Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls VI is, without a doubt, one of the most anticipated games of all time. Bethesda may be in hot water currently after the many debacles regarding Fallout 76 and Wolfenstein: Youngblood. Still, loyal fans are begging for any details on the next installment in the open-world fantasy series.
Keep in mind, we have absolutely no idea when Elder Scrolls VI will even be out. Bethesda Director Todd Howard has even stated that the first teaser trailer may have been shown a bit too early. If that’s the case, don’t expect to play the game in the near future. Howard did state that he wants Elder Scrolls VI to be able to last players for almost ten years. That’s quite a bold claim to make. While details are scarce, there are some things we have on our wish list for the sequel. Here are ten things that we would love Bethesda to include in Elder Scrolls VI.
10 New Engine
Please Bethesda, get rid of that old engine. There were days when players would forgive Bethesda’s buggy games and say, “Well it’s a Bethesda game.” That excuse isn’t going to fly anymore, as evident in the horrendous reception of Fallout 76’s glitch-filled mess. It’s time for a brand new engine to make the next Elder Scrolls game look like a true next-gen title. Even Fallout 4, while being improved, still looked like it belonged on the previous generation consoles. With Bethesda’s awful PR situation currently, they need to make a change. If they state that Elder Scrolls VI will, for sure, be on the same engine, the reaction is going to be ugly.
9 Weapon/Armor Customization
This is a simple one, but it must be addressed. We would love the opportunity to customize our weapons and gear to our liking. Technically this is included in some PC mods, but this should be a mechanic within the actual game. The closest thing you can get to customizing weapons in Skyrim is adding an elemental effect. It would be great to go even further with this, such as Fallout 4’s gun crafting system. Also, let us change the design of our armor. Some gear may have amazing stats, but it’s hideous to look at. If I want to make my character have an entirely pink armor set, then please let me!
8 Weather Hazards
It can bother some players when their character is not dressed appropriately for the weather. It would be great if Bethesda could double down on the climate system and allow for certain weather to cause hazards.
If our character is hiking up a snowy mountain, they should actually start to get cold depending on their attire. This could prove annoying to some players, but they could easily just make the player’s health go down sparingly. That way, it’s not getting in the way of the actual game, but it does add immersion. In addition, if it’s raining, the terrain should also play a factor.
7 Survival Mode
Going off of the weather hazards, Bethesda could also include their own Survival difficulty from the Fallout games. This optional difficulty could be for the hardcore players of course. It could go for full-on realism within the open-world. Here, your character must rest, eat, and drink to stay alive. Heck, maybe even have your character develop a disease if they stay out in the cold too much. Health could be significantly reduced to make every situation extremely tense, especially in the caves. Again, this would be totally optional that only a small percentage of players would even attempt it. It would just be a welcome addition to appreciate.
6 Better Combat
As amazing as Skyrim is, many players will be quick to let you know that it’s combat totally sucks. When swinging a sword in first-person, your character would just constantly be swinging in an “X” shape. The brutal finishers were definitely a nice improvement, but we would like Bethesda to expand on this. Button combos could be implemented to make the combat more heavy and meaty. Another complaint is that the game’s 3rd person view isn’t all that great. Improving the combat would also go along with a better 3rd person gameplay.
5 Co-Op
While Bethesda does have Elder Scrolls Online, that is still just an MMO at the end of the day. When I play an MMO, I don’t feel as if I’m actually changing the world within the game. You could defeat a boss, but then that boss respawns seconds later for the next player in line.
Therefore, I’d rather have one or two of my friends join my specific game, in which I’m impacting this world. Imagine being able to go exploring in a cave with your friends. It could be your game, and your friend joins in as your companion but they get to keep the loot they acquired. I’d rather play with a few of my close friends, rather than hundreds of random strangers.
4 Talking Player
This one is a no-brainer. We want our main character to actually talk this time around, instead of being a silent protagonist. Considering Fallout 4 introduced this, we have no doubt that Bethesda is also including it in Elder Scrolls VI. That being said, Fallout 4’s dialogue options were pretty mediocre.
Therefore, we’d like Bethesda to improve the dialogue altogether, but making sure we can have unique voices. That’s another thing, there should be at least three different voice options for each gender to add in some variety.
3 Base Building
In the Hearthfire DLC Skryim, the game introduced a homestead that players can maintain. This was actually a pretty fun system that allowed you to hire stewards, carriages, and bards. We would love for this to be expanded upon even greater in Elder Scrolls VI. Specifically, it would be so awesome if players could create their own bases or kingdoms. Here you could implement its own economy and defenses. There would be players that may not like this, so this could be a totally optional, yet very in-depth, game mechanic that you can spend hours upon hours in.
2 True Living/Breathing Open World
One recent game that revolutionized open-worlds is Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2. The world just felt so alive. NPCs had their own schedules that you could follow if you chose to. The in-game ecosystem was ridiculously in-depth. We hope that future open-world games follow these footsteps, especially Elder Scrolls. The world and its people should remember all the player’s actions. If you’ve done some past violent actions in a settlement, the NPCs should fear and steer away from you. Many things you do should have a reaction from the open-world and its NPCs.
1 Full Mod Support On Consoles
It was amazing to hear that Fallout 4 and Skyrim: Special Edition would have mods for consoles. Then we found out later how extremely restricted all the mods were, which didn’t even allow for some favorites. PC players have been able to indulge in these amazing mods in the past such as a Randy Savage dragon and even exploding chickens. It would be great for Elder Scrolls VI to implement to full mod support on consoles. The biggest issue comes down to copyright claims, so this would be a huge surprise if it was ever possible. Still, gamers can dream.