Well,depends on what you love Oblivion for.If you got the game because it was fresh out with good graphics,played it without even listening the what the characters have to say,and done the quests just looking at the green marks you'll probably find Morrowind boring,since it doesn't have all the flashy things Oblivion got.But,if you have found yourself gazing at the game world (not because of the graphics but because of the setup - more likely in Shivering Isles),collecting items that are worse than your gear just for the looks,and taking screenshots,than I think you will LOVE Morrowind.It has much much more to offer in this aspect.

You better ask around how to start the game though.It doesn't really equip you as you progress the quests unlike Oblivion.
I'd say,do not install any item mods at first.You NEED to get Better Bodies,and I suggest some face-hair mods as well.You could install graphical enhancement mods if you want but they're not necessary IMO.First,focus on money.You can steal from shops and sell the items at other shops.In search of valueables,you'll be finding gear for yourself.Soon you'll find yourself wondering what treasures-opportunities lie in the next building,than at the next city and you'll be introduced to the world.I actually went on looking for more and more and I still hadn't completed the main quest by Level 45 XDDDD

What do I love about Oblivion? The lore, the lore, the lore! XD I enjoyed the game at first, but I really fell in love with it after reading lore books in the game and then coming online and reading everything about the lore that I could.

By the way, I ordered Morrowind from Amazon and it should be here soon! I'm excited. XD

Well I got the game today! XD I fired it up, but I haven't got very far yet because my kiddies need some supper. Just some random observations from playing a few minutes...

I LOVE the music so far! Just beautiful!

It does look dated, especially the people. On the plus side though...I LOVE the Dunmers' big pierced ears and face tattoos. Oh why, oh why was this not put in Oblivion?! *cries*

It's strange to play because so much is unfamiliar and yet familiar at the same time...

OMG! The way the Argonians walk! I had no idea! XD

And now I finally understand the players who want the Dunmers' old voice back. I LOVE it! XD

yes and no dont ask why I am just trolling to become a curate.

In Morrowind it is especially easy to max out your Alchemy (I like to set up camp in the Balmora Mage's Guild). You can even turn a huge profit while doing so. With all of this free money, you can buy large quantities of the (rather expensive) ingredients to make Restore Magicka potions.

In less than an hour you can max your Alchemy and create several hundred extremely potent Restore Magicka potions. Put these on a hotkey and you will never run out of magicka.

Ok, I've been playing a bit more and I have more comments and some questions!

First of all, I really like Morrowind. I really wasn't sure if I would since I had never played a game that old before. I find that I don't mind the way it looks at all. The landscape and buildings still look pretty darn good. And while the characters do look dated, I actually like their character design better than the way they are designed in Oblivion. The beast races look more alien and the Dunmer do as well. I really like their eyes in Morrowind and it is a shame they changed them for Oblivion. Some of the game books mention that Dark Elves have hard to read expressions and this makes much more sense if their eyes are all red instead of looking normal like they do in Oblivion.

I do miss the total voice over though. It just makes the world more alive. Plus I like to hear how people are addressing me. Do they sound kind, or arrogant, or like I am wasting their time? Their spoken greetings help, but it isn't enough. Also, I have to admit I HATE the combat. While the hit or miss based on stats way works in a game like Dragon Age where the enemy is just targeted once and then the character takes over from there, it does not work in a first person game like Morrowind or Oblivion where you have to manually target the enemy throughout the battle. I'm having a terrible time with the battles. I swear I feel like the most inept Nerevarine ever! Between being barely able to kill a rat, dying by cliffracers, and getting horribly lost in the seemingly constant sandstorms and rain...well it's pretty pathetic.

Which brings me to me next point. I'm horribly lost! Call me a casual player if you must, but I find the lack of a compass marker makes things horribly difficult. I started out the game just kind of wandering around so it didn't matter where I went. Then I met a woman who wants me to escort her to Ghostgate (I think...) and I have no idea how to get there! I looked it up online to see where the town is, but once back in the game I have no idea how to get there. Nothing is marked on the map and I find the map really hard to follow and there is a raging sandstorm going on and I am just walking around in circles basically.

And lastly...any ideas what I should do first? In Oblivion I liked to follow the main quest for a while and then branch off and do my own thing, but here in Morrowind the Blade I report to told me to go out and find something to do for awhile and then report back to him for more orders. Well me "finding something else to do" has basically been me wandering around lost and being killed by most everything in sight. Pathetic I know.

Hahaha, I have to admit I sort of expected this to be your experience. I have only read this topic today and almost posted before reading the entire thread. I WOULD have said that I doubt you'll love Morrowind. In my experience, nobody I know that started with Oblivion like Morrowind as much. Personally, I thought Oblivion was a mediocre RPG. A great game though.

Firts off, if you are in places that there are a ton of sandstorms all the time...you're probably not going to be very safe. In Morrowind there is none of that wussy level scaling junk going on; you can't go anywhere yet and expect to hold your own. The safest areas for low level characters are in the southwestern parts of Vvardenfell (Bittercoast and Ascadian Isle regions). I would suggest sticking around Balmora/Seyda Neen/Pelagaid/Vivec area until you raise a few levels. Join a guild! Do the beginner's quests. Earn some money, and then GET SOME TRAINING. It is well worth it.

I love the map in Morrowind. I love how it fills as you explore Talk to some scouts and you learn about new places...its cool. Anyway, it won't hold your hand and point to where to go. You have to remember directions and what not I suppose you just get used to it.

...I know I'm not being very helpful but I do hope you continue to play. Perhaps you'll eventually see what so many RPG lovers did when they played Morrowind.

Thank you for the suggestions! I'll do those things, especially sticking around safer places. Though now I have some noble woman following me and I feel obligated to safely guide her to Ghostgate (not that I am doing a very good job of that mind you). I'm near Ald'ruhn right now.

As for joining the Guilds, well I think I want to join something different and alien. Not the same old Fighters or Mages Guild that I could join in Oblivion. I was thinking about perhaps the Temple. What do you think?

Oh and I almost forgot! How can I tell when I am stealing something? I haven't seen a red hand pop up anywhere...are there stealing signals in Morrowind?

And I do love Morrowind! I really see why people love it. I just wish I didn't feel so inept at it. I got Fallout 3 this same week and I didn't feel inept at that game at all, but Morrowind is kicking my pathetic level one butt.

The game can feel very hard and frustrating at the beginning, but once you raise your skills and get a hang of it, the gameplay becomes more and more pleasant.
And remember, the lower a your Fatigue gets, the more difficult it becomes to fight, cast spells or do anything else effectively.

Haha yeah Morrowind does that. I almost feel like its a test for classic RPG fans. The first 5 hours or so weed out the weak ones (I have faith in you though!)

I know you want something more exotic, but the Fighter's Guild or Mage's Guild really is the best place to start. More will come, remember, patience is a virtue

The Temple is one of my favorites but it is certainly not something to begin with. If you want to join something more unique, you could go for one of the three Great Houses present of Vvardenfell. My personal favorite is House Hlaalu, but it depends on what type of character you are playing.

If you want to get to Ghostgate, I think you could make it if you are at least close to level 4 or 5...BUT DO NOT GO INSIDE THE GATE YET! You'll get creamed in one hit :blush:

As long as you can handle the Cliff Races and occasional Rat and Alit monsters you'll be fine. First off, leave Balmora through the gate by the Stilt Strider and head towards Fort Moonmoth. Keep to the right and pass the fort like you're gonna go to Pelagaid until you get into the narrow "foyada Mamaea" (an ash-valley made by the lava flow last time Red Mountain erupted). This gray valley is right passed the fort on the map; once you get there follow the valley north-ish. Just keep going and it leads you to Ghostgate. If you just talk to anyone about Ghostgate or read the book "Pilgrim's Path" there should be a marker for it on your map.

If you are playing as thief character, then join Huose Hlaalu.
If you are playing as fighter character, then join House Redoran.
If you are playing as mage character, then join House Telvanni.

There's no signals for stealing, but if there's non hostile NPC's around the item you want to steal, then it's most likely concerned as stealing.

Thank you for the tip about fatigue! I just found that out in the game! My fatigue was depleted from running all of the time. Once I started walking, I was hitting at a much more acceptable rate. I even killed a cliffracer! Go me! XD (It's friend killed me though.) I think I am going to start over. From what you guys are saying, I think I got over my head by wandering around. I'm only a level one.

Glad to help.

@Sidonzo:

Two things you can do to help finding important locations:

1- Go to a book store and buy the "Guide to Vvardenfell". It's a scroll with a LOT of infos on towns and other places in Morrowind.

2- Ask everyone about "My Trade" until you find a scout. Then ask him/her tons of questions about the regions/towns of Morrowind. Your map will quickly fill itself with markers of all the towns.

Those 2 methods will make your life in Morrowind a lot easier.

Glad to see you're having fun with Morrowind btw.

Oh yeah, you're cursor doesn't change for stealing things. However, if I remember correctly, when you are sneaking and undetected there should be a little symbol that pops up near your stat bars etc. that looks like a little hand taking a bag. Whenever that symbol (I just call it the sneak symbol) is there, it should mean nobody can see you and you'll get away with stealing anything


...jeez I hope I made sense lol

OK, I started again and I am staying in the city. I also joined the Fighters Guild.

If I decline a quest can I pick it up at a later date, or is it closed forever?

Thank you so much "L"! That is a really good tip about finding places!

Edited to add: I was going to ask how the other Dark Elves could tell I was an outlander since I am a Dunmer too, but then I remembered my wandering around in circles lost.

Have fun, I hope it all works out ^_^

I understand how you feel, since I was much younger when I played Morrowind (which I gave up for a few months before replaying, lol) and I had similar problems. =)

It will take time, but join the guilds and go from there. Ask everybody about everything and read books to get some important information. Take your time and be careful as some places have deadly enemies you may not be able to handle! Use items wisely as well. Research the temples and decide how you are going to play the game. Some guilds/temples are made for certain classes/gameplay styles (ex: mage, fighter, thief, assassin, etc). Invest in alchemy if possible.

Regarding the stealing, if I remember correctly, there is always a risk. I think if anyone is looking at you, then it is stealing. Stealing would also depend on your stats as well. For example, when I used a cheat to make my stealth stat or whatever, really high, (as well as my personality stat), then I could steal many things, even if it is in front of a person. I think.... Can't remember if I also had invisibility as well. Oh, well, invisibility is a good skill as well, lol. =)

And, yeah, like some people said, be careful with your fatigue. =)

I don't know if you figured this out yet, but I'll post it just in case, because you asked about a compass earlier. The little map on the bottom right of your screen acts like a compass. You'll see a little arrow in the center, and the direction it aims is your compass orientation. Up is north, and so on.

If you loved Oblivion, I see no reason why you would not at least enjoy Morrowind. It may seem bad at first, but after a few hours you are used to the game and loving it.

Morrowind is great. I got into fantasy and RPG games with that and it is still my favorite. I leave it nearly always installed on my machine. It is old, yes, but truly worth the money you will spend. But you should be aware that Morrowind is different from Oblivion both technically and in gameplay. You will find similarities but personally I think Morrowind is more challenging and takes you longer and harder to try.

All in all I guess you'll like it if you liked Oblivion.

Well for starters, remember to press any highlighted words that people say to you, because they might mark it on your map, but only if you literally press it out of them. If you press every highlighted word, you should also get directions, and remember to use your journal, which you can use to look up words as well, like an alphabet.

Don't worry about combat, combat will be a little rough in the beginning depending on how specialized you've made your character, but there's not much level scaling, so once you approach level 15, combat will start to be a cake walk. Do some stuff in the cities first than expand as you get better.

Yes. The graphics might be a bit of a put off since you played Oblivion first and are used to that games AI, but if give it time you should enjoy it.

I just wanted to add that there are some hidden or off-shoot guild out there that are not mentioned a lot in the suggestions:

Like the Bal Molagmer quests that you can get from Gentleman Jim Stacey of thieves guild in Morrowind, and those quests feel like a different quest line from a different guild, as they are so different from the other quests, and you can only get them from that gentleman.

Another example is when you free enough slaves from the hackles, and finally earn their trust enough to learn about the http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Morrowind:Twin_Lamps faction, and could win your way into their hearts, those would start to give you some quests regarding helping and freeing some slaves around the Vvardenfell, and this can be counted as a small faction, and some mods out there had developed it into a fully fledged faction in par or even superior to other factions available in Morrowind.

There are a lot of mods for Morrowind that have turned a small group into a faction with quest lines and the like and a lot of mods that added background life and quests to individual NPCs out there, because it is really easy to do something like that. There is no need for voice acting in that game.

And the LGNPC mod set that is really a must if you want a lot of added NPC background, love, rivalry and just awesome drama, in the whole game.

yea the combo of lack of compas and horriable directions svcks but other than that mw is a very good game it might make you puke with the whole dunmer lovefest but its worth playing