I'm about to start my first game of Skyrim. I've heard that there is a graphics patch which I've been advised to load before playing, but I have no idea where to get it. Any information as to its location would be greatly appreciated. Additionally, if anyone has any tips on game play (without unduly compromising the storyline) which they'd like to share, I'd be happy to read them. Many thanks in advance.

I'm not certain, but I think you're probably talking about HD textures... It seems to me I just got them from Steam. If you browse Steam and get it to show you their Skyrim offerings for DLC for sale (not mods) you should see it listed.

As to game play, I say just don't let the game rush you. It tries to give you the impression that everything has to be done immediately or the world will be destroyed, or some such. It just ain't so. Take your time on your first playthrough to get the feel of the game, enjoy the beauty of Skyrim, and see the sights. I can't think of a single quest that will fail if you wait for days or even weeks of game time to get around to the next stage.

I recommend playing a basic heavy armor, sword&board with a bit of healing magic warrior. Easy build to get in and works well.

And the only essential mods are the unofficial patches.

I was going to welcome you to the boards, then noticed your join date Welcome to Skyrim, at least!

My first nugget of "wisdumb" is to hard save (along with quick and auto) often and in different slots. You will appreciate it later when Skyrim messes up.

As for mods, there is a set of High Res Texture patches that Bethesda put out and are available through Steam, along with the DLCs. If you launch the Skyrim Launcher and look at the Data Files tab, you will see what files you have installed. If there are check marks on them, you have them installed.

As for other mods, the http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/? site is a great place to look at the billions and billions and even moere billions of mods creative players have had fun with. Steam has a http://steamcommunity.com/app/72850/workshop/, too, that has some great mods. I'd advise playing a bit before heading down that road, though, just to get a feel for the game and see what you may want to change

I advice you, to play the whole story line without any mods first, and if you get familiar with the game, you can decide afterwards what mods you may wanna install.

Your computers configuration (hardware related) plays an important role for enjoying Skyrim to the fullest.

Also, you wanna definitely install the Unofficial patches as well. You can get them from here: http://afkmods.iguanadons.net/index.php?/files/category/95-unofficial-patch-project/

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Actually i would say, don't read too much over the net, and just Play the game !!!

When you are starting your game, don't worry about making mistakes, and don't worry about playing efficiently. It's most important to spend as much time as possible playing, and as little time as possible reading. !!!

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However, some advice for starters:

You obviously wanna play it on PC, as it's the best-looking version of the game, and the load times are significantly shorter as well.

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If you have an controller (like an Xbox 360 controller) play it that way. The user interface has been designed with console controllers in mind, and it works perfectly with a plugged in controller.

Furthermore, the swing and crash of melee combat feels much more natural with a controller than a mouse and keyboard.

Of course, thats a matter of personal preference - However, give the controller a shot. It's nice. !!!

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Don't lower the difficulty too much, as some fights are supposed to be hard.

The game will force you to level your character and improve your skills until you can take on the challenge before you.

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You will find some Ancestral Stones, right near the beginning of the game. Whichever one you choose causes skills associated with that class, to improve faster than other skills.

However, there are 13 ancestral stones lying around Skyrim, and while you can only have one active at a time, you can change whenever you want.

So, they are not permanent. You'll have time to decide which style of play suits you over the course of the game. So, don't go mad over the decision at the beginning of the game. lol

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SAVE OFTEN - SAVE OFTEN - SAVE OFTEN !!!

It's possible to wander Skyrim for an hour, find some good stuff, and then be killed by a mammoth or alike and lose all your progress. Well, not a good thing i guess...

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Apropos Mammoths. Don't piss off the Mammoths, and the Giants as well. lol

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Get a Companion. It will make your life a lot easier, especially on difficult quests.

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Try to use a shield. On Skyrim you can play it however you want. So magic, melee, ranged, or some combination. However, sometimes the physical combat is more enjoyable and a touch deeper than ranged combat.

Skyrim's offers improved melee combat, so it's worth giving a shield a try. Also, shield-bashing is really fun too.

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It's best to switch to first-person perspective in combat. and leave the 3rd person for exploration. The chaos of first-person makes the combat seem more exciting than it actually looks in 3rd person.

But that's your decision of course.

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Don't spend your gold on equipment, earlier in game. Instead save your money, since you'll find loads of the basic steel and iron weapons lying around, as well as enough arrows.

Save your money to spend on Training, which allows you to get out of the low-level a bit faster, while improving your combat efficiency.

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In the early stages on the game, buy health potions whenever you can. Health potions can be applied immediately in combat, unlike a healing spell for example.

When you're in a ugly situation, you wanna have four or five minor health potions in your inventory. Also, they are not too expensive, so buy them asap.

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AND LASTLY: Wander !!!

Skyrim comes to it's awesomeness by that moment when you are walking down a road towards an objective and suddenly, you notice another path off to the right.

So, where does it lead ??? To a cave, a bandit hideout, some magical stone perhaps, or even some lost artifact ???

THERE IS ONY ONE WAY TO FIND OUT !!!

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HAVE FUN, ON - ONE OF THE BEST RPGs YOU HAVE COME ACROSS...

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Regarding mods, there's a couple things...

The Unofficial Patches. Install them. A lot of people say that the first playthrough should be without any mods but the Unoficial Patches are a definitive exception. You really, really, REALLY should install them before starting your first character.

Then there's SkyUI. The vanilla UI in Skyrim is absolutely the very, very worst UI since dawn of time. Some say the vanilla UI was designed with the 360 controller in mind but that's utter BS. If the modded UI is lightyears more practical to use, even with a controller, something has been done horribly, horribly wrong during UI design.

Then there are the little things like Run For Your Lives and When Vampires Attack. These adjust the suicidal AI and make NPCs less likely to kill themselves out of sheer stupidity.