Summary
Somewhat unbelievably, it’s been over six years since Bethesda originally announcedThe Elder Scrolls 6, the highly anticipated sequel toSkyrim. Making a sequel to one of thebest-selling video games of all timeis clearly no easy task, and Bethesda doesn’t seem to be in a rush.
While Bethesda has been incredibly tight-lipped aboutThe Elder Scrolls 6’s development so far, many fans are hoping a big announcement might be just around the corner. This means that there’s never been a better time to take a look at what madeSkyrimso successful and considerwhat features from that game Bethesda should keep.
9A Dynamic World Map
An Easy-To-Miss Detail That Makes Skyrim Feel More Alive
While lots of gamers rememberSkyrimas having a massive map, in reality, it’s far from being thebiggest map in an open-world game. WhatSkyrimdoes have, however, is a world map that is very pretty to look at.
Bethesda games are full of cool little details, and one detail manySkyrimplayers missed is that its world map is dynamic and shown in real-time. If the player looks up and can see clouds or fog, that weather is reflected on the map screen. Use the Clear Skies shout, and the clouds will clear on the map, too, allowing the player to see it more clearly. It’s a small detail, but it’s the kind of touch one would expect from aSkyrimsequel.
8Companions
Followers Should Return, And They Should Be Given More Depth
InSkyrim,companions who aid the player on quests and in combat are known as followers. While most RPGs only feature a handful of companions,Skyrimhas around 50 to choose from. That’s a lot of choice, which is awesome.
The Elder Scrolls 6absolutely needs to include plenty of companions, but the feature needs some tweaking. Many ofSkyrim’s companions were pretty bland and didn’t have their own quests. To improve on this, Bethesda needs to look atRPGs with the best companion questsand take some notes. Most fans would rather have fewer, more interesting companions than 50 bland ones.
7Let The Player Be A Vampire Or A Werewolf
Deepens Role-Playing Elements
Despite being a beloved RPG, one of the most common complaints aboutSkyrimis that it’s not one of thebest games for immersive roleplay. Instead, it’s a massive sandbox where, all too often, players' choices lack any real weight or consequences. However, one thingSkyrimdid get right with its role-playing was the implementation of Vampirism and Lycanthropy.
Both diseases added a ton of immersion to theSkyrimexperience, especially being a vampire. While being a werewolf did little but add a cool transformation, being a vampire changed several aspects of the game and pretty much forced the player to roleplay as one. Bethesda should keep both diseases forThe Elder Scrolls 6and maybe add some more, as there are plenty of other transformations and supernatural entities that players would love to roleplay as.
6Mounts
Horses Can Be Useful, But More Options Should Be Available In The Sequel
Mounted gameplay has been a staple of the series sinceOblivion,so hopefully, it’s a given that players will be able to use a horse to get around inThe Elder Scrolls 6. That being said,Falloutstill doesn’t have mounts, andStarfieldisn’t any better, so fans shouldn’t count their chickens before they’re hatched.
Fingers crossed, Bethesda will take inspiration from thebest mounts in gamingand give fans some more options. Horses are cool, but many players would also like to traverse via dragon. Likewise, maybe giant spiders could help players scale mountains, and rideable sea mammals could help players explore the game’s oceans. While they’re at it, Bethesda should work on mounted combat, too.
5Joining Factions And Guilds
Optional Storylines That Add Depth To Skyrim’s World
It might not necessarily feel like it when playing, butSkyrimactually features 15 factions for the player to join. There are the main two: the Imperials and the Stormcloaks, and then 13 other smaller factions, each with their own quest lines. Between them all, there’s a lot of content for players to get through.
But not allElder Scrollsfans were happy with how Bethesda implemented these factions. Rather than having ranks that the player works their way up through, mostSkyrimfactions just have a simple quest line to complete. Finishing this either puts the player in charge of the faction or rewards them with some nice loot. ForThe Elder Scrolls 6,Bethesda should combine the guilds of the older games withSkyrim’s factions feature and let players work their way up through the organizations organically. This would feel much more rewarding than doing a few quests and suddenly being made Arch-Mage of Winterhold.
4Random Encounters With World Bosses / Threats
Nowhere Should Be Safe
One of the best things aboutSkyrimis its dragon encounters. They’re some of thebest world boss battles in open-world gamesand ensure that nowhere inSkyrimever feels 100% safe, not even its towns. They also ensure that trudging across the map never becomes dull, with even the strongest player easily getting caught off guard.
The Elder Scrolls 6needs an equivalent threat. It doesn’t have to be dragons; fans have been there and done that, but the game should include a dragon equivalent. BeforeSkyrim,Oblivionhad a similar feature in the form of its Oblivion Gates, which were arguably even cooler.
3Player-Owned Houses
Safe Spaces That Let Players Fully Unleash Their Creativity
After a long day of adventuring and raiding, it’s nice for players to have a place to rest their feet.Skyrimhad a total of 9 houses that the player could own, 6 pre-built and three that the player could build via Hearthfire’s crafting system. Gaining access to a house usually required doing some quests and then forking over a heavy pouch of gold to the local jarl.
This is a featureThe Elder Scrolls 6needs to keep. Houses aren’t just a place for hoarders to stash their items; they can add to the role-playing experience in a meaningful way. Like every feature mentioned so far, there’s room for improvement. More customization options would be much appreciated, especially since Bethesda has already done most of the heavy lifting withFallout 4’s settlements feature.
2Smithing / Alchemy / Spell Crafting
Crafting Should Stay, But It Should Be More Naturally Implemented
InSkyrim,players could smith weapons and armor, brew potions, cook, and even craft spells. This was one of thebest open-world crafting systemsbecause players had the choice to either jump headfirst into crafting or ignore it completely. Crafting was just one way to get awesome gear and spells.
Bethesda should keep this approach rather than forcing crafting upon players, as it did with the recentFalloutgames andStarfield. Not everyone likes crafting or hunting for ingredients. While they are at it, they could also make some improvements, especially to spell crafting, which feels a little limited inSkyrim.
1Baked In Mod Support
Additonal Content With Regular Patches
If there’s one feature Bethesda could cut that would really angerElder Scrollsfans, it’s baked-in mod support. Bethesda made fans wait months for mod support when it came toStarfield,and many were not happy. The creation kit is a powerful tool, andThe Elder Scrolls 6needs to ship with it ready.
This mod support is vital for two reasons. Firstly, many ofthe bestSkyrimmodsadd a lot of fun content to the game in the form of new gear, quests, and enemies. Who doesn’t want to run around a medieval fantasy with a lightsaber? Secondly, Bethesda’s big releases are infamously buggy. Without good mod support, fans will be left waiting for official patches.Skyrimis well over ten years old and still has game-breaking bugs. For most franchises, mod support is nice to have. ForThe Elder Scrolls,it’s a must-have.
