Skyrim racials

[Frogmander]

Discuss what racials you love, what you hate, when you like was changed, what you hate was changed

Love/like changed: Ancestors wrath
Hate/hate changed: Altmer, +50 magicka...seriously? Thats five levels of +magicka or a really good enchant... Nord racial battlecry, I want woad and my strong ice spell back D:

Also, technically wouldnt racials that give bonuses (+5 sneak for example) be BAD if thats what you want to focus on? it would mean slower leveling for you..

[urthdigger]

I love that Khajiit's night eye is toggleable now, instead of having to keep recasting it like I did in Oblivion. Also, claws are fun when people challenge me to a brawl. Sure, that nord may have bravado, but face something with claws in a brawl and you're kinda outmatched.

[Argonanza]

Also, technically wouldnt racials that give bonuses (+5 sneak for example) be BAD if thats what you want to focus on? it would mean slower leveling for you..

No. If you raise a skill from 50 to 51 it counts more towards leveling up than raising a different skill from, say, 20 to 21.

[Trelares]

The only bad thing maybe could be that if you just use the skills your race boost you have a level that is beneath the technical maxlevel of your spec(mage,warrior, thief, yeah there are many others^^), if you had choosen another race. But you always can max out all skills if you want to go for the maximum level.

[urthdigger]

So, I just thought I'd try something out and try punching out some enemies normally with my khajiit. I found that it's actually QUITE strong. I was punching out most folks in two swings. They're fast, and stronger than most one-handed weaponry. Of course, using claws means not getting any skill in an actual weapon, and those would eventually be better seeing as I can't enchant my claws, nor do I get perk bonuses.

[Frogmander]

So, I just thought I'd try something out and try punching out some enemies normally with my khajiit. I found that it's actually QUITE strong. I was punching out most folks in two swings. They're fast, and stronger than most one-handed weaponry. Of course, using claws means not getting any skill in an actual weapon, and those would eventually be better seeing as I can't enchant my claws, nor do I get perk bonuses.

there are a few perk bonuses to hand to hand damage, and there is also an enchant that makes you do more damage with h2h, so a h2h character still works only bad thing is you need to train up heavy armor abit to get the gauntlet perk, and you kind of do need full armor because of various perks and enchants :/

[OblivionDuruza]

As I've mentioned before, I'm sort of annoyed by some of the changes.

Namely, the Redguards suddenly becoming proficient Mages; the Dunmer loosing their Blade and Marksman bonuses and going from well-rounded offensive types to Stealthy Mages; and the Imperials loss of their amazing Personality. There are a few other minor things, like the Altmer having a greater Illusion boost than Destruction, and the fact that Nords and Bretons have Speech bonuses while Imperials do not.

These are all minor things that definitely wont ruin the game for me, but I am still searching for answers, and I'm still a bit unhappy with it.

[Fajita!]

The skill boosts to start are so small that they are barely noticible, what is important is the racial abilities.

[OblivionDuruza]

The problem I have is not one of gameplay, starting boosts mean next to nothing as you say, it's one of Lore and racial identity forged over the previous instalments of the game. I know it's not gone, and I know a lot of improvements have actually been made to the cultures in Skyrim (I've seen it first-hand), it's just that each race has come to be something for me, and to have that changed is unsettling. Who knows, one day Altmer might become the worst Mages in all Nirn.

[urthdigger]

A lot of the established lore is still there. Look more at what skill gets a +10 bonus, and what powers they get. Redguards may get some magic now, but their primary skill is longsword, and their power boosts up their stamina (commonly used up by melee). Dunmer still have their strong ties to their ancestors, although once again it does something different, and their relation to fire in the form of fire resistance and destruction magic.

The only races who were "damaged" in some way were the races that didn't have a general clear-cut role as far as lore cared. It's pretty much accepted that orcs, redguards, and nords are melee, khajiit and bosmer are stealth (thieves and archers respectively), and that altmer and breton are skilled mages. This leaves the dunmer, imperials, and argonians. As I mentioned above, the dunmer kept the lore they had (And destruction magic was always a skill of theirs). Argonians still have the waterbreathing and disease resistance from their swamp living, which was pretty much all the lore they used to have, and their skillset being changed to a third stealth class is arguably better than their former unmatched mishmash. It is odd that the imperials don't get a bonus to speech, although they do keep a power to go along with their smoothtalking roots, in the form of an AoE calm that's essentially talking folks into standing down. Combatwise, they do actually keep their skillset from Oblivion (which was a major change from Oblivion, where they were kinda random outside of speech and mercantile), which has them using heavy armor, swords, and restoration magic, essentially marking them as paladins (though I do think destruction should be replaced with speech)

[OblivionDuruza]

Yes, but the Dunmer are grounded in:

Their combination of powerful intellects with strong and agile physiques produce superior warriors and sorcerers. On the battlefield, Dunmer are noted for their skill with a balanced integration of the sword, the bow and destruction magic.

They are much more than Mages of the School of Destruction, and it is wrong to view them as such.

Further, a Calm Spell is hardly:

... well-educated and well-spoken ... Though physically less imposing than the other races, the Imperials have proved to be shrewd diplomats and traders ...

Additionally:

The practice of eastern magic, or "Nudri-hi", is greatly frowned upon by Crown and Forebear alike, and outsiders are not tolerated in many parts of Hammerfell.