Deep-Shade, my Argonian Shadowchaser, has made it to level 17. Before I report on my general progress and thoughts, I think I need to revisit the initial write-up I posted before I actually had any hands-on time with the game.
Review of the Preview
While the idea and philosophy of my Shadowchaser class is more or less the same as it ever was, the changes Bethesda made to the skills and progression system really threw my execution for a loop. In fact, the real genius of the new progression system didn’t hit me until level 13! But I’m getting ahead of myself, let’s look at my balancing list:
The Thief (t): 5
The Mage (m): 4
The Warrior (w): 3
In those three lines I was describing the general balance of the class: a mix of everything, leaning towards sneak attacks as opposed to direct confrontation. Noted also are the abrieviations for each archetype, which are used in the accompanying skills list:
“Primary” (+10)
- alteration(m)
- enchanting(m)
- light armor(t)
- lock picking(t)
- sneak(t)
- speech(t)
“Secondary” (+5)
- alchemy(t)
- archery(w)
- conjuration(m)
- one handed(w)
- restoration(m)
- smithing(w)
I like to do as much as possible in Elder Scrolls games, so it’s always hard for me to narrow my scope. My idea here was that I would pick 1/3 of the game’s 18 skills to be primary, 1/3 to be secondary, and the final 1/3 would just be other stuff that I would ignore for the most part as they didn’t really fit with the class.
This approach shows how I didn’t yet grasp the new perks progression system. Let’s examine the key points of this system briefly:
- One perk is earned every time you level your character
- You level your character by leveling your characters various skills
- Skills are not improved by leveling them so much as by spending perks in their constellation
- Perks can be spent in any constellation, not just the ones you have leveled
- However, perks above the most basic tier in a constellation will require you to have reached a certain level with that skill
So, for example, my archery skill was weak at level 10, so I decided to switch to a mace and shield for a while. Without using my bow at all, I leveled to 13, at which time I spent two of those perks on Overdraw (first tier archery perk, +40% bow damage) and the other one on Deadly Aim (third tier stealth perk, x3 bow damage while hidden). After that, bows were my favored attack, often one-shotting enemies (and sometimes their friends!).
I’m no Elder Scrolls historian, but this is the first time I’ve seen the ability to improve a skill without actually using it in an Elder Scrolls game. While one could possibly take a shot at the series’ usual “realism” for this, I’m not going to; not only because this feature benefitted me, but because as I mentioned above, this can only really be used to improve the most basic tier of a skill. I think one could argue that an adventurer could potentially learn some basic tips and tricks just from fighting along side/against individuals who were adept in these skills. Plus, this takes away some of the painful grinding that comes with the very beginning of some skills.
The aforementioned moment of perk system clarity came after I got my first one-shot kill at level 13 — I had used one-handed, light armor, sneak… even block (not in my skills list above) to bring my archery skill from “barely worth it” to “best attack”.
The First 17 Levels
Shadows on the Mountainside
When I broke out Oblivion a few months ago, revised the Oblivion Shadowchaser, and started running through the game again, I was running into trouble with progression. Instead of choosing the primary skills a Shadowchaser should have, I had chosen skills that would allow me to level certain attributes up somewhat easily and spread the leveling out over both the short and long game; in other words, I was trying to create a skill set based on a sort of meta-game I was playing rather than one that would be fun to play. As a result, not all of the skills I chose were particularly useful or easy to level at the beginning of the game, so it took quite some time and pointless grinding of certain skills in order to level up. Frustration with that is what made me give up and stop writing about it.
I’ve had no such problem with Skyrim. When Deep-Shade the Argonian Shadowchaser left the opening dungeon, he proceeded to the Guardian Stones, hit the Thief Stone for 20% faster stealth skill leveling, and started leveling like mad. Most of that was via sneak and lock picking, but every skill up contributed to each level up, and the first ~9 levels went very fast.
From a Thief to a Lover
But that Thief Stone bonus started to look a bit like a waste when I came to that point around levels 10-13 I spoke of above. I wanted to work on archery, one-handed weapons, restoration, alteration, and other non-stealth skills. I decided it was time to hit the standing stone of The Lover, which grants +15% faster leveling for all skills! A Shadowchaser’s dream! But where is it?!
I really wanted to know where in this gigantic world I could find the Lover stone, but having already decided that I didn’t want to get help on Skyrim from the internets, I was a bit conflicted… until I looked at my map and saw that it had already been marked! (I’m not telling where, for the sake of the purists!)
I’m not 100% sure where I got the map marker from, but I’ll tell you this: if you’re wanting to stay away from the guides and gamefaqs, speak to every NPC you come across and read every in-game book. Or at least open every book; not just for potential skill ups, but also for miscellaneous quests (I’ve picked up three or four now) and map markers (I’ve gotten quite a few). Somewhere between Riverwood, Whiterun, and the quests I got from them, I heard or read something that put that marker in my map. w00t for literacy!
After hitting the Lover stone, leveling has continued for Deep-Shade at a steady and fairly quick pace. I’ve been working on the skills I want to work on, when I want to work on them, and other than that I’m just playing the game — no meta-game, no silly grinding — just having fun and feeling more and more powerful while leveling.
I Stab at Thee
Speaking of feeling powerful, Deep-Shade’s best moment so far (even better than taking out that first dragon, which was great) was right after he leveled 17 and finally got the Assassin’s Blade perk (sneak constellation, x15 dagger damage from stealth).
The quest was to take out the mysterious leader of a group that was based in a keep. I slowly worked my way into the keep, taking out the underlings from stealth with my bow, until I got to the last room and saw that the leader was a Hagraven. /groan
I had been killed, initially, by all three of the other Hagravens I had run into up to that point — and used all my health potions on the rematches — so I was less than happy to see this fourth one. However, dying to see what the Assassin’s Blade perk could really do, I slowly worked my way around her, readied my poisoned orcish daggers, and performed a two-handed power attack from stealth… killing her in one shot!
Needless to say, I was both very relieved and very pleased with myself. We were finally on the board: Hagravens – 3, Shadowchasers – 1! 
The Darkened Path Ahead
At the end of 17, Deep-Shade joined the Thieves Guild and will soon be seeking out the Dark Brotherhood. These groups have items that will be most useful for my young Shadowchaser. (In fact, I hear the Dark Brotherhood has a pair of gloves that give you an additional x15 to dagger damage from stealth!)
But this path goes only down, into the black… can he walk it and stay true to himself? We shall see.
so, yes, i skipped march. sorry about that.
