2. Now I have 10 skill points, divide by 2, for a x5.

For endurance, let's say I also raise up the spear skill (as a misc skill) by 2 points, then that would add up with the 8 I already had to give me 10 skill points and a x5 modifier.

Does this sound right?

[ 01-17-2003, 03:38 PM: Message edited by: Gimli ]

[Kakero]

Gimli, mine IS correct! I just tested it ( with tribunal installed ).

I started a new game. My nord aventurer got block,long balde,security,sneak and heavy armor as mjor skill while destruction, restoration,speechcraft,atheletic and acrobatic as minor. my sign is the lady.

I go to Balmora and immediately train Speechcratf ( minor skill which govern personality ), Alchemy ( mics skill which govern intelect ), Alteration ( mick skill which govern willpower ). I train all by 10 each.

when I rest, I got x5 to personality, I got x5 to intellect and x5 to willpower.

[ 01-17-2003, 04:46 PM: Message edited by: Kakero ]