Combat has undergone a significant overhaul from previous installments of the
series; damage is proportionally higher than in the past and the pace of melee
combat has been significantly slowed from Oblivion. Special spell effects and an
increase in the utility of bows through the revised skill of Archery make for
often more dangerous - and consequently more tactical - combat.
A major new aspect of combat, as well as significant plot device in the game,
is the presence of Dragon Shouts or Thu'ums as referred to in game,
which use the language of dragons to manifest the Shout-users' vital power as
"Thu'um," which can have various powerful effects - these include fire breath, a
sort of "force" push, and a demoralizing roar, among other effects. The shouts
can be used intermittently and may be longer or shorter if more than one word of
each Shout's three constituent words is known.
Stealth-based combat has also been improved with
the presence of a cinematic "assassination" kill move that involves
the player silently reaching up and slitting an NPC's throat if the damage of
the sneak attack is sufficiently high. Additionally, stealth detection and sneak
attack damage bonuses are governed by perks that can turn a skillful sneak into
a fearsome opponent, even giving the ability to turn briefly invisible in the
midst of combat by sneaking.
<img
src="http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120714165104/elderscrolls/images/thumb/4/41/SkyrimDaggers.png/250px-SkyrimDaggers.png"
width="250" height="177" />Various daggers in Skyrim.
Added by Saratje
One-handed weapons include swords,
axes, maces, and daggers; while two-handed weapons include greatswords, battle-axes, and warhammers.
Bows and Staves feature as the game's only distanced weaponry. Weapons follow a
material progression similar to that of Oblivion, starting at iron weapons and
ending with Daedric metal weapons.
Enemy leveling
system
Due to the highly-criticized leveling system of Oblivion, enemy leveling is
being handled in Skyrim using a method similar to Fallout 3; some locations are
set independently of the player's level and will not be reasonable for the
player to attempt to take on at a lower level, whereas other areas will have
enemies and loot set according to player level at the time of the player's first
entry into the location. In the second case, the enemies will stay at that level
determined by the player's first entry, meaning that a player returning to a
location visited early in the game will be able to clear the location of foes
with greater ease.
series; damage is proportionally higher than in the past and the pace of melee
combat has been significantly slowed from Oblivion. Special spell effects and an
increase in the utility of bows through the revised skill of Archery make for
often more dangerous - and consequently more tactical - combat.
A major new aspect of combat, as well as significant plot device in the game,
is the presence of Dragon Shouts or Thu'ums as referred to in game,
which use the language of dragons to manifest the Shout-users' vital power as
"Thu'um," which can have various powerful effects - these include fire breath, a
sort of "force" push, and a demoralizing roar, among other effects. The shouts
can be used intermittently and may be longer or shorter if more than one word of
each Shout's three constituent words is known.
Stealth-based combat has also been improved with
the presence of a cinematic "assassination" kill move that involves
the player silently reaching up and slitting an NPC's throat if the damage of
the sneak attack is sufficiently high. Additionally, stealth detection and sneak
attack damage bonuses are governed by perks that can turn a skillful sneak into
a fearsome opponent, even giving the ability to turn briefly invisible in the
midst of combat by sneaking.
<img
src="http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120714165104/elderscrolls/images/thumb/4/41/SkyrimDaggers.png/250px-SkyrimDaggers.png"
width="250" height="177" />Various daggers in Skyrim.
Added by Saratje
One-handed weapons include swords,
axes, maces, and daggers; while two-handed weapons include greatswords, battle-axes, and warhammers.
Bows and Staves feature as the game's only distanced weaponry. Weapons follow a
material progression similar to that of Oblivion, starting at iron weapons and
ending with Daedric metal weapons.
Enemy leveling
system
Due to the highly-criticized leveling system of Oblivion, enemy leveling is
being handled in Skyrim using a method similar to Fallout 3; some locations are
set independently of the player's level and will not be reasonable for the
player to attempt to take on at a lower level, whereas other areas will have
enemies and loot set according to player level at the time of the player's first
entry into the location. In the second case, the enemies will stay at that level
determined by the player's first entry, meaning that a player returning to a
location visited early in the game will be able to clear the location of foes
with greater ease.