Early training in USKP

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Ah, the famous Unofficial Skyrim Patch (USKP), our savior..

..except that it ALSO removes free training from followers. Yes, I'm looking at you, Faendal!

Now, a challenge: Is it possible to start the pickpocket training routine without overshooting levels if you HAVE TO start pickpocketing from level 1? Or at least, what is the bare minimum of missed levels you'll have to suffer? Or should you abstain from training all 5 points during a couple levels to only lose a partial level's worth of training? Or is it possible to get/steal enough cash to be able to train a few levels without pickpocketing your gold back?

This naturally means you have to emerge out of Helgen without a single skill increase anywhere to get as big of a buffer as possible for starters. And you'll be searching to boost skills at 15 for quite a while, instead of pushing several closer to 50. What else?

 

Clearly, it's impossible to pickpocket train at such early levels. Heck, if you resist pushing the level up button while you're escaping Helgen, and start training with Faendal from level 1, it is typically possible to train all the way to level 50 in archery just from him. So clearly pickpocket training is out.

I also feel it is inconceivable to acquire enough gold for 5 levels worth of training early on. Sure, you can get a few as leveling a level 15 skill only costs 210 gold. But that's still 1150 gold to train a skill from 15-20, and there's no means of acquiring that much even if all you do is break into people's homes and steal stuff - you'll start leveling speech from selling it anyway (which isn't necessarily bad as you want levels in speech, but you'll still be missing training opportunities.

So it seems most sensible to say that you wouldn't train the full 5 times per level. (This happens anyway - even with Faendal quickly getting you to level 8, you STILL gain experience too fast.) That said, I don't think it's a major problem. My current character is level 62, and he's essentially done in training. I need a few more training sessions in Two Handed, but all of my other yet-to-be maxed skills are either at 90 or above, and therefore cannot be trained, or they are skills I use regularly (like Sneak, One Handed, Archery) that will get there eventually through use.

If you're asking me to make an estimate... I'd say you can reasonably expect to lose 6-8 full levels worth of training combined. You'll never lose a full level, at once, but there will be instances where you may only be able to train twice in a given level, because you'll be gaining so much experience from pickpocket. So 30-40 training sessions. But like I said, it's not that big of a deal. I'd guess that I am already losing about 10 in a typical playthrough.

 

Did some basic testing, and it's impossible to utilize more than about half of the training opportunities during the first ten levels or so if forced to start with pickpocketing starting from level 1. I managed 35 out of 55 possible in my first try to level 11, always going for the lowest available skill.

However, you can get a free Woodcutter's Axe from the Riverwood sawmill, and there are two woodcutting blocks available as well. Also, Hod (the sawmill owner) happily buys off any Firewood off of you. Hence, you could make unlimited money by just chopping wood and selling it and just buy the training from Faendal anyway.

At that point, I'm tempted to just console in the 12,950 septims it costs to train all the way with him and be on my way. What a chore.