Overview:
- Estimated achievement difficulty: 4/10
- Offline: 75/75 (1550)
- Online: 0
- Approximate amount of time to 1550: 40-50 Hours (100+ Hours See Note)
- Minimum number of playthroughs needed: 1 playthrough
- Number of missable achievements: 1 achievement (Oblivion Walker)
- Do cheat codes disable achievements?: No Cheats
- Does difficulty affect achievements?: No.
- Glitchy achievements: None (See Note)
- Unobtainable achievements: None
- Extra equipment needed?: No.
Introduction:
Welcome to the world of Skyrim! We say world because of the sheer amount of detail that Bethesda has so beautifully crafted. Being one of the best RPGs the Xbox 360 has to offer, there is much, much to do in Skyrim. The achievement list is straight-forward and there isn't a single glitch that effects achievements. There have also been 3 DLCs added which adds even more to the game!
Playthrough:
Seeing as the game's difficulty doesn't effect achievements, you can set it to whatever you prefer. None of the story-based achievements are missable, so feel free to play them at your pace. Complete all story missions and you'll end up with 8 achievements. Along the way, you may find some side quests or miscellaneous quests. Complete these and you'll end up with Sideways and Hero of the People. You'll most likely end up with Delver while playing.
Faction Side Quests:
When you finish your playthrough, you can continue on with whatever you feel like doing. There are a few factions in the game that each have there own quest line. Complete the Companions quest line for Take Up Arms and Glory of the Dead. The College of Winterhold also has a few quests. Completing Gatekeeper, Blood Oath, Revealing the Unseen and Eye of Magnus completes the College's quest line. The Thieves Guild can be found in Riften, and completing all quests unlocks Taking Care of Business and One With Shadows. And lastly, (the fan favorite) Dark Brotherhood. With (probably) the best quest line in the game, you'll earn With Friends Like These..., Bound Until Death and Hail Sithis! upon completion. You may also notice two guard factions while in Skyrim. They are the Stormcloaks and the Imperial Army. Pick a side and you'll earn Taking Sides. There are two more achievements related to each faction (depending on which you chose). War Hero and Hero of Skyrim are these achievements.
Miscellaneous:
If you've completed all quests up to this point, nicely done. But there is still more to do! Many things are miscellaneous, and may come with naturally playing the game. If not, they aren't hard, and can be completed at any time. Standing Stones are stone that effect your stats when found. There are 13 of them, and two achievements tied to finding them all. Going to jail, escaping from jail, buying a house, getting married are all things with achievements tied to them, so don't forget to do them! You'll need to have 100,000 gold at one time to unlock Golden Touch. Master Criminal requires you to have 1,000 bounty in all nine holds. Keep an eye on a certain skill while playing. Have it reach 100 and you'll unlock Skill Master. While exploring the world of Skyrim, you'll discover locations. Finding 100 won't be hard, and you'll earn Explorer in the process. You will also come across dragons while exploring. Upon killing a dragon, you'll be granted a Dragon soul which connects to Shouts. By absorbing 20 dragon souls, you'll earn Dragon Hunter. Use these souls to buy shouts. Unlock all three words of a shout to earn Words of Power. Words are found usually at the end of dungeons or quests. Finding twenty of them will reward you with Thu'um Master.
Note:
There are Daedric artifacts scattered throughout Skyrim. In fact, there are 15 to find. Each artifact has a quest that deals with it, and you are rewarded the artifact at the end. There are also two achievements that deal with these; Daedric Influence and Oblivion Walker. Most of the quests are straight-forward and can be completed easily. HOWEVER, some of these artifacts can be LOST if you happen to kill the quest-giver, reward-giver. Keep an eye out. I'd also like to take this opportunity to point out two artifacts;
- Ring of Hirscine- Allows the wearer to become a werewolf at any point the wearer desires. This ring helps incredibly in the DLC; Dawnguard. Pick this ring at the end of the quest!
- Oghma Infinium- Allows the reader to select three skills to be upgraded by 5 points each. Surrounding this item is a glitch in the game that allows you to constant use. You have the ability to use it repeatedly at a bookshelf within your home. This GREATLY decreases the time it takes to unlock Apprentice, Adept, Expert and Master and reach level 80, which is required in the DLC; Dawnguard.
DawnGuard:
This DLC can be started by entering any major city. Vampires will attack and a dawnguard will ask you to meet with their leader at Dawnguard Tower. Hardest part about this DLC is actually locating the tower. Within this DLC, you are introduced to two new factions, The Dawnguard and the Vampires. You can join with either faction, you'll still earn Awakening, Beyond Death, and Kindred Judgement. There is only one side quest which is tied to an achievement, Lost to the Ages. This quest isn't faction based, so head to the start and get ready for a journey. During a quest, you'll meet Durvenhiir, a dragon. He'll teach you a shout that allows him to appear in Skyrim. Summoning him three times will earn you three words to the shout, Soul Tear. Upon learning the 3rd word, you'll unlock the Soul Tear achievement. There is a unique weapon in Dawnguard called; Auriel's Bow. You'll receive it at the end of the "Touching the Sky" quest. Shoot a Sunhallowed arrow at the sky and you'll block it out. This unlocks the Auriel's Bow achievement. If you choose the Vampire questline, you'll be made a vampire. You'll be granted the ability to become a Vampire Lord. There are 11 perks to unlock by leveling up when a vampire. Unlock them all for Vampire Mastered. Werewolf Mastered is the same process. If you held onto the Ring of Hirscine, you'll be able to change into a werewolf whenever you choose. If not, head back to the Companions to have Aela the Huntress help you. Legend requires you to be at LEAST level 70. You'll need to find a legendary dragon, but they randomly appear for players level 70+. Use the Oghma Infinium for fast-leveling. Head to the Ragged Flagon to change your face for the easiest achievement in the DLC. It will require 2,000 gold.
Hearthfire:
This DLC adds nothing more than the ability to build your own custom houses, as well as the ability to adopt children. Before the DLC starts, be sure you have plenty of money so that all supplies and plots can be bought without a second thought. You can earn Land Owner and Land Owner by buying all three plots of land. Each one costs 5,000 gold. There is one in Dawnstar, one in Falkreath and one in Morthal. You'll need to be in good sitting with the Jarl of each city. A fully built house has 3 wings, so fully building one will unlock Architect. Build out all three of your houses to unlock Master Architect. To adopt a child, you'll need a Child's room in your house. When you have one, head to Riften to adopt your child and unlock Proud Parent.
Dragonborn:
This DLC can be started by heading to the docks of Winterhold. Talk to the ship captain there, and he'll talk with you. After talking, he'll reluctantly take you to Solstheim. After reaching Raven Rock, you'll unlock Outlander. There are 3 achievements in this DLC that are all story related. They are The Temple of Miraak, The Path of Knowledge, and At the Summit of Apocrypha. During your journey, you'll learn the shout; Bend Will. At full power, you have the ability to ride dragons. You'll be able to do this in the Summit of Apocrypha quest. Do this for 5 total dragons and you'll unlock Dragonrider. You will also find black books while playing through the story. Finding 5 more will unlock the Hidden Knowledge achievement. To unlock Raven Rock Owner, you'll need to complete a few quests in Raven Rock. The first one being "March of the Dead." Your reward for completing this series of quests is a property in Raven Rock. Along with Bend Will, another shout has been added; Dragon Aspect. This shout encases the user in glowing dragon armor. Find all three for the achievement. There are a total of 58 locations in Solstheim. You will undoubtedly find 30 in your journey, so unlocking Solstheim Explorer isn't something you shouldn't be too worried about. The last thing you'll need to worry about is Stalhrim Crafter. Stalhrim is a new smithing material that you can craft things out of. It has a shiny blue color to it, and you'll find it a few times in Solstheim. To mine it, you'll need an Ancient Nordic Pickaxe. Ask Glover Mallory in Raven Rock for one. To craft something, you will need to have your Smithing skill at at least level 80. This is the same level as Ebony.
Conclusion:
Skyrim is a fantastic addition to the Elder Scrolls universe. And a fantastic addition to any gamer's collection. When looking at Skyrim, you will undoubtedly see a large game. The game is massive, and its truly hard where to start. This is also one of the best things about the game.
[x360a would like to thank to thank Yunder for this road map]