With The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition now out, new life has been breathed into the game. Even though it’s been out for ten years, fans still love the game and now there are new things to do in the game.
One thing that players can do now is change the gameplay to Survival Mode. This mode makes the game a lot more difficult in ways that players never imagined. From having to sleep to staying warm, the game is a lot more immersive. Because there are a lot of changes from traditional Skyrim, there are some things players should know while playing this mode.
Update by Sarah Prado: With Survival Mode adding to the difficulty of the game, Skyrim is almost like a new game. It may look and sound impossible to play with all of the hindrances and things players must do to survive, but it’s possible and makes the game fun. Every little decision matters in order to survive the cold, harsh climate of Skyrim. Even picking what race to play is an important decision because it can either help or add to the difficulty. Players shouldn't be scared to try Survival Mode and might enjoy it even more than normal mode.
15 Choose Character Race Very Carefully
The very first decision players must make is choosing the race for their character. In vanilla Skyrim, all races have their racial passives and provide a minor advantage. With Survival Mode, things take an interesting turn. Not only do the races still have their passive ability from the vanilla version, but now come with disadvantages. For example, Argonians still have their Disease resistance and Waterbreathing passives, but now they can eat raw food without worrying about food poisoning and get colder 25% faster than other races.
Some races come with different advantages and disadvantages so the player will have to carefully decide what race they want to be. This can either make the journey a little easier or more difficult.
14 Stay Warm And Toasty
The province of Skyrim is known to be very cold and unforgiving for anyone who’s not ready and Survival Mode takes this to heart. It’ll be very easy to freeze to death in the colder areas. Winterhold is practically a death sentence for players who aren’t prepared. The entire hold is covered in snow and sunlight is practically nonexistent.
Players must keep their characters warm so they can move around better and not freeze to death. This is also dependent on the race of the character. Nords, Orcs, and Khajiits will fare a lot better in the cold than the other races. However, if the player is going for a mage build and chooses Dark Elf, Breton, or High Elf, they can use Flame Cloak to stay warm. Another way to stay warm is to use a torch. It’ll provide a little heat, but not much.
13 Best Armor Doesn’t Mean It’s The Warmest
If staying warm isn’t already a challenge, players might have to carry some special armor to help keep them warm. Especially at the beginning of the game, staying warm will prove to be a challenge. Some armor provides better Warmth than others. The Fur Armor with sleeves can be found early on and provide some of the best Warmth even later in the game.
Some armor might be ill-suited for certain areas so it’s best to carry some armor with high Warmth rating just in case. Especially when traveling in the Dawnstar, Winterhold, and Windhelm areas where there are more freezing climates than the rest of Skyrim.
12 Don’t Be A Hoarder
Picking up items was not really a problem before since players have a pretty high weight carry. Survival Mode cuts the carry weight in half at the beginning and this will limit players on what they carry back with them. This will force players to think about where the nearest merchant is and if it’s worth carrying so much with them, especially if the merchant is far away.
Players should only carry the necessities and pick up only the most valuable and lightweight items. So be prepared to carry a lot of jewelry and gems as these always sell for a decent amount of gold.
11 Heal During And After Battle
Health recovery has taken a big hit in Survival Mode. Health will no longer recover if the player is just standing around after battle. Players will now need to heal by restoration spells or using potions to get a burst heal. To recover over time, eating food or drinking a regeneration potion is recommended.
Players can also enchant their armor to help with health recovery too. This can take some time because learning the enchantment might prove to be a little difficult as well as leveling up the enchantment skill line.
10 Get A Backpack Or Have Followers/Pets
If players are wanting to pick up more items along their journey, it’s best to get a backpack. There are different types of backpacks, but all of them increase the amount players can carry. Some will even offer other bonuses such as increasing bow damage, make lockpicking easier, or increase max Magicka. These backpacks can be made at a forge or can be bought from merchants. It’s very useful and players should get one as soon as they can to be able to hold more items they might need.
Another way to carry some items is to have followers or pets. They can carry some items too and will make gathering items a little easier. They won’t be able to carry much, but at least players can carry a little more.
9 Don’t Eat Raw Meat
Eating raw food didn’t do anything to players in vanilla Skyrim, but it has some consequences with Survival Mode. If players eat raw meat, there’s a pretty good chance that their characters will get Food Poisoning. This will decrease magicka and stamina recovery by 50%. Food won’t be able to restore health for the next three days. Considering that food is needed to survive, this will prove to be a huge problem.
A guaranteed way to not get Food Poisoning is being a Khajiit or Argonian. However, players also need to take into account if they want the disadvantages these races have when travelling throughout Skyrim.
8 Letting The Disease Linger Has Consequences
Diseases weren’t really much of a threat before, but Survival Mode has kicked it up a notch. Instead of just being a small and overall unthreatening nuisance, the diseases in Survival Mode will progress from bad to worse. Players will have to carry Cure Disease potions on them whenever they travel or if they’re near a shrine to one of the Nine Divines, pay 100 gold. Periodically check Active Effects to make sure all is well and clear since there are new diseases the player can get.
To lessen the blow, players can choose to play as an Argonian or a Wood Elf. Both races have a constant Resist Disease effect that’s at 50%. This will halve the chances of getting diseases and players won’t have to carry much Cure Disease potions with them.
7 Properly Plan Out Journey
Players can kiss fast travel goodbye once Survival Mode is activated. To get anywhere, on foot, by horse, or paying for a carriage is the only way to go. If players are going to travel by foot or by horse, they will have to plan out their journey. Taking hunger, fatigue, and other issues into account, traveling from Riften to Markarth might not be possible to do in one go.
It’s best to keep to see which quests are close by to the character and do them as the player travels to the destination they really want to go to.
6 Make Food And Be Salty About It
Eating food is an essential part to surviving Survival Mode. If the character goes hungry, it will affect total stamina and players will only lose more stamina the longer the hunger goes on. So players will have to regularly feed their characters and carry food around to make sure they don’t go hungry. Keep some small food on hand like apples, carrots, etc. to help stave off hunger until the player is able to get a proper meal.
Players should also have Salt Piles on hand since a lot of food recipes require it. Another item players should keep on hand is Fire Salts. This will help heat up soups to a “Hot” version of it and give characters some Warmth.
5 Get Some Rest To Level Up
The only way to put points into any skill tree after leveling up is by going to sleep. This might be nostalgic and familiar for fans who played previous Elder Scrolls games. Not only will players be able to level up their characters from this, but it also helps with Fatigue. However, if players sleep outside they will not get the Well Rested bonus and will wake up Drained.
If players sleep indoors, how their character wakes up depends on how long they sleep and where they’re sleeping at. To get the Well Rested, players must sleep for at least two hours.
4 Learn To Hunt Or Go Swimming For Fish
Because most cooked meals require meat or fish, players should carry a bow and a few arrows to hunt down deer or elk. There are some cooking places that can be found throughout Skyrim like in bandit areas or ruins. If players do a little hunting, they will have meat on hand to be able to make some food to prevent Hunger.
Players can also go swimming in rivers and lakes to find fish like salmon or the new fish that came out in the Anniversary Edition. Cooking them won’t be as fulfilling as stew or a steak, but they are better than an apple or tomato.
3 Carry Some Fruits Or Vegetables For Quick Snack
Since eating is basically required to survive, players should keep some fruit or vegetables on hand. Eating cooked meals like Apple Cabbage Stew or Cooked Beef is a better choice, but that requires a cooking pot. With no Fast Travel available in Survival Mode, finding a cooking pot might or some a merchant that sells food might take a while to find. To help with Hunger, players should keep some food like fruit or vegetables on hand for a quick snack.
Carrying cooked food would be better, but players should keep an apple or tomato just in case. It’ll only help ease the Hunger a bit, but it’s better than letting their character starve. Plus, apples and tomatoes are lighter than carrying cooked foods so players will be able to carry more of them.
2 Do Favors For NPCs To Get A Free Resting Place And Food
Now that sleep is essential in-game, finding a comfortable place to sleep will be tough. If players aren’t wanting to sleep outside, helping out NPCs can be beneficial. Helping them will let players use their beds to sleep in and will let them eat or take food from their homes.
It may sound tedious to help out, but doing the quests will give players plenty of options throughout the province. Take the time to help out various NPCs in different areas to have a free place to stay and eat. It’s better than a campsite or any random sleeping mats that can be found.
1 Get A Mount As Soon As Possible
Without fast travel, getting around Skyrim is going to be interesting. Traveling on foot is going to be the way that players get around the massive province for a while. Players should save up money to buy a horse or do quests to get a free one. Shadowmere will be available halfway through the Dark Brotherhood quest. Frost is also another horse that players can get for free from The Promises to Keep quest by not giving the horse to Louis Letrush.
Players can also go look for a wild horse and tame it. The best mounts to get would be Arvak or the Daedric Horse, which can be summoned. This is because if they die, they can always be resummoned immediately. If Shadowmere dies, he will pop up after ten in-game days.