I just finished playing Skyrim and came away from it very satisfied and a little exhausted. I haven't checked to see how others've played it, but my Orc was level 42 when he finally made his way to Alduin's Wall.

The mod community is prolific and a few mods remained installed through nearly the entire game: Skyrim Script Extender, SkyUI, Smart Souls, and Skyrim HD.

All told, I put 180 hours into 61 quests and general exploration.

180 hrs and only level 42? I feel like I rush games sometimes when I see that kinda stuff.

@Nightriff: No, I should have worded it better. I finished (that is, I defeated Alduin in Sovengarde) at level 46 after playing a total of 180 hours. What I tried to convey in mentioning level 42 is that I spent a lot of time exploring Skyrim while the Alduin's Wall quest sat there on my quest list.

Anyway, great game.

You're better than me. 250 hours in my character is in the 60s but I haven't done any of the main questlines yet.

I was in the low forties when I finished the main quest. At that level (and playing on Adept) I found the fight really easy. I checked the strategy guide afterward and it recommended level 25 if I remember right.

I killed Alduin at level 76 with 184 hours under my belt. Admittedly, I did make a lot of Iron Daggers and enchant them to sell them, so that was 3 skills adding to my level quite a bit. Skyrim and the other Elder Scroll games are a weird breed where level doesn't necessarily mean everything.  
 
I hesitated to say I finished the game, though. My latest save is at level 79 with 240 hours. It's nuts how much content is in the game. And now that I've loaded it up to check my stats, I might as well play a little.... 
 
Glad to hear you enjoyed it. I think it's a fantastic game myself. 

I can't remember but is there a choice whether to kill Parthurnax(sp?) or not? Or do you always have to kill him because I kind of want to murder the blades for being assholes if I ever finish the main quest again. Also that scene where theres a flashback is suuuper janky haha.

@Buneroid said:

I can't remember but is there a choice whether to kill Parthurnax(sp?) or not? Or do you always have to kill him because I kind of want to murder the blades for being assholes if I ever finish the main quest again. Also that scene where theres a flashback is suuuper janky haha.

You can't kill Parth. I just tried, he's unkillable, didn't even aggro. You just talk to him, go back to the Blades and tell them he's dead. They're never gonna go up to the Throat of the World, anyway.

GG bro, Skyrim don't care about Alduin.

Also, you should try some armor and weapon mods, with some new quest mods.

Added about 100+ hours gametime to my already 100% game....Skyrim's pretty good.

I just realized I havent finished Skyrim, I usually just dick around with mods then spend hours running around the world.

@Buneroid said:

I can't remember but is there a choice whether to kill Parthurnax(sp?) or not? Or do you always have to kill him because I kind of want to murder the blades for being assholes if I ever finish the main quest again. Also that scene where theres a flashback is suuuper janky haha.

You can't kill Parth. I just tried, he's unkillable, didn't even aggro. You just talk to him, go back to the Blades and tell them he's dead. They're never gonna go up to the Throat of the World, anyway.

I backstabbed a dragon while it was asleep and got a one hit kill. That should have been the final quest.

I am enjoying the new DLC. Seems like the new "dragon aspect" shout turns you into a total badass, but I have yet to investigate that further. Being at the level cap and having forged a badass dragon axe makes every enemy I encounter a piece of cake (every single enemy is a Draugr Deathlord at this point). I hope this new material they introduced is even more powerful than my daedric armor, because it makes your armor sky blue and that looks awesome.

@fluxbit said:

@Nightriff: No, I should have worded it better. I finished (that is, I defeated Alduin in Sovengarde) at level 46 after playing a total of 180 hours. What I tried to convey in mentioning level 42 is that I spent a lot of time exploring Skyrim while the Alduin's Wall quest sat there on my quest list.

Anyway, great game.

I could be wrong, but I think you probably play like most people do. I put in about 150 hours and finished the main quest at Lvl. 46. ES games are not about power leveling but seeing all there is to see in the world.

@MariachiMacabre: Hmmm. Odd. I had the quest to do so, couldn't do it. I snuck him down to [] much health, he didn't aggro/die. I talked to him, told him the Blades wanted him dead. went and told the Blades he was dead. All after Alduin was dead. Odd.

I'm kinda glad though. Parth is rad.

You don't finish Skyrim.

@FreakAche said:

You don't finish Skyrim.

Yeah man, word. Playing a punchcat now, hour 380 (only lvl 10). Using only your fists is badass.

@fetchfox: are there slow mo kills for that?

@gaminghooligan: Several mate (crappy video, but show all if not most).

@animathias said:

I killed Alduin at level 76 with 184 hours under my belt. Admittedly, I did make a lot of Iron Daggers and enchant them to sell them, so that was 3 skills adding to my level quite a bit.

I almost forgot about that… I had Smithing, Enchantment, and Two-Handed leveled up to 100 when I took the magic carpet ride into Sovengarde.

And now that I've loaded it up to check my stats, I might as well play a little....

Your friends and family will miss you!