The Elder Scrolls 6 Shouldn’t Ignore a Huge Chunk of the Map Like Skyrim Did (2024)

Highlights

  • The Elder Scrolls 6 needs to improve on Skyrim's shortcomings in terms of exploration and ocean content.
  • Bethesda can learn from Subnautica to create a more immersive underwater experience.
  • Expanding underwater exploration can make waterbreathing features relevant and exciting in The Elder Scrolls 6.

When it finally comes out, The Elder Scrolls 6 has some big shoes to fill. For all its faults and many, many re-releases, Skyrim remains one of the most fondly remembered RPGs of the last few console generations, offering players a vast open world to explore and navigate. Dungeons, caves, ancient ruins, and temples litter the entire map, just waiting to be discovered and plundered for loot. And while it’s been many years since the game dropped, millions of fans remember their first time exploring the land of the Nords.

With The Elder Scrolls 6 coming out (at some point), there’s still time for Bethesda to correct one of Skyrim’s biggest shortcomings in terms of its exploration. For a title that prides itself so heavily on its seemingly endless supply of places to see and things to do, there’s a massive chunk of the map that’s more or less dead space. And there’s more than a few cool things Bethesda can do with all that free real estate.

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How Skyrim May Have Prematurely Spoiled The Elder Scrolls 6's Plot

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1

What’s in The Oceans in Skyrim?

To the north of Skyrim lies a vast, deep, and confusingly empty ocean. Despite stretching the entirety of the map from Solitude to Winterhold, there’s really nothing in the water. Of course, there’s the occasional treasure chest scattered here and there, but for a game as ambitious as Skyrim was at the time, the lack of content on/under the sea seems like a missed opportunity. Skyrim isn’t the only Bethesda title with this specific issue.

It’s not just playable content either; there’s a shocking lack of visible wildlife in Skyrim’s ocean as well. It doesn’t take a marine biologist to know that oceans, be they on Earth or Tamriel, are teeming with life of all sorts. The most ocean life found in Skyrim’s section of the Padomaic Ocean is some seaweed at the bottom and some mudcrabs and horkers that stick to the shoreline.

The Elder Scrolls 6 Can Learn From Subnautica

Ocean exploration games are a genre to themselves, and the great blue sea has always been a bit of a blindspot for The Elder Scrolls, but it doesn’t always have to be that way. If Bethesda wants to be truly ambitious and groundbreaking with its next fantasy RPG, taking some notes from Subnautica devs Unknown Worlds might just be the way to go. Though Subnautica is a completely different beast than a game like The Elder Scrolls, Tamriel’s oceans should be more in line with the oceans of Planet 4546B: an abundance of underwater caves and caverns, plenty of sunken treasure/shipwrecks, and plenty of interesting, strange, and frightening sea life.

Fantasy settings like The Elder Scrolls are ripe environments for underwater dangers. Sea monsters and undersea horrors are no strangers to Elder Scrolls lore; all Bethesda has to do in its next entry is to dip into that well and create an experience that can trigger any gamers’ thalassophobia. A sea monster would make for an excellent late game boss, especially if it’s something players have to go out of their way to track down and slay. A titanic ocean-bound enemy could be The Elder Scrolls 6’s answer to the Ebony Warrior, who only appears after the player character reaches a high enough level, presenting himself as one last final challenge to a Dragonborn who’s conquered everything the game had to throw at them.

Related

Why The Elder Scrolls 6's Rumored Hammerfell Setting Could Be the Perfect Next Step

TES6 is rumored to be set in Hammerfell, and depending on the direction regarding its map size, could be a natural evolution for the series.

More Underwater Exploration Can Make Waterbreathing Actually Useful

An expanded underwater element to The Elder Scrolls 6 can make certain redundant features from Skyrim relevant again, like the underwater breathing ability. Enchantments and options that let the player breathe underwater sound cool on the surface, but when faced with the stark reality of how little there is to see and do down there, bothering with water breathing magic can seem incredibly useless. That's a real shame, because it’s one of the core benefits of playing as an Argonian in Skyrim.

Ultimately, the best reason for Bethesda to pick up the slack with its water environments is because The Elder Scrolls games are about exploration. And there is no greater, more exciting, or more dangerous place to explore than the open seas. There’s nothing more exciting in a game than finding something new in an unlikely place, and those first few intrepid gamers to brave the depths should be rewarded with some of the most unexpected surprises of their gaming careers.

The Elder Scrolls 6 Shouldn’t Ignore a Huge Chunk of the Map Like Skyrim Did (3)
The Elder Scrolls 6
Franchise
The Elder Scrolls
Platform(s)
PC , Xbox (Original)

Developer(s)
Bethesda Game Studios

Publisher(s)
Bethesda Softworks
Genre(s)
RPG
The Elder Scrolls 6 Shouldn’t Ignore a Huge Chunk of the Map Like Skyrim Did (2024)

FAQs

Why does Skyrim map feel so big? ›

Even though Skyrim is much smaller by comparison, if you don't fast travel or take carriages, you're limited to walking/jogging, or taking your horse. They are much slower, and so it means that even though the map is some 3.4 times smaller it takes you much more time to explore, and therefor feels much larger.

Which map is bigger, Skyrim or Oblivion? ›

Morrowind may have the smallest map in the main titles, but its unique storytelling and design set it apart for many fans. Oblivion is slightly larger than Skyrim in map size, with Cyrodiil as the province to explore in the game's expansive world.

Is Elder Scrolls Online map bigger than Skyrim? ›

Elder Scrolls Online's Map Is Much Bigger Than Skyrim

Skyrim is only a bit smaller than Cyrodiil, as depicted in Oblivion, with 37 square kilometers of area for players to explore.

What happens if you go to the edge of the map in Skyrim? ›

If you step outside of the boarders of Skyrim you'll walk into a void of space-time that could instantly delete your character and has a 20% chance of blowing up your Xbox.

How big is Skyrim canonically? ›

This article from Elder Scrolls Wiki(yes I know they're not as reliable as UESP) http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Skyrim says, in the "Geography" section, that Skyrim is 105,000 sq mi, which places it at roughly between the sizes of Italy and New Zealand in the real world.

How big is Skyrim realistically? ›

Skyrim, Oblivion, and the Fallout games use the same exterior cell size, which is a square 192 feet on a side. Skyrim's game world is a rectangle composed of 119 cells across by 94 cells high, so roughly 4.32 miles across by 3.42 miles high, or a total of 14.8 square miles.

Is there a game bigger than Skyrim? ›

Hunt cryptids in a massive new game from former Bethesda developer Nate Purkeypile. The Axis Unseen is a new horror game where players hunt cryptid creatures from Just Purkey Games that has been known to the world for some time.

Is Elden Ring map bigger than Skyrim? ›

At 30.5 square miles, or 79 square kilometers, it is bigger than the map of some classic open-world games like Skyrim, but it still falls short of plenty of others. The advantage Elden Ring has over many of those games is how densely packed with stuff it is.

Is Skyrim map bigger than RDR2? ›

To summarize, RDR2 has a map twice the size of Skyrim's but does not include as much content. Skyrim is easier to travel around than RDR2, but RDR2 has much better graphics.

Will Elder Scrolls 6 be bigger than Skyrim? ›

Compared to Skyrim, Hammerfell boasts more territories, islands, and a different coastal life that could impact gameplay elements. The potential map of The Elder Scrolls 6's setting in Hammerfell could surpass Skyrim in size, offering a larger playable area for exploration.

Is Cyberpunk map bigger than Skyrim? ›

This would mean that Skyrim's open-world is at least one-third the size of Cyberpunk 2077.

What game has the biggest map? ›

Open World Games Map Size Comparison
  • #1 Minecraft: Pioneering the Open World Realm | Jedi News Overview.
  • #2 No Man's Sky: A Universe of Limitless Exploration.
  • #3 Assassin's Creed Odyssey: An Epic Journey.
  • #4 Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: A Majestic Adventure.
  • #5 Dead Island 2: A Zombie Infested Open World.
Nov 10, 2023

Can you finish Skyrim without picking a side? ›

Just the the main quest, of you choose not to do them the quest remains in limbo. Nobody makes any progress, there aren't any major battles, they remain in a perfect, tense stalemate - because nothing in Skyrim can happen without player approval.

What happens if you touch the earth stone in Skyrim? ›

Upon first encountering the stone, many inhabitants of Raven Rock will have been indoctrinated by Miraak and are forced to construct a shrine around it. Touching the stone at this point will enslave your character as well, though any movement or input will break Miraak's hold.

Can you leave the Stormcloaks and join the Imperials? ›

You can join one or the other. If you still haven't taken the oath, you still have time to choose. Once you do, you'll be notified of failing to join the opposing faction. retrieve the jagged crown, instead of returning it to Ulfric, you may betray the stormcloaks and hand over the crown to the empire instead.

How big is the playable map in Skyrim? ›

Around 37 Kilometers Of Explorable Area in Skyrim

Skyrim is much larger than Morrowind, more than doubling that game's size at 37 kilometers (which doesn't include the impressive verticality of the fifth Elder Scrolls title).

How long does it take to walk across the entire Skyrim map? ›

It takes this guy 2hr 10 mins to walk across Skyrim. Another person in a forum claimed it took him 40 mins if he just keep pressing forward ignoring all kinds of obstacles, cliffs, and mountains. The map feels large because it is large.

Is Skyrim map bigger than Fallout 4? ›

Skyrim's got the edge in square kilometers, but Fallout 4 packs its world with a denser array of locations and content. So, size isn't everything; it's how the game uses the space that counts. In terms of map size, Skyrim is bigger.

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