6. Those Unique 'Elder Scrolls' quests
Questing in Skyrim is one heck of a profession. Outside of the main storylines (the dragons and politics) there are a ton of ways for players to fill their time, all the while enhancing their reputation and increasing their stature. Many of these include some mundane and even boring tasks that will appeal to only the most kind-hearted and diligent players. Elder Scrolls games have a few quests available just outside of the main plot that are always intriguing and rewarding enough to convince players to pursue them, though, and Skyrim is no different. The 'Daedric Shrines' make a welcome return in Skyrim, each one bringing with it an interesting and involved quest where the rewards on offer are often worth the peril and uncertainty. Players pursuing these shrines will find themselves immersed in brilliantly designed locations, encountering unique and dangerous foes and obtaining rare, sought after artefacts. Exploring dungeons and caves for soldiers and bards in fun at first, but these shrines offer a real challenge and a break from the monotony of iron swords and pittances of gold. Though the Daedric quests in Skyrim are intriguing and unique enough to keep drawing any player back into the game, for me there was a separate quest line that kept me playing. Similarly unique and well-constructed to the shrine quests, the pursuit of Skyrim's 'Dragon Priest' masks was responsible for most of my play after completing Skyrim's main storylines. Bethesda know that exploration and random questing are good fun for players, but their inclusion of convoluted and uniquely driven questlines such as these are what really keep us players coming back for more.