Hey everyone. I have had Morrowind for about four years now for the PC. I bought Morrowind after playing through Oblivion on Xbox 360. I can never seem to get into it like Oblivion. Any advice? I'm starting to play it again with an open mind. I really want to get into it and understand the lore better and return to Tamriel. The combat is very difficult, one of the reasons I have steered away from it.

For your first outing, first, try to pick a race with a starting weapon bonus: Nord, Orc, Redguard, Imperial, or even Dunmer. Second, take a class with that weapon skill as a Major (or create a custom class that uses it). Additionally, having a decent Agility attribute also affects how easily you hit, and a Nord or Orc will have a slight penalty which is generally more than offeset by their higher weapon skills. Third, when you get off the boat, locate Arille's shop there in Seyda Neen and buy one of that weapon. It doesn't need to be a good one, just as long as it's in that class. With a few accumulated bonuses, you should have almost a 50-50 chance of hitting with your chosen weapon.

When you fight, there are several factors to consider.

In Morrowind, your fatigue drops while running, unlike in Oblivion where you can recover fatigue while running, so you don't want to get into a fight while already tired out.

Next, there are three modes of attack: stab, slash, and chop. Certain weapons do very little damage if used in the wrong mode, and I generally just set "Always Use Best Attack" in the options menu, so I don't need to worry about my character trying to stab with an axe, or chop with a Spear. Sadly, that promising game mechanic was never fully developed, so there's no advantage to using the various attack types except to get the better damage numbers.

The amount of damage you do is modified by how long you hold back the attack. If you just "spam" the button, you only get the minimum damage for the weapon. If you press the attack button, but don't release it to "unleash" the strike until it is fully drawn back, you do the maximum number.

After a couple of combats for you to figure out the system, your starting character should have NO problems with surviving an encounter with the weak wildlife around Seyda Neen. I've ventured out with several characters, using the cheezy iron dagger on the table in the Census and Excise Office, with "Short Blade" taken only as a "minor" skill, and gotten by just fine, although the character missed a frustrating number of times. Also, remember that your character is faster than those Mudcrabs, and can run away if things don't go well. The other creatures are faster, and you may not be able to escape from some of them if things turn sour. The REAL test of a level 1 character's combat ability is the Smuggler Cave not far from the Silt Strider port. If my character can get through that alive (even if it takes several "ventures"), then I've made a "playable" character.

If combat is a problem for you, try making a character that starts with a high combat skill. A Redguard who has Blade as a major skill and is specialized in Combat would start with 50 in Long Blade.

An example of a good starting character would be:
race: Redguard
class: Crusader or Knight
birthsign: Lady

If instead you are more interested in stealth and archery, you could try:
race: Wood Elf
class: Assassin
birthsign: Lady

Several general tips:

1. You start the game pathetically weak. Accept the fact that for the first few levels pretty much everything is a big threat. Just about the only thing that's actually weaker than you are Mudcrabs so use them to practice your fighting skills.

2. When you get a quest, click all the blue text in the dialogue. Otherwise you might miss out on some vital information, such as directions to wherever you need to go.

3. Pay attention to what NPCs say. It contains lots of hints that you could easily miss. There are also no quest markers and quests have fewer journal updates so you'll have to figure stuff out on your own. Which is another reason to pay attention to what NPCs say.

4. Talk to NPCs about the topics Latest Rumors, Little Advice, and Little Secret. Morrowind Lore is also a good topic and whenever you enter a new location ask about important people and places.

5. Stay in Seyda Neen (the starting town) for a while. There are a couple of quests you could do, which could net you enough gold to get decent starting gear. There is also a nearby smuggler cave that you can use as a test of your skills. If you can beat the named smugglers inside, you are ready to move on.

6. Always carry scrolls of Almsivi or Divine Intervention as well as some healing potions. Though it might be worth noting that Bargain and Cheap potions are next to worthless and you'll want at least Standard quality.

7. Keep your Fatigue high. It has a huge impact on every single skill. If you start a fight with a low Fatigue bar it could well be 2x as hard.

8. Under options you can select to always use the best available attack for your weapon. This makes combat a little easier. There is also no shame in turning the difficulty slider down, especially for someone who is new to the game. Yo ucan always turn it back up later when you get used to everything.

9. When you hover your mouse over a weapon icon you might see that it say that a weapon does 1-20 damage. The first number is minimum damage, the second number is maximum damage. How much damage exactly you do is not random, but instead depends on how long you keep the attack button pressed before you release. The general rule of a thumb is that if a weapon has high minimum damage and low maximum damage it's better to make lots of quick atatcks with it, but if it has a low minimum damage and a high maximu mdamage it's better to keep the attack button pressed a bit before you release it.

10. Buy the Guide to Vvardenfell in a bookshop. It gives a general overview and can also help you find places.

11. The journal has a topics section where you can read everything anyone ever told you abut a certain conversation topic. But the information only appears there after they say it to you, which is another reason why you should click all the blue text. That way yu can always access the information from your journal.

This makes all the difference in the world during combat. With a full fatigue bar you can hit things fairly well in melee combat, even if your weapon skill isn't very high yet (30). If the fatigue bar is empty, you'll have a hard time hitting things, at least until you get your weapon skill up very high.

When you're fighting creatures I would advice you to stay away from kagouti, because they have a high agility which will kill any low level character with a few hits. You can fight rats, kwama forager, cliff racers and nix hounds, but be aware of these creatures when you're in other regions.

I always restore my self with either spell or potion and repair the equipment after a fight before I continue, because the armorer skill will provide not only repaired weapons but also an increased armor rating of your armor such as body parts.

If you don't plan to use magicka much, consider holding off on sleeping to character level until you have very good multipliers. So if you currently have 6 levels of skills contributing to Strength, try to wait until you have 10 before you rest, so you can get that x5 multiplier. I'm not suggesting this as a regular practice, but for the first few levels, at least, it can really help your new character get a leg up in the world.

The very most important thing is to stay off the forums and UESP!!!

Stepping off the boat in Morrowind without a real goal, being faced with a huge unique world, is the most memorable part of Morrowind. If you look up walkthroughs, tips for classes, how to make money and level - you'll miss out on the feeling of being truly overwhelmed, which is rare in a video game today.

Hey everyone. I wanted to thank you for all of your help and advice. I have been playing the game for a few weeks now, not everyday, only when I can. But I LOVE it! I finally understand the combat system and story much better. I am enjoying every bit of Morrowind and the expansions! I never thought I'd say this, but I enjoy Morrowind much more than Oblivion!