A Bunch of (Awesome) New The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Details

The above screenshot was lovingly scanned form an issue of Game Informer that reveals many new details regarding the next installment of the Elder Scrolls series, Skyrim, which includes a classless leveling system, ten character races from which to choose, and defending against dragon attacks on the major cities.

Thanks to NeoGAF poster DennisK4 for transcribing all of the information from the Game Informer article.

• New classless leveling system in which every individual skill leveled contributes to overall level
• Each level gives perks (probably similar to the Fallout 3 perk system)
• Levels go from 1-50, though 50 is “soft-capped,” which means leveling after 50 is possible, just slower

• Mysticism skill removed
• There are 18 skills this time around, which is down from 21 in Oblivion and down from 27 in Morrowind

• Story takes place 200 years after Oblivion and is set in the titular region of Skyrim, which is north of the Imperial City
• The king is dead, so there is an ongoing civil war
• Focuses on dragons returning to the world, and the player, a “dragonborn” (dragon hunter), trying to stop a dragon god
• Five huge cities, and better variation in dungeons
• Dragons can attack the cities

• Combat is supposed to be more tactical than previous franchise installments
• Each hand has to be assigned a specific function, such as magic or weapons
• Emphasis on improving combat

• Improved third-person view (thank god)
• There is an option to turn off the HUD in first-person view
• Conversations won’t be a static shot anymore, as the people the player is talking to will move around and continue with chores or tasks, as they would in real life

• Quests are going to be more dynamic and based on how a player builds their character and their individual actions
• Quests will try to lead the player to places in the world they haven’t yet been
• Example: If a player drops a weapon in the street, a civilian may find said weapon and try to bring it back to the player, which may open up other events

• There will be weapon forging
• Players can dual-wield weapons however they like
• Players can duel NPCs on the street
• Finishing moves will be added to combat
• There aren’t many details yet, but players can perform jobs, such as tailoring, cooking, farming, mining, woodcutting, blacksmithing

• Fast-travel is back (yay)
• Players can now sprint using stamina (yay again)

• Obligatory graphical and animation upgrade
• Character creation will feature customizable body parts, [insert joke here]
• Not many details, but children will be involved, possibly in a relationship-then-giving-birth-to-them kind of way

Skyrim sure is sounding like it’s shaping up to be one heck of a game where you receive the very first quest five minutes into the game, then two hundred hours later you still haven’t completed it. Am I right?

(NeoGAF via Eurogamer; title pic via reddit)