Once you level up you will also be awarded one skill point. Skill points can then be used to unlock certain perks that relate to each skill tree such as Light Armor or Lockpicking. There are trees for every leveling skill that is available in the game and the skill points will unlock various bonuses for those abilities. For example, a person who is good at Light Armor can make it so they gain more armor protection while wearing it, or people who feel like using one-handed swords can actually attack faster and stronger while dual-wielding two swords at once.
As you can imagine, the removal of the limitation that Major and Minor skills were provides a massive amount of playability where you can eventually create a character that is all powerful. While my character originally began more as a heavy armor wearing two-handed sword using Khajiit it quickly changed into a light armored dual one-handed sword using one instead. With the various perks the light armor quickly became faster and more protective than heavy armor and the two swords could deal damage in such a flurry foes would fall before landing even a few blows. This is also all at a lower level, after playing for a very long time my character could become a master mage capable of throwing the strongest spells with ease while able to wield a giant greatsword and cleave through opponents all while sneaking past the guards at the gate. That is the growth capability now available to players in Skyrim.
Now on to the combat system, obviously as you’ve seen I’ve mentioned dual wielding a few times already and that is because in Skyrim players now have the option to do just that. In an amazing improvement to the series, players can now choose to put nearly whatever weapon or magic spell in their hands at will. This means if you feel like wielding a fire spell and a lightning spell in each hand or a magic spell while holding a sword then all the more power to you. This creates a massive amount of flexibility for character creation and enjoyment.
The magic itself has seen a rather small overhaul, with some spells being their standard charge and fire magic. However now some spells deliver a continuous stream of damage through magic. Meaning you can literally throw continuous streams of lightning at enemies, or mix it up and throw fire and ice at enemies and freeze them to death while they are on fire. Another plus to accessibility is the “Favorite” system that allows for the player to quickly access a number of previously selected equipment and spells on the fly through the use of the D-Pad.
For those who feel like dealing death more up close and personal, players can also dual-wield one-handed weapons as well, whether it is a mace, sword or an axe. Now obviously two-handed melee weapons and bows are still exclusive to themselves, as it would only make sense. Unfortunately for some, the combat still feels a bit disjointed, but far less than past games where enemies will react to attacks at times and the blood spray on your weapons is more realistic than ever. Also let me just quick mention the fact that there are now finishing moves in the game. The transport the character into a 3rd person view and they are treated to a scene where their character will brutally finish off an enemy, though it can sometimes happen in first player. This provides a nice visceral feel to the combat whenever you run both swords through an enemy’s midsection, lift them off the ground and toss them aside.
Another small overhaul was performed on the crafting and enhanting mechanics. Rather than be able to do it on the fly, players now need to find a station to enchant their equipment or create potions with various ingrediants found around the world of Skyrim. Smithing and the process of creating and upgrading equipment has also been given a workstation that allows for very simple but sometimes essential part of the title for upgrading and creating your very own gear.
Now… since a player is a Dragonborn their character will have the ability to learn and use Thu’ums, or Shouts. These shouts are the language of the dragon and their utterance has powerful effects, either through a burst of movement speed, breathing fire, shouting a force powerful enough to knock even a giant off its feat and more. Players will discover various Shouts written in dragon language on specific walls around Skyrim. Once found a shout must be unlocked through acquiring a Dragon Soul… yes a dragon.
One of the biggest parts in Skyrim is when the player has to do combat with a dragon, and as I said before, dragons are not scripted most of the time and can appear anywhere at any time, even in circling one of the main towns and sending the city guard running. These creatures of legend will begin appearing after a certain section of the main story has been reached and become quite a common appearance where you will need to fight for your life with a winged beast in the air, perched on buildings or on the ground. Most battles with dragons are truly epic affairs with surrounding friendly characters either running for their life or joining the fight as they defend their homes in what is probably the most epic encounter in The Elder Scrolls series. Once the fight is finished the player absorbs the Dragon Soul as the body of the dragon burns away leaving only a huge skeleton behind and onlookers stare in wonder at the massive creature dead at your feet, providing a final epitaph to your battle against one of the most fantastic creatures ever seen in a game.
Overall:
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a game that takes everything a role playing fan loves and makes it better. There have been so many changes to the core structure of the game while trying to keep everything in familiar territory that not only is it easy to pick up and play but it provides perhaps one of the most immersive and detailed experience one could ask for with literally nothing missing.
There will always be something to do in the land of Skyrim. Whether it be another dungeon to explore, creatures to fight, quests to finish or dragons to vanquish the title is absolutely massive in scope and time. If there were a court of law for video games, Skyrim would be locked up and the key thrown away for the theft of stealing time from everyone who plays it because you will play this game and enjoy every minute of it. The sprawling world of Skyrim will suck away your free time and demand every minute of your attention in what can be seen as the best role-playing game that I have ever seen. Watch the skies traveler… the dragons have returned and brought with it the devourer of time itself… Skyrim.
