Favorite hold and why—does anyone actually prefer Riften over Solitude?

[EbonyWarrior]

I'm on my third playthrough and I keep gravitating toward Solitude for the politics and Thane stuff, but I feel like I'm missing something about Riften. Everyone talks about the Thieves Guild questline being better than Dark Brotherhood, but the hold itself always feels kind of... cramped and depressing to me? Like, Markarth's got the weird Forsworn angle, Whiterun's got the Civil War tension, even Windhelm has that murder mystery vibe. What makes Riften click for you if it's your favorite, or is Solitude just objectively the better hold to base yourself in?

 

[ScrollsOfTamriel]

Riften's not for everyone, and honestly I think the hold itself is kind of a slog compared to Solitude—you're not wrong about that. But the reason people hype the Thieves Guild isn't really about the city, it's about the questline itself being tighter and more satisfying than the Dark Brotherhood's story structure. The whole arc from Loud and Clear through Blindsighted actually goes somewhere, whereas the DB questline feels more episodic.

That said, if Solitude clicks for you, just stay there. The Jarl's duties questline and the Civil War stuff give you way more political intrigue, and the city actually feels like a capital. Riften's appeal is almost entirely the guild questline—once you're done with that and maybe the Silt Striders quest, there's not much else pulling you back unless you're really into the Maven Black-Briar storyline or the Thieves Guild radiant jobs.

My take: do the Thieves Guild questline because it's genuinely well-written, but don't force yourself to live there. Fast travel back to Solitude after you finish. The game doesn't penalize you for that.

 

[DragonbornVet]

Yeah, that's fair. I'd add that if you're doing a stealth build, Riften becomes way more useful just for proximity—the Thieves Guild questline basically requires you to be sneaky anyway, so you end up leveling Pickpocket and Lockpicking naturally during the story. By the time you hit Blindsighted, you've got the perks to actually use the city as a base for sneaking around Skyrim.

But if you're playing something like a sword-and-board warrior or a pure mage, there's zero reason to camp there. Solitude's got better vendors, better architecture, and the Jarl's duties actually feel important to your character's story. Riften's just... wet and miserable and full of people who want to kill you or take your stuff, which is thematic for the guild but not exactly welcoming.

Honestly the best move is what the previous reply said - do the questline because Speaking with Silence and the stuff leading up to it is genuinely good, then bail. The radiant jobs are repetitive busywork anyway. You're not missing anything by treating Riften as a pit stop instead of a home base.