Bethesda's Skyrim has a reputation for allowing players to adopt any playstyle. Skyrim offers ten races, eighteen skills, and twenty Shouts to learn, players have high levels of flexibility to their Dragonborn builds. Despite the many choices available to players, the stealth-archer build became infamous for its effectiveness in combat (and meme-worthy moments). When Skyrim's Dawnguard DLC was released, it introduced a new weapon used primarily by vampire hunters: the crossbow. While it was slower on the reload than regular bows, its damage and available augmentations outweighed any faults it may have had with relying on sneaking. Elder Scrolls 6, however, shouldn't rely so heavily on stealthy crossbow kills.
Skyrim's planned sequel, currently known only as Elder Scrolls 6, has had minimal information revealed about its story, location, and gameplay features. Given the popularity of Skyrim's various weapons and builds, it can be assumed that some of these systems will transfer over to the next title. However, seeing as the stealth archer build experienced overwhelming attention from players, it stands to reason that Elder Scrolls 6 will want to adjust this for balancing purposes. By removing the powerful crossbow from the traditional stealth archer build, fans will be able to explore more options in their playthroughs instead of falling back on older gimmicks.
Given the number of exploits that are present within Skyrim's stealth archer build, it is likely that Bethesda will look to adjust these features in Elder Scrolls 6. By dedicating more weapons to independent skill trees, hybrid builds with passive skills such as Light or Heavy Armor, Sneak, Speech, and Block could experience more attention in subsequent playthroughs. Using a particularly heavy crossbow to block a blow from an oncoming sword and then returning fire introduces unique combat possibilities. Utilizing the small size of a hand crossbow with a high Speech build could convince a guard that a character is unarmed, allowing for more roleplaying experiences within possible missions. Limiting the crossbow's usefulness to what's essentially a re-skinned bow does the weapon an injustice, and giving it a separate spotlight could increase its potential.
Elder Scrolls 6 Needs Crossbows That Don't Rely On Stealth
Another issue is that crossbows fire their projectiles with loud snaps - not unlike gunfire. The increased amount of force behind each bolt fired trades stealth for damage. This is apparent to players who stick around to watch Agmaer practice with his crossbow after receiving it in Skyrim. The sound of Agmaer firing can be heard up in the balcony where Isran resides. Players may even notice the louder sound while they fire their own crossbow. Given the volume, it's hard to believe that crossbows would function in stealthy settings, but with the effectiveness of Skyrim's stealth archer build, that's usually all they're used for.
In addition to the volume of crossbows being an issue in stealth, there is also the fundamental differences of nature between crossbows and bows. While Skyrim had these two weapons share a skill tree, the only similarity between them is the fact that they are both long-ranged weapons not based in the arcane arts. Isolating the crossbow into a separate skill tree could dedicate perks more accurately to the weapon's unique aspects. As a more technological form of a bow with a higher yield of power, the possibilities for enchanting, smithing, and crafting new crossbows could contribute to a more active crafting function in Elder Scrolls.
To say that the Elder Scrolls series bases itself in reality would be preposterous, but often it's the smaller details that contribute to a player's immersion. Elder Scrolls 6 has a responsibility as a sequel to Skyrim to improve on the systems from the last game. Improving and expanding the uses of popular weapons in Skyrim, as well as implementing new and unique features to the series could only assist in Elder Scrolls 6 living up to the hype.