Yes, bring back classes. Classes don't restrict what you can do with your character since you can use both major and minor skills. Classes do give each character different strengths and weaknesses. In real life people have strengths and weaknesses. Some people have a natural talent for golf, while others struggle with it but maybe have a natural talent for mathematics. Classes mirror that in game.

On Oblivion there is no strengths and weaknesses for classes.
You get perks automatically. even in the minor skills.
If they done it so you don't get perks in minor skills then that would have been good.

With Skyrim you make your class by picking your own perks. 1,000,000x better than getting auto perks for MINOR skills.

Edit: I love Oblivion but seriously the class system svcks.

I wholeheartedly disagree. Minor skills start lower and increase slower so if you have blade as a mi or skill it will take a lot longer to become a master swordsman than if you have blade as a major.

which is good but it is then ruined by Auto perks. The only reason I hate Oblivions class system is the auto perks.

Eh, the only thing the class system did was determine how many points you had in the skills when you started, and how fast the skills leveled up. Someone that chose a pure warrior class can easily go and start casting magic with no difference, aside from how fast those skills would level up.

I am neutral on it being gone or being brought back though. I just want something so my characters are not in a pure blank slate. I do like the Classes and Birthsigns mod because of it, the skills I don't chose just start lower, but my character can easily pick them up he he wants to experiment.

I never got bothered with the auto perk system, I did however disliked the speed attribute in Oblivion, since it had a tendency of leveling on it's own.

Institute a class system similar to D&D 3.5. Problem solved.

Or something similar to Amalur, where you obtained class titles according to your skill points spent in a certain tree.

Of course, the main issue is that Bethesda couldn't care less about depth, so having classes around makes no difference when Jim Bob the Nord with 15 Destruction can become Archmage while knowing little more than basic cantrips.

The thing is, in the "Classless" system of Skyrim, If at some point I decide that I want to invest in a different role or advancement for that particular character, say switching from a physical Bow an arrow to a summoned one, I can.

Oblivion had a more "set in stone" type deal, where yes, you had major and minor skils, but there was not much deveating from the course you were on.

Taht beign said, ther are some abilities in Skyrim I think should be based on a "Mage/Warrior/Rogue" tree. Silent spell casting and magica regen would be in this one tree instead of split up across the different schools of magic as an example

I much prefer Skyrim's way. even when we had classes the only time I bothered with a pre-made class was if I made a pure mage. If classes ever came back I most likely would still rarely use them.

As a noob on both games I can see the good points of either way. I am now busy with my first playtrough as a two handed Redguard tank. Really fun walking in big armor smashing anything on my path. But it feels weird that for some quests or for fighting dragons I have to use my bow, I have to sneak and I have to use magic to heal myself. Ofcourse I don't have too if i don't want too, but as a noob it is really hard to use them not.

On the other hand I was a rogue in Oblivion and this made me quit the game. After several hours I felt being a rogue was not the thing I wanted to be to complete the mainquest. It was really hard to kill Daedra that way and so I quitted the game. I tried starting as some other classes, but it felt like a repetition. A few months ater that my Oblivion DVD did not work anymore, so I regret this until this day.

So my suggestion is to keep the system of Skyrim. Maybe it woulde be nice that if I decide to go from Mage to Swordsman that when I level up Swordsman skills my Mage skills will decrease? So all skills are divided between classes (Two Handed/Heavy Armor/Smithing and Archer/Sneaking/Lockpicking for example) and you can play anything you want, but you can't be good at everything at the same time. When you train Swordsman skills you don't train Magic skills so these will decrease.

I always made my own class in oblivion dont like them dont want them in future games complete freedom as in skyrim is best.

I prefer the system in Skyrim over Oblivion and think it was a major step forward by the devs. Enjoy the freedom in Skyrim to be what ever you wish right from the start.

I liked Oblivion's class system but I just don't care any more. They're gonna do what they think sells more games.

I'd rather have to answer some background questions like daggerfall

Bring back classes? For me personally, yes, bring them back. I never saw them as a problem in any way in Oblivion. You could even make custom class, so what the fuss. And I liked the idea of my PC having some speciality in some skills where he would gain skills more quickly.

Having said that, the Skyrim system with limited number of perks is also good, in principle. Except that non-bonus skills should not start out at 15 but at zero or 5. At 15, one is pretty skilled already. Just example, in vanilla Skyrim I find it pretty easy to sneak at 15 even if I'm a warrior brute. I wish you would get more "punished" for using skills that do not fit the (initial) bonuses you took or birthsign you chose. At least make more cumbersome to use and level these off-char skills. Or select 5 skills where you get a +10 bonus but must select 5 others where you get a -10 malus.

Whatever, there are mods that achieve pretty much whatever you want - so I'm easy one way or the other.

I think if you set a skill lower than 15 it breaks that skill and causes it to not be able to level up.

I've tried sneaking at level 15 sneak and I get spotted of the slightest movement. Once I get to level 60 sneak and pick 4 sneak perks then I can actually do some proper sneaking.

Michealpk, obviously @15 sneak you are not really good, but I found it easily good enough to bring myself into better position to use the bow and such. And you level quickly from there. Sure, sneak up and backstab somebody is not possible at 15.

I am playing with Syclonix "Character Classes Overhaul" mod, and he tries to bring back classes to Skyrim - quite successfully i find. One of the things his mod does is lower the starting level for non-bonus skills to 5. I did not observe any broken skills then. You just start at 5 and level normally from there (in those non-bonus skills). It seems to work without problem.

No, I prefer organic characters. That are not fixed to skills, but can build up to being well rounded and capable at many things.

Why?

Because classes from the older games are guidelines to playing a character (aka you can swing a mace, but can't cast spells..). That failed because you use the skill and level the skill, but don't increase your levels. Take morrowind where you can have a fighter class character, and never use the class skills till after you max all the stealth and magic skills... at level 1, same with Oblivion

It's one reason I eventually stopped playing the class based rpgs, playing more games like Shadowrun where you can develop your character to be something other than X. (And I started with red box D&D)

Skryim give you the freedom to develop as you want, the skills you use define your character who isn't bound to being always a lightly armored nord with an axe. He can be a nord in dragon plate, holding a axe in one hand and with a waiting fireball in the other.

Skyrim

I always created my own class anyway, and I don't see it as being any different in Skyrim. I shape my own character, don't need a template to do it.

Classes are only relevent if you are restricted. There have been no classes in either skyrim or oblivion, short of simply labelling yourself based on your skillset

I agree and have had characters do the same as you in Skyrim.

not if that means the horrendous oblvion system comes back. I dont see the point anymore..

http://youtu.be/Z5-lRq-0uM8?t=5m24s

For what it's worth, yes, I would like to see Classes make a comeback. They aren't as restricting as some people assert in this thread, Oblivion allows us to make up our own style, after all.

I like spreadsheets, I like labels and numbers, I enjoy that entire side of the game, it's what I grew up with when I used to table-game.

Yes well I dont need the game to tell me what I play.

The prevailing logic here seems to be "flaw in the system -> cut the whole system!"

Classes by themselves aren't bad; D&D 3.0, 3.5 and Pathfinder have a system where classes can evolve and adapt via multiclassing. Amalur also did classes well, where you were awarded class titles and bonuses depending on your skill point allotment.

Unfortunately, TES mentality seems to be freedom at the expense of depth.