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Skyrim DLC: What I want and what I don’t want to see!
Recently, Todd Howard gave the keynote address at the DICE event and amongst that presentation, was a video showing off what Bethesda employees got up to during the Bethesda Game Jam, where they could add ANYTHING they wanted to Skyrim within that week. You can see the keynote address containing the game jam here. This video has re-sparked the debate about what is to come in terms of DLC for the epic RPG, what people want and what people do not want to see. And I’ll start with what I want to see:
Build your own settlement
In the game jam video above, we see that one dev created a house that you could build (complete with skeleton butler) and while it doesn’t really go into detail as to what it exactly constituted, it is a direction I’d like to see taken for Skyrim DLC. However, I’d like to see the idea pushed even further by being able to found your own settlement. Ideally, something like Raven Rock on Solstheim in the Bloodmoon expansion for Morrowind, or the Great House compounds you can buy in the vanilla game.
There are a number of things that can be done with this idea, like offering multiple locations (there are plenty of nice spots of free land) to choose from to found your settlement, while only being able to pick one of them. And if not that, what about taking over one of the smaller towns already found in Skyrim and help them to expand? A variety of building options and methods of expansion could be included, to provide more freedom in how a player grows their settlement.
Want a more humble manor for your residence or a great stone castle instead? Pay experienced artisans to move to your town and set up shop? Will you protect the settlement by paying for walls, or allow the wilderness of Skyrim to creep in? The possibilities are endless. A chain of quests could also be added for the settlement as it grows, perhaps in part tied in with the Radiant quest system, something akin to Raven Rock as I mentioned earlier would do nicely.
Wrapping up the Main Storylines
I may have mentioned this in my review of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, but the way the civil war and main quests conclude left me very unsatisfied and so this is one thing I’d like to see built upon via DLC. How can this be done? A good start would be people recognizing your accomplishments (Yeah, definitely not DLC factor on its own). Things like additional quests for the civil war, after you’ve won, leading up to and perhaps beyond your chosen benefactor becoming High King of Skyrim.
Defeating Alduin the World Eater in the main quest seems entirely pointless as it is now. All of about three people in Skyrim even know/care that you won and dragons are still plentiful, razing the country side as they did before. Lets make the dragon hunting quests actually have an impact on the game by reducing the number of dragons that are encountered every time you slay one at its tomb? Some epic armour wouldn’t go astray either.
Expanding the Factions
Really, this following point could apply to a lot of the ingame factions presently, but I do have one in mind specifically; the Blades. This faction are relatively important to the events of Skyrim and while you do get to recruit people (a max of three), I’d like to see it expanded further. Post-main quest victory, the option to recruit more members in the Blades to rebuild them would be welcome, as well as being able to trick out the Sky Haven temple, or even start up another base somewhere in Skyrim (perhaps after say a Thalmor raid).
But perhaps you don’t like the Blades, nor did you support them during the main quest. What then? Perhaps the birth of a new cult worshipping dragons and the Dovakhiin is in order. Maybe it is an offshoot of the Way of the Voice, or something new entirely but this cult would be the perfect counterpart to the above. We’ve slaughtered cults in the past (Mythic Dawn), but joining and actively helping one is new ground. Both expanding upon the Blades faction and adding in a new cult based faction could provide more conflict with the Aldmeri Dominion too and who doesn’t want more snooty Altmer to smack with your chosen object of murder?
New Locations
Expansions for previous The Elder Scrolls titles have included entirely new locations for the player to explore. In Morrowind, you were treated to not one but two in Tribunal (which allowed the player to explore Mournhold, the capital of Morrowind) and Bloodmoon (the island of Solstheim). Bethesda followed suit in Oblivion with the Shivering Isles expansion, transporting the player to the Daedric realm of Sheogorath resplendent with all the chaos and madness you’d expect from that particular Daedric prince.
So it goes without saying that this is an avenue that I’d like to be explored and it probably will (going on past form). But where? It is well known by now that the PC version of Skyrim also included the partially modelled provinces of Cyrodiil and Morrowind, both of which are right next door to Skyrim geographically speaking. While it was said that they were included for the benefit of modders, expansions involving either place wasn’t exactly ruled out either in the process.
Now I’m all sure you are salivating at the prospect of a return to the bland and generic Cyrodiil – wait, you aren’t? Good, because I can’t say I am ready for a return any time soon either! Morrowind on the other hand, remains a fan favourite. It has been a long two hundred plus years for the province the Dunmer call home and much has changed since we cut through swathes of enemies as the Nerevarine. So in essence, a trip back to Morrowind would be like returning to a place of familiarity, with a healthy dose of new to go with it.
What other locations would I like to see potentially as part of an expansion? Solstheim (for similar reasons to Morrowind) as well as High Rock or Hammerfell due to also bordering the province of Skyrim. No Daedric realms though please, I just can’t see any of the other princes providing a realm quite as interesting as Sheogorath’s!
Turn over the page to see what I don’t want in terms of DLC for Skyrim!
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Spears Yes, Mounted attacks on horseback yes, mounting dragons? hmm not sure would get a little boring maybe good if it was for fast travel or better yet would be good in combat to fight other dragons. As for building your own settlement, I think it would be far too difficult to customize. I want more creatures like goblins in oblivion or feral orcs? Perhaps or even some made up mythical beast. I also think they let down the Dark Brotherhood. I only ever played Oblivion and TDB was by far my most favourite faction. In Skyrim the related quests are over far too quickly and don’t really require much planning, tactics or finesse in executing assasinations. Perhaps some competition such as a private assassin team that work for the Jarls? I think more spells are in order also or the ability to create your own like in TES4. More shouts? maybe additional factions such as a private military that work for the aldmeri or empire raiding villages and having the choice to join in or prevent and save these settlements. All in all Skyrim is a great game just feel that some quests e.g. Dark Brotherhood, Thieves Guild and College can be improved or prelonged. And please, please, please no more dungeons or caves, up to fucking here wandering them for some stupid quest, think outside the box.
Also would like to add the possibility of a multiplayer where you can complete quests with friend like in Red Dead Redemption say like battles nothing like exploring caves (well at least not necessary to have a 2nd player) just have some missions/quests that require a third party like slaying dragons raiding towns other fun pointless stuff but still have the ability to complete quests in this mode, it would definitely improve the gameplay and make people more inclined to buy if they can connect with friends via this.
I usually cringe at the idea of multiplayer being in the core experience of an The Elder Scrolls game, but as a DLC, I can dig it. Might be nice to have something along the lines of what Fable 3 did though – where the guest in the world controlled a character that was a little more regular.
In terms of Skyrim, there’d be a load of options available to do just that, though the NPCs that are followers might serve the best purpose for that.
As far as spears go at least, I hope it is something that they seriously consider as part of larger DLC. A spear/shield combo would be very fun to play with.
As I mentioned on Twitter – more Bard stuff..or any bard stuff. Without spoilers I’ll just say it was a lot of work for pretty much nothing. Not even a bed or chest. Or a fancy ‘Go Bards” t-shirt ;)
The other things I’d like may not be within the scope of a DLC. I’d like to be able to join some of the factions you meet (like the Vigilants or the Silver Swords, etc).
I can’t believe I’m saying this but give me fewer dragons after I whack the big bad. I can’t take five steps without tripping over a freakin’ dragon. I like dragons – but I have stuff to do and they keep getting in the way.
I do hope they change that, otherwise we’re pretty much forced to delay the main quest for as long as possible if we don’t want to be ‘all up in dragonville’. It is kind of funny to type that, given the premise of The Elder Scrolls, but hey. :D
barber shops to change hair and beards. no more dragons they suck. also massively extend dark brotherhood questline it was awesome on oblivion but a major letdown in skyrim
also spears definite yes and im sure i saw a mace on a chain you could usek? the building your own settlement suggestion would be great
I actually think a return to cyrodil would be awesome and it could be changed just as much as morrowind could, it was ravaged by a great war and i remember something saying that the imperial city was almost destroyed. a possible story line could be that the dragonborn travel to cyrodil with the blades/empire to rally and fight back against the Aldemr Dominion. lets face it everybody wants those bastards put in their place. I think returning to either provinces would be great.