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ToddMcF2002
Leader of the Senate
Joined: 10 Jan 2005
Posts: 317
Location: Boston MA |
| From Gothic 2 to Morrowind - A little Help Please... |
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This isnt a Gothic 2 vs. Morrowind post - I really like Morrowind so far, very different and cool once I got over the "this isnt Gothic" mindset! I'm just trying to make the transition to the Morrowind leveling system and I have a few questions. I have not been to Balorma (spelling?) yet, maybe my answers are there.
I started as a High Elf and bought a few Destruction scrolls, FireBall and Ice Freeze. I've killed a bunch of crabs, bugs, worms, Tomb ghosts and the smugglers. OK so far, I see my Destruction points rising nicely toward a level up.
A little guidence would be really appreciated!
Questions:
How do I get my strength up? Just for encumberance reasons I'm looking to raise it. Do I have to level up first?
Damage Feedback:
My biggest gripe so far - is there a mod that lets me know if I'm winning a battle?
Ranged Weapons:
I bought a short bow thinking, hey I'm a elf this should be a great for me! Can't kill or even hit anything as far as I can see. Should I just stick to magic or can I get training? I keep thinking AD&D - can't use bows. Should I try a crossbow? Does the game have them?
Melee Weapons:
Tried a spear, Claymore (Mighty Mage LOL!), short sword - died every time. Should a bother? Stick with magic?
Magic:
Should I be shooting for a balance of types or stick to Destruction? I always loved summoning in other games.
Just looking for guidence, thanks!
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"For Innos!" |
Tue Jan 11, 2005 2:05 pm |
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gdgrimm
Keeper of the Gates
Joined: 21 Apr 2003
Posts: 110
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| Re: From Gothic 2 to Morrowind - A little Help Please... |
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What class is your character -- I'll assume that it's one of the Magic types (i.e. Mage, Spellsword, etc.). But your character class will influence the answers to alot of the questions you have. Morrowind pushes for specialization and role-playing in a different way than Gothic.
Gothic controls development by limiting the number of skills you can improve by limiting the experience points you can get. You specialize because you can only earn enough experience points to get good at a few things.
Morrowind allows you to get good at everything, but makes getting good at some things much easier than getting good at other things. Your choice of character class controls that.
quote:
Originally posted by ToddMcF2002
Questions:
How do I get my strength up? Just for encumberance reasons I'm looking to raise it. Do I have to level up first?
Yes, you have to level up first. You level up when you've improved 10 points in your Major and Minor skills. When you level up, you get to increase Attributes (like Strength) based on how much you've used skills associated with that attribute. For example, Destruction is a skill associated with Willpower, so increasing the skill will help you increase your Willpower when you level up. To help increase Strength, you'll have to be improving skills that are Strength related.
That being said, you really shouldn't worry about Strength unless your character has Major/Minor skills associated with it -- focus on improving the attributes associated with those skills first. For example, my High Elf Mage still has it's base starting strength, and has been solely developing Intelligence, Willpower, and Speed -- the attributes associated with the Major/Minor skills. This means playing the game a little differently -- namely, casting lots of Mark/Recalls to gather loot in a safe place near a bunch of merchants, making potions or spells of Feather that last long periods of time to help carry loot away, etc., etc., etc. But of course, those are the types of things that Mages do, and doing them helps increase Mysticism, Alteration, and Alchemy -- all Major/Minor skills for a Mage. So while it may seem annoying for me, it's what my character would do, and it helps my character develop its strengths.
quote:
Damage Feedback:
My biggest gripe so far - is there a mod that lets me know if I'm winning a battle?
I think there is. But I just used the decreasing bar that hovers over the enemy to tell. It would certainly be nice if their was some other indication.
quote:
Ranged Weapons:
I bought a short bow thinking, hey I'm a elf this should be a great for me! Can't kill or even hit anything as far as I can see. Should I just stick to magic or can I get training? I keep thinking AD&D - can't use bows. Should I try a crossbow? Does the game have them?
The game has crossbows (and bolts), but they're all covered by the same skill, Marksman. If Marksman isn't one of your Major/Minor skills, it will be difficult for your character to ever become good with it. If you're a Magic User, it'll probably be best to stick with ranged spells. If you have Conjuration, conjure an ally to engage the enemy in melee, then use your speed to move around and cast ranged spells.
quote:
Melee Weapons:
Tried a spear, Claymore (Mighty Mage LOL!), short sword - died every time. Should a bother? Stick with magic?
same as above. I'm sure you have one weapon skill as a Major/Minor skill, though. That should be the weapon you use. Generally, Magic User's low health points make it difficult improve weapon skills early on. Eventually though, cast Paralyze (which will improve your Illusion skill) then beat on them with your weapon (which will improve your weapon skill). Even better, buy/find a weapon that casts Paralysis on strike -- for a Mage (whose weapon of choice is the Short Blade), there's all kinds of Jinx Blades and daggers in the game that do this.
quote:
Magic:
Should I be shooting for a balance of types or stick to Destruction? I always loved summoning in other games.
Stick with your Major/Minor skills. A pure Mage should use balanced tactics to improve all their abilities. Other types might stick with primarily one tactic, like the Witchhunter I played, whose primary tactics were the conjure ally and shoot arrows, or sneak and hit -- their Major/Minor skills don't make for lots of easy magic based attacks. |
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Tue Jan 11, 2005 7:31 pm |
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Chekote
Where’s my Banana?!?!
Joined: 08 Mar 2002
Posts: 1540
Location: Dont know, looks kind of green |
| Re: From Gothic 2 to Morrowind - A little Help Please... |
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quote:
Originally posted by gdgrimm
quote:
Damage Feedback:
My biggest gripe so far - is there a mod that lets me know if I'm winning a battle?
I think there is. But I just used the decreasing bar that hovers over the enemy to tell. It would certainly be nice if their was some other indication.
I think the enemy health bar was added in a patch.
@ ToddMcF2002: You should go the the ElderScrolls site and make sure you have the latest patch installed.
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IMHO my opinion is humble |
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Tue Jan 11, 2005 8:07 pm |
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ToddMcF2002
Leader of the Senate
Joined: 10 Jan 2005
Posts: 317
Location: Boston MA |
Thanks for the reply guys.
I'm a High Elf Mage.
Guess I have some investigation to do - some of the magic you mentioned (gather/recall and feather potions) I've never heard of. Am I missing a spell list? I need to take a closer look at this major/minor skills thing.
I bought Game of the Year and installed Tribunal/Bloodmoon as well which supposedly patches the game - I have definately NOT noticed a damage progress bar ala Gothic. Very puzzling...
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"For Innos!" |
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Tue Jan 11, 2005 8:53 pm |
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Chekote
Where’s my Banana?!?!
Joined: 08 Mar 2002
Posts: 1540
Location: Dont know, looks kind of green |
You do know you can make your own spells right?
P.S. I dont think the damage bar actualy appears next to the enemy. I have a vague recollection that it was in the bottom left corner.
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IMHO my opinion is humble |
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Tue Jan 11, 2005 8:54 pm |
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ToddMcF2002
Leader of the Senate
Joined: 10 Jan 2005
Posts: 317
Location: Boston MA |
>> You do know you can make your own spells right?
Heck NO! Is that in the manual? Man.... How did you guys learn this stuff? Do they teach you it in Bolorma (spelling)?
As far as the damage bar, there is definately one that appears above my own during combat. I can't imagine taking my eyes off the action to look though - maybe my 1280x1024 rez is making it harder to see it.
Now I'm hearing about soul cells or something bizzare but important. Grrr.....
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"For Innos!" |
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Tue Jan 11, 2005 9:05 pm |
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ToddMcF2002
Leader of the Senate
Joined: 10 Jan 2005
Posts: 317
Location: Boston MA |
OK, so I played a bit more - damage bar is there and useful. I understand the "school" system and how it relates to my major/minor skills now and I reached my first level up.
Specific Mage question:
For first level up I had 3 points to distribute to WillPower(x3), Speed (x5) and then whatever I select without a multiplier.
So I spread them between WillPower, Speed and Intelligence.
Was that good? Thanks for any guidence. I'll be getting some Mage training after I finish this Dwemer quest I'm on - which is pretty fun! I'm using Shield+Cameleon+Fireball mostly on hotkeys.
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"For Innos!" |
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Wed Jan 12, 2005 4:12 pm |
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gdgrimm
Keeper of the Gates
Joined: 21 Apr 2003
Posts: 110
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quote:
Originally posted by ToddMcF2002
Specific Mage question:
For first level up I had 3 points to distribute to WillPower(x3), Speed (x5) and then whatever I select without a multiplier.
So I spread them between WillPower, Speed and Intelligence.
Was that good? Thanks for any guidence. I'll be getting some Mage training after I finish this Dwemer quest I'm on - which is pretty fun! I'm using Shield+Cameleon+Fireball mostly on hotkeys.
That's how I would have spread them out.
Given the x5 multiplier in speed, I'm guessing that you're doing a lot of melee fighting with your Mage, and having your short blade and unarmored skills increasing quickly. That's okay, since Speed is quite useful for a Mage.
But be careful of geting unbalanced with your character. Intelligence controls Magicka (how many spell points you have) and you should make sure that you're getting some multipliers in it for most level ups. It's pretty easy to make some potions and push up Alchemy (which will give multipliers to Intelligence) -- I generally tried to push Alchemy up about 2 points between each level up, as well as pushing Enchant up 1 or 2 points between levels.
Also, Conjuration will help get multipliers for Intelligence. If you like doing melee, but still want to keep your Intelligence progressing, get a good summon spell (Skeletal Minion is probably within your Mage's ability) and a Bound Dagger or Bound Short Blade spell. Then cast them before closing with your opponent so that you have a buddy fighting with you and/or a weapon that does more damage than anything you're carrying now. This will allow you to enjoy the melee, while you're character is still improving Mage skills by casting Conjuration spells.
Spellmaking isn't as powerful in Morrowind as it was in Daggerfall or Arena, unfortunately. Custom spells cost more than the ones you can buy, and they drain more Magicka for the same effect as the ones you can buy. In short, the only time I've made a custom spell is when I was either too lazy to find the proper spell merchant to buy what I wanted, or I wanted some convenience or role playing spell -- for example a melee spell that casts both Bound Weapon and Shield in one spell, rather than making my character cast 2 spells, or a powerful Lock spell to keep the door to my Alchemical stuff locked tight.  |
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Wed Jan 12, 2005 7:46 pm |
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ToddMcF2002
Leader of the Senate
Joined: 10 Jan 2005
Posts: 317
Location: Boston MA |
I havent been doing melee, but I walked to Balorna instead of taking the ride. My 'athletics' have been boosted a bunch of times - I assume that's why I got the multiplier? For combat I've only had success with combinations of Shield, Cameleon (questionable), FireBall and Freeze.
I'm in the Dwarven Ruins near Balorna now so I'll hike it back to sell some stuff and hunt down some conjurer's spells and buy alchemy "apparati". Thats a great idea.
Now, just so I understand, if I get a lock spell I can put a bunch of stuff in a crate in the Dwarven Ruins and simply cast a spell on it? Will I be able to dispell my own spell? I've been wondering how to create treasure caches in this game.
The deeper I dig, the better this game is getting. The Mage stuff is pretty robust - I was a Paladin in Gothic 2 and this is certainly a lot more involved but of course in a good way.
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"For Innos!" |
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Wed Jan 12, 2005 8:42 pm |
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mazu
Protector of the Realm
Joined: 21 Nov 2004
Posts: 251
Location: Desert Camp |
The patch fixes the damage feedback thing.
Just level up and you'll get anything or just ask around at forums and find the master trainers.
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I really, really tried to figure out something clever here like "Life is a waterfall" and artistic stuff like that but no! I still cannot figure out a signature arrrr yarrr! Me bucko! Pirates! |
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Sat Jan 15, 2005 7:55 pm |
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gdgrimm
Keeper of the Gates
Joined: 21 Apr 2003
Posts: 110
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quote:
Originally posted by ToddMcF2002
I havent been doing melee, but I walked to Balorna instead of taking the ride. My 'athletics' have been boosted a bunch of times - I assume that's why I got the multiplier? For combat I've only had success with combinations of Shield, Cameleon (questionable), FireBall and Freeze.
Now, just so I understand, if I get a lock spell I can put a bunch of stuff in a crate in the Dwarven Ruins and simply cast a spell on it? Will I be able to dispell my own spell? I've been wondering how to create treasure caches in this game.
Well, Athletics would be a Misc. skill for a Mage. While its increasing will contribute to your multiplier, it won't cause you to level up.
To level up, your character needed 10 improvements in Major and Minor skills. Since Willpower and Speed were the only things that had multipliers in them, that meant that you improved 10 points in Major and Minor skills that effect only Willpower and Speed, and most of them (about 7 or more) had to be about Speed. For a Mage, the only Speed skills are Short Blade and Unarmored. So one (or both) of them had to increase quite a bit on your way to level 2.
Locking chests is fine. Be aware, you'll only be doing it for 'show'. Nobody steals anything in the game (except you), so you can leave things just lying in the road, come back in a year, and it'll still be there. But locking things up can be a nice character addition. |
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Tue Jan 18, 2005 6:20 pm |
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dteowner
Shoegazer
Joined: 21 Mar 2002
Posts: 7570
Location: Third Hero of Erathia |
Not so.
While only major and minor skills count towards levelling, misc skills DO count toward your multipliers. Power gamers take advantage of that to make certain they get 3 5x multipliers every time they level.
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=Proud Member of the Non-Flamers Guild=
=Benevolent Dictator, X2/X3 and Morrowind/Oblivion Forums=
Sorry. No pearls of wisdom in this oyster.
RIP Red Wings How 'Bout Dem Cowboys! |
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Wed Jan 19, 2005 2:56 am |
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DARKMATTER
Village Dweller
Joined: 30 Jan 2005
Posts: 5
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HI IM NEW TO THE Forum i didnt no eny thing about morrowind when i first got it but now im a super powerful THEIF/BLACK MAGE and can kill nearly eny thing i 2 hits or 3 eny way add my email address if u got eny Questions about the game P.S i havent even complete the game yet |
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Sun Jan 30, 2005 6:32 pm |
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