GAAAAH! Cliff racers!

So.. I recently replayed Morrowind for the first time in quite a few years. Had a blast overall, though I had forgotten how annoying the cliff racers actually are! Don't get me wrong, I remembered it was bad, but my goodness. Trying to cross the ashlands is so frustrating I had to get a mod to reduce cliff racer spawn rates.

Here's a quick example. Oh yes, and the best part is: They'll slowly come down one by one, making an annoying screeching sound the entire time:


Moved a few meters, hearing the music switch to combat music. Looking up reveals:


A few solo or duo encounters later..


A bit further along, after a few more solo encounters..


Here we go again!


Keep in mind, I only took screenshots when there were three or more cliff racers. I didn't even list all the solo encounters, and there were loads. I don't think I've ever seen such annoying respawns. It's worse than the kobolds of Firewine in BG1.

At any rate, I strongly recommend using some mod that lowers their spawn rate. It's fine while exploring more or less civilized areas, but the ashlands.. sheesh.

Ahh, Morrowind. I upgraded to a Geforce 3 to run it and it still didn't run well. Then I was sure it would run well on my Geforce 4. Nope!

I guess OpenMW has fixed the performance? You playing openMW?

Originally Posted by SirJames
Ahh, Morrowind. I upgraded to a Geforce 3 to run it and it still didn't run well. Then I was sure it would run well on my Geforce 4. Nope!

I guess OpenMW has fixed the performance? You playing openMW?

Nope! I actually started out without a single mod. I've since added three mods:
- Morrowind Code Patch
- Morrowind Patch Project (only the patch that actually fixes stuff, not the ones that also make balancing changes).
- Some sort of cliff racer reducer mod. Can't remember the name (can always find it if it's interesting).

I prefer it that way, as it keeps it as close as possible to the experience I had back in the days. Nostalgia makes it enjoyable.

Surprised you didn't install the Morrowind Overhaul Maylander. I highly recommend it. You can pick and choose everything you want from it and it makes the game look excellent.

"Morrowind Sounds and Graphics Overhaul" contains mods that will alter and enhance the visual graphics and the sounds of the game. The aim of this project is to make more people around the world appreciate this huge game by giving them a simple installation file which includes everything they will need to play Morrowind with gorgeous graphics and sounds. I’ve tried to keep Morrowind’s “feeling”; therefore, the mods/meshes/textures I chose are the ones that I chose are the ones that I think are most faithful to the original colours and environment. A benefit of this compilations is that players don’t need to go through the “download every single mod out there and try it” phase of customizing Morrowind. The pack is intended for people who would prefer not to hand-pick mods out of the thousands of mods available. Modding Morrowind can be overwhelming for some people, and they might want to start out with a compilation before they feel comfortable picking and choosing mods on their own.

Originally Posted by BrianOConnell
Surprised you didn't install the Morrowind Overhaul Maylander. I highly recommend it. You can pick and choose everything you want from it and it makes the game look excellent.

Yeah, but it also changes the look and feel of it. Right now, the main reason Morrowind works for me is nostalgia. That's why I started out without any mods at all, and simply added a few mods later on that only removed bugs (I had forgotten just how buggy it was). Oh yes, and a mod to reduce cliff racer spawn rates.

You might consider playing the Arktwend total conversion (from the makers of Nehrim and Enderal) if you still want more in the Morrrowind engine. I enjoyed it…

I'm trying to get my 10 year old to play Morrowind, but he finds it too scary, so he just tries to steal stuff in town. He's afraid to go out into the wilderness, and I think the cliff racers might be why. He mentioned about being attacked from the air.

Nostalgia isn't enough for me to ever play vanilla Morrowind again. That is one game that did not age well at all.

I remember cursing at those cliff racers many times. I never installed any mods to change them though. Getting your Marksman skill to 100 helps a lot as you can one-shot them with a decent bow.

Yeah, you'll get used to them.

Originally Posted by JDR13
Nostalgia isn't enough for me to ever play vanilla Morrowind again. That is one game that did not age well at all.

I remember cursing at those cliff racers many times. I never installed any mods to change them though. Getting your Marksman skill to 100 helps a lot as you can one-shot them with a decent bow.

Yeah, I never lowered their spawn rates before this either. I find that my patience for frustrating stuff in games is not what it used to be..

Originally Posted by Maylander
Yeah, I never lowered their spawn rates before this either. I find that my patience for frustrating stuff in games is not what it used to be..

This will only grow worse as you get older….

I think I had a mod from one of the devs that made them unaggressive. Wish I would have kept it. Modding wasn't real big back then…

I haven't played Morrowind in a long, long time. Never did complete the main quest in that one.

Surprised you never finished the main quest, 'nut. It's worth going back sometime. Mod it a lot and in some ways it will be like a brand new game.

I got a little tired of Skyrim (it just lacks the depth somehow) and decided to give Morrowind a go again! I gave up on Morrowind after playing only couple of hours a few years back. I'm hoping this time I will feel different since I got used to TES series via Skyrim. Wish me luck :X

Good luck, blobby!

I would recommend building your character thoughtfully to start the game. A lot of the early-game combat issues can be avoided if you make sure you have a decent attack skill (whether weapon or magic), and sufficient stats to use it. I.e. you probably wouldn't want to start with something like a High Elf Mage who uses an Axe primarily. Not that it's impossible or anything, but that would be for more advanced/seasoned Morrowind players. In other words, you have to match your character's attributes/stats to their skill set early on. The game will be easier at the start for you that way.

Hope you like it. ^_^

Its a great game, but I recommand downloading few essential quality of life mods like a magica regeneration mod.

Magicka regen? Bah! Part of the fun is being stuck in a dangerous area, low on Magicka and health, out of potions and barely able to crawl your way back to town alive. Or, at least crawl to a spot on the map where you can safely rest without being interrupted.

From what I rememember, Morrowind has no shortage of mana potions or mana potion ingredients, so odds for that to happen were slim at best. Besides in the mod I was using magica regenerated very slowly. I think the the speed of regeneration was based on player's willpower or something and it required certain birth sign. So you still needed potions while in combat. It just removed a bit of grinding.

But we all have our preferences. One of the best aspects of Morrowind is that its really easy to changes rules and gameplay via mods.

My last character I played as was a High Elf Battlemage and I didn't really have any problems with Magicka. You get scrolls and magical items as well, and resting regenerates it as well. Unless you use The Atronach birth sign, which is always fun.

Originally Posted by crpgnut
I think I had a mod from one of the devs that made them unaggressive. Wish I would have kept it. Modding wasn't real big back then…

I haven't played Morrowind in a long, long time. Never did complete the main quest in that one.

There was a mod called "Non-aggressive wildlife" and modding for Morrowind was bigger than you seems to imply…

Originally Posted by Fluent
Good luck, blobby!

I would recommend building your character thoughtfully to start the game. A lot of the early-game combat issues can be avoided if you make sure you have a decent attack skill (whether weapon or magic), and sufficient stats to use it. I.e. you probably wouldn't want to start with something like a High Elf Mage who uses an Axe primarily. Not that it's impossible or anything, but that would be for more advanced/seasoned Morrowind players. In other words, you have to match your character's attributes/stats to their skill set early on. The game will be easier at the start for you that way.

Hope you like it. ^_^

Yeah, this is the reason why I actually managed to get into it this time - usually the weird combo of rolls + player input combat just makes me cringe (you decide when and where to swing a sword, but whether or not it connects is still roll based, unlike BG which is entirely roll based or Gothic, Skyrim etc which is entirely player based).

This time, however, I went with a Redguard with light armor and long blades, which allows you to start with a very high long blade skill (and decent armor), meaning that hits will usually connect, so it feels more like Skyrim than some weird hybrid.

Magic also works like that, but I still don't recommend being a pure mage from the start. It has certain challenges, and works better either as a 2nd run or as a change of style later on (when you can afford to just buy skills all the way to 100). Some knowledge of spell crafting and enchanting, for example, is recommended in my opinion.