Happy Birthday Skyrim!

Can you believe it? Today, November 11th, we celebrate the 14th Birthday of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim! Fourteen years ago, we first heard that iconic theme, saw that stunning dragon, and stepped into a world that would define a generation of open-world gaming.

From the very start, Skyrim has been a game about choice. Choice in how we build our character, what guilds we join, and how we interact with the world.

The question isn't if Skyrim is a great game—that's a fact. The real question is: How do we, the community, ensure its legacy continues to grow and stay vibrant for the next 14 years?

The Secret to Immortality: Keeping the Magic Fresh

We all chase that feeling of the first time we played. For veterans, boredom can set in. What's the best way to fight the Dragonbreak of repetition?

Let’s discuss the engine of Skyrim's endless life:

The Power of Narrative: What's the most compelling backstory you've ever given a Dragonborn to make the main quest feel personal and new? (e.g., A Thalmor defector, a distant cousin of the Jarl, a former bandit boss).
A Different Kind of Playthrough: If you had to commit to one non-combat-focused role (like an Alchemist, a Traveling Bard, or a Hunter who only uses trapping), what would it be, and how does that redefine the game?
The Community's Contribution: Beyond just installing mods, how do we best celebrate and support the creators and artists who keep expanding the boundaries of Tamriel?

Most compelling backstory: I made a Redguard a long, long time ago, who had fought the Thalmor as a much younger warrior during their invasion of Hammerfell, and clawed his way across the Alik'r Desert just to join the local Legion in Skyrim, put down the Stormcloaks as quickly as possible, and give all of Tamriel's humans some breathing room to prepare for the next Great War. He found his way to the main quest completely by accident in the process, and just kind of shrugged and rolled with it, but only once the Civil War was over.

Non-combat playthrough: I think I'd want to try a true non-combat thief. No Thieves' Guild questline since that involves a lot of outright combat, I'm talking more Mark of the Ninja, complete nonlethal stealth challenge. Steal cool stuff on my own initiative, always try not to leave any bodies behind me, always try to do an entire heist without ever raising the alarm.

Community contribution: Since I only really play with the Requiem overhaul now, and left vanilla behind years ago, I of course learn gameplay mechanics that work best in Requiem. And for that, I have to shout out 2hands, samirpls, Raoul Duke, Noxcrab, and nbk on YouTube, and the Requiem subreddit and Discord, for their tutorials and general gameplay tips. If anyone is interested to see their stuff, I'll happily give you a link to any or all of their profiles.

2hands and samirpls are great at melee combat, Noxcrab is a modder in his own right who really loves unarmed builds and weird weapon combos, Raoul Duke is one of those beasts who does an entire Requiem playthrough in perma-death mode and has gotten really good as a result, and nbk is really knowledgeable about all things archery in Requiem. I've learned a bunch from each of them, and I still go back to their videos sometimes for a refresher. As old as Skyrim is, it's nice to still have so much information readily available for it.

Replies

SirFloopy January 13, 2026 at 3:01am

Most compelling backstory: I made a Redguard a long, long time ago, who had fought the Thalmor as a much younger warrior during their invasion of Hammerfell, and clawed his way across the Alik'r Desert just to join the local Legion in Skyrim, put down the Stormcloaks as quickly as possible, and give all of Tamriel's humans some breathing room to prepare for the next Great War. He found his way to the main quest completely by accident in the process, and just kind of shrugged and rolled with it, but only once the Civil War was over.

Non-combat playthrough: I think I'd want to try a true non-combat thief. No Thieves' Guild questline since that involves a lot of outright combat, I'm talking more Mark of the Ninja, complete nonlethal stealth challenge. Steal cool stuff on my own initiative, always try not to leave any bodies behind me, always try to do an entire heist without ever raising the alarm.

Community contribution: Since I only really play with the Requiem overhaul now, and left vanilla behind years ago, I of course learn gameplay mechanics that work best in Requiem. And for that, I have to shout out 2hands, samirpls, Raoul Duke, Noxcrab, and nbk on YouTube, and the Requiem subreddit and Discord, for their tutorials and general gameplay tips. If anyone is interested to see their stuff, I'll happily give you a link to any or all of their profiles.

2hands and samirpls are great at melee combat, Noxcrab is a modder in his own right who really loves unarmed builds and weird weapon combos, Raoul Duke is one of those beasts who does an entire Requiem playthrough in perma-death mode and has gotten really good as a result, and nbk is really knowledgeable about all things archery in Requiem. I've learned a bunch from each of them, and I still go back to their videos sometimes for a refresher. As old as Skyrim is, it's nice to still have so much information readily available for it.

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