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The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim beginner's guide

Need help building your Dragonborn? We got you covered

Words: on November 10, 2011
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52 comments

  • lime2149 - November 12, 2011 1:02 p.m.

    I busted into this game knowing i was going to be a khajiit with a axe and a flame. reading this makes me feel idiotic

  • JonnyJon - November 11, 2011 8:09 p.m.

    I have no idea what this game is about. But i really wanna play it because everyone says its gunna be amazing. It looks really complicated though, i was never really a fan of rpg's. Ill probably buy it sometime soon.

  • rob619 - November 11, 2011 7:36 a.m.

    I have never played a Skyrim game, this guide will help alot! Thanks alot Gamesradar, you have again read my mind! :)

  • OD-Apache - November 10, 2011 10:09 p.m.

    I missed out on the series as a whole (spare me), so from an absolutely fresh perspective, how much will I miss out on backstory and history if I picked this up? I made the mistakes of playing Dragon Age 2 and Witcher 2 before their earlier installments, and the thing hardest for me was to grasp the world(s) as a whole. I would constantly ask, "Who the hell are you?" every time I met a seemingly important NPC, or worse yet I wouldn't even have a clue where I was, what country I was in and boundaries the world had. I love back story and history in anything with fantasy, so it's a must. I can only afford a single game until Mass Effect 3, so if I can just jump in on this I'll do it, but if I miss out on so many things that I wouldn't understand half of what I was seeing, I'll get Oblivion. Thoughts?

  • RamenChimera - November 10, 2011 10:39 p.m.

    I don't have Skyrim yet, but no Elder Scrolls game has required much backstory. You'll learn the lore in game and all that for what you need to know. The stories of the games connect, but only loosely.. Characters don't carry over or anything. Different countries, different people, different times even. So I don't think it would be a big problem. And come on, it's Skyrim... I'd get it if I were you.

  • misfit119 - November 11, 2011 1:24 a.m.

    This takes place two hundred years after the last games, no prior knowledge is necessary. Plus the game explains all of the relevant stuff like the Emperors, dragons and basically everything else. If something confuses you there's probably an in game book that explains everything.

  • jack-brannigan - November 11, 2011 7:40 a.m.

    Also, read some books in the game. For instance, I picked up a book off some random table called Dragonborns and it gave a short but useful summary of a bunch of stuff: dragons, the definition of dragonborn, Emperors, and how dragonborn was related to them.

  • GamesRadarMatthewKeast - November 11, 2011 12:43 p.m.

    You don't need to play Oblivion at all. There are a few offhand references to that game here, but you're not missing anything really.

  • nicholas-aube - November 12, 2011 11:12 a.m.

    As far as individual characters it wont be a problem because its an entirely different place. There might be a few minuscule details that that could vaguely suggest something from an earlier game but for the most part it is its own world. If you ask me, not having the previous games would not be a problem at all. But hey, the other games are still fun if you want to play something old school.

  • ninjaemperor - November 10, 2011 8:51 p.m.

    Damn, this is insane!

  • Kyo - November 10, 2011 8:30 p.m.

    Nice guide, though I find it hard to decide who I should believe in the end.. IGN's guide had this "Tough and hardy, they make great heavy warriors. Their famed battlecry makes them the toughest races" for Nords... You have them as one of the weakest and a light armor class.. what the hell? lol This ruined my entire plan O_O

  • misfit119 - November 11, 2011 1:21 a.m.

    Here's the thing, IGN's guide is using the old stats to describe some of the races. This is no longer a factor. Nords are no longer raging beasts full of HP due to having high Stamina. In this they're almost designed to be like Viking Berserker types, wearing light armor so they move quickly with a pair of axes and chop fools to pieces. My Nord is hell on wheels wielding two enchanted Orcish war axes and wearing a set of Scaled Light armor. Battlecry is overrated - all of the abilities are actually. The Shouts are infinitely stronger.

  • Kyo - November 11, 2011 10:33 a.m.

    Ha yea I ended up getting the guide because.. well it's beautiful(big damn book) and it pretty much backs up what this guide and you've said. Long story short I wanted heavy armor, made an orc. IGN is sad.

  • GamesRadarMatthewKeast - November 11, 2011 12:42 p.m.

    Most of the racial abilities are crap, but for instance I played as a High Elf pure mage and the magicka regen ability was huge during boss fights.

  • BladedFalcon - November 14, 2011 1:43 p.m.

    I'd imagine the Adrenaline rush from the Redguards must be pretty cool in some situations as well. That's the race I'm probably gonna pick anyway. Used to be a fan of the Nords and I picked them for both Morrowing and oblivion. But I honestly felt like they ruined them in this game. I mean, not saying they are worthless by any means, but I think they are definitely not as great as they sued to be before. Even ignoring racial abilities, the fact that they have bonus on both one hand and two hand seems a bit redundant, since most people are probably gonna focus on one style anyway.

  • Ultimadrago - November 10, 2011 8:21 p.m.

    Thanks a TON Daniel! This is a good guide. I should help others a ton. I'm reading through it all myself despite Oblivion experience to get a heads-up on the improved systems and perks!

  • D0CCON - November 10, 2011 7:04 p.m.

    I always make two characters in Elder Scrolls games, a sword and/or magic character and a stealthy character. In Oblivion, the sword/magic character was a High Elf and the stealthy character was a dark elf, so I think I'll go for a Breton battlemage and a Khajiit stealth character this time (especially since he'll be able to wear armor now!)

  • D0CCON - November 10, 2011 7:29 p.m.

    Actually, I'm not sure if I want Khajiit or Wood Elf (I was actually a wood elf, not a dark elf in Oblivion). I'd like to try something new, but Wood Elf did work pretty darn good.

  • misfit119 - November 11, 2011 1:23 a.m.

    The Wood Elves make FANTASTIC stealth characters. I'm playing one to do the guides since their bow skill makes dragon hunting much, much easier. The Khajiit are pretty awesome in this one but I think the Wood Elf is by and far the best for combat stealth.

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