Vanilla start or alternate start?

[RedMonika]

I have yet to play the game straight from the vanilla start and got hooked on using Live Another Live and Skyrim Unbound. I don't like to be rushed which is pretty much why I switched to these and I felt rushed after Helgen.

 

I know that there's a mod to slow it down but should I at least try it once? Does it slow down after you absorb the first soul? I want to be able to do stuff and side quests without feeling like I need to continue on the main quest or the sky is going to fall.

 

Thanks

[Guest marieruth]

There should be an option in LAL that allows you to play through the vanilla intro, if you're curious. It's just that sometimes I start so many new games it's tedious to have to go through the long intro over and over again when I've seen it in both perspectives (imperial/stormcloak)

 

But if you've never played the intro before, I say try it out. You'll just skip the whole create a character thing, if you're using LAL; Skyrim Unbound doesn't have vanilla intro options, AFAIK.

[Shadowscale]

Technically the vanilla intro ends after you escape Helgen so after you leave it your free to go whatever direction you wish.

[Guest endgameaddiction]

You won't like the original vanilla start of the game. It sucks. But if you want to know exactly what happens, go forth with it. But when I was on Skyrim and used Alternate Start - Live Another Life was much better for the various reasons of starting your own role into the game.

[RedMonika]

There should be an option in LAL that allows you to play through the vanilla intro, if you're curious. It's just that sometimes I start so many new games it's tedious to have to go through the long intro over and over again when I've seen it in both perspectives (imperial/stormcloak)

 

But if you've never played the intro before, I say try it out. You'll just skip the whole create a character thing, if you're using LAL; Skyrim Unbound doesn't have vanilla intro options, AFAIK.

 

There is actually. It's the one where you get caught crossing the border.

 

Well, what I'm saying is that I have done this it's the main quest that I haven't. Once I get to the first dragon sighting after Helgen I just feel rushed... Oh noes I have to do this next... But I really want to do this and do that later...

Technically the vanilla intro ends after you escape Helgen so after you leave it your free to go whatever direction you wish.

 

Oh I know but the main quest line seems so urgent that I *need* to do it now...

You won't like the original vanilla start of the game. It sucks. But if you want to know exactly what happens, go forth with it. But when I was on Skyrim and used Alternate Start - Live Another Life was much better for the various reasons of starting your own role into the game.

 

Yeah, with LAL you go to Helgen when you're ready to start the main quest.

[Shadowscale]

Check out http://www.loverslab.com/topic/39779-minimalist-alternate-start/to basically start with little to nothing.

[RedMonika]

Check out http://www.loverslab.com/topic/39779-minimalist-alternate-start/to basically start with little to nothing.

 

Thanks. I'll check that out.

[Shadowhawk827]

I personally like alternate starts better, but I'd say just for the sake of saying you did it, try the vanilla start once.

 

The main thing to remember with the game is that 99% of the "I have to rush here" is strictly psychological (as was already pointed out by Shadowscale).  The writing and actors do a decent job of making you feel like you have to rush but there are VERY few real timers in the game.  The only two that I know of for sure are Dawnguard; Awakening where the cave will be sealed off if you wait too many levels to go find Serana (and even then, that's a bug - just a consistent one), and one or two oddball quests where an NPC will say "Meet me at X tomorrow night" or similar.

 

Granted, if you really were in a situation where a dragon appeared out of nowhere, it'd make sense to go run to the Jarl and raise a defense for Riverwood, etc...   Realistically though, you can go do whatever you want and come back two game years later at level 139 and finally talk to the Jarl.

 

The point where I start the ignore button is after the first dragon is dead and the Greybeards summon me.  "There's no refusing the summons of the Greybeards."  O_O   So Balgruuf says.    I'll get around to them when I feel like it, lol.  For me, that's the cutoff because I feel like I've done the immediately urgent stuff, it's a slight lull, AND not only do the random dragon attacks pick up significantly after you return from High Hrothgar, the Dragonborn DLC starts at that point too.  Some people use a mod to delay that, I just use free will 

[Coopervane]

Eh, you paid for the game, so you might aswell see the content that's in it. For that reason alone, yeah, i'd recommend doing the main-quest once.

 

 

And the first time you play it, eh, it's content you haven't seen before, so it'll be worth playing just far that reason, it's on repeated plays that the main-quest becomes a dull chore. Basically it's supricingly short, it doesen't include any likeable characters, and the ending is the most non-comittal "wait.. is that it?" ending i've ever seen, and nothing in the game changes after the main-quest has ended.

 

Nobody plays Skyrim for it's main-quest, people either use an Alt-start mod or they only play the MQ up till the greybeards and then abandon it. But yeah, play it once, see what it is in all it's underwhelming glory, and go right back to ignoring it.

[noodles1976]

For me, I just go with the regular vanilla start...LAL just never appealed to me for a few reasons. I use too many mods that use the vanilla start as triggers to function, and LAL prevents these from starting correctly (Predator Vision is one that comes to mind). I know there are work-arounds / patches to make these mods work with LAL...but it's not really worth it to me. Yeah, the vanilla start is boring and takes a long time, but you still have to complete the same quests regardless of using LAL or not. It's all subjective...I just prefer to start things off the old, slow and boring way...just like me 

 

Generally, I play the MQ right up to fighting the dragon at Kynesgrove...take it out and then just go off and do my own thing until I'm ready to take up the MQ again...usually a couple of hundred hours down the line I usually get to this point of the game in about 4 or 5 hours...not really rushing, TBH...I explore all the caves, mines and what not along the way, and complete a few minor side quests as well. Ducking off at that point seems like the best place to leave the MQ to me. I just like to think that Delphine is off in her basement concocting plans, and it's taking her a long time to do it

 

I've never really felt *rushed* while playing the vanilla start...there are points where completionists (yeah, I'm one of those people too) can stop the MQ and trot off to do other things without feeling like they have to keep playing it. TBH, I've only beat the MQ twice...once before adding any mods (just to see what needed to be fixed IMO) when it was first released and another time with a custom race to test out the Race Compatibility mod & The Ningheim. I'm stuck in the endless cycle of adding mods & making new characters...which I think most of do anyway!

 

N~dles

[carnifex]

LAL all the way. It's better for roleplaying, it's faster when you make a new character just to test out a quest mod or two... it's better for anything other than playing as the Dragonborn, savior of Skyrim.

[Wyvern65]

I'm clearly in the minority but I kind of enjoy the main quest. I always play through at least to kynesgrove / horn of jurgen windcaller so I can have consistent dragon spawns so I don't find myself with 80 words and no souls to unlock them down the road.

 

Really, relax and take it at your own pace. They'll all wait. Or, alternatively, give in to the pressure and focus only on the main quest till it's done. As has been mentioned it's really not that long. The scene with all the dragons at the end is semi-epic to watch if you've never seen it.

 

All the side stuff will be there to do afterwards.

[sweforce]

Regarding rushing I miss how it worked in Morrowind. I got sent to this imperial contact in Balmora that join me up with the blades and basically tells me to go out and adventure until I feel like doing the main quest.

[Old Book]

There are a few mods, notably "Timing is Everything", that let you delay many side quests until you feel like tackling them. SkyTweak will let you slow down progress as much as you want in game with minimal work. ERSO, Morrowloot, and similar mods can mostly de-level the world. Many of the best mods rely on the idea that you've been through the Vanilla start, but you can role play that people are just mistaking you for the Dragonborn, or use Skyrim Unbound to become the Dragonborn the first time you slay a dragon without ever going through Helgen.

All of that said, most of my longer play throughs have started from Helgen. I like that start well enough, and it fits with all of the vanilla quests in the game better than most of the Alternates.

[chevyowner]

LAL for me.

 

 

Technically the vanilla intro ends after you escape Helgen so after you leave it your free to go whatever direction you wish.

 

Oh I know but the main quest line seems so urgent that I *need* to do it now...

 

Then just don't help delphine when you get the horn. You get told something like "come back when your ready, and you will come back."

[Varithina]

If you don't want to use lal then just do vanilla start on your first game, get to just after the character creation bit where you can leave the cave, then save and use that as the start point for any new games you want to play. this works especially well if you use a save game manager as well.

[vram1974]

There are a few mods, notably "Timing is Everything", that let you delay many side quests until you feel like tackling them. SkyTweak will let you slow down progress as much as you want in game with minimal work. ERSO, Morrowloot, and similar mods can mostly de-level the world. Many of the best mods rely on the idea that you've been through the Vanilla start, but you can role play that people are just mistaking you for the Dragonborn, or use Skyrim Unbound to become the Dragonborn the first time you slay a dragon without ever going through Helgen.

 

All of that said, most of my longer play throughs have started from Helgen. I like that start well enough, and it fits with all of the vanilla quests in the game better than most of the Alternates.

 

I've heard many people sing the praises of SkyTweak but I can never get the MCM to show up so.... oh well.

[Alonely]

The vanilla start is pretty good. I never felt rushed while playing it. Maybe give it a try and then install an alternative if you don't like it?

[Old Book]

There are also a few places where you can easily role play delaying the main quest take if starting from Helgen.

1) When Hadvar or Ralof tell you it's time to split up, split up. Go do whatever you want. You can quest all over Skyrim so long as you avoid discussing the dragon you saw with anyone in Riverwood. 

2) When asked in Riverwood to go warn the Jarl, blow it off. It's a town full of respectable citizens and you're an escaped prisoner. Why risk getting arrested and executed? Let one of the legit townies go talk to the Jarl.

3) When Jarl Balgruf tells you to investigate Bleak Falls Barrow, ignore him. You've got safer and more profitable things to do than go into a crypt full of traps, trolls, and undead. 

4) When Balgruf asks you to go help slay a dragon, run. He pays guards for that, and the rewards he has given you so far are not worth dying for. Some random armor? The right to pay him for a small house? Screw this guy. Let his guards handle it. 

5) When you retrieve the horn from Delphine, tell her to get lost. This woman just messed with you in a big way, and she's suspicious of you. Let her wait. Come back later if, in character, you decide to investigate the dragons.

[Karaage Tonkatsu]

Vanilla start is just toooo long these days. Alternate starts ftw. (also the vanilla start can get messed up by havok settings et al)

[Coopervane]

Really, relax and take it at your own pace. They'll all wait. Or, alternatively, give in to the pressure and focus only on the main quest till it's done.

 

Actually, there is one thing you should rush, and it's the very start.

 

 

From the time you get off the cart til nightfall there's a grace-period in effect that prevents random encounters and other such things from spawning. This was done with a reason, as the scene where Ralof/Hadvar leads you to Riverwood is incredibly easilly broken by random encounters.

 

I once made the mistake of lingering in Helgen till after dark before getting out of the cave, and just as i was about to follow Hadvar to riverwood a guy in fur armor runs up to me, it was that annoying "here take this and hold on to it, don't lose it! I'll pay you good!" encounter where some bandit stuffs some random enchanted guff down your pants. After that unpleasantness was over, Hadvar woulden't move or talk to me, so i tried going to Riverwood, nobody there where playing out there scenes either and Alvor just gave me the standard blacksmith dialog options. So i stand around a bit wondering how i'm going to fix this mess and the game crashes to desktop.. 

 

 

Definately get to Riverwood before dark, the game expects you to.