I go to thinking, there are character guides but they really don't tell how to level your character. I figured this to be a blog, all I say is put a character arch-type one here and it's relative skills, important ones first, and how to level those skills WITHOUT resorting to glitches. Like:

ANY CHARACTER ARCH-TYPE:
Ok, I don't care if your going to run around Skyrim naked, every Character Biuld SHOULD revolve around Smithing. Why? Because without smithing, your weapons/Armour will svck, bad. So it should be the first thing you get to 100, and all perks should be filled. Trust me, keep collecting ore/ingots. Cause if you need money fast, just spam out Elven Armour. Or Daedric, or iron, or whatever. Either way, no matter what character build you do, smithing should be incorporated.

UESP has a lot of info on leveling. Each skill page has a part on the bottom for fast leveling suggestions. Also for magic, you can find out which spells gain the most experience points.

That thing about smithing- is that a joke, or are you serious?

Yah, it is. Just like what I always say for FALLOUT 3 and New Vegas, there are survival skills. Like in the Fallout games: Lockpick, Science, and repair are basically essential.

Ok maybe I didn't word it right, I'm not good at that. But I was saying is there any essential skills in TES? If you ask me, Smithing is a essential part of any build, even if I knew I wouldn't use it. All I wanted was your opinion if you had a idea on the subject.

Well, certain archetypes should probably have certain skills, but I don't think certain skills like smithing are always necessary just for leveling. I've had alot of characters that never used smithing, even a two-handed user who also used alchemy and alteration.

But, sticking with the topic, here are some:

Thief characters: anyone that calls themselves a thief should take either lockpicking or pickpocket. Just having sneak doesn't make you a thief.

For warriors that are using no magic, smithing is probably essential then. And an important perk is the one that lets you repair magical gear if you are not using enchanting.

Every sneaky mage needs illusion for quiet casting.

Vampire hunters would do well to take restoration.

I disagree at least 100% with the "any character" advice above. A magic user doesn't need smithing for any reason whatsoever.

I think it's worth noting that there are three "Crafting skills" which correspond to the three primary "archtypes." I'd suggest that a character of a given archtype needs to concentrate on (master) the associated crafting skill, but need not master the other two.

As an example, a sword-and-board warrior would want to master Smithing, because his primary need is the best armor and weapons he can possess. He might dabble in Alchemy, to make basic poisons and healing potions, but he doesn't need to master that skill. Likewise, he would use Enchanting for helpful "boosts," but he wouldn't need to master that skill either, since his well-made armor and weapons would do most of the work anyway.

Putting perk points into a skill you don't need is just wasteful.

I feel like Illusion is essential for any thief or bard.

Smithing essential?

Smithing is just for Warriors or for some other RP reason your assassin/thief or mage might wanna do it. That is unless you are new to the game and you are having problems with killing stuff.

This game is not supposed to be beaten and nothing is a challenge.Not at least if you are not new to the game.It's about immersion and fun.Killing stuff is a RP enterprise not a competitive thing ,in this game.

So leveling Smithing out of a need and not cus of RP means you svck at the game basically. sorry for the language

This says it all, for me.

I don't believe there's any "essential" skill. I like to be challenged a bit, so I will usually limit my characters.

If I'm playing a non-warrior, I tend to limit Smithing to things like jewelry, house-building, etc., which have no level or perk requirements. Likewise, if I'm playing a total non-magic-user, I tend to limit Enchanting to what can be done unperked. (Since most of my characters are hybrids to some extent, they are likely to put some appropriate perk points into these skills, but only whatever is needed to support the roleplay.)

I'd also say theres no essential skills.

Most of my characters get the Steel Smithing and Arcane Blacksmithing perks because even when I'm playing a mage or sneaky type I get in some fights but I've played warriors who have never gone beyond those 2 perks and never perked alchemy or enchanting.

I agree a thief should have some perks in lockpicking or pickpocket (not neccessarily both) and probably speechcraft but the way those skills work I aint putting perks in them (except perhaps for the extra pockets perk). They are just too weak. Still I don't really play professional thieves (as opposed to people who are opportunisticly lightfingered).

I also agree there are no essential skills. Some skills definitely suit certain character types and would figure prominently in the roleplay, but no single skill is essential for all characters.

Dovahkiin1996000, to be entirely honest I find the idea that Smithing is essential to be completely off the mark when it comes to Skyrim. There are countless ways for people to roleplay making money and both ensuring their offensive and defensive capabilities are up to par, and churning out armour to sell or smithing the living daylights out of everything to get the best weapons and armour aren't friendly to many roleplays either. Picking up every last ingot and mining every last ore vein isn't in every character's bio, nor every player's interest. Without mods, this game is already extremely flexible in the ways it can be played, and with mods it becomes even more flexible.

Pretty much this, I have not used smithing at all for a while now, unless it fits my character.

There are no essential skills in this game.

I can agree to all points, but I would always have a opinion. Like my Mage characters ALWAYS had at least one piece of Armour on I case my StoneFlesh went in the middle of a fight and had no magicka (you'd be surprised, I love the high level Destruction at low levels), and it always was DragonScale.

Now like many of ou said, I have a saying, I never said MASTERING the skill. I only said it shoul be worth a glance or two in each build.

Maybe I didn't word it right and I apologize for that (cause I realize I didn't). But as I said, it is always worth a glance or two in any build. I only wanted to know if you guys would ad on to any other skills that would be a benifits to glance at for any build.

Oh, any skill is worth a glance, especially as it might figure in part of the roleplay at some specific stage. However, as we were saying, no skill is absolutely essential, there are no 'shoulds' in Skyrim (except if you wish to continue playing, you should save your game before you exit, and you should save often in case of bugs, crashes, you get killed, etc )

Oh I can't tell you how many times I forgot to save and died. I hated when my XBox froze right at the end of a very long doungeon.

I've never used smithing, not even to level up. Leveling up isn't really important for me, I think I get too bored if it's too easy to beat the creatures or foes.

I agree fully with this. I even agree with the notion of acquiring and using all kinds of raw materials, if it fits with the roleplay. For instance, a mage might decide to build a house or two (Hearthfire), and acquire all the materials the "hard way." That's a lot of mining, smelting, and smithing of nails, hinges, fittings, locks, etc., and it's bound to drive one's smithing skill up. (But it doesn't benefit in any way from perk points.)

I'd say that as a general rule, I'd want to put perk points into my character's main offensive and defensive skills first.

So, for a sword&board guy, I'd put points into 1Handed and Block, and improve those perk trees as skills rise. Get some points into armor. Try to keep smithing perks balanced with the character's level; you don't need glass or ebony skill at level 10. (The most important perk in Smithing, I think, is Arcane Blacksmith.)

For a mage, I'd be putting points into Destruction, Alteration, and Conjuration. A few points could go into Restoration, if you use wards. The Illusionist might go heavy on that skill, and only perk Destruction enough to have Runes and one augmented damage branch. The exact approach here is an individual preference. The idea is to have both a strong attack and a strong defense; anything else is relatively unimportant.

My whole point is, when possible, to work on survivability and attack first, and then worry about the Crafting when you've got points to burn (such as when you don't have a high enough skill to qualify for that next "important" perk.

Usually when I do a build of any kind, I get smithing up to 100 but don't put perks in unless nessesarry. My smith tree doesn't fully fill till around level 30ish.

A while ago I made a thread about useful skills without using perks. Here it is

http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1510141-how-to-get-the-most-out-of-your-skills-without-wasting-perks/