According to latest reports, Skyrim will feature:
- No level cap
- Dual wielding
- Appropriate finishing moves based on weapon, enemy and movement
- Trolls
- Giants
- Spiders
- Elk
- Mammoths
- Saber-toothed tigers
- Appropriate were-animals (Bullet Magnet will be happy. Currently the most likely is were-yetis)
- Dragons
- A enemy-levelling system a bit like Fallout 3's
- Consequential changes in quests by your actions
- Quests appropriate to your skills (no more lumbering barbarian courier jobs or Mages joining the Fighters' Guild)
- Duelling
- Better conversations (thank God)
- High-res animated beards
- Weapon tailoring (probably through magic gems and such - smells like Diablo III...)
- Various distractions and day jobs (Cooking, farming and mining announced)
- Civil war
Apparently it's being made 'streamlined and action-focused'. That's right, they're making another Oblivion, not the Morrowind lovechild everybody wanted. But hey, at least it's not generic Western fantasy - now it's generic Scandinavian fantasy! Also, shed a tear; Skyrim will be:
- Removing the class system in favour of 'open levelling'. In other words, you can't specialise any more.
- Reducing to 18 skills. 18. Morrowind had 27. You're going backwards, Bethesda!
- This means that completely seperate weapon skills will still be smushed together. Bethesda seem to feel that daggers, swords and spears all work the same way. Ditto for axes, clubs and warhammers.
- Teleport-happy Morrowind players share my howl of anguish: Mysticism is among the skills dropped! Nooooo!