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Morrowind: Is Unarmoured a Viable Skill?

Tags: #Game:MW  #Type:Other 
  • Member
    March 10, 2017

    Unarmoured's always been a tricky Skill for me in Morrowind. It's got a few benefits, but it's also got some pretty hefty disadvantages (Such as the lower AR). I've only used it once or twice in the past, and found it noticably more difficult without the added Armour Rating, though not so much so that I found it to be unplayable. The slightly higher speed was nice, but until it got to a high enough level, I always found myself struggling a bit with Unarmoured.

    So with that in mind, I thought I'd post it as a discussion here, and see what other people's thoughts are with regards to this lowly Magic Skill. To help, I've made a quick list of Unarmoured's pros and cons, seen below.

    On the Pros side, we have:

    • Very low weight compared to Armour (Or none at all, if you go nude), and doesn't slow you down at all
    • Never needs repair, unlike Armour
    • It costs nothing
    • Beast races could also have a slight benefit, due to the inability for them to wear armoured Boots

    On the Cons side, however:

    • Unaroured gives a maximum of 65 Armour Rating (Without Enchantments), which is quite a bit less than even Light Armour
    • You have less slots for Enhanting (No Pauldrons or Helm)
    • You'll probably end up spending quite a lot on Restore/Fortify Health Potions, especially early on

    From that, I'd have to say they're pretty even, considering that you'll never have to pay for Repair Hammers or constantly keep upgrading, but it will be quite a bit more challenging without a fair amount of Restore Potions on hand.

    So what are your thoughts on this? Is Unarmoured secretly the greatest Skill of the game, or is it just worthless, and under-powered? Give your opinions in the comments below!

  • Member
    April 25, 2017

    As you have said, Morrowind has four armor skills. 

    Sorry I'll start again.

     

    Awwwooo

    As you have said, Morrowind has four armor skills. 

    Unarmored.

    Light Armor

    Medium Armor 

    Heavy Armor

    Two skill sets I always have with my Argonian Sotek... (Yes he is really called Sotek) is Unarmored and heavy Armored.

    Beast races cannot wear boots nor can they wear helms so Unarmored is not only a viable choice but it's also vital for beast races. As for enchants, even Argonians can have lots of different enchants. At any one time an Argonian can wear:-

    Shirt

    Trousers

    Left Glove

    Right Glove

    Belt

    Left Pauldron

    Right Pauldron

    Ring 01

    Ring 02

    Amulet

    Greves

    Chest

    Now whats interesting is that you can wear trousers, a shirt, greaves and a chest plate. Four items to enchant.

     

    Now bear in mind that there are different levels as well. exquisite gear can have more powerful enchants. 

    An exquisite necklass can have constant effect Recover 1 point of every atribute. No matter what hits you, your luck, strength personality ect will recover.

    In actual fact I ALWAYS carry Stoneflower petals as they give restore Strength. Once I encountered a wraith who reduced my strength so much that I couldn't move even if I was stark naked and had nothing in my backpack at all. Stoneflower petals. Never leave Seyda Neen without them.

    Belt can have slowfall constant effect as well as fortify Acrobatics. You can travel around the whole of Balmora without touching the ground.

    Ok I'm going somewhat off point but what I am trying to say is that there is no concern over the loss of the few enchant pieces you loose by not having Boots or a helm. As such unarmoured shouldn't be shunned because of the lack of enchanted pieces. 

    Yes a burley Nord running around in a loin cloth won't have a great armor score but it's his fault his gear was stolen. Don't ask me aboutteh other Nord in Mournhold.....

    There have been a fair few times when my caracter has traveled about in shirts and trousers ect and as such I have a high unarmored rating. I do take more damage but I haven't found it to be a major problem. 

    With regards to the healing potion cost, Alchemy is a great way to supply potions. You can buy the necessery items rather cheaply (about 20 gold for enough supplies to create anything up to ten potions. Later they become extreamly effective). The hard part is to get a good set of alchemy gear. (Unless you goto Caldera and give the Mages Guild a visit. Behind the Nord is a door. through the door, up the spiral staircase and ermmmm  no one saw me take anything so I didn't.......

    In short, I always take unarmored. As to the down sides, there's plenty of solutions to get around them easily and cheaply. If anyone is still struggling, goto solthiem, play bloodmooon; join Hircine and show the pesky bandits what unarmored realy means. 

    Side Note: I bet not one of you are surprised I managed to mention Hircine and werewolves in this. 

     

     

  • Member
    April 25, 2017

    Thanks for the comment, Sotek!

    I actually started an Unarmoured playthrough myself a few days ago, and it seems to be going relatively well. So far I've gotten myself some Extravagant clothing, and as you said, Enchantments can be really beneficial. The extra Armour slots really help with that, too.

    And thanks for sharing those Echantments you use, and the tip on Stoneflowers! I remember being in a similar situation, where no matter how much gear I dropped I just couldn't get moving. I ended up loading a previous save from several hours earlier, and lets just say I wasn't very impressed. This will definitely come in handy, so again, thanks for sharig it!

    Personally, I always enchant an Amulet with Constant Restore Health (The magnitude tends to vary throughout the playthrough), so I don't have to sleep after every fight for it to regenerate. I'll definitely give your ideas a try, too. That Restore Attriute one sounds like it'll be especially useful!

    (Edit: Honestly, I would have been more surprised if you hadn't mentioned werewolves!)