While choices and stories often define the role-playing genre, the blood that runs through the veins of its gameplay is progression. Progression systems manifest in different ways depending on the context of the game, but they nonetheless play a pivotal role in shaping how players engage with the world around them. InStarfield, there is no level cap, and with its endless New Game Plus model, players can eventually unlock every skill available. That kind ofprogression system makes sense forStarfield, where players can experience the story in multiple dimensions, carrying what progress they’ve made into the next with each NG+ run. However, the same approach wouldn’t work so well inThe Elder Scrolls 6.
Since its beginnings,The Elder Scrollshas been about presenting players with choices and all but forcing them to commit to the paths they choose. That commitment is whatStarfieldlacks, though, as players have few limitations when it comes to their character and can even eventually become an unstoppable powerhouse once they’ve mastered every skill in the game. In other words, ifThe Elder Scroll 6were to adoptStarfield’s approach to leveling, it would cause it to lose what makes the series' progression so special in the first place.
The Elder Scrolls 6 Needs a Leveling System That Reinforces Character Identity, Not Dilutes It
Unlimited Progression Makes Sense in Starfield, but TES Lives and Dies by Character Builds
There’s certainly a desire for a power fantasy in many gamers, but that doesn’t always fit well within the structure of role-playing games. TakeCyberpunk 2077, for example, which has a narrative that actually depends on players not being overly powerful. It’s not just stories that can be trivialized by that kind of power, though, as it’s important that role-playing games maintain immersion within the context they’ve established, and foster a growing sense of accomplishment and satisfying character growth. Of course, that makes sense in agame likeStarfield, which supports the fantasy of total mastery over time, but it doesn’t work forThe Elder Scrolls.
Like its predecessors, progression inThe Elder Scrolls 6will thrive so long as it has constraints. More or less,The Elder Scrollslives and dies by character builds, and when players are able to unlock every skill in the game at some point, those builds are trivialized. Where it might have made sense early on to build a character around a specific playstyle, not only is there no need for that in the late game, but it is also impossible unless players intentionally choose not to spend their skill points. As such,The Elder Scrolls 6should avoidStarfield’s"jack-of-all-trades" design if it hopes to keep the soul of the series' progression intact.
A Level Cap in TES 6 Could Add Replay Value and Make Respecs Feel Necessary Again
This is where a level cap forThe Elder Scrolls 6would come into play, as it would act as a preventative measure against players eventually acquiring every skill. WhereasStarfield’s non-existent level capallows players unlimited access to every ability in the game, a level cap inThe Elder Scrolls 6would encourage players to put more thought into their character builds and to be more strategic about their choices. This would also make respecs feel not only necessary but valuable again, and it would make players more likely to do multiple playthroughs as a result.
Like its predecessors, progression inThe Elder Scrolls 6will thrive so long as it has constraints.
In the end,Starfield’s progression systemfits the kind of experience it sets out to deliver, butThe Elder Scrolls 6will need to be more selective in its approach. By keeping a level cap in place and embracing the limitations that made its past entries so replayable and “role-playable,“The Elder Scrolls 6can give each choice that players make more meaning.
