6 Tips For Skyrim Beginners!

Skyrim was released in 2011 by Bethesda. It is also an open-world action role-playing game. The game has so much to offer including quests, loot, fast travel, downloadable content, and much more. I have been playing Skyrim since 2013. I currently own Skyrim for PC, PS3, PS4, and Nintendo Switch. While playing Skyrim, I have done so many things and had some crazy experiences. For people that want to try playing Skyrim, be sure to keep reading. So once you start playing, you will already know some of the basics.

Tip 1: Don't Kill the CHICKENS!

Why Shouldn't Chickens be Killed?

It's just a chicken, right? Wrong! Chickens can be found in any city or town. People in Skyrim care about their animals. When killing a chicken, guards and townsfolk will not hesitate to try and kill you.

My Experience with Killing Skyrim Chicken!

It was my first playthrough and I didn't know any better. I made this mistake when playing for the first time. To tell you the truth, it was actually quite funny killing my first chicken.

Maybe if you are lucky, the guard will stop you and have you pay a fine. I didn't get that option when I played but it's different for everyone.

Tip 2: Don't Attack the GIANTS or MAMMOTHS!

Why is it not good to attack Mammoths and Giants?

I know with Mammoths and Giants being huge, they can be big targets. Not to mention, you feel compelled to attack them. It's not a good idea to attack them when you're first starting.

When attacking the mammoths, they deal a pretty good portion of damage to your health. If you attack the giants, be prepared to watch your character die and their body get flown very high in the air.

I highly recommend not trying to kill these guys when you are a level 1. You might have an advantage to kill them with a certain mod at that level. 

My Experience Trying to Kill Skyrim Giants and Mammoths!

I also made this ridiculous mistake as well which made me laugh a lot.

When I first started playing, I was curious about everything and wanted to know what all enemy strengths and weaknesses were. If you are like me, then you may hit this little bump on the way.I never managed to kill a giant or a mammoth on my first playthrough. Especially, if i was a level 1. I definitely never tried to kill a giant or a mammoth again. Not to mention, at a lower level and without quicksaving.

Tip 3: SAVE! SAVE! SAVE!

This cannot be stressed enough. This is also the most important tip for your playthrough.

Why is it important to save?

Everyone who has played this game, including me, will tell you to save or quicksave. It doesn't hurt to pause and save every once in a while. You really never know when you get killed, when your system decides to do an update in the middle of your game, or your game closes because of an error.

When you have a bad feeling in your gut, SAVE! See an area where there might be a boss fight, SAVE! Trust me, it's better to be safe than sorry and it will save you time in the long run.

My Experience with NOT SAVING!

With my experience of playing for 8 years, I've been killed and had an error with my game and barely saved. I will not lie, I do regret not saving my progress when I had the chance to.

Tip 4: Make sure to get a Follower!

After you help Jarl Balgruuf in Whiterun, at the beginning of the game, you will be assigned Lydia as your personal housecarl. She will be the first follower you can recieve in the game. There are a lot of other followers in Skyrim besides Lydia.

Why Should You Have a Follower?

Followers in Skyrim are people or animals that can help you out in battles and other things.

Having a follower in Skyrim definitely helps when you are doing quests that are difficult. Not to mention, they come in handy when if your carry weight is maxed out. Followers are also good for tough battles. Especially, if you are stuck and need to get past them to finish a quest!

What Kind of Followers are there?

Of course, Lydia is the most known follower in Skyrim (which is shown in the picture above). The reason she is most known because anyone that starts out gets her in the beginning of the game.

There is a list below of other followers you can have besides humanoids. Some of the followers listed below you can only summon by using a spell or a staff.

• Dogs
• Flame Atronach
• Frost Atronach
• Storm Atronach
• Wolf
• Corpse

Yes, you can have an animal fight with you. Choices for animal followers are very limited. Dogs and horses can fight enemies by your side. There is a disadvantage to having a horse fight with you. Horses can't physically come with you when your quest leads you to an indoor quest.

Which followers are best recommended?

• Serena - (Dawnguard DLC) she is a vampire and  I definitely recommend getting when you get the chance.
• Cicero - he is a jester and as long as you don't kill him for the Dark Brotherhood, he will be an amazing follower.
• Mijoll the Lioness - she is located in Riften. You will need to locate her weapon in a dwemer ruin before she can be your follower.
• Frea - (Dragonborn DLC) she is a nord from the skaal village in Solsthiem. With the research done, you can gain her a follower after completeing "The Fate of the Skaal" quest.

The followers that I have recommended above are the followers I use or haved used. All 4 of those follwers are the best ones I have used so far.

If you want a different follower, according to research there are many other different followers.

Tip 5: Equip Healing Spells!

When you are Healing spells, it's a good idea to watch how much Magicka you are using. Especially, during battles. When you are in a battle, and you run out of Magicka, then you won't be able to heal yourself.

How many Healing Spells are there?

Equipping healing spells will definitely be helpful during battles or lose some health by falling off short cliffs. With the proper research that has been done, there are 9 different healing spells. Listed below are the different healing spells that I recommend using:

• Healing - is the spell you start out with. It restores your health and stamina.
• Fast Healing - this spell you can buy from a merchant. It also restores a bigger portion of your health and stamina.
• Grand Healing - you can only buy this spell from Collete Marence. It restores health and stamina, Not to mention, anyone close or in the healing area.

My Experience with Healing Spells.

In my first playthrough, I used one-handed weapons and equipped a healing spell. I still use them to this day because that's what suites me better. Having a weapon in one hand and healing in the other, helps me deal damage to enemies while healing myself.

Tip 6: Stock Up Your Inventory!

Over the years of playing Skyrim, I've learned that obtaining stuff can help you a lot. Picking up items you don't even need, you can sell to merchants for gold. Gold is Skyrim currency. You may hear the people of Skyrim call them septims. It's basically the same as gold.

Later on, while playing, I've come to realize that I needed to be stocking up on health potions, Magicka potions, and stamina potions. You will definitely be needing those when it comes to large battles, long battles, and boss battles.

• Magicka Potions: When you're trying to heal yourself during battles with your healing spell, you run out of Magicka. You can easily have your character drink Magicka potions to restore it. So that way you are ready to heal more when you get attacked again. 
• Stamina Potions: These will definitely come in handy when you are either in battle or not. When running faster to get to another place or to run from an enemy, it's easy to run out of stamina. Power attacks in battles can also use up stamina, but they are very useful in battle. Have your character drink stamina potions so you can deal more damage.
• Health Potions: During battles, health potions are a must-have. So when you run out of Magicka for healing spells, health potions can be used for backup to heal your character.

Everyone has a different preference for character builds. You can also play how you wish. Who am I to judge, right? So if you don't want to use these tips, that's perfectly fine. These tips are just to help people like you get started on your Skyrim playthrough.