I can see it now. A bunch of Nords walking around Summerset Isles yelling "SKYRIM IS FOR THE NORDS!!!" and everybody else around is like "Wuut?"

It is ridiculous eh?

So a Nord (or at the very least raised Nord) cannot head off and join or even create their own empire that later even goes to war with the Nord?

I believe the reason why this option is restricted is to limit it as it is possible but wouldn't happen that often. To say any race has never immigrated to other lands is ridiculous. The only issue is if this were to be too common as to break logical lore.

Kind of hilarious to see anti-faction-locks being whined about on these forums. Its like Bizarro 2013.

Love it!

PUUUURRRDDDYYYY Much

After today's shenanigans? Yup.

Pretty much this, welcome to the internet no matter what you do , you still svck.

Problem isn't so much that it's possible, it's that the game will IGNORE it - because it wasn't designed around it. That means that the races YOUR race is in open war with are just going to be fine and dandy with you running around, and they'll treat you as a friend.

That COMPLETELY destroys the integrity of the game in some important ways.

To make it worse, it seems like a last minute decision by some greedy suit trying to squeeze that extra buck out of people.

It makes me worry about a game that I was really looking forward to.

No it isn't because not all characters adhere to the stereotype of their race. The fact that they've decided to include this option is brilliant, but how they've included it is atrocious.

I'm not as outraged about this as I'm about the Imperial being put behind the Collector's edition paywall. It is kind of roleplay breaking for a Nord to be put in the same group as the Aldmeri Dominion but you can also roleplay to make it work. Like the Nord was found washed up on the shores of Summerset Isle or he was betrayed by a bunch of high ranking nords and said screw them I'm joining the dominion, or it could be a mercenary who will want to work with who ever gives him/her the most money.

How do you explain all the NPCs treating their sworn enemy as a friend on first sight?

Isn't the internet a lovely thing?

I remember a lot of threads in which people complained about being stuck to an alliance and now it's the other way around

That said, I liked the system the way it was tbh and I'm surprised by this move

I've been against this faction locking bs since they announced it and now they remove it BUT only if you pre order the game.. wtf ZOS!?

I'd imagine most of the people that are upset over being able to play as any faction never actually played any other Elder Scrolls games. You know, the ones where you could do anything you want regardless or race? Better head on over to the Skyrim forums and complain that a nord can fight for the imperials, and that an imperial can fight for the nords.

That is the main problem i have with it!

It's almost like no one can conceive of the concept of a family of Nords, say, emigrating from Skyrim to the Summerset Isles and settling there fifty to seventy-five years before the Interregnum, resulting in their children and grandchildren considering The Dominion to be their home.

I think it's fine... It'll be just like the single player games, the way it should have been.

I guess you can look at it as the prospective playerbase meeting the Devs "halfway".

Speaking of which, I wonder if the Devs are unhappy with the changes/choices they had to make on their end of things.

Once again, removing the faction lock is fine. Pretending that races at war are going to treat each other as friends on first sight is not fine. It's completely counter to everything they're trying to do with PvP - and they should have made their NPCs treat enemy races accordingly.

I've played ALL ES games, including Battlespire and Redguard. Does anyone remember: "You N'Wah!" from Morrowind? Think about it.

I just think people complain a lot. But this is someone who is mostly happy with the game. I'm a little irked about the imperial thing but hey it is what it is. Still buying it heh.

No you are absolutely right! Even like your little story very much! I can give my Char such background only if i preorder? That is really not okay!

Nationality is different from race.

Well there is no problem with this conceptually, I have a big problem for the conditions it exists in.

You should have to earn the ability to have any race in any faction, not have it be some preorder exclusive. It certainly should not be something that can be done right out the gate at launch imo. Any race can play in any faction, but it should not be something incredibly common.

So then imperials shouldn't have unique passives, abilities, gear....oh wait...