Skyrim combat: nine ways to improve it

OXM: For a game prominently featuring a glowering hairy chap in a horned helmet, Skyrim's combat lacks a certain je ne sais quoi, a certain free-flowing grandeur, a certain artfulness.

[dirigiblebill]

I find Skyrim more enjoyable overall, but as far as combat's concerned, Dark Souls has it bang to rights. Absolutely no contest. And before anybody kicks off - yes, it is a fair comparison. They're both fantasy RPGs, they both hinge on character upgrades, they both involve melee combat, they both feature dragons, they both let you decide the order in which you tackle challenges.

/rant

[LightofDarkness]

Except one is intended to be played in the first person view and does not focus entirely on limiting player movements and attacks to increase difficulty. The games have very different aims.

[DragonKnight]

Skyrim is not intended to be played in first person view. It's an option. It's also an option that can be removed for the betterment of the combat. dirigiblebill is very correct in what he says about Dark Souls.

Dark Souls combat is a lot more fluid and a lot faster. Shields actually block ALL damage (except for the very small shields), your movement isn't hindered by having a shield up, there's a lock on feature so you don't spend half your time trying to line up a swing.

I'd say magic in both games is slightly equal, with the edge given to Skyrim for versatility and variety. And, if I'm reading your post correctly, you're saying that Dark Souls limits player movements and attacks to increase difficulty? I'm sorry, but I think you're confusing that with Skyrim. Dark Souls combat is incredibly free.

Also, why does Skyrim have such poor weapon variety? There are only 4 weapon types with 2 different ways of holding them. Dark Souls allows you to one hand or two hand ANY weapon in the game and also dual wield, plus it has a greater variety of weapon types. Skyrim forces you into wielding weapons in a specific way and lacks in variety. Skyrim only has your sword/dagger weapons, axe weapons, mace weapons, and bows. They have one handed and two handed varieties. No spears, no scythes, no whips, no claws, no halberds or other pole weapons, no staffs that can be used as actual weapons instead of just magic conductors.

Dark Souls seriously trumps Skyrim in combat, hands down. If Skyrim incorporated combat like Dark Souls, then no one would care about glitches and bugs when they say "it shouldn't have received perfect scores or GOTY awards" because they'd still be busy kickin' everything's a$$ all over the place.

[digitalkid]

Can anybody even imagine Skyrim with Dark Souls combat?)) 3rd person only, unbeatable block, dodging, attaching to enemy..

What a stupid idea.

Why don't we let character jump on mobs head to kill it, like in SuperMario. If we making arcade already.

[DragonKnight]

Can you imagine a game wear holding up a shield doesn't cripple you like you're paralyzed from the waist down? A game where a normal sword can be held with both of your hands at the same time for purposes other than just blocking? A game where you can actually telegraph an opponent's movements and your own instead of whiffing at air when the opponent moves one centimeter in any direction? A game where you can *gasp* actually parry an attack and make counters.

To think that you DON'T want that kind of combat and are pleased with the severely limiting combat of Skyrim. It's pretty sad. And first person view sucks. Highly overrated.

Why don't we just make a game where you stand still and the enemies walk into your swings. In Skyrim you may as well be damn statue with how limited the combat is. I've seen enemies jump dodge, quick run, and otherwise avoid attacks you throw at them in Skyrim, but goodness knows you can't do anything like that without using Whirlwind Sprint, and even then that's only in one direction. And how come you can't run diagonally? How come you can't dodge?

You're actually happy with Skyrim's combat when there's so much that needs to be worked on? Why is there no horse combat? What, do you suddenly become armless while on a horse and can't swing a blade atop it?

Stop defending the game's many flaws. It's an excellent game, no doubt about it. I haven't played anything else since I bought it. But it's got A LOT of flaws, especially in its combat.