# “We don’t want that scenario”: Skyrim had to change a major Oblivion problem, says Todd Howard

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/we-dont-want-that-scenario-skyrim-had-to-change-a-major-oblivion-problem-says-todd-howard/
- Published: 2026-11-09T17:00:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-09T17:25:21+00:00
- Original publisher: GamesRadar+
- Original article: https://www.gamesradar.com/games/the-elder-scrolls/we-dont-want-that-scenario-skyrim-had-to-change-a-major-oblivion-problem-but-will-todd-howards-elegant-solution-make-it-to-the-elder-scrolls-6-sentinel/
- Topics: Gaming

## Key points

- Oblivion players could regret their skill choices hours into a game.
- Skyrim made levelling reflect how players actually played.
- The Elder Scrolls 6 faces a very different RPG landscape.

## Summary

Todd Howard said Bethesda changed Skyrim’s levelling system after players found they could regret choosing skills in Oblivion. Skyrim instead lets abilities develop through play, aiming to prevent players from restarting after hours because they had selected the wrong skills.

In a 2011 interview, Howard described Oblivion’s character creation as asking players to choose a class and important skills after they had already begun playing. The article argues that Skyrim’s more flexible approach helped create a sense of freedom, while suggesting The Elder Scrolls 6 will need to respond to major changes in role-playing games since Skyrim’s 2011 release.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.