A player going through Skyrim has thought up an ingenious method for navigating through the game's many labyrinthian caves and dungeons. In a game as massive as Skyrim, getting lost can be unavoidable, but for this gamer, getting lost and having to backtrack is a thing of the past.
Over 11 years after its 2011 release, Skyrim has launched in seven distinct versions across eight platforms. The groundbreaking open-world RPG has amassed uncountable accolades and awards throughout its lifespan, still retaining a healthy player base in 2023 despite its age. With such breadth in its design, several expansions, as well as a diligent modding community, a player can spend thousands of hours scouring the world of Skyrim and still stumble across some new and fascinating discovery.
Reddit user bofstein recently discovered a fool-proof method to prevent getting lost during tracts of the game that have repeating or near-identical sections. In a trick straight out of Hansel and Gretel, bofstein leaves a proverbial breadcrumb trail in the form of Skyrim's eponymous sweet rolls, marking their path to avoid retreading. The shared screenshot shows bofstein in one of Skyrim's Black Book mazes, which can be fairly complex and easy to get lost in, carefully placing sweet rolls to denote routes traveled. In a game as big as Skyrim, having certain sections of the game nearly indistinguishable from others is forgivable, and now with bofstein's hilarious tactic, those cookie-cutter environments will not have players walking in circles.
The sentiment online was positive, with commenters eager to steal the idea for their next playthrough of Skyrim. Others relayed that the clairvoyance spell fills roughly the same purpose as the sweet roll trail, but relented that the spell was flawed and could send players down the wrong pathway. On the other hand, the tangible nature of dropping a sweet roll has no drawback besides having to amass enough of the baked treat to leave a trail, making it a fantastic tool for thorough exploration, allowing players to scour every nook and cranny, only stopping when every route has been marked with a sweet roll beacon.
No one could have guessed that Skyrim would still be so overwhelmingly popular over a decade after its release. While Elder Scrolls 6 has been announced, it is still years off, and in the meantime, players like bofstein will continue to delve into the massive world of Skyrim uncovering new secrets and strategies for conquering its many challenges.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is available for PC, PS3, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.