[matt white]

I sorely missed levitation in Oblivion. I understand the arguments claiming that levitation was too easy to abuse, and I would have to say that it is a legitimate point. I also understand that there were technical limitations due to the way Oblivion was created. But rather than banish levitation forever, why not make it much more difficult to abuse by doing some (or all) of the following:

1. Make levitation hard to purchase or learn.
This could be done by; A. making it so that you need to meet a certain rank in the Synod or College of Whispers (or whatever mage faction(s) they have in Skyrim) before a trainer will even offer to teach the spell, B. making the spell very expensive, and C. making it so that only a handful of trainers in the whole province will know the spell and be able to teach it.

2. Make levitation have a constant drain on your magicka.
Levitation would be severely limited if there were, for example, a 5 point/ second magicka drain. That means that if you have a magicka pool of 50, then you would be able to levitate for 10 seconds. At 100 points, you could levitate for 20 seconds. If you become a god of a mage, and have a full 500 points of magicka, then you could levitate for 100 seconds (a total of 1 minute, 40 seconds). That isn't even taking into account that you may want to cast a slowfall spell, or toss a few offensive or defensive spells while levitating.

3. Bring spell failure back.
Assuming you are able to find the spell, and you have a high enough ranking among your guild to learn the spell, and you have enough money to buy the spell, and enough magicka to cast it for more than a few seconds, another limitation could be that the spell simply fails because you haven't quite mastered how to use it yet. This would add a tactical element to the game because now it becomes a decision between (probably) nuking your opponent with spells you have a better mastery of, or (maybe) trying to gain the high ground against your opponent by levitating to the next ledge, or (likely to fail) 'flying' away altogether. It could go a step further and be so that spell failure caused damage to your magicka pool, fatigue, and/or health.

4. Make magicka regenerate more slowly over time (or not at all).
If it took more time to regenerate magicka (e.g. one or two in-game hours to fully replenish), or if magicka didn't regenerate without resting, then I think people wouldn't be so quick to use levitation for every mundane task, particularly if some of the aforementioned points were implemented. In fact, I believe that people would be a little more conservative with their spellcasting altogether if magicka didn't flow so abundantly as it did in Oblivion.

The point of saying all of that is to articulate the point that levitation can be implemented in a way that is difficult to abuse if Bethesda really wanted to.

[Justin Bywater]

Magic failure is not a bad idea.
Would be better (in my opinion ) if it failed with really low fatigue,or you got staggered,knocked back,spell interuption.
Would make you think more as a mage.
@ Rhemaius: some nice ideas there.

[Richard]

I'll mail everyone in this thread a 100 dollars if levitation is in vanilla Skyrim.

[Ross]

I'll mail everyone in this thread a 100 dollars if levitation is in vanilla Skyrim.

Tod may add it now,just to piss you off :lmao:
I agree though,i don't think it will be in.

[gemma]

I like the idea of the constant drain, instead of single cast costs.
Also since we know they have 2 handed casting, maybe one hand gets you off there ground a bit, but enough to navigate obstacles, whereas two hands will let you go further, maybe get over a mountain, but that's the only thing you can cast then, limits the risk of wizard hovering over town shooting fireballs.

I certainly hope for some sort of slowfall if we get levitate.

[Lil'.KiiDD]

If we can slow down time with a Dragon Shout, levitation/flying seems reasonable to expect as well.

[Jade Barnes-Mackey]

The Levitation Act is pure bull[censored]. It's not lore because it's too deranged to be lore, and should be treated as a dev joke, winking at the players.

[Nick Tyler]

I'll mail everyone in this thread a 100 dollars if levitation is in vanilla Skyrim.

The forums has decided you must pay your dues if this is true.
Because I request my money.

Of course it won't be in. But I want it in.
It was a great compliment, and it could be abused, but it could easily be fixed.
It won't be in because Todd and the team are on a, "we won't do it if we don't think its worth the time and effort" mindset. They are using this mindset to potentially not have werewolves, which I feel is much more pertinent to Skyrim than a lot of other things. So if something that important is out of the question, something as small as levitation to them is certianly out...

Levitation was such a reward for mages though. And with non-regenerating magicka I don't know how people abused it...

[Tha King o Geekz]

I'll mail everyone in this thread a 100 dollars if levitation is in vanilla Skyrim.

I've never sig'd something someone has said in these forums before, but I might sig this just to have something in writing.

Levitation was such a reward for mages though. And with non-regenerating magicka I don't know how people abused it...

Two words: Constant effect.

[Kevin Jay]

I have to say, my favorite moment in Morrowind was when I figured out to combine the Boots of Blinding Speed, Cuirass of the Savior's Hide, and a constant effect levitate ring so i could fly. I had WAY more fun after that. I loved searching every nook and cranny of every cave and finding hidden stuff. I did miss it in Oblivion, but it won't ruin it for me if it isn't in Skyrim, just as it didn't ruin Oblivion.

[Emma louise Wendelk]

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long delirious, burning blue,
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew -
And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod
The high untresspassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand and touched the face of God.

Pilot Officer Gillespie Magee
No 412 squadron, RCAF
Killed 11 December 1941.

Repeal the Levitation Act. Let my mages fly again.

[{Richies Mommy}]

I love to levitate in Morrowind...but I think it would seem like a cheat in Skyrim...you could just levitate up the 7000 steps without even touching them.

[Genevieve]

most likely not in. From what I've learned they want to emphasis on less exploits/cheats and more low-fantasy (which REALLY doesn't include flying around like super-man).


now factor in the whole "going around the mountain" conversation with Todd, I highly doubt they will want you bypassing all that with levitate.

[Alexis Acevedo]

To be honest when I found out it wasn't in Oblivion I was disappointed however did I miss it?
No I didn't though there were times it would have came in handy
but really after playing Oblivion for a while it really wasn't needed IMHO
If its in Skyrim fine, if not thats fine as well

[james kite]

I can only imagine what it would be like to truly fly through the landscape in Skyrim, but somehow I expect levitation is gone for good. While it was used to good effect in Morrowind, I don't see it returning. In some ways, it makes sense. You had to have levitation to get around in the Telvanni lands, and levitation (or the lack thereof) was an excellent way to keep the non-schooled from bothering you.

Skyrim is going to be primarily Nord warriors, not Telvanni intellectuals. These folk are going to be training with axes and swords, not spells. So, from a lore perspective it makes more sense to dump it. Combine that with the technical reasons, and I'd say the odds are approaching zero of it being in the base game.

Of course, as long as we can set the players z position in scripts, we can recreate it with mods...

[Brian Newman]

I'd love to see the land from above, but I don't like levitation the way it was done before. I proposed some kind of gliding mechanism from the highest peak - would be one of the benefits from getting up there in the first place. It's one way only - down, and ability will be removed once you touch ground. For another glide, you have to get back up. Levitation, if in, would have to be a lot less trivial and graceful, and not resemble "flying" (nor the "horrible walking on air") in any way. Slow as hell! It would allow you to "get up there" or traverse a chasm, but the slowness will prevent you from using it as a travel mechanism.

[Justin]

I always thought that the duplication trick on Xbox 360 was supposed to be my consolation prize for not having levitation.

I abused it in both amusing and profitable ways to express my disapproval.

[Marquis deVille]

Mages can take tactical advantages from levitation, and thats is will be way to fix AI inability to reach player.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JE3OVZsnZUo

What would really happen if you try to try http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pqdHkgdXr0&feature=related.

Edit: While Levitating would make traveling easier (Fast travel aside) I'm doubtful that they can be implemented effectively and not to mention very time consuming for a spell when they are suppose to be adding the biggest mountains to the game to date being the "Throat of the World" of the world that is Skyrim. Even if cities are indeed of the same cell like Morrowind I just don't see how the benefits of levitation can in any way or form outweigh the cons to such a game changing spell. Even if implemented there will probably be a great deal of invisible walls much like Fall Out New Vegas that limits freedom whilest levitation is suppose to be just the opposite but instead will make the barriers to travel all the more evident.

[Milagros Osorio]

We needs our levitates.

[Jessie]

I've never sig'd something someone has said in these forums before, but I might sig this just to have something in writing.

Two words: Constant effect.

Another two words: Non-Enchantable...

Problem solved

[Christine Pane]

Skyrim is going to be primarily Nord warriors, not Telvanni intellectuals. These folk are going to be training with axes and swords, not spells. So, from a lore perspective it makes more sense to dump it. Combine that with the technical reasons, and I'd say the odds are approaching zero of it being in the base game.

Yeah those lowly nords would have never use magical effects, its not like a Nord ever learned how to magically shout that they could knock down walls or anything... :whistling:

[Star Dunkels Macmillan]

Should levitation be in? Of course. Folks whine about it breaking a game but it IS a single player game. Heres a famous Bethesda quote for ya. "Dont like it don't use it". Ponder on that for a bit.......

Wasn't a levitation frequent flyer subscriber btw. Just disheartened at the many items being left out of the game that people want in. That tells me that they are losing touch with the core community. Bethesda better have added many more things of value to replace what they have "streamlined". Otherwise your really are just "dumbing down" the game.

[Gavin boyce]

I remember the first time I saw the Telvanni mushroom towers, my jaw dropped. I went in, and found that the only way to go up into the interior to see what was up there would be if I were to fly, but at that time I didn't have the spell yet. Man, I felt like the weakest mage in the world, and I remember thinking how powerful they all were that they could fly up there and build homes like that inside the mushroom. I didn't want to leave that place, but I also didn't want to go another moment without discovering what was up there, so I ran back to the Mage's Guild and started hunting for that spell. Memories like that are worth more than whatever so-called cheating problems emerged after that. I'll never forget that experience of being able to fly up into the interior and feel like I was one of them.

If anyone thinks levitation is a problem, then just create a solution. You can offer it, but to make it more fair, why not create some problems with it to make it all more fun and dangerous?

1) Since dragons are in, say, whenever you try to fly, there is a small chance a dragon will feel you invading his airspace and come to attack you. So you will always feel nervous to do it for very long. Perhaps the chance of being attacked is cumulative for every minute in the air.
2) Create storms, lightning storms, that can strike you in the air. If you know a counter-spell, when the storms approach you, and when you hear a certain rumbling indicitive of an encroaching lightning strike, you cast the counter-spell and, if you time it well, you can negate the strike against by "grounding it" elsewhere.
3) When you fly in or around cities, archers may try to shower you with arrows. You will have to cast windstorms to deflect the arrows at just the right time, or be struck over and over again.
4) Other NPC's can fly too... and so if you fly up into the sky, they can give you chase if so equipped, and you can have a boss battle up in the sky .... and further subjected to the other conditions listed prior to this... this would be insane (i.e. = awesome)!

The only other caveat I would add is to erase the stupid walk-cycle animation for Levitation that MW used and add ruffled-wind effects and rotate the character so he's flying not walking. Then it would look a lot cooler too.

[Sophie Louise Edge]

I see it playing out like this, levitation or something similar will be implemented with in the dragon shout system.

Now going with the idea that you learn how to use dragon shouts when you have your epic meeting with the greybeards….. Yes after you climb the 7000 steps, then you will be able to use this effect after you have done a good portion of the game before you'd be able use it. I kind figured in oblivion they setted up the main story the way they did.... with the whole forcing you to rise in the ranks of the mages guild before you could enchant, i.e. it keeped you enchanting 100% cemelon to your armour until a good portion of the game was already done.

One of the first GI updates I could of swore they were talking about a certain dragon shout that would transport/move yourself up to 60 feet at a time. Sort of like those half spirit/half humanoids in chronicles of Riddike. Anyhow something like this could easily replace levitation or any need of levitation and also restrict at the same time.

[Alyesha Neufeld]

I find it especially silly to leave it out since it's certainly easy enough to simulate with the tcl cheat on the console.

And wasn't just that you could "see landscape" it was there were little surprises you could only find in high places in dungeons. In a couple of cave there were people you could only find to rescue with a levitation spell. It was obvious you were meant to use them. And the slower "rise" in Morrowind made it pretty much impossible to fly out of an enemy's path. (I just had character use a scroll to become invisible and levitate to reach the center area in the final area of Morrowind's main quest. She still bit the big one about three or four times before I finally won.)

I was always thought that over and above the cells issue it was the Oblivion final towers that were the major problem. They were all designed exactly the same way and that meant that short of changing the design or rethinking the creatures on the planes of Oblivion levitation would have made it too easy just to become invisible, fly to the top level, enter the last area and grab the sigil key.