Yep, an Arena question! I wanted to give Arena a proper go before trying Daggerfall.

Anyway, can someone recommend a good character for beginners (race and class)? I thought I read somewhere long ago that magic was the way to go, and in looking at uesp.net, mage classes certainly seem like they could outclass thief and warrior classes. Reason: shield and reflect spells and the fact that many of the stronger enemies throw magic at you.

Or do warriors and thieves (and their sub classes) hold up okay? Remeber, this is my first time through the game!

I did have some issues with the Mage class at the start, but they eventually settle in. The warriors though didn't struggle as much.

The easiest of all classes are Redguard warriors, or Redguard rangers. Any stealth class is supposed to be freakin hard.

Mages are kinda in the middle. Unless you choose a Battlemage or Spellsword, armor is pretty much out, so you'll have to rely solely on your magic, which is very hard early on in Arena. However, once you start gaining levels and find some nice enchanted rings or amulets that boost your AR, then you will eventually become pretty strong. Enemies might have magic resistance, though.

as was said earlier, battlemages and spellswords are a good balance and pretty good for beginning characters (especially if you started with earlier Elder Scrolls games). warrior classes are easy and can equip any type of armor but can NEVER use spells, they will always have 0 spell points (magicka). the only downside of battlemages and spellswords is that they can not equip any armor above chain armor so your armor rating will be kinda limited. im currently playing through arena on a Spellsword character and use mostly combat with spells for backup. so, long story short, warriors = massive armor, no spells, spellsword, battlemage = lower armor, able to use spells (which will save your ass)

Anyway, can someone recommend a good character for beginners (race and class)?

High Elf Battlemage or Spellsword would be best. Being High Elf eliminates the instant death caused by being paralyzed in the water. The classes are both excellent combinations of fighting skills and magic-using skills.

Reason: shield and reflect spells and the fact that many of the stronger enemies throw magic at you. Or do warriors and thieves (and their sub classes) hold up okay? Remeber, this is my first time through the game!

Warriors are definitely playable due to the enchanted armor you can get. Thief classes can be difficult for first-timers, but Nightblade would be a decent workable choice for a first-timer who has his heart set on a Thief class.

You didn't ask, but Mage classes that don't involve good fighting (e.g., straight-up Mage, Healer, Sorcerer) are very difficult for beginners due to lack of fighting skills and defensive capabilities.

Thanks for the answers. I was thinking to settle on either a Spellsword or Ranger. What's the benefit of being a Warrior over a Ranger anyway, other than needing less exp. to level and having access to Tower Shields?

But Sorceror seems appealing too. With 100 INT and WIL, won't I absorb every spell, so long as I am not at max magicka? Or is it better to rely on Spell Absorption spells to do that?

A little unrelated, but I was playing earlier and I couldn't loot some leather greaves from a goblin in the starting dungeon. It said it would encumber me. I dropped a lot of stuff, checked my carrying capacity (18 kg of 90 kg), and it still said it would encumber me. I had a small inventory at that point, and was not diseased. I was a High Elf Sorceror.

Redguard ranger, invest in agility heavily.

You will have no problems throughout the game

I was thinking to settle on either a Spellsword or Ranger. What's the benefit of being a Warrior over a Ranger anyway, other than needing less exp. to level and having access to Tower Shields?

You also get on average 1 HP/level more. So, not much benefit. There are some pretty good tower shields out there, though.

The main (really the only) reason to be a Ranger is (if the manual is to be believed) to deal out more damage than a vanilla Warrior.

But Sorceror seems appealing too. With 100 INT and WIL, won't I absorb every spell, so long as I am not at max magicka? Or is it better to rely on Spell Absorption spells to do that?

Initially, you will meet with few critters that toss magic at you, so you won't be able to use magic much, so you'll be dependent on your character's meager melee skills just when you're trying to learn the game.

A little unrelated, but I was playing earlier and I couldn't loot some leather greaves from a goblin in the starting dungeon. It said it would encumber me. I dropped a lot of stuff, checked my carrying capacity (18 kg of 90 kg), and it still said it would encumber me. I had a small inventory at that point, and was not diseased. I was a High Elf Sorceror.

That's strange, and what's even stranger is I can't recall seeing a goblin carry any kind of armor (and that's saying something). I have no idea what might be going on.

I am having fun playing a Spellsword now. The Sorceror was too reliant on magic tossing enemies, which are scarce early on. I tried to play a Nightblade, but I found I couldn't pick locks so hot and was retricted in equipment. And is it just me, or is pumping agility the best thing to do at the start?

The manual (and uesp.net) say that certain classes get a chance per level to do x or y. Does anyone know the size of this "chance"?

A little unrelated to character creation and development (sorry), but I find a lot of enemies seem to just appear behind me all the time. I'll be exploring some castly outside of town, and whenever I enter a room or whatever, a bad guy appears behind me from the empty hallway. Is detecting them based on my light radius or level? Or are they like the guards and appear after you do something bad?

I ask, because I was thinking it would make ranged combat difficult, since enemies are always right on top of you. This seems to me to make playing a ranged character - like a wood elf archer - somewhat difficult.

Something else I am curious about....when items have spells like "resist fire" or "open", etc., what is their potency? Is it the same as the spell of that name? Same with potions?

I would be pumping Intelligence as well. Strength too.


What is X and Y?


That's....That's Arena. It does those things just to screw with you.


I never use Archery myself. I just rush blindly on. Like Minsc.

As ofr potency....No clue.

By x and y, I meant things like thieves having a "chance" per level to pick locks (x) and do critical hits (y). If that chance is small, then those characters need to be really high level for it to matter, I think. This makes their "special feature" less valuable.

Speaking of level, at about what level can I expect to beat the game at? Without doing too much exp. grinding I mean, and just playing the game?

Also, for kicks I made another character. A Dark Elf male. I have one question. What is going on with Dark Elf males?!! They are so over-powered stat wise compared to other races and genders, (I checked the others after noticing this). For instance, other characters have a total sum of starting stats between 420 and 450 usually. Dark Elf males have starting stats that seem to range between 450 and 480. Throw in their + 1/4 damage per level, and they seem quite strong to me. Is there some hidden weakness to them?