So I'm certainly no newbie to Elder Scrolls, I've been playing since Morrowind's release in 2002. However, I have not legitimately played either Arena or Daggerfall.

I have played Arena to the extent that I got out of the opening dungeon - once - and I've played even less into Daggerfall.

Having re-downloaded both games from the Bethesda main site, and finally got them working on my laptop, I've been wanting to give them a look again, mainly Daggerfall since that's the one that gets all of the accolades. I am also better able to customize my controls to a much more comfortable gaming experience as well, so Daggerfall is what I want to check out mainly.

However, I am having a hard time even getting past the opening dungeon. I've done research on the wiki to know the different skills and stuff, and what type of build that I want to play, but I get rocked by the creatures in the opening dungeon. Mainly, the mundane weapon immune imp, and the 2 NPC enemies that take me out with weapons and such.

So - any tips for a Daggerfall newb on how I should approach the game, so I can actually get into it a little bit and see what all the hype is about? I'm not sure if I'm casting spells properly, or what kind of tactics I should use.

Roll your character so that you get an Ebony dagger from the start (it's in Biography questions you answer). It takes care of the immune imp and is generally better that any starting weapon regardless of skills due to its sheer material quality.

Don't try to take out every creature you meet. If you dash past them (especially where the corridor is rich with turns) there's a good chance you lose them. Invest some starting points into Speed for better effect.

Don't try to explore every nook and cranny in the dungeon. Once you find the large hall, search for the elevator platform on top of wide stairs that will raise you to the upper gallery. The exit is there, in one of rooms upstairs (*not* the farthest one). Once you're out, head for a bigger city, enlist into a guild of several, and start growing some meat on your bones.

Don't hesitate to turn down job offers that seem too difficult/scary to you. Only jobs that you take *and* fail affect your faction rep negatively.

I don't want to rewrite http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1364244-daggerfall-what-could-i-miss/page__view__findpost__p__20588313, so you can follow that link instead.

Don't bother fighting everything in the first dungeon, just run past them. Once you find the exit (looks like a stone archway with a skull in the corner), get to a town, get some better equipment, and take some jobs to get cash and better stuff. Snag a few useful spells, too--namely a healing spell, recall, water walking/breathing.

You can always go back to the Privateer's Hold (first dungeon) and clear it out for stuff after you're better equipped for the job.

And if you simply cannot find your way out of the first dungeon, http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y217/Jormungandr83/?action=view¤t=Privateer_Commentary.mp4.

What about using magic?

Like okay, I start off with the Shock spell, and I go to the little magic menu to use it, and a message pops up that says "Press button to cast spell" - like I watch as my magicka goes down, but nothing happens with the spell...

You need to use the spacebar (the use key) in order to fire the spells, also please use the search button, there are a zillion topics like this one. You might dig out some useful tips from older threads.