Without a doubt Skyrim is a fantastic game with great graphics, deep and intriguing storylines and many things to do other than simply hacking and slashing away at simple foes. There are however several drawbacks which I would like to mention because they may serve as a reference point for future improvement by the game developers at Bethesda (or even modders).
The main drawbacks (or failings) in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim I would say are related to aspects of "realism" or believability. I could deal with bugs occasionally and even the unappealing graphical glitches like clipping issues on clothing and weapons but when it comes to flaws in the realism and flow of the world's dynamics begin to take notice.
I've only played Skyrim for about 3 to 4 weeks and have progressed steadily through many side quests and a couple of the main storylines such as the primary story arc, the Civil War arc (Imperial side) and the Dark Brotherhood story arc and I have noticed a couple of issues which I would like to note now. Some are small and others are more serious.

• My first issue begins with slaying dragons you have slain before; specifically dragons on dragon roosts. After slaying the dragon the first time, you may return several in-game days later to find that a similar dragon has taken up residence there once again. Slaying this dragon however will yield no dragon soul if the dragon is of the generic dragon variety, that is to say, one without a prefix to its name such as Elder, Blood or Frost. This doesn't make sense that the dragon would yield no dragon soul yet be alive and able to fight. Why not simply prevent that dragon from respawning (if it was indeed a respawn) or prevent generic type dragons from roosting on previously cleared Dragon Roosts. Not at all a complicated issue but one that bothered me for a while as I stood staring at a felled dragon, waiting for it to combust and its soul transfer into my character.

• Others have mentioned this flaw in other thread but I feel it is important to note that after completing the Civil War quest line, we are faced with a nation changing turn of events however, little changes are noted. We find that NPCs respond and talk as though the war was still on and often the outward animosity that some NPCs display towards the other is still blazing even in the face of defeat (and even in the face of the soldiers who HAVE CONQUERED THEM).

• A smaller issue that I have found was the progression of equipment in the game. After escaping Helgen, whether you are a light armor user or heavy armor user, the armor progression is simply too fast and too steep. I found myself clad in full leather armor immediately after escaping Helgen without having to wear fur armor or Hide Armor. There simply was no need to acquire these sets as not even 5 minutes of gameplay had rendered them obsolete, their art and style wasted. No doubt this means little to some but I, along with some other players, enjoy taking every step with care and attention, to feel every aspect of the game and know the work that was put into it. I was disappointed to find that it took extra effort to have to acquire lower tier armor simply because I wanted to see what it would look like on my character. Armors like Fur Armor, Hide Armor, Studded Armor, Scale Armor, and especially Ancient Nord Armor which can only be found under rare circumstances or crafted after completing the Companions’ story arc (at which point they would be obsolete) are sets of armor that are wasted due to the compression of their equipment value and ease of acquisition. If the armors’ statistical values were spread out more in accordance to the speed of level progression, then that would make a little more sense and allow players to experience more of the game, for a minimal effort. Also I have question: Why is Ancient Nord Armor only acquirable so late in the story arc if it’s stats are only has good as Iron Armor? Should we be able to loot it off of even the first Draugr we see in Bleak Falls Barrow? So iron armor can be bought from Alvor at the beginning of the game in the first town you go to but Ancient Nord Armor has to be available when you’re about to get Dwarven armor already…? Weird.

• I have yet to marry my character to an NPC yet but from what I have read, there is no official means of divorce to allow a character to leave your spouse. Though perhaps in those times divorce was rare and under different circumstances, we must concede to the fact that it still existed in one form or another. As such, three should be an in-game mechanic that allows for such a function.

• The ability to modify face paint, make-up, and hair style WITHOUT having to open and use the console should not even be an issue but here it is. Why is there no function to do this? Other games, older, successful or not, have implemented this function (GTA: San Andreas , all you needed was to go see the barber) and it creates a realism that is simple and uncomplicated. The mechanics are all there. I understand that the developers have intended to allow modders free rain over many aspects of the game but why not make the effort? Laziness? Cost? No offense intended but it’s just something that I don’t understand but would be interested to know.

• Sleeping and eating both have benefits in-game. Though as we quickly learn, they are absolutely unessential unlike in real life (though some would jokingly argue otherwise).

• Fishing poles exist in the game, yet we can’t go fishing? (Other than jumping into the water and grabbing the fish with your bare hands). World of Warcraft supported fishing among other games. Maybe the developers can figure something out here.

• Too much loot frankly. I’m a bit of a packrat when it comes to collecting things and I like to collect all sorts of armor sets and weapons. After a couple of weeks playing on the same character, my house was so full of crud that I moved out and left it all behind. So apparently treasures and rare goods are as common as the potatoes you could pick at a local farm outside the town wall. I have a container in my house dedicated to jewelry only. Literally it is just full of copies of every piece of jewelry in the game. I tried to sell it to the merchants but they ran out of money after selling only 2 pieces. Dragon bones: Bones from a legendary creature that was thought to be extinct AKA the most common commodity in the game, oftentimes more common the common soul gems.

Alright I’ve named off a couple of the issues I’ve had with Skyrim, granted a game of impeccable quality but also one that could have spent a little more time in the oven. If you have comments and question feel free to post. Also feel free to add more issues you have with the game here. Specifically issues with the realism of the game, game glitches and bugs something else entirely. I hope a moderator sees this and forwards it to the game devs to look at because some of these issues should be dealt with in an update or patch.

Sincerely,
Someone who really likes The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

It's a bug. The respawned dragons are supposed to give you a soul like any other dragon, but for some reason the game doesn't give you one (perhaps the "HasASoul" flag doesn't get properly reset when it respawns).

Yes, a similar problem exists for mages. You get some really nice robes and hood in the starter area that you don't have to replace for many several levels (and I have to wonder what a torture prisoner was doing with those magical buffs, spells, and potions, in the first place..). You also get really good bows and swords early that you don't need to replace for a long time.

I don't so much mind that they're unessential, but I do wish their effects were more useful. Food is worthless next to potions, and the skill XP bonus from resting is overshadowed by the standing stones (and that default leveling is already too fast).

Well maybe the game was meant to be played at high levels? Some games like Guild Wars expect that players reach the highest level possible first before they seriously get into the storyline. If that is what bethesda expects then there needs to either be less of a gap between the armor types or they need to make it so that leveling will be faster.

I feel however that Bethesda should slow down leveling and in fact increase the differences between armor sets and raise prices on all articles. That way players will progress on each armor type as they go along. Then with armor upgrades (smith and enchanting) once can sprice up armor to be close in values to each other. The reason for this is, what if someone really likes the way Iron Armor looks and wanted to turn that into their endgame armor. We can see that some NPC heroes like those (Spoiler) three nord dragonborn at the end of the game are wearing generically low level armor (at least two of them cause the other looks like he's wearing the same clothes as the Greybeards). So with the way that game should progress is like this:

• All armors varry in stats significantly

• Lower level armors can be upgraded a lot where as high level armors can be upgraded less.

• Near the end, armors are generally similar in stats (granted obviously Daedric armor and Dragon armor should still be the highest statistically since they do look like they offer more protection that Ancient Nord Armor.

Personally I find that armor sets like Iron Armor and Nord armor don't get the appreciation they deserve and would like to see them being used more. Though realistically they would not be as strong as Daedric, they have their own perks and quirks. Maybe a legendary Iron Armor innately is resistant to bladed weapons. Where as a Daedric armor would not. Something simple like that would make sense right? Legendary Nord Armor increases ... something else etc. Where as Legendary Dragon Armor does not. I hope this is making some sense. If not well, disregard this statement lol.

I'm just daydreaming a bit I guess haha.

Fishing: My Gd-Dad used to catch fishes with his bare hands, as many used to do in previous years. I did it myself when fishes were trapped among rocks. So it's realistic. Bears are catching salmons with their claws.

I don't know what you mean about Daedric Armor and Dragon Armor. All I know is that I quickly prefered Glass Armor and improved it so well that it's sure higher rated than some Daedric or Dragon armors. I have a full set of Daedric Armor (Legendary) as well as a Dragon one but they remain in a cupboard and, believe me, I'm strong enough to train my Destruction skill with a Frost Troll (flames-heal other / flames-heal other...etc. I level 5 times with one. I also realized that my Daedric weapons have only a very few difference with my previous Glass weapons. So to make it short everybody has his own preference and play the way they like. For me it's a great game. Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim... Great games. Thanks to Bethesda.

Excellent Post! I agree with you on all points. I totally addicted to Skyrim, but it was a bit disappointing to find out your actions mattered very little in the grand scheme of things. My first character is head of all the guilds, a decorated Stormcloak Officer and she saved Skyrim from Alduin, yet Guards still treat her the same as when she first appeared on the scene (So you are a Companion? What do you do? Fetch the mead?) -.-
After the war, nothing really changed, besides having a different Jarl in Whiterun.

Did I expect too much from this game? Are these unrealistic requests? Well, I hope that Bethesda will not disappoint, but release some patches and/or DLC to cover/expand some of these issues.

Oh I would LOVE to be able to pick up a fishing rod! I could sit on my porch in Riften, drink mead and fish hahaha Btw. once I become a bard, I should be able to equip and play an instrument!

Nah. All the scaling ensures that low levels players are about as viable as high level ones. I would've really liked quest lines that required you to level up, though (and were written with breaks in mind so you could stagger between the various quest lines; eg, do a few quests of the main quest, then a few of the Companions, then a few of the Thieves Guild, then a few more of the main quest, a few more Companions, etc). But the current guild quests are way too short and poorly paced for this to sensibly work.

I like the concept (allowing all armor types to be "endgame armor", while still encouraging a progression system for early levels), but I'm not sure if tying it to the smithing skill would be best. Perhaps it could be tied to the armor's skill (Light Armor for light armors, Heavy Armor for heavy armors, Block for shields)... so at lower levels, Ebony and Glass would be really big improvements over Iron and Leather, but at high levels the difference is much smaller. The player would still be encouraged to upgrade since some armors will always be better, but you can stick with whatever gear you like and it won't become "too weak".

The same could probably be done for weapons. For example, I really like silver swords, but I really dislike how they're so weak, and they're generally worthless by the time you ever see them... but a system like this can keep them as viable weapons even if other weapons may be somewhat better. Being able to improve them at a grindstone would be nice, too.

First, I think the Ancient Nord stuff (armor, swords, arrows, etc) really needs to be toned down... they're thousands of years old and all rusted, they should not be as good as newly-made stuff.

Different armor types having different weaknesses would be good, as long as the weaknesses aren't severe enough to turn into an Achilles Heel.

If you got the game on PC, there'll always be mods. I wouldn't be surprised if some of these ideas end up becoming a reality (there's already a mod that lets you improve silver weapons).

I went from iron to steel to dwarven to ebony to dragonbone armor. For swords I was more promiscuous because I relied on stuff I found for a while till my smithing and enchanting imrproved. Then my own enchants were skyforged, ebony, Daedric, and now I'm trying a Hero Nord sword (not as powerful but fun).

Really you should be able to choose your weapon style and material so that a Daedric sword would be defined by material not looks.

Uh... the stamina recharge food is positively CRAZY powerful for melee characters. Since power attacks don't work like spells, you only need one point of stamina to engage in one. The only time you can't power attack is if you're empty. The stamina recharging food will keep you with at least 1 stamina per second for minutes.

That means you can perpetually power attack through almost any sized fight.

Honestly, that sounds quite a bit like an exploit. But even so, very few foods actually give lasting effects like that... they typically just give an immediate +2, +5, or +10 health, and compared to those, potions offer much better restore/weight ratios.

No potions restore stamina over time. Its either a lump sum or "increased regeneration", which is basically how long before the stam bar actually starts refilling. The two food items that give you stamina per second are far more powerful for pure melee fighters than any amount of stamina potions.

The point is that very few foods do. Having a meal of roasted chicken briast, baked potatoes, grilled leaks, and washing it down with wine or ale offers no lasting benefit, and only gives a small one-time restore of a health and stamina (and wine and ale actually stunt your stamina regen for a while; it's apparently healthier to wash it down with Skooma..). There's very few foods that you can make that offer any lasting benefit, and of those that do, it's only beneficial because of the exploitive 1-point stamina regen effect.

Yes sir.

Some interesting points.

About the civil war - I think the hardest thing for Bethesda is the open ending. Now, that's obviously a trademark of the ES series and I for one wouldn't want them to change it. But it does present problems. Embedding the 2 potential outcomes in the game world was a lot of work - heck, Obsidian went for a closed ending because they knew that they'd never be able to do justice to the outcome of the player's choice in the main quest of FO:NV.

It's a hell of a lot of work. Should Beth have avoided the civil war? Probably not because, whilst flawed, it's certainly been great to see the Imperial vs Stormcloak discussions and, besides, if they hadn't people would have asked for it anyway.

As to divorce I'd say no. I do think marriage needs expanding but, at heart (pardon the pun), it should be more about the romance - I know some players eschew the idea but fantasy and romance have often gone hand-in-hand. Marriage is a good option but, if they do it again in ES VI, they should expand it in am overall positive way (though it could be cool to say, I dunno, have to win over potential in-laws who might have reservations about you etc).