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. In Starfield, there is no level cap, and with its endless New Game Plus model, players can eventually unlock every skill available. That kind of progression system makes sense for Starfield, 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 in The Elder Scrolls 6.
Since its beginnings, The Elder Scrolls has been about presenting players with choices and all but forcing them to commit to the paths they choose. That commitment is what Starfield lacks, 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, if The Elder Scroll 6 were to adopt Starfield‘s approach to leveling, it would cause it to lose what makes the series’ progression so special in the first place.
For decades, The Elder Scrolls series has funneled players into one definitive ending, and it’s time for The Elder Scrolls 6 to break that cycle.
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. Take Cyberpunk 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 a game like Starfield, which supports the fantasy of total mastery over time, but it doesn’t work for The Elder Scrolls.
Like its predecessors, progression in The Elder Scrolls 6 will thrive so long as it has constraints. More or less, The Elder Scrolls lives 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 6 should avoid Starfield‘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 for The Elder Scrolls 6 would come into play, as it would act as a preventative measure against players eventually acquiring every skill. Whereas Starfield‘s non-existent level cap allows players unlimited access to every ability in the game, a level cap in The Elder Scrolls 6 would 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 in The Elder Scrolls 6 will thrive so long as it has constraints.
In the end, Starfield‘s progression system fits the kind of experience it sets out to deliver, but The Elder Scrolls 6 will 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 6 can give each choice that players make more meaning.
