I've just come from a very lengthy playthrough of Fallout 3, which I love, and have created my Wood Elf Skyrim persona. Just thought I'd check in here and intro myself and see what any of you might have to say to a beginner.

Enjoy the game and don't pay any mind to some of the negative comments you might find in regards to the game from some seasoned players or old school players who wish things never changed

Skyrim is an awesome game. I'm still playing it about daily since getting it 11/11/11.

What system are you on?

If your on the PC there is a very large mod community.

Welcome to Skyrim.

Just go wherever you feel like, and explore.

This. It will seem like it takes forever to get anywhere or accomplish tasks, but as you become more and more familiar with the game, you'll find that it really isn't bad at all.

As said above, this is a great game and you can lose yourself in it for hours and hours while playing. If you enjoy role playing, this is the game to do it.

Its your game play the way you want because there are so many ways to play and Elder Scrolls game and none of them are right or wrong. Don't worry of you keep making new characters on your first playthrough that's what I kept doing until I could find a character build I could get into. But just explore, do quests, get immersed and the world and most importantly have fun doing it if your not having loads of fun your doing something wrong. From one fellow Skyrim Adventurer to another have fun and don't let your sweet roll get stolen.

Sincerely,

Prizrak

As Resident has asked, what system are you on? If you're on PC, I would suggest having at least one playthrough before getting any mods APART from the Unofficial Patches (I'll link you to these if you're a PCer)

Anyway, go where you want to go, be who you want to be!

You want to be a Blacksmith rather than the Dragonborn? THAT'S GREAT! You can do it

Save often. Have several saves per character (I go overboard and likely have 15 per charachter). You may find that you need to back up a little because things do happen in a digital world.

Save often and have multiple saves i normally have one save that i keep every five levels.

This is probably the most. So many bugs can be avoided if you save often. Before you accept a quest, before you enter a dungeon.

All I can say is have fun exploring, watch out for bears and sabre cats at low levels and when in Whiterun, punch Nazeem in the face for me please.

^^This right here. Skyrim was my first ES game and I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. Ddint know how to put perk points in, how I wanted to play, where I wanted to go. But I soon found that Skyrim is the type of game that gives you the player the greatest sense of freedom and adventure, being able to do whatever you want, however you want and whenever you want. Your first playthrough you will find yourself exploring alot, just trying to figure everything out. By your next character, you'll have a better idea of what kind of character you want to play, and you might even start to roleplay, which adds so much to the overall experience. I would strongly advise for your first playthrough to not look at any websites for hints or answers. The first time you discover something is the best feeling.

And most importantly, have fun.

^^^^^^THIS and then some

agreed. Sometimes just pick a direction and go. And don't worry about the points. You can save perk points and spend them later.

Kill the chickens. They are a nuisance and plague on humanity. Don't leave one alive!

You obviously have a good foundation for open world games coming from FO 3 so all I would suggest is just go where the road takes you on your first play through and save regularly. Good luck and hope you enjoy it.

That very first Skyrim playthrough is very special. Dont waste it looking for the answers online. Just go wherever the roads take you.

Yes, I'm on a PC. It's unlikely I'll ever go to any of the mods.

I like the advice here. Thanks so much. Now, I'll just start wandering and exploring and see what happens.

You say that now. But you'll be modding in no time. You'll appreciate mods once you play the vanilla game once without them. In time

If you don't want to use mods, I know a few people who only have the Unofficial Patches installed.

I find them kind of necessary to play the game, as they fix a LOT of bugs that Beth left in the game.

Apart from that, enjoy

The first rides in game are the woolly mammoths kept by friendly giants. Get in close until the option to mount button appears. They're completely free.

Jarls are jerks, snipe them.

Pickpocketing is easy.

Children are friendly.

The judicious Thalmor escort peasants and miners thru the wilderness to keep them safe from wild animals. Ask to join and they'll keep you safe as well.

The headless ghost has tips on where the best treasure is.

Join the Bard College if you want to play an instrument.

Don't let them cut your head off. Run away!

This is a very good tip.

Also, it's a Bethesda game. Save often, save in different slots and disable all autosaves.

Even though Skyrim is quite stable and refined, there are still some bugs that can occur which can often easily be fixed or avoided by reloading. Quite often a new player doesn't realise this and when coming here asking for advice on dealing with a bug they experienced, the answer to reload doesn't really help them as they only kept one save.

The good tips go bothways. This is gold right here.^^

Wisdom. I envy new players.

I'll add a suggestion. Don't think you need to rush to anything unless that is just your thing. There is no clock ticking. Also, if not already mentioned, keep your perk selection limited to what suits you. You do not have to be proficient in everything.

Yes! Definately take your time. And every so often from time to time, just stop what you're doing, wherever you are and just take in the scenery. Absolutely amazing!