Highlights
The inclusion of Spellcrafting in The Elder Scrolls 6 is imperative as it brings back a cherished feature from Oblivion, enabling players to craft personalized magical spells, thereby elevating the intricacy of the magic system and enriching the role-playing aspects.
The game should incorporate a class system that resembles Oblivion, providing a more immersive and satisfying role-playing experience with limited flexibility in character development.
By introducing an arena reminiscent of Oblivion in The Elder Scrolls 6, players can confront exhilarating challenges and showcase an overhauled combat system, serving as a prominent feature of the game.
Bethesda games are renowned for sharing similar characteristics and building upon each other. The highly anticipated game, The Elder Scrolls 6, is expected to draw inspiration from its predecessor, Skyrim. While The Elder Scrolls 6 will likely incorporate some elements from Skyrim, even Starfield has hints of Skyrim features, it should also consider looking back at Oblivion.
Released in early 2006, Oblivion may not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of a modern and technically impressive game. However, Skyrim, which came out over five years later, improved upon the foundation laid by Oblivion and previous The Elder Scrolls games in various aspects such as visuals, voice acting, sound design, and scope. Nonetheless, Skyrim also omitted or significantly altered certain key features from Oblivion. While some of these omissions may have been justified, there are others that could have seamlessly integrated into the game. As Bethesda develops The Elder Scrolls 6, it would be wise to consider reintroducing a few of these forgotten features.
The Elder Scrolls 6 Needs to Bring Back Spellcrafting
Many players found Skyrim's magic system to be lacking. A major reason for this is the absence of Spellcrafting, a feature that allowed players in Oblivion to create custom spells by combining existing ones. Spellcrafting not only added depth to the magic system, but also enriched the role-playing aspects of the game. Skyrim offered various gameplay choices, but fell short in providing more immersive and detailed role-playing systems, with the exclusion of Spellcrafting being a prime example of Bethesda's oversight. If The Elder Scrolls 6 were to reintroduce Spellcrafting, it would enable players to experiment and engage with a complex magic system, rewarding mastery and encouraging a more dedicated and specialized approach to role-playing.
The Elder Scrolls 6 Should Build Upon Oblivion's Class System
When discussing ways to enhance the immersion of role-playing in The Elder Scrolls 6, it is important to consider the potential implementation of a class system within the game. While players in Skyrim had the opportunity to develop various skills and join guilds to expand their abilities, the game lacked a traditional RPG class selection. The only significant choice affecting gameplay when creating a new Skyrim character was the selection of their race. Different races possessed inherent strengths that made them more suitable for certain playstyles, alongside one or two unique abilities. However, players were largely unrestricted in their usage of different weapons, spells, and armor sets. All abilities and gear were accessible from the beginning, with skill improvement being reliant on usage.
Although Skyrim's approach provided players with freedom, it could be argued that it granted a little too much freedom. While the game featured impressive armor, weapons, and abilities, the absence of restrictions based on past choices diminished the sense of reward and reduced replay value. After all, there was little motivation to create alternative builds in subsequent playthroughs when a single character could effectively utilize every skill and piece of gear, given enough effort.
Oblivion, while still emphasizing player freedom, introduces a significantly intricate class system. At the beginning of the game, players can opt for one of the twenty-one pre-defined classes or create a personalized class. This system aligns with the traditional character stats found in The Elder Scrolls games, and it promotes and facilitates the development of specific character builds, which ultimately profoundly influence gameplay style. By adopting a similarly structured and intricate class-selection system like Oblivion's, The Elder Scrolls 6 could provide a highly captivating and rewarding role-playing experience. Although it may offer fewer choices in each playthrough, the choices that do exist would carry substantial weight and significance.
The Elder Scrolls 6 Needs an Oblivion-Style Arena
The Imperial Arena in Oblivion was a captivating feature. Taking inspiration from ancient Rome, this extraordinary side content not only enriched the game's universe, but also introduced some of the most captivating minor quests that players could embark on. Within the Arena, players could make their way up the ranks, collecting gold after each battle, until ultimately claiming the prestigious title of Grand Champion. Despite the combat mechanics not being the game's strongest suit, the inclusion of the Arena presented Oblivion players with an enticing, optional challenge that proved to be well worth pursuing.
Content similar to the Imperial Arena would be an excellent addition to The Elder Scrolls 6, particularly if the game improves upon the franchise's clunky and shallow combat. With a more immersive and satisfying combat system, an arena questline could become a standout feature of the game, allowing players to fully explore and engage in combat. Furthermore, incorporating a traditional RPG class system would add an element of fun and diversity to the gameplay, providing enjoyable and varied content for multiple playthroughs.
The Elder Scrolls 6 shows great promise, and while Skyrim offers countless amazing features that should serve as inspiration, it would be a mistake to disregard Oblivion. Despite being somewhat outdated in terms of technology and design, Oblivion remains a unique and creative game that has surprisingly stood the test of time. If The Elder Scrolls 6 looks to earlier entries in the series for guidance, then Oblivion should be considered an essential point of reference.
The Elder Scrolls 6 is in development.