GameBanshee Forums

Is it advicable to follow the story line, and only visit places as part of quests, or can I wander off and plunder tombs and caves as much as I like.
For example I´m currently Samarys Ancesteral tomb.
Is it save to loot now or is it part of a quest??

This game has been especially designed for you to wander around, explore ruins and caves, and gain levels. For example, I started on the main quest and then decided to join the Fighter's Guild. That took quite some time for me to finish and now I have joined the Imperial Guild and started doing their quests. Meanwhile, the main quest just waits for me to continue on. Thus, the game is virtually non-linear. As the official guide says, "There is no right or wrong way to play..." So, even as I did the quests I still went off on my own and did my own thing while on the way of completing my task orders.


As for keeping and selling items, there are console commands that allow you to get back items if you happened to sell them or come across them and let them lie where they are, only later you find out you need them for a quest.

Basically, decide what you want to do. I thoroughly enjoyed the Fighter Guild quests. There are others that don't interest me in the least. Since I have this deep running philosophy of playing "good" characters I doubt I'll join the assassins anytime soon. Have fun.

I usually wander around and explore before even thinking about the main quest. I save before entering a new area, just in case I do something that would foul up the main quest. I think it's very hard to permanently foul the main quest though. Often if a ruin or bandit quest is associated with a faction quest you get the journal entry for it ven if you don't belong to that faction.

the only problem is if you have an Xbox and you cant do console commands..... unless of course its hiding from me

I don't follow the story line much at all until my char is super good at doing just about anything. I enjoy building my char by practicing skills, especially speechcraft, lockpicking, hand to hand and running/jumping. I wander around in the vacinity of Balmora, Seyda Neen, Pelagiad and Hla Oad going into caves and tombs and looting them for goodies. I also spend a lot of time setting up the Tribunal assassins by sleeping only in choice places where I will have a definite advantage over them (tops of statues, next to locked slave cages, on bunkbeds, etc. so the assassins either can't get to me or get trapped). My last/current game I was able to by-pass all the horator and neravarine tests by making my advancing my char to level 60 (or thereabouts). Once I did that I was told to see the head of the Temple cult in Vivic who in turn told me to meet with Vivic. I never did do the horator/neravarine quests past getting Azura's ring before killing Dagoth.

Originally posted by UncleScratchy
I don't follow the story line much at all until my char is super good at doing just about anything. I enjoy building my char by practicing skills, especially speechcraft, lockpicking, hand to hand and running/jumping. I wander around in the vacinity of Balmora, Seyda Neen, Pelagiad and Hla Oad going into caves and tombs and looting them for goodies. I also spend a lot of time setting up the Tribunal assassins by sleeping only in choice places where I will have a definite advantage over them (tops of statues, next to locked slave cages, on bunkbeds, etc. so the assassins either can't get to me or get trapped). My last/current game I was able to by-pass all the horator and neravarine tests by making my advancing my char to level 60 (or thereabouts). Once I did that I was told to see the head of the Temple cult in Vivic who in turn told me to meet with Vivic. I never did do the horator/neravarine quests past getting Azura's ring before killing Dagoth.

Uncle S. Please watch for spoilers.

I continued into the tomb, and found some old kings ashes.
Should I leave them or take them with me? (I presume their a quest item)

A few things to bear in mind:
1. There are few quests that you MUST do in order. In many cases if you do go into a cave or tomb and find a named item that looks neat, chances are that it is part of a quest. Sometimes you must bring it back to the quest giver, and sometimes you need only have the journal entry to identify that you have done it, but whatever the case you still get credit for it.
2. In light of the above, decide on a few select merchants to work with and sell them everything you don't need. Alternatively, select a spot somewhere to store all that stuff. It need not be inside, nor in a crate - no-one will move it once it is dropped.
3. BE VERY CAREFUL ABOUT WHOM YOU KILL. Anyone that is part of the Main Quest, that you kill out of turn, will ruin the quest. You'll be told so. By and large, if someone attacks you, kill them; I'd bet my bottom dollar they won't affect any quests: Faction, Miscellaneous or Main.
4. As others have said, wandering is what MW is all about. That having been said, I have found that the map supplied in The MW Prophesies (along with explanations of what's where) is extremely useful. I'm map oriented - no map and I get lost easily. Having the 'what's where' also helps me to keep track of what I have looted and what not.

ENJOY!