Why you should never get glass smithing

[Hacksaw]

Ok, so after playing oblivion, I wrongly assumed that dragon armor in Skyrim would only be light armor. My first character built smithing around the heavy side of the anvil up to daedric and stopped there. On my second character, I went around the light side to dragon and found I could make both...light or heavy.

So why does it matter? Because I could have taken the heavy side again, with my light armor wearing character. I would still have dragon armor in the end, and daedric weapons instead of glass. It comes at a cost of one more perk of course, but I dare say that's worth it for the extra weapon damage.

So now I spent a few days developing a character only to find I wasted my perks. Is there any benefit to the light armor side of the skill? Any reason at all? The stupidity of this whole thing is just colossal. And I'm still angry about it.

 

[MushroomGenius]

Role play. Lack of encumberance prior to applying perks. Faster movement speed prior to applying perks. Greater efficiency in stamina prior to applying perks. The Light Armor perk tree also costs fewer points to completely fill.

 

[Morgan]

Role play. Lack of encumberance prior to applying perks. Faster movement speed prior to applying perks. Greater efficiency in stamina prior to applying perks. The Light Armor perk tree also costs fewer points to completely fill.

I think you misread his post. He's not saying to avoid light armor, he's saying that, even if you wear light armor, getting smithing perks in ebony/daedric/dragon is a better use of points. You end up with the best light armor just the same, but you also have the best weapons. You suffer a bit by wearing light armor that's not fully tooled in the interim. For every character since my first, if they've done smithing they've done the ebony/daedric side for just this reason, whether they were heavy or light armor wearers.

 

[Hargood]

I found a "Complete" use of going the light armor side on my Main Crusader/Paladin type character. I knew that in the end Armor Rating can only be so uber. Also I never wore Deadric in any other Elder Scrolls games because it was just way too heavy... so I knew i could survive without it.


As well, I don't like the Looks of Daedric or Dragon Armors really. They are fine but alittle bit too "High Fantasy-ish" for me. The Plate in the "Advanced Armors" perk was perfect for me. Sturdy armor and with a Maxed Smithing skill it could help me take out anything.

With that, I went to the left of the Perk tree only two times and had the exact armor I wanted and needed.

The only thing is, in reality I could have really just "Found" that armor somewhere at higher levels, but I wouldn't have been able to improve them.

 

[Hacksaw]

Good point about the appearance. I like the look of glass armor, and in the end its probably good enough to get the job done. All they have to do though is let you go down one step from dragon do daedric, but I suppose no game is perfect.

 

[Harperlarp]

Light armor is pointless anyway, it's like you're not wearing amour.

 

[Mr1cammando]

Light armor is pointless anyway, it's like you're not wearing amour.

Are you kidding? The armor cap and the proper smithing perks make a fully upgraded set of glass or dragonscale armor can protect just as much as daedric or any other heavy armor.

 

[Morgan]

No, not wearing armor is like not wearing armor. Given equal amount of perks and tooling, light armors are not really that far behind heavy armors. Not wearing armor at all gives you an armor rating of, at max, 350, with Lord Stone and fully perked mage armor. As long as you're being fair about comparable levels and perks, light armor wearers will ALWAYS be closer to heavy in terms of armor rating than they are to mage armor users.

 

[catweazle]

just go get the steed stone and stick to heavy

 

[IllusionaryDream]

Ive lost my copy of the game and havent been able to play in a few months, and honestly never got beyond level 50 smithing. So if I went the light armor aide of the tree I cant make Dragon Armor?

 

[DdraigGwyn]

I has never found it necessary to go beyond Elven or Orchish. By that time, with the right perks, there are few enemies thatwill be a problem. Of course, if the look of the armor is important , then go for whatever you want.

 

[Hargood]

Ive lost my copy of the game and havent been able to play in a few months, and honestly never got beyond level 50 smithing. So if I went the light armor aide of the tree I cant make Dragon Armor?

It just goes up and around the other side:

EDIT: That's "UP" the "Light Armor Side" to where you can make Dragon Armor..... However, you can not go past Dragon Armor to Daedric Armor.

 

[Dagmar]

It just goes up and around the other side

No it doesn't. You can only go up the perk branches for Smithing.

Light armor is pointless anyway, it's like you're not wearing amour.

Right because light armor giving the maximum physical damage resistance that armor can bestow on a character is exactly like not wearing armor. Oh wait, it's the opposite.

 

[Hargood]

No it doesn't. You can only go up the perk branches for Smithing.

But you can smith Heavy Dragon armor even if you are going up the light armor side like illusionarydream was asking.

..eer, if thats what you were saying...

 

[MushroomGenius]

I think you misread his post. He's not saying to avoid light armor, he's saying that, even if you wear light armor, getting smithing perks in ebony/daedric/dragon is a better use of points. You end up with the best light armor just the same, but you also have the best weapons. You suffer a bit by wearing light armor that's not fully tooled in the interim. For every character since my first, if they've done smithing they've done the ebony/daedric side for just this reason, whether they were heavy or light armor wearers.

Well you didn't read my first two words. ROLE PLAY.

Not everyone wants to waste points on the right side of the tree, despite the weapon upgrade possibilities, if you absolutely intend to limit your character to LIGHT ARMOR. If you are intent on using LIGHT ARMOR, then it behooves you to take those perks so that you can improve them as much as possible.

The rest of my post has merit:

Role play. Lack of encumberance prior to applying perks. Faster movement speed prior to applying perks. Greater efficiency in stamina prior to applying perks. The Light Armor perk tree also costs fewer points to completely fill.

Yes, you could use the Lord Stone, but that negates you from using other Guardian Stones that could help you level skills faster. It will also take you some time before you reach the Conditioning perk

But you can smith Heavy Dragon armor even if you are going up the light armor side like illusionarydream was asking.

..eer, if thats what you were saying...

But saying "up and around" implies that you can continue down the tree, to Daedric, Ebony, etc.. which you cannot.

 

[Hargood]

Well you didn't read my first two words. ROLE PLAY.


But saying "up and around" implies that you can continue down the tree, to Daedric, Ebony, etc.. which you cannot.

r.. right. Maybe I should have said "Up and around the top to Dragon Armor"

 

[Brianthelionz]

I'm working on maxing out my smithing skill just hit 60

 

[Dagmar]

If you are intent on using LIGHT ARMOR, then it behooves you to take those perks so that you can improve them as much as possible.

I'm not sure if he was saying he shouldn't have taken any light material Smithing perks. He's talking specifically about taking the Glass Smithing perk because he thought it was a necessary bridge to being able to forge Dragonscale armor. Stopping at Advanced Armors or even Elven Smithing might have been sufficient for him to keep his armor rating up depending on whether he is using strong Fortify Enchantments. Also if he is playing a stealth character, capping his armor rating might simply be an ultimate goal and not a high priority. (It's a low priority for a lot of players for their stealth character builds.)

 

[Morgan]

Well you didn't read my first two words. ROLE PLAY.

Not everyone wants to waste points on the right side of the tree, despite the weapon upgrade possibilities, if you absolutely intend to limit your character to LIGHT ARMOR. If you are intent on using LIGHT ARMOR, then it behooves you to take those perks so that you can improve them as much as possible.

RP is very important to me. That's why the smithing perk tree is so annoying. It cripples you unless you play a certain type of character.

 

[Dagmar]

r.. right. Maybe I should have said "Up and around the top to Dragon Armor"

It's not around. Dragon Armor is at the top of the Smithing perk tree. Like many things at the Elder Scrolls Wikia site, the picture of the Smithing perk tree is an inaccurate one.