I've been slowly playing Morrowind Overhaul 2.0 the past few months. I've been mostly following the beginning quests and exploring nearby ruins/tombs that I happen to run into. The main question i have, is should I stick to doing the quests or is it wise to explore? Can i break quests by exploring? I run into a lo tof NPCs at daedric ruins who have no unique dialogue, and I haven't found too much of interest during my exploring. I'd probably complete the game a lot quicker if I just did quests. Will I miss alot by doing that?

Exploring is a huge part of Morrowind, the game will tell you if you kill a vital NPC so i wouldnt worry too much about that. Explore to your hearts content I say!

It is possible to break quests in Morrowind because you can kill any NPC in the game, but if you kill someone that is needed to complete the main quest the game will let you know so that you can load a save if you want to. It's up to you if you want to spend time exploring or only do quests, but for me half the fun of Elder Scrolls games is just wandering around and finding cool stuff on my own. I think that if you were to stick to the main quest you would be missing out on a lot that Morrowind has to offer.

Definitely explore! All the Elder Scrolls games have really well-developed worlds with a nice variety of dungeons so take advantage of it!

Morrowind is an interesting one. The main quest line is there for you, but it's usually the last thing I do, and only when I feel up to exploring inside the Ghostfence (that place freaked me out the first time playing) Explore the world, visit towns, spelunk in caves (but be careful, unlike Oblivion or Skyrim, stuff does not level to you, so you could run into some big nasties).

Join the guilds, there are so many, and they have a lot of stuff to do, and perks that come with them. And every guild eventually sends you on a quest where you will run into some of the legendary items in the game, and they have some sweet ass stats/perks. Also you get to build a stronghold! Guilds are the best part of Morrowind hands down.

Nothing of significance happens to the world when you beat the main quest, it is just done, so there is no real reason to rush it. Just be careful who you kill, cause you can perma-kill a main quest guy if your being a dick or do something wrong, there is no Oblivion or Skyrim pussy mode of "knocking them unconscious" (how does a sword to the head just knock you unconscious?)

@css_switchfoot said:

I've been slowly playing Morrowind Overhaul 2.0 the past few months. I've been mostly following the beginning quests and exploring nearby ruins/tombs that I happen to run into. The main question i have, is should I stick to doing the quests or is it wise to explore? Can i break quests by exploring? I run into a lo tof NPCs at daedric ruins who have no unique dialogue, and I haven't found too much of interest during my exploring. I'd probably complete the game a lot quicker if I just did quests. Will I miss alot by doing that?

I suppose it depends on what you want out of the game. Don't forget that you don't get experience for completing quests, that only using your skills increases their viability. Knowing that, you should be mindful that shit in this game is not leveled to scale with you at all, and that trying to blow through the quests will probably lead you into a face-to-face encounter with an enemy you cannot handle. Or a group of enemies.

If I'm not mistaken, there were some questline dungeons that straight up couldn't be explored without a high Acrobatics skill, because there's a bit of abstract platforming you'll have to undergo.

So, long story short, I'd explore for a bit. Don't be afraid of quests, but keep a running list of saves so you have available backups if you saunter yourself into a corner.

thanks for the answers, I was mainly worried about ruining future qeusts by exploring ruins too early. I am loving the game so far. I can't believe I missed out on this one when I was growin' up.

i remember when i opened up the map for the first time, saw how big it was, saw how little i'd uncovered, and decided to forget all quests and just try to cross it, from one end to the other, i never went back to the quests, ever, and elder scrolls became my one true game.