Skyrimis a game famous for many things, having sold ridiculous amount of copies in its life time and the average player spending over 150 hours in game. To say thatThe Elder Scrolls 6has a lot to live up to is an understatement. And while many players are satisfied with the vanilla copy of theElder Scrolls 5, the most popularSkryimmods boast over 23 million downloads respectively. So, despite an enduring popularity, these fan changes say something aboutSkyrim.
Aside from UI and general bug fixes, the most popular mods in the game focus aroundSkyrim’smagic. If there is one thing thatThe Elder Scrolls 6should learn fromSkyrim’smodding community, it is to make magic more interesting. Unfortunately, many of theSkyrimschools of magic are underwhelming. This is especially true with the alteration school. When alteration magic appears inSkyrim, it tends to disappoint, with high-magic costs and relatively weak player character effects. Due to the popularity of magic/melee builds within theSkyrimcommunity, it would make sense forThe Elder Scrolls 6to develop a more robust set of spells and arcane schools.
RELATED:The Elder Scrolls 6 Needs More Content Like Skyrim’s Hidden Boss Karstaag
The Odin mod forSkyrimis a popular one that reimaginesSkyrim’s magic system, and taking cues from how the Odin mod revitalizes magic would be a great idea. This revitalization includes radically changing alteration magic, the duration of spells, and how they scale between caster levels. The modder in question,Enai Siaion, aims to recreate spells that reference and reflect the lore of theElder Scrollsgames. For a game likeThe Elder Scrolls 6, respecting the lore of the series in its mechanics will be essential. As such, it would be no surprise to see an increase in the quantity and quality available for spellcasters inThe Elder Scrolls 6.
Alteration Magic Needs To Change In The Elder Scrolls 6
The shimmering fields of alteration magic look incredible, but are unfortunately underpowered in vanillaSkyrim. The durations and effects do not quite match the potency of other schools of magic. Unfortunately, this makes alteration a much less popular form of magic amongSkyrimplayers. For many players, this was disappointing, due to the series' history of amazing alterationspells inThe Elder Scrolls. In previous games in the series, “alteration” had a whole host of effects. Unfortunately, these were lost inSkyrim. InThe Elder Scrolls 5, there are 11 different magical status effects that alteration can imbue. In contrast, older titles likeMorrowindcontain over 18 discrete status effects that alteration spells can cause.
IfThe Elder Scrolls 6took notes from “Odin - Skyrim Magic Overhaul,” its range of playstyles could be even more diverse than theSkyrimmage builds. Obviously, spell-sword, destruction, and summoner builds are very popular in the game, as the respective schools these draw from are often flashier and more effective. However, in spite of the occasional spell use-case, alteration goes largely overlooked inSkyrimbuilds. While the other types of magic are certainly impressive, it is a shame to see a school of magic that has an important place inThe Elder Scrollsseries be left to the wayside bySkyrim.
How Does The Odin Skyrim Mod Change Alteration Spells?
In olderElder Scrollstitles, alteration spells did not just slightly enhance player abilities. Players could throw spells that increased enemy encumbrance, and even make their opponents fall straight asleep. These spells are not really available in vanillaSkyrim. Most of of the time, alteration spells are used to apply light buffs to the caster. Furthermore, thespell skill leveling inSkyrimfor alteration scales poorly. This is due to how the spells are used: small pre-combat buffs do not lend themselves to repeated casting. As such, this skill falls behind other schools of magic that get cast more often.
RELATED:Rumor: The Elder Scrolls 6 Could Have Survival Gameplay Mechanics, New Magic System
The Odin mod forSkyrimspell-craft harkens back to these abilities. New alteration spells can halt or confuse foes and even make them drop their weapons or equipment, and respecting the deep spell mechanics of previous games would be a huge boon forThe Elder Scrolls 6. Old magic systems are not the only thing thatTheElder Scrolls 6should take from other games, but it would massively increase the range of magic playstyles available to fans of the series.
Magic from Skyrim to The Elder Scrolls 6
Epic melees with titanic dragons was a main focus ofSkyrim. The game’s cinematic elements heavily relied on these huge creatures, and this feature certainly succeeded in selling the game. As these massive creatures were so pivotal inSkyrim, it seems likely thatdragons will not be as important inThe Elder Scrolls 6. In short, players might end up fatigued with dragons if the nextElder Scrollstitle was also several hundred hours of fighting the winged serpents. If that is indeed the case, this game would be the perfect opportunity to make magic a focal point ofThe Elder Scrollsseries again.
In previous games, the spell-crafting systems were so intricate that players could make their own spells. Interestingly, there are several rumors aboutmaking spells inThe Elder Scrolls 6.These rumors imply a return to the spell creation mechanics of earlier games. For example, inMorrowind, players could combine up to 8 different spell effects from various schools of magic. The continued popularity of mods like Odin and Apocalypse forSkyrimshow that fans are yearning for more diverse spells and arcana. If Bethesda choose to shift the focus of its series towards manufacturing magic, and the creativity associated with that from older titles,The Elder Scrolls 6might have even better magic thanSkyrim.
Skyrimis available on every major platform.The Elder Scrolls 6is still in development.
MORE:The Elder Scrolls 6 Was Announced Nearly 1000 Days Ago, and Has 1000 More to Go
