Board Thread:Future TES Titles/@comment-5918955-20150702031544

I couldn't think of a good title for this discussion.

With the recent reveal of Fallout 4, I have noticed a sudden surge in speculation on the next Elder Scrolls title. The most frequently asked question is "Where will it take place?" While this is an important thought, I have written this post on the matter of gameplay elements concerning player character development and progression. Essentially this refers to things along the lines of classes, playstyles, leveling, etc.

No matter what your favorite game in the series is, you cannot deny that the number of skills has decreased from Morrowind to Skyrim. This was done to simplify the leveling experience and to help streamline character building. Some argue that this is a bad thing, saying that it "casualizes" the TES experience. With the inevitable release of the next installment of the franchise, one must ponder what form character progression will take in that game.

In Morrowind, players chose 5 major skills and 5 minor skills for their class. Major skills got a larger boost than the minor skills, but increasing any combination of these skills 10 times would raise the player's level. In Oblivion, a player's class was created with only 7 major skills. Every other skill would be considered "minor" and wouldn't count towards a player's level. In Skyrim, classes were removed entirely. Now all skills would count towards the player's level.

FINALLY we get to the speculation. I will state my predictions and feel free to comment yours. First of all, I think classes will not be returning. Or at least in their traditional sense, I'll explain. My guess would be that a player would choose a certain number of skills that would recieve a boost by around 20 points. Every other skill would start at 5. (Ignoring racial bonuses.) All skills would still count towards the player's level, though. It is safe to assume that TES 6 would use the same engine as Fallout 4, so many gameplay elements should transfer as well. In the E3 demo we see the return of attributes. They never left the Fallout series, but were absent in Skyrim. Attributes effected more general stats of the character such as running speed, health, magicka, damage, etc. I think attributes will return, and modifiers can be chosen for them when you level up based on the skills you increased, like in Morrowind/Oblivion. I also believe the perk system we saw in Skyrim will make a comeback. When it comes down to the skills themselves, I really want to see some old skills return. Notably hand to hand and unarmored. (I know unarmored was broken in Morrowind, but I still like the idea of it.) I don't think athletics and acrobatics will return, they are just too easy to level. Instead I believe jump height and running will be determined by the speed and/or agility attribute.

That's all I care to write currently, so thanks for reading all this if you did! Comment your leveling predictions/wishlist below, I want to hear what everyone has to say. 