TES 5: Skyrim will have a system where more powerful enemies are populated throughout the world as you level. That does not mean, however, that leveling automatically makes enemies stronger. For example - If your character is level 6 and fighting level 6 skeletons, and then hits level 7, the skeletons will not be level 7 as well. You may, however, find a skeletal warlord now appear from time to time that is level 7. This should help in solving the issue that TES 4:Oblivion had - where I was level 56 and getting my ass handed to me by some random wilderness wolf (Surely it was an extra from those damned "Twilight" novels).
In response to Taem, I personally cannot wait for the game for a variety of reasons:
First and foremost, all of the past games (with the exception of TES 2: Daggerfall) have been extremely immersing experiences. You can almost literally play any archetype you want with very limited exceptions. Most of these exceptions seem to be further diluted with TES 5: Skyrim's skillset and engine.
Want to be a sneaking assassin who strikes from the shadows to thin the ranks? Thats fine, just be sure to pay close attention to 'Security', 'Sneak', and '1hWeapons' skills. Want to be a Ranger, running across the wilderness and gathering herbs whilst slaying foes from range with your bow? Go for it! Pay attention to your 'Alchemy' skill to help identify positive and negative effects of various plant life you can pick, and the appropriate other skills that go along with it.
You also can almost do anything you want, which is a great feature in a world as grand as Morrowind and Oblivion (TES 3 and 4, respectively). I had a pillow collection where I filled a room with random pillows I stole. I munchkin-ed one character so thoroughly in TES3: Morrowind (talking Mudcrab, anyone?), that I killed Vivec (a God) and stored in soul in a Grand Soul Gem I had stolen off of the body of the Mage guild's leader. Granted, it was my 4th time through the game so I didn't have a lot to experience outside of what I had already done - but this was also done about a year after I first bought it (so the replay value is there). You can pickpocket people, explore a huge amount of dungeons all throughout the wilderness, or practice creating your own spells. Get involved with local politics or uprisings, choose sides, even double cross them if you want to - and every decision has a clear ramification for your actions programmed into the game. Are you running around wantonly killing innocent people? Expect a huge bounty on your head and guards to attack you on sight (I hope you trained 'Sneak'!). Also the next time you sleep you should expect a visit from a "Dark Brotherhood" member, a shadowy group of assassins looking to find a new recruit.
The spell creation aspect is gone with TES 5: Skyrim (I think it was gone in TES:4 Oblivion, tbh). However, the skills work completely differently. In previous TES games you had to designate a list of 6 or so primary skills. Every time you gained proficiency in one of these skills, you would gain a portion of a level. If you gained proficiency in a skill that was "Primary" for you, you would still become better at the task but you would not be compensated with a portion of leveling being completed.
In Skyrim, the nicest thing in my opinion, is that every skill proficiency gained goes towards completion of your level/experience. The higher the skill, the more you gain towards your experience by leveling the skill. So, not only did they remove the limitation of having to choose 6 skills you want your archetype to be based around (or 6 skills that would directly effect your overall level/experience) - they made it so that the higher the skill is, the quicker you level.
This is a fantastic change because if you're playing your archetype the way you envisioned the character being played, than he/she should have high skills in things you do regularly. So, if you're a sneaky assassin - you should be sneaking around a lot, and in turn have a higher Sneak skill. Then, when you gain more proficiency in Sneaking, your character becomes stronger than they would if you had gained proficiency with something that doesn't really fit your archetype such as 'Repair'.
It really sounds like it will be a case of start the game, create a character that looks like you always wanted and just go. Do what you envisioned the character doing, and you'll be rewarded. Without even going into the political scheming and double crossing that has been present in the past two games' main quest lines - the game simply is just too great for me to pass on.
TL;DR - You're missing out!
-Z
In response to Taem, I personally cannot wait for the game for a variety of reasons:
First and foremost, all of the past games (with the exception of TES 2: Daggerfall) have been extremely immersing experiences. You can almost literally play any archetype you want with very limited exceptions. Most of these exceptions seem to be further diluted with TES 5: Skyrim's skillset and engine.
Want to be a sneaking assassin who strikes from the shadows to thin the ranks? Thats fine, just be sure to pay close attention to 'Security', 'Sneak', and '1hWeapons' skills. Want to be a Ranger, running across the wilderness and gathering herbs whilst slaying foes from range with your bow? Go for it! Pay attention to your 'Alchemy' skill to help identify positive and negative effects of various plant life you can pick, and the appropriate other skills that go along with it.
You also can almost do anything you want, which is a great feature in a world as grand as Morrowind and Oblivion (TES 3 and 4, respectively). I had a pillow collection where I filled a room with random pillows I stole. I munchkin-ed one character so thoroughly in TES3: Morrowind (talking Mudcrab, anyone?), that I killed Vivec (a God) and stored in soul in a Grand Soul Gem I had stolen off of the body of the Mage guild's leader. Granted, it was my 4th time through the game so I didn't have a lot to experience outside of what I had already done - but this was also done about a year after I first bought it (so the replay value is there). You can pickpocket people, explore a huge amount of dungeons all throughout the wilderness, or practice creating your own spells. Get involved with local politics or uprisings, choose sides, even double cross them if you want to - and every decision has a clear ramification for your actions programmed into the game. Are you running around wantonly killing innocent people? Expect a huge bounty on your head and guards to attack you on sight (I hope you trained 'Sneak'!). Also the next time you sleep you should expect a visit from a "Dark Brotherhood" member, a shadowy group of assassins looking to find a new recruit.
The spell creation aspect is gone with TES 5: Skyrim (I think it was gone in TES:4 Oblivion, tbh). However, the skills work completely differently. In previous TES games you had to designate a list of 6 or so primary skills. Every time you gained proficiency in one of these skills, you would gain a portion of a level. If you gained proficiency in a skill that was "Primary" for you, you would still become better at the task but you would not be compensated with a portion of leveling being completed.
In Skyrim, the nicest thing in my opinion, is that every skill proficiency gained goes towards completion of your level/experience. The higher the skill, the more you gain towards your experience by leveling the skill. So, not only did they remove the limitation of having to choose 6 skills you want your archetype to be based around (or 6 skills that would directly effect your overall level/experience) - they made it so that the higher the skill is, the quicker you level.
This is a fantastic change because if you're playing your archetype the way you envisioned the character being played, than he/she should have high skills in things you do regularly. So, if you're a sneaky assassin - you should be sneaking around a lot, and in turn have a higher Sneak skill. Then, when you gain more proficiency in Sneaking, your character becomes stronger than they would if you had gained proficiency with something that doesn't really fit your archetype such as 'Repair'.
It really sounds like it will be a case of start the game, create a character that looks like you always wanted and just go. Do what you envisioned the character doing, and you'll be rewarded. Without even going into the political scheming and double crossing that has been present in the past two games' main quest lines - the game simply is just too great for me to pass on.
TL;DR - You're missing out!
-Z
Proud Co-Founder of the Widely Accepted and Raider™ Approved "FIPIA Strategy"
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