UESP Forums

Im a new Morrowind player coming from Oblivion in search of a more immersive, creative game.

I found that completely in Morrowind. It was perfect. I was so impressed by everything, especially the environments. I mean, it was wonderful~

But then I stepped into a dungeon and got attacked. The thing ran up to me and started swingin his sword away. I tried to attack back but...

ITS KIND OF HARD WHEN HE HITS ME EVERY TIME FOR ~10% OF MY HEALTH AND I LITERALLY CAN NOT HIT HIM.

Ok, so I died without hitting him despite swinging my sword at him numourous times (and I was specializing in Agility, and had Short Sword as a minor skill. So seriously...)

I re started the game, blah blah blah. I figured maybe he was just a really hard thing I needed to avoid. But then I got attacked by like this dinosaur thing (which was super cool by the way) except..

I COULDNT HIT IT. I MISSED EVERY TIME.

So I really need help. Is this game trying to make me hate it? I finally thought I found the perfect RPG and its becoming unplayable just because I DIE WHENEVER ANYTHING ATTACKS ME. I CAN NOT HIT ANYTHING. I MISS EVERY TIME. WHY?

Ok freak out over. But I spent $20 on GOTY Morrowind and I can say with certainty the game dislikes me very much. I miss 9 times out of 10. Like seriously!!! I love EVERYTHING about it except for a small, game-breaking detail.

Are there any tips you guys can give me to help me NOT fail at this game?

How much skill have you got in Short Blade? The combat's Morrowind's main pitfall, so sometimes you just have to ignore it. I once fired about 50 arrows at a Cliff Racer without hitting it once.

This is probably one of the things that turn a lot of Oblivion players away from Morrowind. And I agree, it can be annoying as hell to not be able to hit your enemies.

How high Agility/Short Blade level do you have? And what weapon are you using?

Im planning on starting a new character. The one I was using was just a test-run for fun. So Im open for any changes.

If you're starting a new character, make sure to have a combat skill as a major. Honestly, my first character had both Blades and Marksman all as minors, and it was such a pain to kill enemies quickly in combat. If there's an enemy you need to dispatch with speed, then you'll want a major in a weapon.

Yeah, you definitely need a Weapon Skill as a Major. And preferably an Armor Skill as well.

Personally, if it was my first time playing the game, and I wanted a decent character when I'm learning the game, I'd go for a warrior kinda character. With skills such as Long Blade, Medium or Heavy Armor, Block, etc. as Major Skills.

Ok this makes a lot of sense...I had mine as a minor skill because I thought I would just be a more magic-oriented player. Thanks for the advice, I'll try to start it off like this now so I can get the full Morrowind experience.

Thanks

Ah, yeah, mages can be very powerful and very fun to play. But they're unfortunately difficult for new players, especially in the beginning. Much because you can fail when casting spells, and unless you mod the game, you'll only be able to regain Magicka by sleeping or drinking potions.
I'd highly suggest trying out a Mage, but I think it's best if you learn the basics first with a character that can take more beatings than a mage character.

Not to mention mages are seriously lacking in killing power at the beginning unless you major in Destruction. Even then, you need to spend some of your limited money on some Frost or Lightning spells quickly, or you're pretty much doomed against Dunmers.

Yeah, that's an important thing to remember. In pretty much every bandit cave you go into, you will run into Dunmer, and they are highly resistant to fire. So if you play a Mage, you definitely need to find a good Frost, Shock or Poison spell asap.

But that's not a big problem if you decide to roll with a warrior type. I'm sure you'll come through fine. And if you don't, come find us and we'll help you out.

Oh my god I love it when everybody on a forum is super helpful <3
Thanks a lot guys

It's no problem. I could get used to being helpful for once...

Yeah the problem definitely seems to be having Short Blade as a minor, rather than a major.

The formula for Chance to Hit is:
Chance to hit = Attacker's weapon skill * 1.25 + Attacker's Attack (e.g. Warrior = 10) - Defender's Sanctuary (e.g. Thief = 10) + (Attacker's Agility - Defender's Agility) * 0.25 + (Attacker's Luck - Defender's Luck) * 0.125

I plugged in 50 for your Agility, because the base is 40, and you said you specialized, 15 for your short blade because it was a minor, 0 for your attack and 0 for your enemy's Sanctuary, and 40 for your enemy's Agility, and 40 for both of your Luck.

Now, I suck at math, but after all that, I got 21.25 as your chance to hit. Even having 25 Short Blade would increase your chance to hit to something much more manageable.

Also, don't forget about your Fatigue. Low fatigue, even though it isn't included in the calculation, does greatly influence your chance to hit.

Having had a good run-through with my first proper character (beat the Imperial Legion quests, and about half the fighters guild, and a bit of house Redoran) try this for an easy introduction:

Redguard Male
The Warrior or The Lady
Custom Class
Combat Spec.
Endurance, Strength
Long Blade, Block, Heavy Armor, Armorer, Athletics
Alteration, Conjuration, Marksman, Restoration, Mysticism

You can change the skills if you want, but keep Long Blade, Heavy Armor and Block.

You will start with level 50 Long Blade, and the +10 attack from the Warrior, and if you need it you can use Adrenaline Rush. Makes it a lot easier to get into.

Wat.
It's my understanding that attack is either 0, or 10 (for those born under the Warrior) barring potions, and possibly spells.
Poison? Did I miss something?

You can also raise attack by traveling to one of the Tribunal shrines (one of the first pilgrimage quests for the temple) which lasts for about half a day I think. So if you have a hard fight you can't beat, maybe mark by the entrance, travel to the shrine, then recall back to fight.

Ohh. No one's figured it out? How do they work it into the CtH formula?

I figure it's the opposite of, and works the same way as, Sanctuary -- 0 for everyone who isn't born under the Thief, barring powers and spells.

I read the article before I posted anything >.> There's nothing there about it being equated to Strength... (Though I suppose there's nothing suggesting it's zero, but, if you look at the article on combat; That implies that it's not ten until it applies the Warrior Birthsign, implying that, given the Warrior confers a 10 point bonus to Attack, that attack's base is zero) One can look at Sanctuary in the same manor. We don't assume that all characters have a hidden amount of sanctuary -- all characters have no sanctuary until it is gained by birthsign or spell, and can then be seen under that character's active effects. Same as the attack bonus, come to think of it

How does any of that imply likelihood of hitting? Amount of damage is amount of damage, based on It isn't even passingly suggested anywhere in there that Strength controlls to-hit modifiers at all -is confused-

I still see no discernible link between Strength and Chance-to-Hit, but, yeah, I'm definitely not gonna debate it

Answer my riddle! Or is it that lame? Haha

Also, I edited my last post in the favorite weapons of Oblivion thread (rather than double post FTL), posing a question to you, but I don't think editing my post bumped the thread.