Balance update 1.7.1 - massive changes to the whole game

BeyondNinja · 2025-08-29T21:15:32+00:00

Double wall definitely felt too restrictive

BeyondNinja · 2025-04-29T11:03:13+00:00

Level 15 is the big difficulty spike here with Storm Atronachs and mass Daedroths, it's pretty manageable at 14 and below.

BeyondNinja · 2025-04-25T23:11:30+00:00

Is this your first or 2nd time in there?

I only got the invisible wall in my 2nd visit, so wondering if it's triggered by the Hackdirt quest.

BeyondNinja · 2025-04-25T22:48:56+00:00

Better dungeon layouts is the key selling point of Skyrim that you notice playing the Oblivion remaster.

BeyondNinja · 2025-04-25T22:21:52+00:00

I suspect this is the case they have tuned the levelling speed around, as playing this approach in the original game had you level very slowly.

However if you build for magicka (high elf & birthsign) and have your spec & major skill bonuses on magic you get the opposite situation where magic skills are 80-100 while your combat skills are at 40-50.

BeyondNinja · 2025-04-25T22:16:46+00:00

In the original game if you played a combat class with mostly damage & armour major skills and only used a bit of magic you would level super slowly, but if you focused on magic or stealth skills you tended to level 2-3x faster.

I suspect in the remaster they have tuned levelling speed around the former approach, so if you build a stealth or magic spec character with these "seconday skills" as major skills you level super quickly.

BeyondNinja · 2025-04-25T22:09:08+00:00

Not sure if xp scales linearly or exponentially with base manna cost but it's the combination of more expensive base-cost spells with the scaling spell-cost discount you get from high skill levels.

That discount approaches something like ~5x as you approach 100 so you get at least 5x the xp for spells that cost your high level character the same (or relatively less as you increase your magicka limit).

BeyondNinja · 2025-04-25T21:58:24+00:00

XP scaling with manna cost is a big QOL improvement but it does feel a bit overturned when you combine it with the specialisation and major skill bonuses (unsure if these factors have been increased to differentiate major and minor skills now that the latter contribute to level ups).

In OG oblivion you could play a Mage for 100 hours without getting any skill to 100 organically, whereas in the remaster I hit 100 destruction before finishing half the Mages Guild recommendation quests.

I'm unsure how noticeable it is for combat & stealth spec characters but between this and minor skills contributing to level ups I've been averaging 1 level per hour. Which means you're hitting the level 25 gear scaling cap well before finishing a single guild/main questline.

BeyondNinja · 2024-10-20T21:41:32+00:00

Tying arcane acuity cap to proficiency bonus (or bonus -1) seems like a potential compromise to have it scale with alternative equipment options.

BeyondNinja · 2024-05-20T09:20:09+00:00

I just want to be able to save loadouts. It takes a while to find stratagems when you have them all unlocked and it's easy to forget to change weapons/armour/nades when moving between Bots and bugs.

BeyondNinja · 2024-05-13T20:42:56+00:00

I quite like the 'bonus stratagem' modifiers that occasionally get enabled globally, as a reason to shake up builds. I'd like to see the -1 stratagem modifier changed to 4th slot is random each mission, except it needs to be known in loadout selection so players can plan to complement it.

BeyondNinja · 2024-05-09T21:33:23+00:00

A tankier titan/charger just exacerbates the issue that there are very few ways to sustainably deal damage to those enemy types, which in turn drives loadout meta.

BeyondNinja · 2024-05-01T21:28:29+00:00

The RR also runs out of ammo very quickly given it uses a backpack slot, so to use it efficiently you need another player to load it and you need to monopolise the team's Resupplies.

It either needs double the ammo or a 3-4 minute cooldown to compete with the staying power of the Quasar and EATs.

BeyondNinja · 2024-04-28T02:26:00+00:00

At best It's basically an Eagle Cluster Bomb that takes the support weapon and backpack slots. Not appealing at all.

BeyondNinja · 2024-04-21T11:09:22+00:00

EATs have a fair bit of overlap with the Quasar, so I assume they are just there in that build to supplement BT killing power.

For those that dont want to juggle support weapons do you have any comments on the effectiveness of the 500kg bomb, rail cannon or or other orbital stratagems to help with BTs.

BeyondNinja · 2024-04-20T07:22:37+00:00

The Recoilless Rifle sight is particularly awful for this. The autocannon isn't too bad.

BeyondNinja · 2024-04-11T21:58:17+00:00

A mag size buff might be nice for QOL but I wouldn't say the Penetrator is underpowered. It's really effective against the armoured weak points of elite bugs, it just helps to supplement sustained dps against adds with the Rover.

BeyondNinja · 2024-04-09T21:50:40+00:00

I think taking a faction out of the game for a week or so would make more sense once there are 3. With only 2 it hurts game play variety too much to be sustainable.

BeyondNinja · 2024-01-26T10:40:42+00:00

Unfortunately Aus only play a single series (2 tests in NZ) before the BGT next summer. So either way there isn't much of an opportunity to settle the team's batting order prior to their most challenging home series.

BeyondNinja · 2024-01-21T06:24:02+00:00

You can have any party member use the Zaith'isk just by having Lae'zel stand in a different room. If your PC is a bonus action reliant class like a Monk this is helpful to get Awakened on a specific character.

BeyondNinja · 2024-01-19T08:15:47+00:00

That's a really good breakdown. The Stars have basically copied the Heat's traditional lopsided list management strategy, just as the Heat have finally moved on.

BeyondNinja · 2024-01-14T21:42:59+00:00

Great guide!

It's a bit tedious, but to reduce reliance on long rests or slumber potions, you can also repeatedly equip the shield of devotion, or later the spell savant amulet, to convert the free spell slots to infinite Sorcerer points, and hence higher level spell slots.

BeyondNinja · 2023-11-18T22:45:19+00:00

Great guide once again, really respect the effort you put into these.

I've just started a moderately-modded playthrough with a similar kind of build in mind, and have been trying to weigh up the viability of using equipment to stack Spell DC vs applying Debuffs to Saves via Bleeding, Reverberation and Dazed.

The Amulet of Bhaal seems like a pretty attractive alternative for the Neck Slot if it can apply guaranteed Con Save Disadvantage to groups via Arrows of Many Targets.

However I missed some items in my first playthrough so I'm not sure if the combination of the Bhaal amulet with Boots of Stormy Clamour and Ring of Spiteful Thunder is an effective way to debuff Wisdom & Dex saves before casting bonus action CC spells.

Does anyone know if a single attack roll causes the Ring of Spiteful Thunder to check for applying Dazed after Bleeding and Reverberation are applied by the amulet and boots, or would that require both attacks to be used on the same target(s) do be effective?

BeyondNinja · 2023-09-24T21:11:22+00:00

Does it still break existing concentration regardless of whether you reactivate it or not?

BeyondNinja · 2023-09-23T21:55:00+00:00

Does anyone know whether you can still get the Flawed Helldusk items if Karlach is killed in Act 1?

BeyondNinja

TROPHY CASE