The Elder Scrolls 6: The Need For Player Triggered Special Kills

In Skyrim, for all of the other failings that that game’s combat had, one thing that Bethesda nailed were the special kills, which would randomly trigger, showing the player executing a brutal kill in a very cinematic way. These special kills were like the equivalent of finishing moves in fighting games, with one difference- they were completely random, and players had no control over when they were triggered.

Finishing moves have become very popular even in RPGs- for instance, CD Projekt RED went on to emulate the idea almost wholesale in The Witcher 3 last year, while Bethesda themselves revisited it with Fallout 4. The one problem is, players continue to largely have very little control over when they are triggered even now.

That’s what we think should change in The Elder Scrolls 6– the finishing moves, the special kills, are spectacular, and they add a genuine sense of heft and enjoyment to the combat, even when all else fails on that front. There is no reason for Bethesda to not explore the idea further, and let players decide when they execute these moves.

Of course, to prevent an abuse of the feature, they would probably have to limit the usage of these kills somehow- maybe tie it to your Stamina or MP, or maybe they could dedicate a separate meter for it that needs to be filled, like Mana Breaks in Final Fantasy. Bethesda already did something similar to this in Fallout 4– so the idea isn’t even new to them.

I just want to be able to end my battle with a giant with a climactic, cinematic flourish, that’s all. Let me decide just when my character gets to look like a badass, Bethesda.