Doesnt ruin anything for me, but thats because I very rarely do it. Do I want racist nords or people who wanted to kill me for no reason to rule? How about neither? I did it once when playing a nord, joined the empire for the lols. Was ok.
@@f16airforce Depends what you mean by beast race. Elves are closer to the divine than humans are, lorewise. Granted, only the Altmer takes this to mean they are superior in the time of Skyrim. Indeed, not only do they think they are superior, they are superior in warfare and keep the empire in line. As for the beast lookalike races they will join if they have the incentive to; human history is filled with people working for colonizers that think they are superior. Hardship is usually key to these things. If someone has a hard life and relative security is available under racist rules many will still chose that as an alternative to seeing their young die from the elements or starvation.
It would have been cool to have a scene where Skjor and Aela are trying to get you to become a werewolf while Vilkas and Kodlak are saying to not go through with it as it’s not worth it. It would have made the faction better so that you don’t have to be a werewolf to see the silver bloods as the enemy just that you are loyal to the companions.
@@abdalln8554 Bethesda asks for way too much, but that's Bethesda writing for you lol. they've always been hit and miss, it's like you say im Dragonborn, so why should you have to do this to go further. i can see if, one of the quests leads to fighting a dragon, and they witness your power, that would get you in. but no that's not good enough for Bethesda. instead you don't get a choice in the matter. maybe the idea was to make you feel like you're apart of it, but the first time you see Varkas change, my thought was, please tell me im not gonna have to go through that, i am ain't i. well so much for being Dragonborn. i disagree about the thieves guild being number 2, granted they have more quests, but it's all about Maven gaining power, and i don't care to help anyone in Riften. she may be for the Empire, but that doesn't mean her intentions are pure. to me she's worse than Ulfric, because atleast he's fighting for what he wants, which is Skyrim's independence. Maven has also been on record about the Thalmar, so what is her ultimate goal. someone who's willing to be that corrupt just to grab power, when she already has everybody in her pocket, that tells me, whoever rules Skyrim overall will keep a close eye on her. because if she can take over Riften, whose to say, she wouldn't have plains to take over Skyrim. there are a lot of choice moments in this game, that to me don't lead to a noble outcome. now you don't have to get involved with anybody in Riften, but you won't have much of a reason to be there, because most of the quests involved, have you doing some shady things. if it's not something the Thieves guild has you doing, it's Maven herself, and both of thier goals lie in a similar direction. the Dawnguard is only good for one thing, Serana, but that requires you to go the other way, and she's not even available without mods.
@anakinvader9120 The resist disease perk and still being able to use the face sculptor are the only things I like about being a werewolf. Other than that, the werewolf firm is mid in my opinion.
I wish there was a way to be persuaded by Mercer Fray in the thieves guild and take the skeleton key, kill Mercer, AND destroy the thieves guild leaving you where Mercer wanted to be, as the most powerful thief in Skyrim.
@@masterneloth The housecarl in mistveil keep mentions how all he’d need is a dozen men, could’ve been a perfect opportunity for the player character to offer to clear em out instead, maybe even involve mjoll as well.
@@masterneloth I think that was actually planned at one point but got removed, always bothered me you could do it with the Dark Brotherhood but not the Thieves Guild lol.
Mercer is the best battletank if you can abuse him as "follower". One of the thieves guild quest line requires you to meet him at the Snow Veil Sanctum. Talk to him there but don't enter the temple, take him to your adventures instead.
I kind of pity Mjoll for being unable to cleanse the ratway. Usually, I befriend her when entering Riften only to go behind her back and become the leader of the guild she desires to destroy. It would be difficult to make her quest of destroying the thieves guild be worth it in comparison though
Guys. Please. They are the Silver Hand. Tbf, it is 50% the same name, but the Silver-Bloods are the aristocrats in Markarth. As far as I know, no connection between the 2.
The thing I hate the most about the college is how much potential it has, because the questline is insane and I loved doing most of them and even the side quests, I guess the issue for me is more that it should've been longer. Also let me spend more time as a student, I liked how distinct the other students personalities were. The companions could never.
It would be cool if one would have to reach a certain mage ability either through lessons or self training to be able to continue to further stages. Just as a college safety measure, since there have been other students gone missing and experiments gone wrong
yeah and its a shame theres no real quests or anything to try and improve the colleges rep across skyrim but man that arch mage robe you get along with the dragon priest mask you get near the end makes any wizard build op af
Finally someone with a little love for the Winterhold college! I always liked it for the dialog between crazy professors. Also the side quest were hilarious. There's a side quest that temporarily gives you unlimited magic. Name another faction that dose something that broken. I always completed it before a major story fight to add flavor.
Or J'zargo simply being the coolest follower! Also, there's one perk to being Arch Mage - it impressed Brelyna! In most playthroughs I ask her to be my wife while playing a female dunmer to make the choice of adoption plausible
Actually, Winterhold College would be a wonderful place if these two factors were fixed 1) Some of the containers in your student room and in the Archmages quarters respawn 2) Whenever I go there, I always feel like someone should repair that grievously dilapidated, potentially treacherous bridge at once before it kills someone, maybe even the protagonist.
Omgggg I thought I finished all my quests there! Which one is it? Also, J’zargo was definitely my fave follower but he got killed before I could heal him, and I would’ve gone back on a previous save, but I BARELY made it out of the battle he died in. 😔 RIP J’zargo. I never wanted to kill you like I do Serana and her whining.
To add to the balance, how about "rebuilding Winterhold" as a quest given by the Jarl, to obtain a house, the college must be refrain from teaching and the city repaired. (Main quest line would still be able to continue since the college only has one active class)
Iirc there's a dungeon where you help a descendant of Ysgramor fight a dragonpriest. Could be so easy to tie her and the silver hand into a faction that's opposed to the companions on the basis they strayed too far from the path of a Nord. Maybe make some of them former companions who joined up with werewolf hunters since their goals alighned.
The best part of the Dark Brotherhood is having the choice to murder them. It's the only questline that let's the player choose their own path for the character they've made.
One thing I really like about the Dark Brotherhood is the random encounter in which an assassin is sent after you can happen RIGHT AFTER HELGEN which implies the player character had some connection to the guild before meeting them properly in the game - either by messing with them or getting some citizen of Skyrim so worked up that they set up a contract for our blood
Here are my own rankings! Best to worst! 1. *Thieves Guild* - I view the nightingales as separate from the Thieves Guild, so I don't factor in being forced to join the Nightingales as a strike against the Thieves Guild. Aside from Brynjolf "having important things to do" this faction had the most satisfying ending for me, and it truly felt like I earned the title of Guildmaster. 2. *Dawnguard* - I one hundred percent agree that the assault on Castle Volkihar for the final mission in the Dawnguard version of the main quest makes Dawnguard have a way more satisfying ending, which puts it ahead of the vampires. However, I felt the Dawnguard radiant quests got old really fast, and the rewards weren't nearly as satisfying as the quest rewards for the vampires. 3. *Clan Volkihar* - Like I said. Weaker and less satisfying execution of the main quest, but I think the vampires have better side quests than the Dawnguard. Killing an NPC and framing the Dawnguard to make the vampire hunters look like the bad guys, turning certain NPCs into vampires, one of which could be your own spouse, and the really strong rewards in the form of the blood magic rings. It makes being a vampire feel like a ton of fun, to the point where I think Clan Volkihar is a better faction for evil characters than the Dark Brotherhood. 4. *Dark Brotherhood* - Being able to assassinate the Emperor is really awesome, but that's all the faction has going for it to the point where I feel like it's overcompensating. The main quest and side assassinations are fine. The biggest problem with the Dark Brotherhood is the fact that you need to "rebuild the guild" but the game barely lets you do any of that. You get to redecorate the Dawnstar sanctuary, and you get two nameless nobodies who replace the cool characters you lost. Really? THAT'S IT? 5. *College of Winterhold* - I really like the characters, and the Eye of Magnus provided better Lore on Ysgramor than the faction that revolves around Ysgramor, but the faction really needs to do a better job at feeling like a school. There should be more than three apprentice students, and there should be radiant quests involving taking actual classes on how to learn more advanced spells. Replace the Thalmor with the Synod as the antagonist faction of the College. That way we can learn more about the faction that replaced the Imperial Mages Guild. 6. *The Civil War* - Biggest waste of potential in the game. You should have been able to have city battles for every major city you needed to take to win. Also, everything revolving around Whiterun's role in the civil war needs an overhaul. What is the point of making Baalgruff neutral at the start if he's just going to side with the Empire anyway? 7. *Companions* - Boring radiant quests, boring story, only two or three likeable characters, and you progress way too fast. Also, Bethesda should have done one of two things. Either remove the werewolf elements entirely, OR give the player the option to join the Silver Hand. I agree with Fudgemuppets suggestion that The Silver Hand should have been fleshed out and revealed to be former Companions who are not okay with Werewolves being in the guild. 8. *Bards College* - I don't even think the Bard's College should count as a proper faction. The only reason I'm mentioning it is because it was mentioned in this video.
@@nightowl6055 yeah, it's quite obvious once you start looking for it. Marcarth's gate is specifically designed to be attacked by a player and there are a bunch of watchtowers near Riften. There is a video on that topic somewhere on youtube iirc
@@anakinvader9120 Well, yes! You can't even finish the companions storyline if you don't wanna be a werewolf. I was so let down that it was a requirement! (Vampires rule!)
Fun fact: farkas means wolf in hungarian (and probably a couple of other languages too) so I wasn't too surprised when it turned out that Farkas was a werewolf
Thieves Guild is my no. 1. It is the only faction that really changes sth in the game for the player and has the best character stories. Every single one of them has a unique backstory. They are just awesome.
@@chazzx1018 That isn't vampire dependent though, that is just the level scaling that makes things brutal in the early game before you master crafting skills and then legendary them a couple times to get skill points for combat skills.
Fun fact: If the Stormcloaks/Imperials win the Civil War questline and you were to spawn the opposing side in a city, where you then attack the Jarl, the opposing side will actually fight you.
Imo, the worst part of the companions is that (in my experience, maybe I missed something) you do absolutely nothing as a werewolf with the others. Hell, I was even attacked by Aela every time I turned Werewolf during fetch quests. Not to mention the bug where if you have a bounty in ANY hold, the companions will constantly agro you and not allow for fast travel. Or they’ll constantly attempt to talk to you and avoid any and all fighting. So broken. Makes me put the companions at the bottom (albeit above the bards).
That really happened to you? Huh, I had the absolute OPPOSITE side. They never mind when I turn into a werewolf, and they even mind their business when I kill random NPCs lmao
man, not even the furries want the Companions questline. I feel like it'd have been more satisfying to free Kodlak's soul by going into the realm of Hircine and liberating him yourself with your honorable band of warriors, and everyone frees themselves from the curse alongside him. if the hunt was good enough, Hircine would probably be cool with it-maybe from then on werewolves and champion hunters will hunt you down from time to time a la Sinding also Aela dies
None of the people in Sovngarde seem to care about earthly events. I ripped Ulfric Stormcloak to pieces and ate him and he was still pretty stoked about being in the Nordic version of Heaven
“Conjure up a hammer already and fix the goddamn bridge” -the moment I absolutely fucking LOST IT at 5:46am bc my brain won’t stop being entertaining and sleep doesn’t like me
I hate the thieves guild because it's clear a lot of effort was put into the quest but: 1 I hate thieves, fictional or not 2 You have to put Brand Shei in jail forever 3 You cannot just pay the 3 merchants' debt and pretend you extorted the money (i installed a mod called thieves guild for good guys to prevent lowering my rep with everyone) 4 You cannot kill Maven (why??? She's not even that useful story wise) 5 You have to join the Nightingales (cool looking armor, but it's pre enchanted (player can make better without even using exploits) and you have to sell your soul for it 6 Did i mention that i Reeeeaaalllly hate thieves? Like.. A looooooooot... I felt like i should say that. Atleast with Dark Brotherhood i can turn all of them into meat sweetrolls.
Because of all of these videos I am now addicted to the game again. I have a character on my computer I’m playing that’s a stealth build and a character on my Xbox. That is an in your face warrior. It’s so hard to put down. On both of them I’m close to level 30 and I haven’t even started the main quest yet. I love this game so much.
My favorite things about the Dawnguard are crossbows (though the Creation Club gives you more and better crissbows) and offensive Restoration spells. Now you can improve Restoration at a decent speed without grinding! Also no chance of friendly fire when a vampire attacks Whiterun
I would probably do the exact same list you did, but put the thieves guild at the top, instead off the dark brotherhood. I haven't played the other Elder Scrolls games, so I can't really compare the guilds.
The best reward from the Dark Brotherhood, imho, has to be Shadowmere. You get your very own Daedric horse, now that is cool. Awesome video. It’s not too often someone will objectively rank the groups instead of just ranking purely by personal opinion. Thanks.
@@Kodisage Arvak in the Dawnguard DLC makes Shadowmere obsolete since he's a summonable undead horse, so that would be a point toward the Dawnguard and Clan Volkihar.
I love the companions but i agree. Also can we talk about how we are newbies but can become the new leaders way too easily?. I get being a leader of sorts due to the missions and rising up but , THE leader. Technically speaking someone else shouldve become the harbinger. I know Mirabelle passed so she couldbt be the new archmage but wouldnt tolfdir or whatever his name is (the one that becomes your advisor when you become the archmage) be the new archmage? Or one of the other teachers?. Our character barely learned ANYTHING and suddenly theyre in charge? I feel like if anything we couldve been an advisor or consultant. Not the archmage. Plus i want more lessons. Its a school. Have a few lessons and then during a certain part of the year do self study or somthing. Sorry. Im ranting but like i agree with alot of what you saying despute loving the factions. I see the issues and plot holes
My head canon for the college of winterhold is that none of the other mages actually WANT to be archmage (or don't want to work under nirya as archmage), so they con the kid who will do literally whatever they tell him to do to take the position. They get to just sit around and focus on their research while sending out the archmage to gather books, collect heart scales, find their alembic, or do whatever other miscellaneous errands that need doing? Sounds like a pretty sweet deal.
I’m the opposite when it comes to the Vulkihar clan. Every time I’ve played the Dawnguard DLC I’ve never been able to resist becoming a vampire. My current character will join the Dawnguard instead though
They did introduce mods for Skyrim that make the civil war quest line more like an actual war. Where you truly can clear out every secret camp of the losing faction and raid each hold’s capital city
For me the dark brotherhood barely gets above the bards college. It’s a mere shadow of how great oblivion was, there is nothing sneaky or sinister about it, it’s like doing a radiant bandit quest.
The Vigilants of Stendarr should have been a more fleshed out faction instead of a plot device, but that's what you get from expecting Bethesda to make a complete game...
They're cardboard silverhand+dawnguard. I understand why they don't have a bigger role. It's a missed option but the boxes they tick for variety values are just not there
I highly recommend the mod 'conquest of Skyrim' for the civil war. You create your own army and faction and can fight both Emperials and stormcloaks resulting in you becoming high king. It cost ALOT of money and is definitely a gradual build up until you car rage war on the other factions. You have to conquer a camp, a fort, and the city itself for each city in Skyrim.
I've noticed in the past pretty decent chance of a dragon landing onto the floor I enjoy this feature because of multiple reasons but I'll only say three, 1: you can block a dragon's breath attack with one heavy swing as a werewolf which also staggers them offering a chance to deal even more damage 2: the feeling you get when you're capable of just launching enemies twice your size into the air is just satisfying to me 3: in my opinion it's an easier way to clear a dungeon it makes it capable of taking down bosses far more easily than you should be
My problem with the companions is they’re mainly nords. Most of wich want to make it so savngarde really bad, but then they give their souls to a daedric prince so they can’t go to savngarde. Makes zero fuckin sense
my biggest problem with the college of winterhold is that not only can you complete it knowing almost nothing about magic but its actually much easier if you dont really use magic. looking at the quest to fetch the staff of magnus specifically. i roleplay anyway but the college can put some furs wearing barbarian who knows 3 spells in charge as the arch mage.
I like joining the Thieves Guild too, and it is strange that we're told we have to sell our soul to a Daedric Prince, and there's no way to reverse it. The Companion questline makes it obvious that you can get rid of lycanthropy, but you're kinda screwed if you want to finish the TG questline. Unless of course your soul is bound to Akatosh first, and it negates pacts made to the Daedra. That may not be canon.
Downside of entering Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood. You gotta do really naughty stuff. Upside...access to the best looking "vanilla Skyrim armor Nightingale! (and nice weapons)" and access to the best damned horse in the game. Who is hard to kill but even comes back if you drop him. Shadowmere. And riding the black horse in the black armor with the black weapons makes me feel like freaking Zorro.
The Necromage perk makes being a vampire so much more worth it as it boost alot of your abilities. Plus you can easily offset the draw backs of being a vampire with fire enchantments or completing the vampire quest and getting the bow to darken the sky. My favorite is just to power level your character so much that the drawbacks don't even matter lol. My biggest issue with the vampire side is the quest are really buggy and sometimes the gear you get falls in comparison to gear you can make.
Funny that civil war factions are lower but people only talk about those factions. I think it's new fans who started with Skyrim who weren't fantasy fans until playing this game which is why they're more focused on wars. Older fans seem to like the lore more and stuff like daedra are much more interesting than some fools fighting over a throne.
I wish there was a third option for the civil war that centered on you convincing Balgruf that both the Imperials and Stormcloaks are corrupt and that Whiterun must stand on its own. You rebuff the Stormcloak attack, and THEN an Imperial attack before having to go on the offense against both. It's a good option for those of us who agree that Skyrim should be free, but also recognize that Ulfric is a Thalmore agent and a fool.
Here's some of my problems my the skyrim factions: - Even when I become the leader of each factions, I'm still being given missions. As the leader I should be the one to hand out missions. - I hate it that if you join Clan Volkihar you cant get the Dawnguard unique equipment like the shield for example, and if you join the Dawnguard you cant get the special vampire amulets and rings and the cup that enhances your vampire powers. Not to mention that they are fine with Serana crashing at their place, but Talos forbid that YOU will become a vampire. - You cant take out the Thieves Guild the same way you do with the Dark Brotherhood if you wish. - Speaking of the Dark Brotherhood, why isnt there a whole questline for eradicating them like there's one if you decide to join them? - Why cant I roam freely at the East Empire Company warehouse? I took down the pirates that made problems for them after all.
I remember my first (and until recently only) playthrough of Dawnguard going like this: “Wait you can turn into a vampire???” (Immediately ditches the dawnguard) (After finishing main story) “Wait wasn’t this supposed to be about those Dawnguard dudes?”
Personal list that no one asked for: 8. Bards college. Why no instrument playing? Thank you mods for fixing this. Quests to find and play instrumental songs from other elder scrolls games, being able to busk, perform in inns, palaces politics, gossip, the ability to change history when bringing what you learned to the college itself and hearing those pieces performed, being the person who chooses how Skyrim's history is written. Such a missed opportunity. 7. College of Winterhold. Didn't really find it as memorable as a lot of others. Felt like a lot of stories went there and it should have been way more fleshed out. 6. Dark Brotherhood. Too long and a little too edgy for me, personally. But the quest line was amazing, I just tend toward more roguish and goody twoshoes characters. 5. Volkihar. Vampire Lord was really fun but the quest really did fall flat at the end. 4. Companions. Could really be more fleshed out with all the history, but nothing beat that first werewolf transformation! 3. Civil War. Loved it, still one of the most difficult choices in the game. Even though it was technically quite simple, being there with the people you escape Helgen with really helped flesh out Skyrim as a living world. 2. Dawnguard. Loved it, no doubt. Van Helsing fantasy come to Skyrim with awesome looking armour. Laura Beiley as Serana, Skyrim's first unmodded, fleshed out character, chef's kiss. Real close tie with thieves guild. Thieves guild. Great voice actors. Compelling characters. Made you feel like a thief, great reason for being a guild master and actual impact for completing radiant quests. Also anti-hero thrill seeker steal from the rich, give to the poor ideal is my favourite thing to role-play. Going deeper with Nocturnal was a surprise but a welcome one, gave it a far more interesting vibe. Riften used to be my least favourite city, then Inigo came along and made me see it a whole other way.
Honestly I feel like right after the bards college it should be the college of winterhold , cause you can do the entire quest line learning 2 spells at minimum and become the Archmage while only knowing novice tier spells, which is just an honorary tittle that let's you have a magic penthouse in the main building
I was lukewarm on thieves guild but you made a damn good case for them. Their missions are fun but I am doing a playthrough where I wanna get in character as sort of an exiled noble who wouldn't consort with them, but being able to bribe the guards and have your secret network is pretty dope. I also love the nightingale rewards.
yeah, hate to break it to ya, but I actually find the College of Winterhold are the Dawnguard the best factions. I also would put the Blades at the top as well, if you could tell Delphine and Esbern that you're their boss and that they're supposed to serve you and not tell you what to do.
All of the main factions quests suffer in comparison to Oblivion. The Dark Brotherhood suffers the most. As good as it is, the DB line is far inferior to the Oblivion DB line.
I agree with this ranking 100%! I was shocked at how lame the Bard faction was, but I think it's hilarious that the head of the Bard's College says "You and me, we're the only ones around here who aren't complete fools" which indicates that he hates the teachers and students lol! Now the one item I disagree with is the Nightingale faction because I love that group and the reveal and induction was one of the funner story aspects of the entire game. I can see how someone may not want to be in service to a Daedric Prince, but I got over that pretty quick because the armor was so damn cool on the first dozen or so play-throughs and both the look and enchantment on that sword are unreal (though I recommend a mod that gets rid of the passive glow - the jagged red splotching - which ruins the look imo).
My problem with Thieves guild is that you have to be Nightingale and make an eternity Nocturnal service after death. This shit breaks the roleplay. We must have a choise. Same with werewolves
My one gripe with the Dark Brotherhood is that you're railroaded into becoming The Listener and helping the Night Mother over Astrid. Personally, I liked the set up we had before with just us being an assassination company and not a full blown cult.
My only complaint about the Dawnguard quest line is that the Vampires don't ever feel like a threat. Vampires should completely own the night from a certain point until you complete the quest. Sort of like the dragons. You're just getting jumped constantly by like ten thralls and a master vampire. And then radiant quests to do things like defend towns from vampire attacks, etc.
Small correction about the Bards’ College, they don’t explicitly deny that Numinex’s capture happened. It’s just that they believe that there were strings attached.
Anyone notice how he said the same thing written in the Senile Scribbles? The thing about conjuring a hammer and fixing the bridge. I suspect that was intentional so, I respect you for that little easter egg.
Technically speaking for my own, I (level 58) Serana (fully loaded buffed Dawnguard armor, expensivist high Magicka tiera which she prefers even in broad daylight , highly buffed fire resist glass shield , highly buffed daedric sword and bow with bone arrows) and Barbas dont need no stinking faction we three are in it for ourselves! For now , Serana can take down a dragon quicker than Dragonborn now , I was both amazed and embarrassed at same time! We both are still vampires! Nice video! Thieves guild house purchase one of the best!
The Bard's College boosts all of your stats as well. One of the first factions I join. And one of the side quests earn you a bundle of high level spell tomes. Kind of a good faction to join.
Personally for me the only reason I sometimes go for the stormcloaks is so I can get tulius armor but otherwise I go for the imperials cuz they are the best hope for tamriel
Indeed. Without them who can stop the amderi dominion in the inevitable 2nd Great War. No one is remotely capable. Empire is the only hope as of right now
It’s irritating that in order to get the Tullius armor, you have to pick Stormcloak 🙄 Should have gotten your own set as a reward for the end of the war, so that Imperial players can rock that style.
I mean, they are both morally gray... but as someone who felt extreme gratefulness and loyalty to the companions and Whiterun, when I found out the storm cloaks were planning an attack on the city and didn't care about the lives that would be lost, I instantly went for the Empire. Whiterun is the one that believes in you first, makes you thane, gave me a wife (I married Lydia for house perks), and I adopted Lucia and a house in that city... Couldn't have helped Stormcloaks attack my beloved little city lol
Most guilds in Skyrim were a joke. I like the College of Winterhold best because it's the only one that isn't far worse than its Oblivion counterpart. The Dawnguard faction was also just ok.
Talking about ANIVERSARY Edition: I like Dawnguard the most, because both Dawnguard and Clan Volkihar have their unique Advantages. Vampires are actually pretty fine, ESPECIALLY with Necromage + Bloodworm Helm (Which causes you to have double Necromage which is cooked). I also like both Vampire Rings. Sadly Vampire Lord form Looks disgusting. Lockpicking, Sneak into a House and suck some blood. But Dawnguard? Satisfying spells, cool Armor and Weapons, Paladin Style possible, CROSSBOWS
The most tragic thing about the Bards' College is the way it highlights just how little the Speech skill actually matters in vanilla Skyrim. Which is ironic considering that what makes the Dragonborn the Dragonborn is their innate understanding of language and the power of words. The Ordinator Perk Overhaul mod, which adds some bardic abilities to the Speech perk tree, along with perks that augment Shouts, single-handedly takes Speech from the most useless skill in the game to one of the most powerful, regardless of your play style. The game should have done something like that to make up for the lack of Speech checks in the dialogue, but instead we got neither. I do like the concept of bards in the Elder Scrolls universe basically being archeologists with lutes, but despite the ample supply of ancient Nordic ruins and the fact that Nord historians have canonically always been prone to fanciful poetic embellishment, we don't get to uncover any mysteries or learn anything about Skyrim's past, other than "Some random bard had beef with the guy who imprisoned that dragon". We don't even know what exactly Svaknir was accusing Olaf of, and instead of digging deeper into that story, we just make up some BS so that the people of Solitude can set some straw on fire and eat some meat pies.
I like that they 'force you to be a werewolf' to continue, since it's exactly the type of initiation self-sacrifice ritual that rl brotherhoods and (masonic) orders require from new initiates. You're supposed to do it grudgingly. It felt immersive and realistic
I like the Thieves Guild because they get your sneak up and your pickpocketing and all the treasures have gyms in them after you complete the quest instead of junk weapons you'll never use
Holy shit, I thought I was the only one who always roll eyes when I see cringy and edgy skyrim players who love the dark brotherhood for the sake of being evil.
I see so much hate for the vampires, but being able to levitate over water is so helpful, especially while adventuring on the coasts. Swimming? That's for mortal peasants!
What I like about the Brotherhood is that you can also destroy them if you don't feel like joining them. I wish you could the same with the Thieves Guild and Companions. Maybe join up with Mjoll and piece by piece dismantle the guild and finally storm their hideout to get rid of them. As with the Companions, maybe after the quest where you find out that Farkas and the inner circle are werewolves, you could be approached by a silver hand courier and meet up with them, giving you an option to get rid of the pretenders who worship Hircine and restore the glory and honour in the Companions by rebuilding them. Because it's quite obvious that the Silver Hand consider themselves as followers of Ysgramor. Who knows, maybe their original leaders are former Companions themselves who didn't agree with becoming werewolves.
The stealth quest lines are so much more flushed out than the mages or warriors so much deeper it's impossible not to put them up the top ... even if dawngard is my favourite I agree with these rankings
I didn’t realize people despised the civil war so much, it wouldn’t make #1 but storming multiple cities, killing a jarl, and leading a squadron of soldiers to take forts and absolutely wreck a crypt is sick as hell in my opinion. Could’ve had some more lasting effects but being able to play a significant role in a civil war and come out a war hero is definitely up there on my list
Is there anything you don't hate? Good God... I'm kidding, but fun video! I appear to have the reverse tastes you have, so it was cool to see your perspective.
In the companions review you said they fight the "silverbloods" its actually the "silverhand" but I can see how it was probably a slip of the tounge. Good review man. I thought that instead of taking over every single faction ( dawnguard excluded) it should have been more like fallout nv, and they could've had the dragonborn get allies for whichever side of the civil war quest you choose. Just my two pennies.
Karliah totally lied to you about needing to become nightengales to save her own ass since Nocturnal was so pissed at her she just wanted her old title back. Right up to the ceremony she talks about how you'll need the power to take on Mercer, **immediately** afterwards you can tell her you don't feel anymore powerful and she tells you that you aren't until after you defeat Mercer. Bot wish i could have that conversation two minutes ago
Nobody denies that one eye actually caught a dragon, it’s how he caught the dragon that is the story The real truth is that he came across a half dead ancient dragon and towed him across Skyrim to display as a pet and told people it was an epic battle
![Cody Johnson - I'm Gonna Love You (with Carrie Underwood) [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/yy9PuYMU29g/mqdefault.jpg)
Heard they're reforming the Dawnguard. Vampire hunters or something, in the old fort near Riften.
Might consider joining up myself.
@@davidlz830 I used to be an adventurer like you. Then I took an arrow in the knee.
@@nuancedgamingCome to think of it, I might be the dragonborn, I just don't know it yet
@Samadeezz my cousin is out there fighting dragons and what do l get, guard duty
Let me guess… someone stole your sweetroll.
The worst thing about the civil war is that nothing changes in the world when its over. It kind of ruins the setting a little.
I wouldn’t say that, a lot of things change with the leaders and guards, and even certain npc dialogues in Windhelm, Solitude, and Whiterun!
The best part of the Civil War is the Thalmor being booted out of civilized society after you crush the empire.
Doesnt ruin anything for me, but thats because I very rarely do it. Do I want racist nords or people who wanted to kill me for no reason to rule? How about neither? I did it once when playing a nord, joined the empire for the lols. Was ok.
Stormcloaks are really only justifiable if you’re a human race I dont understand the reasoning if you are a beast race lol
@@f16airforce Depends what you mean by beast race. Elves are closer to the divine than humans are, lorewise. Granted, only the Altmer takes this to mean they are superior in the time of Skyrim. Indeed, not only do they think they are superior, they are superior in warfare and keep the empire in line. As for the beast lookalike races they will join if they have the incentive to; human history is filled with people working for colonizers that think they are superior. Hardship is usually key to these things. If someone has a hard life and relative security is available under racist rules many will still chose that as an alternative to seeing their young die from the elements or starvation.
In defence of the companions, only Skjor and Aela tell you you have to take the gift to join them. The two who love being a werewolf.
It would have been cool to have a scene where Skjor and Aela are trying to get you to become a werewolf while Vilkas and Kodlak are saying to not go through with it as it’s not worth it. It would have made the faction better so that you don’t have to be a werewolf to see the silver bloods as the enemy just that you are loyal to the companions.
And Todd, considering the game won't let yoh advance the storyline without joining the Furcon.
Idk man, the perks of being a werewolf are top tier
@@abdalln8554 Bethesda asks for way too much, but that's Bethesda writing for you lol. they've always been hit and miss, it's like you say im Dragonborn, so why should you have to do this to go further.
i can see if, one of the quests leads to fighting a dragon, and they witness your power, that would get you in. but no that's not good enough for Bethesda. instead you don't get a choice in the matter.
maybe the idea was to make you feel like you're apart of it, but the first time you see Varkas change, my thought was, please tell me im not gonna have to go through that, i am ain't i. well so much for being Dragonborn.
i disagree about the thieves guild being number 2, granted they have more quests, but it's all about Maven gaining power, and i don't care to help anyone in Riften. she may be for the Empire, but that doesn't mean her intentions are pure. to me she's worse than Ulfric, because atleast he's fighting for what he wants, which is Skyrim's independence.
Maven has also been on record about the Thalmar, so what is her ultimate goal. someone who's willing to be that corrupt just to grab power, when she already has everybody in her pocket, that tells me, whoever rules Skyrim overall will keep a close eye on her. because if she can take over Riften,
whose to say, she wouldn't have plains to take over Skyrim.
there are a lot of choice moments in this game, that to me don't lead to a noble outcome. now you don't have to get involved with anybody
in Riften, but you won't have much of a reason to be there,
because most of the quests involved, have you doing some shady things.
if it's not something the Thieves guild has you doing, it's Maven herself,
and both of thier goals lie in a similar direction.
the Dawnguard is only good for one thing, Serana, but that requires you to go the other way, and she's not even available without mods.
@anakinvader9120 The resist disease perk and still being able to use the face sculptor are the only things I like about being a werewolf. Other than that, the werewolf firm is mid in my opinion.
I forgot the bard's college was considered a faction💀
Yeah, the only good thing I enjoyed about the college of bards was when you try to rewrite king olafs verse
@@mooc422Same
I forgot the bard's college existed 💀
Ive played skyrim since its release and ive never done that questline
@@paulhinterberger7438 i forgor
I wish there was a way to be persuaded by Mercer Fray in the thieves guild and take the skeleton key, kill Mercer, AND destroy the thieves guild leaving you where Mercer wanted to be, as the most powerful thief in Skyrim.
Or take Mjoll and start cleansing the rats from the ratway 😎
@@masterneloth The housecarl in mistveil keep mentions how all he’d need is a dozen men, could’ve been a perfect opportunity for the player character to offer to clear em out instead, maybe even involve mjoll as well.
@@masterneloth I think that was actually planned at one point but got removed, always bothered me you could do it with the Dark Brotherhood but not the Thieves Guild lol.
Mercer is the best battletank if you can abuse him as "follower". One of the thieves guild quest line requires you to meet him at the Snow Veil Sanctum. Talk to him there but don't enter the temple, take him to your adventures instead.
I kind of pity Mjoll for being unable to cleanse the ratway. Usually, I befriend her when entering Riften only to go behind her back and become the leader of the guild she desires to destroy. It would be difficult to make her quest of destroying the thieves guild be worth it in comparison though
I think it would have been cool if you could join the Silver hands and destroy the werewolves. Have them take over the hall in the end.
And make the Silver-Bloods ex-Companions that despised what they became. And swore to destroy them and restore the Companions to what they once were.
@@masterneloth agree. Would have made a better quest line.
Guys. Please. They are the Silver Hand.
Tbf, it is 50% the same name, but the Silver-Bloods are the aristocrats in Markarth. As far as I know, no connection between the 2.
@@jonnyofalltrades6620 thank you, I was so confused as to what they were talking about .
@@kirikosamagajie3014 np! I love Skyrim lol
The thing I hate the most about the college is how much potential it has, because the questline is insane and I loved doing most of them and even the side quests, I guess the issue for me is more that it should've been longer.
Also let me spend more time as a student, I liked how distinct the other students personalities were. The companions could never.
Yes it had so much heart compared to the other guild questlines, like the first time you see what the augur of dunlain really is
It would be cool if one would have to reach a certain mage ability either through lessons or self training to be able to continue to further stages. Just as a college safety measure, since there have been other students gone missing and experiments gone wrong
I def thought it was gonna cross over with the graybeards or something when I first played
Oh yeah, easily the weakest part of the storyline is how quickly it turns into "Save the world"
yeah and its a shame theres no real quests or anything to try and improve the colleges rep across skyrim but man that arch mage robe you get along with the dragon priest mask you get near the end makes any wizard build op af
Finally someone with a little love for the Winterhold college! I always liked it for the dialog between crazy professors. Also the side quest were hilarious. There's a side quest that temporarily gives you unlimited magic. Name another faction that dose something that broken. I always completed it before a major story fight to add flavor.
Never forget that Brelyna turns you into multiple animals…
Or arniel literally turning to a ghost and leaving Keening on the floor
Or J'zargo simply being the coolest follower!
Also, there's one perk to being Arch Mage - it impressed Brelyna! In most playthroughs I ask her to be my wife while playing a female dunmer to make the choice of adoption plausible
Actually, Winterhold College would be a wonderful place if these two factors were fixed 1) Some of the containers in your student room and in the Archmages quarters respawn 2) Whenever I go there, I always feel like someone should repair that grievously dilapidated, potentially treacherous bridge at once before it kills someone, maybe even the protagonist.
Omgggg I thought I finished all my quests there! Which one is it? Also, J’zargo was definitely my fave follower but he got killed before I could heal him, and I would’ve gone back on a previous save, but I BARELY made it out of the battle he died in. 😔 RIP J’zargo. I never wanted to kill you like I do Serana and her whining.
The silver hand should be made a joinable faction as the companions adversary, only then can Skyrim be a perfectly balanced game
Not really, to be perfectly balanced it also needs destroy the thieves guild quest
@@fartass8299 yeah that one too
@@arwahsapi i think that with those 2 things skyrim can become the closest thing to a perfect game
To add to the balance, how about "rebuilding Winterhold" as a quest given by the Jarl, to obtain a house, the college must be refrain from teaching and the city repaired. (Main quest line would still be able to continue since the college only has one active class)
Iirc there's a dungeon where you help a descendant of Ysgramor fight a dragonpriest. Could be so easy to tie her and the silver hand into a faction that's opposed to the companions on the basis they strayed too far from the path of a Nord. Maybe make some of them former companions who joined up with werewolf hunters since their goals alighned.
The best part of the Dark Brotherhood is having the choice to murder them. It's the only questline that let's the player choose their own path for the character they've made.
Paarthunax?😅 But yes. This game needed more of this
One thing I really like about the Dark Brotherhood is the random encounter in which an assassin is sent after you can happen RIGHT AFTER HELGEN which implies the player character had some connection to the guild before meeting them properly in the game - either by messing with them or getting some citizen of Skyrim so worked up that they set up a contract for our blood
Some in the community suggested that that was the reason we went over the border. Being wanted by the DB and deciding to move over to Skyrim.
Defending Whiterun when you're late game and have all the summons for Durneviir and Lucien and everything else. It's a chaotic battle
I like how he never mentions the PHYCHOPATH that is Cicero
Cicero best boy, silence
Here are my own rankings! Best to worst!
1. *Thieves Guild* - I view the nightingales as separate from the Thieves Guild, so I don't factor in being forced to join the Nightingales as a strike against the Thieves Guild. Aside from Brynjolf "having important things to do" this faction had the most satisfying ending for me, and it truly felt like I earned the title of Guildmaster.
2. *Dawnguard* - I one hundred percent agree that the assault on Castle Volkihar for the final mission in the Dawnguard version of the main quest makes Dawnguard have a way more satisfying ending, which puts it ahead of the vampires. However, I felt the Dawnguard radiant quests got old really fast, and the rewards weren't nearly as satisfying as the quest rewards for the vampires.
3. *Clan Volkihar* - Like I said. Weaker and less satisfying execution of the main quest, but I think the vampires have better side quests than the Dawnguard. Killing an NPC and framing the Dawnguard to make the vampire hunters look like the bad guys, turning certain NPCs into vampires, one of which could be your own spouse, and the really strong rewards in the form of the blood magic rings. It makes being a vampire feel like a ton of fun, to the point where I think Clan Volkihar is a better faction for evil characters than the Dark Brotherhood.
4. *Dark Brotherhood* - Being able to assassinate the Emperor is really awesome, but that's all the faction has going for it to the point where I feel like it's overcompensating. The main quest and side assassinations are fine. The biggest problem with the Dark Brotherhood is the fact that you need to "rebuild the guild" but the game barely lets you do any of that. You get to redecorate the Dawnstar sanctuary, and you get two nameless nobodies who replace the cool characters you lost. Really? THAT'S IT?
5. *College of Winterhold* - I really like the characters, and the Eye of Magnus provided better Lore on Ysgramor than the faction that revolves around Ysgramor, but the faction really needs to do a better job at feeling like a school. There should be more than three apprentice students, and there should be radiant quests involving taking actual classes on how to learn more advanced spells. Replace the Thalmor with the Synod as the antagonist faction of the College. That way we can learn more about the faction that replaced the Imperial Mages Guild.
6. *The Civil War* - Biggest waste of potential in the game. You should have been able to have city battles for every major city you needed to take to win. Also, everything revolving around Whiterun's role in the civil war needs an overhaul. What is the point of making Baalgruff neutral at the start if he's just going to side with the Empire anyway?
7. *Companions* - Boring radiant quests, boring story, only two or three likeable characters, and you progress way too fast. Also, Bethesda should have done one of two things. Either remove the werewolf elements entirely, OR give the player the option to join the Silver Hand. I agree with Fudgemuppets suggestion that The Silver Hand should have been fleshed out and revealed to be former Companions who are not okay with Werewolves being in the guild.
8. *Bards College* - I don't even think the Bard's College should count as a proper faction. The only reason I'm mentioning it is because it was mentioned in this video.
I think that the developers intented to make it so you actually have to attack each major city, but they didn't manage to finish it
@@nightowl6055 yeah, it's quite obvious once you start looking for it. Marcarth's gate is specifically designed to be attacked by a player and there are a bunch of watchtowers near Riften. There is a video on that topic somewhere on youtube iirc
Thalmor can't be replaced in the College. They are High Elves, the most magic using race. The College would be the very first place they would annex.
Bro really put the college over companions 💀
@@anakinvader9120 Well, yes! You can't even finish the companions storyline if you don't wanna be a werewolf. I was so let down that it was a requirement!
(Vampires rule!)
Fun fact: farkas means wolf in hungarian (and probably a couple of other languages too) so I wasn't too surprised when it turned out that Farkas was a werewolf
Thieves Guild is my no. 1. It is the only faction that really changes sth in the game for the player and has the best character stories. Every single one of them has a unique backstory. They are just awesome.
As a vampire you don't have to avoid sun. Just master your restoration and get some mana regen gear and you'll be ok
I hate it because u cant be 1st person in a vampire form
In the beginning, the sunlight destroys you. The sun is your true enemy. Bandits were destroying me. I one shot Bandits. Being a vampire sucks.
@@chazzx1018 That isn't vampire dependent though, that is just the level scaling that makes things brutal in the early game before you master crafting skills and then legendary them a couple times to get skill points for combat skills.
@@anvos658 I know you have to build it into a master vampire lord. Considering trying it. Have the saves right before I speak to Harkon.
“Impressive, very nice. Now let’s see Oblivion’s card”
Nice vid! thx 😁
Fun fact: If the Stormcloaks/Imperials win the Civil War questline and you were to spawn the opposing side in a city, where you then attack the Jarl, the opposing side will actually fight you.
Imo, the worst part of the companions is that (in my experience, maybe I missed something) you do absolutely nothing as a werewolf with the others. Hell, I was even attacked by Aela every time I turned Werewolf during fetch quests. Not to mention the bug where if you have a bounty in ANY hold, the companions will constantly agro you and not allow for fast travel. Or they’ll constantly attempt to talk to you and avoid any and all fighting. So broken. Makes me put the companions at the bottom (albeit above the bards).
That really happened to you? Huh, I had the absolute OPPOSITE side.
They never mind when I turn into a werewolf, and they even mind their business when I kill random NPCs lmao
man, not even the furries want the Companions questline. I feel like it'd have been more satisfying to free Kodlak's soul by going into the realm of Hircine and liberating him yourself with your honorable band of warriors, and everyone frees themselves from the curse alongside him. if the hunt was good enough, Hircine would probably be cool with it-maybe from then on werewolves and champion hunters will hunt you down from time to time a la Sinding
also Aela dies
None of the people in Sovngarde seem to care about earthly events. I ripped Ulfric Stormcloak to pieces and ate him and he was still pretty stoked about being in the Nordic version of Heaven
"You fight weird dragonborn, but you are the hero of skyrim!" Ulfric after i canibalized him and everyone in the castle.
“Conjure up a hammer already and fix the goddamn bridge” -the moment I absolutely fucking LOST IT at 5:46am bc my brain won’t stop being entertaining and sleep doesn’t like me
I hate the thieves guild because it's clear a lot of effort was put into the quest but:
1 I hate thieves, fictional or not
2 You have to put Brand Shei in jail forever
3 You cannot just pay the 3 merchants' debt and pretend you extorted the money (i installed a mod called thieves guild for good guys to prevent lowering my rep with everyone)
4 You cannot kill Maven (why??? She's not even that useful story wise)
5 You have to join the Nightingales (cool looking armor, but it's pre enchanted (player can make better without even using exploits) and you have to sell your soul for it
6 Did i mention that i Reeeeaaalllly hate thieves? Like.. A looooooooot... I felt like i should say that. Atleast with Dark Brotherhood i can turn all of them into meat sweetrolls.
You don't actually have to put brand shi in jail. You can drop the ring or get caught lock picking and you still get in the guild
@@NoahVercettiyeah I put the ring in the barrel near the night elf lady right outside the market
Because of all of these videos I am now addicted to the game again. I have a character on my computer I’m playing that’s a stealth build and a character on my Xbox. That is an in your face warrior. It’s so hard to put down. On both of them I’m close to level 30 and I haven’t even started the main quest yet. I love this game so much.
My favorite things about the Dawnguard are crossbows (though the Creation Club gives you more and better crissbows) and offensive Restoration spells. Now you can improve Restoration at a decent speed without grinding! Also no chance of friendly fire when a vampire attacks Whiterun
0:50 Trinamac disliked that comment.
I would probably do the exact same list you did, but put the thieves guild at the top, instead off the dark brotherhood. I haven't played the other Elder Scrolls games, so I can't really compare the guilds.
Yeah somethin like in oblivion where you do quest for each city to gain their support would have been interesting
The dark brotherhood has always been the best faction in all games lmao
Except probably Morrowind… lol
I like how clavicus vile compliments you while also flexing on u
The best reward from the Dark Brotherhood, imho, has to be Shadowmere. You get your very own Daedric horse, now that is cool.
Awesome video. It’s not too often someone will objectively rank the groups instead of just ranking purely by personal opinion. Thanks.
Literally like the best clan reward out of them all I think. Especially for those of us who don’t like to fast travel all the time.
@@Kodisage Arvak in the Dawnguard DLC makes Shadowmere obsolete since he's a summonable undead horse, so that would be a point toward the Dawnguard and Clan Volkihar.
@@zacharyt.2694Arvark doesn’t look anywhere near as cool, and my character will look like a badass in every way.
I love the companions but i agree. Also can we talk about how we are newbies but can become the new leaders way too easily?. I get being a leader of sorts due to the missions and rising up but , THE leader. Technically speaking someone else shouldve become the harbinger. I know Mirabelle passed so she couldbt be the new archmage but wouldnt tolfdir or whatever his name is (the one that becomes your advisor when you become the archmage) be the new archmage? Or one of the other teachers?. Our character barely learned ANYTHING and suddenly theyre in charge? I feel like if anything we couldve been an advisor or consultant. Not the archmage. Plus i want more lessons. Its a school. Have a few lessons and then during a certain part of the year do self study or somthing. Sorry. Im ranting but like i agree with alot of what you saying despute loving the factions. I see the issues and plot holes
The worst thing about the civil war that nothing have changes in the world when it over .
I find it hilarious that with every faction this video was like "Personally I hate them.........but story etcetc"
Well Dark Brotherhood has always been the lamer version of the Morag Tong, going over the top edgelord psychopath instead of cool assassin guild.
My head canon for the college of winterhold is that none of the other mages actually WANT to be archmage (or don't want to work under nirya as archmage), so they con the kid who will do literally whatever they tell him to do to take the position.
They get to just sit around and focus on their research while sending out the archmage to gather books, collect heart scales, find their alembic, or do whatever other miscellaneous errands that need doing? Sounds like a pretty sweet deal.
I’m the opposite when it comes to the Vulkihar clan. Every time I’ve played the Dawnguard DLC I’ve never been able to resist becoming a vampire. My current character will join the Dawnguard instead though
They did introduce mods for Skyrim that make the civil war quest line more like an actual war. Where you truly can clear out every secret camp of the losing faction and raid each hold’s capital city
For me the dark brotherhood barely gets above the bards college. It’s a mere shadow of how great oblivion was, there is nothing sneaky or sinister about it, it’s like doing a radiant bandit quest.
The Vigilants of Stendarr should have been a more fleshed out faction instead of a plot device, but that's what you get from expecting Bethesda to make a complete game...
They're cardboard silverhand+dawnguard. I understand why they don't have a bigger role. It's a missed option but the boxes they tick for variety values are just not there
The best faction questlines in Skyrim are still worse than the worst faction questlines in Oblivion.
I highly recommend the mod 'conquest of Skyrim' for the civil war. You create your own army and faction and can fight both Emperials and stormcloaks resulting in you becoming high king. It cost ALOT of money and is definitely a gradual build up until you car rage war on the other factions. You have to conquer a camp, a fort, and the city itself for each city in Skyrim.
I've noticed in the past pretty decent chance of a dragon landing onto the floor I enjoy this feature because of multiple reasons but I'll only say three,
1: you can block a dragon's breath attack with one heavy swing as a werewolf which also staggers them offering a chance to deal even more damage
2: the feeling you get when you're capable of just launching enemies twice your size into the air is just satisfying to me
3: in my opinion it's an easier way to clear a dungeon it makes it capable of taking down bosses far more easily than you should be
I love how the fkn blades didnt even get mentioned, but the bards did😂😊
#noone surprised
My problem with the companions is they’re mainly nords. Most of wich want to make it so savngarde really bad, but then they give their souls to a daedric prince so they can’t go to savngarde. Makes zero fuckin sense
my biggest problem with the college of winterhold is that not only can you complete it knowing almost nothing about magic but its actually much easier if you dont really use magic. looking at the quest to fetch the staff of magnus specifically.
i roleplay anyway but the college can put some furs wearing barbarian who knows 3 spells in charge as the arch mage.
I like joining the Thieves Guild too, and it is strange that we're told we have to sell our soul to a Daedric Prince, and there's no way to reverse it. The Companion questline makes it obvious that you can get rid of lycanthropy, but you're kinda screwed if you want to finish the TG questline.
Unless of course your soul is bound to Akatosh first, and it negates pacts made to the Daedra. That may not be canon.
Downside of entering Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood. You gotta do really naughty stuff. Upside...access to the best looking "vanilla Skyrim armor Nightingale! (and nice weapons)" and access to the best damned horse in the game. Who is hard to kill but even comes back if you drop him. Shadowmere. And riding the black horse in the black armor with the black weapons makes me feel like freaking Zorro.
1 theves guild
2 dark brotherhood
3 companions
4 dawnguard
5 college of winterhold
The Necromage perk makes being a vampire so much more worth it as it boost alot of your abilities. Plus you can easily offset the draw backs of being a vampire with fire enchantments or completing the vampire quest and getting the bow to darken the sky. My favorite is just to power level your character so much that the drawbacks don't even matter lol. My biggest issue with the vampire side is the quest are really buggy and sometimes the gear you get falls in comparison to gear you can make.
Funny that civil war factions are lower but people only talk about those factions. I think it's new fans who started with Skyrim who weren't fantasy fans until playing this game which is why they're more focused on wars.
Older fans seem to like the lore more and stuff like daedra are much more interesting than some fools fighting over a throne.
I wish there was a third option for the civil war that centered on you convincing Balgruf that both the Imperials and Stormcloaks are corrupt and that Whiterun must stand on its own. You rebuff the Stormcloak attack, and THEN an Imperial attack before having to go on the offense against both.
It's a good option for those of us who agree that Skyrim should be free, but also recognize that Ulfric is a Thalmore agent and a fool.
Here's some of my problems my the skyrim factions:
- Even when I become the leader of each factions, I'm still being given missions. As the leader I should be the one to hand out missions.
- I hate it that if you join Clan Volkihar you cant get the Dawnguard unique equipment like the shield for example, and if you join the Dawnguard you cant get the special vampire amulets and rings and the cup that enhances your vampire powers. Not to mention that they are fine with Serana crashing at their place, but Talos forbid that YOU will become a vampire.
- You cant take out the Thieves Guild the same way you do with the Dark Brotherhood if you wish.
- Speaking of the Dark Brotherhood, why isnt there a whole questline for eradicating them like there's one if you decide to join them?
- Why cant I roam freely at the East Empire Company warehouse? I took down the pirates that made problems for them after all.
I remember my first (and until recently only) playthrough of Dawnguard going like this:
“Wait you can turn into a vampire???” (Immediately ditches the dawnguard)
(After finishing main story)
“Wait wasn’t this supposed to be about those Dawnguard dudes?”
Personal list that no one asked for:
8. Bards college. Why no instrument playing? Thank you mods for fixing this. Quests to find and play instrumental songs from other elder scrolls games, being able to busk, perform in inns, palaces politics, gossip, the ability to change history when bringing what you learned to the college itself and hearing those pieces performed, being the person who chooses how Skyrim's history is written. Such a missed opportunity.
7. College of Winterhold. Didn't really find it as memorable as a lot of others. Felt like a lot of stories went there and it should have been way more fleshed out.
6. Dark Brotherhood. Too long and a little too edgy for me, personally. But the quest line was amazing, I just tend toward more roguish and goody twoshoes characters.
5. Volkihar. Vampire Lord was really fun but the quest really did fall flat at the end.
4. Companions. Could really be more fleshed out with all the history, but nothing beat that first werewolf transformation!
3. Civil War. Loved it, still one of the most difficult choices in the game. Even though it was technically quite simple, being there with the people you escape Helgen with really helped flesh out Skyrim as a living world.
2. Dawnguard. Loved it, no doubt. Van Helsing fantasy come to Skyrim with awesome looking armour. Laura Beiley as Serana, Skyrim's first unmodded, fleshed out character, chef's kiss. Real close tie with thieves guild.
Thieves guild. Great voice actors. Compelling characters. Made you feel like a thief, great reason for being a guild master and actual impact for completing radiant quests. Also anti-hero thrill seeker steal from the rich, give to the poor ideal is my favourite thing to role-play. Going deeper with Nocturnal was a surprise but a welcome one, gave it a far more interesting vibe. Riften used to be my least favourite city, then Inigo came along and made me see it a whole other way.
"Slightly sociopathic, narcissistic demigod of a dragonborn"
Couldn't be farther from the truth.
Honestly I feel like right after the bards college it should be the college of winterhold , cause you can do the entire quest line learning 2 spells at minimum and become the Archmage while only knowing novice tier spells, which is just an honorary tittle that let's you have a magic penthouse in the main building
how do you not have 1mil+ subs you’re literally hilarious
The greatest minds are often not recognized in their time! 😎 jk it doesn’t bother me being small lol
I was lukewarm on thieves guild but you made a damn good case for them. Their missions are fun but I am doing a playthrough where I wanna get in character as sort of an exiled noble who wouldn't consort with them, but being able to bribe the guards and have your secret network is pretty dope. I also love the nightingale rewards.
yeah, hate to break it to ya, but I actually find the College of Winterhold are the Dawnguard the best factions. I also would put the Blades at the top as well, if you could tell Delphine and Esbern that you're their boss and that they're supposed to serve you and not tell you what to do.
All of the main factions quests suffer in comparison to Oblivion. The Dark Brotherhood suffers the most. As good as it is, the DB line is far inferior to the Oblivion DB line.
Did you steal that "conjure up a hammer" joke from Senile Scribbles?
Maybe…
I agree with this ranking 100%! I was shocked at how lame the Bard faction was, but I think it's hilarious that the head of the Bard's College says "You and me, we're the only ones around here who aren't complete fools" which indicates that he hates the teachers and students lol!
Now the one item I disagree with is the Nightingale faction because I love that group and the reveal and induction was one of the funner story aspects of the entire game. I can see how someone may not want to be in service to a Daedric Prince, but I got over that pretty quick because the armor was so damn cool on the first dozen or so play-throughs and both the look and enchantment on that sword are unreal (though I recommend a mod that gets rid of the passive glow - the jagged red splotching - which ruins the look imo).
My problem with Thieves guild is that you have to be Nightingale and make an eternity Nocturnal service after death. This shit breaks the roleplay. We must have a choise. Same with werewolves
Bard's college is good for free quest reward skill ups. That's it.
I love the fact that we're still talking about skyrim
My one gripe with the Dark Brotherhood is that you're railroaded into becoming The Listener and helping the Night Mother over Astrid. Personally, I liked the set up we had before with just us being an assassination company and not a full blown cult.
The Dawnguard is the only faction where the leader isn't a moron or where the faction isn't deeply corrupt or both.
My only complaint about the Dawnguard quest line is that the Vampires don't ever feel like a threat.
Vampires should completely own the night from a certain point until you complete the quest. Sort of like the dragons. You're just getting jumped constantly by like ten thralls and a master vampire.
And then radiant quests to do things like defend towns from vampire attacks, etc.
Best part of the Dark Brotherhood is to kill them all >:)
The passes that you give for the college of winterhold but don’t give to the companions is very telling you like being a mage
Small correction about the Bards’ College, they don’t explicitly deny that Numinex’s capture happened. It’s just that they believe that there were strings attached.
Excellent video sir. I love the Dawnguard to for the exact same reasons.
Anyone notice how he said the same thing written in the Senile Scribbles? The thing about conjuring a hammer and fixing the bridge.
I suspect that was intentional so, I respect you for that little easter egg.
😎
Didnt even mention the sick anti vampire spells you get from the dawnguard
I love dawnguard for this kear morhen castle vibe. Monster hunters living in castle in the end of the world.
Technically speaking for my own, I (level 58) Serana (fully loaded buffed Dawnguard armor, expensivist high Magicka tiera which she prefers even in broad daylight , highly buffed fire resist glass shield , highly buffed daedric sword and bow with bone arrows) and Barbas dont need no stinking faction we three are in it for ourselves! For now , Serana can take down a dragon quicker than Dragonborn now , I was both amazed and embarrassed at same time! We both are still vampires! Nice video! Thieves guild house purchase one of the best!
The thieves guild master armor is my favorite outfit in the whole game and I wear it far after I've outgrown their guild.
The Bard's College boosts all of your stats as well. One of the first factions I join. And one of the side quests earn you a bundle of high level spell tomes. Kind of a good faction to join.
Personally for me the only reason I sometimes go for the stormcloaks is so I can get tulius armor but otherwise I go for the imperials cuz they are the best hope for tamriel
Finally someone who understands that the Imperials are not the bad guys!
Indeed. Without them who can stop the amderi dominion in the inevitable 2nd Great War. No one is remotely capable. Empire is the only hope as of right now
It’s irritating that in order to get the Tullius armor, you have to pick Stormcloak 🙄 Should have gotten your own set as a reward for the end of the war, so that Imperial players can rock that style.
I mean, they are both morally gray... but as someone who felt extreme gratefulness and loyalty to the companions and Whiterun, when I found out the storm cloaks were planning an attack on the city and didn't care about the lives that would be lost, I instantly went for the Empire.
Whiterun is the one that believes in you first, makes you thane, gave me a wife (I married Lydia for house perks), and I adopted Lucia and a house in that city...
Couldn't have helped Stormcloaks attack my beloved little city lol
Real reason that the Dark Brotherhood should be on top: access to Wind Shear
Most guilds in Skyrim were a joke. I like the College of Winterhold best because it's the only one that isn't far worse than its Oblivion counterpart. The Dawnguard faction was also just ok.
Talking about ANIVERSARY Edition:
I like Dawnguard the most, because both Dawnguard and Clan Volkihar have their unique Advantages.
Vampires are actually pretty fine, ESPECIALLY with Necromage + Bloodworm Helm (Which causes you to have double Necromage which is cooked). I also like both Vampire Rings. Sadly Vampire Lord form Looks disgusting. Lockpicking, Sneak into a House and suck some blood.
But Dawnguard? Satisfying spells, cool Armor and Weapons, Paladin Style possible, CROSSBOWS
And huskys . You forgot the huskys
The most tragic thing about the Bards' College is the way it highlights just how little the Speech skill actually matters in vanilla Skyrim. Which is ironic considering that what makes the Dragonborn the Dragonborn is their innate understanding of language and the power of words.
The Ordinator Perk Overhaul mod, which adds some bardic abilities to the Speech perk tree, along with perks that augment Shouts, single-handedly takes Speech from the most useless skill in the game to one of the most powerful, regardless of your play style. The game should have done something like that to make up for the lack of Speech checks in the dialogue, but instead we got neither.
I do like the concept of bards in the Elder Scrolls universe basically being archeologists with lutes, but despite the ample supply of ancient Nordic ruins and the fact that Nord historians have canonically always been prone to fanciful poetic embellishment, we don't get to uncover any mysteries or learn anything about Skyrim's past, other than "Some random bard had beef with the guy who imprisoned that dragon". We don't even know what exactly Svaknir was accusing Olaf of, and instead of digging deeper into that story, we just make up some BS so that the people of Solitude can set some straw on fire and eat some meat pies.
I like that they 'force you to be a werewolf' to continue, since it's exactly the type of initiation self-sacrifice ritual that rl brotherhoods and (masonic) orders require from new initiates. You're supposed to do it grudgingly. It felt immersive and realistic
I like the Thieves Guild because they get your sneak up and your pickpocketing and all the treasures have gyms in them after you complete the quest instead of junk weapons you'll never use
It’s not often I meet another person who actually prefers the Dawnguard to the Vampires, well met friend.
Holy shit, I thought I was the only one who always roll eyes when I see cringy and edgy skyrim players who love the dark brotherhood for the sake of being evil.
Most of the time I just raid their stupid little hideout. Especially when I don't need their special items😂
I see so much hate for the vampires, but being able to levitate over water is so helpful, especially while adventuring on the coasts. Swimming? That's for mortal peasants!
i agree EXCEPT i would put clan volkihar higher. but.. that's just because i'm goth lol. other than that, you're absolutely right
What I like about the Brotherhood is that you can also destroy them if you don't feel like joining them. I wish you could the same with the Thieves Guild and Companions. Maybe join up with Mjoll and piece by piece dismantle the guild and finally storm their hideout to get rid of them. As with the Companions, maybe after the quest where you find out that Farkas and the inner circle are werewolves, you could be approached by a silver hand courier and meet up with them, giving you an option to get rid of the pretenders who worship Hircine and restore the glory and honour in the Companions by rebuilding them. Because it's quite obvious that the Silver Hand consider themselves as followers of Ysgramor. Who knows, maybe their original leaders are former Companions themselves who didn't agree with becoming werewolves.
And for the college you could join up with the thalmor to destroy the college and take the eye of magnus
The stealth quest lines are so much more flushed out than the mages or warriors so much deeper it's impossible not to put them up the top ... even if dawngard is my favourite I agree with these rankings
I agree too, although my favorite quest line is the Thieves Guild...
Harkon: "I will feast on your blood on Molag Bal's honor!!"
One of my favorite lines in the game. Long live Castle Volkihar!!
Not one bard is trained in music. The only missions after the effigy bit are three "go get these items" and acquire extra skill points.
I didn’t realize people despised the civil war so much, it wouldn’t make #1 but storming multiple cities, killing a jarl, and leading a squadron of soldiers to take forts and absolutely wreck a crypt is sick as hell in my opinion. Could’ve had some more lasting effects but being able to play a significant role in a civil war and come out a war hero is definitely up there on my list
Is there anything you don't hate? Good God...
I'm kidding, but fun video! I appear to have the reverse tastes you have, so it was cool to see your perspective.
In the companions review you said they fight the "silverbloods" its actually the "silverhand" but I can see how it was probably a slip of the tounge. Good review man. I thought that instead of taking over every single faction ( dawnguard excluded) it should have been more like fallout nv, and they could've had the dragonborn get allies for whichever side of the civil war quest you choose. Just my two pennies.
The Imperial's Number 2 Rikke in the faction is nicer to look at than the hairy hulk Galmar. Kinda wish you could hang out in her tent out in Skyrim.
Karliah totally lied to you about needing to become nightengales to save her own ass since Nocturnal was so pissed at her she just wanted her old title back.
Right up to the ceremony she talks about how you'll need the power to take on Mercer, **immediately** afterwards you can tell her you don't feel anymore powerful and she tells you that you aren't until after you defeat Mercer. Bot wish i could have that conversation two minutes ago
I liked how the dawnguard dont just hand over control after about 3 days and a couple quests
Nobody denies that one eye actually caught a dragon, it’s how he caught the dragon that is the story
The real truth is that he came across a half dead ancient dragon and towed him across Skyrim to display as a pet and told people it was an epic battle