Open-world games can often time be a little overwhelming with choices; from which armor to sport, to which guild the Dragonborn is better off with. Skyrim is an open-world game that truly creates an immersive experience. For those that are just hopping on the wagon to Helgen for the first time, there are a few things to keep in mind.
Sometimes, players will run into things that they cannot reverse and in turn, makes them resort to the thing most gamers dread such as having to start from scratch (aka starting a new save file). Here are some things to try to avoid in order to get the full experience.
Updated August 21st, 2021 by Christine Mendoza: While Skyrim continues to be an incredibly popular game, it would be a shame to not put the community's collective experience and knowledge together to help the ever-growing plethora of Skyrim newcomers with their first playthrough. In addition to a few other notable mistakes to avoid, how to remedy each issue has been added for convenience as well.
12 Joining The Wrong Guild
- How To Remedy: Keeping a separate save before joining any guild,
- Continuously harassing (attacking) fellow members to have them no longer recognize you as a member.
- Waiting to meet every guild/fraction before making a final decision to join.
The world of Skyrim has many different clans to align with. From the Thieves Guild all the way to the Dark Brotherhood, Skyrim has something for everybody. However, once crossing over, it can be difficult to leave. Accidentally joining the wrong guild or having a change of heart later can ruin the player's overall experience. Whichever guild the Dragonborn is associated with will directly affect which set of quests will be available.
For example, if the Dragonborn decided to align with the Stormcloaks in the rebel uprising against the Empire, any quests available to the Imperial Army will then be barred. Ensure that when joining a guild, it is truly the set of quests that are the most appealing!
11 Not Increasing Perks
- How To Remedy: Ensure checking perk tree immediately after leveling up to not forget about earned points.
Some players prefer to just go along their way and try their best not to do any extra work, ignoring upgrades and just going from quest to quest. Avoid this! Ensure to always check how many perks are available to upgrade after each level up. Checking up on skill trees and investing in the skills that are the most interesting or useful not only makes the Dragonborn that much stronger, but it also changes up the gameplay as well with new abilities and keeps things fresh.
10 Always Being Over-encumbered
- How To Remedy: Riding a horse to destination, utilizing storage more often, and emptying pockets before each new quest.
- Leveling stamina to increase carrying capacity.
- Using a Fortify Carry Weight Potion or using the Light or Heavy Armor perk to bring armor weight to zero.
Looting is a huge part of the true Skyrim experience and not taking the time to empty inventory space would hinder it entirely. Overencumberance is when inventory is full and the player is then forced to walk at a snail's pace with no ability to sprint or fast travel. Being over-encumbered can cause multiple trips just to bring over valuable loot; it can even prevent the player from being able to pick up crucial quest-related items.
Before each trip out into the world, ensure to drop off any important items in-home storage, sell any heavy valuables at shops and use any available crafting materials.
If not, the option of quickly chugging a Fortify Carry Weight Potion and fast traveling to the nearest town or storage space can come in handy when in a pinch!
9 Killing A Valuable NPC
- How To Remedy: Restarting save immediately after death (reverting to most recent autosave before they died).
Each NPC in the game is designated a specific job, whether it be to provide simple flavor text or to give the player their next big story quest. Some NPCs are incredibly valuable with regards to convenience for the Dragonborn.
Accidentally kill a shop owner or allow a dragon to kill a blacksmith in a town and they're not coming back. Forget being able to sell any valuables or buy up some ore. Once that blacksmith or store owner is dead, that resource is as well. Once a valuable NPC is dead, don't turn a blind eye and continue onto the next task. It may be best to restart from a previous save. Otherwise, better start heading to the next town over and pray they have the items you need in stock.
8 Forgetting Where An Item Is Stored
- How To Remedy: Organizing valuables; jewelry in one place, armor in another, weapons in their own place, etc.,
- Leaving most important items in the most accessible home storage container.
Being over-encumbered is one of the most common problems players face when exploring a dungeon or clearing out a cave. Luckily, Skyrim offers a great solution outside of expanding pocket space: home storage.
While venturing out into the world, it can be nice to own a house to settle down in every once in a while and empty out some heavy items. However, with Skyrim offering a house within every hold (and adding even more options in the DLC), the hunt for a specific item can be incredibly tiresome. Losing that specific set of armor, that weapon that needed to be honed, or that powerful potion that would be perfect for the next quest can ruin the fun. Rummaging through the hundred or so storage boxes available in all the Skyrim homes can feel less like a game and more like an episode of Hoarders. Try to organize all items in a specific way to avoid losing important items.
7 Getting A Huge Bounty
- How To Remedy: Pay off bounty fee.
- Avoid a specific Hold completely.
- Go to jail and break out.
As fun as it can be to run around and abide by no rules, sometimes it can go too far. After committing enough crimes (with accompanying witnesses), the guards of each Hold within Skyrim will begin to stop the player when going along their way. At this point, the Dragonborn can either go to jail, pay off their bounty, or resist and begin to battle for their freedom.
Getting stopped by every guard within a Hold can be tiresome. However, if the player's bounty grows too large, guards will no longer even warn the Dragonborn. Instead, they will just attack them on sight. Avoid large bounties. Either play by their rules or save up some coin. It's best to bite the bullet and pay it off for convenience later on.
6 Overusing Fast Travel
- How To Remedy: Purchase a horse to travel to each destination much faster.
Although there is a very real threat of the dragons returning and wreaking havoc among the land, it's important to remember to take a breather once in a while. Skyrim is a vast and beautiful land and it's worth exploring the land that the entire main quest is trying so desperately to save.
Once a location is unlocked, it can be easy to lazily fast travel to the closest point to save some time, but there is value in taking the long way instead. Skyrim isn't all about the large holds and extravagant fortresses; among the land are small caves and hideouts that hold challenging enemies, curious NPCs, and valuable treasures.
Next time around, try going on foot or by horse, and keep an eye out for any interesting hidden locations that may not have been found otherwise!
5 Not Crafting
- How To Remedy: Taking note of what materials are needed for any desired armor or weapons to know what to buy and collect, and crafting smaller items like Iron Daggers for extra smithing XP.
Armor is incredibly vital to being able to enjoy the game. A good defense is key to feeling powerful when taking out a dragon or wiping out a team of bandits. However, it's important not to rely on the base armor given within the game. Not honing weapons or armor is a serious mistake. Not making sure to hunt down the materials and ore needed for the next set of armor or upgrading a favorite weapon can make the game feel like it's getting more difficult without giving the player any real new buffs or advantages.
Don't stick to what's available in shops. Make sure to rummage through treasures and corpses and craft new items at any opportunity that comes up.
4 Accidentally Losing A Follower
- How To Remedy: Check any small areas/cliffs they might have been caught on during a battle, making sure to look back every once in a while to ensure they are still present.
- Keep a save before recruiting them, wait for them at the place they were first recruited, simply recruit another follower in their place.
Venturing out into the world can be a lonely life for the Dragonborn. It always helps to have a buddy for aid when things look rough. However, with all the different terrain and enemies that can cross paths with the Dragonborn and their helpful followers, it can be easy to lose them. Even if left for a second, a follower can get themselves lost. Finding them again is sometimes a difficult task.
Whether it be stuck behind trees or falling off a cliff, a faithful follower can lose their way, and often time it's not as easy as waiting the next day for them to return to their post. Unfortunately, the case is that they're either lost forever or they've died on their journey trying to get back to the Dragonborn. Ensure to check in on them every now and then or keep a separate save before recruiting them for help.
3 Ignoring Side Quests
- How To Remedy: Make a habit of always checking the "Miscellaneous" tab in between all main quests.
- Talking to NPCs more often to find new side quests
- Checking in with the Jarl to find bounties.
The main storyline of Skyrim is great, however, ignoring the side quests doesn't allow the player to feel the true Elder Scrolls experience. Avoiding the completion of side quests can take away a lot of the story and overall experience. Some of the best stories are found within the side quests and minor characters.
Skyrim is the type of game to be enjoyed slowly. It allows the player to take their time and enjoy each little detail of it. Not to mention, the loot that comes from side quests can be quite valuable as well.
2 Not Helping A Future Spouse
- How To Remedy: Run any errands a potential spouse may ask for.
- Hiring a potential spouse (if they are a mercenary) as a follower.
One of the many joys in Skyrim is how immersive it is in feeling a new life flourish before the player's eyes. Getting married is one of those great extras the game has to offer. However, things aren't as simple as putting on the Amulet Of Mara and finding a candidate. The Dragonborn must first create a bond with their future spouse.
It is said that good deeds help form a bond rather than words. Not completing quests or bringing the lucky candidate along as a follower can stop them from even having the dialogue option to mention the Amulet Of Mara in the first place. This stops the romance dead in its tracks before it had even gotten the chance to start.
1 Bugs
- How To Remedy: Restart game from last save.
As amazing as Skyrim is, it'd be a bit dishonest to rave about it without mentioning its bugs. If these glitches were far and few between, it'd be a different story. However, some of these glitches are too intense to just ignore. Some of them range from harmless inconsequential visual bugs (like the infamous break dancing dragons) but others can be game-breaking. Some of them bar the player completely from completing quests at all, even making some enemies and bosses unbeatable. When it comes to this, restarting a save and hoping for the best may be the only option.