Shout Out, 3DS Player

   A shout out to whoever gave me 7 pageviews from their Nintendo 3DS this month! Dude, hilarious.

DLC: Dragonborn

DLC: Dragonborn is about the first dragonborn Miraak, who has been exiled in Apocrypha and serving Hermaeus Mora. Miraak is trying to travel to Morrowind (Solsthiem) by hypnotizing the people on Solsthiem. He sends cultist assassins to attack you, which is how you get involved.

The DLC also features questlines with a bunch of Rieklings who speak (or the Nords they evicted), a Nord tribe known as the Skaal, ending a plot to kill the Dunmer nobility (which nets you a house), and some crazy Telvanni wizards who live in giant mushrooms.

Arrows

 I used to be a necromancer, then I took an arrow to the...eye...?

That's what you get for being a guard. What do you become after a guard when you take an arrow to the "knee"? A bandit?

A Few Dragonborn (DLC) Pictures

This was at the bottom of a huuuuge mine shaft. It was a quest to help some old miner guy find his dead relative.

 Uh, a misty room with a Black Book. The Black Books take you to Apocrypha, this realm of books and Miraak (evil dragonborn). Apocrypha is awesome (but scary).

A new kind of smithing material: Stalhrite. It's only found on entombed draugr.

This gorgeous creature is a Riekling. It's like a teeny elf that grunts and howls and throws spears that you can use as arrows. They live in these big tribes and they're pretty irritating.

Some Funny Pictures

That's embarassing.

He was walking around with a piece of firewood glitched into his leg.

Nice time to freeze. My file corrupted and now I can't play the first character I made. But hey, got a cool picture of an arrow in flight?

Some satanic ritual thing under the College of Winterhold. Why does every necromancer end up crazy? All the journals I find in dungeons are about necromancers who find female draugr sexy or something.

Talk about an awkward place to die, Mr. Dragon. I've got to do my Conjuration Ritual Spell quest right on that pedestal. Y'know, fight a wild dremora? You're in the way.

It's called an eye patch. Pirates have them. How can you fight crime if you can't see it? (Maybe the DareDevil can, but his movie sucked, so it's negated).

Character Archetype: The Mage

Race: High Elf

Gender: Female

Statistic Focus: Magicka 80% Health 20%

Primary Skills (you’ll want to level these ASAP): Destruction, Conjuration

Secondary Skills: Illusion, Restoration

Stone Ability: Mage Stone

Essential Perks: Spellcasting Rank Perks, Destruction Dual Casting, Augmented Flames/Frost/Shock (Destruction), Summoner (Conjuration), Elemental Potency (Conjuration), Illusion Dual Casting

Weapons: Spells

Armor: Mage Robes. Find whatever robe has the highest Magicka regeneration, then find other armor to increase your max Magicka or decrease the cost of spells

Follower: Find a heavily armored warrior to hold off and distract enemies. Vorstag and Lydia are both good choices (especially early on).

Advice:

·       As a High Elf, you’ll have the highest starting Magicka and can keep that advantage by focusing on Magicka bonuses as you level up.

·       Your racial ability Highborn is your lifeline. Keep it in your favorites and use it to sustain your casting through long battles.

·       When you see an enemy, go on the aggressive by conjuring a creature and then going in with your best Destruction spells from a ranged distance.

·       When battling, you will probably spend most of your time using Destruction or Restoration spells

·       Learn the pros and cons of each element of Destruction. Fire-based enemies are weak to ice, ice-based enemies are weak to fire and mages are weak to shock (because it drains their Magicka).

·       Don’t forget that your spells have secondary effects! You can start off a fight by spraying flames to set your enemies on fire or with ice to slow your enemies down while you dance around the room. Anything to make your enemies struggle while you keep casting will be invaluable.

·       When not dualcasting, maybe use a ward to protect yourself from enemy spells.

·       This archetype is very powerful because of the devastating spells. However, it is also very fragile. So much of your focus will be on increasing your offensive that your health and armor will be left low. You’ll be pretty weak if you’re taking direct attacks.

·       Allow your followers (summoned and unsummoned alike) to distract your enemies and take the damage while you focus on taking out each enemy one by one. If your summoned follower is destroyed, summon it immediately.

·       While you fight, always keep one eye on your health bar so that you can be quick to cast Fast Healing or drink potions when necessary.

·       If an enemy comes in for close range, there are a few things you can do. You can cast Fear or Calm (to escape or send them running). You can check their health and finish them off by dualcasting Destruction or keeping your ward up and switching to stronger spells. Or, if they’re too powerful, you can gain some distance until your followers distract them again.

·       Keep in mind that robes are much lighter than armor, which usually allows you a clean getaway (read: tactical retreat).

·       Your character will use potions much faster than the others archetypes would because of your low health. It might be less expensive for you if you take up alchemy on the side.

·       As a mage, your buying priority is always Spell Tomes. If you join the college early on, you’ll have easy access to the best vendors.

·       The Mage Stone is a solid backup for your character, as it increases all of your focuses.

Skyrim Tip #54 Leveling Restoration/Alteration

If you have a lot of free time, but a low Restoration skill, use your best healing spell in one hand and Equilibrium in the other.

Skyrim Tip #53 Leveling Alteration

Speed leveling Alteration? I prefer using Detect Life, but you can also use Telekinesis or Equilibrium.