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SPOILER INFO
No spoilers, I think. This article contains general advice on learning to play Skyrim.
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The most important thing for a Skyrim beginner to keep in mind is:
Don't sweat it.
If something seems too complicated at first, skip it and don't worry. You don't need to know anything about alchemy or magic or smithing. Just walk around and talk to people, and when someone attacks you, hit him with your sword. Eventually you will find yourself (again) near an alchemy lab. If you feel like it, press E and check it out. If you don't, move on. Or when you are in a difficult situation and wonder what to do, press Tab and click on "magic". Read the descriptions. There is no hurry whatsoever. The enemies will wait until you close the magic menu. And so on. You will gradually learn. The learning process in Skyrim is very natural. You absolutely don't need to know everything. Grow as you go.
For instance, I was convinced at first that I will never use bows. Bow shooting seemed just too complicated, to say nothing about silly. But after having hacked many enemies to pieces with my sword, I got curious about trying the bow after all. I studied online help, wrote down what to do and then tried it and it wasn't that bad. Things in Skyrim can be overwhelming only when you try to get familiar with everything at once.
[originally published 2018-03-14]
