Is Morrowind worth playing now if you haven't before?

[AnthrSolidSnake]

Yeah, I've never played Morrowind. In fact, I skipped it. I played Daggerfall when I was little on one of my dads friends computers in 1998, and I remember liking it (even if I could barely do anything right), but I wouldn't realize there were more of those games until Oblivion on my PS3. And then obviously I went on to play Skyrim.

Now, I always hear that most people are in agreement that Morrowind was one of the better Elder Scrolls games, and the main reason I hear is because of the setting. But as someone spoiled by the slight improvements on the latest two Elder Scrolls games, would it be worth buying and playing myself? Chances are, I'll end up modding it, so could mods potentially help any dated mechanics or gameplay? I read that the melee combat was very...uninspiring. I know the game will look a bit more dated, but I'm not too worried about that, and chances are I know there are mods that could help with that if I wanted.

EDIT: So, I've been pretty convinced by many of you that the game is certainly worth playing, especially if I'm into that kind of RPG, and am willing to forgive the games shortcomings, which I was prepared to do so from the beginning. So, thank you everyone for giving me insight on the game, I'll be sure to pick it up and try it out. However, it might be a week from now, so until then, if there's any worth keeping this thread alive now that I've got my answer, I'd appreciate some good Morrowind mod recommendations? I'd mainly look for graphic mods that won't end up destroying either my system, or the game engine (I've got my fill of that with Oblivion).

 

[Benpasko]

It's a tough game to get into if you didn't play it back when it was the newest entry into the series, but I'd give it a shot anyway. For mods, you need Better Bodies and Better Heads for sure, the rest are at your discretion. I know I prefer to play my Morrowind near-vanilla. The real hard part of playing Morrowind these days isn't the combat, it's the quests. Get ready for scouring the wilderness, there's none of that newfangled quest arrow shenanigans.

 

[PPB]

It depends on what you're looking for in RPGs.

Most people will call the combat outdated in Morrowind. I prefer to say it is different. The system is essentially based on die rolls, which means that you can miss your swing even if it is aimed directly at the enemy's face. Overall, this means that success in combat is less about twitchy FPS-like reflexes, but more about the way you built and equipped your character. As far as I know, there are no mods that change this (though feel free to prove me wrong, I personally like it that way and never looked into changing it).

As for the setting, it's mostly a matter of opinions. I personally felt like Morrowind was more interesting to explore because it was much more original and unique compared to the standard LotR-derived fantasy fare we see everywhere. Note that I don't have anything against standard fantasy, I enjoy it immensely, but every once in a while it's great to have something different.

Overall I think it's definitely worth it to get the game. It comes cheap enough these days anyway. The key is not going in expecting to get the same gameplay as Oblivin/Skyrim. It's different, not in a necessarily worse or better way.

 

[Alorxico]

Morrowind is what got me interested in the Elder Scrolls series. It is, as far as graphics go, dated but the story is interesting and the game play is solid. There are several mods out there that update the graphics, but they are massive and a few are still incomplete. Still, if you are worried about graphics quality, the modding community has you covered. There are also tons of fan-made quests, gear, spells and companions to keep you busy for a while.

There are a lot more weapons, armor and spells in Morrowind than in the its predecessors, so you might feel a bit overwhelmed at first. I suggest creating a character to just fool around with everything and then create on to actually play through the plot. There is TONS of reading in the game, as there wasn't a lot of voice acting except for part of the main plot, and tons of side-quests. Your Journal is massively obnoxious, because it does not sort by quest (but that, I believe, has a mod for it) so you can get lost on what you were supposed to do and where. Just be patient, or get a cheap legal pad and keep track of your quests that way.

If you are going to get all the expansion packs as well, please, please, please, find and read the Glitches page on the Nexus database for Morrowind, as its expansion packs kinds mucked up some of the quests.

Morrowind should be discounted on Steam, and I think Bethesda has re-released it in a bundle pack so it isn't difficult to find. I hope you have fun.

 

[OpticalJunction]

Sure, it's a solid RPG and there are plenty of good mods for it. Don't let the dated graphics scare you. The lack of fast travel might take a while to get used to, though.

 

[Frezzato]

OpticalJunction is right about the lack of a proper fast travel system but you eventually get access to helpful tools like scrolls/spells of intervention, Silt Striders, "flying" and other methods. Also, I suspect you're going to love some of the other things like Mark/Recall. Without ruining too much for you, playing Morrowind now after Skyrim would probably be the same as playing Saints 2 after Saints Row IV, which is to say companies used to be so much more ambitious back then.

Oh, and being able to decorate your house exactly the way you want, using stuff you picked up in the game, that's what I miss most about Morrowind.

 

[Jynthor]

If you want a game with a fantastic world, which rewards exploration, and most importantly doesn't treat you like a goddamn idiot. Yes, yes you should play it.

 

[Foolery]

Sure, if you mod the fuck out of it. Otherwise, no, not really. It's one of those games that kinda only hold up if you played it around the time of it's original release.

 

[AntiChri5]

Morrowind is the game that got me into The Elder Scrolls, which has been one of my favourite series, so i have a lot if love for it, but there is no denying that it's a seriously (maybe even fatally) flawed game. And im not talking about small stuff like graphics. Damn near every mechanic is flawed and easily exploitable and enemy AI is so terrible that they can have serious trouble getting to you if you are across a narrow bridge or a dozen other ways of breaking them.

It has more freedom then Oblivion or Skyrim but is a complete mess.

 

[ohnoitsabear]

Maybe? It really depends a lot on what you did and didn't like about Oblivion and Skyrim, how much your willing to accept older game mechanics, and if you're patient enough to put up with the game until you get into it. A lot of people that try Morrowind for the first time are put off by the dated combat, lack of direction, and overall slow start to the game, and end up putting in one or two hours if that) before calling it quits. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but you really need to put more time into the game than that to see it's brilliance.

The best part of Morrowind, for me at least, is just how awesome exploring the world is. It's vast, the world is strange and interesting, you never know when you're going to find some cool and unique thing, and there are actually worthwhile rewards for exploring. Plus, the inclusion of levitation means that there's a lot more stuff hidden in various nooks and crannies.

A few tips if you do try to give it a shot:

My biggest tip for starting out is when you create a character, make sure that you have one weapon skill in your major skills (more is unnecessary), and then your first priority should be getting a weapon of that skill from the shop in the first town. If you try to use a weapon that's in your miscellaneous skills, you're going to spend a lot of time missing.

A couple of other character creation tips. Speechcraft, mercantile, alchemy, sneak, and security (or alteration, if it's a magic character) are all very useful for just about any character, and should be at least minor skills. Also, getting athletics as a minor skill isn't a bad idea, because otherwise you'll be running really slowly for the first few hours. If you're using a non magic character (which is generally recommended for your first playthrough), artronarch is by far the best birthsign, because you take 75% less damage from magic, and the inability to regain magika from resting really doesn't matter if you don't use ever use magic in the first place.

There will be a lot of times when there will be something that you just aren't strong enough to do yet, even though you think you should be able to. Just do go do something else, and come back later when you've leveled up a little bit. Probably the most notable example of this is a small dungeon right outside the starting town which is notoriously difficult for level one characters, especially for new players.

Make sure you grab the graphics overhaul mod, or, if for whatever reason you don't want that, grab the Morrowind Code Patch and the Morrowind Patch Project, which are included in the graphics overhaul mod and fix a huge amount of bugs and other issues with the core game.

 

[Xdeser2]

If you ask me? It has all the same flaws that Bethesda usually has when developing a game with none of the effort put in to fix them that the later entries had

But apparently thats okay because Mushrooms, Levitation and Spears ._.

Honestly, despite my personal biases, its defiantly got that hardcore appeal to it (even if thats more due to bad design IMO than an actual desire to make it appeal to that demographic) and its main story is legitimately pretty great for a Bethesda game. I'd say give it a shot, if only to try something new

 

[Neverhoodian]

You liked Daggerfall? Chances are you'll like Morrowind. Just bear in mind that not everything has aged gracefully.

Morrowind is a strange bird, caught in the middle of a big transitional phase for open world games. On the one hand you've got the departure from barren, randomly generated landscapes and blocky dungeons a la Daggerfall and Ultima Underworld in favor of a hand-crafted world full of interesting and exotic locations to explore. On the other hand, you still have gameplay relics like combat entirely dictated by dice rolls/RNG and the ability to create nearly useless character builds if you aren't careful (of if you're a masochist).

Playing the PC version with mods is pretty much a must nowadays. However, there are so many mods to choose from that the prospect can be daunting. I recommend playing vanilla for a few hours, then start over with some mods that address your biggest issues with the game.

Personally, these are the mods I can't do without anymore:
Morrowind Rebirth [http://www.moddb.com/mods/morrowind-rebirth]
Adjustable Magicka Regen [http://glassboy.webs.com/adjustments.htm]
Tamriel Rebuilt [http://tamriel-rebuilt.org/] (adds parts of the Morrowind mainland to explore)

Spoiler

Delayed Dark Brotherhood Attack [http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=mods.detail&id=2487]

 

[AnthrSolidSnake]

It's a tough game to get into if you didn't play it back when it was the newest entry into the series, but I'd give it a shot anyway. For mods, you need Better Bodies and Better Heads for sure, the rest are at your discretion. I know I prefer to play my Morrowind near-vanilla. The real hard part of playing Morrowind these days isn't the combat, it's the quests. Get ready for scouring the wilderness, there's none of that newfangled quest arrow shenanigans.

Ah, the lack of quest arrows actually sounds more interesting. Sounds like a good reason to get acquainted with the environment and will benefit from exploring.

 

[AnthrSolidSnake]

You liked Daggerfall? Chances are you'll like Morrowind. Just bear in mind that not everything has aged gracefully.

Morrowind is a strange bird, caught in the middle of a big transitional phase for open world games. On the one hand you've got the departure from barren, randomly generated landscapes and blocky dungeons a la Daggerfall and Ultima Underworld in favor of a hand-crafted world full of interesting and exotic locations to explore. On the other hand, you still have gameplay relics like combat entirely dictated by dice rolls/RNG and the ability to create nearly useless character builds if you aren't careful (of if you're a masochist).

Playing the PC version with mods is pretty much a must nowadays. However, there are so many mods to choose from that the prospect can be daunting. I recommend playing vanilla for a few hours, then start over with some mods that address your biggest issues with the game.

Personally, these are the mods I can't do without anymore:
Morrowind Rebirth [http://www.moddb.com/mods/morrowind-rebirth]
Adjustable Magicka Regen [http://glassboy.webs.com/adjustments.htm]
Tamriel Rebuilt [http://tamriel-rebuilt.org/] (adds parts of the Morrowind mainland to explore)

Spoiler

Delayed Dark Brotherhood Attack [http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=mods.detail&id=2487]

Well, I played Daggerfall years ago, when I wasn't spoiled by shiny "realistic" graphics. However, that hardly changes my perspective today, as I still play games that haven't aged well in the slightest. But thank you for the mod recommendations, I'll be sure to look into them after I experience the plain game.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

As for the setting, it's mostly a matter of opinions. I personally felt like Morrowind was more interesting to explore because it was much more original and unique compared to the standard LotR-derived fantasy fare we see everywhere. Note that I don't have anything against standard fantasy, I enjoy it immensely, but every once in a while it's great to have something different.

Not to pick apart your argument but Morrowind does have a dark lord demi-god lording over the destruction of the world from within a volcano base who can only be defeated by questing for an ancient artifact and bringing it to the mountain.

Don't get me wrong - I love Morrowind but lets not pretend it is some unique snowflake. It has a fantastic setting and was the most fun exploration title I've ever played but it simply isn't all that different. Skyrim has a thousand Drueger dungeons, Oblivion had it's Aelid dungeons and Morrowind has the countless Dwemer dungeons and caves aplenty. The only difference? In Morrowind, you could actually find artifacts worth having.

 

[DanielBrown]

Since the matter has been closed I'll chip in with the Overhaul mod that's out there. Think they're at 3.0 by now and it makes a huge difference. Definetly helps getting past the out dated graphics of the original.
Believe there's also a journal mod that I used. It can become hard to navigate through it since, as I recall, it doesn't put things in the right order. The mod might've been a bonus in the Overhaul mod.
My old PC had awful specs and could still run the mod more than decently(had to remove plenty of features however), so unless your PC is really shitty you shouldn't have any issues with it.

Some extra stuff I'm sure already has been said: There are some drawbacks for those used to newer games. Morrowind doesn't exactly hold your hand, so you have to figure out travel paths and quest locations yourself. The map is also huge. Helps with immersion, but running back and forth through the wastes gets pretty dull. I replayed it about a year ago for the first time since 2003 and had a blast until I eventually got sick of running.
Also, if you find a huge transparent wall early on I advice against looking for the gate inside unless you got a quest in there. I ventured in and spend waaay longer than I thought trying to find my way out again without dying.

Spoiler: Be prepared for this

Spoiler: Overhaul mod 3.0