Disappointing Windstad Manor

[copykakashi]

Is anyone else here disappointed with Windstad Manor? I mean I didn't expect much from Morthal but this is something new!
Some of the reasons I found It very annoying

1) Creepy location. Ya I can see the solitude arc, but it's placed between two ruins and right next to the swamps. When runa says there are monsters in the swamps it makes it even more creepy!
2) Bad view. because of the trees in front you don't really get a good view. You have to walk near the fishery to get one
3) Seeing the pictures I built 3 towers extensions there. Only after fully furnishing my house did I realise that I can't walk around there parts without knocking something over.

In all the three houses I liked The dawnstar home the best. Great view, beautiful snow and a peaceful location compared to other two. No ruins here

Which is your most and least favourite house? And why?

[Arokel]

I like Lakeview personally.

Winstad seems good for an argonian.

[Mauin]

I prefer Windstad Manor to the others. Being beside the Barrows is perfect for my evil/Vampire characters, and it has always been attacked the least out of my homes.

Lakeview Manor lags so much I can't even approach the place, even on a new save.
Heljarchen Hall has been the glitchiest of the bunch... There are certain display cases that I can't touch without my game instantly CTD-ing. That and it's the most frequently attacked out of the three homes.

Of course, that's only when I'm using one of them.
Honestly? I prefer modded homes like Kagrenac's Instant Fortress. I've actually had less problems with them than any of the vanilla homes.

[Mickey]

I have yet to build the Morthal house for that same reason. Who the hell wants to live in a swamp? ( except an argonian or perhaps Shrek )
Heljarchen Hall is by far my favorite. I love that theres a farm nearby ( neighbors to harass ) and on a clear day, the views of Dragonsreach and the throat of the world are quite nice.

[Br3admax]

Well they all seem like copies in new locations to me. Nothing has really made the game crash either.

[Eltee]

I have actually quite liked the location of Windstad Manor, it is far enough north not to be as swampy and is in over all a pretty neat location. With the swamps that role in, it feels like an old
Manor on the moor and with the ruins nearby it is perfect for my creepier characters.

Lakeview Manor was, honestly, the most disappointing for me. It is seriously crowded by a rock wall, and the view is substantially 'meh.' Plus, smaller modded cabins feel better in the forest. I usually make a one-room shack here. It's only upside is that I would really rather raise a family in the pine forest than argue edge of a haunted swamp, or the frigid cold of the Pale.

Heljarchen Hall is pretty awesome, though, the view is incredibly commanding.

[Br3admax]

I'd say all of the homes are disappointing in the safety department. Each of them has a ruin full of undead, roaming deadly wild animals, and one random magical enemy just a few feet away. Of all of them I think Heljarchen is the most safe, and that has a giant's camp next to it.

[GoatLiver]

I am currently using Windstad Manor and I gotta say I like the location, I also have grown to quite like the swamp around Morthal too I think it is somewhat mysterious.

[perylousdemon]

I've only built Lakeview and Windstad, and I have to say overall I like Windstad more. Less laggy, for one, and I don't CTD five times while trying to approach it. From an RP perspective, however, it depends on the character. A house in the swamp wouldn't work out at all for Anika, but it's perfect for my assassin. Plenty of ingredients around for her poisons, not to mention river betties from the fish hatchery. I mean, really. What's she going to do with an apiary or a grain mill?

[ZackyZombify]

Lakeview is my favorite. I rarely use the others. I also rarely use any of them due to items disappearing.

[Evil-i]

Can't say that I have a favourite, each property has something going for it. In defense of Windstad, if you've done the Lights Out! quest, The Wreck of the Icerunner is placed almost in your backyard. It's pretty funky to step outdoors and see a shipwreck that you're responsible for.

[legoless]

Windstad Manor is pretty creepy. Crypts, swamp mist, a guilty conscience every time you see the shipwreck. The coffin in the basement and the imposing, lifeless armoury don't help the atmosphere either. The fishery is by far the best of the three unique construction options though.

[Angrun]

I like to have at least one outside deck, usually two. The Windstad deck over the storage room in the rear offers a nice view of the Sea of Ghosts. And on rare sunny days it is pretty too.

I have had to abandon a couple houses because of frequent freezes while inside. Had to gingerly empty property inside and place it somewhere else.

Best house for kids - Breezehome. Neighbor kids to play with.

Although not part of Hearthfire, the Raven Rock home is my favorite. Best master bedroom, best guest room, best enchanter and alchemy lab, best mannequins and weapon racks. All the smithing gear. Never seems to glitch for me either.

[perylousdemon]

[...]a guilty conscience every time you see the shipwreck.

Pfft, who feels guilty? Fae just saw it as a good opportunity to get in some target practice.

[copykakashi]

Wow just found out where lakeview manor is. :-/ I am living right on top of a large bandit camp and next to a creepy necromancer! I can't even see the damn lake from the front door! Have to walk to the edge to avoid the pine trees and get a good view.

Its Heljarchen Hall for me! Ill move my family right there. Great location spectacular view. I can see in all directions for miles! And no creepy stuff nearby to scare the kids. Friendly giants to play with

Is there any way to remove an already built addition to the house? Like remove green house and build bedrooms?

[SpikeSpeigel]

I like Windstad Manor's proximity to the Abandoned House.

I can go there when I get my evil streak and view the headless body of a certain murderous/cheating individual whose time had come...

I like being near the coastline.

I still cant become thane of Dawnstar so Heljarchen is undiscovered (Waking Nightmare bug...)

[sevenindasun]

I agree with op windstad although same model poor local for my altmer... After completely screwing up lakeview... I ended up building dawnstar the right way and let my housecarl decorate.... So that would be my fav although I haven't built my altmer a home yet I currently reside in riften.... Probably will try lakeview again since I like south skyrim, lots of good alchemy ingredients and plenty of ore veins and from time to time a giant wonders on my property soooooo, giant toe

[legoless]

Is there any way to remove an already built addition to the house? Like remove green house and build bedrooms?

no

[Evil-i]

Windstad and Lakeview consistently have the best weather for me. Heljarchen seems to be just across that line where blizzards are all too common.

[skarekroe]

I like Windstad BECAUSE it's creepy.

[copykakashi]

Clear skies can fix bad weather in pale Once the weather is cleared it offers the best scenery.

Ya i guess for assassins necromancers vampires windstad house is suitable. But if you keep kids there they keep complaining about the swamp.

And i have read that wife sometimes complains if you put them in bandit infested lakeview manor.

I mean we're practically sitting on top of the pinewatch underground bandit lair!

[skarekroe]

My daughter complains about the monsters in the swamp, but she also gets very excited about the pretty tree in the middle of town.
I thinks she may be "special".

[philfredobob]

i dont like any house in Skyrim, i just buy Breezehome to store stuff, and the rest to get thanehood, or simply to throw money at something.


so i suppose you could say Breezehome is my favourite


PS: i dont have Hearthfire, but i have seen the locations of the houses and pictures of the houses ... none of them really appealed to me

[LoneSpektre]

Im using the Windstad cabin part of the house as my vampire hunters outpost. Perfect place to have my HQ to weed out the creatures.

[Medomé]

Windstad and Lakeview consistently have the best weather for me. Heljarchen seems to be just across that line where blizzards are all too common.

Blizzards are what make that house for me.

I've built all the houses across different characters, and it's interesting to note their respective "performances" contrary to other posters here. Heljarchen is easily my favorite: I get next to no enemies (~15% of the time, maybe) and the aforementioned blizzards. Windstad is fine, because of its close-yet-far location from the bustling metropolis that is Solitude, and I don't get many enemies there either.

Lakeview was a huge letdown, considering that Falkreath is my favorite minor hold and a strong contender for favorite overall. Enemies 60%+ of the time, I keep having to replace my cow and chickens, if it's not a giant it's bandit chieftains with a fetish for killing farm animals with an angry homeowner standing in front of them, there seems to be dragon magnet in the air above the house (thank Talos for Bend Will), the location sucks (although my no-fast-travel Dragonborn will say something for it being a short walk from its town), and the architecture is less appropriate here than in the Pale or Hjaalmarch IMO.

Sharing my wife's opinion ("Children are fine, when they're not being attacked by wolves or bandits!"), I moved to guard-heavy Solitude. Seriously, [&@%!] that house.

When I'm about to retire a character, I might discard RP and build the other two houses to see if they operate on a "dice-roll" basis. Will Lakeview be any better or Heljarchen any worse on a different character, et cetera.