The Elder Scrolls 6is probably still a long way off, and development likely won’t begin in earnest until afterStarfieldreleases next year. A leak from 2021 indicated thatthe nextElder Scrollsmight release in 2024. However, that would imply the game was much further along than Bethesda’s statements suggest. With all the information available, estimates of 2025 or later seem more plausible.
Regardless of whenThe Elder Scrolls 6eventually releases, most fans seem confident that the next game will take players to the arid land of Hammerfell. There’s a degree of ambiguity to Hammerfell’s current situation inThe Elder Scrolls, but it’s a region of many city-states and petty kingdoms. This complex setting would be the perfect place for a system similar toFallout: New Vegas’ factions.
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Factions in Fallout: New Vegas
Fallout: New Vegasfeatured many factionsranging from individual settlements and gangs, like Goodsprings and the Powder Gangers, to great powers like Caesar’s Legion and the NCR. While players can’t officially join most of them, every faction they encounter has an opinion of them. NPCs from factions who like the player will often greet them warmly and may even give the player gifts or offer other benefits. Meanwhile, the members of hostile factions will insult or berate the player, assuming they don’t simply attack on sight.
Faction relations are generally determined by how many quests the player’s done for them compared to how many hostile actions they’ve taken. For some groups, improving relations is just a matter of doing them favors and not killing or stealing from their members. However, doing favors for one faction often means taking hostile actions against their enemies, turning them against the player. This could sometimes cause some annoyances inNew Vegas, but that’s more a matter of execution than an issue with the concept. Players could also avoid some adverse effects thanks toNew Vegas’ disguise system.
Factions in Skyrim
Developers significantly streamlinedSkyrim’s factions compared toOblivionandMorrowind. Guild ranks were removed, and theMorrowind-era skill requirements are long gone. Most joinable factions never interact, and players can easily become the Harbinger of the Companions, Master of the Thieves Guild, Archmage of Winterhold, and Listener of the Dark Brotherhood with a single character. And while it’s understandable that Bethesda might not want to completely lock players out of certain quest lines, juggling all of this should at least take some effort on the player’s part. The only times players need to pick a side are withSkyrim’s Civil War factionsand choosing between the DLC’s,DawnguardandVolkihar Vampires.
The system is also shallow in other ways. Players don’t have very nuanced relationships withSkyrim’s factions, simply being either a member or not. It’s also impossible to make most factions hostile and getting kicked out is more of an inconvenience than a meaningful penalty. Meanwhile, town guards will chase and arrest the player for crimes and players can earn titles from local rulers. However, players don’t have city-wide reputations like inNew Vegas, and while these aren’t necessarily flaws withSkyrim, it shows there is room forThe Elder Scrolls 6to improve uponSkyrim’s factions.
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New Vegas' Style Factions in The Elder Scrolls 6
The nextElder Scrollsis the perfect place to implement aNew Vegas-style faction system.The Elder Scrolls 6’s setting of Hammerfelllacks a unified government likeSkyrim’s High King. Its many Kings are also fully independent from great powers like the Empire and the Aldmeri Dominion.
The native Redguards divide themselves into the traditionalist Crowns, Imperial-influenced Forebears, and nomadic Alik’r tribes. Crowns usually ally with Crowns and Forebears with Forebears, and the two factions have united against each other more than once. However, these are mainly cultural and religious distinctions rather than political parties. Each tribe, kingdom, and city-state is an independent actor with different and conflicting interests, which sounds more like the feudingfactions ofFallout: New Vegasthan the relative simplicity ofSkyrim’s Civil War.
For example,The Elder Scrolls 6might see the Crown kingdom of Elinhir feuding with the Forebear kingdom of Rihad. The ruler of Elinhir might send the player character to secure a location guarded by Rihad soldiers. This would earn players favor with the king of Elinhir but anger Rihad. Meanwhile,the Thieves Guild in Abah’s Landingcould send players to steal an artifact from the tent of an Alik’r chieftain. The Thieves would pay handsomely and make the player character the talk of the town. However, the Alik’r would be outraged and greet the player with hostility.
Having multiple joinable factions with conflicting goals isn’t completely alien toThe Elder Scrolls.Morrowindfeatured 26 joinable and NPC factions, all of which had an opinion of every other group. Joining one faction will change how the others feel about the player, and the player may need to put in extra work to be a member of two factions that don’t get along.
Being a member of one ofMorrowind’s Great House factions also makes it easier to complete a specific part of the main quest, especially if the player is the House’s leader.The Elder Scrolls 6could have a similar feature, asking the player to earn the trust of Hammerfell’s major powers. This would require taking sides in regional conflicts, attempting to mediate between hostile factions, and decidingHammerfell’s political landscapefor decades to come.
The Elder Scrolls 6is in development.
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