There’s no doubt that dragons are the ultimate unavoidable threat of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim! It’s the one enemy that every Dragonborn must prove they’re able to defeat in order to save the world from Alduin’s evil plans.
Skyrim features tons of powerful dragons, some generic and some named. Some of these are not even hostile towards dragonborn unless they’re given a reason to attack. However, it’s clear that these dragons aren’t biased towards any targets, as even Bethesda’s Todd Howard couldn’t shake them off, scaring him for life!
Skyrim‘s Powerful Dragons Didn’t Spare Todd Howard Either
Bethesda strengthens the importance of dragons in Skyrim by having them appear randomly but regularly as gamers explore the world. However, before the game’s launch, one designer messed up the mythical beast’s spawns, which caused havoc for Howard.
Gamer.no had the opportunity to talk to Howard right before Skyrim‘s launch back in 2011, and in the conversation, he touched upon various elements of the game, including caves and dragons.
When asked if there is a set number of dragons in the game, Howard revealed that there’s no limit to them. However, he then revealed a terrifying experience encountering these beasts, which made him feel like Frodo in The Lord of the Rings!
One of our designers actually put in a random incident that I came across where I ended up being chased for three days and I was like ‘who the hell did this?’ I felt like Frodo in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and was really scared. So I asked him to remove it.
Howard further talked about the aggressive nature of these beasts towards players in Skyrim. While they’re always up for fighting, some of them speak a “common” language and make themselves understood by humans in the world. Let’s hope Howard brings something more horrifying creatures in the upcoming Elder Scrolls game.
Why Bethesda Might Need To Get Rid of Annoyances Like Oblivion Gates and Dragons
There’s no doubt that Skyrim‘s dragons and Oblivion‘s gates are crucial to the game’s plotline. Both features are tied into the main storyline of their respective titles and serve to enhance the experience of traveling across Tamriel. Randomly spawned dragons offer players a massive challenge and drops that could be used to make the strongest armor in Skyrim, and the opening of Oblivion gates is the crucial issue of Oblivion.
However, The Elder Scrolls 6 must let go of these encounter systems or at least find new ways to modify them. While dragons and Daedra can bring epic fights, these battles tend to become less and less enjoyable as they happen.
Additionally, many players also feel that these enemies can feel imbalanced given the differences in level scaling, especially on higher difficulties. Both dragons and Oblivion gates serve as boss battles, which can happen without warning or at moments when players are not prepared. This goes the core philosophy of the Elder Scrolls series, which brings players the freedom to choose how they want to face dangerous situations.
In order to fix Skyrim and Oblivion’s encounter issues, Bethesda must look into other open-world titles, such as Breath of the Wild, to see how they liven up their environments and gameplay.
