Summary
The Elder Scrollsseries goes back a long time, withThe Elder Scrolls: Arenacoming out in 1994 and the game acquiring fame and increasing its sales over time, to the point that it soon became a franchise for the back-then-small Bethesda Softworks.The Elder Scrolls 6is finally in full development now thatStarfieldis out, and while Bethesda is still working on the spacefaring title, fans are hyped about the next chapter in the fantasy RPG saga that gave them the stellar game that wasSkyrim. Yet, as much asSkyrimwas and still is one of the best video games ever made, it backtracked on one of the most popular features of its predecessor, and withESOadding Scribing,The Elder Scrolls 6is caught between a rock and a hard place.
Skyrimis a pioneer in the fantasy RPG genre in many ways, and while it soared to incredible heights over the course of the past 12 years and a few months, it did have its limits. Much like long-time franchises, eachTESgame tries to reshape and redefine its classic formula, and one of the most praised changes came withOblivion’s spellcrafting. Long considered one of the most fun and unique features ever inThe Elder Scrollsgames, it never came back to the mainline series, butThe Elder Scrolls Onlineis changing this with Scribing - andTES 6should follow suit.
Why The Elder Scrolls 6 Can’t Skip Spellcrafting After Skyrim and ESO
Oblivion’s Spellcrafting Remains One of the Best The Elder Scrolls Features
Oblivion’s spellcrafting systemallowed players to combine any spell effects to their hearts' desire, making it essentially a free-rein feature where the sky was the limit. One could combine wild effects, such as Destruction spells to deal damage, a spell to conjure a Storm Atronach, and even Illusion effects like invisibility. The gameplay implications were equally hysterical, as players could easily achieve what previously were impossible feats inOblivion.
However, spellcrafting didn’t return inSkyrim, and though there may be good reasons for this choice ranging from lore implications to how complex it could be forSkyrim’s already intricate gameplay loop, this doesn’t mean the series should never bring this feature back. In fact, now thatThe Elder Scrolls Online’s Gold Road expansionis adding spellcrafting’s precursor in the form of Scribing,The Elder Scrolls 6can’t back down. This is not a great position to be in, as reintroducing spellcrafting can draw comparisons to bothOblivionandESO’s versions, but not doing so may mean this feature is never coming back in mainline games.
ES’s Scribing Could Pave the Way For TES 6’s Spellcrafting
ESO’s Scribing systemis not exactly spellcrafting, as it works in a very different way. The way the game handles “spellcrafting” is by using two different components called Grimoires and Scripts, with the former determining more basic effects of a given spell, and the latter the more specific aspects, ranging from Primary to Tertiary Scripts. The result is still a quite complex system that awards players' creativity, especially since Scribing applies to several skill lines - Weapon Skill lines, Mages Guild, Fighters Guild, Soul Magic, Assault, and Support.
The Elder Scrolls 6can’t be anotherSkyrim, in the sense it shouldn’t ignoreOblivion’s success with spellcrafting, but rather build on it. If anything,ESO’s Scribing could end up changing what it means tocraft one’s spells inTES 6if Bethesda wants to draw inspiration from it, which would be a good idea considering how oldOblivion’s system currently is. Still, spellcrafting shouldn’t be ignored any longer by mainline titles, andThe Elder Scrolls 6is in a prime position to not only reintroduce it, but also improve on its foundations.
