Newbie/Special Help

[joe05]

I know this may be answered elsewhere, but with over 100 pages, I thought it wise to ask.

I'm starting the GOTY Edition.
But, I'd like to ask a few questions first because my gameplay is average at best

First off, I'm physically disabled, so my manual dexterity is extremely limited.
I need to keep the keystoking and/or mousing as limited as possible.

Past inquiries here at GameBanshee has taught me: ask first, die later ... in the past I dove right in, poor character development killed me; literally.
Sometimes the best build isn't the best for me, because of my limitations.
But, with several suggestions, I usually can find a build that works for me ... sometimes by combining builds/ideas

So, could you guys help steer me to a good build, given my limitations.

I'm not sure how this game would compare to Diablo 2 LoD, but the builds that worked best for me are usually: 1) Summoners ... 2) Tanks ... 3) Magic( ... if not too complicated) ... 4) Ranged - bows etc(...I run away very effectively)

If you feel a link would answer my questions, please just post it ... I don't want you guys to rehash old info

Also, any tips/hints would be appreciated.
Everything being equal, I fare poorly = so I need to always be a little stronger than the enemy
If it comes to keystroking/mousing quickly, I'm a goner

Time to read the manual and start making notes.
Hopefully you can clear things up before I complicate matters

Thanks !

[BlueSky]

Not sure if I can help, I find the gameplay uses lots of mouse work, especially in combat situations, although you mentioned summoning, haven't used that much in my games, but I imagine that it would be useful to you, you could use that as a way to cut down on the melee (mouse clicking) although I believe you would still have some to do. The summon creatures don't always do that good a job in combat, I've used them to soak up the initial magic spells that attacking NPC's tend to use. Keyboarding might not be that much of a problem...I tend to use the Q....constant forward movement for my travel quite a lot. I think on ways to cut down on these next time I play and maybe have a few more hints.
I would suggest try to play on the easy setting, this might help.

[galraen]

I'd suggest maxing out on magic, have destruction and mysticism as a major, choose Breton as your race, The Apprentice or Atronach as your birth sign. Battlemage would be a reasonable choice as your class, but if you decide to make your own, then make sure your specialisation is Magic and one of your Primary Attributes is Intelligence.

Make good use of the quick keys, press F1 to set them up. Make Alchemy a miscelaneous skill so that you can rapidly increase your skill without levelling up too quickly. Make the best health and magicka regeneration potions you can, and plenty of them. Assign both potions to a quick key as well as your best offensive spells; if you're playing Tribunal, then Frostbite (or better cold spell if you can manage it) is your friend, and always sleep with your back to a wall.

PS Right clicking brings up your character screens and pauses the game, allowing you to select your spells/weapons at leisure.

[dragon wench]

Another thing I'd suggest if you have not already done this, is to get a trackball instead of a mouse. This helps to prevent muscle strain, and it means you are just moving your thumb on the ball rather than using your hand and arm to push the mouse all over the place.

I have used [url="http://www.microsoft.com/products/info/product.aspx?view=22&pcid=10426173-9aba-45eb-b7ce-af9ef9724d3d&type=ovr"]this one[/url] for years.
[url="http://www.cardcam.com/html/2200.html"]Kensington[/url] also makes a nice model.
Or there is [url="http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/details/US/EN,CRID=2150,CONTENTID=5003"]Logitech's version[/url] which can be used with either hand.

You still need to click with a trackball, obviously, but its design is a lot more comfortable than that of a regular mouse, which may help a bit.

[Ferrick]

Nice suggestion on the trackball mouse there dragon wench.

This game is not like Diablo so comparisons are tough to come by. Though there is definitely a great deal of fighting and magic casting involved, there is also a lot more skills and depth involved than a typical hack & slash RPG.

I suggest checking out the following link; it is a tremendous resource:

Morrowind:Morrowind - UESPWiki

As galrean suggested, Breton would make a good choice because they make great mages.

There are a lot of great people here who have helped me in my character creation; of course the freedom to create with so many skills avaliable is up to you. Just look at the choices of Magic Schools alone; its enough to make your head spin!

[dragon wench]

@Ferrick,
Thanks Though I'm not sure a trackball would help in this particular situation because I don't know the full extent Joe's circumstances.
But, a friend of mine has severe arthritis and she finds that using a trackball as opposed to a standard mouse makes a *huge* difference. Before, following a day at work, she would have to come home and keep her hands under hot, running water for about 10 minutes, since getting the trackball she rarely needs to do this. That's why I thought of it.

[fable]

The trackball in any case is considered more ergonomic than the mouse, and far easier on wrist and back-of-hand muscles.

Joe05, if you need console codes to "summon" better armor or give yourself finer levels of skills (in heavy armor, or in a type of weapon, etc), just ask. Those might help compensate to an extent for lack of speed, though I never found Morrowind particularly bad in that respect. I'm not a twitch jockey, yet had no problem with Morrowind provided I leveled my skills intelligently. That's important, so don't forget to ask about how to construct and level a character properly.

[joe05]

Thanks ... you never let me down .. always generous answering my questions
Hi Fable, nice to see you again

Yes, I have JRA(... Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis).
I will look into the trackball, thanks dragon wench.
I do ok with mousing/clicking "if" I can use both hands on the mouse.
That's why I try to use it as much as possible ... try to limit the amount of keyboard ... the more I have to switch from keyboard to mouse(... in battle), the more I die

I'm going to start tonight ... change some keys(... prefer them on the right side of the keybosrd = easier to get back to the mouse)

The manual sure has enough build options = I'm already confused ... you are correct Ferrick
Did get hand cramps making notes; so we stopped.
I think I'll dive right in and learn by my mistakes.

Going to use galraen's build.
Now, I just have to level up correctly ... pick some good spells; especially area killer spells(... if there are some)

Oh yeah Blue Sky, we'll play on easy
Maybe I'll get lucky and finish all 3 games.
I see so many build options, I'm assuming some will be to my liking ?

Thanks for the help !

[BlueSky]

Go for it Joe05:

And don't feel bad, there's been so many times I've died in the game...
My new one, Female, dark elf, is still only level 3 and she seems to be weaker than my previous characters...tried a cave that had been fairly easy before and last night, got my head handed to me...reload...again, reload:laugh:

With so many choices, it is hard to decide, but I'm sure you'll find something that will work for you...

Let us know how it going.

[Ferrick]

Go for it Joe05. I am really sorry to read of your JRA. My grandfather in later years had Rheumatoid Arthritis in his hands and knees and the difficulties he had made me appreciate my life a whole lot more. My hat is off to you.

As for the build, well the first time I played I didn't have a clue. This time I will play a lot smarter, one of which was coming here before building my next PC.

I think one really cool spell to learn early would be Levitate. That way you could levitate and cast down on your enemy or use a bow and arrow.

[Kipi]

I agree that the Levitation spell would be very good spell to learn in your case. Levitation combined some Destruction spells (area of effect spells would be ideal, as you probably are able to kill more than one enemy with one spell this way). The reason why I do not suggest bow is that it's so hard to hit at the beginning of the game, and it continues to be difficult quite long time, so I would prefer spells.

Also, you should consider spells that let's you kill enemies at your own speed. Such spells would be Paralyze (opponent can't move, so there is no panic in casting spells or in using weapons), invisibility (let's you make the first hit rather easily, but the continue may be difficult if the opponent doesn't die immediatly) and Chameleon (same as invisibility, but it lasts after the hit AFAIK). These three spells combined with destruction spells and probably even with Levitation turns the favour to you.

Levitation spell also helps you to solve the situations where you must reach the place which would be otherwise hard or even impossible with your problems. Not sure how easy it is to time your jumps and the direction, but levitation should at least ease it.

[Napoleon]

I advise you to get some gold, find an ebony staff and a really good soul gem (at least golden saint/ascended sleeper, one of the gods would be better) and then enchant it with serious health damage or absorb, you'll usually just have to click once and (providing you hit your target) most enemies will be toast. PS, an exquisite ring or amulet will actually do a lot more damage than the ebony staff, but they're magic so I don't know... I like swinging weapons haha.

[joe05]

... thanks for the help
I'll copy/paste all this info

Just started ... setup my character ... spent 20+min trying to steal that expensive plate = keep getting caught ... I know it's there for a reason, so I'll keep trying ... I could use the $ = buy some good armor ... bought 2 spells(...fireball + frost?)

Next up, that cave of smugglers .. couldn't find it late last night
I moved the difficulty slider 1 or 2 notches towards easy ... not sure how many = I didn't want to make the game a pushover ... I'll start over if I get bopped in the cave

Appreciate your help ... if I evet level up and get confused on how to distribute the points, I'll ask ... I can't afford to waste character/skill points = learned that lesson the hard way in Diablo 2 LoD
Not knowing my optimum equipmemt, I'll save some points till I know where I need them ... my character screen says STR/INTEL ... manual mentions willpower

I had to laugh at run/jump.
I put on auto-run, the guard "out-walked" my running character.
As for jump; the eye-view doesn't even change.
So much for my tactical/evasive defense ... ok, running away like a chicken

Off to try and steal that plate + my first fight.
I just love starting new games = as Lewis Black would say: " I'm Confused" !!!

I don't know if this slow moving character is good or bad for me ?
Just played BloodRayne 1 and 2, which was so fast, I was running into walls etc(... luckily there were cheat codes).
Now I can read a book while this character moves

[mr_sir]

In Morrowind you have a fatigue meter (the green bar under your health). This goes down when you run, jump and get hit by fists. When it runs out your movement speed will slow dramatically which is probably what has happened. Stand still or walk and it will replenish itself.

Also, as athletics and acrobatics improve, so will running, walking speeds and jumping ability.

[BlueSky]

Slow movement is also caused by weight.... How much you're carry around.

[galraen]

spent 20+min trying to steal that expensive plate

Do you mean the limeware platter behind Cocucius Ergalla? If so, you're playing the wrong game, you should be playing 'Mission impossible'.:laugh:

It's hard enough to steal the key behind Sellus Gravius with 35 stealth, let alone stealing the platter when there's a guard looking right at you.

Spoiler:







The key can be had though, but you do need 30+ stealth and a lot of patience, it's worth it too, a lot of goodies for a new character in that warehouse.

PS By stealth I mean Sneak of course.

[joe05]

... thanks for the help

I switched classes, from battlemage to mage.
Want to use magic; not an axe
I hope it's not too fragile; we'll see.
Did notice my unarmored rating increasing ... should help with my character speed ?
I found playing 10hrs or so, I do need speed in this game.

Cave was challenging(... mage gave me trouble) ... I like to wander = rats are tough; worms really cut into my health; mudcrabs not tough
Two assassin attacks = won both, but they were razor thin close
I guess my difficulty slider setting is ok ... not sure if I should be winning these battles at level 1 ???
This is a slow leveling game OR I just scratched the gameplay surface = lots ahead of me ?

Did steal that plate.
I guess I got lucky ?
I tried to put it back asap(... in other games, if you beat a conversation, somtimes the game will mess up, so to speak = so I gave it a try), but it fell on the floor ... I figured, try and pick it up = nobody said anything, so I was able to keep it

Going to keep wandering.
See if I can level up so you guys can tell me where to put the points

[Ferrick]

Run as much as you can and then when fatigue sets in walk. Your speed will increase as you run.

As far as unarmored it is one of the skills that affects one's speed.

You haven't even scratched the surface in terms of gameplay! :laugh:

There is more ahead of you than you can imagine. :speech: :mischief:

[joe05]

...Thanks Ferrick

I need some level up help/tips etc !
I made it to level 2 ... unfortunately, I deleted the save prior to leveling up = so I can't undo my choices, but you can tell me the best options/priorities going forward

I had 3 picks from 4 categories ... sorry, I can't remember all the categories on the screen, just those they let me choose from
* 5 Strength
* 4 Willpower
* 2 Agility
* 2 Speed
I opted for Willpower, Agility, Strength ... if I messed up, I hope we can correct it with future levelings
My reasoning was ... Willpower and Inteligence seem most important
I made it through the tomb, but was killed by a skeleton with a shovel + that brigand who wanted $50 to pass; I had trouble with him too = better up my Agility
Strength seems to help health bar + carrying capacity ... I think it might help absorb some melee damage ??? ... so I opted for it over speed

I wanted the speed, but I noticed in my fighting: I run back and try to spell cast as they come towards me; that, the farther away they are, the more I miss ... I faster I go, the more "ground" I hit(... I use a pen in my left hand to hit keys / I use my outside palm and knuckle to try ans steer/aim/cast spells) ... it is literally "hit or miss" in these fights; pun intended

I don't even know what to keep .. found some books in the tomb + skull
Kept the skull; sold the books ... think I'll rebuy the books and store them in a tomb chest = not sure if they might be needed in a quest
Another time I heard a scream and thought it wa an assassin attack; nope, dead mage was lying in the road ... he had a very interesting book on him = I'm keeping it ?
With so little wiggle room in carrying capacity vs movement speed, I'm not sure what to keep on me or sell ... maybe storing some stuff might help ?

**** Anyways we're at that crucial dilemma: " how should I spend my leveling up points / which categories are more important than others / how should they be ranked". ****
I'm playing as a Breton-Mage-Appentice.

Appreciate all the help.
I can see this game will have me confused for a long time ... I haven't even done my first quest yet
I'm still wandering and trying to figure out a fighting style .... can't wait for levitate/paralyze etc !!!

[fable]

Another time I heard a scream and thought it wa an assassin attack; nope, dead mage was lying in the road ... he had a very interesting book on him = I'm keeping it ?

That's one of the events Bethsoft promoted the game on, when it first came out, ostensibly to show its scripting capacity. Too bad they didn't put anything else quite as original in. You'll welcome to sell the book, and I'd also suggest selling the spells. You really don't want to use them, and they'll bring much needed cash in the early game.

Be sure one skill representing every attribute is in your majors. That gives you an easy way to pump up a skill, sleep, and gain a high multiplier when you level. Typically, I don't have my characters sleep until they can get smoe really nice multipliers, and I focus early on Willpower, Intelligence, Strength, and Constitution. Sounds like you'll already knowledgeable on this, however.