Originally posted by dunbaratu:

Originally posted by Midas:

It depends on playstyle because if you use stuff like stealth you'll lean on bursts and hit-and-run tactics, which requires a larger pool of stamina, but demands less sustain.

So, yes, it's a matter of playstyle. Because your tactics and weapon choices will also determine fight duration. Not all weapons are equally-effective against all targets.

You're implying you can re-hide from an enemy after your first initial hit calls out your location to them. I've never seen that work, ever. Once the first hit gets a backstab bonus, after that my stealth is blown for the rest of the fight. I've never been able to break away from them, and it feels like the game ignores things like line of sight and soft cover so the only thing that works is to run really really far away so it effectively is a second new fight when you come back a few minutes later.

Originally posted by Midas:

Originally posted by dunbaratu:

You're implying you can re-hide from an enemy after your first initial hit calls out your location to them. I've never seen that work, ever. Once the first hit gets a backstab bonus, after that my stealth is blown for the rest of the fight. I've never been able to break away from them, and it feels like the game ignores things like line of sight and soft cover so the only thing that works is to run really really far away so it effectively is a second new fight when you come back a few minutes later.

I'm implying that getting a good stealth attack off does several attacks worth of damage in a single hit potentially, and when utilized properly can allow you to kill enemies in a single bar of stamina without needing any recovery at all. Also depending on the enemy, you can land several backstabs on several enemies before they actually engage you, like Draugr. You can also potentially kill enemies quickly enough to not alert nearby enemies so long as you can return to a sneaking state and get out of LoS before they get too close.

So, yeah, play-style.

Originally posted by dunbaratu:

Originally posted by Midas:

I'm implying that getting a good stealth attack off does several attacks worth of damage in a single hit potentially, and when utilized properly can allow you to kill enemies in a single bar of stamina without needing any recovery at all. Also depending on the enemy, you can land several backstabs on several enemies before they actually engage you, like Draugr. You can also potentially kill enemies quickly enough to not alert nearby enemies so long as you can return to a sneaking state and get out of LoS before they get too close.

So, yeah, play-style.

Nice to know that works for you. But your description is like it's talking about a completely different game. None of what you describe ever works when I try it. One attack and I'm seen by the world (and NO, it does not knock high HP monsters down far enough to take them down with the remaining actions in the stamina bar - so you just sneak up on a troll, backstab it, and then take it down before you run out of stamina? That just doesn't match what happens when I play *at all*, which is why I stopped trying to do that.).

Originally posted by Afro Moose:

Troll and Draugr are 2 different enemies. I wouldn't say trolls are the best enemy to test out hypothetical melee situations with in the first place.

You really went and cherry picked the argument on this guy and thats not terribly fair. These are a lot of good points that can apply to 90% of the games' enemies.

Originally posted by Midas:

Also, it's worth mentioning that while stamina regen is not tied to food, it IS tied to rest, being cold, and being wet.

Originally posted by dunbaratu:

Originally posted by Midas:

Also, it's worth mentioning that while stamina regen is not tied to food, it IS tied to rest, being cold, and being wet.

Which is just as available for a person who eats low-stamina high-HP foods as it is to someone who eats high-stamina low-HP foods.
My comment is more that the claim that a stamina-focused mobile character should prefer stamina-high foods doesn't seem to really be true if they have no effect on regen rate, since regen rate is what really affects how often you can act, not max cap.

Originally posted by Midas:

Well, how many actions you can take consecutively is determined by max stamina, though it depends on play style how much mileage that actually afford you.

Originally posted by dunbaratu:

Originally posted by Midas:

Well, how many actions you can take consecutively is determined by max stamina, though it depends on play style how much mileage that actually afford you.

It doesn't so much depend on play style as it does on fight duration which depends on monster hit points. If you go up against a monster that takes 20 to 30 hits to finish off, then the initial few extra actions from a starting high stamina can only buy you a few extra actions at the start (if you're willing to deplete your stamina to zero that is). After the first few actions, you're spending most of that fight limited by regen rate, not max cap.

Originally posted by Midas:

Originally posted by dunbaratu:

It doesn't so much depend on play style as it does on fight duration which depends on monster hit points. If you go up against a monster that takes 20 to 30 hits to finish off, then the initial few extra actions from a starting high stamina can only buy you a few extra actions at the start (if you're willing to deplete your stamina to zero that is). After the first few actions, you're spending most of that fight limited by regen rate, not max cap.

It depends on playstyle because if you use stuff like stealth you'll lean on bursts and hit-and-run tactics, which requires a larger pool of stamina, but demands less sustain.

So, yes, it's a matter of playstyle. Because your tactics and weapon choices will also determine fight duration. Not all weapons are equally-effective against all targets.