Getting into Morrowind

[Xerosch]

Hello!
I recently got hold of Morrowind GotY edition. A few months ago I played the very beginning and quit for the same reason I am not playing it right now: I am simply lost in the massive world and possibilities the game has to offer. Yes, I know you can do almost everything, but for example I am used to getting XP for tasks I complete. And I know that I am supposed to deliver a letter, but figured that it surely has a purpose that I'm not dropped directly at the city I'm supposed to go to. Yet at some point, I want to get into what many people consider the best Elder Scrolls to date.

So my question is quite simpe: how can I get some kind of structure in this game of infinite possibilities? Do you have any suggestions for a new player in this epic?

 

[Biek]

I agree the levelling system is silly. If you dont want to level too fast, you actually have to pick primary skills that are either hard to skill up in or you hardly use.

The problem is that the enemies will automatically become stronger as you level up, but your abilities will not. So if you level up sheerly through running errands and things like alchemy, technically you coudl elave the imperial city and stand face to face with a Daedroth or a bandit wearing Daedric armor.

 

[Yorgmiester]

The way i like to play Elder Scrolls games is to really get into the character and do stuff the way he would do. For instance, when you get dropped off the boat at the beginning. If your character is the heroic, noble, knight in shining armor type that wants nothing more then to serve his emperor to the best of his abilities, then he would probably set off for Balmora strait away, to deliver the letter and become a member of the Blades. If your character is a more "do my own thing" kinda guy, who doesn't really give a **** about the emperor or whatever, then he might just stay in town for a while, find some odd jobs, kill some mudcrabs, get some money and weapons, then go adventuring, or find another town with more to offer.

In my mind the most sensible way to play a Role Plying Game is to Role Play. It does cause for many late nights and missed appointments, however.

 

[SimuLord]

The way i like to play Elder Scrolls games is to really get into the character and do stuff the way he would do. For instance, when you get dropped off the boat at the beginning. If your character is the heroic, noble, knight in shining armor type that wants nothing more then to serve his emperor to the best of his abilities, then he would probably set off for Balmora strait away, to deliver the letter and become a member of the Blades. If your character is a more "do my own thing" kinda guy, who doesn't really give a **** about the emperor or whatever, then he might just stay in town for a while, find some odd jobs, kill some mudcrabs, get some money and weapons, then go adventuring, or find another town with more to offer.

In my mind the most sensible way to play a Role Plying Game is to Role Play. It does cuase for many late nights and missed appointments, however.

Definitely in agreement on this point. The key to any open-world sandbox game is to imprint a personality onto your character and then faithfully role-play that personality, or you're going to feel lost. Morrowind (far more so than Oblivion, in fact) rewards that sort of role-playing by having tightly-focused skill sets that aren't reliant on leveling up your other attributes (although it never, ever hurts to have high Endurance because even mages need HP). You might have to burn some money training on Medium/Heavy Armor even if you never use it or taking The Lady as your birthsign just so you can avoid getting killed.

The other thing I've found about leveling up in Morrowind is that tying your levelups to things you'll use in the normal flow of gameplay makes leveling feel a lot more natural. If you're into powergaming/efficient leveling [http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Morrowind:Level] it also gives you a greater measure of control because you can choose which of those "off skills" to either grind up or buy training for in order to maximize those +5 modifiers at levelup. Click the link to learn more.

 

[I_LIKE_CAKE]

I recently purchased Morrowind GoTY as well, because everyone says that it is better than Oblivion, which is my all time favorite game. Unfortunately, I never got as into Morrowind as Oblivion, possibly because I spent more time trying out various mods than I did the actual game. I also switched from the Windows 7 beta to the RC, and now I can't get all of my mods to work, so I said fuck it.
That aside, my view on Elder Scrolls games is that Bethesda has created a world where you can do anything, so forget about the main quest for awhile and go explore. There is an amazing amount of TES lore in game, so read some of the books, talk to people, and accept the fact that there is no way to find and do everything, so don't be a completionist (not a word, but I don't care).

 

[Terrik]

I agree the levelling system is silly. If you dont want to level too fast, you actually have to pick primary skills that are either hard to skill up in or you hardly use.

The problem is that the enemies will automatically become stronger as you level up, but your abilities will not. So if you level up sheerly through running errands and things like alchemy, technically you coudl elave the imperial city and stand face to face with a Daedroth or a bandit wearing Daedric armor.

Umm... You seem to think the OP is talking about Oblivion.

Anyway, you need to be patient in the beginning, to learn more about the game I recommend you head to Balmora and deliver the letter to Caius. And then do a couple of his quests. When I was like level 3 or 4 I started exploring more, be sure to save a lot though as most enemies are tough at the first levels.

 

[WrongSprite]

I agree the levelling system is silly. If you dont want to level too fast, you actually have to pick primary skills that are either hard to skill up in or you hardly use.

The problem is that the enemies will automatically become stronger as you level up, but your abilities will not. So if you level up sheerly through running errands and things like alchemy, technically you coudl elave the imperial city and stand face to face with a Daedroth or a bandit wearing Daedric armor.

Thats Oblivion you muppet.

 

[Xerosch]

Thanks for your comments so far, I will head to Balmora and let the main quest flow a littele. It's really funny I have such beginner 'problems' with Morrowind. I never felt lost in the Baldur's Gate, Fallouts or other RPG games.

 

[mplummer]

A good idea is to go and join the fighters guild/mage's guild, or do a bit of the main quest. Also, just wander around, explore! That's half the fun. Especially considering some of the amusing events included in the game, for instance a character you encounter if you take a certain path out of Seyda Neen. Also, i'd recommend not bothering with the fast travel for a while, just so you can soak up the different environments. On a side note, you have to be careful with how you manage your skills - if you have something such as alchemy as a major skill and focus on levelling it to a hundred, combat can become exessively difficult and your other stats would be gimped.

Also, i'll try and point out a few places to sightsee:

Vivec, the major city in the game and one of the major areas is definately worth exploring.
Ghostgate, which i found extremely impressive on my first playthrough.
Suran, house of earthly delights
Balmora, pretty much the main quest hub early game, with some interesting characters.

Just a few ideas to get you started, each should be in slightly varied territory and will take a decent walk to get to, so you should experience a good deal of the scenery on offer.

Edit: As a sidenote, enemies do become stronger in Morrowind too, it's not just an oblivion thing.

 

[RetiarySword]

Hello!
I recently got hold of Morrowind GotY edition. A few months ago I played the very beginning and quit for the same reason I am not playing it right now: I am simply lost in the massive world and possibilities the game has to offer. Yes, I know you can do almost everything, but for example I am used to getting XP for tasks I complete. And I know that I am supposed to deliver a letter, but figured that it surely has a purpose that I'm not dropped directly at the city I'm supposed to go to. Yet at some point, I want to get into what many people consider the best Elder Scrolls to date.

So my question is quite simpe: how can I get some kind of structure in this game of infinite possibilities? Do you have any suggestions for a new player in this epic?

Join a guild. You learn the layout of the western area's quickly then. If you want to do a bit of travelling, join the imperial legion or the temple. you then get a few missions around the northern/eastern areas.

 

[iain62a]

I agree the levelling system is silly. If you dont want to level too fast, you actually have to pick primary skills that are either hard to skill up in or you hardly use.

The problem is that the enemies will automatically become stronger as you level up, but your abilities will not. So if you level up sheerly through running errands and things like alchemy, technically you coudl elave the imperial city and stand face to face with a Daedroth or a bandit wearing Daedric armor.

Loot isn't levelled in Morrowind.

Bandits will always have low level armour.

In Morrowind, there's only one set of Daedric armour in the whole game.

Well, there is one other guy(Dyvavyth Fyr) that has a full set, but he's important to the main quest.

Edit: You never played Morrowind, did you?

 

[CyberAkuma]

I was turned off by the game in the beginning when a mere rat could kill me...

 

[johnman]

I was turned off by the game in the beginning when a mere rat could kill me...

that was insane, it too kme about 5 attempts to kill that rat and only because i went all out on blades.
I tried to get into morowwind but turned off by the muddy terrian and the vast unfriendly map and menus. Also a quest that was impossible to complete did it in.

 

[Jupsto]

The leveling/skill system in both morrowind and oblivion is retarded. to get max stats you have to do do alll this working out and choose skills you not going to use etc.

I hope for ES 5 they DONT use this system but use the fallout 3 system it was so much better. leveling skills by grinding is ok in a mmo but in a singleplayer game just feels really lame.

 

[TikiShades]

I agree the levelling system is silly. If you dont want to level too fast, you actually have to pick primary skills that are either hard to skill up in or you hardly use.

The problem is that the enemies will automatically become stronger as you level up, but your abilities will not. So if you level up sheerly through running errands and things like alchemy, technically you coudl elave the imperial city and stand face to face with a Daedroth or a bandit wearing Daedric armor.

That's why you pick some combat skills for your primaries. You have to level up more than just one or two skills, so as long as you have at least one combat skill, which you probably do. And all of the errands you would be running will be offering your rewards. If not equipment, them money, which you can buy equipment with.

The nice thing about Morrowind was that the level system is extensive. In Oblivion, when you hit 20, you can pretty much take on anything. In Morrowind, you still have monsters kicking your ass at 50! I don't remember monsters scaling with your level, but maybe it was because the change was too small for me to notice, and my equipment was too high or something.

Regardless of that, monsters appear where they are supposed to. Bandits only appear where there aren't guards around, and Daedric only appear near Daedric ruins or shrines. I still see rats and those egg-worm things when I'm on my level 23 If you level past 23 by just doing town stuff, then you should probably have enough gear to fend off rats. XD

 

[Terrik]

I was turned off by the game in the beginning when a mere rat could kill me...

That motivated me into getting better, around level 30 you are pretty much unstoppable with the right equipment. But yeah, many thought that Morrowind was too hard in the beginning, and I guess that's why they made Oblivion so easy.

 

[Shepard's Shadow]

Hello!
I recently got hold of Morrowind GotY edition. A few months ago I played the very beginning and quit for the same reason I am not playing it right now: I am simply lost in the massive world and possibilities the game has to offer. Yes, I know you can do almost everything, but for example I am used to getting XP for tasks I complete. And I know that I am supposed to deliver a letter, but figured that it surely has a purpose that I'm not dropped directly at the city I'm supposed to go to. Yet at some point, I want to get into what many people consider the best Elder Scrolls to date.

So my question is quite simpe: how can I get some kind of structure in this game of infinite possibilities? Do you have any suggestions for a new player in this epic?

I had the same problem but w/ Oblivion. For the first few hours i played i ran around turning myself invisible and looking for a city. That was before i found the map. I'm thinking about getting Morrowind GOTY edition for the same reasons you got it.

 

[ZeroMachine]

Honestly? Play Oblivion. It's MUCH easier to get into Oblivion than Morrowind, in my opinion.

 

[Lyri]

Hello!
I recently got hold of Morrowind GotY edition. A few months ago I played the very beginning and quit for the same reason I am not playing it right now: I am simply lost in the massive world and possibilities the game has to offer. Yes, I know you can do almost everything, but for example I am used to getting XP for tasks I complete. And I know that I am supposed to deliver a letter, but figured that it surely has a purpose that I'm not dropped directly at the city I'm supposed to go to. Yet at some point, I want to get into what many people consider the best Elder Scrolls to date.

So my question is quite simpe: how can I get some kind of structure in this game of infinite possibilities? Do you have any suggestions for a new player in this epic?

Simply start off doing whatever you want, It's not meant to be rushed into.
I started playing by mucking around, as the manual said "What do you want to do?", well I wanted to shoot some people from a rooftop.
So I went and did that.

Then I found myself joining Great House Telvani, so I got with the program and did a couple of quests, got some trinkets.
See where I'm going with this?

Just play until you find yourself fitting the role you want to play.

 

[Ken_J]

I tried to play Morrowind myself but I could take all of the reading and they combat in that game sucked. However I diddn't get that far into it maybe if I play it more I'll like it but I'm not going to buy a tird copy of it (Something happend to my first copy and the second copy I lent to a friend who lent it to another friend and so on. And for my coment on the reading F.Y.I. I'm dyslexic.)