Requiem modding vs. a bunch of others like Wildcat/Ordinator etc.

[SoNatural]

What's your preference?

What's fun about Requiem?

Is requiem modding taxing on the game/computer?

[SoNatural]

I heard Requiem is really hard upfront and a grind, then after about 25-30 you start to flip and the game becomes ridiculously easier? Would a more evened out difficulty setup like wildcat be more immersively fun? (i know a lot of it is subjective but just looking for feedback)

[gnewna]

Requiem is fantastic. If you grind and make OP gear and min/max and metagame it can be twenty levels of grinding and then too easy, I suppose, but that's just one (rather boring) way to go about it. For a first try, I recommend a sort of "training wheels" version - use the MCM to boost your damage output a bit and reduce your damage taken a bit (I seriously dropped it to about 40% taken/upped it to 150% dealt at the start of my first playthrough - 120ish hours later I was up to the default damage values and still having a blast, unfortunately PC troubles stopped play but I'm replaying that character on mostly default settings) and tweak other things like "running doesn't cause exhaustion" and "animal poisons don't paralyse". In addition, I'd recommend using either Vilja, Inigo or Arissa follower mods, all of whom have patches for Requiem. Vilja and Inigo together are a great team.

This will allow you to get to know Requiem in a slightly less terrified way, and also adds a fair bit of entertainment.

But my main advice is to embrace it. If you want to play Requiem, don't grind (too much), but DO accept that you won't be able to handle bandits alone until at least level ten, that even with a follower or two you won't be getting the Dragonstone until somewhere around level fourteen, that vampires and mages (especially if you play an Altmer, like I do) will make you run and hide well into the thirties.

Essentially, plan a long, leisurely, yet also intense, playthrough. Install Not So Fast - Main Quest/Mage Guild, ESF - Companions, and/or Thieves Guild Requirements, or impose your own changes on those questlines to extend them (I made polite noises to Farengar and Balgruuf about Bleak Falls and then went away and did other stuff for probably an in-game month or two, for example, because if they expect me to do that, they can wait until I feel ready.)

Find small jobs to do for a little cash, and buy training (you can increase it up to 20 times per level) while it's cheap, and this will probably net you a couple of levels - by default you only get 5 points H/M/S per level, you can change this in the MCM, too. Pick a Guardian Stone that suits your character - you can only change within the same group, so pick carefully, but they all give a decent boost at low levels. Go with the vanilla start.

[gnewna]

And, at the same time, a game based around EnaiSiaion's mods can be incredibly fun, too. I've not tried Wildcat properly (see below) but I love the combination of his Ordinator, Apocalypse Magic, Imperious Races, Aurora Standing Stones and Thunderchild (shouts expansion, kinda) with kryptopyr's Compete Alchemy and Cooking Overhaul, Disparity, Trade and Barter and Timing is Everything (plus CCOR and of course her fixes) plus Vigor. Do make sure to read through the mod pages carefully for info on compatibility - load order and patches are very important for this setup. Oh, also love Revenge​of the Enemies or Advanced Adversary Encounters and SkyTEST with this setup (and SkyTEST with Requiem).

I had another character, with nearly this setup, and again, played around 120 hours of her (maybe more, I restarted after completing Vilja's main questline and realising I shouldn't have married some generic vanilla NPC, and that must have been a good thirty or forty hours in). The only thing I didn't have was Vigor as neither that nor Wildcat was out at the time - I think Wildcat came out near the point where I had to stop playing, I did give it a go but I also had Dragon Combat Overhaul installed and literally went outside after installing to find three dragons waiting for me. It was a bit too much of a baptism of fire so I reverted back to my previous save without Wildcat.

[SoNatural]

Originally posted by gnewna:

And, at the same time, a game based around EnaiSiaion's mods can be incredibly fun, too. I've not tried Wildcat, but I love the combination of his Ordinator, Apocalypse Magic, Imperious Races, Aurora Standing Stones and Thunderchild (shouts expansion, kinda) with kryptopyr's Compete Alchemy and Cooking Overhaul, Disparity, Trade and Barter and Timing is Everything (plus CCOR and of course her fixes) plus Vigor. Do make sure to read through the mod pages carefully for info on compatibility - load order and patches are very important for this setup. Oh, also love Revenge​of the Enemies or Advanced Adversary Encounters and SkyTEST with this setup (and SkyTEST with Requiem).

I had another character, with nearly this setup, and again, played around 120 hours of her (maybe more, I restarted after completing Vilja's main questline and realising I shouldn't have married some generic vanilla NPC, and that must have been a good thirty or forty hours in). The only thing I didn't have was Vigor as neither that nor Wildcat was out at the time - I think Wildcat came out near the point where I had to stop playing, I did give it a go but I also had Dragon Combat Overhaul installed and literally went outside after installing to find three dragons waiting for me. It was a bit too much of a baptism of fire so I reverted back to my previous save without Wildcat.

What's your experience using other setup vs. Requiem as far as what you preferred over the other?

[gnewna]

Dang it, I just typed another long reply and Steam ate it. Honestly, it's hard to choose. I've tried playing my Requiem character in a non-Requiem "world" and it just doesn't feel right. But I loved my Imperial soldier lady who fell for the daffy blonde Nord (Ordinator etc) just as much.

Requiem is more of a complete experience though, in my opinion, and it's worth trying. It genuinely makes the game feel new again, and this is after around 2k hours. But Ordinator has some brilliant perk branches (tip: he's serious when he says stick to the vanilla perk points, more or less - SPECIALISE) that allow for really interesting play styles. And Imperious for racial stuff plus Disparity (PATCHED!! Read the manual! Cannot stress this enough!) for classes is another brilliant addition to the game.

[GrimCat]

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16 10 UnreadBooksGlow.esp
17 11 EnhancedLightsandFX.esp
18 12 ELFX - Exteriors.esp
19 13 Hothtrooper44_Armor_Ecksstra.esp
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23 17 SoS - The Dungeons.esp
24 18 Thunderchild - Epic Shout Package.esp
25 19 Hothtrooper44_ArmorCompilation.esp
26 1a Guard Dialogue Overhaul.esp
27 1b Weapons & Armor Fixes_Remade.esp
28 1c Rebirth Monster.esp
29 1d Feminine Females.esp
30 1e Wintermyst - Enchantments of Skyrim.esp
31 1f Weapons & Armor_TrueWeaponsLvlLists.esp
32 20 imp_helm_legend.esp
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34 22 Immersive Weapons.esp
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36 24 Armored Circlets.esp
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88 58 CampingKitNorthernRanger.esp
89 59 ForgottenMagic_Redone.esp
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113 71 WerewolfMastery.esp
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115 73 Predator Vision.esp
116 74 GreenWaterFix_v2withDawnguard.esp
117 75 Civil War Cleanup.esp
118 76 LostGrimoire.esp
119 77 Magic of the Magna-Ge.esp
120 78 AcquisitiveSoulGemMultithreaded.esp
121 79 Dread Huntress Armor.esp
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124 7c Convenient Horses.esp
125 7d Battlemage Armour.esp
126 7e LeftHandRings.esp
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128 80 Better Stealth AI for Followers.esp
129 81 DreamBurrowsRegalAssassin.esp
130 82 Alternate Start - Live Another Life.esp
131 83 Alternate Start -- New Beginnings.esp
Bashed Patch, 0.esp
It was just easier to post my current load order.
Ordinator is a lot of fun and compliments Wildcat rather well, in that you will be boppin' along killin' your enemies like death incarnate and BAM! You die from a single arrow shot by some scab that got your flank.
The magic addons work well with Ordinator because it makes magic very effective throughout the game.