Should I buy Morrowind/Oblivion?

[PhatoseAlpha]

One of the worst complaints about Morrowind, IIRC, was that you became Jesus Christ himself around level 20? Think I got to at least level 50 with my characters.

Oblivion tried to fix that with the scaling, which made things stupid. At some point, I want to be able to hack through everything like butter. With the scaling in Oblivion, it took way too long mashing keys to take something weak down.

Thanks to Alchemy, you could become God at level 1 without leaving the first town. As I recall, enchantment was also hilariously abusable, to the extent where locking picking was easily eclipsed by making a dirt-cheap universal unlocking device.

Morrowind's mechanics were always funky at best. The weird RPG 'you missed' even though the arrow was visibly stuck in the monster, and the conversations were far less 'conversation' and far more 'everybody in the world is wikipedia'.


If you're going to pick up either, expect to do some very heavy modding to get to a reasonable experience. Bethesda's mechanics are always at least a little broken, and Morrowind and Oblivion both are a lot broken in many ways.

 

[escrow4]

Morrowind is ancient and pffft, Oblivion is Generic Fantasy Good and Evil 101. Skyrim is also generic but at least its playable and occasionally interesting. Actually just get the Witcher 1 + 2 instead.

 

[frozentundra123456]

Each to his own, but I liked both oblivion and especially skyrim better than either of the witcher games. I just never could identify with geralt, and the QTEs absolutely drove me nuts and broke the immersion of the game.

 

[pathos]

Morrowind is ancient and pffft, Oblivion is Generic Fantasy Good and Evil 101. Skyrim is also generic but at least its playable and occasionally interesting. Actually just get the Witcher 1 + 2 instead.

I really don't like the witcher's combat though. I put up with it for the first game, just to actually play it. I really didn't like the 2nd games combat, so I didn't get very far. I'll probably still buy the 3rd witcher game, when it arrives, because I really like the studio, and the way they do business...I just wish I could like their games nearly as much as everyone else seems to.

 

[frozentundra123456]

I really don't like the witcher's combat though. I put up with it for the first game, just to actually play it. I really didn't like the 2nd games combat, so I didn't get very far. I'll probably still buy the 3rd witcher game, when it arrives, because I really like the studio, and the way they do business...I just wish I could like their games nearly as much as everyone else seems to.

Pretty much my experience as well. I gave up on W1 totally, but convinced myself to try to finish W2. I got as far as the battle with the Karyn or whatever it is and gave up, since I wasnt really into the game anyway and did not feel it was worth the frustration trying to win that battle. Not sure I could ever beat it anyway, since I suck at QTEs, as I mentioned.

 

[Pr0d1gy]

I ended up buying both of them, I figured it's only $11 and I may or may not enjoy them. I've certainly been interested in trying them for quite a long time. I've also enjoyed more traditional RPGs such as KOTOR.

Also, I did already play through the Witcher 1 & 2 - I haven't done Iorveth's path in 2, only Roche's, but I'm planning on returning to them shortly before the release of Witcher 3 where I will play through Iorveth's path.

Good choice. Morrowind is my favorite RPG game of all time and I always include it in my top 10 list when those threads pop up. I highly recommend you do the Boots of Blinding Speed quest as early as possible since fast travel is not the end all be all it is in newer games. That said, if you are not into reading or generally exploring it may not be the game for you.

Other advice to get you started: all skills are tied to your fatigue, the lower it is the less your skill will work properly, this includes combat. It's a good idea to keep some restore fatigue potions at lower levels. Your major and minor skills are the only ones tied to you actually leveling up. I often use this to my advantage by putting skills I use less in those spots so I am not leveling up too fast (of course, put one weapon skill here so you can actually hit enemies at lower levels heh). The reason for this is you can get +5 to up to 3 attributes each level if you plan your leveling properly (this usually involves you training up lower ranked skills in related attributed before you choose to level up, I will typically sleep when I level up and then reload the save from before I slept and go train the attribute-related skills I need to get the x5).

This game has great spells that others do not and I urge you to get a levitate spell as soon as possible as it makes life a good bit easier in Morrowind. You can also find strong equipment in certain places if you bring some invisibility pots and levitate (not always needed).

Very few games reward exploration and curiosity the way Morrowind did, and that is what I really enjoy. Big rewards for taking big risks. It also has one of the most interesting and fully fleshed out worlds ever created if you take the time to read all of the dialogue.

Morrowind is, without question, one of the greatest games ever made if you take the time to actually properly play it. It is a supernexus of videogame construction achievement.

 

[toughtrasher]

It's def. worth your time, I don't know how much it sells for exactly at this time but I'm guessing around $20 or so.

I'd wait for a price drop. Got Oblivion from Steam at $4.99 and sunk around 50 hours into it. I'd say that's value entertainment!

 

[loganone]

Morrowind might seem antiquated now, but I feel sorry for people who never got to experience it first hand at the time. No markers telling you exactly where to go, no popups telling you exactly what to do, you were simply dropped you off into this huge mysterious world where everything was left up to you, there was just nothing like it. Skyrim and especially Oblivion are so eminently generic and forgettable in comparison.

 

[norseamd]

YOU ARE REQUIRED TO BUY AND PLAY MORROWIND!!!!!

IT IS THAT AMAZING!!!!!

Morrowind was released on XBOX but it was the last game from Bethseda that was actually made for the PC.

You should also buy Oblivion especially since it is so cheap but like some other folk have said it is not as amazing as Morrowind or Skyrim or any other good rpgs.

 

[Ricochet]

http://tesrenewal.com/

This is the group rebuilding Morrowind (and Oblivion eventually) to the Skyrim engine.

I hope these guys would hurry up. I really can't go all the way back to Morrowind without an overall graphical update.

 

[xantub]

YOU ARE REQUIRED TO BUY AND PLAY MORROWIND!!!!!

IT IS THAT AMAZING!!!!!

Morrowind was released on XBOX but it was the last game from Bethseda that was actually made for the PC.

You should also buy Oblivion especially since it is so cheap but like some other folk have said it is not as amazing as Morrowind or Skyrim or any other good rpgs.

Let me fix that for you ...
You should also buy Oblivion especially since it is so cheap and better than Morrowind and Skyrim and many other good rpgs.

 

[Ricochet]

Oblivion has quite a following of Korean & Japanese modders who have essentially made it a sex sim. While you could say there are those mods for Skyrim, it's not yet to near the same level.

 

[Morgoth780]

In case anyone is curious:

I have 4 hours now on Morrowind, according to Steam. One thing I've noticed being very different from Skyrim is the main quest line. In Skyrim, you are inadvertantly saved from your execution by a dragon (avoiding spoilers on the off chance anyone hasn't played it), and then there is a very... I suppose the best way to put it would be "action-packed" storyline following. Talk to people in Riverwood, go to Jarl of Whiterun, and so on. Whereas in Morrowind, it basically seems like I was released from the ship I was imprisoned on, sent to talk to somebody in Balmora, and then the game "encouraged" me to do things other than the main quest line.

Maybe I'm just used to modded Skyrim with mods such as immersive patrols and warzones, but Morrowind feels a lot more dead to me. When I'm wandering around outside of cities there don't seem to be a lot of people. Which I suppose probably fits the setting as there is a fairly large desert.

I am enjoying the combat. At least to me it doesn't feel too terribly different from Skyrim's combat, even though I miss. I do like the leveling system, but I don't really understand why there is a distinction between major and minor skills, other than perhaps the fact that minors skills start out at lower levels?

All in all, I'm definitely really enjoying Morrowind. It hasn't sucked me in the way Skyrim did though; when I first played Skyrim last summer, I played at least 100 hours in a couple of weeks. With Morrowind - well, I'll see what happens as things get more interesting. Currently I'm just running around doing orders for the Fighters' Guild, so I suppose that's not going to be too terribly exciting.

And if it isn't obvious, I haven't touched Oblivion yet.

 

[NIGELG]

Simple answer is YES!!!

There are so many free mods that make the games so much better.

 

[Sulaco]

In case anyone is curious:

I have 4 hours now on Morrowind, according to Steam. One thing I've noticed being very different from Skyrim is the main quest line. In Skyrim, you are inadvertantly saved from your execution by a dragon (avoiding spoilers on the off chance anyone hasn't played it), and then there is a very... I suppose the best way to put it would be "action-packed" storyline following. Talk to people in Riverwood, go to Jarl of Whiterun, and so on. Whereas in Morrowind, it basically seems like I was released from the ship I was imprisoned on, sent to talk to somebody in Balmora, and then the game "encouraged" me to do things other than the main quest line.

Maybe I'm just used to modded Skyrim with mods such as immersive patrols and warzones, but Morrowind feels a lot more dead to me. When I'm wandering around outside of cities there don't seem to be a lot of people. Which I suppose probably fits the setting as there is a fairly large desert.

I am enjoying the combat. At least to me it doesn't feel too terribly different from Skyrim's combat, even though I miss. I do like the leveling system, but I don't really understand why there is a distinction between major and minor skills, other than perhaps the fact that minors skills start out at lower levels?

All in all, I'm definitely really enjoying Morrowind. It hasn't sucked me in the way Skyrim did though; when I first played Skyrim last summer, I played at least 100 hours in a couple of weeks. With Morrowind - well, I'll see what happens as things get more interesting. Currently I'm just running around doing orders for the Fighters' Guild, so I suppose that's not going to be too terribly exciting.

And if it isn't obvious, I haven't touched Oblivion yet.

What mods/overhaul packs are you using for Morrowind?

 

[Morgoth780]

What mods/overhaul packs are you using for Morrowind?

I'm just using the unofficial patches and the Morrowind Overhaul (sound and graphics) found here: http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/36945/?

To be honest, I'm pretty sure I've installed one or both of those incorrectly so I really should figure that out.

 

[Imp]

Thanks to Alchemy, you could become God at level 1 without leaving the first town. As I recall, enchantment was also hilariously abusable, to the extent where locking picking was easily eclipsed by making a dirt-cheap universal unlocking device.

Oh ya... I picked up every material stashed in every container and all the plants then went to town.

Hand to hand was also a great way to level up. Until someone fell down unconscious, all your damage was to their fatigue. Just beat someone down, let him get back up, rinse and repeat. Low level hand to hand damage was so low that pummeling them on the ground did little damage and could be done for minutes at a time.

Acrobatics or something was dumb. You got experience for taking fall damage. Took the most planning to get.

 

[DarthPader]

First play TES: Daggerfall then go for Morrowind and Oblivion, it will look so new

 

[Kalmah]

Once you get further into Morrowind, it starts picking up. Nothing has immersed me more than this game. (other than Baldur's Gate)

The game just feels immense once you get into the meat and potatoes of it.

With that said, I don't think I could install it again. I would have to spend hours and hours working with mods to get to today's standards and how I would like it.

The thing that irritates me about Bethesda is that they seem to keep simplifying each game more than the previous. With Skyrim, no levitation or jump spells, no enchanting whatever you want, no polearms.. It just seems like they stick to the same half-broken formula or remove parts from it. I wish they would sit down and flesh out a unique and deep combat/skill/spell system for once. I would prefer something more along the lines of D&D.

 

[pathos]

Thanks to Alchemy, you could become God at level 1 without leaving the first town. As I recall, enchantment was also hilariously abusable, to the extent where locking picking was easily eclipsed by making a dirt-cheap universal unlocking device.

Reading this post made me think of Daggerfall, actually.

When you left your prison dungeon, if you went to the closest town (which I can't remember the head of)...I'd normally head to the mages guild, make my own lockpick spell. Then, I'd wait for nightfall, then head over to the armor shop.....

After 1 night of robbing the store blind, I'd go back to the same store during the day, and sell him back all his gear that I'd stole from him the night before. Then, I'd go buy a horse and cart, wait for night fall, rob his store, plus every other store in town. Wait for daylight, sell everything but the best gear...I'd usually end up with mid to high level gear and 500k + gold after doing this for 4-5 nights running. All while level 3 or 4.

What made this worse, is there was a bug in daggerfall which doubled up what was kept on a shelf. You could click on the shelf, steal everything on it. Then, click on the corner of a shelf, and it would have exact duplicates of everything on it, once. So, basically double the loot.

I'd do this virtually every time I'd start up a daggerfall game. Just couldn't seem to help myself. The only danger from this, was that ghost that ran around this town after dark. You had to spend as little time as possible outside at night, at that town, because of that ghost.

 

[finglobes]

I tried Morrowind after Oblivion and Skyrim and it looked/felt too primitive. The text was tiny and voluminous. I don't want to read a novel while playing a PC game. I'm sure the game would have gotten better if I stayed with it longer but I've played so many games I find myself resiting the ones I don't like that much within a few hours.

I liked the Oblivion DLC - especially "Knights of the Nine" . I liked Shivering Isles a lot at first but it got too cute and I left game just before finishing. The first arrival into SI was pretty cool at the time graphically.