The Elder Scrolls 6: 11 Past Mistakes Bethesda Can't Repeat

7. Difficulty Outside Of Just Stat-Tweaking

Games like Agents of Mayhem and Destiny 2 have refined their various stat-tracking innards to produce a steady stream of loot and equipment, and though there's far more to an Elder Scrolls than just acquiring better gear, it stands to reason that difficulty as a concept is here tied to min-maxing various meters.

To make an even more relatable point: How many times have you dove into a random cave and found an enemy, only for it to flatten you in seconds?

The prevailing thought thereafter is "Well, I should come back when I can absorb that damage", but there should be far more to 'difficulty' than just making yourself a sponge or being able to hit harder in return.

Such has been the case in TES for decades, but if the aforementioned point about a dedicated set of combat mechanics could be put in play, give us caves that require group-management, enemies that fling patterns of projectiles, cover spots or bosses than require a bit of animation-studying to find a weak spot.

Difficulty should be more than "They hit hard, so I'm going to level up and return fire", and Bethesda need to catch up to what the rest of the action genre is producing.