Skyrim: Turn off your compass marker

[Greni]

This is not a request, but an order.

I'm on my second playthrough in Skyrim.
I love these types of exploration games, no matter how shitty the storyline may be. Nevertheless on my first playthrough I always automatically stormed straight to the green/red arrow without a second thought, I experimented turning it off in my second one and I feel sort of free.

I will be looking through every crook and cranny looking for whatever object/person/enemy my devout quest journal sends me to, taking in all the details and taking in way more of the game then I did before. Considering I played nearly all the quests on an earlier playthrough it's remarkable how little I remember about the actual context of the quest while running from one arrow to the next. Now I have to read all the books and journals I find if I want to know where to go/what to do next with no little arrow helper holding my hand. Now I also stumble upon most of the little out-of-the-way details Bethesda developers like to put here and there.

So turn off your compass marker.

Post script: After I found out how remarkable change it was, I also turned off the not-yet-found-location-nearby sense the Dragonborn somehow possesses. That also improves the exploration feel of this game a lot.

 

[Greni]

Yah, I use the big map pointer to know the location but have no info what so ever about the location itself.

Always felt a little odd when Exposition McQuestgiver tells me to go to Whateverplace and inside I will find the MacGuffin, the place is huge but somehow I know precisely where the thing in question is. No exploration needed, just head through the door with the big red arrow above it and you're home free.

 

[XMark]

You can still see the marker when you look at your map. It's just not constantly on your compass all the time like some kind of freaky Dovah sense.

 

[Fappy]

I like how they actually addressed this with the new DLC. There are a lot of quests that require investigation, including: looking at item maps, talking to NPCs and just wandering around. Reminded me of playing Morrowind a bit.

 

[Lectori Salutem]

You mean like the older Elder Scrolls games? In Morrowind I thought it was kind of fun to use the directions of the NPCs to find locations and persons. In the first two games it was a bit confusing, though.

 

[Smeggs]

This is not a request, but an order.

I'm on my second playthrough in Skyrim.
I love these types of exploration games, no matter how shitty the storyline may be. Nevertheless on my first playthrough I always automatically stormed straight to the green/red arrow without a second thought, I experimented turning it off in my second one and I feel sort of free.

I will be looking through every crook and cranny looking for whatever object/person/enemy my devout quest journal sends me to, taking in all the details and taking in way more of the game then I did before. Considering I played nearly all the quests on an earlier playthrough it's remarkable how little I remember about the actual context of the quest while running from one arrow to the next. Now I have to read all the books and journals I find if I want to know where to go/what to do next with no little arrow helper holding my hand. Now I also stumble upon most of the little out-of-the-way details Bethesda developers like to put here and there.

So turn off your compass marker.

Post script: After I found out how remarkable change it was, I also turned off the not-yet-found-location-nearby sense the Dragonborn somehow possesses. That also improves the exploration feel of this game a lot.

Well, that's what you did.

I always explore the entire game thoroughly on my first playthrough. I have been literally to every corner of the map.

I don't feel constrained by having my compass up like you, apparently. The compass does not tell me where to go, it suggests where I go, and whether I feel like doing it then or going after three hours of dungeon crawling for new shouts depends on what I feel like. No little pointer is going to make me go anywhere in a free-roaming game if I don't feel like it.

 

[Greni]

Well, that's what you did.

I always explore the entire game thoroughly on my first playthrough. I have been literally to every corner of the map.

I don't feel constrained by having my compass up like you, apparently. The compass does not tell me where to go, it suggests where I go, and whether I feel like doing it then or going after three hours of dungeon crawling for new shouts depends on what I feel like.

You dare doubt my words, heathen? Well I'll have you know that the seriousness of such an accusation is quite severe. Quite severe indeed.
Good day to you sir!

 

[Smeggs]

Also, I'm assuming you still allow yourself to check the map for large cities, yes? The entire story and quests are built around the compass, that's why Morrowind was sometime so frustrating because you could get totally lost searching for specific quest locations. I remember one quest where I had to find a fucking cave, I walked past the damn things at least three times.

 

[Fappy]

Also, I'm assuming you still allow yourself to check the map for large cities, yes? The entire story and quests are built around the compass, that's why Morrowind was sometime so frustrating because you could get totally lost searching for specific quest locations. I remember one quest where I had to find a fucking cave, I walked past the damn things at least three times.

Was it the cave outside of Pelagiad where you have to get that skull? Every time I replay the main quest I can never find that place.

 

[Scrustle]

That's how I've always played TES games anyway, with or without a compass. Just because you have a compass there doesn't mean you must obey it and never deviate.

 

[Bruenin]

someone turned the hud opacity to 0 so he couldn't see anything, it made sneaking really tense since he had to actually check and see if people were searching for him, and he had to develop a way to shoot the bow without the pointer and such

He also used the clarvoyance spell to find his quest things

the PeterP save

 

[CrazyBlaze]

I like the compass. I hated when I played morrowind that the directions the game gave you sucked. It didn't help the journal was poorly organized and you had to go searching through a lot of different crap to find the directions. I mean okay it doesn't have to lead you to right where the object is searching but if someone tells me of a cave with some obscure name and something like its the north-west of here well that doesn't really narrows it down does it? North-west of here could be any number of miles or caves from where I am at. If I have a map and someone knows where something is, they can at least mark it down so I have a general idea of where I am going. When I want to explore I will, but not because the game gave me horrible directions to my destination.

 

[Luca72]

Eh, I feel like Skyrim was designed around having a quest marker. It doesn't feel more immersive or adventurous to turn it off.

However, if you really want a feeling of exploration, try reinstalling Morrowind. I love when I can see the upper ledge of some Dwemer ruins, and debating whether or not to chug some levitation potions just to see whats up there.

 

[unoleian]

I'm sad to say I have the general geography down almost by rote and know my orientations well enough (at least on the surface) to know where all the very major locations are (generally) at, and can keep pretty good bearings underground without an arrow guiding me onward. I rarely look at the compass any more.

On top of that, with the radiant quests it's an easy task to know you probably just need to find the boss chest in whatever dungeon you're sent to to recover whatever, or kill whatever (sad it's often that easy). Unique quests aren't much different in that regard, and often with them, whatever's needing done is generally...pretty unique, and easy to tell is important.

Tracking down someone, ah, now that's frustrating without a marker. Especially if it's a tracking quest with an NPC on an unknown schedule. Best of luck with those!

But, I certainly agree. Ignoring the arrow is the best way to play. I know too many people who center that arrow and beeline for it, every single time. Hell, I sometimes do for early quests because I Just Want To Get That Done Already. But ignoring the arrow, and paying attention to the environment instead of the HUD probably improves the experience greatly. I know it does for me.

 

[DoPo]

Isn't the game built around the quest compass though ?

Meaning, the npcs don't give you enough detailed information on where you should actually be going.

There is a mod to fix that (unsurprisingly) - it adds more information to the quest log, so it doesn't sounds retarded "I was told of X [no information to where it is but still a big arrow points at it]". It's called Better Quest Objectives[/I] you're welcome.