Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-101.103.30.52-20140219060142/@comment-24261859-20140301084634

DarthOrc wrote: Coppermantis wrote: I doubt that shouts will make a comeback, as a recycled gimmick would be boring and poorly recieved. They were cool and original in Skyrim, but reusing them would be ill-advised. It'd be like having Oblivion Gates in Skyrim.

Plus, since our character will likely not be Dragonborn, (s)he will have to go through the "regular" process for learning shouts, that is, years of careful study and meditation. The Dragonborn was not the only character that used shouts a lot, (Draugr deathlords, for instance), and they could not have all been dragonborn. Casting magical attacks has been around for ages, and it isn't boring. Having the protagonist be able to unlock and use at least some shouts wouldn't be, either.

Another reason to keep shouts would be if the next game features a continuation of the conflict between the Thalmor and everybody else. It would make no sense for shouts to have dissappeared from the game. As I said, if they were not Dragonborn, they would have to go through the regular process of learning shouts. Yes, Ulfric, the Greybeards, the Ebony Warrior, and Draugr can shout. They had to undergo years of training to learn each shout, though. What makes the dragonborn specail is that (s)he can learn shouts instantly by absorbing dragon souls. So, unless the protagonist will be dragonborn again, it is unlikely that he or she will be able to shout. The only ways for shouts to be included are a) make the protagonist a dragonborn again, which would be silly, have them go through this extensive training, which would be impractical, or have them know shouts from the beginning, which breaks the theme established by every single elder scrolls game thus far: starting as a lowly character and gradually gaining great power.

Perhaps I was wrong to say that it would be boring, unless the TESVI does not introduce anything significantly new. Shouts were Skyrim's cool new feature, so the next one will have to distinguish itself in some other manner.