Fortifying skills past 100

[Pete MC]

Is there any point? I have my Deadric shield enchanted with CE fortify
Block 30 points (ouch that was expensive!), but as my base block skill
has now risen above 70 I've a block of about 103 or something. Does this
make any difference, ie is my chance to block any better than it would
be at 100? Same for other skills, will I be able to build a better
firestorm with a Destruction of 120 than I can with it at 100, or would
it be a waste of time - anyone know how this works?

TIA

[Robert Oliver]

Post by Pete MC
Is there any point? I have my Deadric shield enchanted with CE fortify
Block 30 points (ouch that was expensive!), but as my base block skill
has now risen above 70 I've a block of about 103 or something. Does this
make any difference, ie is my chance to block any better than it would
be at 100? Same for other skills, will I be able to build a better
firestorm with a Destruction of 120 than I can with it at 100, or would
it be a waste of time - anyone know how this works?
TIA

I've used constant effect enchantments to fortify my character's
strength. In my last game my PC was wearing both exquisite pants and
shirt with CE fortify strength and her maximum encumbrance was over
700, which made loot hauling much easier.

If you use a lot of spells during combat I'd suggest making items with
a CE of fortify intelligence. It will boost your PC's total majicka
level allowing you to cast majicka expensive spells more often. Or to
cast spells that require a great deal of majicka. IIRC the spell Summon
Golden Saint requires about 160 majicka, making it unusable without
fortification either by potion or enchantment.

[Pete MC]

Post by Robert Oliver

Post by Pete MC
Is there any point? I have my Deadric shield enchanted with CE fortify
Block 30 points (ouch that was expensive!), but as my base block skill
has now risen above 70 I've a block of about 103 or something. Does this
make any difference, ie is my chance to block any better than it would
be at 100? Same for other skills, will I be able to build a better
firestorm with a Destruction of 120 than I can with it at 100, or would
it be a waste of time - anyone know how this works?
TIA

I've used constant effect enchantments to fortify my character's
strength. In my last game my PC was wearing both exquisite pants and
shirt with CE fortify strength and her maximum encumbrance was over
700, which made loot hauling much easier.
If you use a lot of spells during combat I'd suggest making items with
a CE of fortify intelligence. It will boost your PC's total majicka
level allowing you to cast majicka expensive spells more often. Or to
cast spells that require a great deal of majicka. IIRC the spell Summon
Golden Saint requires about 160 majicka, making it unusable without
fortification either by potion or enchantment.

Yup, I use CE fortify attribute enchantments already, I'm wondering
about fortify _skill_ enchantments for values over 100.

[Peter Strempel]

Post by Pete MC
Yup, I use CE fortify attribute enchantments already, I'm wondering
about fortify _skill_ enchantments for values over 100.

I suppose noone can tell for sure except the guys over at Bethedsa.

However, I personally didn't notice much of a difference between say
long blade 100 and 140. Doesn't mean there is no difference, though. But
I'd say 100 is good enough, and rather use my enchantment slots for
other effects like restore/shield/feather etc.

But I like to use fortify skill _spells_ to get some skill I suck at to
a higher value when I need it. Quite fancy when doing an alchemy session
or trying to open that lock 100 chest.

[Andrew E. Wiggin]

certain skills respond better to high/extremely high numbers than other
skills.

I'm sure we all found the icarian flight scrolls(fortify acrobatics 1000)
to be quite impressive until we crashed into the ground and died. :)

Its really all about how the game engine handles the numbers. (keep in mind
I don't know exactly how the engine works, I am just speaking logically)
If it multiplies or adds the numbers to a base amount then higher numbers
are indeed desireable (acrobatics, athletics, potion potency aspect of
alchemy, etc.)
if it divides or subtracts to get a chance of success percentage, or a 'to
hit' number then numbers over 100 would probably just send back a 100% 'to
hit' number (probably being built into the code that way so as not to cause
program crashes. Hmmm...... maybe thats why my game crashes with my uber
character :) )

Post by Peter Strempel

Post by Pete MC
Yup, I use CE fortify attribute enchantments already, I'm wondering
about fortify _skill_ enchantments for values over 100.

I suppose noone can tell for sure except the guys over at Bethedsa.
However, I personally didn't notice much of a difference between say
long blade 100 and 140. Doesn't mean there is no difference, though. But
I'd say 100 is good enough, and rather use my enchantment slots for
other effects like restore/shield/feather etc.
But I like to use fortify skill _spells_ to get some skill I suck at to
a higher value when I need it. Quite fancy when doing an alchemy session
or trying to open that lock 100 chest.

[The Horny Goat]

On Thu, 25 Nov 2004 18:36:31 +0100, Peter Strempel

Post by Peter Strempel
However, I personally didn't notice much of a difference between say
long blade 100 and 140. Doesn't mean there is no difference, though. But
I'd say 100 is good enough, and rather use my enchantment slots for
other effects like restore/shield/feather etc.
But I like to use fortify skill _spells_ to get some skill I suck at to
a higher value when I need it. Quite fancy when doing an alchemy session
or trying to open that lock 100 chest.

Opening high lock value chests is more easily facilitated by taking
Fortify Luck potions. These are easily made by alchemists - though
there is only one combination of ingredients that I know of that does
not also do Drain Fatigue (which is easily restored in any case).

I don't remember the details but Guar Hides figures in it.

In general I ALWAYS take a Fortify Intelligence potion before making
potions - I know full well you can distort the game by taking lots of
them so I now have a self-imposed rule of only one Fortify
Intelligence before mixing them.

I also try to avoid stacking potions though several of the last bad
guys in the Suran Underworld were pretty much unkillable without 4 or
5 Fortify Strength potions... <grin>

My favorite quest in that mod was the one where you had to go through
the forcefields and clean out an assassins' base - you get jumped by 6
or 7 mega bad guys after you cross a trap door - so the second time
round I lured them after me, levitated over the trap door which made
most of them fall in the pit at which point I cast fireballs till they
were all down. (I could kill them one at a time with long sword but
that many were just too many to handle at once)

The other tip of course is always have at least one jinkblade - you
never know when you're going to need to use it either to kill
something tough or to paralyse something and get time to run away.
That and the Amulet of Shadows which together with the Boots of
Blinding Speed are the two magic items which I say "don't leave home
without it!"

[Xris]

Post by Pete MC
Is there any point? I have my Deadric shield enchanted with CE fortify
Block 30 points (ouch that was expensive!), but as my base block skill
has now risen above 70 I've a block of about 103 or something. Does this
make any difference, ie is my chance to block any better than it would
be at 100? Same for other skills, will I be able to build a better
firestorm with a Destruction of 120 than I can with it at 100, or would
it be a waste of time - anyone know how this works?
TIA

The maximum chance of blocking is afaik 40%. I assume that this value
is multiplied by your skill value divided by hundred. So if you have a
skill level of 80 in Block, your chance to block is around
40%*(80/100)=.4*.8=32%
I say around because most probably your luck will count into this (I
have no idea how) and perhaps also your current fatigue.
Similar with Long Blade. Higher skill level means higher chance to
hit. Skill level above 100 means very high chance to hit even when low
on fatigue (here fatigue definitely has a big impact into your chance
to hit).
Similar with spells. Your chance of successfully casting a spell
depends on your skill level, the spell itself (more powerful->harder
to cast) and on your current fatigue (and on your luck, a little bit
at least). So a skill level above 100 should enable you to cast a very
powerful spell even when totally exhausted. It does not, however, have
any influence on the mana costs or the damage. These depend only on
the spell.

Although I have no experince with it I think it can't be a bad idea to
fortify your block skill. Your Long Blade skill (or any other weapon
skill) is not worth fortifying in my eyes. You will hit often enough,
and if not, throw in a restore fatigue (NEVER EVER fortify fatigue).
I never really fought with spells, so I can't tell you much about this
topic. But I think the limiting factor will be your mana (magic, as it
is called in Morrowind), so I don't think it is worth the enchantment
either.

BTW where did you get a fortify skill spell? I am currently looking
for one...

[Peter Strempel]

Post by Xris
BTW where did you get a fortify skill spell? I am currently looking
for one...

Imperial Cult, Mournhold

[Xris]

Post by Peter Strempel

Post by Xris
BTW where did you get a fortify skill spell? I am currently looking
for one...

Imperial Cult, Mournhold

Thx

[Xris]

Post by Peter Strempel

Post by Xris
BTW where did you get a fortify skill spell? I am currently looking
for one...

Imperial Cult, Mournhold

After experimenting a little bit with my new Fortify Skill
enchanments, I found a skill well worth fortifying above 100:
Armor. Fortify your favourite armor skill (light, medium or heavy) and
watch your armor rating go way up. Your armor rating is determined by
multiplying your armor skill with a multiplier depending on the armor.
Let's for exampel say, you have a full set of Deadric armor
(mulitiplier: 2.5 afaik) and enchant your daedric tower shield with
Fortify Heavy Armor 44 (should work), your armor rating will
_increase_ by (44 * 2.5) 110. And you could also make an enchantment
with Fortify Heavy Armor 0 to 88 and than reequip the Shield until you
like the (randomly chosen) value of the enchantment. I don't like it,
but it is up to you.
Bad news for light armor users: Glass armor has a lower multiplier and
is less enchantable, you do not even get a Fortify Light Armor 10 into
a glass tower shield, and the rest of the armor is much worse.

[finndo]

That is okay with me a long time ago I went in and modified the glass armor
anyways. I increased the enchant rating and the value, while lowering the
durability. I felt that if it was so special (rare, the best light armor
quite impressive looking), it should not be so crappy;however being made of
glass I decided it should break down much more often.

So it might not have a high multiplier but I can at least enchant it a
little better.

Also, I think that a CE fortify enchant skill would be a really beneficial
thing considering how hard it is to do some of the higher up enchantments.
If anyone know off hand what the odds are for a few of the harder CE
enchantments (doing it yourself) and could run a test on this, I think it
would work to our benefit, however I think it needs more extra points than
you could enchant into something to make much of a difference. I believe I
remember someone on the morrowind forums saying you need a 5000 in enchant
to have a hope of being successful once in a while on some of those
enchantments....

Post by Xris
Bad news for light armor users: Glass armor has a lower multiplier and
is less enchantable, you do not even get a Fortify Light Armor 10 into
a glass tower shield, and the rest of the armor is much worse.

[Greg Johnson]

Post by finndo
Also, I think that a CE fortify enchant skill would be a really beneficial
thing considering how hard it is to do some of the higher up enchantments.
If anyone know off hand what the odds are for a few of the harder CE
enchantments (doing it yourself) and could run a test on this, I think it
would work to our benefit, however I think it needs more extra points than
you could enchant into something to make much of a difference. I believe I
remember someone on the morrowind forums saying you need a 5000 in enchant
to have a hope of being successful once in a while on some of those
enchantments....

That sounds about right. Of course, having a really high Luck and
Intelligence would mean you don't such a high Enchant, but in practice
you just won't ever succeed consistently when making CE enchanted items.
Since enchant success rises at such a slow rate, fortifying it unlikely
to going to make very much difference.

[The Horny Goat]

Post by Greg Johnson

Post by finndo
Also, I think that a CE fortify enchant skill would be a really beneficial
thing considering how hard it is to do some of the higher up enchantments.
If anyone know off hand what the odds are for a few of the harder CE
enchantments (doing it yourself) and could run a test on this, I think it
would work to our benefit, however I think it needs more extra points than
you could enchant into something to make much of a difference. I believe I
remember someone on the morrowind forums saying you need a 5000 in enchant
to have a hope of being successful once in a while on some of those
enchantments....

That sounds about right. Of course, having a really high Luck and
Intelligence would mean you don't such a high Enchant, but in practice
you just won't ever succeed consistently when making CE enchanted items.
Since enchant success rises at such a slow rate, fortifying it unlikely
to going to make very much difference.

Taking half a dozen fortify luck potions before you enchant does
wonders as well...

[Pete MC]

Post by Xris

Post by Pete MC
Is there any point? I have my Deadric shield enchanted with CE fortify
Block 30 points (ouch that was expensive!), but as my base block skill
has now risen above 70 I've a block of about 103 or something. Does this
make any difference, ie is my chance to block any better than it would
be at 100? Same for other skills, will I be able to build a better
firestorm with a Destruction of 120 than I can with it at 100, or would
it be a waste of time - anyone know how this works?
TIA

The maximum chance of blocking is afaik 40%. I assume that this value
is multiplied by your skill value divided by hundred. So if you have a
skill level of 80 in Block, your chance to block is around
40%*(80/100)=.4*.8=32%
I say around because most probably your luck will count into this (I
have no idea how) and perhaps also your current fatigue.
Similar with Long Blade. Higher skill level means higher chance to
hit. Skill level above 100 means very high chance to hit even when low
on fatigue (here fatigue definitely has a big impact into your chance
to hit).
Similar with spells. Your chance of successfully casting a spell
depends on your skill level, the spell itself (more powerful->harder
to cast) and on your current fatigue (and on your luck, a little bit
at least). So a skill level above 100 should enable you to cast a very
powerful spell even when totally exhausted. It does not, however, have
any influence on the mana costs or the damage. These depend only on
the spell.
Although I have no experince with it I think it can't be a bad idea to
fortify your block skill. Your Long Blade skill (or any other weapon
skill) is not worth fortifying in my eyes. You will hit often enough,
and if not, throw in a restore fatigue (NEVER EVER fortify fatigue).
I never really fought with spells, so I can't tell you much about this
topic. But I think the limiting factor will be your mana (magic, as it
is called in Morrowind), so I don't think it is worth the enchantment
either.

I love maths people! Thanks mate.

Post by Xris
BTW where did you get a fortify skill spell? I am currently looking
for one...

What Peter said (or from Lapis Lazuli Long if you're running the
LowGenius mage shop mod).

[The Horny Goat]

Post by Xris
BTW where did you get a fortify skill spell? I am currently looking
for one...

In the basic Morrowind the ONLY way to get this as a spell (as opposed
to potions) is to complete the Morag Tong 26 Threads quest.

In Tribunal there are places to purchase Fortify Skill spells (usually
by 10, 12 or 15 points though once you have one of these you can make
your own much stronger than this).