Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
Stormvessel
Member Posts: 654
in Off-Topic
Just thought I would create a thread and see if anyone in the Baldur's Gate community still plays Morrowind. After putting about 1100 hours into BGEE (according to Steam), I thought I would take a break before starting on BGEE2.
I am having a really good time. My guy is amazing. He's a level 100 Arcane Warrior (custom class) with enchanted ebony armor and an enchanted Daedric Claymore (Paralyze 3 seconds + Frost dmg 3-51). He is overleveled big time but I am having an absolute blast.
I am using the overhaul mod (MGSO).
http://www.ornitocopter.net/morrowind-overhaul/mgso-release/
I plan on coming back to BG eventually, but for now I am really enjoying the break.
Anyone else still play Morrowind?
I am having a really good time. My guy is amazing. He's a level 100 Arcane Warrior (custom class) with enchanted ebony armor and an enchanted Daedric Claymore (Paralyze 3 seconds + Frost dmg 3-51). He is overleveled big time but I am having an absolute blast.
I am using the overhaul mod (MGSO).
http://www.ornitocopter.net/morrowind-overhaul/mgso-release/
I plan on coming back to BG eventually, but for now I am really enjoying the break.
Anyone else still play Morrowind?
15
Comments
My current character is an Imperial pure mage, usually to busy reading books or collecting herbs to bother with fighting Cliff Racers and other similar annoyances. Actually, he has delegated all the fighting to his female Nord bodyguard (see picture under the spoiler tag). Sometimes, when really irked by the noise of the battle, he just casts some cold based area of effect spell of mass destruction, well knowing that his bodyguard is immune to cold.
You have the wonderful vistas made better by the Morrowind Graphics Extender.
And, of course, who can resist the charm of the Cliff Racers? (Extinct by the time of Skyrim)
The Shivering Isles brought some hint of Morrowind, but I don't think anything short of a Morrowind revival/remastering is going to have the same overall feel. That now seems unlikely since Vvardenfell was destroyed. The one thing I really enjoyed about Morrowind was the ability to advance in rank within the different guilds, and even get your own stronghold after joining one of the Great Houses. I know you can buy your own house (or houses) in Skyrim, but there's nothing quite like earning it. Sure, you can have a nice place in Solitude, but can you have a giant mushroom tower? A mushroom tower protected by dwemer constructs?
I was mildly disappointed when both Oblivion and Skyrim omitted the levitate and intervention spells.
I have the graphics cranked, too. I maxed everything in MGSO 3.0 and it usually runs pretty well on my 3 year old rig (i5 2500k and 6970 x2) but I do occasionally get some lag when jumping. And by jumping I mean casting fortify jump 250 points and hopping from one side of the island to the other
Great system that one, for creating spells... Too bad in Oblivion it got nerfed and "fixed", and in Skyrim it is entirely removed (or vice versa, Oblivion removed and Skyrim nerfed). Also, morrowind is better, gameplay wise, items wise, and game mechanics wise. It even has durability on items, they get damaged, and you repair them. I honestly believe Skyrim was heavily consolized and oversimplified (perhaps for appealing to younger audience, and/or console-kids?). From the elder scrolls series, Morrowind was, is, and probably will be the best title so far at least.
And, it has a mod for adding wonderful new graphics to it. You HAVE to try that one. I picked the premade Battlemage class. It suited my tastes perfectly (axe, heavy armor, spellcasting, etc).
Arcane Warrior:
Magic
Endurance, Luck
Class Description:
Combining mighty weaponry with deadly magic, the Arcane Warrior wields power capable of felling even the most dangerous of foes. Unlike the Battlemage, the Arcane Warrior is far more focused in his approach to the physical arts. Whilst sacrificing greater versatility, the Arcane Warrior seeks a potential for devastation afforded only by specialization.
BTW, I know his name is extremely obvious and corny (probably been done to death, too), but I thought it sounded cool at the time and I never would have named him that if there were a multiplayer element (anagrams are retarded).
Child - Don't forget Redguard and Battlespire...
I think my favourite character I've made is my "Argonian Shieldbearer". It's essentially a bit of lore I created for myself. They're essentially the knights of Black Marsh, fighting with sword and board but rather than wearing heavy plate armor, they wear light armor due to the nature of Black Marsh.
Argonians are definitely my favorite race, btw. Hands down. I do like how in future games they made it so the beast races could actually WEAR boots and full helms. It's very handy.
Also, I love playing rogue type characters but the stealth system was just so horrible in this game. You had to hold down C to crouch which was so awkward, enemies seemed to have cast permanent True Sight, and sneak attack was so unpredictable. It probably gets better as you level up, but the first few hours are torture.
I wanted to like it as there was so features it had Oblivion lacked (levitation, the ability to kill anyone, unique setting and story), but I just couldn't get past all the problems.
Edit: fixed the links.
Edit2: Planet Elder Scrolls, like other IGN modding sites, seems to be dying or dead, so I've replaced the link for Hilda with the one from Morrowing Modding History.
Just the simple things like climbing to the top small lighthouse in Seyda Neen and watching the first rays of sunlight appearing over the top of the cantons of Vivec. Why were you ordered to deliver a package to Balmora? Where is Balmora, more to the point?
The feeling of being lost right from the start. Realising that there are sign posts and various ways to travel—but no fast travel. Fast travel, in my opinion, detracted from the land that the creators made. With fast travel, who needs to explore? I use it all the time in Skyrim, to the detriment of never needing to see the scenery. Provided I have been there at least once, I'm probably not going to explore much past the areas that involve the main story. I am also much more likely to use the console to enable the map markers in Skyrim just so I can hop around and not need to see anything aside from the basics.
Trees and snow. That's something I can see during the winter time. It's not really unique. Swamps, giant flying jelly fish, huge flea-like creatures that act as transportation, giant mushrooms in which houses are created, enormous shells that people create their homes and shops in.
There is nothing quite like the Ghost Fence in Oblivion or Skyrim. Corprus, does that even exist in anything other than Morrowind?
Standing on the top of a pillar of the Ghost Fence, looking out over the sun setting over the island of Solsthiem. Never having actually been there, you ponder on what it would be like to visit the snow covered plains of the island.
Sitting on the stool at the top of the tower in Ald Velothi, a clear evening, you can see the island of Solsthiem. You can pick out details like the Fort Frostmoth.
Pondering on actually going some day, you continue on your current journey. But you are waylaid by enemies and must defend yourself.
The difference, for me, between Morrowind and its successors is this: when I play Morrowind I feel like I'm immersed in a fantasy setting, something exotic, something strange, it gives me a reason to explore the unknown, it gives me a reason to want to understand the setting, its lore, its history, its people. With Oblivion and Skyrim, it feels more like I'm immersed in a medieval reality, moreso with Skyrim since I studied Norse mythology—there's nothing particularly strange or exotic when it comes to stone slabs, bricks, wood, rats, wolves, and deer.
For me, Morrowind was a richer setting. It was driven by its own lore, away from that of its successors.
I love Skyrim almost as much as Morrowind, but of the two I am more likely to go back to Morrowind than to Skyrim. There's no doubt that there is much more to do in Skyrim, but I always found that I get bored. There's so little reason for me to want to get invested in it. Morrowind also eased the player into the game, which I liked. You arrive on a prison ship by order of the emperor. After creating your character you... explore. In both Oblivion and Skyrim, the first thing that happens to your character is you... get attacked. It's more action orientated rather than role playing, there's a 'wow' factor when starting the game, and it's much easier to get invested in the story than the setting. The conflict happening in Oblivion and Skyrim are hardly unique, either. There's the assassination of a leader and a country that wants independence. That's why I value Morrowind as a setting, it is unique.
Not everyone sees it that way, though.
Oh, and then there is Vivec. Trap his soul in Azuras Star - if you can kill him. I warn you, he's about 5 times harder than Dagoth Ur himself, at least for me.
I guess I can always brew up a super potion w/ spell absorbtion if all else fails.
It's more alien than praticly anything out there (Planescape is about the same level, that's about it I think). That's why I love it.
Aside from the f***ing cliff racers.
mudkipcliff racers.For me, Stealth just isn't viable. Pure Mage can be viable, but it doesn't compare with an Enchanter. The only way I would say a Pure Mage is better is if you are using that Drain Intelligence exploit that refills Magicka anytime you need it.
It's pretty much the opposite of Skyrim. In Skyrim a stealth Archer is so OP it breaks the game. In Morrowind it's incredibly difficult to play.
As for Skyrim I would say a mage is the most OP class there. By the 50th level you have so much mana and so many insane spells (lightning storm kills everything in seconds) that you're practically a god.
I've played every possible character in Skyrim and, for me, the Stealth Archer w/ illusion magic was so powerful it wasn't even close. The top Stealth perk was godly - being able to achieve perpetual backstabs at 30x - just incredible. Combined with all the illusions spells and it just isn't even fun anymore. I can go into a room filled with foes and slow time (shout) before they see me and hit them all with my daedric arrows at 3x multiplier. I played a Mage, and it was probably the funnest class for me. But according to my playstyle at least, the stealth/illusion magic archer was incredibly, game breakingly powerful.
IMHO I feel the Mage was nerfed compared to Oblivion. It can still be incredibly powerful but in Oblivion the Mage was a real facemelter. Especially with High-Elf Atronachs and custom spells.
As for the "hands down best class", I don't really think there is one in Morrowind. There are certainly more powerful classes, but no "best" class. My "best" class is a homemade light armor and longsword wielding jack of all trades, capable of healing magic, enchanting, alchemy (the absolute best money maker in the game), bartering, sweet-talking, alteration, and a couple other things. My general play style is to level up END to 100 as quickly as possible for max hp, and then train everything else as it goes, occasionally using my massive piles of money to get training. Morrowind is a hard game for newcomers, but once you know the tricks, it's incredibly easy.
Honestly this is the game with the best artifacts, so for armor you can really go a lot of different ways. Enchanting makes the best shields, but cuirasses, helmets, and gauntlets? Nah. You can find superior artifacts. Max out light and heavy armor and you'll be a monster. Fists of Randagulf? Check. Cuirass of the Saviour's Hide? (dat 60% MR, though) Check. Helm of Oreyn Bearclaw? Check. And what about weapons? Well you can enchant some pretty monstrous stuff, but the artifacts will always have more base damage, no two ways about it. And I like that. Artifacts truly FEEL like artifacts.