Delayed leveling

[Perkless in Skyrim]

This started as a role playing scenario. I created a character who's motive is to perform an ancient forgotten and forbidden ritual to create powerful artifacts which will enable her to become god-like.

(Real world translation: I'm going to use the restoration potion glitch)

For some reason I decided not to level up.

I've still had a lot of fun with the game and wondered if anyone else has taken this approach. You miss out on a few daedric quests and of course you won't encounter much in the way of loot but there's still good stuff to be found. If you're feeling brave, Falmer weapons rival Dwarven weapons in power. Or the morally challenged can just steal stuff from the Dwemer Museum in Markarth. Borvir's dagger (an elven dagger) can be found near Winterhold in some ruins. You can acquire Light Elven armor from wandering Thalmor taking a prisoner somewhere.

I'm sure there's more. I'd love to find an ebony or glass item somewhere but I don't think it's likely. I'm currently wearing Steel Plate armor from Uthgerd the Unbroken after she met an untimely demise in a Falmer cave.

Eventually I'll save then level up. For those that want to experiment with perks and different stat builds, this is (in my opinion) an excellent way to try different styles without having to restart your character.

I'd like to hear your thoughts.

 

[Perkless in Skyrim]

The journey continues ...

So far, here is a list of some of the best loot I've found. If it doesn't seem like much, bear in mind that my character is still level 1.

Dwarven arrows (found in various places. 4 were pulled from the side of a mammoth half buried in an ice wall)
Elven arrows
Dwarven battleaxe of Torpor (15 points of stamina damage)
Dwarven shield, sword and bow
Iron helm of Major Alteration

A nearly complete set of Orcish armor. Missing only gauntlets. This is found in the orcish stronghold where the Daedric quest The Cursed Tribe starts however I'm not high enough level to get it. The stronghold is locked and requires a key but being located next to a mountain allowed me to get in. Nobody was in the courtyard, they were all just standing around in the longhouse so the armor was easy pickings. A trip to the Thieves Guild later and it's legitimately mine.

My skills have improved to the point where I can take on a giant with a reasonable chance of dropping it before it can get close enough to squash me. Having a follower run interference helps immensely. Falmer hives are still risky.

 

[Perkless in Skyrim]

The pinnacle of my level 1 adventures thus far has been an ebony sword which I got after defeating a draugr death overlord in Volskygge. I thought I was limited to loot and enemies based on my level but that dungeon was chock full of draugr wights, scourges, and of course Mr. Badass at the end. He chased me around a room with double bridges leading up to his throne so many times I felt like a NASCAR driver. It was a rather drawn out fight. Since he could wipe the floor with me in one or two hits, I had to keep my distance and use either Firebolts or the Fire Shout to whittle him down.

The only real disappointing thing about this play style is that it seems the Restoration Potion Glitch doesn't work. Even at 100 in Alchemy and Enchanting the magic items are so weak that I can only boost Restoration up to about 80% before the effects wear off. An option I didn't consider though, was the Falmer helmet/circlet exploit. I could have 5 items with Fortify Alchemy on which might be enough. I'll have to try again with another character. I can also hope to stumble upon several items with a "major" enchantment on them. It would take a lot of dungeon crawling since the vast majority of the treasure at this level is the lowest you can find.

Whenever I play this way, I always enjoy finding even something as simple as a dwarven or orcish weapon. I'm pretty much limited to iron and steel so it feels so much more valuable to me. I take this stuff for granted and even leave it on corpses when I'm used to finding ebony weapons at 50th level.

 

[Dreidel]

My latest run-through is similar, I've stayed at level 1 but have worked all but two of my skills up to 100 (alchemy and lockpicking, hoping to be done with them soon). What I did was get Arniel Gane's ghost as a follower, then do the Conjuration master ritual spell in order to get a Ritual Stone (Arniel is a big help in beating down the summoned daedra in that quest), now I can use the Atronach forge and get all the random daedric weapons and gear that I want; have to keep trolling the alchemy vendors for daedra hearts, and get ebony ore from the various mines to smelt into ingots, otherwise you can get as much uber gear as you like, and with very good enchantments on them!

 

[Perkless in Skyrim]

My latest run-through is similar, I've stayed at level 1 but have worked all but two of my skills up to 100 (alchemy and lockpicking, hoping to be done with them soon). What I did was get Arniel Gane's ghost as a follower, then do the Conjuration master ritual spell in order to get a Ritual Stone (Arniel is a big help in beating down the summoned daedra in that quest), now I can use the Atronach forge and get all the random daedric weapons and gear that I want; have to keep trolling the alchemy vendors for daedra hearts, and get ebony ore from the various mines to smelt into ingots, otherwise you can get as much uber gear as you like, and with very good enchantments on them!

I never thought of that! I always assumed daedric items would be beyond my level. Thanks for the info!

 

[DdraigGwyn]

I have gone the "no level up" route a couple of times: I was surprised how far you can go with it. Since you can improve your weapons and armor, add enchantments and find all sorts of good stuff, while many of the NPCs remain at their lowest level, a lot of the quests are quite easy. Add a follower and you have quite a potent combination.

 

[Dreidel]

I have been surprised as well, especially once my skills are up (armor and weapons) things get much easier; a giant can still one-hit me to the moon, but otherwise I can hold up pretty well Plus little Arniel is only a click away if I get into too much trouble.

 

[Ivory]

There is an Ebony sword you can steal in the black briar meadery under the front desk. You can also always glitch into Mercer's house and take chillrend.

 

[Perkless in Skyrim]

I have gone the "no level up" route a couple of times: I was surprised how far you can go with it. Since you can improve your weapons and armor, add enchantments and find all sorts of good stuff, while many of the NPCs remain at their lowest level, a lot of the quests are quite easy. Add a follower and you have quite a potent combination.

A lot but not all. That draugr death overlord surprised me. I also noticed I was encountering bandit highwaymen and other higher level critters after awhile. It made me wonder if it isn't just my character level that determines the level of monsters I face because my skills were mostly in the 70s on up by that time.

There is an Ebony sword you can steal in the black briar meadery under the front desk. You can also always glitch into Mercer's house and take chillrend.

I will definitely have to check that out. I'd rather just do the Thieves' Guild quests to get Chillrend though.

 

[Dreidel]

Another useful thing about the Atronach forge is that after a few tries, you can eventually get a sword with Banish on it, even at level 1, and can go shake your moneymaker at the enchanting table.