hey I decided to play The series I almost know nothing about it, but I'm really excited.
where should I start?

This likely being Todd's last stroll around the ES block, I hope for a more mature game. They've accumulated five entries with vast amounts of lore and history. Whatever has been left to the imagination can almost be explained by all the knowledge that came before. Now is the time to show it off. I think much of the lore surrounding the origins of the Redguards is so fascinating and yet it seems they've been ignored for the last three games.

History and culture tend to take a backseat to whatever Imperial agenda is most pressing in the current ES game and one would expect a more mature entry to remedy this. Contrary to what is expected by most fans, I am less interested in rehashing the themes of the Great War because I feel this is an easy way to slip back into themes of the Empire. A similar case can be made for speculations having to do with men vs mer or Crown vs Forebears. Those roads lead to the Empire and the Aldmeri Dominion and away from considering more grounded conflicts in the province that highlight the current state of Redguard society and culture. I think it's a bit immature to continue with this formula of establishing the Empire's stake in the game and letting that run right through the main quest and put a kind of Imperial blight on the worldbuilding. It is time now, with all that accumulated knowledge, for Bethesda to chart a course that is endemic to Hammerfell if not the Redguards themselves.

In current times, it is also easy to fall into presentism and to inject modern politics and morality into a videogame. Perhaps you've seen the Veilguard excerpts which, for me, strongly exemplify this mistake. Whatever the developers' ideas about the state of our society, they should not assume the same thing is true of that of Hammerfell. Moreover, do not assume that adults (possibly the bulk of their fan base) are interested in escaping to a medieval-style world with anything but medieval-style morality and/or the kind of morality that your own writings on history and lore in the game-world presuppose. Do not make the mistake of assuming that fantasy means anything goes...especially anything from the present and the world within which we live.

Some of you may say this has never been a problem and will never be a problem. I think that assumes a kind of constancy that studios don't seem to always have. The team that made Morrowind is significantly different from the one that made Skyrim and will certainly look nothing like the one making ES6. There me be a sense of urgency to relay a message that does not interest players and falls so far outside the kinds of discussions one would expect in-game. May they resist this urge and remember that Tamriel is not the modern day and fantasy is not a mirror for reality.

I get it. We don't want a voiced protagonist. But, I would like to see the NPCs try to pronounce the PC's name. If you made a difficult name, congratulations.

I have never actually completed any Bethesda game (i have brought them all) due to either time restrictions or Elden Ring. But im about to move to a phase of my life where i will not have any time restrictions. I am halfway done through Skyrim, but the save is in some crappy old HDD that ill need to recover. The most ideal way to completely play Skyrim, but my old save prolly wont work and i dont want to get started with a new save for the third time.

So should i watch some lore vids before TES6 announcements. I am planning to complete my playthroughs of TES6 and Fallout5 this time around

This is a weird post and wont be shocked if mods remove it

So stupid about not being on PS, after how many hours PS owners put into V & even IV, that's a real shit way to reward us for waiting all this time for the next one & being excited..great fan support.

Since not every year, or even decade, I get to play a sequel to a game like Skyrim, and to maximize my enjoyment of the game when I play it for the first time, I am planning to do something crazy.

I am planning to avoid all its related media when Bethesda starts promoting it. Will try as much as possible to avoid all official trailers, pictures, articles, anything, no matter how basic it's - as if there is no news about the game yet.

Won't be easy, but I did some practice when Starfield released last year, and when Shattered Space released this year, and I believe it's doable.

What probably helps me is how I am not happy with our attachment to social media these days, and the not-so-positive hype surrounding big releases, or maybe it's just me seeing myself attached too much, and trying to find a motive to live healthier during those months before the game releases. I don't see it as forcing or restricting myself to something I don't like, but rather as an exciting challenge.

Will be interesting to see how I navigate my way around world news and normal internet life while avoiding TES VI info, especially if my eyes accidently glances at it. I even started experimenting with Copilot to see what basic info I can get without spoilers, like release date, hardware specs, game editions, availability of early access .. etc. It's crazy what AI can do when you give it the right prompts.

As someone with over 1500 hours with Skyrim, to go into TES VI with so little info like this, I call it Blind+, and I will record my playthrough along with a webcam, like I did with Starfield, to capture those very first special moments for life, and this will definitely be bigger than Starfield.

I’m really hoping Bethesda chooses the house systems from Skyrim and before rather than what we have in modern games with settlement mode. I want to be able to just buy the furniture in presets that already look nice from the steward or the local merchant. Have an option for those hardcore players that like to decorate themselves but if it’s going to be tailored towards a settlement mode, I think a lot of feathers will be ruffled…

The Vigil played a minor role in Skyrim, appearing here and there, with their greatest contribution being slaughtered by the Volkihar at the start of Dawnguard. However, between the Vigil Enforcer Set creation and the A Tale of Blood and Snow verified creation, I think there's a good chance they could appear as a joinable faction in TES VI.

I could potentially see them having set-up shop in Stonekeep near Rihad, the Arena location having once been a mighty fortress that had fallen into ruin. I also believe Stonekeep may also be Balhar, a location mentioned in the 1st Pocket Guide, as the elven word "Bal" means "stone". So, perhaps Stonkeep is a fortress built on top of an Ayleid and/or Direnni ruin, and following the formation of the Vigil, they occupied this fortress to protect the people of Rihad from the foul undead and worse lurking in the ruins bellow.

From Stonekeep, the Vigil could involve themselves in any number of affairs, from pursuing Hammerfell's vampire clans, to dealing with the heretical Devotees of Satakal and perhaps even a resurgent Order of the Black Worm.

Hi all.

Long time listener, first time caller.

I've always gravitated towards mage playthroughs of TES3-5 and, frankly, any game with a good enough magic system.

Which brings me to my question, what would my fellow mage enthusiasts like to see in terms of TES6's magic mechanics?

It seems to me that magic is the playstyle that simultaneously has benefited and suffered the most from BGS's push towards more action-y gameplay and shying away from things that feel like spreadsheet simulators.

On the one hand, I liked that equipping a spell is given the same weight as a weapon or shield in Skyrim (and I supposed the idea of switching to your spell in Morrowind was a clunkier version of this). It was great visually and it felt like wielding magic was on a more equal footing with using a weapon. I think some things like dual wielding were good first steps but could have been substantially more in depth with the ways spells synergize. I think we could also use a QOL adjustment with better tools for switching between spells, as one would expect a mage to be constantly cycling through their powers to use what is the most effective. Maybe magic could have its own favorite menu, I don't see how much room there is for improvement but only have two casts equipped and literally freezing time to swap them is janky.

On the other hand, the trends that many of us have been complaining about for a very long time now have eaten into magic quite a lot. One of the most in depth roleplaying immersions of my life was spell making in Morrowind. To me, that fully unhinged spell making mechanic really satisfies the idea of a mage sitting down and thoroughly thinking out and studying their powers. Maybe you misunderstand an effect and end up with a useless spell, maybe you really think things through and can now one shot the population of Balmora. We got to keep spell making in Oblivion but it was balanced a fair bit more, I can see why, but my opinion has always been that fair is fair in a single player experience. Losing spell making was one of the biggest punches in the gut that Skyrim provided, and I seriously hope BGS reconsiders this going forward. It's also a bit of a balancing issue for us to be losing up to two enchanting slots versus melee/ranged users and having custom spells was enough for me to not realize it until Skyrim.

My final point is how magic relates to the streamlining of unique skills over the years. I recently played through BG3 at long last and have been floored by the degree to which dedication to pretty much any playstyle can deliver a complete experience. Frankly, this doesn't feel like the case in TES as a whole really. A mage character is probably drawing heavily from at least three schools, but at least the idea of being a specialist in one should in my mind offer a much deeper gameplay experience than we currently get. I'm not sure if rebalancing/reshuffling, adding to or taking away from our number of skill trees can or would fix this perceived issue. Obviously the fact that TES isn't really a party-based game means that everyone will need to be fairly self reliant, but I think there is some room for things like more abundant life stealing effects making their way into destruction or restoration, re-sorting of some effects in illusion and alteration (the former of which really seems more like a support tree for thief characters) could really start to support the idea of more unique feeling mage experiences.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed me thinking out loud, and I hope to see what my fellow blue bar afficonados have to say.

TLDR: magic feels a bit more action-packed now which is nice but I think it has really suffered from BGS's push away from being a spreadsheet GUI and by the time Skyrim came around all of my mages characters just feel exactly the same now. To some degree, a lot magic just feels like a nice point dip for non-mage characters. That's totally fine to have battle mages and thieves turning invisible, it's literally awesome to have options, but we kind of seem to have lost genuine mage RPG experiences.

So we've seen a lot of posts where it's generally agreed that the Skills in ES6 will be the same as Skyrim or minimized further. But here's one skill that I have strong reason to believe will be introduced in ES6.

Ever since 'Sweetrolls' started to become a meme, the food in the Elder Scrolls started to take on a spirit of its own. In 2019, 'The Elder Scrolls: The Official Cookbook' was created (and has 13,013 ratings on Amazon, proving its vast audience). Cooking is a big feature in Starfield, and the game has a bunch of appetizing 3D models. Throughout Starfield, if you choose either the Chef background or start to put perk points into your Cooking skill, you unlock new recipes that incorporate more rare ingredients and have stronger buffs. ESO also has Cooking under the name 'Provisioning'. I think in ES6 they would probably call it Cooking instead, but the existence of Cooking in ESO is notable. Additional Cooking features were added to Skyrim with Hearthfire DLC, but a Cooking skill was never introduced. This could have been due to the conflicts with the existing Skill Tree implementation.

So thusly, I think Cooking is highly likely to be a new Skill track in ES6, because the Cooking element of the game has seen a huge audience growth ever since the series's food culture began to take on added meaning.

I'd even go as far as to say that the Cookbook probably contains a lot of the exact recipes that will be in ES6. Here's a few choice picks from https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Books:The_Elder_Scrolls:_The_Official_Cookbook/Recipe_List

• Bosmer Bites: Because of their adherence to the Green Pact, the Bosmer are severely limited in their diet. Forbidden to harm plants in their native Valenwood forest, they rely on deadfall and peat to fuel their sparse fires and eat mostly meat that is either cured or quickly cooked. Fruits are only allowed if they have already fallen from the tree, and the seeds must be replanted, lest they face the wrath of an irate forest. This basic recipe works very well with a variety of tree fruits and assorted meats. The Bosmer use whatever freshly cured meat they have on hand, no matter the dubious origin.
• Redguard Rice: Redolent with rich spices, this dish is prepared in a single pot, making it a great candidate for cooking on the road. It is, at its heart, a very traditional Redguard recipe, although it can be easily tweaked and improved based on locally available ingredients.
• Argonian Swamp Shrimp Boil: While not much from the Argonian kitchen is palatable to other races, a few dishes have proven wildly popular even with the Altmer, although you'd be hard pressed to get them to admit as much. The Argonians prefer to make this recipe using swamp shrimp from the Black Marshes, but in a pinch, the northern varieties of prawn caught off the coast of Skyrim will do.
• Baked Ash Yams: Ash yams are one of the few vegetables that thrives in Morrowind's climate, especially after the volcanic explosion of the Red Mountain. Some of the Dunmer fleeing that devastation thoughtfully packed yams and introduced them to Skyrim, where some Nords have added their own distinct flavors to this recipe.

I know we have talked about it before, but the settlement system is right there.

I wouldn't want it as a core feature where you can found dozens of cities all over, but rather a dedicated quest line where you aquire land and then you can make alliances or take over other cities.

So we know the game's likely gonna be set in Hammerfell- if that really is the case then I believe we'll almost certainly get a Stros M'kai DLC, much like how we returned to Solsteim in Skyrim. The only issues I could see disproving this would be the small size of the island (as seen in ESO) or the fact that Redguard was never hugely popular, so there isn't much of a draw in terms of nostalgia. Any thoughts on this?

A.I generated image - Wayrest Harbour

Hi!
I already made a post ((My Idea) The Elder Scrolls VI: Sentinel) where I talked about my idea for TES 6, and I had also imagined the opening scene. Then I had another idea for those memorable scenes in TES games; here it is:

WAYREST - 4E 208

Since 4E 188, Wayrest has fallen under the control of corsairs, transforming this once-prosperous trading city into a stronghold of piracy, where black sails and the laws of smugglers now rule the waters of the Iliac Bay.

A metallic clang slices through the darkness. Vision still blurred, it reveals a man dressed as a sailor, sturdy, his face weathered by salt and sun, banging the cage with his hammer. His rough voice scrapes through the silence:

“Hey, in there! Wake up! The Holdmaster will be here soon to ask you some questions, so get up, scum!”

He steps back, his boots thudding heavily on the damp planks. Through the bars, the port of Wayrest stretches out. The sky is tinged with orange, fading slowly, giving way to the first glimmers of lanterns hanging above. The bustling crowd roars with activity; merchants shout, sailors chatter, and children dart between stacked crates. Torches flicker here and there, casting dancing lights on weary faces. The heavy evening air blends scents of fish, sea, and smoke.

In a large cage nearby, two Khajiit sit side by side. The first, a child with speckled brown fur, raises his hands, signing as he speaks with a worried voice:

“Do you think we'll see Mother Inira again?”

A tall khajiit with jet-black fur marked by a scar crossing his left eye, gazes back. His honey-colored eyes catch the torchlight with calm intensity. He signs in response, slow and reassuring.

The child nods, seeming reassured, then, after a moment, turns his gaze toward our cage and looks on with a curious expression:

“Hey, you! How’d you end up here?”

He pauses, as if to think, then introduces himself, pointing at his own chest.

“I’m Nehirr, and that’s Great Wave. He doesn’t talk, but he can say everything with his hands. And you, do you have a name?”

Before answering, heavy footsteps sound again on the wood. A dark-skinned Redguard approaches, dressed in worn, salt-stained sailor’s clothes. In one hand, he holds a leather-bound book; in the other, an ink-dipped quill.

He stops in front of the Khajiit, dictating aloud without even looking up:

“Khajiit… young, golden brown, brown eyes.” He casts a long look toward Great Wave. “Black Khajiit, healthy, scar over the left eye.”

Then he steps over to our cage, and after a quick glance, announces indifferently:

“Your turn.”

Character creation

A.I generated image - Great Wave

The Redguard snaps his book shut, tucking it under his arm, and signals to the sailors stationed near the crane:

“All right, load them up.”

The sky has now turned deep indigo, and under the diffuse glow of the torches, a large treadwheel crane hoists each cage with a low groan. The ship’s hold receives us into darkness, broken only by the sparse torchlight along the walls. The wood creaks under the cages' weight, and the air is thick, saturated with humidity and the smell of confinement. Nehirr trembles and huddles close to Great Wave, who holds him gently.

Soft voices murmur around us. A pale-skinned man mutters in a broken voice:

“I have a bad feeling… I sense nothing good awaits us.”

Another prisoner, a woman with faded hair hanging in thin strands, sighs with resignation:

“They’re taking us to Stros M’Kai. Everything sells there… even lives.”

Stifled sobs fill the air, mingling with whispers of fear. A new silence falls, broken only by heavy steps descending the stairs. The captain appears, a tall figure shrouded in shadows, his sharp eyes sweeping over the hold. Touching his braided beard , Sighing, casting a menacing look. In a deep voice, he addresses his crew:

“We’ve got a full hold tonight. And it’s a fine voyage ahead to Stros M’Kai… plenty of coin to be made.”

He pauses in front of the Khajiit, squinting, he reaches his hand between the bars of the Khajiits' cage and adjusts a red pendant on Great Wave. He then yanks off the pendant, laughs, and shouts,:

"Too hairy to wear this, you filthy pest"

He then turns to the other cages with a calculating smile.

“All of you will fetch a handsome price there.”

Then he climbs back up, leaving the hold to sink into near-total darkness, the sailors still murmuring amongst themselves on deck. Little by little, silence settles, broken only by sighs, as the ship’s sway lulls most prisoners to sleep.

A.I generated image

A loud crash shatters the calm. The floor trembles under a deep thud, followed by muffled cries and hurried footsteps above. Nehirr clutches Great Wave’s arm, his eyes wide.

“What’s that noise?” signing and whispering, ears pinned back.

A cannonball strikes, shaking the walls. Suddenly, a gaping hole appears in the wood, scattering splinters and fragments. Prisoners scream as two cages crash to the ground, freeing their occupants. Cries and flames fill the space.

“Quick, they’re distracted! We’re getting out!” yells a man, rushing toward the open hole.

The prisoners help one another, combining their strength to fend off the remaining guards. Through the hole, the deck is aflame as the two ships clash in a furious battle. Amid the chaos, Nehirr and Great Wave leap into the waves, followed by several other prisoners. A voice, barely audible over the din, rises:

“There’s no other way out; we have to jump!”

Flames and debris flicker under the water, briefly illuminating the depths. Emerging, a splintering sound echoes. The tall mast, ablaze, crashes down with a final thud before darkness consumes everything.

A.I generated image

By morning, a gentle light touches the face. Seagulls call out in the calming silence of dawn. Warm, gritty sand stretches to the horizon. All around, pieces of driftwood dot the shore. Raising our heads, crabs scatter beneath our feet, leaving fine trails in the wet sand. Further away, tropical vegetation forms a green backdrop, and ancient ruins emerge, ghostly, bearing marks of a forgotten past.

A.I generated image

Sorry for the exremely loaded question, but it has almost been two thirds of a year and I think that is more than enough time for an early build to have more structure, detail, and substance. Thus, I ask you: how do you reckon that amount of time has impacted the early builds referenced back then?

You choose to befriend a woman who lives in a cabin in the woods. She gives you things if you leave food for her. She tells you bringing supplies to her before the winter would be a life saver.. so you wait until the winter season and bring her supplies. She allows you to rest in her home but then someone appears at the cabin. Her sister to report her husband hasn’t returned from his expedition. The woman never told you she had a husband.. but she instructs you to go with her sister to find her husband among the bear caves… she’s worried they might have eaten him. She also tells you he has a key to the lockbox at a bank a ways in some town… which contains her husbands estate he never explained to her about.

So off you go with her sister.. exploring the damp earthy cave system with bears.. finding lots of bones and you see what looks like a fresher east bone corpse.. no key! But you will kill all the bears and the sister tells you to return to the woman with the news. As you begin to leave the cave- her sister points out a crow at the cave entrance holding the gold key!!! After that bird! This will then play off of birds being a big part of elder scrolls 6… pigeon, crows, hawks, vultures (which replace cliff racers and swarm you in the cliff areas).. so you get the key and are awarded a small prize.. you could kill her and take the deed to her cabin and small farm plot to upgrade if you think about doing that…

Why could think work? Because there isn’t any object permanence to the quest. Could have been any family member, any cave, any key, any bank with bank vault box… it can all be generated..

But with Bethesda big dive into more dialogue (Starfield is overwhelming with recorded voice).. this sounds like a really good quest to just AI generate on the fly.

I like it cause the payout is completely your choice. Don’t befriend her. Don’t return to her or you do. You return and do her quest.. get back her inheritance.. or maybe you think she set her husband up to fail? Take her deed to the cabin and forge it to be your property.. then use TES6 homestead feature to upgrade it. Maybe get more AI generated visitors to your house .. like a distant cousin who claims the cabin and you have to fight off some thugs raiding you at night.

The Red Year exploded Vvardenfell. Hortator? He went to Akavir never to be seen again, deal with it.

Chancellor Ocato was assassinated by the Thalmor and the Empire fell to ruins the moment the Oblivion Crisis was over. Hero of Kvatch dipped as far as the world knows. You saved the Mages Guild? Actually you didn’t.

Who received the Totem of Tiber Septim? Doesn’t matter they all did.

In Skyrim, do we think it will validate both sides of the Dark Brotherhood plot? No, Titus Mede II was assassinated on his boat. Do we think that Clan Volkihar got its hands on Auriel’s Bow? No of course not.

These games pride themselves on vagueness but also if you want your character to be king of space fuckin write the AU. But let’s stop pretending like player choice stops the story from advancing; there will be a resolution to the Civil War that’s not just a shrug and a wink.

Since Ulfric is present in TES castles, do you guys think that means he will have won the civil war in TES 6?

Damn, I love werewolves.... Vampires too. In Skyrim I loved them but I also hated that they were too simple... I hope they will be improved not by a little BUT BY A LOT.

A vampire is 15% faster than a human

The jump is 10% increaset

New different bite animations

Ability to turn NPCs into vampires

New Vampire Skills Like in Elder Scrolls Online

Various stages of vampires

Being a vampire MATTERS A LOT, other vampires do not attack you, quests may vary if you are a vampire. NPCs react IMMEDIATELY if you are a vampire, e.g. they become distrustful of your conversations.

Faction of vampire

WEREWOLF Increased physical qualities as for vampires

Various stages of the werewolf

Same mechanics and improve as mods, possibility of losing control etc...

More Werewolves!

Ability to form a pack

New skills like in Elder scrolls online

ability to find werewolf packs to be friend or make enemies

Best animation for werewolf

Different werewolf transformation animations

Yellow eyes in human form while fighting... Because it usually happens when you have adrenaline

Possibility to bite NPCs? Yes and no....it's more complicated for werewolves... maybe you bite them and they become followers

Faction of werewolf

When I think of Hammerfell, all I can think of is middle eastern vibes with maybe some coastal/islander elements. Like somewhere between Aladdin and Jack Sparrow... some deserts, some beaches, blue water and white sands.

If that's the case.. man I'm having a tough time finding that better than Skyrim or Oblivion.

I've always kind of associated Elder Scrolls with high fantasy, Lord of the Rings-y type worlds, but Hammerfell doesent sound like that to me.

Now it doesent sound BAD per se. It just doesent sound all that fantastical..

Maybe my opinion sucks but that's why I'm saying this. I've heard hammerfell also contains forrests and mountains and stuff? Idk. Does someone know exactly what kind of to expect?

What do say to weapons enchanted with an elemental effect actually showing it? Such as a sword enchanted to do fire damage actually being a flaming sword instead of being a sword enchanted to do fire damage.

What do you think about adding polearms to the game? I would like to use a glaive in a play through as my main weapon.

What would you do to improve combat using a weapon besides normal attack, block, and power attack?

No, not the usual one.

At what point does it get recorded? And say it’s in the works now (or soon), who knows what?

The composer I guess will know some background even if not the full story. But say London Symphony orchestra record it, will the musicians know what you they are recording or do they just get a sheet of music and play it?

In my opinion and I think a lot of more mature fans would agree, we don’t want something akin to Skyrim. Yes it was immensely successful but it also dumbed down almost every system the prior games had to offer. We don’t need a repeat of shouts again like we had in starfield, it’s completely overdone and uninspired at this point. If they found a way to get the radiant AI from oblivion working like they imagined all that time ago and gave us a lot more choice and consequence (actually being able to be kicked from guilds, not every npc is essential etc) I think they can deliver something great. I think Skyrim’s success significantly harmed the creative thinking process at Bethesda, as they now think that’s what fans want out of an elder scrolls game. Skyrim happened to reach a larger audience by nature of the period it was released. It’s 2024 now, they need to return to form and give us something actually meaningful…

It is absurd how repayable and satisfying vanilla Skyrim is after all this time. All it takes is to start a new character and I'm easily hooked. As someone who both enjoyed starfield and understands the criticism at the same time, my hope is Bethesda really drives down on what maked Skyrim so immortal and special in the first place when designing TES VI

Simply put, I'm curious to see what several members of this little TES6-anticipating community now think of the possibilities for an inevitably returning Skill system [whether that's changed, or you still think the same as before]. Yes, I say "inevitably", because there is currently little-to-nothing to make me doubt that Skills will once again be a feature of a "main"/numbered single-player TES game.

Whether that means Skills will have the exact same impact as in TES5: Skyrim, or they'll have lesser/greater impact, is still anyone's guess at this point.

What would you PREFER for the next game's Skills system?

Yes, yes, I know; the last couple of the poll's options look non-serious and/or facetious. I leave it up to potential voters to decide whether you even care about predicting or stating preferences for how the next TES game should set up "Skills".

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