Mods Shouldn’t Be Required To Make Bethesda Games Playable

The Elder Scrolls series is easily one of the most legendary RPG series ever. From Morrowind to Oblivion and especially the infamous Skyrim, most RPG fans have played at least one entry in the series, and many gamers have the series to thank for introducing them to the wonderful world of role-playing games. However, while I absolutely love the series, I just can’t play any Elder Scrolls or Fallout game without using mods. Don’t even get me started on Starfield.

The mod culture in Bethesda games is not new and The Elder Scrolls games are no exception. Bethesda-developed games are synonymous with bugs and glitches, especially when it comes to the game’s launch version. That, and the lack of personalization options force some players to develop mods that cater to their needs.

However, my question is why do players have to do something that Bethesda should be doing instead? After all, if I already spent a good amount of money on a game then I shouldn’t be expected to go the extra step and do Bethesda’s job for them. Unfortunately, many players have just accepted that this is how things should be and I think that should change.

Bugs And Glitches In A Bethesda Game? Just Another Monday

As I mentioned above, Bethesda’s games have become synonymous with bugs and glitches, especially the launch versions. While games having issues isn’t new as patches continue to be released post-release, things are different with Bethesda games. Many issues the Elder Scrolls entries had previously still exist to this day years after they came out.

is there any way to fix this glitch ? can’t 100% skyrim because of it.
byu/CrazyCustard5027 inskyrim

For example, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was released in 2011, which means it’s been over a decade since Bethesda first released its magnum opus. However, the last time I booted the game up I got a weird bug that made my screen permanently have the shout filter around the edges. Reloading my save file didn’t work and the only way I managed to fix it was by leaving the game on for hours. A quick Reddit search told me I wasn’t the only one getting this.

If Bethesda hasn’t fixed these experience-ruining bugs for its most popular game, how can one expect the company to do so for older and less popular games? One playthrough of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion will give a quick answer to this question.

Why Are Fans Adding Features Bethesda Should Have?

Oblivion is one of the most well-known and successful games in the Elder Scrolls series, but the character leveling system Bethesda created had its fair share of issues. This wasn’t a bug, but fans complained about it as they had to micromanage their skills. The leveling system implemented by Bethesda forced the players to watch their skill level-ups very closely.

As you can imagine, the fans got to work and started making a mod to do what Bethesda should have. The mod made the leveling system more realistic and significantly improved the gameplay. While this may seem minor to Bethesda, some players stopped playing the game because of it.

Oblivion had other issues too. One common was that certain quests had the same leveled rewards regardless of the character’s level. Fans fixed this too by creating a mod that removed the level cap to make it so rewards were upgraded for higher-level characters. Imagine being level 60 but getting a level 10 weapon for completing an annoyingly long quest.

Something else that was iffy about Oblivion was how guards would be alerted even without being nearby. A mod fixed this by making the crime alert zone smaller than before. The insane thing is that Bethesda implemented this change in Skyrim so the company realized how much fans wanted this, but no one bothered to fix it for Oblivion.

How About Getting Rid Of The Lack Of Personalization Settings?

Since we are discussing Skyrim, let’s talk about another reason why mods are so popular. Bethesda games don’t have much in terms of personalization, and that’s where mods come in clutch.

For example, Skyrim is set in a harsh and dark environment as opposed to the vibrant Oblivion. To change this, some fans added filet mods that gave the game a different look for those who didn’t want the gloomy appearance of Skyrim.

Similar to their character personalization settings, Bethesda should offer more personalization for the open world of their games. Every player has a different preference so if the options were inbuilt there would be no need for custom mods. After all, the entire point of a role-playing game is to be able to role-play.

Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love Bethesda and its games. But when a long-time fan like me can’t replay most games without mods there’s a big issue. While personalization settings are subjective, I wish the company worked more on fixing previous games and their bugs. Here’s hoping things change with The Elder Scrolls 6.