Almost every aspect of vanilla gameplay in QWEST! has been changed in some way. If something feels different from the vanilla game, it's almost certainly intentional and is not a bug. This document details the major changes that are present in the list along with mods that you should know about going into playing this list.
Qwest has two profiles of your choosing, with default profile utilizing the EnaiRim suite of mods, or the Simonrim Suite, if you choose the Simonrim profile, to provide the bulk of the perk/player character changes.
Survival is optional in QWEST! and can be adjusted in the Sunhelm MCM, Survival Control Panel and Dirt&Blood MCM accordingly. With survival enabled:
- You will need to eat and sleep to survive.
- You will need to survive the cold or your stamina will drain and you'll die.
- You will need to clean yourself or you'll have very bad prices and everyone will smell you when trying to sneak.
You should definitely check the Skill Trees within your campfire on top of the vanilla skill trees. Your arrows will have weight and you will need to sleep to level up your Character. If you're unfamiliar with the survival mods, have a read of Campfire, Dirt and Blood and SunHelm.
Legacy of the Dragonborn forms the core spine of the list. QWEST! is the list with the most addons for it, but many new lands aren't integrated with the museum. These include Unslaad, Darkend, and Hammet's Dungeon Packs - all of which you can find in QWEST!
Interesting NPCs, Skyrim Sewers 4, and VIGILANT are included as well, and provide artifacts alongside many new quests to do. You will also find The Tools of Kagrenac, G.R.I.M, The Forgotten City, Wyrmstooth, Helgen Reborn, and Beyond Reach. A much more detailed Spreadsheet on the variety of quests in the list can be found here.
From Finding Derkeethus to Save the Icerunner with Thieves' Guild Night On the Town or Missives, many quests have been changed and expanded.
You should know that the Thieves Guild have Requirements now, and you can Renounce the Daedra if you will, while Vampires can skip Fort Dawnguard. A much more detailed Spreadsheet on the changes can be found here.
Interesting NPCs will provide a nice amount of high quality followers, but there are others ready to join you in your qwest: the marvelous Lucien, Auri, Kaidan, Skeever, Hoth, the adorable Corgis Gladys and Merlin, and our favorite Skyrim grandma, Shirley.
Reliquary of Myth overhauls all vanilla Artifacts and Dynamic Dungeon Loot - coupled with Lock Related Loot - makes sure you do not find spider webs in the dungeon chests. Experience changes leveling so that exploring the world of Skyrim increases your character level, with individual skill levels increasing independently. There is a skill cap to avoid powerleveling which is determined by the player character level. More details on this can be seen on the modpage, which I recommend you read.
QWEST! isn't here to make the game feel like it has a sort of "Dark Souls" difficulty. My philosophy on enemies is that diversity is more important than difficulty, and that diversity is going to naturally make the game more challenging. That is why you will find all kinds of bandits, draugrs, vampires, and dragons, while they all have new cool spells due to EEOS.
A wide variety of mods are used to increase variety to the enemies you encounter across Tamriel. Draugrs have been diversified using DUI, BriDO and Cannibal Draugr on Solstheim. Bandit types have been implemented via OBIS and its Patrol addon. Vampires have been improved through the use of Better Vampire NPCs. Dragons are enhanced using Dragon War. This list is not exhaustive!
“Oh surprised at the line being broken so easily? They don’t call me Siegebreaker for nothing Breton. A pinch of sulphur, some powerful vinegar, a dash of ingenuity and some rags for a wick and I’ll put any Pyromancer to shame. I also do nameday parties if you can cover the cost of my ingredients and a night at the inn. Now stand back, they seem to be recovering and I have a new mixture I want to test, got an arrow I can have? I’ll be fine but your lungs will dissolve like sweetroll frosting on a hot day if you get anywhere near this.” – Upon Further Reflection, Argonian Siege Alchemist, wanted for crimes against the Empire and violation of the White Gold Concordat and the murder of Thalmor officials as they were performing their duties
Certain Alchemists have honed their craft in such a fashion that they are an order of magnitude above your standard Apothecary. Through alchemy, ingenuity and just a little madness they can create compounds which can rival even the foolhardiest of mages. Always be leery of opponents carrying several flasks and vials and a smile that screams that they know something you don’t.
- Simply visit an Alchemy vendor and purchase ‘The Alchemist Arsenal Guide’ in one of the major cities.
- This book will teach you to create an Alchemist’s Kit, which will allow you to create your components and new unique alchemical weaponry including Bombs, Traps and special Arrows and Bolts.
- All of your creations scale with your Alchemy skill and your creations scale with their own progression system. Periodically check your kit so that once you have hit a new power threshold your existing items and new creations can benefit from a power increase!
“Wait you mean all that stands between me and summoning things to do my bidding is formatting and syntax? This is leagues more ridiculous than I thought. Bulk quills and vellum please, here’s 1000 septims, I have plans to enact” – Upon Further Reflection, Argonian Siege Alchemist to Urag Gro-Shub before being promptly informed of the rules of the Arcaneum
Ever wanted to enhance yourself with magicka but did not have the aptitude to join the College of Winterhold? With a little ingenuity, practice and special inks and vellum you too can channel your inner artificer and plumb the same depths as mages. Don’t worry, we won’t tell about that strange mortar you have that seems to glitter as if lined with fragments of soul gems.
- Grinding down soul gems for magical ink, an inkwell, a quill, some paper and some patience, you can in fact create scrolls even of Master level spells and concentration spells as a specific advantage to scribes allowing you to add a dash of magicka to even dual wield builds.
- Create scrolls via the simple user menu to add a flair of magicka to any build! Magicka for all even mod added spells included by default!