Skyrim General Discussion

[Jorum]

Thank you, Lord Timster! ^-^

[Homeitson]

Hi, was Skyrim originally designed for you to master every skill tree and beat game to 100%?

The question is deeper than it seems. Before patch 1.9, the maximum level in Skyrim was 81, and it wasn’t possible to make skills Legendary. This meant that level 81 could only be reached in a single way – by leveling all skill trees to 100. At that same level (technically at 80, but that’s not important), the final quest for the player, according to the game's internal logic, became available – The Ebony Warrior.

It’s also notable that by level 81, the number of perk points are enough (sometimes with a 10–15% margin) to fully unlock the potential of only one of the three archetypes – Mage, Warrior, or Thief. That means a full–fragmented perks progression of 7–8 skill trees.

So, if Skyrim had a hard level cap at 81; if there was a final quest tied to that level; if the number of perk points was just enough to fully develop a single archetype; and if the only way to reach level 81 was to raise all skill trees to 100 – then we can conclude that Skyrim was designed with the expectation that the player would level every skill tree. And that actually makes sense: there are even two skill trees that help one class (e.g., the Warrior) branch into the other two – those being Alchemy and Enchanting. These two allow a high leveled Warrior to keep up with the scaling of high level enemies in Mage and Thief skills (through potions and enchantments that raise skill levels), and let them train those skills more effectively.

Furthermore, some skill trees raising differently depending on your class. For instance, a Thief will have no problem pickpocketing items; a Mage can use Calm or Paralyze if caught; and a Warrior can use Intimidation (to avoid arrest). That also makes sense – a Warrior or Mage shouldn’t level Thief skills like a Thief, but rather as a Warrior or Mage. There are also various artifacts that allow movement across class boundaries (like the Ebony Mail). The same holds true for each archetype.

However, not everything works smoothly. For example, there are staves, scrolls, and potions – all of which produce effects from the same concrete magic spell – yet none of them raise the associated magic skill. From an formal logic standpoint, that makes sense. But from a game design logic standpoint, it doesn't. There are exceptions, but they’re rare – for example, the Rune Hammer from Dawnguard raises the Destruction skill (the Unofficial Patch treats this as a bug). On the other hand, Bound Weapons increase combat skills instead of Conjuration, allowing Mages to effectively train melee abilities. So on one hand, the game design intent is clear, but there are contradictory details.

The bigger issue is that even with Alchemy/Enchanting, unique equipment, and class-specific abilities, it's still not enough to level all skills to 100 and reach level 81 without using bugs, exploits, or save-scumming. As far as I understand, almost everyone who reached level 81 back in the day did it either through exploits or cheats.

After patch 1.9, Skyrim introduced Legendary Skills, and level 81 became a purely formal milestone. The maximum level became, essentially, infinite. But this was clearly a simplification of the game – because it had been misunderstood.

What do you think about this?

[animatrontv]

is skyrim a good game?

[Shadowscale]

is skyrim a good game?

No, but Morrowind with mods is