Getting pasted in the main quest (minor spoiler)

jdougan1 · Post by **jdougan1** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 9:03 am

OK - maybe y'all can provide some help here...

I am playing a Breton Nightblade. I started the game not paying much attention to the the main quest, and have reached about level 15 through looting a few mines and forts, plus doing some mage guild quests.... Most of it was pretty easy, with the possible exception on the Skingrad mages guild quest...

Anyway, I have now turned to the main quest. I am at the first "gate" quest at Kvatch, where I must actually enter Oblivion, and I am getting absolutely pasted by the Clanfear's. I stand virtually no chance against them - it is about 4 hits and I am dead. The other Daedra I have encountered so far I can handle in a fight - but these guys just do me in. I managed to fight my way to the tower door (wth the help of the now-dead NPC) but inside I find multiple Clanfears....

I doubt leveling up will matter much, since the quest scales to my level, right?

Any suggestions? I generally try to use destructive magic in these fights, augmented with blade skills. I have light armor and I do not have good blocking skills with this class (I hate the bloody blocking system anyway, and long for the old "autoblock" system - too much of a clickfest for my taste...).

Thanks in advance...

fable · Post by **fable** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 9:10 am

Scaling is automatic. Some creatures scale up for some areas, so you'll find tougher versions of the original as you grow. Other creatures don't change at all, and some will grow as you make levels, then cap at some point.

Cailan · Post by **Cailan** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 10:10 am

I had the same problem the first time i tried that quest.. though i was lvl 7 with a iron longsword

tried it again at about lvl 15 with no problems.. so it might just be the gear your using. If it's way too difficult then drop the difficulty in options!

jdougan1 · Post by **jdougan1** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 11:20 am

Well, I hate to just turn down the difficulty level, but that may be what I have to do. It is one thing to have a close fight and need to replay several times, but these fights are not even close...I am dead before I have inflicted even the slightest damage.

Perhaps I need some better armor and weapons. I am using mostly non-magical Mithrael armor - haven't come across much magic light armor at all. The total armor class is around 20.

I am using a non-magical silver longsword too - perhaps I need a magical weapon. I have one magical sword, but it seems to hit less hard...

What stats and gear have people been using when they successfully complete this quest?

Ashen · Post by **Ashen** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 1:01 pm

It's the leveling up that's killing you, not your gear. Just because you are lvl 15, doesn't mean your major skill are adequate, or your minor but the monster get tougher.

I went in at level 7 with leather and picked up some nice things there, but still got hammered. Ended up with chainmail in the end that instead of 100% had stats like 6 or 7 (and I had two sets, and went through around 10 hammers). Died a dozen times, especially at the end when I had 4 FAs against me in one room.

The higher you are, the more difficult it gets. People who have entered at lvl 23, 24 reported almost insanely difficult conditions - it's the leveling up.

Go in with a heal spell, lots of potions and I highly recommend this tactic - hit, run, hit, kill, run away screaming. Heal. Repeat as neccessery. It worked.

jdougan1 · Post by **jdougan1** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 1:23 pm

Ahhh...I was assuming that the monsters healed when I left the room - is this not the case?

I have good healing spells and journeyman level in restoration - but these things hit to hard for me to keep up using the healing spells in the midst of a battle. Healing postions cost too much to make that my only way of staying alive.

If I can zone out and heal, then go back in, it might work.....

Any other suggestions?

Ashen · Post by **Ashen** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 1:32 pm

Well they followed me through the doors (regular ones) actually ...

Run around while healing, I did this, battle or no battle. If you run, you dodge them and use heal on self. They follow you but are not too precise. It takes time true and can be tedious but it does work.

jdougan1 · Post by **jdougan1** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 1:36 pm

I was able to use that strategy in the Skingrad mages guild quest. I won't go into details to avoid major spoilers - but those creatures were slow and I could outrun them. The clanfears seem pretty fast...but I will certainly give it a try.

jdougan1 · Post by **jdougan1** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 5:04 pm

As an update, I used the hit-and-run technique and managed to take out a Clanfear after only about 15 minutes! WooHoo!

I do think I need to upgrade some armor and spells etc, which means working outside the gate for a while. But, I can't level up because that will just make the opponents harder...

Quick question - does anyone know if monsters scale based on LEVEL or on SKILLS?

If it is based on level, then it seems I can run around outside, improving my skills, but my level will not increase as long as I don't sleep in a bed? That way, the mobs won't scale up but I will be able to go in stronger and more prepared?

Anyone know if this works?

fable · Post by **fable** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 5:16 pm

Quick question - does anyone know if monsters scale based on LEVEL or on SKILLS?

Level. And not all monsters do. It's just like MW: some monsters scale up, some remain as is, and some scale up but cap eventually. Also, some areas may gen a random assortment of monsters suited to your level, but also less than.

Ashen · Post by **Ashen** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 6:49 pm

[QUOTE=jdougan1]As an update, I used the hit-and-run technique and managed to take out a Clanfear after only about 15 minutes! WooHoo![/QUOTE]

Yay! Glad it worked ... well anyway this is why it took me 3 hours for that quest ... if not longer