In Morrowind the amount of reading to the amount of voice acting, the ratio allows for my imagination to power the creation and discovery of the world.

In Skyrim, the combat was a major part of my enjoyment of the game. This might be partly due to how 'plastic' the game's story is.

I am thinking that part of it is like how movies are often inferior to books.

Anyway, I tried Morrowind for a few hours, but once I got into combat in the swamp, at the beginning, I became discouraged and stopped. Though I don't want to give up on the game yet, because I can see something really good there. There's some magic in the game, the developers definitely put a lot of themselves into it.

My background in RPG's are GTA Vice City way back when, then Borderlands 2, and now Skyrim. I think I've been missing out though. I'm beginning to see the genre has a lot to offer.

If it's possible to get into Morrowind, I want to try.

Any links to forum posts on how to do this or on relevant mods would be greatly appreciated.

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Differences_Between_Morrowind,_Oblivion,_and_Skyrim will help explain the differences in gameplay. This can help you get your bearings after being used to Skyrim.

Join a Great House and a faction/guild.
They will have lots of quests for you to do, and the first ones are always very basic so you can get some easy experience and explore the world a bit.
Here's a list of all factions, so you can pick the right ones based on your Major/Minor skills: http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Morrowind:Factions

At low levels, wandering around aimlessly can be very dangerous. You will encounter enemies that are way higher level than you.
So save often
The game can be very difficult at the start, so don't feel bad about lowering the difficulty if you need to.


The key for making combat successful is keeping your Fatigue (stamina) as full as possible.
And be sure to only use weapons/spells that match your skills. For example, if you have Long Sword as a major, make sure you're using a Long Sword and not a Short Sword or an Axe. etc.
You should always make a character that starts with a weapon skill at least at 35-40
Spells work the same way for their respective schools.

Thx again Pluto, that "differences" link is very interesting, I've poured over it almost entirely. It's a bit general though.

Are there any top-knotch play-throughs that you've come across? I learn best by seeing and I might acclimate to the rhythm of the game easier. I'm going to search for some.

First thing you need to understand is Morrowind is an RPG first and foremost. This means your character's stats and attributes and skils are what matters, not how good you are using the controller. You mentioned combat, in Morrowind you swing your weapon and it uses the same animation whether the game determines if you get a hit off or not, so it can be disconcerting at first because you look like your hitting, but your not doing any damage. (Hint check the Always Use Best Attack in game play options, it helps).

However at low levels, you are going to svck, you are going to miss, you are going to fail at things. Until you get your skills up. Fortunately, combat starts getting real good at weapon skills of 35 to 40 so you feel better about the whole processes. Basically, once your level 10 or 12 or so, the game will feel a lot better. Of course this is unlike Skyrim where the only difference between levels is the health amounts of the mobs and the damage you do on each hit, which happens if you just look in the general direction of the mob and swing. However I like the Morrowind way as I feel like I am really progressing as I go along. You can not rush headlong into a fight like in Skyrim. You have to plan and approach things knowing and understanding what your character is capable of doing. Your hand is not held in this game.

Another thing - moving around Vvardenfell at low levels and early in the game is slow, really, really slow. Many, if not most, enemies will be able to easily outrun you. There is no fast travel in Morrowind, unlike in Skyrim or Oblivion, but there are the Silt Striders available to help you move more quickly between towns, and as you play, you'll discover more and more substitutes for fast travel. Be patient when starting out, and resist the urge to use the sprint button all the time when you are out walking. That just drains your fatigue bar, and a depleted fatigue bar means that all your skills will work much more poorly for you when you need them.