If I already played it thousands of times, yeah. (like I would of swung my sword thousands of times)

If it's much longer than a week, it's implementation would be pointless. I'll have to swing my sword like 6 times throughout the game? That's going to keep my skill up?

It's not going to be realistic either way, & will just be annoying and tedious the way you suggest.

I definitely think skills should atrophy. That would not only simply be more realistic - it would serve to limit the "master of all trades" thing that people get so worked up about, and it would serve as an organic form of "respeccing." I think it's really pretty obvious that if you can implement a feature that's realistic AND beneficial, it should be done.

It would need to be fairly dynamic to work well, but that would just be details. For instance, I'd make higher level skills fall a bit faster, but only initially. That would illustrate the fact that the finest details of true expertise would tend to fade relatively quickly, but an overall great skill in something would tend to prevent it from fading much. I'd definitely make the requirements to relearn a skill MUCH lower than the requirements to learn it in the first place. And I'd probably tie in skills with each other, and that preferably fairly complexly. For instance, a longsword user who switches to a dagger would get an immediate head start, since it's a one-handed bladed weapon. But then his progress would actually slow a bit, since he'd hit the point at which he had to learn the specifics of fighting with a dagger, and part of that would require overcoming the habits left over from the longsword. Then the pace would pick back up again once he adapted to the dagger. But at the same time - when he passed that threshold where he nominally overcame his ingrained longsword habits and adapted to the dagger, he'd lose some of his skill with the longsword. That's simply the counterpart of that process. But, again, if he later picked up a longsword again, he'd regain those skills quite quickly, since the habits would still be there - just sort of buried.

And so forth, and so on..... This is actually a thing I've given quite a bit of thought to.

It's also a thing that I don't think for even a second Beth will implement.....

Well yeah, if you've already played it a thousand times it wouldn't degrade much if at all, but if you've only played it one or two times it could degrade a lot, which is why I touch on this with the whole "exponentially frequent skill thresholds" idea. Also there is a bit more to fighting than simply swinging a sword.

I can see how most people would find it annoying though, but I think they would understand and appreciate it more if they actually got a chance to experience it. But I'm probably the minority thinking it's a good idea

Depends on how you learned it.

If you memorized the sheet music, then no you may not be able to play it the exact same a week later. That, though, depends on how well you memorized it. This is similar to studying for a test.

If you learned it through practice, then yes you may be able to play it the exact same. This would rely on muscle memory. Similar to riding a bike.

Skills, for the most part, are going to be the second type. Like riding a bike, you will not forget easily or quickly.

Interestingly, skills should be easier to remember as you level them up. Which means this whole mechanic would just be an incredible annoyance at the beginning of the game when all of our skills are low.

Not liking the biased poll.

I'm pretty sure all of the stuff that I've truly taken time to learn I'm not ever going to forget how to do anytime soon.

Please stop making [censored], biased polls.

Yes in fact I do remember all those lessons from 10 years ago if I do the action again it will all comeback.Also your poll is very biased.

Love this idea.

Hope Arwen includes it in her realism tweaks.

I take it you didn't read my whole post...

I haven't used a bicycle in a long time but I'm relatively certain I could still operate one. Likewise the time scale of the game is small. I strongly oppose degrading skills. Even if the time scale was longer, it just screams "annoyance" to me and just a bad design decision in general. No thanks.

No, this is definitely one of those instances of "realism" for the sake of being tedious ideas. And I use realism lightly as this wouldn't really be the case. I recently played a pick-up game of basketball for the first time in probably four years. After about five minutes of warming up I was back to my ole "nothing but net" self from back when I used to play every day. My skills were a bit rusty at first, but they didn't vanish. And that is after four years. I don't see my character forgetting how to fling a fireball after a week, or even a month of in-game time not doing it.

I have to agree with this.

No no no

I want my progression to actually progress not regress

It sounds very frustrating. However....

It could be something if you would regain the specific skill level if you use it again in a couple of battles. I mean even after you haven't used destruction magic for a while doesn't mean you completely forgotten everything about it. Perhaps the skill would suffer if not used anymore but when you use it again for sometime you will aquire the same skill level as before.

I still don't like the idea though. Sounds like a chore.

We play from the settings are started at, well prison or whatever and we learn from there.

We are not playing for 37 years or 73 years, we are playing in that direct setting where they (devs) let us out. What we know is what we know, and what we learn from now on is what we're playing with.

Why would I forget what I learnt last week, or even last month?

We learn as we go and suddenly getting amnesia or Alzheimers during the journey seems farfetched.

"I got a knock on my head by that big warhammer, I forgot how to read."

"I've been walking around this countryside for days now, I forgot how to read a spell"

So, no.

1. If I am playing in a session, and someone starts into a reel I haven't played for a year or two, but used to know like the back of my hand once, then I have no problem with it all coming back within one repeat. And I am nothing special.
2. Go play Oblivion for an in game year. That is some amount of game, but your character gets it all done in a very short time. Not really in the realm of approaching senility.

I like this idea so much, I requested it in Oblivion forums a while back. Thanks tejon for making it. I think it is all natural progression for http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=14065 to spawn http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=36313 and those to spawn http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=36349.

I recommend them.

I found it positively limiting and natural. Although, I think 50 out 280 will be even more limiting than skill decay without the high intimidation of skill atrophy. I will still mod it in Skyrim anyhow because it gives more freedom and it is more natural.

I have no doubt, this "use it or lose it" approach will be implemented along the series some way or another because it is the ideal and core spirit of "use it to gain it" approach.

biased poll and no, that would be really [censored] annoying

first off, very biased poll
second, if they EVER decided to do something like this, it should be saved for any type of hardcoe mode they implemented that was optional

Actually, no it doesn't work that way...

You never completely forget anything, something will always remain. You will forget most of it, the details, sure, but if you try to re-learn it it will be a lot easier than starting from scratch...

Cool

So you go into deep planning and thinking to make sure that your character stays as well balanced as possible. After spending the early part of the game going into dungeons and killing a whole bunch of Draugr Beserkers, often demolishing 3 or 4 of them at once, you have increased your blade to 59 and heavy armor and block to 55. You then decide to concentrate on your alchemy and smithing for a while (because they are only at 23 or so) so that your character doesn't lack some of the essential skills that he needs..

After a few weeks in game, you get your smithing and alchemy up to 50, think that's good enough for now, and charge into the wilderness, only to be tactically demolished by the first Draugr you run into, as by concentrating on smithing and alchemy your blade, block and heavy armor have fallen back down to 40.

So then you concentrate on your combat skills again, and hey baby, your smithing and alchemy fall back down to 40.

I call that tedium and frustration. That's not planning at all - it's punishing the player for attempting to play the game intelligently.

You call that a good implementation? I would have never liked that. If that's our concern, we can come up with a better implementation. That's 3 plus 2 skills which won't trigger that bad effect if I did the implementation. I am guessing, if you go for 2 more skills after doing 3+2, you can finally start to lose something.

Well yes such feature is interesting http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=36313 comes in mind

it was good way to handicap player since we cant just master an skill and start maxing out others to become ultimate Jack of All Trades, what you use thats stay trained what used in least clean from mind after some time.
Another good thing it make classes more visible since class skills degrade in much slower rate, but as well it help in non class system also to keep interest of player in most useful skills for his character and don't spread on all skills.

But what we known about Skyrim leveling?
There will be perks thats make actual difference between skills and specializations they are limited in number to 50 per character.
Skills progress with variable rates at lower levels they progress faster then on higher ones, if not take Guardian Stone Power (thats represent chose of major and minor skills for specialization path from previous games) all skills will progress at the same rates during game.
Since skill rates are variable and dont constant like in Oblivion on different levels Skyrim leveling of skills already balanced.

Such feature nice to see in hardcoe mode or added with mods (I hope other great modders will take attention to Skyrim and port their awesome mods).


Well lets see another implementation of such feature
We known thats skill have variable learn rates in Skyrim and I think there is global variable for each skill thats control such rates.
Another thing there is Guardian Stones powers thats increase rates for certain specialization paths what simulate chose of major skills (45% faster in Oblivion 30% faster in Skyrim) so we can call them "class skills".
Races have certain skill bonuses.

So what can be done there can be script condition check thats check what skills are protected from fast degradation by
- Race affinity to such skill
- "Class skills"specialization from Guardian Stone
- Number of perks chosen from such skill what also work as furtherer class specialization
- Last time when skill was used or trained

How protection work it create two things:
- Guaranteed skill grade what disable skill degradation lower of certain level (for example be Altmer with 60 skill in Alteration, he have +10 Alteration, have specialization from The Mage Guardian Stone and have chosen some perks in Alteration thats require 45 skill points in Alteration he will have guaranteed 50 skill level in Alteration, what will not decrease by normal forgetting over time)

- Faster learn rates if such skill degrade but was on high level (so must advance in slower rate by default) and slower rate of degradation in specialized skills. (so learning skills back will be much easer to specialist then to average user for example Altmer from above was affected by Damage Skill spell effect or was put into Jail for some time he receive degradation of skill to 30 in Alteration normally he will have for example 0.3 rate for learn skill increase at such level but he will have 0.6 form his specialization and last skill level, as well chance thats Alteration will be forgotten in Jail will be decreased)

How degradation works:
- You are not use skill for long time (check of two skill levels current one and for example one month old one) if they are equal and there was no progression from last month learn skill rate for such skill will decrease if it will decrease significantly you will lose level in skill, protection check will apply at this stage.

- You are affected by Damage Skill and Drain Skill spell effects from various source such magical affection can decrease learn skill rates or even increase skill degradation if spell have large magnitude, no attributes as fundamentals force find another implementation for such save or there will be no protection.

- You are put in jail usually jail skill degradation based on random factor and in Oblivion security was excluded from such check, will be nice if there was check thats additionally add chance for degradation of skills on what %PCname specialized since more likely in jailers known who are you and can amuse you with tortures thats damage yours more, no attributes as fundamentals force find another implementation for such save or there will be no protection.

I hope disease in Skyrim will return their fearsome powers so in Jail will be also chance catch disease thats will be hard get rid in ease way how it was in fluffy Oblivion.

It would ruin a lot of aspects of game. Realism is good but this would just be over the top. Also where would it stop as in real life if you don't use a skill you may become a bit worse at it but it never gets to the point of completely forgetting everything, anyway no offense but I don't play a game for this much realism.

i did not vote because all the choices are too subjective... i would say no... but my reason for saying no has nothing to do with a robot...

i would say no because i lean more towards playing games for the enjoyment of it... while i enjoy some aspects of having to do "maintenance" on my character, i feel that it can be taken to far... and i think this is one of those cases where it would force too much of a static gameplay upon the player... and that would push the maintenance aspect of it over the line into tediousness.... and if i am forced to endure non-pleasurable maintenance, i would rather being doing it in real life.... so then at least i'm bettering my reality... if its too tedious and static that its not enjoyable, then i would rather endure a physics book...