At times like this I feel kind of sorry for Bethesda. If a game holds our hand, players complain. If a game doesn't hold our hand, players complain. They can't win.

@PhantomR. I always play in 3rd person, as when I started gaming, it was how I played, so I never adjusted to first.

@ Rosveen: It's the power of assumption. Most, not all, just jump into a game, and assume things will be the same from the prior game or whatever company they purchased their game from. For example, I am familiar with the Baldur's Gate series, and Dragon Age Origins/Awakenings, and I was suprised to see this combat system 100% different. BG and DA were point, click, and watch the fun. In this one, it is be involved or get cut down. It's just a different learning curve, that all of us, have unique tracts to do so; but, we all end up in the same place eventually.

@ Lady Selene: Very interesting observation. Trying to placate the masses. Make the game interesting enough for new players (me) while trying to hold on to the loyal fan base. I understand Bioware is having the same issue with Drage Age 3 (Inquisition). From an article online (valid?), it stated that DA3 was trying to keep the current combat system in place (3rd person) while instituting a first person combat system similar to Skyrim in order to appeal to all audiences.

Agreed, it's like it's almost worth them releasing 2 versions, standard and advanced. Standard for the new crowd they're trying to attract and advanced for the more hardcoe fanbase, something for everyone.

@Lady Selene, craig1405: If what you commented about is related to my questions, then you have probably misunderstood. I was not complaining at all. I have played this game before (1 year ago I think), but I just don't remember how I got to use magic there and since I couldn't see anything really related to it in the beginning, I was wondering how fair it would be to use the spells (which I had In my Magic menu) before begin told I can, if that's understandable. Now I understand that there's probably nothing wrong in using them, but well, the problem has initially arisen from my "need" to feel that I'm playing this game in a fair way. As Rosveen pointed out in the above, if the spells are there, then why not use them? I presume Bethesda wouldn't have added them if they weren't meant to be used.

This is a different system than Oblivion and Morrowind. They "should" give us a clue about the changes. Did anyone hit the "C" key to cast their first spell? How about the "R" key to ready magic?

It is one thing to help a player play a game's mechanics through a tutorial. It is quite another to show players where to go, where the enemies are, and where their next quest step is.

I know, I know... RTFM! But I wanna play the game, not read a manual

WRT to the "fairness" issue you raise, considering that everyone starts with a couple of basic spells as well as a small pool of magicka, you can argue that some magic talent is an innate ability for the people of Tamriel. It's kind of like breathing - no one has to teach you how to breathe, you're just born with the ability to do it. If you choose, you can develop your skill and harness it for your own use.

I agree and thank you for your guidance! I should have probably thought more on the matter when I started a few days ago, but still I gained quite valuable information in here ^^.

I don't agree with the two versions, I think they can fix this by making a hardcoe mode and what not through DLC. They'd be wasting quite a bit of money making two different versions. Gaming isn't like PS2 era where the cost of making two versions isn't that bad.

In practically all the Elder Scrolls games, you're your own master. You just use whatever school of magic or weapons you prefer more and the more you use them, the better you become with them. Skyrim has made that a lot easier(in fact too easy in my opinion) to level up with skills and leveling your character too.

Back then when you played Oblivion and especially Morrowind, classes were the importance to leveling. However, you were capable of still leveling other skills that differed from your class. Which was ok. You just wouldn't level yourself any further since the skill isn't in your class(you can custom make your classes too).

Long story short, pick up the nearest sword, go and kill everything you can with it, whether that be a rabbit or a bandit and power swing your sword into them until you exhausted your stamina. Use your spell of fire on everything you can and never stop until you deplete your magicka all the way. Just a good way of leveling up your spells at the beginning

Especially if the manual is soft-copy, and you can't read it because the game has the whole screen.