Where Does The Elder Scrolls Go From Here?

USGamer has just published an editorial concerning the direction The Elder Scrolls series should take after its fifth chapter, Skyrim, penned by Jeremy Parish. Here’s a snip to give you the gist of it:

The Elder Scrolls VI needs more refined combat, and more balanced combat. People have held up Dark Souls as an ideal to aspire to, though I’m not sure I agree. Dark Souls has a very different style and purpose to its design than Elder Scrolls games, and its highly focused combat style would stand at odds with Elder Scrolls’ more expansive world.

A much better solution than making Elder Scrolls’ swordplay more intense and Dark Souls-like might be to rethink its approach to the use of role-playing systems. Classic role-playing games tend to eschew high statistical numbers in favor of more finite systems where a single point of added defense (or THAC0 or whatever) make a significant difference without grossly unbalancing the overall experience. After 50 hours of play time in Skyrim, very little can stand up to a player’s character. After 100 hours, a player is essentially invulnerable. Reeling in the numbers and the disbursement of high-level gear might help reign things in, allowing the world to maintain a sort of challenge curve without completely breaking it.

Then again, maybe combat mechanics should stay just as ludicrous and broken as they are now, and the Dark Souls element to steal would be its unique approach to multiplayer. But that might blur the line with TESO….