Players of Elder Scrolls V won’t just fight dragons, they’ll also infuse themselves with their amazing powers.
Though the first details available on Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim revealed a lot of interesting mechanics such as its new dual-wielding system, one major aspect of the game was left out. The return of dragons was hinted at ever since the game was announced, but thanks to new information from Game Informer we know how major a part they’ll play.
Skyrim won’t pit the player against a singular dragon threat to be defeated at the end of the game, but many dragons throughout. Lesser dragons have already been unleashed upon the world. Alduin the World Eater, first spoken of by a poem, is just the worst of the bunch.
GI writes that dragons will “fly into battle at unexpected times.” With “awesome power,” they’ll regularly destroy towns and be a major pain in the butt. Luckily, Skyrim‘s players are dragonborn, the only chance that the world has against these massive beasts.
Interestingly, going up against a dragon won’t just see the player using weapons and spells over and over. Dragonborn can use the language of the dragons in what are called “dragon shouts.” The shouts are extremely rare attacks that are acquired by absorbing the souls of defeated dragons. Skyrim features more than 20 shouts, each with a unique ability. One slows down time, another blasts enemies across the map, and a third can teleport a character from one place to another instantly. Knowing a shout can even force a dragon to become your ally in battle. I feel bad for Skyrim‘s rats.
When it was first surmised that dragons were in Skyrim, I wondered how an encounter with such a beast would work through a battle system like that seen in previous Elder Scrolls games. After hearing about the shout system, I’m excited to go up against one. Shouts not only sound fun to use, but to acquire after finishing a tough encounter with a dragon. As if Skyrim needed anything else going for it, now we have the use of dragon powers to look forward to.
Source: Game Informer
