Some people think that skills such as athletics, acrobatics, and unarmed were useless. I heavily disagree. The fact that acrobatics and athletics were removed especially irks me. I've already discussed this on a seperate thread, but I figured I'd throw my two cents in here with a quote I used in the last thread regarding this. In it, I countered someone who thought these skills were useless, and talked about how they could bring them back and improve upon them.
Useless for you maybe. Acrobatics / athletics was an entire playstyle in TES until skyrim came out, and a major aspect of being a thief-like character. You were nimble, agile, quick, could get in and out of situations in a breeze, could rush through the forest, outrunning enemies or the law, chasing game. I once was chased into a cave by a guard in oblivion, and escaped through a hole in the ceiling that lead to the other end of the cave. The guard had to run through the entire dungeon to catch me! It was so rich!
This was gutted in Skyrim.
Now every character is a clunky lumbering clumsy brute who can't even jump while sprinting (wtf?) I'm running through the forest and see a log in the way! Instead of jumping over it like any self respecting bosmer would, I'm forced to lose my momentum, wait a full second (at which point I've already hit the log) THEN jump.
Talk about a nimble and quick archer huh?
If it's "useless" theneither improve upon it, merge it with something that is useful, or give us another way of accessing those abilities. Why give us less options in that regard? And I pointed out several ways it was useful. Athletics also reduced fatigue (stamina) usage, and that can be very useful for warrior types, not to mention it helps thieves move faster. So we got rid of two "useless" skills and now everyone is pidgeonholed into moving around like a lumbering clumsy oaf. I see the thought process behind the decision but it could have been handled better.
Why not merge Acrobatics and Athletics? Name it "Agility". Increase speed, reduce stamina loss, heightens jump and reduces fall damage. Perks can include sprinting jump, mid air attacks, the ability to stab things while swimming (athletics made you a better swimmer). Jumping while blocking allows for dodges (sidestep, backflip, etc).
Just a few ideas. I posted some of them earlier but apperently not everyone saw it. I think this proves that acrobatics and athletics should have been IMPROVED not scrapped.