Agreed. You could have magic set up so that restoration spells don't require an open hand but offensive spells do if you're worried about a claymore wielding spell caster being too overpowered.

maybe have self-buffs not require full swapping, but nothing more than that.

I'm not worried about it being OPed just the control mechanics and how it could work with them.

But a warrior designed for raw damage (which is what a two-handed weapon is for) isn't overpowered if he's allowed to heal himself? If you want to heal yourself, use a one-handed weapon. You have to decide for yourself if the benefits of a healing spell outweighs the defensive benefits of a shield or the offensive benefits of a dual-wield or two-handed setup. It's these checks and balances which Oblivion lacked, and which made every character (to me) feel the same.

Though I do think something could be done for bow-wielders, seeing as they have no choice. The bow could always take the place of a two-hander for raw damage, then switch to a one-hander and support spell if something survives long enough to get in close.

You could still use potions to heal yourself so what's the difference if you use magic instead? The two handed weapon has a drawback in that it doesn't block as well and swings take longer to execute, I don't really see a need to restrict self healing as well.

This.

It's not the same, it's a hybrid between Morrowind and Oblivion. You cannot use magic while holding a 2hander but you sure can while using a single 1 handed item.

That's what I suggested.

you could probably hotkey a heal spell and press it when you need to heal you put away the two hander then heal then switch back

Either all or nothing.

People has been complaining how Oblivion's (and if you ask me Morrowind's) combat was just mindless hack and slash, requiring no strategy.

Now with these limitations you actually have to think. You're hurt and out of potions? You have to retreat for a while and heal, not just spamming the heal spell while still fighting.
Heck, in every other game casting in close combat tend to be a really bad idea...

I completely agree.

This. People always complain when a game gets more difficult

Role playing, although I beleive your advocating healing while wielding a two handed in this comment?


Like I said, when you have a two hander it basically is the same system. Im only talking about then. Characters that use two handers and magic in some capacity.

Yeah, they raised hell when combat in Oblivion was so much more difficult than in Morro....er, wait a damn minute here. :facepalm:

I expect not only will this not happen but that casting a healing spell will always result in a heal over time that ends as soon as the spell is unequipped and that there are no rapid healing abilties.. that all healing alchemical magical and shout wise are healing over time effects.

You're worried about all characters being the same, yet endorsing a proposed mechanic that eliminates entire play styles right out of the gate. Hrmm..... <_<

One of the problems with Oblivion was that magic was a bit too accessible. My understanding is that every character started with a heal, any character could cast without any penalty, and there was a 100% chance of success. There was simply too much blur between classes. You can still be a fighter who uses magic, but there is an associated penalty as one should reasonably anticipate.

No. I endorse a system which ensures that no one playstyle is by its very nature superior to every other playstyle in every way. That is what being a hybrid was in Oblivion. All the potency of pure magic user (okay 95% spell efficiency if you used armor) and all the potency of a pure warrior in the same build. To do anything but hybridize was to handicap a character. Only through strict self-imposed rules did that change. So ultimately, freedom felt more restrictive. With the new system the rules are no longer self-imposed and must be followed, so I have the freedom to build a character around them instead of building the rules around the character.

Are your character builds so set in stone that having to use a one-handed sword is such a huge deal?

im glad.........it was too easy to spam healing spells as a battle mage or even a dual wielding thief type in oblivion. if you want to use magic then put some effort into it. after all you are controlling ethereal energies and that should require more than a simple flick of the wrist.

My own personal plans are irrelevant to the discussion. Whether you want to admit it or not though, that is exactly what you are endorsing.

Were you handicapped in OB if you wanted to play a pure fighter who never cast a spell or a pure mage that never picked up any weapon other than a staff? Yeah a bit, but those types of characters were certainly doable. One of my favorite OB characters was my pure mage in fact. Never wore anything heavier than a robe and never picked up anything other than a staff.

One of my other favorite characters was my paladin build. Heavy armor, 2H Warhammer, and cast shield and healing spells (mostly). That character is now impossible to play in Skyrim without a lot of 4th wall breaking into game mechanics and needlessly tedious micromanagement of weapon sets and most likely menu swapping just to do the simplest of spell casting.

So, since you felt "handicapped" in OB, you want to eliminate entire play styles from the game? That seems incredibly short sighted to me.

I don't believe Beth though is that short sighted, and I rather doubt the "exact" mechanics talked about in this and the previous thread are what Beth is actually planning to use in game. Guess time will tell though.

I better be able to shoot a bow and arrow while simultaneously wielding a two-handed claymore! Why, to not include such an option would clearly limit my freedom and deprive me of an awesome character build (I call it "Ashura!").

My sarcasm sense is tingling

You can dual wield in Oblivion?

I felt that I had to handicap myself in order to play anything but the same character over and over.

You're already eliminating play styles yourself if your paladin must use a two-handed warhammer and not a mace. You will still be able to hybridize, you'll just have to choose a one-handed weapon. If you cannot alter your character build to fit that and instead demand an unbalanced hybrid system that threatens diversity, you seem just as short-sighted. I welcome the ability to specialize and hybridize.

Would allowing spells with two-handed weapons open up new character options? Certainly. But they would have to weaken two-handed weapons to maintain balance and give one-handed hybrids some purpose, to the point that a dual-wield character will be superior for raw damage. By allowing hybrid characters one more option, they'll remove one more option for pure fighters. Of course, we'll have to see what the differences are between dual-wield combat and two-handed combat are before we can judge if two-handed weapons are worth using at all.