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The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind > Guides > Tilo's Guides
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CHARACTER CREATION: how to stop missing your attacks (and other useful tips)
By Tilo
This guide is an in-depth tutorial on character creation, it details hidden datas, values, statistics and game mechanics to help you better understand the game's inner working and combat system. It should give you all the knowledge you need (and much, much more) to create a good starting character that doesn't miss (or atleast not as often). I'm gonna assume that you have atleast played skyrim and that you've tried morrowind for 1 or 2 hours before giving up on the game, if that's your case then this guide is made for you!
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Created by
Tilo
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Category: Characters, Classes, Gameplay Basics, Walkthroughs
Posted
Updated
29 Nov, 2020 @ 8:52am
25 Oct, 2023 @ 4:30am
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Guide Index
Overview
1. INTRODUCTION 
 
2.a) RACES 
2.b) CLASS CREATION 
2.c) BIRTHSIGNS 
 
3. GAME MECHANICS 
4a. DETAILING WEAPON TYPES 
4b. DETAILS ABOUT SKILLS 
Comments
1. INTRODUCTION
Many new players give up on the game because they find combat to be hard and frustrating, while it is true that combat is unforgiving in Morrowind, it is actually pretty fair and not that complicated to understand. Your hit chance depends on a few factors that can, for the most part, be influenced on when creating your character. So the first step to stop missing your attacks is to learn how combat works and to create a good starting character. Don't be intimidated by the lenght of this guide, trust me, the few dozen minutes you will spend reading it are gonna save you hours of headaches and struggles later on. I also go pretty in-depth about detailing each weapon types, skills, birthsigns etc... if you're only interested about combat mechanics, you can just read the paragraph about Hit Probability just underneath this paragraph and then pick up one of the pre-made builds I put at the very end of the guide. Have a nice read!

  • Hit probability
    Your probability to hit depends on 3 important factors:

    - The most important factor is obviously your skill level in whatever type of weapon you're using. Basically, for each point you have in a weapon skill, you'll get 1% chance of hitting your target (for example if your short blade skill is 35, you'll get 35% chance to hit with a dagger). It is possible to start the game with a weapon skill already at 50 (depending on race) but generally 40 is good enough at the begining.

    - The second most important factor to consider is your fatigue. As your character gets more exhausted, it will be gradually harder to hit an enemy. As such, especially early in the game, it is almost impossible to hit a target when your fatigue is depleted. You should always try to keep your fatigue gauge as filled up as possible before engaging combat. As your weapon skill increases you will see that fatigue becomes less and less of an issue, at high skill levels fatigue has less of an impact. Endurance influences fatigue consumption and recovery rate.

    - The third factor is agility, it is far less important than weapon skill but still gives a nice bonus to hit chance. It gives you about 1% chance to hit for every 5 points of Agility that you have, so at 100 points of Agility you get a 20% bonus to hit chance. It is completely possible to play the game with low Agility, despite what people might tell you it isn't as important as you may think but still gives a nice bonus. Now keep in mind that your opponents Agility also influences hit chance, similarily, for every 5 points of Agility they have, you get a 1% penalty to hit chance. So if you have 100 agility and your opponent has 40 (like most NPCs in the game), you actually only get a 12% chance bonus, which is still nice but far from "essential".

    - Although luck has an effect on hit chance, it is so small that it can generally be ignored. It's about 1% for every 10 points of luck you have. Luck is also the hardest attribute to increase so I don't recommend investing any points into it at all.


  • For Spell-Casting
    : your probability to cast a spell is written next to the cost of your spell in your inventory, it depends on;

    -your skill level in the school of magic you're using

    -The cost of your spell in magicka, more expensive and therefore more powerful spells are less likely to be casted than weaker spells. As your skill in the corresponding school of magic increases, you will be able to cast powerful spells with ease.

    -your fatigue depletion, just like for melee weapons

    -Your willpower, which works similarily to Agility

    -Your Luck but again, its effect can be neglected

    I admit that this was slightly clickbait as you will never reach proper 100% chance of hitting at the start of the game, however it is possible to start the game with a character that already has a solid 50 to 60% chance of hitting and can only improve that further. This will make combat less of a chore in the early game and it will also make progression a lot smoother.
2.a) RACES
Before we get started
Choosing your race is the first and most crucial step of character creation as it will determine your entire build going forward. The fist thing you want to do is to decide right now if you want to play as either a warrior, a mage or a thief. Most races will force you into one of these three achetypes and once you exit the character creation screen, there is no going back and you will be stuck with whatever class you created. So you better choose wisely.

Races are defined by FOUR major aspects:
Skill bonuses
Attributes distribution
Passive abilities (i.e elemental resistances)
and Powers (Free spells that you can only use once per in-game days)

There are other minor differences between races but these are the most important defining factors. Also, keep in mind that MALES and FEMALES of the same race have differences in attributes distribution, so depending on your build it might be better for you to choose a specific gender.

Finally, you get a +5 disposition bonus with any NPC that shares your race.

Choosing a Race
    RACE
    Notable Skill Bonuses
    Attributes Bonuses ♂/♀
    Attributes Penalties ♂/♀
    Abilities
    Powers
    Notes
    Build Recommendation
    Redguards
    +15 Longblade
    +5 Medium and Heavy armor
    +10 END
    +10 STR♂
    -10 INT
    -10 WLP
    -10 PER♂
    75% resist poison
    75% resist disease
    Adrenaline Rush:
    +50 STR
    +50 END
    +50 SPD
    +50 AGI for 1 minute
    Best Power and Longblade skill bonus in the game
    Pure Warrior
    Nords
    +10 Axe and Blunt
    +10 Heavy and Medium armor
    +5 Longblade and Spear
    +10 STR
    +10 END♂
    +10 WLP♀
    -10 INT
    -10 AGI
    -10 PER
    100% resist Frost
    50% resist Shock
    Woad:
    +30 Armor for 1 minute
    Thunderfist:
    25 Frost damage on touch
    Can build into most weapons and armor
    Pure warrior
    Orcs
    +10 Block, Heavy and Medium armor
    +10 Repair
    +5 Axe
    +10 END
    +10 WLP♂
    +5 STR
    +5 WLP♀
    -10 SPD
    -10 INT♂
    -10 PER♂
    -5 AGI
    -15 PER♀
    25% resist non-Elmental magicka
    Berserker:
    +100% Hit chance with any weapon for 1 minute
    -200 Fatigue when the effect runs out
    Males are the fastest race in the game
    Axe+Shield Warrior
    Bretons
    +10 Conjuration, Mysticism and Restoration
    +5 Illusion and Alteration
    +10 INT
    +10 WLP
    -10 STR♀
    -10 AGI
    -10 SPD
    -10 END♂
    x1.5 Magicka pool Bonus

    50% resist non-Elemental magicka
    Dragon Skin:
    +50 Armor for 1 minute
    Females tie for slowest race in the game
    Pure Mage
    High Elves
    +10 Destruction
    +10 Alchemy and Enchant
    +5 Conjuration, Illusion and Alteration
    +10 INT
    -10 STR
    -10 SPD♂
    -10 END♀
    x2.5 Magicka pool Bonus

    50% weakness non-Elemental magicka and Fire

    25% weakness Shock and Frost
    Highest magicka pool in the game
    Pure mage
    Wood Elves
    +15 Marksman
    +10 Sneak and Light armor
    +10 AGI
    +10 SPD
    -10 STR
    -10 WLP
    -10 END
    75% resist Disease
    Beast Tongue:
    Command creature for 10 minutes
    Overall slowest race in the game across both genders. Highest marksman skill bonus in the game
    Stealth Archer
    Khajits
    +15 acrobatics
    +5 Sneak, Security, Short blade, Light armor
    +10 AGI
    -10 WLP
    -10 STR♀
    -10 END♂
    Eye of fear:
    NPCs run away from you for 30 sec
    Eye of night:
    Night vision for 30 sec (infinite usage)
    Cannot wear boots, shoes or closed-face helmets
    Thief
    Argonians
    +15 Athletics
    +5 Medium armor and Spear
    +5 Illusion and Mysticism
    +10 INT♀
    +10 AGI♂
    +10 SPD♂
    -10 END
    -10 PER
    -10 WLP♂
    100% resist poison
    75% resist disease
    Cannot wear boots, shoes or closed-face helmets
    Warrior/Mage mixed class
    Dark Elves
    +10 Destruction
    +10 Short blade
    +5 Mysticism
    +5 Longblade and Athletics
    +5 Light armor and Marksman
    +10 SPD
    -10 WLP
    -10 END♀
    -10 PER♂
    75% resist Fire
    Ancestor guardian:
    +50% chance do Dodge for 1 minute
    Good for beginners
    Any mixed class
    Imperials
    +10 Longblade
    +10 Speechcraft and Mercantile
    +5 Light Armor
    +10 PER
    -10 AGI
    -10 WLP♂
    -10 SPD♀
    Voice of the emperor:
    Charm 25-50 for 15 sec
    Star of the west:
    Absorb 200 fatigue on target
    I don't recommend choosing this class
    Charisma
2.b) CLASS CREATION
  • Choosing a Specialization
    There are three specializations: combat, magic and stealth. Each give you a 5 points bonus to their corresponding skills (see below). Choose the specialization that increases your highest weapon skill (or whatever weapon skill you plan on using during your adventure, as long as you stick to one).

    There are 9 skills per specialization:

    stealth gives you +5 to;
    -acrobatic
    -light armor
    -hand to hand
    -sneak
    -speechcraft
    -mercantile
    -short blade
    -marksman (archery)
    -security

    combat gives you +5 to;
    -heavy armor
    -athletics
    -axes
    -blunt
    -long blades
    -spears
    -armorer
    -block
    -medium armor

    magic gives you +5 to;
    -destruction
    -mysticism
    -illusion
    -conjuration
    -restoration
    -alteration
    -enchant
    -alchemy
    -unarmored

  • Choosing your favored attributes
    You can invest in two attributes which will each receive a 10 points bonus, attributes being strenght, intelligence, willpower, agility, endurance, personality, speed and luck. It's important to choose the attributes that fit your class but it won't impact the game much afterward.


    this is one possible way of choosing your attributes, but not the only way:

    THIEF:
    -Agility
    -Speed/personality

    WARRIOR:
    -Strenght
    -Endurance

    MAGE:
    -Intelligence
    -Willpower

    Keep in mind that;
    • Strenght affects your damage in melee (1 point of strenght= 1% damage) but also your maximum inventory size (inventory= strenght*5) aswell as your starting max hp (1 point of strenght= 0.5 hp) and fatigue (1 point of strenght= 1 point of fatigue)
    • Intelligence determines your maximum magicka (1 point of intelligent=1 point of magicka).
    • Agility affects your probability to hit in melee (5 points of agility= 1% chance to hit) and your probability to dodge (5 points of agility= 1% chance to dodge an attack) aswell as your resistance to flinching and your maximum fatigue (1 point of Agility= 1 point of Fatigue)
    • Endurance affects your starting hit points (1 point of endurance= 0.5 hp), how much hp you gain when leveling up (hp gain= endurance÷10), your max fatigue (1 point of Endurance= 1 point of Fatigue) and your fatigue recovery rate.
    • willpower affects the duration of non-damaging negative effects on you (such as paralysis) aswell as your probability to cast spells and your max fatigue (1 point of Willpower= 1 point of Fatigue).
    • Speed affects your movement speed when walking, sprinting, swimming and levitating.
    • Personality affects your disposition with NPCs which in turns affects merchant prices and persuasion success rate.
    • Luck has only a minor effects on every dice-rolls in the game (in general, 10 points of Luck= 1 bonus skill point when performing an action) and is the hardest attribute to increase (you can only increase Luck by 1 point every time you level up, whereas other attributes can increase by up to 5 points per level). I don't recommend picking it up because it is mostly worthless.

      Your starting Hit points are equal to the average of your Strenght and Endurance.
      Your starting Fatigue is equal to the sum of your Strenght, Agility, Willpower and Endurance.

    • Placing your skill points
      /!\ please refer to section 4b "Details about Skills" if you want further explanations about how each skill works /!\

      You now have to choose 5 major and 5 minor skills. Choosing your skills is THE most important part of creating your build so choose them very carefully;
      -Major skills will get +25 points to start and will increase 25% faster than minor skills.
      -Minor skills will get +10 points to start and will increase at a normal rate.
      -Every other skills are miscellaneous, they will increase 25% slower than minor skills and won't give exp to your character when increasing making them effectively unusable.

      With the correct race and corresponding specialization you can start with a major skill already at 50. So choose your skills based on your racial skill bonuses and the specialization that you chose, in order to optimise your build.


      In general you only really need one Armor skill and One weapon skill as major skills to have an effective build, you can pick more if you want but I recommend you invest into utility skills instead which are gonna be more useful and will make your life easier. Skills like security, armorer, restoration, athletics, acrobatics and mercantile are always good choices if you're playing as a warrior or a thief. If you know you're gonna use one-handed weapons (short blades are all one-handed, for instance) then you can invest in block aswell, to increase your defense. If you're playing as a mage, I suggest you just pick up every schools of magic as major skills and then invest in a backup weapon skill for when you run out of magicka (Staves and daggers are good options for that, as they are very light weight).
2.c) BIRTHSIGNS
  • choosing a sign
    Birthsigns are an essential part of your build. Depending on which one you choose, they can have an influence on your character for the whole duration of your playthrough or give you a nice bonus to kickstart your adventure.
    You can get more details here -> birthsigns comparison[en.uesp.net]

    Here's my personal tier list:
    S
    -Atronach ( 200% maximum magicka increase and 50% magicka absorption at the cost of not being able to restore magicka by resting. It's a must have for pure mage characters but is also useful for other classes aswell if you plan on using magic. The drawback seems annoying at first but there are many possible workarounds.)

    -Warrior ( permanent increase to your hit chance by 10% regardless of skills and attributes. It's actually a bigger bonus than what the lover gives you and remains useful even after reaching 100 Agility.)

    -Lady ( increases both your Endurance and Personality by 25 points with no drawback. This really helps keeping your fatigue gauge high and endurance is the attribute you want to maximize the fastest if you're playing as a warrior as it affects HP gain per level, so the earlier you reach 100 Endurance, the more hp you will have gained in total at the end of the game.)
    A
    -Lover ( increases Agility by 25 pts which is equivalent to a 5% bonus to both your hit chance and evasion. Can't go wrong with that especially if you're playing as a thief.)

    -Shadow ( gives you 1 minute of invisibility per day. Invisibility is one of the hardest spells to cast even for an experienced mage and it's also one of the strongest spells in the game so this is extremely good for thieves especially.)

    -Apprentice ( 150% maximum magicka increase at the cost of a 25% weakness to non-elemental magic, not as great as the atronach but still a good alternative if you want to keep your ability to restore magicka by resting.)
    B
    -Thief ( permanent 10% chance of dodging physical attacks.)

    -Steed ( increases Speed by 25 points, good quality of life.)
    C
    -Ritual ( heals you by 100 HP once per day. There are better alternative and picking up a mediocre healing spell that you can only use once a day feels like a waste. Simply choosing restoration as a major skill gives you a better healing spell that you can use more often.)

    -Tower ( opens a 50pts lock or less once per day. Again, there are better alternatives and 50pts isn't even that much. Choosing security as a major skill will make you easily able to open 50 pts locks)

    -Mage ( 50% increase to your maximum magicka with no drawback. Only 50% is not enough to be viable and the Apprentice or Atronach are far better options.)
    D
    -Serpent ( gives you a power that kills you and deals practically no damage to your opponents. Absolutely worthless.)
    E
    -Lord ( gives you a mediocre healing spell at the cost of a 100% weakness to fire damage. Worse than worthless.)
3. GAME MECHANICS
  • Weapon Damage
    To make sure to exploit your weapon at its maximum potential, check the weapon damage in your inventory. it should look something like this:

    [spear]
    chop 1-5
    slash 2-3
    thrust 1-20

    there are 3 types of move, "chop" (click without moving), "slash" (click while strafing left or right) and thrust (click while moving forward). Each move also has 2 values attached to them, the first value is the damage of a normal attack (rapid click), the second value is the damage of a fully charged attack (hold click and release). As you can see in this example, charged thrusts seem to be the most effective attack with up to 20 points of damage. Now let's see another example:

    [dagger]
    chop 1-5
    slash 2-3
    thrust 5-12

    in this case a charged thrust also seem the most effective with 12 points of damage, however fully charging an attack takes some time while doing rapid attacks is much faster. In that case, doing 3 rapid attacks is gonna be faster than a single charged attack. Basically, short blades are the only weapons that prefer fast normal attacks instead of heavy attacks.

    You can also toggle "always best attack" in the menu to always attack with your most effective move without having to strafe or move forward, although be careful because it will select your best attack based on the normal hit value and not the charged hit value. So in the case of the spear above it will choose the slash and not the thrust.

    Also note that your weapon damage (aswell as your armor rating) will decrease proportionally to its durability. So at half of its durability your weapon will deal half of its damage. Just remember to repair them either at a blacksmith or using a hammer every once in a while.


  • atronach sign workaround
    Stunted magicka prevents natural magicka regeneration (normally you would have to rest for an hour to restore your magicka) and forces you to rely on magicka absorbtion to refill your magicka gauge. There are a couple workaround though;

    -Early game, you can summon an ancestral ghost that you can then aggro to let it refill your magicka with its own spells. The ghosts spells are little threat to you but you'll need to repeat the process multiple times in a row to fully refill your magicka.

    -Later on, when your mysticism and intelligence are high enough, you can create a spell that simultaneously casts mark and Divine intervention at the same time. This will teleport you to an imperial temple where you can refill your magicka by donating to a shrine (This only works for people who chose the atronach sign, Almsivi interventions also work but are less reliable). Once your magicka is refilled, use the recall spell to come back to your original location. This can work anywhere and at any time, even mid-combat.

    -You can also invest into the alchemy skill and make yourself some restore magicka potions. This is probably a more efficient option but it requires a bigger investment in time and skillpoints and is offset by having to carry your whole alchemy set, ingredients and potions on you at all times. This can seriously weight you down, especially as a mage since you won't have much strenght.
4a. DETAILING WEAPON TYPES
There are in Morrowind seven (7) different weapon skills which each include several weapon sub-types bringing the total amount of weapons to around 20 different types. Now of course some of them are gonna be pretty similar within their own skill category with only subtle stats changes (like claymores and Dai-Katanas) but other sub-types share little to no similarities with the other weapons in their skill category (Like bows,crossbow and throwing weapons. Staves and Hammers etc..).
Since you'll have to pick one or at most two weapon skill to play with for the entire game, it may be wise to know what differenciates them and which weapon types are the best.

It's important to know that there are three things that define a weapon type;
Its attack speed, its range/ reach and the handling (one or two handed). Every weapon of a same sub-type will share those same stats, for example, every dai katanas in the game will have a speed of 1.3, a reach of 1 and be two-handed regardless of weapon material. Weapons also differ in weight, durability and damage but those stats are more flexible and depend mostly on the gear itself rather than sub-types.

  • Long Blades
    Long blades are undeniably the best and most well balanced weapon skill category in the game. They have the best damage to speed ratio giving them a satisfaying damage per second but what really sets them appart from other weapon types is the extra attention they received from the developpers of the game; Long blades include six (6) sub-types with the biggest difference between them being the handling (1 or 2 handed) and a whopping 9 artifacts to play with including some of the best weapons in the game.

  • Marksman
    Marskman weapons are probably a close second not far behind long blades when it comes to the best weapon types. Marksman include bows, crossbows and throwing weapons which are all very different. Right off the bat, bows are the best of the three with the highest damage per arrow. The main advantage of marksman weapons is their formidable range, it is possible to attack most enemies from a safe distance and kill them before they even get a chance to get to you. Furthermore, being able to attack from a distance makes performing critical stealthy attacks a lot easier since you're too far for most target to even detect you, effectively doubling the power of your first hit. Marksman weapons aren't self sufficient meaning you'll need another weapon type (preferably long blades or spears) to deal with opponents in close combat.

  • Spears
    Spears are an interesting weapon type which sadly doesn't appear in other elder scrolls game (and it's a shame because they're super cool!). Spears do less damage per hit and attack more slowly than most other weapon types giving them a smaller than average dps although they have a range of 1.8 (80% longer than long blades) making them great tools for zoning, a skilled spear user may keep a target at a safe distance and kill them without taking a scratch. This makes spears one of the best weapon types in the game.

  • Blunt
    Blunt weapons include one and two handed hammer variants aswell as staves. Two handed hammers tend to deal more damage per hit than average but at a slower rate bringing their dps down while one handed hammers have low damage per hit but high weapon speed. In both cases it seems that long blades outclass them in term of damage. Two handed hammers have a range of 1.5 making them good zoning tools but are often offset by their absurd weight compared to spears.
    Staves on the other hand are very weak in term of damage but hold a great enchantment potential, additionally, their range of 1.8 isn't of much use since their dps is so low.

  • Axes
    Axes feel a bit left out in the game. One handed axes are of comparable power with one handed long blades but still somehow weaker while two handed axes are slow, absurdly heavy and with low range making them impracticle. On top of that, axes suffer from a litteral drought of artifact with only one, not even that good, artifact to play with. Axes are to absolutely avoid for your first playthrough.

  • Short blades
    Short blades in Morrowind include mostly one handed daggers and their variants (short swords, tantos, wakizachis and such). Short blades are the only weapon type that prefer small rapid hits over big heavy swings. On paper their great attack speed counter balances their weak damage per hit giving them a dps on par with the other weapon types but in practice, due to how morrowind calculates damage, short blades struggle to get through tough armors which seriously offsets their dps and makes them practically unusable in late game and the expansion packs. Thankfully it is possible to enchant them which, combined with their attack speed, seriously boosts their damage per hit and dps and makes them actually viable in endgame.

  • Hand to hand
    Finally, hand-to-hand which isn't really a weapon type but I'll still count it as one. HtH doesn't directly damage the opponent's health, at first it simply drains their fatigue with each hit until they are knocked down. Hitting your target while they are knocked down will damage their health but very slowly. HtH doesn't really scale up to anything so the damage will just be super-low for your whole playthrough. Hth especially struggles against armors but unlike short blades your fists cannot be enchanted. Be prepared in case you actually want to try a HtH playthrough but in all honesty, just don't.

    to conclude; Note that your weapon skill ONLY AFFECTS ACCURACY AND HIT CHANCE and doesn't have any impact on damage.
4b. DETAILS ABOUT SKILLS
  • Armor skills
    -unarmored: when you aren't wearing a full set of armor, increases your probability to dodge attacks and give you a few armor points. Governed by speed

    -light armor: gives you less armor points than medium but doesn't weight much. Also helps being more sneaky. In reality early game light and medium armors are pretty much equivalent but mediums are better in endgame. Governed by agility

    -medium armor: gives you less armor points than heavy armor but also weights a lot less. A very good compromise between defense and weight compared to heavy armor. Governed by endurance

    -heavy armor: gives you a lot of armor points but also extremely heavy (the full daedric set weights about 360 lbs. More than half of what you can carry at 100 points of strenght). Governed by endurance

    -block: blocking is automatic as long as you have a shield equipped and you are facing toward your opponent. Your shield has a chance of absorbing all damages everytime you take a hit, based on your "block" skill level (up to 50% when your skill is maxed out). You can equip a shield with a two handed weapon, it won't block anything while the weapon is unsheathed but It still gives you an armor rating bonus and any enchantment bonus provided by the shield you have equipped.

  • Magic Schools
    All schools are governed by willpower except conjuration which is governed by intelligence and illusion which is governed by personality

    -destruction: damaging spells and/or debuff spells.

    -alteration: utility spells for every day quality of life.

    -restoration: healing spells, cure diseases and buffs to your attributes and skills.

    -illusion: utility spells for invisibility, NPC interactions and paralysis. (essentially AI manipulation).

    -conjuration: summoning spells which can summon creatures, weapons and armors to help in combat.

    -mysticism: miscellaneous utility spells like soultrap, teleportation (fast travel!) and such.

  • Utility skills
    -alchemy: affects the probability of succesfully making a potion and the efficiency of said potion. simply drag and drop a still in your inventory to your character, which will open the alchemy menu. Governed by intelligence

    -enchant: affects the probability of succesfully enchanting something aswell as the effectiveness of said enchantment. To enchant something, simply drag and drop a filled soulgem on your character, this will open the enchant menu, no enchanting tables are required. You may also talk to an enchanter to enchant your gears with a constant 100% chance of success but it is super expensive (like, really expensive.). governed by intelligence

    -armorer: affects the probability and effectiveness of succesfully repairing a weapon or piece of armor. Simply drag and drop a hammer on your character to open the repair menu. You may also talk to any blacksmith or weaponsmith to repair your gear in exchange for money. Governed by strenght

    -security: affects the probability of succesfully picking a lock or defusing a trap. To use it, simply equip a lockpick or a probe like you would do for a weapon and "attack" any locked door/chest. Governed by intelligence

    -sneak: affects the probability of succesfully performing an illegal action without being seen. Also affects your chances of being detected by an hostile npc. NPCs can still see you in their back but being behind them still gives you a non-negligeable sneak bonus. Governed by agility
  • Social skills
    Both skills are governed by personality
    -Speechcraft: affects the likelyhood and effectiveness of succesfully persuading an npc.

    -mercantile: affects the prices at which merchant will sell and buy items aswell as the likelyhood of succesfully negotiating a price and bribing an npc.
  • mobility skills

    -athletics: affects your sprinting and swimming speed (not walking speed). Governed by speed

    -acrobatics: affects the height of your jumps and the fall damage that you take. Governed by strenght

    Both skills work best when your inventory isn't too much encumbered.
48 Comments
< >
Tilo  [author] 2 Jul, 2022 @ 3:15am 
By the time you are level 50, you will have most likely already maxed out agility and weapon skill, which already gives you 100% chance to hit anyway. And the same goes for pretty much any other skills, Luck will be useless by that time.

In my opinion, investing any effort into luck is just a waste and you could spend those point somewhere else. Beside, even at 100 Luck, you would the equivalent of about 10 bonus points to all your luck based skills (security, weapon skills, echanting etc) and that bonus is really small considering how long it takes to get it. It only takes about an hour to increase any skills by 10 points, but it would take 100 hours to get a character to level 50 and get 100 Luck.

Thank you for your comment anyway, I'm really grateful ,and no hard feelings :)

2/2
Tilo  [author] 2 Jul, 2022 @ 3:15am 
Hi Vovach, the main problem with luck is that it is extremely slow to increase and gives a very small bonus compared to how much effort is required to increase it. Firstly, luck doesn't affect the loot you find in crates and chests, only your level influences loot chance. I have never bothered increasing luck in any of my playthroughs and yet I still regularily find powerful scrolls and enchanted items once I reach level 10.

Beside, even if you chose Luck as a favored attribute and chose to increase it every time you level up, it would still take ages to max it out. Let's say you start with 50 Luck, and increase it by 1 point every level, you would need to be level 50 to have 100 luck, but in 400hours of playtime I never got any character above level 33, because there is no need to get to such a high level. Infact, 50 is almost the maximum level you can reach, some characters even cap at 48 for example.

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Z e y r o X 2 Jul, 2022 @ 1:02am 
"I finally rest and watch the sun rise on a grateful universe."
Vovach99 1 Jul, 2022 @ 2:38am 
Thank you very much for this guide! There's almost nothing new (140 hrs of playing), but all the info collected and correctly ordered. And all was explained a quite clearly and shortly. That's great! Your english is good, my vocabulary has expanded))

But I can't agree with one statement: I have always been thought the luck is very important. At the beginnig it is unpleasantly, because you could grow another stats, but not luck. However, at the middle of game quantity changes into quality: there's much easier to hit, boil potions, find good items in crates/barrels (great soul gems, enchanted/dwemer items, diamonds et al.), persuade and more, more, more... Yes, that is not the only tactic, but you completely miss it. To achieve these pretty bonuses, you should choose luck as one of favourite attribute and select it at _any_ lvlup

Despite this, your guide is very good, because wrong char compeletely spoils the game
Tilo  [author] 24 Jun, 2022 @ 12:29pm 
I learn new stuff about the game all the time even after nearly 400hrs haha
james 20 Jun, 2022 @ 2:12pm 
I've played for about 40 hours and I had no idea you did different attacks based on your movement...
LexCondran 4 Mar, 2022 @ 6:19am 
1 Get agility
2 favor your favorite weapon
Brebs 2 Nov, 2021 @ 8:20pm 
How to always have a full fatigue bar at level 1: Choose "The Lady" sign. That's it. Lol
Jackalope 12 Sep, 2021 @ 1:30pm 
A note in favor of Speechcraft: if your skill is high enough, you can taunt most NPCs into attacking you. What this means is that you can effectively kill anyone without legal penalty, since it IS self-defense. It's very useful for quests that require you to kill or steal from someone, but your sneak isn't quite good enough to do so without being detected.
Tilo  [author] 31 Aug, 2021 @ 12:32am 
I guess if you want to save time you could just read the character creation part (which isn't that long) and the part where I explain how hit probability and weapon damage work (that would be the begining of section 3) but if you really want to save time just pick up one of the builds I put at the very end of the guide