I blame the general quantity over quality approach the Elder Scrolls series seems to love. With this many races it would be hard to make them truly unique. If I was making the game there would be like 3, but they would all be a lot more different from each other.




I don't just mean mechanically. There are ways to still have the same freedom of choice while still making the races more different. For example, instead of making 10 barely different voice-overs they could have made three that are actually significantly different.

I tried an Altmer swordsman and a mage Orc in Oblivion, and it worked like a charm. The "locked" thing is an illusion that doesn't exist. If you feel "forced", you're a power player and doesn't deserve any better

Actually, the Orc mage got a magic bonus that no other could get. Which I wasn't aware of when I decided to try it out.

Yup. I agree.

You'd make a Bosmer if you wanted to be a Bosmer; you'd make a Nord if you wanted to be a Nord.


Personally, I see it as another step in making TES a full fledged action/adventure while turning it's back on it's RPG origins. The same reason they took out spell crafting, so Joe Call of Duty player can jump in and smash buttons without having to actually use his grey matter. At least wrt to stats. I don't really care about skills they could all be the same save for some bonuses for primary skills(if classes were ever brought back....our characters weren't born at the beginning of the game afterall. They did stuff before it and practiced their skills.) Like I've said before, I think Bosmers should be the best archers because their stats that affect archery should be better(unless of course you want to be a Bosmer Paladin or something and completely ignored those stats in which case they'd fall behind), not just because they start with +x marksman skill.


No race felt overpowered to me in Morrowind or Oblivion, but then again this is a single player game so i just played with the race I wanted and didn't go out of my way to compare my character to others people characters to see which was better.

There are some differences about which race and gender u choose --> http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Classes_%28Skyrim%29

So much this. It allows for more tactical approaches as well. For an Altmer, you now must be very weary when fighting mages etc...

It's strange how Bethesda advertised how the races are all unique in Skyrim, but they aren't that unique at all. All they did was refine the faces, but the bodies are the same. You are treated the same no matter which race you pick.

Those are basic differences.
They should fee; different there stats should be somewhat different.
Their racial skill should matter more, some of them later on are not worth using.
It should be more difficult to make an Orcish mage or an Altmer warrior and they both should be viable choices. It would be rewarding.

Also you are treated the same regardless who you choose.
People should be somewhat leery of an Altmer with the blatant show of power and dominance the Thalmor are showing.
Nords should be more cruel to the Dunmer, Argonians, and Khajiit you play.
Your race should matter more than it does.

Prior to Skyrim coming to light, I was expecting changes like Orcs actually becoming bigger than the other races, etc.


Bolded part is most important and agreed with.

The bolded part is the closing end of my statement about diversity: all of it is important.

The way Perks SHOULD have been set up.

Major Skills
One-Hand
Two-Hand
Blocking
Archery
Destruction
Illusion
Restoration
Alteration
Conjuration
Sneaking


Minor Skills
-Pickpocketing
-Lockpicking
-Speech
-Acrobatics & Atheletics

General
-Endurance (Left side - Light Armor, Right side - Heavy Armor, Middle - Unarmored)
-Magicka (Magicka cost reduction, Silent Cast, MP increase, Effectiveness Scaling etc.)
-Racial (Each race has a special tree here that allows further specialization.)

Crafting
-Alchemy
-Smithing
-Enchanting

This creates 4 Perk Trees that have separate point systems. This allows for the trees to be more defined. Minor Skills and Crafting skills now do not share perks with Major skills. General Perks have been added to further specialize your character and give your race a unique progression path.

Agreed.

Diversity might be a nice idea up to a certain degree, but in the end you'll only create set race-builds.
The idea behind the whole skill-perk system is to mold as you go,the character build that fits your playstyle.
Limiting those possibilities based on race works against that whole concept.
Even though i'm a Khajiit or Wood Elf,i still should be able to play a heavy warrior class,and as an orc a nimble thief.
Its a good thing to give certain races advantages towards a certain build,its not a good thing to limit races in a certain build.
Thats not diversity,thats creating stereotypes.

I like the motivation behind the idea,but not the way presented.
Diversity CAN be introduced,but by other means.

Can someone please explain to me why an Orc with a 90 max in sneak becomes unplayable? The main complaint on this thread is that a you couldn't make a Wood Elf warrior or a Orc thief, and that sentiment is wrong. How many hours into the game before you get to 91 sneak (without walking into in a corner while someone sleeps), 20-30 hours. Was the character unplayable before then? So an Orc can't get shadow warrior and a Khajiit can, would that make Orc thieves nonviable as a character type? No.

Also about stereotypes, all the races have them, they come from the game designers. When the people who create the world say that High Elves and Bretons are the most magically gifted races, then it is not a stereotype it is the truth. Just like saying, tall people are better at basketball, that doesn't mean that all basketball players have to be tall, just that it helps and there are advantages (as an aside, almost everyone remembers Spud Webb winning the dunk contest, because it was unique). But are Bretons and High elves better mages than other races in Skyrim? No, there very little discernible difference and that is my point.

I would love making a Wood Elf 2-handed warrior, and kicking the games ass while doing it, especially if Wood Elves had some unique perks that would change the experience and make it more fun. That way the next time you play the game, with a Nord thief, you could have a actual different experience. Currently where is the replay value, (now players are just pushed towards building up certain overpowered skills(staring at enchanting) as players don't you want your path to be unique to you. Any build is possible, even if some races had a cap of 90 in some skills.

Anyway that is my view (based on what Bethesda told me), I am out its over.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000004/: What? Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001513/: [to Boon] Germans?
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0726200/: Forget it, he's rolling.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000004/: And it ain't over now. 'Cause when the goin' gets tough...
[thinks hard of something to say]
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000004/: The tough get goin'! Who's with me? Let's go!
[Bluto runs out, alone; then returns]
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000004/: What the [****] happened to the Delta I used to know? Where's the spirit? Where's the guts, huh? This could be the greatest night of our lives, but you're gonna let it be the worst. "Ooh, we're afraid to go with you Bluto, we might get in trouble." Well just kiss my ass from now on! Not me! I'm not gonna take this. Wormer, he's a dead man! Marmalard, dead! Niedermeyer...
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001513/: Dead! Bluto's right. Psychotic... but absolutely right. We gotta take these bastards. Now we could do it with conventional weapons, but that could take years and cost millions of lives. No, I think we have to go all out. I think that this situation absolutely requires a really futile and stupid gesture be done on somebody's part!
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000004/: We're just the guys to do it.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0569226/: [stands up] Yeah, I agree. Let's go get 'em.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0726200/: Let's do it.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000004/: [shouting] "Let's do it"!