Base Requiem (by Smile44)

[macabre]

I finished setting everything up last night. I'm playing with STEP: Core 2.2.8, the Weather and Lighting Pack, and the Base Requiem Pack. I think I've installed everything correctly, no freezes and only one CTD early on in Riverwood when opening the world map. I reloaded a previous save and opened the map, worked fine and have had no CTDs since.

 

First impressions: I'm only a few hours into Requiem now but.. holy crap.. Requiem is the RPG Skyrim should have been. I've always felt like Skyrim was way, way too easy and unrealistic, even with various mods installed. But Requiem's changes make it really feel like you're just another adventurer/sellsword/mage in the wide world of Skyrim. It is definitely a challenge (I'm playing with Hard Times installed as well!) but that challenge is exactly what sucks you into the character building and progression the most. With Vanilla Skyrim, you can ignore so many aspects of the game and still be fine. Not so with Requiem. You basically need to use everything at your disposal and think realistically about what your next step is.

 

Example: figured I'd clear out the small bandit cave on the side of Whiterun. There were two bandits: an archer and a guy with a sword and board (maybe an axe, don't exactly remember). I managed to take out the archer first, but the second bandit was just too strong for me. I'd try to swing with my sword and he'd back off or block, then do a power attack right afterwards while my guard was down. Bam. Dead in 2-3 hits despite wearing heavy armor (my character is going to be a mercenary, I've decided. Right now he's learning the trade.)

 

After dying a few times, I studied the camp before going in and noticed the horse they had. DING DING DING. Ran over to the horse and rode around the area of the camp, making the archer waste all his ammo trying to hit me. Then I pulled out my two swords and commenced charging the bandits on horseback, swinging the sword at the right moment to hit them. A minute or so later they were both dead, though the guy with the shield took longer since he managed to block a lot of my swings.

 

This small encounter really impressed me, since I NEVER would have thought to use the horse in Vanilla. Even with some combat mods installed you can still generally just charge in and win. But at level 1 this was almost impossible (or just very damn hard) and so I actually had to sit back and think to find a winning solution.

 

To say I am looking forward to playing more would be an understatement, I finally feel as if I am playing SKYRIM and not some generic casual RPG. Effing awesome.

 

 

 

EDIT: I have a question. I installed Dual Wielding Parry mod along with Dual Wielding Block Animation. I am wondering if the block perks work properly with this mod. This is the mod. Works with SKSE. Perhaps a more experienced modder or mod author could comment on this?

Edited March 11, 2014 by macabre

[Smile44]

Dual wield parrying is a must and is included in STEP Extended I use it without issues.

 

[Smile44]

Oh and by the way I'm glad it is all working for you, Skyrim with Requiem is indeed another game entirely and a huge improvement.

 

[CJ2311]

Hey Smile, I tried playing Skyrim with Requiem a couple times already, but always ran in the same stupid issue with it: Crossbows and bows are really overpowered. So I just have a question for you: does it stay that way all game long, or does it change? Because I was never able to keep on playing past level 10 what with all the bandits one shotting me with an arrow from 50km.

 

It really seemed like the only valid build for Requiem was to go for Heavy Armor + Archery tbh...

[Smile44]

Actually it all levels out. Archery is harder because you are not accurate unless you get closer, very hard to hit long distance also it is a good idea to avoid getting shot. I find that being hit in the foot and dying a bit immersion breaking, but you do quite quickly develop a sense of these things and get better at not being a walking pin cushion.

 

That said you can adjust everything to do with archery in the MCM, not only that but you can change the damage levels, default is 4x vanilla damage for all weapons. I prefer light armor dual wielding spellsword type with Requiem, a hard build to work with but fun. Still need sneak and or archery to take out the mages and or archers before taking on bandits - draw them out and use evasive techniques and cover to avoid taking fire, then pick them off one be one. Lying in wait and ambushing is also useful but you would need to put your victim down fast in case he/she is not alone and you let yourself in for an undefended power move and or arrows / spells.

 

When you know you can die easily you learn to be more patient and careful, kill animals sell pelts, get training etc.. This is essentially a built in requirement for Requiem. The more powerful you get the easier the game gets but there are still powerful enemies out there though.

 

[CJ2311]

I had not noticed that there were option to control archery damage alone, only the global damage modifier D:

 

 

When you know you can die easily you learn to be more patient and careful, kill animals sell pelts, get training etc.. This is essentially a built in requirement for Requiem. The more powerful you get the easier the game gets but there are still powerful enemies out there though.

Ah well that probably means the mod is not for me then, I don't like hunter-type characters, and it would be kinda weird for my mage to start farming or hunting

I assumed from it being called The Roleplaying Overhaul that it would enable you to play as in an old school rpg, where even if you start with close to nothing, it's still enough to defeat enough enemies to advance without having to farm gear :|

[Smile44]

You can play different kinds of characters, I must not have explained that well. Mages are deadly but it takes time to get truly powerful, thieves and assassins can survive well and become deadly in a different way as do scouts and agents. Two-handed barbarians have their own style of play as do heavily armoured warriors. Each type of character has it's own style of play. The thing about Requiem is that it forces you to be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of your character and to plan accordingly.

 

[CJ2311]

I think it was me who didn't explain well :P

What I meant is that the "preparation" phase is something I really don't adhere to, somehow I don't see my sorcerer running after a deer with a flame spell to get some septims. I tried to do some menial tasks to get some money and training, but running from town to town while avoiding packs of wolves that would devour me got boring really fast... It's a shame too, because everything else about Requiem is appealing, it's just that it has the worst low level gaming potential I've ever seen in a game :|

[Spock]

Well, if I was a mage I would probably summon some skeletons to train my magic a little. For the first few points it goes really fast. It doesn't make walking around as low level mage a cakewalk but it definitely helps.

Wolves are fearsome opponents in Requiem because they are so freakin fast. Try to summon something or use a highground to kill them. Mind based crowd control really helps as well (fear, calm etc.).

Edited March 12, 2014 by Spock

[Smile44]

... It's a shame too, because everything else about Requiem is appealing, it's just that it has the worst low level gaming potential I've ever seen in a game :|

That is also adjustable in the MCM - just saying

[macabre]

Requiem's lower levels are SUPPOSED to be brutal... you are supposed to feel as weak as a kitten, working hard for every victory, and dying a lot (that's why it's called REQUIEM, folks!) In contrast, vanilla Skyrim's progression was meant for more casual gamers who did not have the time or inclination to invest many many hours in building up their character. Requiem rebalances Skyrim's progression curve to be much more brutal and take much longer. Now I'm not a masochist, I hate being so weak that a mudcrab can give me a hard time, but conversely... you enjoy the game a hell of a lot more once you finally start to snowball in power. You feel as if you've legit earned the right to be a powerful Dragonborn badass in the later levels (and you have!) This is, of course, what is meant by oldschool RPG. Requiem turns Skyrim into one of those, with very pretty graphics. It's great.

 

A short update on my Requiem experience for anyone interested: after getting a feel for the early patterns of Requiem and leveling a thief and warrior to mid teens, I decided I really wanted to try out a mage for my first playthrough. Got some magic mods (including Apocalypse - highly recommended!) and I'm even more into the grip of Requiem now. After an excruciating ~10 levels of furiously backpedaling, running around in circles trying to kite, and also being one shot by arrows, I'm level 12 (still being one shot by arrows, alas) and finally starting to feel a tad more powerful. Scored some Black Mage Robes and Hood last night after coming across a rather macabre scene at an altar in the Whiterun wilderness. There was a neat little self contained, implicit storyline there. I think I remember the altar from previous games of Skyrim, but I believe Requiem may have fleshed the unspoken story out a bit more (see whut I did there), which was a really nice immersive touch.

 

At this point, bandits are still tough, especially in large groups, but I can mostly deal with them if I position correctly and use my skills cleverly. Archers remain a pain in the ass. I've taken to getting their attention and then retreating to max range and letting them waste all their arrows trying to hit me, although they still make some lucky shots. I'm planning on working on my crafting skills for the next few levels and then making the journey to the College of Winterhold to see if I can take on some of the beginning quests.

 

Overall I feel much more satisfied with Skyrim than ever before. Yes it's effing hard in the beginning but I see glimmers of insane power lurking here and there. For example, I've come across some dueling mages hurling fireballs at each other (hell yeah) and I'm looking forward to being able to do that as well and more. ATM though as soon as one of the mages is dead the other usually turns around and one shots me with another fireball to the face. That's OK. I know at some point I'll be able to nuke both of 'em at once. Bwahaha.

Edited March 14, 2014 by macabre

[Fereval]

Hello,

 

Both Requiem and Hardtimes archives seems to modify some weapon and armor textures (dds files) shared by Immersive Armors and Weapons.

Likewise, some mesh conflicts when using Immersive Animations.

 

Any insight on how to set up a proper archive overwrite order ? 

Thanks a lot.

 

 

EDIT :

 

Slightly off-topic question : 

I'm currently building Requiem over Neovalen's SR:LE, and as Realistic Needs and Diseases seems to overwrite Requiem foods added effects (even with the compatibility patch), I'm considering using iNeed instead (which seems to have minimal overwrite records).

Problem is there are still references to RND in my SR:LE Conflict Resolution plugin... Is there any way to remove all RND references from the plugin, without having to rebuild a whole new conflict resolution esp ?

Edited April 22, 2014 by Fereval

[MadWizard25]

If using MO, just drag the IA archive below requiem archives in the installed mod list. I let mods that conflict with requiem textures overwrite requiem and I have had no issues. However, in the plugin list make sure requiem and its patches load last.

 

I run a similar build, where i dropped RND for iNeed.

 

Here is a guide to easily removing a plugin's records from a patch; https://forum.step-project.com/topic/4347-edit-out-plugin-from-step-patch-using-tes5edit/

 

This is what i did and it works flawlessly.

Edited April 23, 2014 by MadWizard25

[Fereval]

Exellent, thank you very much.

[smoothcoconut]

Apologies if this is a noob question, but I've searched everywhere to no avail, also this might not be the best place for this question but I don't know where else to ask.

 

1) Is Base Requiem and Vanilla Enhanced Gameplay Alternative even compatible?

 

2) I am able to run ReProccer.jar incrementally until I include Requiem-Dragonborn, after which I get a stackoverflow error from Reproccer.jar, could there be an issue that can be resolved with TES5Edit or some other means to fix this? Its strange that a mod would cause a stackoverflow - its probably just a bug with the reproccer.

 

Thanks all