I was trying that last night, nothing stopped her horrible dancing - I finally had to make her walk away. I'll have to look up how to do it on the PC,

Haa-Rei's been doing more wandering through Morrowind, and we're about to come back to Black Marsh. Found 2 quests we'd missed the first time through, and found the book for Dwemer belts!

It's nice that Haa-Rei is able to take it easy for a change, and most enemies can be taken out in one shot from his bow so we can focus on gathering crafting supplies rather than watching for beasties.

That sounds Awesome! I would love to be able to gather enough crafting supplies to use one of those crafting tables I keep finding! I found the one in the Aldmeri now.


I absolutely LOVE the Aldmer areai, but once again (like they did in Daggerfall) - all the side/misc quests are tied to the main questline; no diversification! At least there are a lot more quests, but every single one of them is theme-tied to the main questline, which gets so old after a while.

The closest thing I've found to diversification in the Aldmeri is a priory filled with monkeys that has a respawning level 50 grand soul gem in it. I keep going back and grabbing it, but there is no quest you just take it. It seems like they originally planned a quest there because there is a note saying that the monkeys stare at you and then attack - so far nothing like that has happened, but if it did there are hundreds of monkeys there, so it is exciting to wonder if it will happen, lol.

One thing I really loved about the Ebonheart Pact is that there were so many different quests that had nothing to do with anything but the NPC's involved - like the lady whose friends were turned into Skeevers, or the lady whose husband got stuck in a frozen spider web; the one who lost her dog and gives you a dog whistle to blow, then you have to follow the dog to what is keeping him from home - you can't beat those interesting little stories for a break from thinking about the main questline and just having fun with the game for a while.

And the Aldmeri didn't have two grooming islands for the Player to get their game bearings with and get used to playing their new character; it only has one island and the first city - that was a disappointment.


But that said, I love the Aldmeri like crazy, especially the fact that there is a Dark Anchor opening right behind the city. You hear that gate and have time to run to it and get plenty of practice early on with plenty of help doing it.

Ebonheart's Dark Anchor happens way up on Ash Mountain in such a remote area that it is inconvenient to get to and very few people come running to help you close it.

I tried to handle the one outside the Aldmeri city solo before anyone got there and was killed in seconds, lol. It was like the "Banished Cells" Undaunted quest - I didn't have a shot alone, and that one stays at a relatively low level for all the newbs.

Also, it has very few crafting supplies in the wilderness, that means buying or having a secondary character in Ebonheart being your supplier and putting crafting supplies in the bank for you.

So I'm really torn on where I want to put my main character, going to have to play a while longer in the Aldmerii before making a final decision.





This post has been edited by mALX: Jul 11 2015, 05:32 AM

mALX, Lil found that priory full of monkeys today. They are adorable!

Lildereth finally left Khenarthi’s Roost and returned to Auridon. She has a new passive ability in stealth (Improved Sneak from the Medium Armor skill line) and is testing its limits. Sometimes she is able to break away from combat and hide using Shadow Cloak from the Nightblade abilities before going for the next critical strike. Other times she dies. It’s a brutal process, but she is a fierce and determined person. I thought she would be able to pass by when the daedric anchors dropped out of the sky. Nope, she defends her world no matter the cost. She is building two sets of skills, both stealth and combat archery.

Today she took on a dolmen with an axe guy and a huge Khajiiti Templar (players) at her side. The Templar kept her alive. I thought she would never be able to trust some stranger, but once this guy healed her the first time she was all in. After the battle the three of them stood there stunned for a minute instead of the usual victory dance of jumping off the steps and leaping on the corpses. I’ve never seen one of these where the whole world didn’t show up to get in on it. Lil could not believe she was still alive. I could not believe that the Khajiit kept both Lil and the other guy on their feet. In celebration Lil put her first emote on the wheel (which is like a hotkey) for her Khajiiti battle buddy: it’s the hand to heart gesture. Wow, what an experience! Now I am completely certain that Jerric did the right thing by taking all of those healing abilities for the benefit of other people.

Before I went to the lake with no Wi-Fi Darnand had another adventure where that handsome devil Jakarn showed up to help out. Darnand knew things had gotten grim when Jakarn quit flirting for a while. They both made it out and saved the day, of course. Afterward Darnand had to make a hard decision that made some folks angry, including himself. He got through it by asking himself what Jerric would want him to do. He skipped over the parts about nailing various hot females and made his absent friend proud by destroying the evil but very, very interesting artifact. It might take him a while to get over this adventure!

They are so cute! I go back there all the time for that grand soul gem that respawns there.







Yeah, actually I think the girl is the only one who gets mad at the Player that you have to see again. Jakarn wanted it destroyed if I'm not mistaken.

Those quests were so much fun, and you are right - Jakarn doesn't care if you are male or female; when he stops flirting it is about to go down big time.


The gate behind the city is so easy because there are always some really high level players grinding it to help you; but when you get out in the world there really aren't so many people helping unless you just wait a long time for them to reach it.

Darnand walked from Daggerfall to Wayrest to turn in a supply writ today, and he was not pleased about it. He was pretty safe as long as he stayed on the road. He collected a bunch of orange and red quests on the way and then rode a wayshrine back to Daggerfall. Darnand is more interested in making staves and enchantments than exploring High Rock. Also the Daggerfall Mages Guild library is glorious, so he likes to hang out there more than in the various villages that are besieged by undead/on fire/infected by mysterious plagues. I think he would be happier if he had his own horse. Bill the white pony is nice, but he’s not Banner.

Jerric found an Altmer motif book and gave it to Darnand (who is the gang’s wood crafter) (because, staves), so now Jerric has a very nice Altmer-style shield that actually looks the right size for him. Darnand gave it the trait that increases its armor rating. Now he’s working on the right enchantment to go on it. Of course Jerric already has the shield so Darnand will have to give him the glyph instead of enchanting it himself, which is kind of his thing. Next time he will make the glyph before the shield so that Jerric can’t steal his big moment.

Fun tip, you can deconstruct and learn traits of items that are stored in the bank. This means it is easier to trade items between characters for crafting and research purposes, but also easy to accidentally deconstruct the stuff you thought you stashed safely away. Oops.

Yes, I think this is not supposed to happen - if you take the writ in Daggerfall it should be turned in at the Daggerfall docks from everything I've read on the subject.

The first writs Bubba did were all turned in at the docks in Daggerfall like they should be, right up till yesterday morning - then suddenly yesterday afternoon he was told to take it to Wayrest! And if you look at the Daggerfall map and Wayrest map, they suddenly match identically.

I think someone screwed up something there, but ... not really sure, so had Bubba sign out for the day till I find out, since I really have no idea if he should even be in Wayrest right now (or how to get there, etc).

So if it turns out that he is really supposed to, I guess I'll have him do it. But if that happens to either the Sorceress or Dragon Knight girls, they will not do those writs, they can't travel outside of their safe town areas without dying every step of the way.


*

Yeah, I stick all the items to be researched in the bank so all characters do their researching (and horse feeding) as their first order of the day.

The best glyphs I've seen in game are the ones you get for doing those Writs, they are Awesome !!!


*

On the homefront, Misa went fishing and caught two rare trophy fish and a sack of runes at her first fishing hole!

Earlier she had been stretched out relaxing in the sun after a big battle while I fixed myself lunch, and when I returned a male Khajiit was kneeling beside her - scared me to death; I thought she was being attacked!

So I ran to the PC and jumped her up; it turned out to be Maiq! So she talked to him, and he hung around and talked to her for so long that she finally got dressed and left; but not before getting a lot of great screenshots of him, lol.

I finally uploaded my screens of Bubba in The Arabian Nights Stros M'Kai - that place is the most gorgeous of any I've ever found in any game.

And I got some shots of Calia Lia on the beach in the Aldmeri. Once I'm caught up with all the posts I missed on here I'll def be posting some of those screens.

Never mind, someone just told me that higher level characters are sent to other places to deliver to. Urk, that is inconvenient, Bubba may just have to go back to stealing to support the girls instead of crafting, lol.

This is what happened to Darnand and Lildereth. They are both level 10, but they had to travel into the next level areas (Wayrest and Elden Root) to turn in their crafting writs. Darnand’s current woodworking writ is for beech material, which requires Rank 3 in woodworking. He just got Rank 2. Beech items can’t be used until character level 26. He only got one writ with oak after he took Rank 2 in woodworking. Oak materials are for character level 16-24, which he still can’t use himself. Even Jerric who is level 22 has only found a few beech logs in his level-appropriate area. That seems messed up.

I’m still struggling to find the fun in stealth for Lildereth. Hopefully it’s just a matter of figuring out what the game’s rules are. She has pilfered a few items (don’t tell Jerric), but since some of them turned out to be used for skooma production, she destroyed them rather than selling them to a fence. Maybe there will eventually be a stealth-based quest line for her. The Queen’s Eye stuff appeals to her, though. Hopefully that will turn out to be something. Unfortunately so far the Mages Guild’s quest line is kind of a waste for Lil. Even Jerric had a tough time against Sheogorath’s ‘puppy’ since it could get all of its health back if he lost too much ground. Just like the enemies at the Dark Anchors. She needs time and space to take down the big guys, and I’m not seeing how to do that in this game.

In other news I have unleashed the hairiest Jerric yet upon the Aldmeri Dominion. He is a Dragonknight and uses a two-handed sword. He was supposed to be in the Daggerfall Covenant, but we were laughing too much about his epic beard and I clicked the wrong faction button. He is joyfully exploring all of the nooks and crannies that Lildereth would not. I’ll make a Sorcerer Jerric to follow Darnand in the Daggerfall Covenant. I don’t enjoy the staff game mechanics, and Darnand can’t be bothered with my tourist nonsense. Looks like Darnand will be hanging out for a while in Wayrest.

I got Bubba all the way to Wayrest, and it sent him back to Daggerfall to drop off his Writ! Grrrrrr. So while in Stonehaven, Bubba nabbled up all the Skyshards and Lore books, and completed a few quests for good measure.


On Lil's sneaking and fighting - Isn't she a Nightblade? I play a total stealth character with Bubba, Calia, and Misa. All are Nightblades.

Medium armor has a passive perk (the third one to unlock) that increases the distance before an enemy can detect you by a percentage based on how many pieces of medium armor you have on.

So I made as many pieces of medium armor with the training trait that I could; and improved them because the amount of training you receive from each piece is directly related to it's level of improvement.

Before that perk opens up you can also make a potion that gives you about 20% more detection leeway too - clear water, Wormwood, and Cornflower.

(or go invisible in really tight places with clear water, Blue Entoloma, and Nirnroot - but move fast, it only gives you about 5.9 seconds to get the hell out of there, lol).

It won't save her from all enemies, but I made a set of 5 pieces of the Death Wind medium armor for both Bubba and Misa because they are regularly going into dungeons well above their level seeking those skyshards. It gives some excellent benefits for protection and health. (and you can use that training trait on it and be better protected while you train your medium armor skills up).


All three of my Nightblades use the first Syphoning active perk as their primary weapon because it raises the Player's health while damaging the enemy.

Secondly, all three use the Fighters Guild's first active perk = the silver bolt one. That thing is wicked strong against some really powerful enemies, especially powerful against Daedra and undead.

So I keep those two spells as the first two easiest to access and use frequently; and hit them constantly in battle; only using my Ultimate if I'm totally surrounded.

As far as weapons go:


Misa and Bubba are both really good with the duel wield; but even though that is wicked powerful in combat, I prefer they both use a healing staff because it keeps the enemy at a distance from them.

No matter what weapon they use, I always choose one or make one that has an enchantment that take life from the enemy and gives it to the Player.

(to make your own, use the most powerful subtractive rune you can; Jode is good but Ode is better. For the Potency Ta is okay, but Jejota is better. I can't do any of the runes above those, though I've found a bunch, lol.

But if you want the glyph to suck health from the enemy and give health to the player, the essence is Oko.

If you prefer your magicka built up to keep casting those powerful syphon and silver bolt spells, then instead of Oko you use Makko essence.

And if the glyph doesn't look as powerful as you like, improving the weapon improves the enchantment. (or using an infused trait does too, I think).

I used the magicka one on Bubba's healing staff (it is part of his Death Wind set); and it does 418 damage without the enchantment, but with it it does a bonus 76% magic damage to the enemy and gives Bubba 34% Magicka boost, so he can keep casting and casting while his staff is blowing the tar out of them and pumping him back up.

Misa is using the old PlagueTender staff still - it is level 7 and she is level 13; but I've improved it twice, so it is really powerful despite being lower level. Right now it is dealing 90 magic damage and restoring 40 health per hit; and I've been looking at the guild traders to get more Rosin - I've got two, but it is expensive to buy and requires a lot more units to reach 100% (and I don't dare try improvements under 100% on any item I don't want to lose).

Misa and Bubba both sneak into the best position to strike before engaging - like getting up on a ledge (like Buffy use to do) and nailing them so they can't strike back, especially the Clannfears because their charge is devastating healthwise - it does like 1200 damage. If they can't flatten you in a charge, they are left with only that tail swipe for damaging you.

And I've climbed high on rocks for those huge monsters; or crawled into small holes and shot out at them - that is the only way I was able to survive a few of the tougher enemies. (and there are a bunch I couldn't survive and ended up doing the dungeon behind another player; just helping them take down the bigger ones, lol).

But as long as the first shot you get in is while stealthed, you get a damage bonus; and it is increased with that Shadow or Assassin line, I can't remember which.



Calia uses the same bow she got in the beginning of the game still, but she is under level 10; but she has repeatedly closed the dark anchors using just that bow and those first two spells. That bow won't help her much longer, because it is just level 3. I could improve it, and may improve it later; just haven't done it yet.



** EDIT - Screens of hairy Jerric or it didn't happen!









This post has been edited by mALX: Jul 27 2015, 08:03 AM

mALX, these are fantastic tips, thank you so much for posting them! When I get back to playing I will let Lil have the first turn so we can try out some better strategies. Darnand made her an enchantment that adds 0.9 seconds to potion effects, and I’m sure that will also help. They can get pretty far in a second since the detection area is already small. He also made her an absorb health enchantment to try when she levels up and gets a new bow. It’s been a challenge to figure out self-healing since I started off with a Templar.

I've been wondering about using that Legerdomain perk for pickpocketing even though I have no intention of picking any pockets - it seemed like it would have to dull detection fairly close to the NPC's. I haven't tried it yet to see if it works or not. It just seemed like it would help.

I wish I could PM you in game (console Player) from the PC game - I'd send you the extra Death Wind armor I made in a PM. I've been having to deconstruct the extra pieces to make room in my bank.

When one of the characters learns a better trait I've been redoing them piece by piece and improving them so they protect more for a longer period of time. (example: Misa's armor is level 8, she just turned level 15 and is still wearing it; Bubba's armor is level 14 and he just turned level 20 and still wearing it).

The improving really stretches out the length of time you can use the item. Misa's staff is level 7; Bubba's staff was made with the armor, so it is level 14 too.

Oh, I just improved a level 9 quest reward staff twice and it now gives 150 disease damage - I can't wait to test it out, lol. And I'm having to wait for more materials, but I've just improved the bow you first get when you leave Coldharbor once and it already looks a lot better stat wise.

Now, these weapons are low level but have the kick of a high level weapon; so if I start a new character they will be able to play them but will be kicking some serious butt with them in the early game, lol.


*


Have you noticed the necromancers in this game actually do call up the dead to fight for them? It freaked me out totally to see that, you have to ignore the dead NPCs and go after the necromancer, but it is almost impossible to ignore a bunch of people (you know you killed) attacking you!






This post has been edited by mALX: Jul 29 2015, 04:36 PM

Yes, I saw that in Skyrim, too! The first time, I thought to myself, Didn't I just kill that SOB?? After the battle was over, I looted the bodies, and noticed that there were fewer bodies than the number I killed. The next time I tangled with necrodudes, I paid closer attention and saw them resurrecting bodies, and saw those same "bodies" disintegrate into ash piles when I "killed" them a second time.

Like Argis says, I'd rather fight bandits than draugr. At least bandits know to stay dead.

Yeah, the first time I saw it I thought, "huh?" - then I actually saw her cast and the magic surround the dead body and he jumped up and ran toward me; then I was thinking, "GAAAAAAH!!!!!"

That was very cool, I have to give the devs a big hand on that one, lol.

Does ESO have anyone like Serana? Do bunnies get resurrected?

I've seen bunnies hopping around, but never seen them killed (to be resurrected) - although I'm sure they are kill-able, because some recipes call for them...

Does Serana actually resurrect bunnies? That is Awesome!!

Why yes, she certainly does.

A bit difficult to see in the sunlight, but if you look below the bunny's right ear, you can see a bit of the telltale blue resurrected glow. She will resurrect anything nearby as almost her first combat move. In this case, they encountered a wolf standing over its freshly killed rabbit dinner. The wolf went agro and Serana resurrected the bunny.

Sorry to discuss non-ESO stuff for a moment here, but I just couldn't resist that question.

I'll bet Buffy LOVES that !!!

The Crown Store has begun selling evening gowns; and I was surprised (and pleased) to see many men wearing them and they did not turn into men's garb but stayed a dress!!

Glad ZOS gets it! I hope Bethesda takes a cue from that, it really bothered me to see cute pants in game and put them on my character and it turn into a blah dress. She had plenty of dresses, but sometimes girls like to wear pants. (and vice versa, obviously!!! ).

Today I managed to get Jerric logged in and checked his stats so I can figure out where to put his points, and we discovered something awesome. You may have had this on PC forever, but for me the horse gaits went from walking to slow motion gallop and then just a faster gallop animation at full speed as I push the stick forward. Now horses can trot. Jerric and Bill (his horse) love it so much! They spent some time just trotting around Mournhold. So for me there is at least one good thing in this latest update fiasco.

Also Bill who is a white Imperial horse got a slight makeover with the last update, and now he looks even better. So this update was a win for the horses.