Nehrim:Tips and Strategies for Beginners and Veterans

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Before the installation

• Nehrim is beautiful - very beautiful - so prepare to (ab)use your GPU!
• Nehrim is incompatible with most oblivion's mods. Don't try to use them - instead, disable them on the Nehrim Launcher.
• Nehrim is awesome: talk to your wife, your children, your family, your friends before starting. You will not see them for a long time.

Before the beginning

• Choose your sex wisely: a straight romance is possible, and it's unchangeable later.
• Choose your race wisely: racism exists on Nehrim.
• Choose your "primary class" wisely : leveling is slow.
• Prepare to a LOOONG journey: it's an expansive, detailed world.
• Gameplay changed a lot. Don't trust your "oblivion skills" too much.

During game

• There is no "dumb job" : every skill is welcome on Nehrim.
• Exploring is recommended and almost always rewarding.
• Remember to SAVE often! Use QuickSave (F5) every few minutes.

Melee and Ranged Combat

The purpose of this section is to provide suggestions on melee and ranged combat techniques. How to use magic in combat is covered in Magic Overview.

General

Combat in Nehrim is handled almost the same way as in Oblivion, but this article gives tips useful for anyone who wants to increase their prowess in combat.

If somehow you are still unfamiliar with the keys and controls now it's the time to learn them. Learning how to use the controls quickly and fluidly is vital to stay alive.

To cause maximum damage during combat, you'll want to work on increasing one of the four attack skills along with its governing attribute. Strength encompasses the close-combat skills––Blade, Blunt, and Hand to Hand. While Agility governs Marksman. The damage you do is further influenced by your current Fatigue, the armor worn by your opponent, and bunch of other factors. Specializing in more than one of these skills at a time is often considered inefficient, as you may only ever use one weapon at a time. However, players wanting to take advantage of all of the equipment in the game may naturally want to practice with them.

Basic Tips

• A safe tactic for fighting in close combat is blocking enemy attacks and striking while your opponent recovers. Because maneuvering this way is very safe and since your enemy cannot easily get a solid blow in, this is effective for players who are new or inexperienced with combat. Remember that regardless of whether you block with a shield or a weapon, the damage you take is based on your Block skill.
• The main drawback with the previous technique is that enemies who can also block will often keep their guard up until you stop blocking, and only attack then. To avoid this, you can stand without blocking as your enemy moves toward you, and once they are about to attack quickly block. Doing so does not give your opponent a chance to be careful, as they have already begun attacking. To do even more damage with this, circle behind your enemy after he/she/it recoils after the initial hit and the land several blows to the enemys back.
• When fighting slower enemies or enemies that attack slowly, moving backwards and forwards as you block and attack respectively (using the first technique mentioned) can help you avoid being hit. Moving backward as you shield will avoid your enemy’s attacks, either because as they move forward to attack they prove too slow to keep up with you or because their attack is slow enough that you have time to move out of the way while they ready it. Then, when you attack, move forward to your opponent.
• Take advantage of your Power Attacks. Though in the beginning of the game all of these attacks have the same effect, considerable damage at the expense of speed, but different animations. As your skill with Blade, Blunt or Hand to Hand increases, you will gain perks that allow you to perform Master Power Attacks that have special effects.
• If you are fighting an enemy that doesn't want to approach you, keep your shield up until you hear or see him shoot at you. Wait for the shot to hit your shield and fire back or advance and raise the shield again when he fires another arrow. Note that this won't work at all for spellcasters; raising your shield against ranged attacks has no benefit whatsoever.
• Situation similar as above but your character has some speed to them, moving left and right repeatedly, as rapidly as possible, will almost always throw off the aim of archers and spellcasters. This is because they shoot where they expect players to be based on how they are moving at the moment of attack.
• Alternatively, if you can time it right, side-stepping can dodge most projectiles with relative ease, but you must be aware of your surroundings, especially ledges and traps. This is also the only way to reliably avoid magic attacks.
• If you are fighting in high places you can use this to an extreme advantage. With a high enough acrobatics skill, jumping on top of the rock/ledge will allow you to heal up for round two or pull out your bow and make target practice out of your foe.
• Another great combat method is circling. Put your guard down until your opponent strikes you. Block their attack and immediately pull to the left or right and begin circling around them while attacking. Given your speed is high enough and your performed it correctly, your opponent will stand pivoted and try to face you by turning the wrong way allowing you to move in unison while you attack from behind.
• When fighting Hand to Hand, let the other character swing wildly at you while you back-pedal. This allows for them to greatly reduce their own fatigue making it possible to knock them down with one strong punch. When your opponet falls to the ground hit them with all you got.

How to fight various foes on Melee

There are myriad of different tactics one could use with various weapons. Different weapons have different reach, weight and speed characteristics; for example, longswords have a medium-long reach and are relatively light, making fatigue drain minimal. This is common trait among all blade weapons. Blunt weapons in general often have higher base damage and weight, the latter of which causes enemies to be staggered more often.

One-handed weapon with shield

The easiest tactic is to block and strike and block and strike. The recoil from the enemy hitting your shield will stun them long enough to get at least two hits in. Also an effective way, is blocking your enemy's attack, and attack them while moving around them. Your enemies are usually too slow to turn around quick enough, which will cause you to strike more than twice. This requires a bit of practice, but when you master it, it can be very useful. Step back when the enemy swings, staying just out of range, and then dance in to place a quick blow. This tactic is more difficult, as timing is essential.

Two-handed weapons

Two-handed weapons do considerably more damage than their one-handed counterparts and usually have greater reach. However, they can be very slow. A simple tactic with a faster weapon is to simply run into range, and immediately begin to back off. Normal attacks, even with a warhammer, are often fast enough to hit you and cause considerable damage. Ideally, you'd hit when they enter recovery mode. With enough practice you will rarely need to use your shield when fighting a two-handed blunt user.

Ranged Weapon Opponents or Magic attackers

The easiest way to kill ranged weapon users is to get as close as possible. Charge in and either ignore the projectiles or block at the absolute last second. If there are no other enemies around and you have a good amount of armor, charging works the best. If the ranged user is a mage, start sidestepping in one direction while they are casting, the second the projectile emerges, sidestep the other way. Once you're up close to the ranged user, rapidly attack until the enemy is dead. Note that while archers and marksmen will often fight with a melee weapon when you get close, magic users often don't have such weapons, and are keen on running away. Some players may find it easier to fight a ranged opponent with a bow, as arrows move fast enough to catch enemies with minimal movement compensation required. Also remember that your shield will not defend you against spells (unless it has spell reflecting/absorbing qualities). Therefore it may be more beneficial to switch to a two-handed weapon, in order to deal maximum damage.

Summoners

If an enemy calls reinforcements through a spell, ignore the summoned creature. Run past them or jump over them and attack the summoner. Once the summoner is dead, the summoned creature disappears. If the summoned creature still bothers you, you can try summoning your own creature to distract it or help you kill the summoner.

Hand to Hand

Hand to Hand strikes do only little damage as compared to weapons and have an extremely short reach. However, they're fairly rapid, and do direct damage to your opponent's fatigue. Hand to Hand makes knocking your opponent out much simpler than using poisons as you might with weapons.

How to fight various foes on Ranged

Archers have the advantage of not having to face an enemy at close range, thus eliminating the need for heavy armor. Always sneak when attacking, it'll give you a 2x damage bonus at the Novice level in Sneak, or a 3x damage bonus for Apprentice level. Note that when sniping from great distances aim above your target or your arrow may hit the floor. Combining all of these tactics will usually result in instantly killing an enemy, unless you're playing in higher difficulties.

You'll want to go for light armor, or if you're feeling really confident, just regular clothes. Staying well out of your enemy's range and making sure it doesn't see you before you land your first hit is critical for a good start to any battle. Note that once your Marksman skill reaches 50 you gain a new ability; zoom. This is your most useful asset as an archer, since it gives you the option to stay even further away from your enemies

Here are some tactics againts enemies.

Bandits, Robbers and Thiefs

They all (usually) wear light armor. If one of the following are in their wilderness camps, you can sneak your way into an appropriate "sniping" spot and begin the fight. Even though they wear light armor, it may take quite a few arrows to bring them down, and you will have to retreat when they near your position. Bandits usually use blunt weapons, which can give their attacks a bit more weight than they can actually manage.

Fighters

The most common type of fighter are Guards and all who usually wear regular heavy armor. These guys can bring some difficulties, especially in a dungeon where you've got little space to evade their melee attacks. The strategy for taking these guys down is basically the same as Bandits, but you will end up using many more arrows, and if you are stuck fighting them in close quarters, you may be in trouble.

Mages

The best way to bring down a mage is to get the advantage of surprise. Try to get a critical sneak attack and reduce their health as much as you can, as you never know what mages will pull out. If they summon a creature, run from the summoned creature and concentrate all of your arrows on the mage. This battle will be similar to an archer battle, as both mainly fight at range. They usually aren't too difficult to bring down, as they have no armor, but beware that they will probably heal themselves when you've hurt them enough. You might want to use a silence enchantment or poison in order to cripple their fighting.

Archers

When two archers are engaged in battle, the fight is usually slow and sloppy, as many shots will simply miss their targets. A good trick is to wait with drawn bow until the enemy stops to draw back his own bow, because at this moment he will stop moving. After you shoot your arrow, step aside to not get hit by your opponent's shot. This way you can kill the enemy without getting hit at all. Quicker players might actually find this easier.

Roleplaying in Nehrim

Roleplaying is an optional and more fun way of playing the game. By playing as if your character has a personality and preferences beyond the game's basic statistics, you can add additional depth and interest and significantly increase length of your game. At a basic level, you will give your character's backstory that gives an identity to him or her. Beyond that, you can choose to add limitations that make playing more realistic or more challenging.

Increasing Realism

There are a great variety of different ideas for how to make the game more realistic, you can use just a few or combination of many, upon your own consideration. Here are some general tips divided in categories.

In the Beginning

• Take your time! In Nehrim you get to choose your race (and class) only once, so pick carefully.
• Think about your character's name, appearance and history etc.
• Decide your relationships to different NPCs.
• Preferably spend time working on your character's look, even if round faced, old, gray haired Alemanne, with strong red blush, might seem like fun idea at the moment, after several hours it is not.

Travelling

• Don't run and jump everywhere. Walk along the roads. Only run when working out or in danger. Consider taking a rest after running.
• Only travel in good weather. If you must travel in bad weather, wear appropriate clothing. Try to find shelter to wait out the storm.
• If you come across a village, don't keep going, stop by. See how the livestock and townspeople are doing.
• Spend nights in inns or taverns. If you are forced to spend the night in the wilderness, stop by the side of the road as if you were camping.
• If you are religious stop and pray at chapels.
• Use your map and compass realistically. Use your map only when you are sheltered. If it is raining or snowing, your map could get ruined.
• When entering a dungeon, carry a torch or cast a spell if a mage and walk slowly, keep lookout for dangers.

• Leave your horse at a stable. Leave an apple or similiar ingredient nearby. Talk with a nearby person and tell them to take extra good care of your horse. Consider bribing him/her as payment.
• When riding, take your horse's fatigue and Health into account. Don't run nonstop. Always when possible, stick to the roads. Only run full speed when you are attacked or urgently need to get somewhere.

Eating