First Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Details: Revamped Combat, No Class Selection, and Dragons – Oh My
First Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Details: Revamped Combat, No Class Selection, and Dragons – Oh My
Posted 01/12/2011 at 2:31am
| by Nathan Grayson
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After taking a detour into The Apocalypse, Bethesda's getting back to its roots with some good old-fashioned swords 'n' sorcery. Well, ok, that's not entirely true. See, we're not in Tamriel anymore, Toto – and also Toto's a giant 30-ton dragon. Welcome to Skyrim.
According to a recent preview, Skyrim's set to take place 200 years after Oblivion – just in time for the return of the dragons, which (in addition to sounding like an oddly amusing Bruce Lee/Star Wars mash-up) is where you come in. You're a dragonborn, so it's your duty to put an end to the dragon god and save the world from certain destruction. Which, in Elder Scrolls-ese, roughly translates to “dick around for 70 hours while ignoring humanity's grim fate in favor of 'Hey! That looks neat!'”
Sounds pretty standard so far, doesn't it? Well, Bethesda's also torn out the franchise's old guts and replaced them with something more sensibly streamlined. For one, class selection's out. Instead, you'll only be leveling skills this time around, and every skill level gained contributes to your overall level. Levels, of course, bring new and interesting perks, so there looks to be quite a bit of room for variation. The Skyrim's the limit? Oh come on; at least wait until we're done with this post to shoot us.
Skill types have also been pared back, but only a bit. This time around, you've got 18 to choose from versus Oblivion's 21. Again, though, you can mix-and-match skills whichever way you want or specialize in a couple different types, so you definitely won't be at a lack for options.
Combat, meanwhile, is set to emphasize a two-handed approach so as to create more “dynamic and tactical” battles. In other words, you'll be able to create just about any arsenal you can think of. Sword and shield? Sure. Sword and axe? Go for it. Shield and bare hand? Sounds kind of suicidal, but, er, all right.
The vaunted “Radiant AI” popularized in Oblivion has also been retooled from the ground-up, resulting in quests that take stock of your impacts on the normal workings of the world and readjust accordingly. For instance, the game might search for a dungeon you've never explored in order to dynamically generate a quest. Or you might never be approached by, say, a quest-giving mage because you're not buddy-buddy with mages in general.
In other words, Skyrim isn't aiming to be revolutionary, but it sounds like the smartest, most sensible take on Bethesda's brand of massively single-player role-playing yet. The game's out on November 11, which – not so coincidentally – is probably around the time we'll be out of a job.
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aso chudi
January 15, 2012 at 12:18am
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neal123
January 04, 2012 at 5:50am
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bolod
December 27, 2011 at 12:07am
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bolod
December 26, 2011 at 2:44am
When I first visit this site and try to look what this site talks about I was really amazed with.WOW!fantastic.You could have get new important and interesting topic to be discuss.Really feel great that I visit this site.
TheOneAboveWhoi...
June 28, 2011 at 12:48pm
Pfth. Skyrim will suck. They've already confirmed that they are dumbing down the game. Classes are gone, skills are missing and statistics are missing. The combat will be just as bad as previous TES games. Why would I want this **** when I can get Dark Souls (a hardcore RPG) later this year and Dragon's Dogma (a BIGGER open world game than Skyrim could ever hope to be) next year?
Farewell.
Jeffredo
June 09, 2011 at 1:18am
"See, we're not in Tamriel anymore, Toto"
Yes, we are. Skyrim is part of Tamriel, just like Cyrodiil and Morrowind. Tamriel is the continent they're located on. Learn your Elder Scrolls geography.
mewarmo990
February 14, 2011 at 10:27pm
I think it would be neat if the game generated a class title for you depending on your skill focus and use. Kinda like in Titan Quest, I suppose.
Sparx10
January 18, 2011 at 5:54pm
Sounds to me like this removal of classes makes the game more open. No longer will you be confined to the skills in the class you chose. Going from 27 skills in Morrowind to 21 in Oblivion made the game more flexible as to what you wanted to play as. 3 less skills will make it moreso that way.
So yea that's why I never liked the class system. But I used it to my advantage anyway (I know one other guy that did this as well): You pick a class that you know has skills you won't use as much, and pick a race that has a boost to skills you don't use. That way instead of picking say, an Imperial and the Warrior class and having some of your skills start at 50, you can be a high elf and pick the thief class and have your major skills start at 25-30 which allows for more levels to be gained :D
As for the revamped combat system: I cannot wait for that! Oblivion combat was a huge improvement, but after having mods like Deadly Reflex show up where you can parry, do advanced combat ducks/rolls, chop off peoples body parts, bash people with your shield and kick them, the vanilla combat system seemed to lack. Hopefully the new system will be amazing like the mod was.
And yay, dragons! :D
Modroneman
January 12, 2011 at 12:17pm
Well lets hope that they're wrong and they put the class choices in. That is one of the best parts of the Elder Scrolls series.
sniggler
January 12, 2011 at 11:26am
it will be interesting to see how the lack of classing plays out though. I could see them integrating mysticism in with illusion hence the removal of it altogether but not being able to choose warrior, battlemage, spellsword, wizard, etc. this is what made elder scrolls so awesome and now they are removing it.
Perhaps a class will be chosen as you level certain skills? Either way im sure it will be worth playing.
gothliciouz
January 12, 2011 at 8:15am
i hope the gameplay is amazing, i will start saving to buy this game :)
praetor_alpha
January 12, 2011 at 6:36am
Bah! This will just be Fallout with swords!
Just kidding! I am definately looking forward to this, hopefully the characters will look better this time around.
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