WithThe Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Editionnow out, new life has been breathed into the game. Even though it’s been out for ten years, fans still love the game and now there are new things to do in the game.
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One thing that players can do now is change the gameplay to Survival Mode. This mode makes the game a lot more difficult in ways that players never imagined. From having to sleep to staying warm, the game is a lot more immersive. Because there are a lot of changes from traditionalSkyrim, there are some things players should know while playing this mode.
Update by Sarah Prado:With Survival Mode adding to the difficulty of the game, Skyrim is almost like a new game. It may look and sound impossible to play with all of the hindrances and things players must do to survive, but it’s possible and makes the game fun. Every little decision matters to survive the cold, harsh climate of Skyrim. Even picking what race to play is an important decision because it can either help or add to the difficulty. Players shouldn’t be scared to try Survival Mode and might enjoy it even more than normal mode.
15Choose Character Race Very Carefully
The very first decision players must make ischoosing the racefor their character. In vanillaSkyrim, all races have their racial passives and provide a minor advantage. With Survival Mode, things take an interesting turn. Not only do the races still have their passive ability from the vanilla version, but now come with disadvantages. For example, Argonians still have their Disease resistance and Waterbreathing passives, but now they can eat raw food without worrying about food poisoning and get colder 25% faster than other races.
Some races come with different advantages and disadvantages so the player will have to carefully decide what race they want to be. This can either make the journey a little easier or more difficult.
14Stay Warm And Toasty
The province of Skyrim is known to be very cold and unforgiving for anyone who’s not ready and Survival Mode takes this to heart. It’ll be very easy to freeze to death in the colder areas. Winterhold is practically a death sentence for players who aren’t prepared.The entire holdis covered in snow and sunlight is practically nonexistent.
Players must keep their characters warm so they can move around better and not freeze to death. This is also dependent on the race of the character. Nords, Orcs, and Khajiits will fare a lot better in the cold than the other races. However, if the player is going for a mage build and chooses Dark Elf, Breton, or High Elf, they can use Flame Cloak to stay warm. Another way to stay warm is to use a torch. It’ll provide a little heat, but not much.
13Best Armor Doesn’t Mean It’s The Warmest
If staying warm isn’t already a challenge, players might have to carrysome special armorto help keep them warm. Especially at the beginning of the game, staying warm will prove to be a challenge. Some armor provides better Warmth than others. The Fur Armor with sleeves can be found early on and provide some of the best Warmth even later in the game.
Some armor might be ill-suited for certain areas so it’s best to carry some armor with high Warmth rating just in case. Especially when traveling in the Dawnstar, Winterhold, and Windhelm areas where there are more freezing climates than the rest of Skyrim.
12Don’t Be A Hoarder
Picking up items was not really a problem before since players have a pretty high weight carry. Survival Mode cuts the carry weight in half at the beginning and this will limit players on what they carry back with them. This will force players to think about where the nearest merchant is and if it’s worth carrying so much with them, especially if the merchant is far away.
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Players should only carry the necessities andpick up only the most valuableand lightweight items. So be prepared to carry a lot of jewelry and gems as these always sell for a decent amount of gold.
11Heal During And After Battle
Health recovery has taken a big hit in Survival Mode. Health will no longer recover if the player is just standing around after battle. Players will now need to heal by restoration spells or using potions to get a burst heal. To recover over time, eating food or drinking a regeneration potion is recommended.
Players can alsoenchant their armorto help with health recovery too. This can take some time because learning the enchantment might prove to be a little difficult as well as leveling up the enchantment skill line.
10Get A Backpack Or Have Followers/Pets
If players are wanting to pick up more items along their journey, it’s best to get a backpack. There are different types of backpacks, but all of them increase the amount players can carry. Some will even offer other bonuses such as increasing bow damage, make lockpicking easier, or increase max Magicka. These backpacks can be made at a forge or can be bought from merchants. It’s very useful and players should get one as soon as they can to be able to hold more items they might need.
Another way to carry some items isto have followersor pets. They can carry some items too and will make gathering items a little easier. They won’t be able to carry much, but at least players can carry a little more.
9Don’t Eat Raw Meat
Eating raw fooddidn’t do anything to players in vanillaSkyrim,but it has some consequences with Survival Mode. If players eat raw meat, there’s a pretty good chance that their characters will get Food Poisoning. This will decrease magicka and stamina recovery by 50%. Food won’t be able to restore health for the next three days. Considering that food is needed to survive, this will prove to be a huge problem.
A guaranteed way to not get Food Poisoning is being a Khajiit or Argonian. However, players also need to take into account if they want the disadvantages these races have when travelling throughout Skyrim.
8Letting The Disease Linger Has Consequences
Diseases weren’t really much of a threat before, but Survival Mode has kicked it up a notch. Instead of just being a small and overall unthreatening nuisance, the diseases in Survival Mode will progress from bad to worse. Players will have to carryCure Disease potionson them whenever they travel or if they’re near a shrine to one of the Nine Divines, pay 100 gold. Periodically check Active Effects to make sure all is well and clear since there are new diseases the player can get.
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To lessen the blow, players can choose to play as an Argonian or a Wood Elf. Both races have a constant Resist Disease effect that’s at 50%. This will halve the chances of getting diseases and players won’t have to carry much Cure Disease potions with them.
7Properly Plan Out Journey
Players can kiss fast travel goodbye once Survival Mode is activated. To get anywhere, on foot, by horse, or paying for a carriage is the only way to go. If players are going to travel by foot or by horse, they will have to plan out their journey. Taking hunger, fatigue, and other issues into account,traveling from Riften to Markarthmight not be possible to do in one go.
It’s best to keep to see which quests are close by to the character and do them as the player travels to the destination they really want to go to.
6Make Food And Be Salty About It
Eating food is an essential part to surviving Survival Mode. If the character goes hungry, it will affect total stamina and players will only lose more stamina the longer the hunger goes on. So players will have to regularly feed their characters and carry food around to verify they don’t go hungry. Keep some small food on hand like apples, carrots, etc. to help stave off hunger until the player is able to get a proper meal.
Players should also have Salt Piles on hand sincea lot of food recipesrequire it. Another item players should keep on hand is Fire Salts. This will help heat up soups to a “Hot” version of it and give characters some Warmth.
