(Untitled)

[deaconmc]

first  of all, nothing sadder than seeing two pals playing civ online... and they absolutely do not want to play with you!

ive gotten my ace kicked at RTSs since c&c, basically scraping out a win or at least a chance to register a surprised smile on Mok's or Austin Allan's face from time to time. and the one time i actually steamroller, it damns me

Comments

[chriswicke]

Ok, the reason some of your gems have souls in them to begin with is because they are actually living entities. The reason you have these phat gems with crappy souls is that the gem is so concerned with material wealth that it's overgrown itself in order to be more valuable, at the same time diminishing its soul in the process.

Glad I could help.

[mfelps]

Okay, soul gems:

If you're buying or picking them up, they likely already have some filling.

What you want is empty gems. In particular Grand and Great.

What you really want are black soul gems, but they're a pain. you have to get the mission, then go find a temple that converts them.

A Black soul gem will give you 1600 points of enchanting power.

That will get you 20% Chameleon on an object, or 10% shield. Basically it's a lot of trial and error.

Specific questions?

[deaconmc]

yah, i havent done it but i know where n how to do the black soul gem stuff.

but for regulars, i guess i just need to be careful what i buy?

and once i have empties, make sure i have the prerequisite number of lower empties to make sure a greater or grand doesnt get filled up with a rat soul?

im about to get into the trial n error, just wanted some pointers first.

i stole that awesome electro lookin face helmet from one of the priests of order, and i really want to throw some cool stuff on that and use it.

[mfelps]

Once you have access to Black Soul Gems, you don't even need the other stuff. The difference in enchanting is large enough that it's worth going to the trouble of getting black gems

[akedz]

For the constant effect powers (night vision, water breathing, etc.) always use a petty soul gem. Those enchantments don't care about soul level. No point wasting a higher level gem on them.

[akedz]

Correction: you cast Soul Trap and then kill an opponent before the duration expires. Keep the spell loaded and cast it before making the killing blow. Doesn't work if you cast it after they are dead. Yes, you can buy gems preloaded with souls for enchanting and item recharge. They don't always have the highest level soul in them, however. Here's the guide I used:

http://oblivion.wikia.com/wiki/Soul_gem

I have Azura's Star and use it to keep my stuff fully charged (you can trap the souls of creatures you summon and ace them with a mundane weapon for this). When I find a big (1600) soul, I save it for enchanting. Grand Soul Gems are hard to come buy later in the game.

[mfelps]

Wow, that page told me something I didn't know. The imp guards in Frostcraig spire give Grand souls. I've been killing them for the upgrade to weapon skills, but it never dawned on me to try and soul trap a lowly imp.

So that's officially the easiest way to get Grand souls, then. They don't fight back, they respawn after a week or two ingame, and they don't run away.

also grade for grinding up a Destruction or magic skill.

[deaconmc]

lots of help. i havent been to the spire, i was waiting until i was ready to enchant.

mostly i just didnt know the gems i bought had souls in them, but suspected it. it looks like ill be skipping that anyway and going straight to the black soul gems.

but dont they always sell grand soul gems? i wasnt aware they became harder to find later. and im pretty sure ive cast the trap right after i killed guys, you can see the soul escaping.
also, im not really worried about keeping stuff charged, just the enchantment aspect.

thx again, lots of good stuff here.

[akedz]

You can tell the filled ones by their color and facing. Empties are gray and point up right(?) and filled gems are blueish and face the other direction. It may be that they simply haven't respawned for me at the shops and guilds. I need to check back more frequently. Since I became arch-mage and got Asura's Star, I haven't been checking in on the shops.

Question for Mok: are black soul gems destroyed when used, or can you refill them? Is a black soul gem always grand level?

sadness

[anonymous]

It makes me cry to know you are cheating on me with other Civ'ers!

Re: sadness

[deaconmc]

think of it as geisha training for your CIV pleasure...