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Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim: Prima Official Game Guide Paperback – Folded Map, November 11, 2011


Large map Poster inside 
Labeled with important locations, major roads, and hold capitals

A Champion for Skyrim

Multiple character builds based on hundreds of hours of playtesting reveal exactly what Skills, Perks, equipment, and other items to pick, and how to advance through the game, no matter the type of character you want to be.
 
All Collectibles Gathered
If you’re searching Skyrim for Skill Books, Unique Items and Weapons, every single Shout, Dragon Priest Masks, Treasure Maps, Unusual Gems, or even Captured Critters, we show you where every rare item is.
 
The Atlas of Skyrim
A comprehensive tour of every single location, from the vast Hold Cities to the smallest woodland den. Every major exploration point receives a walkthrough flagging important items, with detailed maps throughout.

 
Prowess in Combat
Every weapon, piece of equipment, and spell is detailed so you know which blade, bow, or incantation to crush your enemies with. Every type of combat is tactically analyzed, so you can better any foe in battle.
 
Trainers and Traders
Skyrim is full of merchants to barter with, and trainers to further
increase your Skill, Crafting, and Bartering proficiencies. Every alchemist, blacksmith, innkeeper, trainer, Khajiit caravan, and other vendor revealed.
 
Followers and Friends
Build your friendships across Skyrim and locate every Follower with information inside this guide. Become a Thane. Own property. Marry your favorite Housecarl. Details inside.
 
Massive and Complete Index

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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Prima Games; Fol Pap/Ma edition (November 11, 2011)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 656 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0307891372
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0307891372
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3.19 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.03 x 1.23 x 10.79 inches
  • Customer Reviews:

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
1,933 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book's content lovely, complete, and full of adventure opportunities. They appreciate the thick quality pages with nice font and beautiful color illustrations. Readers describe the book as fun to read and look through. Opinions are mixed on the maps, with some finding them present and others saying they were torn out of the book.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

378 customers mention "Content"341 positive37 negative

Customers find the book lovely, with great information and useful tools. They also say the map is nice and the world is complex with many adventure opportunities. Customers also say it's a very successful product that lists every single ingredient.

"...this: the Skyrim Collector's Guide is by and large; The best strategy guide for an RPG (close tie with the Dark Souls guide) ever...." Read more

"...All in all awesome book, awesome price, and an awesome game. I'm very happy with this purchase, and have no problem giving it 5 *'s." Read more

"A little beat up, but the game is 12 years old. It's complete and even includes the free map. I'm quite satisfied." Read more

"...Skyrim (along with its guide) stands as a very sucessful and worthy product, even tough - for catering to a much wider, less focused and less..." Read more

170 customers mention "Book design"170 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's design. They mention that it's worth every penny, has thick quality pages, and a very nice font. They also appreciate the flawless inside pages.

"...Not so with this Skyrim Coll. guide. Plus the hardcover art is VERY nice.What more is there to say?..." Read more

"...All in all awesome book, awesome price, and an awesome game. I'm very happy with this purchase, and have no problem giving it 5 *'s." Read more

"...Skyrim (along with its guide) stands as a very sucessful and worthy product, even tough - for catering to a much wider, less focused and less..." Read more

"...The book is worth every penny! I would have given it 6 stars!" Read more

24 customers mention "Illustrations"24 positive0 negative

Customers find the illustrations beautiful, clear, and fantastic. They also say the book is filled with pictures and maps.

"...They're are several screenshots with every single side quest, what the surrounding area looks like, what the NPC you need to talk to looks..." Read more

"...The screenshots, and game photos are beautiful (not to mention 100% full color)...." Read more

"...The book is fully illustrated, contains numerous tabels, charts, maps, puzzle solutions, etc. that helps you getting the most out of the game!..." Read more

"The fantastic detail and comprehensiveness is perfect for OCD D&D enthusiasts, as noted by other reviewers...." Read more

22 customers mention "Readability"22 positive0 negative

Customers find the book fun to read and look through. They say it makes Skyrim a better experience, with a good story, nice graphics, and cool characters.

"...The satisfaction is so much more gratifying! And if nothing else, think of the bragging rights you would have..." Read more

"...She probably has about 350+ hrs in this game and never seems to be bored. But now that school is back in session, she tapered off a bit...." Read more

"...Thank you to the writers of this book as it has made Skyrim a better experience all around for me!!!" Read more

"...It's very challenging, and addictive. You will never get bored of this game...." Read more

8 customers mention "Characterization"8 positive0 negative

Customers find the characterization in the book helpful. They also mention that the book provides helpful tips on character creation, weapon creation, and all aspects of gaming.

"...Also has some basic character build types to start out with but the game is so open ended that you don't have to follow these at all...." Read more

"...It contains detailed information on character creation, training, inventory, the beasts you'll encounter, and a complete list of quests...." Read more

"...bonus items (from quest completion), and characters availible for interaction is really superb...." Read more

"...Has every quest you may come across in the game helpful tips on character creation, weapon creation, and all the other things you can do in Skyrim...." Read more

58 customers mention "Maps"38 positive20 negative

Customers are mixed about the maps in the book. Some mention that there are maps, and the hard cover edition promises more mapping on-line. They also mention that the guide includes a fold out map of the province of Skyrim, and a rip-out map of Skyrm. However, some customers say that the in-game maps are poor and small.

"...are in here, but also, my favorite part: Locations of all armor/weapons/collectibles and a online interactive map that is downloaded..." Read more

"...If I were to offer one criticism, the maps are separate from the quests, which requires some flipping back and forth...." Read more

"...You can mark tons of locations and hover your mouse over the icons for a short description/location...." Read more

"...It's complete and even includes the free map. I'm quite satisfied." Read more

13 customers mention "Database"3 positive10 negative

Customers find the database in the book lacking a good index or table of contents. They also say the index is too short for all the info packed into it.

"...The table of contents and index were also checked...." Read more

"...couldn't find the information I needed because this guide does not have an index. In my researching online, I found that there was an indexed map...." Read more

"...I like the fold out map but the online map is better. I don't have to worry about tearing or loosing the fold out map now...." Read more

"...by some weird organizational choices and a rather barren and useless index. So while I think everything is here - I can't say for certain...." Read more

11 customers mention "Writing quality"0 positive11 negative

Customers find the writing quality of the book unreadable, with a few typos. They also say it's hard to navigate.

"...I'm talking about grammatical and spelling errors...." Read more

"...Well, it kind of helped.BUT, there are a great nuber of spelling mistakes...." Read more

"...size is smaller then the Oblivion guide book and makes things harder to read in my opinion..." Read more

"...It is well written, and easy to understand. It has a few typos but they do not effect the quality of the information...." Read more

Blown away
5 out of 5 stars
Blown away
I've been trying super hard to find this cheap online. I found this "acceptable" copy of it and I was like let's try it. It's about $20, worst case scenario I have one until I can get a better copy. This copy is in such good condition, with only normal wear and tear. I'm so happy with this and will not be looking for newer version. So pleased and will definitely be back to buy more of my gaming guides!
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Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2011
***Edit: After several hours with the guide, I can officially declare the Collector's Ed. Strategy Guide for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim: One of the greatest books ever written.

First off, the text, the pictures, everything, feels... stamped. You can FEEL each letter, in every sentence, the paper, feels... rough... real... natural. They're are several screenshots with every single side quest, what the surrounding area looks like, what the NPC you need to talk to looks like.

And the interactive map? Don't get me started, it has every single solitary nook and cranny of every spot in Skyrim laid out.

Oh what about the Giant poster map that comes in the back of the Guide Giovanni? Does it HAVE EVERY SINGLE POSSIBLE POINT OF INTREST ON IT LIKE THE EXPLORER PERK IN FALLOUT? - YES!

But what about the armor locations? Does it tell me where? Better yet, it tells you who/what/when/where/how/why and how much to acquire/forge every armor in the game.

Let me put it this way, I will be doing a video tomorrow which will contain a proper look at the guide. It will be on my youtube channel GFWScarface.

Table of contents is 4 pages long, the index is something like 20pgs long.

If David Hodgson reads this, I am stupified at how much time and effort you took into putting this Tome together.

I read that it took you and a team of appx. a dozen+ people OVER 2,000+ hours to make the collector's guide.

Assuming you worked 8hrs a day, thats roughly 250 DAYS, give or take how many hours you worked on it per day.

Did I mention the Holy Bible style Foot Long Ribbon page makers? And that there's two of them? And they are black?

I HIGHLY RECOMMENED THAT ANYONE WHO BUYS THIS GUIDE ACQUIRE A PAIR OF GLOVES PREFERABLY MEDICAL/LATEX FOR THE COVER LEAVES FINGERPRINTS BADLY (you skin exfoliates oil naturally, no matter how many times you wash your hands it will come back, TRUST ME, I've wiped my guide down about 10x already, now I ONLY touch it when I have a pair of medical gloves on [you know like in the Emergency room?]}

BUY THIS GUIDE!

*Initial unboxing review:

As of the past week and of this writing (11/13/11) this guide is no longer available for purchase from several online retailers including Amazon. I fournately pre-ordered mine back in July for I knew that a near 700 page guide was hard to make and with David Hodgson and the team at Prima spending over 2,000+ hours on the collector's guide, it was special.

Now first thing anyone playing Skyrim should know: Explore.

The main questline and all the side quests (ALOT OF SIDE QUESTS, with detail on them too) are in here, but also, my favorite part: Locations of all armor/weapons/collectibles and a online interactive map that is downloaded with a unique one time code.

Now of course there is much more, and I haven't read every single page, but I will tell you this: the Skyrim Collector's Guide is by and large; The best strategy guide for an RPG (close tie with the Dark Souls guide) ever.

The binding is very good, I have the Battlefield 3 guide, and it's about 330 pages (not even HALF the size of this guide) and the binding is below par, you can look and tell that if you laid it down, open on a page for too long it would begin to tear.

Not so with this Skyrim Coll. guide. Plus the hardcover art is VERY nice.

What more is there to say? If you can even FIND one of these guides (for less than $40 that is, anymore and they are price gouging, which any seller will since it is sold out everywhere) buy it, because my local gamestop, walmart and barnes and noble are all sold out and CANNOT get anymore in from the publisher (Prima) so it looks like we have ourselves a genuine coll. edition.
13 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2011
This book is a real page turner! I'm only about 8 hours into the actual game, but its hard not to keep "peaking" at this book. The hardcover is great, and the quality is excellent. I love the black page ribbon, very classy for a video game guide book. The bindings seem to be very durable, I noticed this after flipping through a few extra times.

I've found myself reading the book like a novel, and not using it to actually play the game. I do like to draw off memory things I read and try to apply them to my gaming session, but its just to addicting to wonder around Skyrim!

...Ok back to the book. From what I've seen so far, this thing is very well written. The screenshots, and game photos are beautiful (not to mention 100% full color). Its quite the task to think about playing through Skyrim and seeing and doing everything, this is even more mind boggling when you think about the time that went into writing this book! Every detail is included, and the best part is when something "triggers", or ties into something else...the book mentions it. This is a great help since you'll spend less time flipping pages searching for that one answer!

One more quick note: The interactive map alone is worth the price of admission. Its great if you have a laptop nearby, and don't wanna delve into the story much via the book. You can mark tons of locations and hover your mouse over the icons for a short description/location. I found this to be very helpful when you just need to know where a certain town is, or where that rare sword can be found!

All in all awesome book, awesome price, and an awesome game. I'm very happy with this purchase, and have no problem giving it 5 *'s.
3 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2024
A little beat up, but the game is 12 years old. It's complete and even includes the free map. I'm quite satisfied.
Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2011
A work of art doesn't need to have a mandatory relation with function, or at least, with functionality. But we're not talking about art here, this is a game guide, and a product such as this one needs to address function, since its main goal is to enhance the full enjoyment of another product: a game. That being said, taste, with all its subjective variables, still remains a factor as to how good this guide really is. This review won't address taste, or awesomeness, but simply whether the function of this guide is met or not.

The short answer is a resonating yes.

However, bear in mind that this review does not attempt to be an impartial one. This premisse is important, because this guide also made a choice when it comes to handling (and offering) wealth of information, and that is debatable in terms of being a pro (the position of this review) or a con (a position held by other types of players/reviewers, with the same ammount of logic, validity and legitimacy to it). It can only be hoped that sincerity and detailed insights can be achieved together to help you make an informed buying decision.

MAIN PROS:
- Enhances playability to an amazing degree of detail and depth. Every possible Quest (with all of its possibilities), NPCs, Guilds, Skill Books, Lore Books, Dungeons and Random Encounters are present, coupled with detailed maps and multiple ways to cross-reference the info so you can approach it on any way you desire. Playing Skyrim with this guide satiates the neurotic in all of us: you -will- feel complete in terms of exploring every nook-and-cranny the game has to offer. The wealth of 'things-to-do' and 'replay value' are a trademark of The Elder Scroll series, and this guide lives up to the game it describes.
- Enhances the enjoyment of the game, the two go -very- well together. This guide will entice, increase and maintain your appetite to play Skyrim.

MAIN CONS:
- Two cons intrinsically linked (1. The beatiful layout of the guide is a double-edged sword; 2.Fails to organize its wealth of information taking the 'specifics of a game' in mind) producing an undesirable result: it reveals too much with ineffective warnings. The problem is not so much of 'how' the categories are organized - it does a good job in that respect, given the size of the game and the premisse of covering everything it has to offer - but 'how much' is given on each of those categories. Not only that, but the way the prose is written - and the way the many in-game screenshots are arranged - leaves you with a feeling that the guide is competing with the game itself for your attention, and in a bad way. Often times you'll find yourself like a child on a theme park: "Ooohhh! Look at that over here! Ohhhh! Look at that over there! Shiny!". The problem is that you'll stumble upon information that, on a first playthrough, can severely spoil the experience. It doesn't happen on an excessive level, but sometimes it does things like presenting an essential NPC picture with subtitles for the sake of beauty and layout, when they really shouldn't dispell the veil of mistery around him/her. Even though it places 'Spoiler Tags' all over the guide, the way that it's done (how the info is organized bellow the tags) seems almost cynical, like saying "I'm terribly sorry, but I'm gonna be terribly disrespectful towards your family".

SECONDARY PROS:
- If you're not on a first playthrough, then this guide will rise to its true greatness, unlocking every little detail you missed. It was an amazing pleasure to have it as a trustworthy companion, revising things I wish I'd done some other way and discovering nuances about themes I've only scratched the surface.

SECONDARY CONS:
- Lacks a section about the console codes. I was surprised to find out that the guide doesn't even mention this. TES games are known for an open, built-in console mode that allows you much more than mere cheating (which, in and of itself, should be included in a trully thorough guide): it's extremely useful as a workaround for bugs (its main strength) and underised situations (accidental NPC deaths for example). The lack of such a section cripples the amazing quality and standard of this product.

MISCELLANEOUS PROS:
- The material of the pages responds well to pen and pencil and, most important, erasers. Just be sure to have an above-average eraser (no more than US$2,50 a piece), so as not to damage the pages.
- Check-Lists that will help you keep track of progress (something that is increased in its value, due to a poor Quest User Interface of the vanilla version of Skyrim).
- An extremely thorough Index at the end (dungeons, NPCs, quests, unique items, spells, books etc.). On a practical level this is -the- most useful feature. You'll find yourself referencing to it very often, to go directly where the desired information is.

MISCELLANEOUS CONS:
- Lack of detachable Index pages. Another feature surprisingly absent. When in the middle of the game, sometimes the mood is broken by having to flip back to Index in order to find what you want then flipping all the way to the desired page. In -a lot- of situations you'll also want to find two pieces of information at the same time, described in different sections, making it even more of a pain to do it. Additional detachable Index pages would facilitate the issue tremendously, and this is something already present in other mainstream guides (even Prima ones). Precisely because of its size, the lack of this feature is sorely missed.

CONCLUSION
This is a worthy purchase, no doubt about that. It receives a glaring 4 star, even though it can't receive 5 from the standpoint of this review. The cons, when put together, hurt the overall function of the guide to the point of lowering its final performance(as mentioned earlier, function is what really matters as far as this review is concerned).

Oh, and by the way: its cons, ironically enough, mirror the reception of the game itself. Skyrim (along with its guide) stands as a very sucessful and worthy product, even tough - for catering to a much wider, less focused and less hardcore-gamer audience - sometimes leave features behind that are missed by some historical fans.

But, in the end, we love it either way.
5 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Leo
5.0 out of 5 stars Game guide
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 23, 2024
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Leo
5.0 out of 5 stars Game guide
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 23, 2024
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Will The Cat
5.0 out of 5 stars Guía imprescindible para amantes del juego
Reviewed in Spain on May 22, 2023
"The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Atlas: Prima Official Guide" es una guía esencial para los jugadores que deseen sumergirse completamente en el vasto mundo de Skyrim. Esta guía oficial, publicada por Prima Games, proporciona una gran cantidad de información detallada y consejos útiles para ayudar a los jugadores a explorar y dominar cada rincón de este épico juego de rol.

El Atlas de Skyrim es un compendio completo que cubre todos los aspectos importantes del juego. Desde la creación de personajes y la elección de habilidades, hasta la exploración de las vastas tierras de Skyrim y la resolución de misiones secundarias intrigantes, esta guía lo tiene todo. Incluye mapas detallados de todas las regiones, ciudades y mazmorras, junto con información sobre los objetos, hechizos y enemigos que puedes encontrar.

Además de la información básica, la guía también ofrece estrategias avanzadas para la construcción de personajes y combates, así como consejos sobre la personalización de armas y armaduras. También se incluyen consejos sobre la mejora de habilidades y la progresión del personaje, lo que ayuda a los jugadores a maximizar su potencial y a enfrentar los desafíos más difíciles con confianza.

Con un diseño claro y fácil de seguir, el Atlas de Skyrim es una herramienta imprescindible para cualquier jugador que quiera sacar el máximo provecho de su experiencia en Skyrim. Ya seas un aventurero novato o un veterano experimentado, esta guía te proporcionará el conocimiento y las estrategias necesarias para convertirte en un verdadero Dovahkiin y explorar cada rincón de este mundo épico.
LoScuroTreemme
5.0 out of 5 stars fantastico
Reviewed in Italy on November 30, 2021
un'ambientazione Fantasy bellissima, il gioco terra' impegnati per molti mesi prima di arrivare al suo epilogo
Cliente Amazon
5.0 out of 5 stars Very thorough
Reviewed in Brazil on December 6, 2019
It has all information a player would like to have. For tabletop RPG players like me, it even gives the opportunity to use the maps as references when I run my adventures.
Freddy
4.0 out of 5 stars Aceptable atlas
Reviewed in Mexico on February 17, 2019
El libro esta bien hecho , pero no esperan guia guia es solamente un atlas de todas las ubicaciones , eso si te ayuda a que encuentres todo los objetos que hay en cada lugar