New to Morrowind

[dragon wench]

I have just picked up the game of the year edition (includes the original game, plus the first 2 expansions)

I guess my question is a bit ambiguous, but any advice for somebody totally new to the game???? I am most familiar with the BG series, and I am finding this is a real switch of gears. I mean.. I installed the game about 8 hours ago and I am still somewhat aimlessly wandering around. At the moment I'm in Suran, en route to Balmora... but all it all seems so... well... big. lol!

I think I am also just a bit overwhelmed by the incredible graphics, and just the sheer vastness of the game


Also, um... I did a search but could really find anything... how do I use magic... ??? I clicked on a spell from my inventory, and now it has an icon on the screen, next to my longsword.. but how do I actually use it?
My character is a wood elf, spellsword.

Thanks in advance

[Coot]

I'm a little less new to the game and I haven't figured everything out yet either. I'll try to help as best I can.
1. Big? Yes, it sure is. I've been travelling for I don't know how many gamehours and I've hardly put any time in the main quest. Why not travel around some more? Do some quests to lvl and get equipment. Join a guild. Or just sit on a hill and watch the sun rise. I did. Really.
Have you been to Balmora yet? You're supposed to deliver a package there.
2. To use magic, select the spell as you did, then press 'R', then press the left mouse button.
3. Woodelves rool! They get a bonus in markmanship so if you haven't already, get a bow.

[Echoes]

My suggestion is to buy The Morrowind Prophecies. I live by this book, its my bible

If I were you I would either make a Darkelf or Breton race if you plan on using Magic. If I were you though. I would start off as a fighter type class. They are the easiest to learn on.

Save constanstly is extremly important in Morrowind. I usally save ever 5 min, somtimes ever 1 min or so.

Don't pay for training yet, its easy to level up now and its expensive to train from trainers. Also, if your at suran, go to one of the gaurd tower. At the top floor there is a bed, under the bed there is a nice sword. Sword of the White Woe. I use it and Im level 20 (Havn't found anything better yet :-( ) It may be hard to get because there is a guard there.

Always save before you attempt to steal or open a chest in public. If you are caught stealing then I suggest Loading a previous game or dropping everything you have (As most everything you use will be stolen) then paying the fine.

Never go to jail, it ruins your skills.

Morrowind Prophecies is a huge Guide to the Morrowind game. It shows lists of monsters, races, Maps(extremly helpful), igrediants, weapons, armor, and hundereds of pages on quests.


Thats all I can think of from your broad question, please feel free to post any other questions you have and I or someone will respond with help.

Have fun and prepare to put your social life on hold for a few weeks at the least

[python]

to be honest, if u wona try n do something ur gonna wonna start of by joing 1 of the houses before u do nethin and become grandmaster, house hlallu will send u just about everyplace imaginable so u will always get sidetracked here and then, which is a good thing, and once u traveled about a bit and familurized urself with all the travel routes and how to use the spells 'mark' and 'recal' u will fine the game easy

[robot flux]

Where do you get the Morrowind Prophecies??

Butif you REALLY want a good book, buy the

ABC for barbarians

[Sojourner]

Press R to ready magic so you can cast spells, press F to ready a weapon so you can hack/shoot. My advice: assign your weapons and favorite spells to the hot keys. Pressing a hot key will select AND ready the assigned weapon or spell. IMO, the game manual already does a good job of explaining the mechanics - there is no need to buy another one.

Talk to most everyone. Join every faction you can. Explore. Check your journal a lot. And carry a big bow for those @#$#@ cliffracers.

For a good laugh from another newbie (at the time):

Trials of a Clueless Wood Elf.

[UncleScratchy]

I agree with Sojourner, the game manual is pretty specific about the game mechanics. Unfortunately few people seem to use it. Study the pages on enchanting especially. To use alchemy gear, repair hammers, and charged soul gems just drag them over you character when in the inventory screen as if you were going to equip them. New menus for each of these skills will appear. Use the F1 key to load up your quick slots. I like to put my main weapons first (bow and swords mostly) so I can switch back and forth as the situation requires. Then I put my defensive spells and restoration spells. Enchanted items can be put into these quickslots as well but you don't put the item itself in the quickslot, just the enchantment (these enchanted spells show up after the memorized spells and scrolls). For example, the healing ring you get at the start of the game. Don't put the ring in the quickslot, just the healing spell that its enchanted with. When you click on that quickslot the ring will be automatically equipped and the spell readied for casting.

You don't need to play a mage to use magic. You don't need to be a Breton to be a mage. Your race and class are fine. What sign did you pick?

Personally I find offensive magic to be a waste of time. The bow eliminates the need for casting offensive spells. Try to keep you char well rounded and spend every piece of gold you get on training. Spend some time in Seyda Neen building up your speechcraft, hand to hand, athletics and acrobatics skills. There is a smuggler cave over by the silt strider. Kill the bandits once you are strong enough and before you release the slaves practice your speechcraft on them until you are fairly good at it. Its boring but the advantage good speechcraft skill gives you is invaluable. Practice hand to hand fighting on mudcrabs and scribs until you are at least 50 skill points in it. HTH is one of the most effective attacks for a weaker char to use against a stronger enemy. It is also one of the easiest to build up quickly. Jump and run everywhere you go until exhausted, then rest for 1 hour to recharge and repeat.

Heres a fun thing to do in Seyda Neen to build your skills and get you some free armor and weapons. When you come out of the door in Seyda Neen where the guard gives you the notes to take to Cosaides in Balmora, there is another locked door to a tower right in front of you. Go around back of that building by the river and jump up on the rocks. Try scaling that wall. There are a couple of spots that you can climb using the jump and forward buttons. You will fall off a lot, but once you find the spot (its on the rounded wall protrusion area) keep at it. This will build your acrobatics quickly. Just rest when exhausted. Once you can climb the wall try to jump to the roof (save if you suceed to this point) and go to the roof peak. Now follow the roof peak back across to the roof of where the guard was with the note. Keep going back until you see the bacony with the door. Drop down to the balcony and go in the unlocked door. Now loot the place while the patroling guard is not looking. Keep what armor and wepons you want and sell the rest to the innkeeper. Repeat until there's nothing left.

Try selling multiple items like bottles one at a time and once you have the merchant offering about 15 or 20 gold try to sell him the loot for one more gold piece than he is offering. This is how you get your merchantile skill up. Don't sell to the same merchants you steal from, they will recognize their stuff and attack you. Have a select few merchants you do all your business with and try to raise their perception of you by admiring them (using that speechcraft skill you spent so much time on). This gives you better prices. Always try to sell for more than they are offering. Join all the guilds you find and take advantage of the supplies from their supply chests. After a few quests they will be replenished. Don't be in to much of a hurry to dive into their quests though. Accept the quests and then use the guild guide to go to another town and see what their guild quests are. Accept them as well. You don't get points for doing quests, only for successfully practicing your skills. Smuggler caves are more profitable than most quests.

Talk to everyone and read the books you come across. Equipping a book causes it to be read - some grant a point of skill experience. Talking to people often opens up new quests or clues to things. You need silver or enchanted weapons to kill undead creatures (skelleton warriors, bonelords, ancestral ghosts, and daedra) you find in tombs. The only exception is that hand to hand will also kill them. Eat all the alchemy ingredients you find early on in the game. Even if they have a bad effect or you can't read the effect yet. If the ingredient (mushrooms, crabmeat, etc.) takes effect your alchemy skill is boosted. The effect, even a bad one wears off in a couple of seconds with no lasting harm. Buy at least one type of each spell - usually the cheapest form of that spell. Visit the temples and Imperial cult shrines to get spells you need. Buying the spell (not the scroll form) puts the spell in you spell book. Once you have a basic spell you can hire a spellmaker to create a custom version of the spell that suits your needs. The spells you've learnt also provide you with the spell "effects" you will need later on when you get to enchanting items.

[python]

very tru that was spam.... so umm ill delete the big qoute..

[Sir chris]

um python thats what we call spam

and if you really want to get a good hero pick a good class if you like keeping them at a distance Id recomend using a ranged paralyze and bow basicly magics and marksman and one of these armors unarmored-to-medium armor and close range like blunt sword stuff like that id get a few magic classes like conjuration and illusion + blunt or lownsword or swort blade or spear and medium or heavy armour for a basic figter.

p.s. if you didnt know dont attack gaurds or people first or youll get fines.

[python]

Originally posted by Sir chris
p.s. if you didnt know dont attack gaurds or people first or youll get fines.

aye but if u wona kill some1 that looks like u could use there armor, (indurils armor early on is ok stuff ordinators wear) + i dont think u have 2 actualy kill 1 2 get armor of corse they r easily killed,>>>>> spoiler u can watch 1 die and drop a 10grand mace as well if u go 2 the dungeon aer degath or sumin its a derdric shrine were ordinators fight the locals and often die ^^ can b found due north or Ahemussa camp northern part of vvardenfell, on the paper map u got with game

[dragon wench]

Thanks a lot everyone, all the information is really helpful !

I played a bit more last night and found I was more comfortable, lol! It is weird to say that, but Morrowind is so immersive and huge, that it literally does feel like you are exploring another universe.

I picked the Tower as my astrological sign. So far it has been useful.

Regarding books and other material on the game, so far I have been trying to avoid that, since I don't want to spoil myself, but I know I will be checking out some of the online information eventually.

While I know that it is generally easier to begin games with a fighter, I have usually ended up playing some sort of thief/ magic user type with a bit of melee thrown in... What can I say, I like to be difficult In this case I decided to answer the questions as a way to pick my class; I would love to know how my answers determined me to be a Spellsword, but it is interesting that I ended up with a race/class combination true to my usual preferences

[Dorian_ertymexx]

That is a cute part of the character-creation process, actually. That you decide during game-play. I also got the class I had intended by answering questions, namely a woodelf archer. Woodelves are a great newbie race.

One of the things that I love with Morrowind (and even more in Gothic) is that class restricts very little. I abhor the strict class systems of BG and similar games. I find the idea of a wizard being unable to learn to wield a sword or a fighter to learn pickpocketing far less credible than any dimension-jumping, oddity-races and such. People can learn anything they want. Morrwind reflects that certain people have an easier time to learn some skills than others, but in general there are no limits.

If you like sneaky factions with magic, I warmly recommend House Telvanni and the Mages' Guild. My third character is a high-elf warlock (a custom made class, similar to spellsword). I have only joined those two factions, and I'm having a ball! My first character, the wood-elf, joined almost all factions but the thieves guild. After one full game, with the main plot done (and the game still going), a short try with a dark-elf and now a high-elf, I can still honestly say that I haven't been near to discovering all the quests, hidden tombs, daedric shrines and what have you. It is indeed a vast and almost endless game, and I love it. I hope you get to have as much fun with it as I do.

[Kool69]

Amazingly that happened when i first answered questions to determine your class ( That button seems to draw everyone in just to see what they are) And i got my usual too, an archer! Tough i customized him to make him cast spells and stuff, but all in all, a true archer in heart.

[python]

Originally posted by Dorian_ertymexx
That is a cute part of the character-creation process, actually. That you decide during game-play. I also got the class I had intended by answering questions, namely a woodelf archer. Woodelves are a great newbie race.

One of the things that I love with Morrowind (and even more in Gothic) is that class restricts very little. I abhor the strict class systems of BG and similar games. I find the idea of a wizard being unable to learn to wield a sword or a fighter to learn pickpocketing far less credible than any dimension-jumping, oddity-races and such. People can learn anything they want. Morrwind reflects that certain people have an easier time to learn some skills than others, but in general there are no limits.

If you like sneaky factions with magic, I warmly recommend House Telvanni and the Mages' Guild. My third character is a high-elf warlock (a custom made class, similar to spellsword). I have only joined those two factions, and I'm having a ball! My first character, the wood-elf, joined almost all factions but the thieves guild. After one full game, with the main plot done (and the game still going), a short try with a dark-elf and now a high-elf, I can still honestly say that I haven't been near to discovering all the quests, hidden tombs, daedric shrines and what have you. It is indeed a vast and almost endless game, and I love it. I hope you get to have as much fun with it as I do.

house hlallu is the thieves house ^^ favourite skills are stealth and intelligence, purly 4 mages is telvanni and your fighters r the redorans

[Vivien]

Hi DW! Fancy seeing you here! *hug*

After becoming annoyed with the horrible things they did with 'Deus Ex- Invisible War' I engaged in a stealth mission to the computer shop upstairs again to find this game. It's only been a few days, so I'm a newbie to it like you, but it is fun!

They also picked 'spellsword' for me when I answered the questions. But, after getting myself kicked all over the land by any bandits I met (apparently it's 'cast spell first, THEN rush headlong into danger'...but really where's the fun in that?) I've remade mine into a custom fighter/thief type character.

I highly recommend downloading the custom faces. The game is much more fun when you're not as ugly as they decided we women-folk should be (But they may have fixed that up with the two additions, I only have the original Morrowind III)

My main problem with this game is that I don't know what the best class will be...it seems so open about class creation that I just don't know. In Baldur's Gate I knew exactly which skills to give a fighter or a mage, here I'm just not sure if I'm making a weaker character. I'm hoping playing through and just having fun will clear that up.

Viv

[dragon wench]

@Viv *hug*,
lol! Now that is a coincidence Well I have probably spent a total of about 20 hours playing the game so far, and I managed to not get killed amazingly enough Right now I am in Balmore, I finally got there after treking about the countryside for a while, and I have delivered the papers I needed to and joined a few guilds. lol! I have even managed to hack one of those damn cliff racers into tiny little bits

[python]

personaly short blade is more powerful that long blades, as they attak so fast u r constatly hindering ur enemy so they cant get a hit in, especially effective with things that r gonna kill in like 4 hits also light armor is probally more superior 2 heavy not much diff apart form light armor is 'light' so u can run a lot faster fight faster ect

[Dorian_ertymexx]

Viv, that is why I love this game. Anything goes. I tried to play anything BUT a warrior in BG, and got thrashed every time. In Morrowind and Gothic, a mage is not a pushover with weak spells, he RULES. Well, at least when he got a few levels to back him up.

But to your fear: There is no better or worse class. They all work fine, the question is what style you like. I have played an archer and finished the game, and now I'm a wizard and doing very well. I also tried a pure warrior, but I must admit I was never drawn to the conan-style playing.

[Bloodstalker]

The thrill of whacking cliff racers fades quickly...trust me on that

And Dorians right, any class is more than able to be successful, and without all the class restrictions, you can wind up able to do pretty much anything you want after awhile anyway

[Sojourner]

Originally posted by Bloodstalker
The thrill of whacking cliff racers fades quickly...trust me on that

Don't whack them - shoot them out of the sky! I still enjoy dropping those blasted things with a single hit.