A Skyrim player leveled up to "level" 30 simultaneously in the game and in real life – but still never got to the main quest

The main quest in a big RPG is usually considered the backbone of the game, but that rule doesn't apply to Skyrim. There, the core storyline has turned into an optional formality players can put off for hundreds of hours. Some delay it for literal years while dragons patiently circle over Skyrim, waiting for their Dovahkiin.

Fresh proof of this showed up on Reddit. One player bragged about hitting level 30 on the exact night of their 30th birthday, wondering out loud if it was finally time to tackle the main quest. The screenshot shows the character gripping Chrysamere, the legendary paladin blade from Daggerfall and Morrowind that made its way back into Skyrim through Creation Club content.

Commenters quickly pointed out that the poster shares a birthday with Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, since both hobbits celebrate on September 22. Fans of Earth, Wind & Fire's "September" also chimed in about the date.

What's more interesting is the response that followed. Hitting level 30 without touching the main quest in Skyrim apparently counts as barely a warmup for a lot of players. One commenter admitted to following an unwritten rule of not touching the story before level 38. Another reached level 43 and became Arch-Mage of the College of Winterhold without ever joining the Stormcloaks. A third player got to level 42 on Switch 2 without setting foot in High Hrothgar, spending their time actually leveling alchemy for the first time in 15 years with the game. The absolute record goes to someone at level 114 whose only story progress is Whirlwind Sprint, learned from the Greybeards.

There's a pretty simple mechanic behind all this. Skyrim scales the world to match the hero level, so dragons and Alduin never become impossible to handle no matter how long you wait. The guilds, the Dark Brotherhood, vampire hunters, and hundreds of side quests hold up just as well as the main story, often better. The central plotline with its Word Eater theatrics ends up feeling like mandatory homework, the kind that's satisfying to keep pushing back.

Naturally, the age jokes came pouring in too. Someone promised that by the time the poster hits level 81, the old level cap before legendary skills existed, they'll also be 81 years old. Someone else riffed on the famous intro line, twisting it into "Hey, you... you're finally 30." The bitterest joke was saved for The Elder Scrolls 6, which Bethesda announced back in 2018 and still hasn't given a release date:

Just imagine you might even get to hit level 50 when the next Elder Scrolls game comes out two months before your 50th birthday!!

Dragons can wait. Birthdays only come once a year.