PC Gamer - March 2012

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Discover secrets of the frozen north

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Tom Francis Finds The bes T bi Ts oF The elder ScrollS V: Skyrim

Difficulty Easy

time 2 hours

Vital links:
UESP Wiki: info on items and quests
bit.ly/Skwiki
The PCG tourist’s guide to Skyrim
bit.ly/SkyTourist
Tom’s video of extreme pickpocketing
bit.ly/vwZnga
Guide to handy console commands
bit.ly/SkyConsole
As the Greybeards’ ancient mantra goes, the land of Skyrim is big and really full of
stuff. You can happily explore it for
hundreds of hours, but you can also
make those hundreds of hours
happier if you do some of the coolest
stuff early on. It’s not just a case of
better gear for higher stats: Skyrim’s
most interesting secrets can change
the way you play, open up new lives to
live, and turn people into sweet rolls.

Become a werewolf

In Oblivion, the Fighter’s Guild was pretty
boring. In Skyrim, it turns you into a full-
blown werewolf. I’ll skip the reasons, but the
upshot is that once a day, you can use a power that
transforms you into your Beast Form. For a limited
time, you can bound around on all fours, knock
people flying with your claws, and eat their bodies
to regain health and extend your wolf time. The
downside is that you can’t wear armor, use
weapons, or drink potions while all wolfed out.

I
Become a vampire

Becoming a bloodsucker is easy: just let
a vampire hit you a few times. There’s a
fort full of them south-southeast of Helgen,
where you first start the game. Wait until you get
a disease, and don’t cure it for a few days. You
won’t be shunned by society, unless you go a long
time without feeding on unconscious victims. Not
feeding is also how you get the most powerful
abilities, including two minutes of invisibility. For a
cure, ask any innkeeper for rumors.

2

cheap Paralysis
The Paralysis spell is one of the best
spells in the game. It freezes people
solid, and they keel over while they’re frozen. It’s a
high-level Alteration spell that costs a vast
amount of magicka, but luckily, there’s a shortcut.
Early in Snapleg Cave, halfway up a cliff-face east
of Ivarstead, there’s an open chest containing a
Staff of Paralysis (an item anyone can use, which
paralyzes the target for 10 seconds with every
shot). It can be recharged with cheap soul gems.

3

Get a pet demon

When you turn (level) 14, do what any 14-
year-old should (under no circumstances):
“ player.placeatme 0001BB9C” to summon him. He
leads to a highly-entertaining quest, rewarding you a
staff that summons a Dremora: an armored servant
of hell who’ll fight for you with a huge Daedric sword.

4
call in dragon support

No easy shortcut to this one, I’m afraid,

but it’s worth knowing: if you complete the main quest, you get a Shout power that’ll summon a dragon to help you. He takes a moment to fly in, then swoops around attacking your enemies for a few minutes before flying off. Like most dragons, focus is not his strong point: he’ll attack, fly off, swoop around, then attack again. He’s unrivaled when it comes to pure spectacle though.

5
kill in one hit

There are lots of ways to deal damage in

Skyrim, but sneak attacks are king. Draugr make good practice: sneak around Nordic crypts and melee them before they rise from the dead. Early on, every hit levels you up in Sneak. Join the Dark Brotherhood to get the Shrouded Gloves for double sneak-attack damage; stick with daggers, and you do 15x more. They stack, so you end up doing 3,000% normal damage—enough to kill almost anything.