So some friends and I have been talking from a purely technical standpoint on ways to make the races more balanced in Skyrim, as opposed to the advantages some races may have had over others in previous games. Now, without wishing to spark a debate on why all the races can be played well, does anyone have any ideas on how to one, truly balance all of the races so no one class stands out, and two, approach this balance in a lore-compatible and interesting way? Or am I wrong and the races are all perfect as is and show no room for improvement?

The idea is to suggest ways that you would like to see all playable-races made more fun and useful, so, for instance, Dunmer don't have to suffer the drawbacks of having an Ancestor Ghost spell that doesn't level up with them, while a Breton's 50% resist magicka is useful at all times. Just some insight on ways to spice up the role-playing and offer opportunities for all species of men, mer, and beasts to truly shine.

Your suggestions are vastly appreciated and thank you so much for taking part. Here's hoping we'll see some of these ideas in 11 months!

I usually go for looks when picking a race. And I like playing a thief type character so I'm always a Khajiit. I don't really think about it. However, the whole Dunmer/Ancestral Ghost thing is actually pretty important.

There's one thing I'd like, though. Let's bring back Khajiiti using their claws in Hand to Hand, and maybe even give them a little bonus effect for it. (Other than +10 or so points to the skill)

One option would be to have racial "Resistances", "Powers", and "Perks" ( a "Perk" would be something like Water Breathing which is more of a passive power) categorized separately. Each race would have one or more of each category and all three categories would become better as the player leveled.

You could also divide that up even more by assigning a category for a certain playstyle. For example, resistances benefit warrior type characters very well. Resistances could be linked to a character's Endurance and/or Strength in that as that character's Endurance and/or Strength increases, the benefits of these resistances become greater. Powers benefit mage type characters and as such could be determined by attributes like Intelligence or Willpower. A character's racial power (like the dunmer's Ancestor Ghost) would become stronger as these two attributes improved. Perks suit rogue type characters well. As that character's Speed and/or Agility improved that character would receive new perks like increased damage when attacking undetected.

This is all assuming Skyrim is a little less exploitable than Oblivion is.

Why should the races be balanced though? Its a single player game, you have none to compete with but yourselves.

What this guy said. Your strengths will provide good for you and your weaknesses will provide a challenge for you that you can always work on in a TES game. Why worry about balance? This game has the ability for you to work on that. If you svck at block, get a shield and start blocking.

Well the idea is to make each race more desirable and make choosing a race tougher for the single player. I'm just refering to stats that the player can consider useful to which-ever role-playing style he or she prefers. Players who love Redguards, but don't think they're as powerful as Nords (hypothetically) would have something to sweeten the deal.

Why would I want the races to be balanced? I want them each to have their own distinct strengths and weakness. If they balanced the races, I would think Bioware took over Beth for a day or something.

The Races were changed a little bit from Morrowind to Oblivion I mean Nords lost their resistance to Lighting.

And I do agree that with any game there should be challenges to overcome, but when playing a massive, overwhelmingly time-consuming game like Elder Scrolls, a player shouldn't have the cloud of a race with not enough strengths to justify the drawbacks hanging over his or her head the whole time.

Players should be proud and confident in any race they choose, and balance is the key.

Skills and racial perks are completely different. The player has no say when it come to racial perks. All the OP is suggesting is that these be balanced to the point that no race starts off or ends up with a significant disadvantage like the Breton's flat 50% reistance to Magicka which was much better at levels 1-20 than the dunmer's perpetually level 1 Ancestor Ghost.

That's why in Oblivion you had the option to test out what you pick and before you leave the caves, your able to pick again your race, class, etc. Remember, we were able to make our own class pretty much. Your the one who makes the balance for yourself, not exactly the game.

Balance is unnecessary IMO. But there's no reason racial abilities can't scale with level. but the Dunmer's ancestor guardian was a dead ancestor. so your ancestors grew a bigger corpse because you leveled up?...

I think races should have a subtle but definite effect throughout the whole game. It shouldn't be a "pick it and forget about it" kind of thing. Its an opportunity to make a decision with lasting consequences that adds a lot of depth.



This isn't a bad train of thought but needs to be fleshed out more. I like the idea of acquiring new abilities as you level. Its kind of the defining characteristic of leveling. but I don't want a "pick you perks" system at all. Any new abilities should be based on past activities not arbitrary selection.