I want to like Morrowind, but...

[Rufus T. Firefly]

...I can't get into it. Or maybe I get to into it. You tell me.

I've been starting and stopping with the game for about 6 months now, and just can't seem to get very far. I know what the problem is: I want to do everything, and Morrowind isn't that kind of game. But everytime I decide, "okay, I'll just do 'X'," I start missing "Y" and "Z." Play a basher, and I want to cast spells; play a mage, and I want to steal everything in sight; play an all-around character like a Nightblade or Bard, and the game takes for-bloody-ever.

I want to like this game; heck, I do like this game. But I really, really need a cure for Chronic Restarter Syndrome. Ideas, anyone?

[Verto]

What stops you from being a mage and also stealing things? Be whatever you want, and take as much time as you want. I spent a month off and on exploring tombs and cities, starting off as a thief and becoming head of the Mage's Guild. By the time you beat the game, you'll be fairly adept at everything, so IMO you don't need to try to be one character-type exclusively.

[Sandman]

Just accept that you will never do everything with one character. Get some RPG Zen.

I find I enjoy RPGs more if I don't play them in an obsessive compulsive fashion. It's fun to ignore stuff.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

What stops you from being a mage and also stealing things? Be whatever you want, and take as much time as you want. I spent a month off and on exploring tombs and cities, starting off as a thief and becoming head of the Mage's Guild. By the time you beat the game, you'll be fairly adept at everything, so IMO you don't need to try to be one character-type exclusively.

I agree; in fact, Bards are my favorite types of characters for just this reason. It's just that the more multifaceted you are, the more the game seems to lose its focus (does it even have a focus), and I start to get bored. Maybe I've been spoiled by games with lots to do but a relatively streamlined tracetory, like Torment and Fallout.

Just accept that you will never do everything with one character. Get some RPG Zen.

I find I enjoy RPGs more if I don't play them in an obsessive compulsive fashion. It's fun to ignore stuff.

This is what I really need to do, but I am a bit obsessive-compulsive in these games; I want to go into every cave, open every crate, uncover every bit of fog-of-war, etc. Playing a Bard (see above) only exacerbates that, because they live for experience! Is there a twelve-step program I could join or something?

Cheat.

Xbox. And besides, it's not nice.

[Dis]

I was the same way with Morrowind. It was almost 2 years before I finished it.

I still find the magic system annoying. I tried playing a mage, and didn't work very well.

The sneaking system is annoying as well.

The way I finished the game was with a fighter type. yes I did have destruction as a major skill, but I found I rarely used it in combat situations.

Yeah hack and slash can get pretty boring with very little spell activity. But I found it gave me focus. Although I kind of considered myself a fighter/mage. I did do all the mage guild quests after all (along with fighter). But I pretty much focussed on my long blade during difficult battles.

I just couldn't be bothered to learn the enachantment or alchemy skills. I missed out on a powerful part of the game so I'm told. but my character still found plenty of powerful weapons. I was in no danger of being killed (though i did find one battle difficult)

If I were to focus more on mage abilities it'd probably be confuring/summoning.

The problem I still have is the combat system. It's just easier to hack things than to cast spells or run around shooting arrows.

[Apocalypse]

I'd say alchemy is probably the easiest stat in the whole game to up. In that Wolverine Hall (I think) there is a guy in the Imperial Cult temple that sells two ingredients needed to make restore health potions. You can get a good set of equiptment from the mage guild in Caldera for free. You can just keep buying unlimited amounts of the ingredients and make as many potions as you want and even while screwing up a lot, you'll still make enough money from the potions to have some left over for battles. Enchantment, you really need to just go to a trainer if you ever want that high. There is no remotely easy way to get that up to a useful level by yourself.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Originally posted by Dissident
I was the same way with Morrowind. It was almost 2 years before I finished it.

I still find the magic system annoying. I tried playing a mage, and didn't work very well.

The sneaking system is annoying as well.

The way I finished the game was with a fighter type. yes I did have destruction as a major skill, but I found I rarely used it in combat situations.

I hear you. I'm playing a bard right now, but I don't much utilize his aclchemy, enchant, or illusion skills; he's effectively just a fighter with a great personality.

In the end, I think what bugs me about Morrowind is not having a party. The great thing about a game like Baldur's Gate is that, with a balanced party, you really can do everything and still stay within the bounds of roleplay. I liked that; this is harder to warm up to.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Originally posted by Apocalypse
I'd say alchemy is probably the easiest stat in the whole game to up. In that Wolverine Hall (I think) there is a guy in the Imperial Cult temple that sells two ingredients needed to make restore health potions. You can get a good set of equiptment from the mage guild in Caldera for free. You can just keep buying unlimited amounts of the ingredients and make as many potions as you want and even while screwing up a lot, you'll still make enough money from the potions to have some left over for battles. Enchantment, you really need to just go to a trainer if you ever want that high. There is no remotely easy way to get that up to a useful level by yourself.

I agree enchant is a pain to up, but I think the easiest has to be athletics; I run everywhere anyway (hard not to with an Xbox), so I'm always upping that one. Acrobatics is pretty easy to up, too.

[Apocalypse]

Nah, athletics takes forever to raise after a while. You can run everywhere and it'll still take forever. Swimming raises it a little faster, but still it takes a while.

Acrobatics is easy yes...you can jump everywhere. It greats kinda annoying and not too roleplaying like. That being said, I have jumped everywhere to raise it 10 for a 5x many times. The best place for this is right behind Cassius' place. just jump up in and then jump far down....jumping far down (and taking a little damage) actually raises it quite a bit.


About not having a party...it's probably one of the main reasons why you don't necessarily feel that a part of the world.

[Felch]

Morrowind works best when you're either smoking opium or eating pot brownies.

So if you're not enjoying it, my question is this: have you considered adopting a drug habit?

[ravagon]

Enchant??
I always found that easy to increase - just keep using enchanted items ... Or am I missing something here?

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Originally posted by ravagon
Enchant??
I always found that easy to increase - just keep using enchanted items ... Or am I missing something here?

That does it, but really, really slowly (or so it seems).

For example, I heal myself pretty much exclusively with enchanted items. I'm not that big a basher, so I heal myself alot. Nevertheless, I think I've raised enchant maybe once without paying a trainer.

[Apocalypse]

You can also get them by recharging items or creating items. That takes a lot of time. So basically the only way to even consider raising it is through a trainer. Apparently the large gap in terms of raiseability will be fixed in Oblivion. At least that's what they say. I kinda have my doubts.

[ravagon]

I usually take it as a major skill so it rises more quickly but not that much more ... it does increase per 'use' so if, for example, you have a healing ring enchanted with restore 1-10 hp or a magic ring with restore 1-10 magicka then you'll use it far more frequently than, say another ring with restore 10-100 of the same.
It isn't quite as effective in combat of course, but then that's what potions are for right?

I generally toss such items when I'm at a moderate level and go see Quor ... something but my skill is generally well into the 50-60's by then and it's more a question of convenience than necessity.
Even if you don't actually have an immediate need for a particular effect you can always just pull out the old 'open door ring' in the middle of nowhere and use it until it's charge is gone - a little gamey perhaps but if you look at it from the perspective of practicing (which it is really) using the item ...

[Apocalypse]

Looking back at when I played Morrowind a lot and did those repetitive tasks...it would have been far better to do real life repetitive tasks like more pt. Morrowind is just kinda like The Sims in terms of life improvement.