The Elder Scrolls series has always prided itself on giving players the freedom to create and be any character they like. As a result, many factions have been added to help players improve their skills, uncover lore, and unlock stronger weapons and armor. As such, it is not surprising that many fans are hoping that one of the most popular factions in the series, the Dark Brotherhood, will receive significant improvements in The Elder Scrolls 6.
In Skyrim, the Dark Brotherhood was one of the best factions and provided a memorable storyline as well as an incredible armor set to boost stealth and combat skills. So, it stands to reason that in The Elder Scrolls 6, fans will be eager to join the Brotherhood once more, especially to see the impact that the Skyrim storyline has had on the group. With all the anticipation, Bethesda may need to seriously improve the missions and the way the Brotherhood functions to give players an enjoyable experience that was worth the wait.
Impact of the Dark Brotherhood Revival
During Skyrim, the Dark Brotherhood is seemingly on its last legs, with its membership dwindling and the respect it once had fading away. However, after the Dragonborn joined its ranks, became the new Listener, and revitalized the Dark Brotherhood by assassinating the Emperor, the Dark Brotherhood is likely in the limelight once again. If The Elder Scrolls 6 takes place after Skyrim, the Dark Brotherhood will probably be on the rise, being potrayed as a more powerful and well-known group.
With the new popularity of the Dark Brotherhood, there are likely going to be many more missions for the player to complete in The Elder Scrolls 6. Also, the number of members will likely be much larger thanks to the impact of the Listener and their notoriety as the Dragonborn attracting more prospective members. By following this lore, the Dark Brotherhood should give players higher rewards and better dialogue options since many around Tamriel will now fear the group.
Information Gathering
In Skyrim, Dark Brotherhood missions are fairly straightforward: travel to a location, find the target, and then eliminate them. This mission design does work for what the Dark Brotherhood entails, however, requiring players to research their target to locate them or learn the best way to kill them. Making some of these missions more complex would mean that it takes more time to complete the quests and the storyline, and in turn, Bethesda could reveal a lot more lore about the Dark Brotherhood.
Information gathering would also encourage players to talk to the locals of different towns and cities to figure out where their target is and what the best way to approach them would be. It could help uncover different ways to find the target and take them out. For example, some locals may see the target sneaking into a home at night that the player will need to break into. This would improve the overall experience of the Dark Brotherhood quests, ensuring that players will enjoy working through them even after the story has been completed.
Variety in Missions
The one major criticism that many fans have against the Dark Brotherhood in Skyrim was the lack of variety in missions outside the group’s main storyline. With assassinations, players have to travel to a certain destination and then kill their target, making most of the missions extremely straightforward and repetitive. The Elder Scrolls 6 can take these missions in a new direction by introducing varying styles of missions, from assassinations to breaking out fellow members from jail, giving players more to do and allowing them to form more connections with the Dark Brotherhood characters.
Not only could Dark Brotherhood quests extend out to include the rescue of fellow Brotherhood members, but investigations and retrievals could be utilized to give players a vast array of missions to select from. Rescue missions or even recruitment quests could help gamers understand the Dark Brotherhood better, while investigations could help unlock lore for the world. Further, retrieval missions could give players a greater challenge as they attempt to move a prisoner back to the Brotherhood without being detected. Of course, there are plenty of directions that The Elder Scrolls 6 could take to improve the mission variety in the Dark Brotherhood, but maintaining the same system used in Skyrim will likely prevent the upcoming Elder Scrolls game from stepping out of its predecessor’s shadow.
The Elder Scrolls 6 may be one of the most anticipated games in history, especially after the immense success of Skyrim. Following the release of Skyrim, and countless stealth archer builds, the Dark Brotherhood is one of the most well-known and favored factions, so many will hope that the next game will significantly improve the missions and systems of the group. Following the events of Skyrim, the Dark Brotherhood is likely on the rise, and helping them regain even more of their lost power could lead to the group becoming the most compelling faction to join in The Elder Scrolls 6.
The Elder Scrolls 6 is in development.