The Elder Scrolls VI: 10 Ways To Blow Skyrim Out Of The Water

9. Dynamic, Functional Combat Damage

One major sore thumb regarding combat realism is the fact that enemy NPCs aren't affected by the weight of your sword strikes until they stagger with a canned animation or receive a killing blow. The visceral chaos of first-person fighting is missing that critical feedback loop of progress. Sure, we have enemy health bars for visual aids, but that won't fly this time around. We want armour and flesh to degrade in real-time, dynamically. Metal Gear: Revengeance showed us the extreme, but such hyper-stylized violence has no place in the medieval grit of The Elder Scrolls series. The sentiment remains that bodies should always react to the weight of contact, with metal plates and limbs that break differently every time and match the very specific trajectory of each attack. Kill-cam animations could take new form as they procedurally take advantage of damaged body parts. Holding down the attack command could deliver more precise degrees of power based on the exact amount of time held. The highest-powered swing of a great sword might cut a Draugr in half, but a fraction less could stop the blade on its spine and require a manual pull-out method.