The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Preview

Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has once again been given the preview treatment, and this time the article comes to us via Segment Next. This one doesn’t appear to be based on the information revealed during the “BFG 2011” event, but I suppose it still serves as a reasonable – if vague – summary of what we know:

If you’re pre-determining which weapon best suits the job of slaying a bunch of over-sized, flying pyro-lizards, then I suggest you don’t, because Skyrim has a set of slightly different methods to tackle these fire belching beasts. It’s not the use of daggers, ancient charmed swords, or even magic; it’s the use of your witty tongue. Yes, you have to curse a few bad or not-so-bad words, which will give you certain abilities – and enhancements to the abilities you already have and will make things a wee bit easier than they would’ve been.

What you need to say are the key words of a certain ancient dragon language, which is an important element in Skyrim. There are around about twenty of these phrases in the game, each giving you a unique set of abilities and amplifications. I use the word ‘˜phrase’ because each complete phrase consists of a few words, which need to be learned at times separately through various ways.

That doesn’t mean there is no limit to casting these spells, as each phrase comes with a cool-down period. Furthermore, if you think you’re the only one in Skyrim who knows these dragon words, then you’re wrong, because there are many NPCs which also share the same skill.