One key way The Elder Scrolls 6 could do this is by shaking up some of the supernatural encounters players can have in the world. Vampires and werewolves are a big part of The Elder Scrolls lore, and yet could be implemented in more interesting ways that increase the freedom and breadth of roleplaying opportunities available to players.

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Vampirism and Lycanthropy

Vampires got a big upgrade in the Dawnguard DLC for Skyrim, including their own skill tree and a new vampiric form with its own special abilities. Players can only become this kind of vampire through the Dawnguard main quest, but can also contract the game’s standard vampirism from any vampire in the game. Similarly, players can only become a werewolf through the Companions questline, or by randomly transforming while wearing Hircine’s ring.

The Elder Scrolls games aren’t famous for their strong central narratives, but rather their freedom. The best stories told in The Elder Scrolls are those that the playerS makes themselves throughout the game, which is one reason many players decide to ignore Skyrim’s main quest entirely. To improve the writing in The Elder Scrolls 6 the game should try and increase the number of ways that players can experience the world. Certain aspects should not be locked behind certain questlines, and the game should attempt to be as dynamic as possible.

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Dynamic Diseases

While becoming a werewolf through the Companions questline is fun, players should have the option to become a werewolf independently. Players should be able to contract lycanthropy from any werewolf in the game, and there should be unique effects that are triggered as the transformation begins to take place. A player who has recently contracted lycanthropy could find their sheets covered in gore after waking up from a long rest, for example, or their companions could describe them disappearing in the night only to return that morning to make the process feel more flexible and narrative and less mechanical.

Standard vampirism works a lot more like this in the game, and yet doesn’t trigger any interesting story moments unless the player wants to find a cure. A player who has contracted vampirism or lycanthropy could be contacted by other werewolves or vampires in TES6, and maybe even have their own hideout. Skyrim could have had vampire characters reached out to by the vampires themselves to warn them of the formation of the Dawnguard rather than having to join the vampires through the Dawnguard questline.

Flexibility should be the name of the game, and players should be able to become vampires and werewolves in a myriad of different ways throughout the game so that The Elder Scrolls 6 is as replayable as possible and can achieve the longevity Skyrim has enjoyed. Players could even see different werewolf forms depending on race, with an Argonian werewolf, for example, showing some of its more reptilian features.

Skyrim mods like Moonlight Tales could provide the template for a hugely expanded system for supernatural creatures in The Elder Scrolls 6. This adds werebear lycanthropy to the game and allows players to have werewolf companions and skills. The Elder Scrolls 6 should try to make lycanthropy and vampirism rare but more natural feeling events that occur in the world. Bethesda will also need to make that world far more reactive across all of its questlines to the nature of the player character. If it can do that, The Elder Scrolls 6 just might be able to live up to its predecessors significant legacy.

The Elder Scrolls 6 is currently in development.

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