Improving Skyrim / Recommended Mods thread (Mostly about Requiem)

[clemens]

I thought this was a quite fun presentation and, along with this thread, convinced me to reinstall skyrim and give Requiem a try :

 

[Gord]

Nice video.

Also there's an interesting comment for episode 2:

Are you going to continue this series? I really enjoyed these two episodes.

No, I've recorded episode 3 but I had some issues that ruined the Requiem mod for me. It is a good mod but just poorly implemented at times. The increased difficulty is more of a WTF JUST HAPPENED kind of difficulty than a tactical one. It need a lot of polish but I think the guys who made it have stopped working on it. I'm going to try SkyRe next

Not completely true, though: there has been an update 2 or 3 weeks back, I think.

 

[hell bovine]

I just updated to last Requiem, and damn, it seems like Battlemages got a serious kick in the face. Even with Master HA and respective schools of magic, magicka cost of spells are seriously high.
And my movement speed is ridiculously slow.


And my thief (with 1140 stamina) sprints faster than a horse OHGODWHAT. And his illusion spells cost too much for him to cast now. Hmm

I've reinstalled the game with Requiem 1.6 at this point. This new 'mass effect' - or whatever it's called - update bugged the speed of raised minions in my game, and caused the save files to gain weight rapidly. Previous version was also buggy, albeit for different reasons.

 

[Gord]

I've succumbed to boredom, dusted off Skyrim, re-installed my mods and went for Requiem this time.

First impressions:
*principle ideas seem sound and interesting
*Beginning is boring and too slow.
*I like the integrated settings menu, as it offers a relatively easy way to tune Requiem a bit.
*Archers are indeed deadly
*NPC reactions are great - finally a yielding bandit seems to mean it

Let's see whether it takes off before I lose interest in Skyrim again...

 

[Lancehead]

Are you going to continue this series? I really enjoyed these two episodes.

No, I've recorded episode 3 but I had some issues that ruined the Requiem mod for me. It is a good mod but just poorly implemented at times. The increased difficulty is more of a WTF JUST HAPPENED kind of difficulty than a tactical one. It need a lot of polish but I think the guys who made it have stopped working on it. I'm going to try SkyRe next

I haven't yet experienced anything in Requiem that can be described as "WTF JUST HAPPENED". There was one such a moment, however, which I at first thought was Requiem's doing when after taking the elven and glass smithing perks I found that I could only craft 2 elven and 4 glass items. After a short bewildered wandering around the internet I checked the MCM to find Morrowloot had crafting set to "Craft What You Find".

 

[Borelli]

The final perk in the enchanting tree is called Law of Firsts and based on its description and the changelog from some older version which states that you can put 2 effects at 55% power each i should be able to have 2 effects but when enchanting i don't see the option?

 

[Garmik]

The final perk in the enchanting tree is called Law of Firsts and based on its description and the changelog from some older version which states that you can put 2 effects at 55% power each i should be able to have 2 effects but when enchanting i don't see the option?

I never had that perk, but I think I read that when you get it, there should be a new power to use, which allows you to activate/deactivate dual-enchanting; so check if you have a new power/spell.

 

[Gord]

Some advices on tweaking Requiem?
Should I leave everything at default? (well, I disabled that you lose stamina on running, without fast travel that would make the game too tedious, imho)
Increase the amount of attribute points you get on level-up?
Something to make archers less of a lol-you-die thing?

 

[Lancehead]

The final perk in the enchanting tree is called Law of Firsts and based on its description and the changelog from some older version which states that you can put 2 effects at 55% power each i should be able to have 2 effects but when enchanting i don't see the option?

Garmik is correct; check the Powers tab under the Magic menu, you should have Bend the Law of Firsts. Cast it and use an enchanter.

Some advices on tweaking Requiem?
Should I leave everything at default? (well, I disabled that you lose stamina on running, without fast travel that would make the game too tedious, imho)

Disabling stamina drain while running eliminates some of carefulness that's required, especially considering stamina is a critical parameter in many things you do. I'd suggest getting Better Fast Travel - Ships and Carriages mod for transportation. Buying a horse should also help with getting around (they also give you unlimited carryweight). Also, take some food with you when you go out, they're very good for stamina and magicka recovery. And there's a perk under Evasion/Light Armour that gives you stamina regen while running; works when wearing heavy armour also, except at a reduced rate.

Increase the amount of attribute points you get on level-up?

Don't; while 5 points a level may seem low, you do get nice derived passive bonuses off them. Check the manual for details.

Something to make archers less of a lol-you-die thing?

Just take basic precautions: use cover, dodge arrows, don't run headlong into fights. You can use a shield to deflect arrows, and heavy armour should give you nice amount of protection too.

 

[clemens]

(well, I disabled that you lose stamina on running

First thing I wanted to do too, but the command I tried to use did not work. Surprisingly, I got used to it pretty quickly, and I agree that it is probably an essential mechanic considering the balancing of the mod. Though I guess it can become unbearable if you play a heavy armor dude. Archers are indeed deadly, so I'm happy I'm one. Of course, I get creamed by anything that comes in close range...
You can always toy with the damages and dispersion sliders if you're really having too much trouble, I suppose...[/quote]

 

[Gord]

Guess I'm not harcore enough, but when it gets too tedious, it stops being fun.
Will keep the stamina setting for now, especially given that the perk you talk about is at 75 evasion, well out of range fro most of the game. Food is still useful to regenerate stamina and mana more quickly after a battle.
I also disabled weight for coins. Carry weight is low enough as is.

 

[DraQ]

My best character in Requiem is a battlemage (well, not much in offensive spells yet, so more like a paladin or something)

Well, but isn't battlemage pretty much defined by blanketing the area with fireballs then braining anyone left standing with a bound axe?

(well, I disabled that you lose stamina on running, without fast travel that would make the game too tedious, imho)

Switch it back on, you faggot - that's what horses are for.

If you don't have a horse and can't teleport or summon a spectral one then yeah, walking is going to be tedious. Big fucking surprise.

With horse you also get saddlebags for carrying excess loot, spares and special purpose equipment (for example your anti-undead gear).

Increase the amount of attribute points you get on level-up?

lolno.

Something to make archers less of a lol-you-die thing?

Yes. Don't get shot if you can help it.

You can also make a tincan, preferably with shield.
This sort of build can be very resistant to ranged attacks at long distance and is capable of rushing multiple archers, but you will still want to exploit every bit of cover you can find and avoid getting shot whenever possible.

Other ideas involve, for example, employing distractions. Summoned familiar (spectral wolf) is *stellar* against archers. It's not particularly powerful summon in its own right but it's relatively small and very fast, which means it's good at dodging arrows and giving enemy archers something more immediate to worry about than you - namely their balls being gnawed off.

Guess I'm not harcore enough, but when it gets too tedious, it stops being fun.

Actually, Requiem is much less tedious than vanilla.

If you're doing shit wrong, you simply die.
If you're doing shit right, enemy dies.

It's arguably the least tedious mod ever.

 

[Borelli]

Ghost summons require silver to damage properly so even a lowly ghostly wolf will tank A LOT against iron/steel equipped bandits. Ghostly troll requires silver to damage AND fire to stop its regen, only mages will be able to kill it properly.

 

[Gord]

Switch it back on, you faggot - that's what horses are for.

If you don't have a horse and can't teleport or summon a spectral one then yeah, walking is going to be tedious. Big fucking surprise.
With horse you also get saddlebags for carrying excess loot, spares and special purpose equipment (for example your anti-undead gear).

No, not my idea of fun.
Even without stamina loss on running I still lose enough through sprinting and fighting to justify food and potions. It will definitely stay off.
I will buy a horse eventually, but considering they aren't exactly cheap it's nothing that will be available so soon.

Something to make archers less of a lol-you-die thing?

Yes. Don't get shot if you can help it.

Yeah, obviously, but I find them exaggerated in Requiem. By no logic should I be able to withhold being hit by a sword more easily than an arrow. Guess the author watched too many Western movies.

You can also make a tincan, preferably with shield.
This sort of build can be very resistant to ranged attacks at long distance and is capable of rushing multiple archers, but you will still want to exploit every bit of cover you can find and avoid getting shot whenever possible.

Probably, but it's not the character I'm interested in. Well, will keep on dodging then.

Actually, Requiem is much less tedious than vanilla.
It's arguably the least tedious mod ever.

Overall, it's not bad, but some of the stuff is too exaggerated for my taste. Still, with a few tweaks it's enjoyable enough for now.
Question is how long it will hold my interest. I had played Skyrim to death already and I get the feeling that even with Requiem the game will be too much of the same to uphold my motivation. At least until Dragonborn will be on sale eventually.

 

[DraQ]

 

[Gord]

 

[Lancehead]

In Requiem, since most merchants store their goods plus gold in master-locked chests, getting the final perk in Lockpicking means you'll have practically unlimited gold. This really feels cheap even though I actually like the idea of a master locksmith (and, by extension, a master thief, since you can never get caught pickpocketing once you master that perk tree) being able to steal whatever he wants. But stealing without consequences all the gold and all the items from merchants every time they replenish their supplies is ridiculous. Not necessarily Requiem's fault, but when the mod introduced merchant chests they could've implemented some deterrents to simply having almost every merchant's goods and gold available risk-free throughout Skyrim.

Gothic 3 had an interesting system in place for theft which worked on a town basis. Once you start stealing in a town, guards start to get suspicious of you since you're the outsider and thefts started occurring since you started visiting the town. At beginning, when they express their suspicions, you can simply deny any knowledge. Later, as you steal more, guards will start to accuse you for the thefts, in which case you can bribe or persuade to get them to ignore you. But once you steal past a certain threshold in percentage of value of goods in the town, the guards will turn hostile and will try to apprehend you.

Skyrim could've used a system like that, perhaps with a more concrete evidence linking thefts to the pc.

 

[Gord]

A logical consequence would also be that the merchant is getting into serious economic troubles.
You probably shouldn't be able to do this more than once or twice with each merchant (which is already enough, I would say).

Of course, a real working economy would be another approach, but that's hard to do, I guess.

 

[Lhynn]

Yup, if you steal a lot from a shop it should go down, thus youll have less people to steal from and less people to sell to.

 

[DraQ]

At least you sometimes get a bunch of hired goons as delayed consequence.

I imagine having to face them frontally would be problematic for a *pure* thief.

 

[Lhynn]

At least you sometimes get a bunch of hired goons as delayed consequence.

I imagine having to face them frontally would be problematic for a *pure* thief.

Not for Sawyers *Pure* thiefs tho

 

[DraQ]

At least you sometimes get a bunch of hired goons as delayed consequence.

I imagine having to face them frontally would be problematic for a *pure* thief.

Not for Sawyers *Pure* thiefs tho

 

[Gord]

At least you sometimes get a bunch of hired goons as delayed consequence.

I imagine having to face them frontally would be problematic for a *pure* thief.

Yeah, Hulda from the Whiterun Tavern send 3 thugs after I had brought this special ale to the drunkard. And I thought she hadn't seen me.
Quite fun with Requiem and a lvl 2 magic user. Luckily I had found this Staff of Icestorm...

Would have to scale a bit though - one of the few cases when scaled encounters make sense, imho.

 

[Lancehead]

At least you sometimes get a bunch of hired goons as delayed consequence.

I imagine having to face them frontally would be problematic for a *pure* thief.

I employ the venerable tactic of run, hide and sneak attack. Maximum efficiency, minimum hurt to self.

However, I haven't had any thugs sent after me for stealing from merchants chests, and I have stolen quite a few times--not any of the items displayed out in the open inside the shop, only from chests. I doubt Requiem has put in the scripts for those specific chests.

Would have to scale a bit though - one of the few cases when scaled encounters make sense, imho.

Seriously, removal of level scaling is one of the primary reasons the mod is great. In fact, the creature design overhaul--i.e., actual strengths and weaknesses--wouldn't work without static levels. Consequently the perk overhaul will also suffer.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

I also disabled weight for coins. Carry weight is low enough as is.

It gives a reason to mine and buy/sell gems.

Something to make archers less of a lol-you-die thing?

Yes. Don't get shot if you can help it.

Yeah, obviously, but I find them exaggerated in Requiem. By no logic should I be able to withhold being hit by a sword more easily than an arrow. Guess the author watched too many Western movies.

An archer has a much harder time hitting you than a guy who gets up close (and doesn't have to deal with aiming, cover, annoying wolf summon, etc), if they don't get the damage to justify it they become minor annoyances (like in vanilla). Archers don't kill me nearly as often as melee d00ds who managed to get close.

Basically, if I see an archer I put something between us. If he's smart enough not to spend all his arrows (forcing him to come after me with a dagger or something), he gets a fireball to the face after his melee buddies are taken care of. The wolf familiar is also great for keeping him busy while they're still up, as well.