No matter how many details leak out on the upcoming Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, they won’t make the wait until release any easier. But if fighting dragons is your cup of tea, the latest game details from Skyrim‘s director Todd Howard should make your day. While other games may only give players a handful of dragons to slay, Skyrim will be offering a completely limitless population of the winged creatures to show who’s boss.
It’s been clear for some time that there wouldn’t be any shortages of dragons in Skyrim, but Howard has now confirmed that in practice, the number of instances with dragons will be limited only by a player’s willingness to explore.
Whether the average player will have the guts needed to take on more dragons than they have to remains to be seen, as Bethesda’s dragon design philosophy will likely have many players doing their best to avoid the flying enemies.
But those who prefer to stare danger in the face will be given the choice of seeking out many dragons to strengthen their own skills, but doing so won’t just put a player’s life in danger. Howard’s clarifications come from an interview with Norwegian magazine Gamer.no, translated by a poster on The Elder Scrolls forums.
While Howard has been somewhat cagey in the past when asked outright how many dragons would be populating the landscapes of Skyrim, this time he put the questions to rest:
“No, there is an unlimited number of dragons. One of our designers actually put in a random event I encountered, where I ended up being chased by three dragons and I thought “who the hell did this?” I felt like Frodo in Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and was really frightened. So I asked him to remove it. But no, dragons are generated automatically (in addition to that there are a number of specific encounters, of course).”
Howard wasn’t ready to let all the mysteries surrounding dragons die, still keeping quiet on the possibility of dragon mounts being available in Skyrim:
“Have we considered it? Yes. Do we allow it right now? No. But we can decide to support it at some point.”
Whether that means that Bethesda is doing their best to keep arguably the biggest addition to The Elder Scrolls series under wraps until release, or planning to add the ability in future DLC, it seems unlikely that players will never get to see the massive world of Skyrim from a dragon’s-eye view.
When you take a look at everything we know about Skyrim, it’s abundantly clear that fans of RPGs and open world action games have something new to look forward to, and an infinite number of powerful enemies will be a large part of that. Giving creatures the ability to show aggression towards a player whenever they choose should go a long way in building a realistic environment, and even the idea of running in terror from fire-breathing dragons sounds like fun to us.
How well do you think having an endless number of dragons will work? Could it be overkill? Would you rather have the choice to pick your own battles, or be thrust into an endless stream of dragon fights? Let us know in the comments.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim will be released on November 11 for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.
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I shall be the mightiest dragon slayer in the realm. This is awesome news
This is going to be the greatest Elder Scrolls yet!!
No dragon will live in the face of me!
well i totally think theyre doing the right thing by letting the dragons appear randomly, but maybe when theyre about to come into range of seeing you they start making noises like kind of a dragon type sound? idk but it seems to me that that’s the best way to go.. with a warning before you die in a battle of steel and fire
DOVAKIIN!
i think i going 2 name my charecter that what a bou you lol??
You kidding me Andrew? Bethesda had BETTER give us unlimited dragons. Gonna go slay one every time I need a reminder of how bad-ass my character is.
Possibly the best point I have ever heard. Although I feel bad for whatever city I’m next to when I run into a pack of them, cuz I am definitely going to be taking it down with me!
Unlimited dragons means I need an unlimited supply of underwear as I will run away in my stained shorts at the sight of these fearsome beasts!!
Dragons should be part of the story and at random. It sounds perfect to me. I do think being chased by 3 dragons at the same time would be fun, not every battle can be won, and fleeing in fear is sometimes a necessity; too bad he told them to take that out.
Except they refused take it out, re-read it.
Infinite dragons is awesome. Dragons are the crowning achievement of the game, one of it’s top features and they sound awesome, it would be a terrible idea to limit their numbers. I’m assuming this means that there will still be infinite dragons after the main-quest, which I hope there wil be, but this is a small fear I have…
i cnt wait till i comes out im going 2 spend the whole weekend on that game and im kinda afraid that 2,3,4 or more will chase me btr i will fight and win and i will run 2 c if they will catch me though hahahah
This is gunna be awesome!!!!! Forge my own blade from the scales of the mighty Alduin and rape!!! I’m really hoping for mounted combat. It sucked in Oblivion that everytime something like a wolf is chasing you through the forest and you had to get off your horse, kill it, then get back on and keep riding. And maybe some kind of Arena with PvP interactions would be cool. I can’t wait for 15 hours of non-stop game play!!!!! Arghghgghghghghghghgh!!!!
… What he said
Imagine, a Khagit assassin/hunter taking a stroll through the trees, hears a distant roar. As the sound comes closer i run to the nearest tree to to avoid being seen from the skies. As the dragon comes closer i can hear the leathery wings beat – thwomp, thwomp – it circles over head appearing to smell something nearby and then swoops down.. luckily it lands next to the deer i was stalking. it perceives no threat and begins to feast. Considering my chosen skill set and the value of this great beast’s scales (not to mention the reputation I’d gain with such a trophy as the fangs of such a creature) I decide that the risk is worth the reward and so proceed to move closer, tree to tree, until im within a few meters. Still behind a trunk i draw my blade, sshhhhk, the dragon turns its head at the sound of my dagger sliding from its scabbard but passes it off as nothing (or maybe it knows im here and simply wants me to try??). more or less convinced im still undiscovered i commit to the attack, leaping the last meter onto its back and plunging the dagger into its neck, the beast roars in pain and throws me off and i slide painfully along the ground where i roll to my feet just as the dragon lunges. Now the battle truly begins.
Random dragon encounters? yes please!!
i cant wait to be able to forge my own weapons then test them on the most feared creature of all time it sounds so fun i think that the designers went the right way with random dragons
also the fact of the possibility of having dargon mounts sounds wicked cool