Topic: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Oh my goodness.

The motion controlled lock picking is freaking excellent in Skyrim. Just excellent.

You can feel the individual balls inside the lock just like in 1-2 Switch with the marbles. You hold ZL and twist the left Joycon to rotate the lockpick. You hold ZR and twist the right Joycon to rotate the lock. It feels so natural, almost exactly how it would be if you were actually picking the lock. Add in the HD rumble and it just makes for a terrific experience!

Now I see why Nintendo staff were recommending the lockpicking in this game with motion controls. And I also think the motion gestures for blocking in swinging the sword work really well. If I just left the left joy con to pointed upward I block every single time. It's not finicky and it works perfectly, every time. When I swing the right joy con it swings the sword, every single time. If I swing hard it does a hard swing. It just works and it works really well.

I'll probably end up still using buttons just for blocking an attacking but I'm impressed with how well it works and how good it feels. I'll definitely be using motion controls for the lock picking and for aiming the bow or spells.

@JaxonH I'm not sure what I'm suppose to be feeling when you lock pick. Like where is the point where its unlocked? I keep breaking picks by trial and error.

@Spoony_Tech I don't know how it translates to motion controls, but what you're supposed to do is find the sweet spot where it doesn't jam up. If it starts jamming, stop immediately, because you're in the wrong spot. If it moves a bit but then jams, move it slightly in another direction and see if it turns more before it jams. If it does, great, you're getting closer. If it jams faster than before, you're moving it the wrong way, and should move it in the other direction.

@JaxonH I don't think anyone answered earlier: regarding the motion controlled aiming, does this game function like Zelda and Splatoon where it's easy to aim with gyro in handheld mode, or is it some twisty joycon nonsense like the motion controls in Mario?

@Octane It's on my list. I still need to play the first two games, though, and it has been difficult to motivate myself to do so. :/

I'm sorry, Bethesda .... I waited so long to play this game. Just got through the intro and really sucked in, then I realized I could change to 3rd person view which makes it even more amazing. Made my character based on Ygritte from game of thrones <3

@Spoony_Tech I did trial and error as well. the key is to set the pick where you think with the L, then turn with R. If the key hole does not turn smoothly, clock-wise, then rework the L- lotpick part.

@hcfwesker I just figured it out for the most part. I was treating it more like a safe cracking thing.

@Ralizah
Not sure what you mean with Mario. Mario didn't have motion aiming like Zelda because it was just a different type of game. Mario had gestures to perform actions.

Skyrim is like all the other Switch games. You use motion to aim just like Zelda or Splatoon or any other game where you use motion to aim. In addition to that it also has motion gestures like Mario, but they work incredibly well. I still think buttons are easier but if you want a more immersive and active experience I think they're a great option (because they actually work well).

@Spoony_Tech
You have to try different spots and see how far it rotates before it starts to break. The closer you are to the correct spot the further it will rotate before it starts jamming up. You have to go very slowly and the minute you see it start jamming up let go so it doesn't break. Then adjust your lock pick and try again

The HD rumble kind of gives you different points you can try. So as you rotate the lock pick you will feel it vibrate and that'll let you know that's a spot you can try. But you're still going to have to try a spot and see how far you get and then adjust accordingly and you will get farther each time until you get the correct spot where it unlocks. If your intuition is good though you can nail it on your second attempt, as I've done every time (after breaking my first lockpick, of course)

@JaxonH That's my point: Mario had gestures for specific actions with the cap. I was afraid this had gestures for firing the allow, like pulling back on the right joycon or something that would make it unusable in handheld mode.

Yup. The bow motion control works pretty great. It kind of makes me wish for using the motion to look around in conjunction with the R-stick. I mean in general.

@DarthNocturnal
Little of both.

It vibrates at certain places, limiting your choices. But I can't say for sure it vibrates more in the correct spot. I don't think it does, but it's so subtle it's hard to say.

At the very least, it adds immersion, and limits your choices of locations to try.

Is sprint mapped to the right bumper like the original release or to the left stick like the special edition by default?

Anybody find it odd x is mapped as the jump button? After hit b so many times I just switched it lol.

@Snaplocket Just sneak and try to get out of people's line of sight. Once you do, it'll say "Hidden". Leveling up your sneak skill and enhancing your sneaking ability through other means, like wearing light armor, will help a lot with this.

Also, I wouldn't use a bow as your only weapon, at least not at the start of the game. It can be your primary if you want, but you'll have to be stealthy and/or elusive with it, because if you just stand there, you'll get your face beaten in. For the really difficult enemies, especially at the start of the game, you'll probably want a melee weapon or magic or both to fall back on. Favoriting your weapons and spells and then using the Favorites menu is a great idea so that you can quickly switch between them in the middle of combat, similar to how it works in Breath of the Wild.

Also, I would stick with the game for at least 20 hours before you make your final judgement, if not more. I didn't like the game at first either, and it was really overwhelming and confusing, but after 5-10 hours I found my groove, and now it's probably my favorite game ever.

@Haru17
Sprint is mapped to L. But you can rebind buttons however you want. I swapped B and X because I find jump easier to perform from B, and am used to the top button being for the menu in RPG's.

@DarthNocturnal
It doesn't really "cost" anything. Either you take a stab in the dark with infinite precise locations to try, or you take a stab in the dark with small incremental locations of feedback, meaning instead of having 200 possible exact locations to try you have like 10. Either way you try, see how far you get, adjust and try again. Only the feedback helps you settle on a handful of incremental choices instead of infinite choices (I think, could turn out it's just for show, who knows). Either way, it's certainly not hurting anything. Either it helps by providing feedback to the right location (helpful) or it helps by limiting location choices to choose from (helpful) or it's all for show (neither helpful nor hurtful).

[and I think that's the most times I've said "either" in one paragraph]

@Snaplocket Not every game is for everyone. If you can't get use to it in a few hours it doesn't really change as far as combat goes. Don't try to force yourself to like it.

@Spoony_Tech Who would buy Skyrim for the combat? That's never been what people liked about the game.

@JaxonH Oh yeah I always changed jump to B (on the right side on Xbox/PS controllers), I can't stand it being on the top. One of the better things about remappable controls.

And it's interesting that it's on L. The reason I ask is original Skyrim had hold to sprint just like a Monster Hunter game, while the Special Edition had more restrictive FPS toggle sprint that you didn't have to hold but which made you have to completely exhaust your stamina or stop moving and then move again to drop down into a walk.

At least it's on a shoulder button, face button sprinting sucks because you can't hold to sprint and move the camera well at the same time.

If you think combat in Skyrim kinda sucks (which I admit it kinda does compared to newer games), may I remind you that there's a freakin' CROSSBOW in this game, which makes non-magicka combat 1000x better.

I always found it strange how players somehow forget this.

By reading the last few pages I came to the conclusion that some persons here don't really get what an Elder Scrolls game is...

ES games don't have the best graphics for their time, characters and combat are clunky. ES is about discovering a world built for you, his rules, factions, NPCs, politics, factions, history and religion. The real enjoyment resides in exploring the world, talk to NPCs, read the books to fully understand the world of ES.

The combat in these games is not dynamic and does not need player skills. It is made of stats, perks and the way you (ab)use the system put in place by the developers.

I guess I forgot about the sprint button... Are there athletic and acrobatic skills in this game? I remember jumping all the time in the previous game(s) because of it.