A perk tree would be a great solution to almost any dilema that my fellow TES lovers have about their characters. Each perk tree gives people who want characters with any given ability the means to enjoy their build. Anyone else can ignore that tree, everybody wins.

I realize that TES, as a series, is often too big to please everyone. Some people like adventures, others like fighting, others like realism and role-playing, and the list is endless. However, most people have two things in common:

• They prefer their character behave a certain way (good, bad, ambiguous).
  
• They prefer their character have skills and abilities - as well as weaknesses and vulnerabilities.

As to what those skills and abilities come down to, it's anyone's pick. Some like acrobats, some like knights, paladins, thiefs, wizards, spellswords, you name it. Currently Bethesda has basically narrowed our options down to three seperate branches, each with 6 perk trees of its own. If you had considerably more perk trees and break out of this three class, five per class nonsense, you would have a much deeper and more powerful system for customizing characters.

Furthermore, if you gave characters a certain number of perk points to spend at the beginning of the game, we would have the ability to create that unique and custom avatar with its own background that so many players lamented the loss of when it was announced that attributes were out. There was a lot of thought that the lack of attributes would kill unique characters and that perks would be a sorry substitute. To the contrary, I think breaking free of attributes actually allows quite a bit more customization for characters, but only if the perk system is made robust enough to compensate. I think perks have more potential, but most of that potential is yet unrealized.

So that's my greatest wish for Skyrim expansions and even for TES 6. Take what you've started with Perks and run with it.

Add in trees for Acrobatics, Athletics, or all sorts of other skills and attributes that have been removed from TES and give us back that old -time Role Playing game that we all love.

The beautiful thing about perks is that they can't take anything from the game. Don't like it, don't use it. By having enough perk trees (and points to go around) each player can do whatever they like, and not be bothered by the existence of the trees that they prefer to ignore.

So you want more perk trees? Or for us to create our own custom trees?

Perks can't fix the bland story, mediocre combat, and terrible dialogue.

So you've completed the Thieves Guild storyline?

this


the thieves is sadly the only line which was done well id say

I think Darkside Eric linked to a review that broke down point by point just how hard the writing in the TG questline svcked.

i dont see any eric or any link here, nor a dark side

am i going blind?


buuut even if the thieves would svck, it was still an enjoyable line to do compared to the rest. the rest was just dull

Well that is a matter of opinion, in my mind perks cant fix it because there is nothing wrong with those. The story is fun and feels appropriate, the combat is a blend of simplified but also satisfying, and I love the dialogue. In fact the dialogue is one of my favorite aspects of Skyrim.

I have only minor issues with perks like wanting to not have to take something to get to another perk that I want more, but I dont mind that very much. I just wish there were more perk trees to play with, acrobatics, polearm weapons, medium armor, unarmed, and maybe some additional perks in preexisting trees. But again all minor in my opinion.

Nor does complaining.

http://i.imgur.com/XJhFA.gif

agreed

Lol, nice. Its more a matter of that the dialogue feels more natural than it has in any previous game.

only against the lackluster backdrop that is the other guild quest lines does the TG seem good.

It isn't even close to previous titles released by beth..


But on-topic: More skills would only complicate the mess already made. Think about how quickly people would be leveling due to acrobatics and athletics. Those were both reasons to never select those as major(or minor) skills in OB (Morrowind).

I for one really miss the attributes (athletics/agility/strength) as I think they differentiated builds better (slow tank versus fast thief). However, given the arcdae-style leveling system in Skyrim it would be incredibly frustrating to be level 10 with 70 skill in athletics because my character neither owns a horse, nor fast travels.


+edit+ 'mess' is too strong a word. Some parts of the skill/perks system are OK. I don't think its a complete crap sandwich, but as for player character progression and the absence of attributes I do sorely miss.

I didn't say more skills, I said more perks. They took acrobatics and athletics out as skills so that players don't level awkwardly, and I agree with that. However, once you do level, there's no reason that you shouldn't be able to increase your athletic or acrobatic abilities or capabilities by selecting a perk.

I'm not talking about adding more skills to level. I'm talking about expanding the perk system to allow for more customization, development, and improvement of our characters.

The logical conclusion is that perks will have to break off from the skills they are currently tied to. I don't see why that's particularly problematic, there's no reason for them to be tied together in the first place.

Have skills that level, and have perks that you can select upon leveling. There's no reason for them to be attached. In fact, they often aren't anyway. I often level because I'm increasing skill X and then select a perk in skill Y tree anyway. Most people do.