Finally got around to Skyrim last night

[mike_the_wino]

Pretty. This is going to be a time suck, fo shore!

One question though. It was late and I didn't get very far but is there a combat system like the Fallout VATS system? Running around trying to land hits on enemies is bit ole skewl.

I read up a bit here and other places so I will be getting to smithing as soon as I get to a town.

Thanks

[PPD#6]

No vats, your shout replaces it. Fun game

[RazzB7]

It's a pretty severe time-waster. Work on smithing as much as you can, get your shouts (they are pretty bad-azz)

I like it, it's very free-form. Do what you want, follow the quest or don't.

Many, many mini-quests available.

[mike_the_wino]

Picking up quests as I need gold and that seems to help.

Can you deconstruct armor/ weapon drops for ingots/ leather?
Can you smelt ore into ingots?
I tried a battle axe on a tree, do I need another type of axe for chopping wood? How can you tell which trees to cut?
How do you mine? I have a pickaxe but it isn't readily apparent where to mine.

[Nose Nuggets]

Picking up quests as I need gold and that seems to help.

Can you deconstruct armor/ weapon drops for ingots/ leather? nope
Can you smelt ore into ingots? yes, you need a smelter. not all forges have one.
I tried a battle axe on a tree, do I need another type of axe for chopping wood? How can you tell which trees to cut? didnt even know you could cut trees...
How do you mine? I have a pickaxe but it isn't readily apparent where to mine.

the veins are a little hard to see at first but you should start being able to ID them quickly once you know what you are looking for. best place to start is the mines (map icon is two crossed pick axes). the iron ore looks like dark grey rock with a faint rainbow coloring. the more exotic ores stand out a bit more.

[mike_the_wino]

The tree question was because some toon asked me to chop wood so I thought trees but come to think of it I think I saw a jumble of lumber outside of a mine shaft/ bandit den near riven-something

[DaveInOroValley]

There is an upcoming expansion that many are waiting on. I spent over 140 hours playing through most of the game with still some small side quests left.

It definitely rates as a time black hole, as 4-6 hours in one sitting isn't uncommon with an average play time reported of over 100 hours.

[Riflelover]

Does anyone know of a good starter guide? I love playing rpgs but am terrible at figuring them out.

[mike_the_wino]

Okay, got mining, smelting, smithing going but for the life of me I can't find a woodsman's axe for chopping wood? Any hints on where I can find one?

[Baconator]

Okay, got mining, smelting, smithing going but for the life of me I can't find a woodsman's axe for chopping wood? Any hints on where I can find one?

I found one in a cave!

I know that isn't very helpful, but I can't keep track of all the names of places.

[alfred1222]

Okay, got mining, smelting, smithing going but for the life of me I can't find a woodsman's axe for chopping wood? Any hints on where I can find one?

They're spread out throughout the game, but one thing with Skyrim is that when you try to find one thing that isn't a quest item, it isn't easy. Like just deselect the quest that needs the axe And when you find one, go back to it

[mike_the_wino]

Found one axe in a Forsworn camp but got crushed before I could make my way out. Found one in Bilegulch mine and a couple in the quest getting the monkey claw. Still haven't figured out what it does but I have it.

Next step, figure out these soul stones....

[Nose Nuggets]

Does anyone know of a good starter guide? I love playing rpgs but am terrible at figuring them out.

me.

ask away. i have more then 200 hours in this god forsaken game. and never beat the main quest.

[em9sredbeam]

I had way too much time into that game, almost forgot my reloading duties.... Had smithing at 100 and enchanting at 100. Now I am replaying borderlands and just picked up Max Payne 3.

[Hoop]

Okay, got mining, smelting, smithing going but for the life of me I can't find a woodsman's axe for chopping wood? Any hints on where I can find one?

Unless you download mods that require you to provide chopped wood for weapons it's useless.

Most powerful characters I've made have been light armor, sneak, bow, one-handed dual wield, smithing, enchanting.

Mages are pretty weak - destruction magic is kind of worthless in comparison to previous games. Paired with conjuration it is okay though. Also you can wear heavy armor with no spellcasting penalty.

So, you can make a guy with heavy armor that is enchanted to reduce casting costs for destruction to the point that the spells cost almost nothing. Then you dual-cast them with the stun/knockback talent while summoning atronarchs or zombies. And if something gets too close just tank it.