Hi all.

I've had Skyrim (PC) since last Christmas - first Scrolls game for me. I got 10 hours in and thought it was meh so I stopped. Picked it up again last week and realized I was wrong. I also don't like dragons, period, but I can overlook that

Anyway, I was just wondering how many people made it through the/a game using just the sword and shield (and bow as needed)? I use health potions/food and some Shouts but pretty much no spells or other magical potions

Was it a challenge? Was it fun? Regrettable?

I'm at level 17 and enjoying the play-style. It has only failed me when I ventured into way too high level dungeons so far....but that was probably just my damage level/health levels being too low.

-Phal

Sword and board is very strong, but you might want to consider to atleast use your magicka pool for healing spells, just add one to your favourites and you can quickly switch between sword+shield and healing.

Yes. I've done several no magic characters and its lots of fun. I play multiple characters and radically different playstyles keeps it fresh.

I do have that base level healing...I might favorite it. I've used it once or twice. Thanks for the reminder....wouldn't have to carry around as many potions/food concoctions at least.

Off topic....is there a way to name your saved games? It seems very counter-intuitive.

Like save game as Mala. Save game as Phalnax. Instead it is just a list of iterations of saves.

A no magic sword and board is a very viable playstyle. I don't really like the way magic was handled in Skyrim and it turned me off the game for quite a while, but I have been getting back into it of late playing various no magic or limited magic characters.

You can avoid dragons entirely by not initiating the main quest. This lets you do the various side quests and exploration the game has to offer without dragons. Lots of folks play that way.


Not on PS3 or Xbox.

Yeah I know...I do like some of the shouts so far though ...and it is fun annoying guards with shouts.

I'm on PC.

On PC you can name your own save by saving through the console. Open the console (press the tilda key) and type save and the name you want to save under. If the name contains spaces, it must be enclosed in double-quotes, i.e. type: save "My Skyrim Save"

Ah, okay, thanks. Will try that out.

1H and Shield is my favorite combat style in the game. A word of advice: be sure not to neglect your block skill, because Shield Charge, the 100 Block perk, is amazing, and Block Runner and Quick Reflexes are also immensely useful.

I actually move the files to another location and put them back as I play the characters. Play on PC

My longest-played character was a sword and shield guy in light armor. Absolutely no magic at all. No enchanted item use, just good, honest steel and armor he made himself. He even considered potions to be magic, so they were out, too. Food and rest were his means of healing his injuries (food out of combat). Shouts and the blessings of the Divines were the only "supernatural" things he used. He did use a bow, and later a crossbow when the nice folks in the Dawnguard gave him one, but he greatly preferred his sword.

The dreadful things he was required to do to be a hero eventually took their toll on him. He is now taking a long rest, under the loving care of his wife, Ysolda.

I have severe restartitis, but this character made it the farthest in the main quest and was my highest level character yet. To me, he also felt the most like a part of the world, like he truly lived there. He was certainly the most challenging.

It should be noted that levels 15-22, or so, are some of the worst levels. I used to think it was just me that ran into this problem, but I've read about others having it and it might be affecting you as well. At that level span you're out of the beginner areas and nudging the higher-leveled enemy "tiers", yet likely don't have the physical and magical resistances built up yet nor is your weapon smithed up to compensate.

Certain builds handle this better than others of course, and sword-n-board style is one of the slower builders. Block especially can lag behind. It will pay off nicely though. Quick Reflexes is a major game-changer for example, it's amazing how many melee enemies start off with a power attack, pretty much all of them actually, and you can suddenly either bash them out of it easily or dance around them. And it just gets better from there.

By the way, don't underestimate the power of the simple shield bash. And I'm not talking about its low (to start) damage either, there is definitely an advantage to stopping a dragon's breath or bashing that Draugr's or Dragon Priest's attempt to shout back down their throat. Those annoying frost mages spamming cold? Backhand 'em.

As far as play styles go, I don't imagine there being any one style that wasn't played over by someone. That being said I had several characters that used exlusively sword and board, and it's definitely fun in it's own way.

You don't need magic, potions or enchanting for any play style except perhaps on legendary but I'm speaking for the default adept difficulty.

1h and shield is, in my opinion, the most effective melee style. The versatility of shields in Skyrim is excellent, especially when you obtain higher-level perks on the Block tree. Being able to interrupt shouts, block arrows, disrupt archers before they shoot, charge with a raised shield, and block arrows are all amazingly useful and powerful, as is simply the ability to bash an enemy to begin with. 2h, spellswording, and dual wielding have their strengths, but neither really seem to match up to the sheer effectiveness of sword and board (or whatever 1h weapon you prefer).

I haven't carried a shield lately, due to preferring to RP a light-travelling warrior/ranger, but I might have to go back to my roots and go grab a shield before the next outing

Do people like Quick Reflexes these days? A year or two ago I remember a lot of people on here saying it was a "useless" perk since it was so "easy" to just bash or dodge a power attack you did not need Quick Reflexes. My skills at recognizing a power attack and then bashing into it to interrupt or dodging around it are not that great so I have always thought it was a great perk.

Sword and Board has a lot of advantages, particularly the elemental resistances you get with the 50 block perk, if you are playing a no magic character who has no other magic resistance. I like 2H slightly more because of the reach, but it is situational. One of my characters I am playing now switches between 1H and 2H depending on the situation. When facing dragons or mages, he switches to the shield so he can get the magic resistance. When in cramped quarters he also uses the shield for the extra protection, but when in open areas, he uses 2H to strike while staying out of reach of the enemy.

That's pretty much the ONLY approach I ever use. Except that I rely on my bow >97% of the time. I switch to shield and one-hand weapon only when I can't maintain a gap between me and my opponent.

I start out by building up Archery ASAP. Along the way I slowly build up Heavy Armor. The combination makes me deadly at a distance, and more durable against most anything that manages to hit me. I also work towards maxing Smithing, then Alchemy, then Enchanting. Those three in tandem maximize just how much oomph can be added to weapons and the Armor rating of protective apparel. [At level 62, my current character dishes out 600+ per arrow, while at the same time my Heavy Armor set is @2300 Armor rating. I can drop even Revered dragons with two hits and pretty much anything is just plain lucky to even scratch me.]

I never new you could do this. I play exclusively on PC (20+ years now) but have only used console command once ever. Not being able to name saves annoys me no end.


What a great idea. I need to do this since I probably have 40+ characters. Most I don't play because I forget them or their playstyle/concept.