Official The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Thread AKA Skyrim addicts anonymous

If you're trying to get off the pipe, pick up Skyrim.


Short plot: 200 years after the events of Oblivion, Skyrim is suffering from civil war and inner turmoil after the High King died. Dragons are returning and it is up to you to save the world from the doom they herald, the War-God Alduin.
You are Dragonborn, a dragon hunter anointed by the Gods to fight with dragons on equal terms.
Your character is caught on the border to Skyrim and thrown in jail, as the game begins you are being led to your execution.

SETTING:
- The game takes place in the rugged landscape of Skyrim, the northern most province of Tamriel. The area contains several different environments ranging from frozen lakes, tundras, fall forests and more.
- There are nine holds in Skyrim, it is believed that these holds will fight amongst each other.
- There are five large cities and many smaller villages, towns and settlements.
- There are 150 dungeons in the game, all hand-crafted by a team of eight, as opposed to Oblivion's team of one.
- There are over 100 POI's, or points of interest.

ATTRIBUTES & LEVELING
- There are 18 skills
- There are 3 attributes
- There is a soft level cap of 50, but you can still level up after it. (It's just slower)
- There are 280 perks
- You select a perk each time you level up. (up to level 50)
- Leveling up is quicker in Skyrim than it is in Oblivion

CHARACTER CUSTOMIZATION
- Ten races, same as Oblivion
- Vastly improved over Oblivion
- Addition of facial hair
- Body features can be adjusted
- Facial features such as face and warpaint can be applied
- Scars can be applied



CREATURES & NPC'S
- Improved Radiant AI
- Animations and models significantly improved
- Bethesda has worked hard to make the various races more unique
- NPC's are more dynamic
- "Everything the NPC's can do, you can do!"
- Not all creatures are hostile
- There is an ecology system in place for animals
- 60,000 lines of dialogue has been recorded

COMBAT & MAGIC
- You can dual-wield any one-handed weapons, including staves and magic spells
- You perform different attacks depending on how you move your aim while hitting
- You can perform stylish finishing moves to finish off an opponent
- Archery has been changed to be more effective but slower
- There are 85 spells in the game
- Combat has been generally improved to feel more real and immersive
- You can no longer use cheap tactics to win, i.e backpedaling
- Torches can be used as weapons
- 20+ dragonshouts

LIST OF CONFIRMED WEAPONS
- Imperial Sword
- Iron Arrows
- Iron Dagger
- Iron Sword
- Iron War Axe
- Long Bow
- Orcish Arrows
- Steel Battle Axe
- Steel Sword
- Woodcutter's Axe
- Elven Glass Sword

LIST OF KNOWN DRAGONSHOUTS
Teleportation
Super speed
Summon Dragon
Summon a storm
Force Push
Breathing Fire
Slow Time

LIST OF ACTIVITIES & JOBS
- Woodcutting
- Mining
- Smithing
- Cooking

LIST OF MAJOR CITIES
- Markarth LINK
- Riften
- Solitude
- Whiterun LINK
- Windhelm

LEVEL SCALING

Level scaling in Skyrim is based on the system in Fallout 3.
The number one most important thing is this, creatures do NOT scale up in terms of abilities to match YOUR level.
Meaning each Mountain Giant you encounter in Skyrim will have the same attributes regardless of your own attributes when you encounter them.

In Fallout 3, each territory in the game was assigned an encounter level that determines the level and equipment of the creatures when you discover that specific area.
This means that when you're at Lv1 and wander into a Lv5 encounter territory, you're in for a fight.

Loot is in general also scaled to the territory's encounter level, but some items were hand-placed like in The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind.

The areas, or territories level do not remain static as you level up yourself, however, as soon as you enter an area or territory, its level will be locked and will NOT scale up in difficulty as you do.
As previously mentioned, undiscovered areas and territories will level up in difficulty, but it won't be to specifically match YOUR level.
So say when you begin the game, an area that is designated a Lv5 encounter level will become, say a Lv8 encounter level when you're at Lv15 yourself.

Something a lot of people have said they want to see is the possibility to enter an area that is absolutely WAY too difficult for you to handle, then return at a later level with better equipment and stats and just cleaning house, this scaling system allows that 100%, as when you entered that dungeon with those difficult enemies, it was locked to those, and will not change as you level up.
Those minotaurs you saw in there will remain when you return in 10 levels, and they wont have gone up in stats

GENERAL GAMEPLAY
- Nord character "Esbern" is a member of the Blades and works as a mentor for you in the game, he is voiced by Swedish actor Max von Sydow.
- New engine called "Creative Engine"
- You can sprint at the cost of fatigue
- There are more voice actors this time
- There are now more things to do in the towns, such as jobs
- When engaging in conversation, the camera doesn't zoom in on the NPC's face and the game world does not freeze
- A system called Radiant Story is in the game to allow more dynamic quests and more replayability.
- 3rd Person View has been improved thanks to new animations but 1st person is still the main way to play
- Map fast travel makes a return
- Transport fast travel makes a return in the form of carriages
- The In-game HUD comes and goes when needed
- The compass from Oblivion makes a return
- Increased draw distance
- Improved graphics in general
- You can cook food for them to give better bonuses
- You can improve your weapons at a forge
- House owning makes a return
- The in-game map is in 3D
- Items in the inventory list are all 3D and can be inspected closely
- Jeremy Soule returns for the soundtrack
- Bounties do not carry over between the holds in the game, while you may be a wanted criminal in Hold A, you can still be an ignored nobody in Hold B
- Guards are no longer psychic and slightly less powerful
- Birthsign stones for Warrior, Mage and Thief, only one can be active and it grants the player 30% faster leveling in the skills that represent the sign



Official Game trailer

GAMEPLAY

63 Amazing things you can do