There is much debate surrounding Skyrim and controversial tropics concerning its playtime, quests, and overall game mechanics. While it remains one of the most popular fantasy RPGs, not every fan sees eye to eye on what they like and what they wish was better.
Fans voice their opinions on Reddit about what they wish was done differently in the game, what they hope will be better in the next game, and their unpopular beliefs. Although it is all subject to each individual's own personal taste and opinion, some make decent points.
Learning Shouts From The Greybeards
The most unique skills in Skyrim are the shouts, and if players want to reach their full power, there are some dragon shouts to learn immediately—disarm, slow time, and bend will. The problem with this is that they can be pretty difficult to find.
Learning a new shout requires players to venture through dungeons and caves in search of these large dragon stones. Still, some of them are only available if players decide to complete every single faction in the game, such as one player might only find if completing the Mage's College. Reddit user nstzz suggests, "Like learning shouts from the graybeards could of been much more like going back every few game weeks to learn a new one instead of only learning trek through caves."
The Thieves Guild Quests Aren't Good
The Thieves Guild is a notorious group that are masters of lockpicking, pickpocketing, and stealth. It has been a major faction players could join through the last few Elder Scrolls games, but this time the quests took a surprising turn that some fans didn't appreciate.
User crownebeach took to Reddit to voice his opinion by saying, "The Thieves Guild questline is…not good. It has some individually awesome moments, like the Goldenglow job, but once Karliah shows up it rapidly devolves into nonsense." While the Nightingales were an interesting twist to the end of the thieves guild, it took away from the act of actually being a thief for some players and instead became a sort of religious cult.
The Civil War Quest Line Is A Waste Of Time
The Civil War was a big part of the Skyrim scene. Although the battles and ideas were intriguing, the war became a storyline that was never resolved. Fans are forced to choose between two sides with equally toxic and faltering beliefs, which in some cases makes the game realistic while also creating frustration.
Especially during the council meeting, the player is forced to make decisions that align with one side—Stromcloaks or Empire. Choosing one side, and being a soldier for them, solidifies who will then control the holds for the remaining of the game and affects how some citizens interact with the character. User _paaronormal on Reddit stated, "Civil War quest line is a waste of time because there’s no real benefit to doing it except having half of Skyrim hate you for whichever side you chose."
The Magic System Is Boring
While magic can be very powerful in Skyrim if players take the time to progress the skills, it also comes across as a bit boring. Unless players find mods that change things up, it really is a boring system with differently named spells that react the same.
Dorsalfantastic on Reddit explained this perfectly by saying, "There are cool spells just like any game with magic but the bid majority of spells work and function in almost the exact same way albeit they just affect differently. I don’t hate the magic in this game there are definitely cool and interesting spells, but in my opinion i think this game could have been so much better with just any other kind of magic system other than just making a list is spells and creating spell affects to go along with them."
Mods Are The Only Way To Play
While Skyrim remains a popular game even after all these years, it certainly might have sunk if players could not create and use original modded content. Mods allow players to try and experience a neverending list of fresh and exciting quests, locations, and more—making it seems like a new game every time.
A good number of fans could agree that Skyrim wouldn't be as enjoyable without mods, which is why Reddit user Apex-Editor said, "Probably not the first to say it, and I'm not sure if this is an uncommon opinion, but the game is unplayable without mods. It used to be fine, but when I started modding in like 2017 vanilla died for me. If I couldn't mod my game I wouldn't play it again."
Skyrim Is Only Enjoyable For A Limited Playtime
If all fans were honest, they would probably admit that Skyrim is only enjoyable for a limited amount of time and requires a decent break between playthroughs. With a game this seasoned, most players have already completed the questlines multiple times, making it less exciting to play through times after that.
While there are still plenty of reasons to replay Skyrim, with the new anniversary edition or endless mods, it's clear that it will not be as enjoyable as the first few times. AbaramaGolding voices their opinion on this topic by saying, "Skyrim is only enjoyable for a few weeks. You take a year break , see a video/post about it and the nostalgia comes back. You start playing it again and the cycle continues."
Annoying Characters Bring The Game To Life
Plenty of diverse NPCs with different backgrounds and personalities allow Skyrim to feel like a full and realistic world. While some characters prove to be more annoying than others, they still add something to the immersion and world.
Some NPCs are simply annoying, whether it is because of their voices, their attitudes, or simply the quests they want players to perform. Still, in AxewwexA's opinion, "I think annoying characters like Nazeem and Heimskr give cities more character. In real life there are pompous asses like Nazeem and screaming religious nuts like Heimskr. Makes Whiterun more alive. That’s why I like having them around, even Nazeem."
Players Should Be Actual Faction Leaders
There are plenty of factions in Skyrim—Companions, Mage's College, Dark Brotherhood, etc.—where players can progress up the ranks to eventually become their new leader. However, the player receives the title without any reward of any power or responsibilities.
Some of these factions are full of difficult and intense questlines and complex stories, and they can take quite the grind for players to work their way to the ends and become the leader. However, it can be quite an underwhelming experience because the player receives the title but no benefits of leader. Feet_with_teeth on Reddit says, "I think being the controller of any faction is a mistake, you don't ever lead the faction after you earn the title, you just got a title. I'd rather have my character be a high ranked member and not the boss."
The Main Quests Are Enjoyable For Narrative Story Lovers
There has been much debate about Skyrim's main questline and whether or not it's better than the storyline in past games, such as Oblivion. Some fans believe the storyline lacked a true resolve, while other fans, who appreciate narrative storytelling, believed it lived up to its reputation and was a fascinating questline.
Skyrim is full of lore and history about the world and its people, which is why someone who appreciates little details that make up a complex story might enjoy this game's main questline more than others. Reddit user renacido42 said, "Most people who don’t like the main quest aren’t the type who like narrative story-based games and therefore won’t do any lore discovery in the game. The only story they will absorb are parts they can’t skip through or skip past."
Big-Bosses Should Be Stronger Than Mini-Bosses
Some fans believe that level scaling in this game was a big mistake in this game, that took away from the threat and fierceness of some of what were supposed to be the biggest, most difficult bosses.
Whether intended or not, some major bosses such as Miraak and Lord Harkon were easier to defeat than some other mini-bosses around Skyrim. This coincidence really took away from the ominous air and history these characters were known for and ruined the immersion and thrill of taking them on. Whitewolf_Law9479 explained his opinion on Reddit, saying, "The main bosses miraak, alduin and harkon is weaker for some reason while mini bosses like nightmaster vampire, malkoran, orchendor is absurdly difficult. What is the purpose of this game design. Why not alduin live up to his name in lore."