Survival Mode has revitalized Skyrim, giving players a new Elder Scrolls experience as they await the release of The Elder Scrolls 6. However, since it was created a few years after the launch of Skyrim, many of the mechanics in Skyrim itself make Survival Mode harder than it should be. A good example of this is that even though items like salt and locations like inns have become much more important, very few changes have been made to make these features more accessible.
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Renting Inn Rooms
Survival Mode in Skyrim adds a fatigue feature that requires players to rest frequently to ensure that their stats are not affected. This is a tricky burden to carry, especially in the early game before players have the gold to purchase a house. So, many players rely on inns for sleep as they can rent a room for a single night in most of the major cities around Skyrim. However, this room is usually only around for one night, so players will need to buy the room again. This can cost a lot of money, especially for someone trying to save up for a home.
To improve this feature, The Elder Scrolls 6 should include an option to rent out a room for a longer duration, like a week, allowing players to use the city as a temporary base of operations. This would also help the players maintain a storage space for a longer period of time at the start of the game, another important feature since carry capacity has been reduced. Improving the renting system in The Elder Scrolls 6 would make Survival Mode not only feel a bit more realistic, but also make it easier for new players.
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Cloaks And Coats
Survival Mode’s weather system is brutal, as many of the areas in the cold lands of Skyrim negatively impact the player’s stats. While there is a warmth rating on every armor set in the game, many players continue to find it difficult to find the balance between strong armor and warm clothing. By including cloaks or coats in the game, players will be able to add an extra layer of warmth when they get into colder regions and take it off when they are in the warmer regions.
Anniversary Edition added a lot of new armor sets to Skyrim, but this used the same armor feature that has been present since the game’s launch. An extra armor slot for a cloak, coat, or even a cape would not only be a fantastic cosmetic feature, but would also make managing weather much easier as players explore different regions. This would also mean that players will not be forced to travel back to their storage chest just to get some warmer armor before continuing down a quest.
Better Camps
Camping is an especially important feature for any player that is trying to explore in Survival Mode, as it gives Skyrim players a place to cook, sleep, and stay warm. However, these campsites cannot be packed up and used again, so players will have to strategically place the camps and leave them there for future use. This also means that players are forced to carry around multiple camping supplies, and with the reduced carry capacity in Survival Mode, is a bit trickier to plan for.
The Elder Scrolls 6 could make camping a bit better by including the ability to set up a temporary camp that does not offer the ability to cook, but only sleep. This is something that could be done using Backpacks, as some models have bedrolls included but are not usable beds for sleeping. To make Survival Mode a bit more realistic, adding in these temporary camps could help players who are venturing out to areas of the map that are far from any of the major cities or inns.
Hunting Zones
Fishing was included in Skyrim: Anniversary Edition as a new feature alongside Survival Mode as a method for players to find an easily renewable source of food. By fishing, players would no longer need to spend time finding or buying food, simply catching a fish and cooking it with some salt piles instead. Farming was also added, allowing players to buy a farm and hire workers to earn money and have a steady supply of crops for cooking. However, this attention to detail was not given to hunting, which meant that most animals had the same spawn rate, making hunting the least viable method for finding ingredients.
The Elder Scrolls 6 could include Hunting Grounds that would have a higher concentration of certain animals for players to acquire meat. A Hunting questline could also be included, and these areas could hide dungeons that are filled with loot. Including trapping could also be a good way to improve hunting in the next Elder Scrolls game, as it would let players set traps around a certain area and revisit them to acquire meat.
Skyrim: Anniversary Edition changed the way players explored the vast open world and forced them to play more strategically. A lot of the features added alongside Survival Mode have been welcome changes, but there is room for improvement. Survival Mode is something that should definitely be added to The Elder Scrolls 6, as not only would it make the game more enjoyable, but Bethesda would be able to include useful features to make it seem like a part of a game as opposed to an addition.
The Elder Scrolls 6 is currently in development for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
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