Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim: New combat system detailed

Bethesda has unleashed a new set of Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim details upon the public, providing information on its combat system. Admitting that the previous games felt like you were fighting with “chopsticks”, the developer says that we’ll be getting a deeper, more robust brawling experience this time.

The more I hear about this game, the more bloody excited I get. Check below for all the latest Intel:

• Back pedal speed has been reduced to eliminate “hit & run” tactics. Stagger and balance have been added to create more dangerous attacks. 
• Simply holding up a shield is useless. You now need to time your blocks. You can also pull off a shield bash to stagger opponents. Can be attempted with two-handed weapons as well, but at a greater risk. 
• Flourish attacks appear for skillful kills, giving you a nice visual treat as you execute an enemy.
• Some revealed combat Perks are critical strikes (swords), bleeding status (axes) and armor negation (maces).
• Ranged combat makes arrows capable of higher damage, but also harder to find. Just one shot can potentially destroy an enemy, but you may only have one shot to make. Ranged warfare now seems to rely heavily on stealthy characters.
• Stealth in Skyrim is a little deeper. Enemies don’t suddenly move from passive to aggressive. There is now an interim “Alert” phase, so you’ll have a chance to hide again and wait for them to forget about you. 
• Back attacks with daggers are highly dangerous, and a range of dagger Perks will lead to some truly badass assassins running around. 
• Magic in Skyrim will be inspired by BioShock‘s Plasmids, funnily enough. Magic and melee will be kept distinctly separate. You can have a magic spell in one hand and a sword in the other, but you can’t just crack off fireballs while hack n’ slashing. 
• Although the Mysticism school of magic has been removed and consumed by the other schools, each spell in the game is more flexible. You don’t just shoot projectiles this time — you can hold down the fire button for a stream of magic, place them down as traps, or dual-wield them for extra damage. 
• Each spell has been individually crafted, so you won’t just get aesthetically different spells that act in exactly the same way. There is a possibility you’ll be able to meld spells together to create new effects, but Bethesda has not yet decided. 
• Fights between mages will be similar to melee combat, where timing and skill is more important than throwing out fireballs and seeing how wins. 
• Ultimately, the aim of the combat is to make each fight feel like a life-or-death situation rather than a brainless hack festival. 

I don’t think there’s much else I need to add, other than the fact that I’m rock solid right now.

[Via Game Informer]