About this mod
Skyprime employs a low-level approach to fix unbalanced combat gameplay in Skyrim at its roots without overtly affecting the base game apart from balancing changes to combat effectiveness and difficulty.
- Permissions and credits
For ease of instal: here's a short foreword/summary/notes section:
::Don't use another balancing mod or the game will probably become too difficult::
::Compatibility issue: Changes to the Barbarian perkline might cause a conflict::
This is the only high level change in this plugin.
::NPCs are closer in performance to the player now, might have to use all ressources to keep up::
::Master difficulty will be very challenging without good equipment and potions; and even then::
Things affecting existing characters:
::Weapon and Armor improvement changes:: Might have to create new weapons.
::Archery, 1H & 2H custom enchantment changes:: Might have to enchant new gear.
Try to recreate your gear; if the result would be less powerful you should replace the affected pieces.
Only affects smithing and three enchantments.
Skyprime Alpha #1.1 RC#2
1=Mission=Statement=
While Bethesda clearly tried to give DOVAHKIIN the greatest amount of freedom in
playstyle choice and character-development possible; they as clearly failed to
keep all choices viable due to large discrepancies in combat effectiveness.
The goal of this plugin is to balance Skyrims combat gameplay utilizing a minimum
number of changes to create an environement where there is true freedom of choice
with only the smallest necessary modifications to the game itself.
Regardless of which method of battle your DOVAHKIIN chooses: It should be as
effective as any other method but still make a large difference in gameplay
due to given advantages or disadvantages (like Dual-Melees lack of blocking).
The goal is not to make combat more uniform, just roughly equally powerful.
As a side-effect differences become more pronounced and combat more difficult.
Cornerstones of design are:
::minimum intervention
The fewer and smaller the changes the better.
::low level approach
Trying to fix underlying problems instead of symptoms.
::calculation based balancing
The numbers are based on math and should work well.
::no changes to the base
Game content is virtually unaffected. Changes affect mostly single variables.
There are other mods with a similar mission but very different approach,
commonly including wide ranging changes to all aspects of the game.
The mission is shared but Skyprime goes the other direction.
2=Changes=
________::skyprime_1.1.esp
__General variables
::Maximum flight distance of targeted spells and arrows is now 4000 (was 2000)
You can now hit flying Dragons more reliably (it's still difficult, tho).
__Alchemy
::Fortify Restoration now reduces the cost of Restoration spells instead of
increasing the power of buffs received. Prevents extremely severe exploits.
Nice potion for Mages. Fair considering there are Potions of Ultimate Healing.
__Magic variables
::fMagicDualCastingEffectivenessBase = 2.4 (from 2.2) [cost multiplier still 2.8]
Dual-casting spells now have 240% effect (up from 220%), they still cost 280%.
__Enchanting
::Fortify OneHanded, TwoHanded & Archery have base power reduced to 6 (from 13)
Limits created enchantments to roughly +24% damage (with maximum optimization).
::The Enchantments used in "+X% damage" Generic Magic Items: Archery, 1H & 2H
has been adjusted in accordance with the Enchanting change above.
They cap at +20% per piece now.
__Perks
::Add 10% damage to each level of the Barbarian perk (+50% total)
Makes 2H more powerful than Bows and single 1H weapons.
__NPC variables
::fUnarmedCreatureDPSMult = 2 (was 1)
::fUnarmedNPCDPSMult = 2 (was 1.575)
Unarmed NPCs, creatures and animals (most of them) now do more damage.
::Leveled actors relative level changed from (EASY / MEDIUM / HARD / VERY HARD)
::0.34 / 0.67 / 1 / 1.25 to 0.5 / 1 / 1.25 / 1.5
This means most leveled enemies will be of the players level or higher if they
are supposed to be difficult. This does not affect an Actors maximum level.
::fDamageSkillMax = 8 (was 3) [8 times base weapon damage at 100 skill]
::fArmorRatingMax = 5 (was 2.5) [5 times base armor rating at 100 skill]
Brings NPCs up to speed. The player has all manner of items to improve his or
her statistics; NPCs do not, so their skill level must make up for this.
For comparison, the player has a value of 1.5 (+50% bonus at 100 skill) but can
accumulate a total damage bonus of almost +4000% (compared to the NPCs +800%).
Master difficulty changes these numbers to +2000% and +1600%. It should be hard.
__Smithing
::fSmithingConditionFactor = 0.05 (was 0.575)
::fSmithingWeaponMax & fSmithingArmorMax are currently unchanged
Makes improving weapons and armor more difficult (roughly 11.5 times as it stands)
However, these values might change in the future once they are better understood.
________::difficulty_1.0.esp (OPTIONAL, difficulty slider changes, standalone)
Skyprime is designed around Master (with default values) difficulty. Obviously it
can be made more difficult or easy by using the slider, especially in conjunction
with this optional file.
The plugin moves normal difficulty 2 steps down unchanged (*). The Labels stay as they were.
Expert and Master difficulty both become more difficult than Master was before the changes.
A good level to start playing with Skyprime and this plugin enabled would be Adept.
Going higher than Adept should only be attempted with very well equipped characters.
:OLD: | Dealt |Taken | Combat XP Gain
Novice | x2 | x0.5| 50%
Apprentice | x1.5 | x0.75 | 75%
Adept | x1 | x1| 100%
Expert | x0.75| x1.5 | 125%
Master | x0.5 | x2| 150%
:NEW:| Dealt | Taken | Combat XP Gain
Novice | x1 | x1| 100% (* was Adept )
Apprentice | x0.75 | x1.5| 125% (* was Expert )
Adept| x0.5| x2 | 150% (* was Master )
Expert | x0.3333 | x2.5 | 166%
Master | x0.25 | x3| 175%
3=Results=
::Restoration glitch/exploit can no longer happen as before.
::Smithing
Increasing the amount a weapon or piece of armor is improved now requires much higher skills.
This also means improving items generates less value since they are weaker.
It should sitll be possible to reach cap armor rating with most armor sets, skills and enchants.
::Enchanting
All three damage enchantments are weaker now. With 4 pieces they stack to ~+136%. Enchantments
of premade items had to be adjusted seperately (unfortunately). This cannot be nerfed in another
way it seems. Without a potion at 100 skill these enchantments now yield +18%: Bought ones go up
to +20% so they can actually be quite useful in late-game.
For comparison, unchanged they can reach ~+54% x 4. This could mean up to +562% damage.
Combined with Smithing this will kill everything with one power attack and we did not even
include +180% potion, +50% skill and +100% perks in the calculation.
::Weapons
TwoHanded weapons are more competetive now. They still deal less damage than Dual-Wielding but
still allow for blocking, which has become more important now that enemies deal greater damage.
::NPCs
NPCs statistics are closer to the player now in most cases, including armor rating and damage.
Due to their increased attack power avoiding or blocking attacks becomes much more important.
::Combat
All endgame dps are reasonably close together so using Two-Handed becomes just as viable as
Destruction or One-Hand & Shield. Your choice will actually matter regardless of how you fight:
damage is reasonably fair compared to ALL other combat styles depending on other benefits or
drawbacks of a weapon and the number of perks required and/or aquired.
Projectiles also have doubled effective range (close to the maximum range NPCs will fight at),
this helps with engaging flying Dragons somewhat; but they are still hard to hit.
::More To-Do
4=Installation=&=Compatibility=
If you already have improved weapons, armor or enchanted items with 1H/2H/Archery buffs when
you install this mod you might have to get rid of them if they are more powerful than the new
system allows. An easy test is to try create the same item again and if it is worse ditch the
old one. Keeping these items clearly defeats the purpose of the mod (and can confuse testing).
Compatibility should be good. All changes are listed above. Even if there was an overlap it
should probably not matter much. If, for example, another mod also tries to fix the Restoration
glitch it will still be fixed, one way or another.
5=Version=Notes=
Alpha #1.1 RC#2 - 22.09.2012 - created by Microlich
Should be 100% bug free but is not 100% complete.
::Don't use another balancing mod or the game will probably become too difficult::
::Compatibility issue: Changes to the Barbarian perkline might cause a conflict::
This is the only high level change in this plugin.
::NPCs are closer in performance to the player now, might have to use all ressources to keep up::
::Master difficulty will be very challenging without good equipment and potions; and even then::
Things affecting existing characters:
::Weapon and Armor improvement changes:: Might have to create new weapons.
::Archery, 1H & 2H custom enchantment changes:: Might have to enchant new gear.
Try to recreate your gear; if the result would be less powerful you should replace the affected pieces.
Only affects smithing and three enchantments.
Skyprime Alpha #1.1 RC#2
1=Mission=Statement=
While Bethesda clearly tried to give DOVAHKIIN the greatest amount of freedom in
playstyle choice and character-development possible; they as clearly failed to
keep all choices viable due to large discrepancies in combat effectiveness.
The goal of this plugin is to balance Skyrims combat gameplay utilizing a minimum
number of changes to create an environement where there is true freedom of choice
with only the smallest necessary modifications to the game itself.
Regardless of which method of battle your DOVAHKIIN chooses: It should be as
effective as any other method but still make a large difference in gameplay
due to given advantages or disadvantages (like Dual-Melees lack of blocking).
The goal is not to make combat more uniform, just roughly equally powerful.
As a side-effect differences become more pronounced and combat more difficult.
Cornerstones of design are:
::minimum intervention
The fewer and smaller the changes the better.
::low level approach
Trying to fix underlying problems instead of symptoms.
::calculation based balancing
The numbers are based on math and should work well.
::no changes to the base
Game content is virtually unaffected. Changes affect mostly single variables.
There are other mods with a similar mission but very different approach,
commonly including wide ranging changes to all aspects of the game.
The mission is shared but Skyprime goes the other direction.
2=Changes=
________::skyprime_1.1.esp
__General variables
::Maximum flight distance of targeted spells and arrows is now 4000 (was 2000)
You can now hit flying Dragons more reliably (it's still difficult, tho).
__Alchemy
::Fortify Restoration now reduces the cost of Restoration spells instead of
increasing the power of buffs received. Prevents extremely severe exploits.
Nice potion for Mages. Fair considering there are Potions of Ultimate Healing.
__Magic variables
::fMagicDualCastingEffectivenessBase = 2.4 (from 2.2) [cost multiplier still 2.8]
Dual-casting spells now have 240% effect (up from 220%), they still cost 280%.
__Enchanting
::Fortify OneHanded, TwoHanded & Archery have base power reduced to 6 (from 13)
Limits created enchantments to roughly +24% damage (with maximum optimization).
::The Enchantments used in "+X% damage" Generic Magic Items: Archery, 1H & 2H
has been adjusted in accordance with the Enchanting change above.
They cap at +20% per piece now.
__Perks
::Add 10% damage to each level of the Barbarian perk (+50% total)
Makes 2H more powerful than Bows and single 1H weapons.
__NPC variables
::fUnarmedCreatureDPSMult = 2 (was 1)
::fUnarmedNPCDPSMult = 2 (was 1.575)
Unarmed NPCs, creatures and animals (most of them) now do more damage.
::Leveled actors relative level changed from (EASY / MEDIUM / HARD / VERY HARD)
::0.34 / 0.67 / 1 / 1.25 to 0.5 / 1 / 1.25 / 1.5
This means most leveled enemies will be of the players level or higher if they
are supposed to be difficult. This does not affect an Actors maximum level.
::fDamageSkillMax = 8 (was 3) [8 times base weapon damage at 100 skill]
::fArmorRatingMax = 5 (was 2.5) [5 times base armor rating at 100 skill]
Brings NPCs up to speed. The player has all manner of items to improve his or
her statistics; NPCs do not, so their skill level must make up for this.
For comparison, the player has a value of 1.5 (+50% bonus at 100 skill) but can
accumulate a total damage bonus of almost +4000% (compared to the NPCs +800%).
Master difficulty changes these numbers to +2000% and +1600%. It should be hard.
__Smithing
::fSmithingConditionFactor = 0.05 (was 0.575)
::fSmithingWeaponMax & fSmithingArmorMax are currently unchanged
Makes improving weapons and armor more difficult (roughly 11.5 times as it stands)
However, these values might change in the future once they are better understood.
________::difficulty_1.0.esp (OPTIONAL, difficulty slider changes, standalone)
Skyprime is designed around Master (with default values) difficulty. Obviously it
can be made more difficult or easy by using the slider, especially in conjunction
with this optional file.
The plugin moves normal difficulty 2 steps down unchanged (*). The Labels stay as they were.
Expert and Master difficulty both become more difficult than Master was before the changes.
A good level to start playing with Skyprime and this plugin enabled would be Adept.
Going higher than Adept should only be attempted with very well equipped characters.
:OLD: | Dealt |Taken | Combat XP Gain
Novice | x2 | x0.5| 50%
Apprentice | x1.5 | x0.75 | 75%
Adept | x1 | x1| 100%
Expert | x0.75| x1.5 | 125%
Master | x0.5 | x2| 150%
:NEW:| Dealt | Taken | Combat XP Gain
Novice | x1 | x1| 100% (* was Adept )
Apprentice | x0.75 | x1.5| 125% (* was Expert )
Adept| x0.5| x2 | 150% (* was Master )
Expert | x0.3333 | x2.5 | 166%
Master | x0.25 | x3| 175%
3=Results=
::Restoration glitch/exploit can no longer happen as before.
::Smithing
Increasing the amount a weapon or piece of armor is improved now requires much higher skills.
This also means improving items generates less value since they are weaker.
It should sitll be possible to reach cap armor rating with most armor sets, skills and enchants.
::Enchanting
All three damage enchantments are weaker now. With 4 pieces they stack to ~+136%. Enchantments
of premade items had to be adjusted seperately (unfortunately). This cannot be nerfed in another
way it seems. Without a potion at 100 skill these enchantments now yield +18%: Bought ones go up
to +20% so they can actually be quite useful in late-game.
For comparison, unchanged they can reach ~+54% x 4. This could mean up to +562% damage.
Combined with Smithing this will kill everything with one power attack and we did not even
include +180% potion, +50% skill and +100% perks in the calculation.
::Weapons
TwoHanded weapons are more competetive now. They still deal less damage than Dual-Wielding but
still allow for blocking, which has become more important now that enemies deal greater damage.
::NPCs
NPCs statistics are closer to the player now in most cases, including armor rating and damage.
Due to their increased attack power avoiding or blocking attacks becomes much more important.
::Combat
All endgame dps are reasonably close together so using Two-Handed becomes just as viable as
Destruction or One-Hand & Shield. Your choice will actually matter regardless of how you fight:
damage is reasonably fair compared to ALL other combat styles depending on other benefits or
drawbacks of a weapon and the number of perks required and/or aquired.
Projectiles also have doubled effective range (close to the maximum range NPCs will fight at),
this helps with engaging flying Dragons somewhat; but they are still hard to hit.
::More To-Do
4=Installation=&=Compatibility=
If you already have improved weapons, armor or enchanted items with 1H/2H/Archery buffs when
you install this mod you might have to get rid of them if they are more powerful than the new
system allows. An easy test is to try create the same item again and if it is worse ditch the
old one. Keeping these items clearly defeats the purpose of the mod (and can confuse testing).
Compatibility should be good. All changes are listed above. Even if there was an overlap it
should probably not matter much. If, for example, another mod also tries to fix the Restoration
glitch it will still be fixed, one way or another.
5=Version=Notes=
Alpha #1.1 RC#2 - 22.09.2012 - created by Microlich
Should be 100% bug free but is not 100% complete.