Forums » Elder Scrolls

What is your favorite hold?

    • 7 posts
    December 3, 2011 3:54 PM EST
    For any reason, which hold is your favorite? Whether it's because of the city there, the environment, the wildlife, or maybe theres just one npc you like that lives there. I like Eastmarch the best in the main area of it. I don't know how to explain what kind of environment it is, but if you've been outside of Windhelm, you probably know what I'm talking about. Ironically, Windhelm and the immediate surrounding area is my least favorite place in the game.
  • December 3, 2011 4:07 PM EST

    Whiterun hold is my favorite mainly because the enviroment is just like home 

    • 577 posts
    December 3, 2011 5:23 PM EST

    I like the Rift cause of the foilage. ha! Serious though, I dig Autum and the birch trees.

    The Reach is cool too, with the rocks stickin out from the green grass. Cool-ass waterfalls also. Both places are cool to sneak in. Good for hunting

    • 12 posts
    December 3, 2011 5:31 PM EST
    White run I enjoy how close everything is to my house all I keep all of my smithing materials in it so I'm only over in combered for a short walk next door, also having all of the giant camps right out side of the city is great for quick leveling with light armor block 1h and magic.
    • 577 posts
    December 4, 2011 10:43 AM EST

    When smithing I'll do the same, except I go up to the Skyforge. Smithing there boost your smithing skill up faster. If I'm over-combered I Whirl-wind it up there. ha!! Becareful though, the towns people don't like it.

    • 21 posts
    December 5, 2011 1:51 PM EST

    I think everybody likes Whiterun the best initially.  It's the most user-friendly hold/city, and even after 90 hours, 36 levels, 4 Thane-ships and a mansion in Solitude, I find myself going back to Whiterun just to kind of get my bearings and regroup.  (And get Kynareth's stamina blessing!).

    I love the northern coast - I love its bleakness, the intense sunlight (or gloominess), and the glaciers.  I'm a big fan of the Pale and Winterhold. 

    But, now that I've visited all the cities, and seen all the holds, I'm going to say that the best hold in the game is THE REACH.  I just love the ruggedness of it.  And while I dig the winter-wonderlandy-ness of the more Northern holds, there's something kind of grim and raw about The Reach that I just really like.  And Markarth is definitely the most interesting city, in terms of layout, architecture, and overall vibe.  Of all the cities, it feels like a "real" place the most.  (I'll concede that it can be a bit disorienting to navigate, and if you just want to stop off somewhere to sell loot or craft items, I'd go somewhere else).

    I just get the sense that the Reach is on the true edge of wilderness, and Markarth is a sort of last fortress against...something.  The whole Hold somehow feels both edgy & dangerous, and at the same time kind of secure and solid. 

    Don't get me wrong - I love the northern snowy regions, dig the frozen swampland, am intrigued by the volcanic depression, and appreciate both the pine and autumn forests as a nice respite from all the harshness.  And Whiterun's tundra is oddly soothing.  But the area which grips my imagination the most is The Reach.  Hands down.

    • 377 posts
    December 5, 2011 3:01 PM EST

    The Reach and the Rift. I can't really pick between the two. Both are really great.

    • 132 posts
    December 5, 2011 4:20 PM EST

    For convenience, Rift and Riften for sho, because Honeyside is extremely convenient for crafting. For coolness value, the Reach. It somehow feels more epic there than anywhere else...though the forsworn piss me off more than regular bandits, for some reason. My least favorite is Eastmarch, just because Windhelm is disgusting. I spend as little time there as possible.

    • 21 posts
    December 6, 2011 10:29 AM EST
    It's true!  The Forsworn are definitely more annoying than regular bandits.  Not quite sure either, but I think it has to do with their fanaticism.  A regular bandit is out for loot and plunder and we can sort of understand that.  (Even if they need killing!).  But The Forsworn don't seem to care about that stuff, they kind of reject society as a whole.  Ever notice that Forsworn almost never have any gold on them?  It's almost like they're halfway feral, intentionally.  Plus they're down with Haargraven and that's just creepy.
    • 77 posts
    December 6, 2011 10:59 AM EST

    They took my two favorite things about trees. Autumn colors, and birches. Then they combined them. And so, the Rift was born.