Oblivion's weapon variety actually makes Skyrim feel samey

[EbonyWarrior]

Been replaying Oblivion lately and I keep getting hit with this thing where I pick up a Daedric Claymore and it actually feels different from an Ebony one, you know? Not just stat-wise but like, the way NPCs react, the way it looks in your hand, the whole vibe of using it.

Skyrim streamlined everything and I get why - the game needed to run on console hardware and move faster. But man, going back to Oblivion's weapon pool where you've got Longswords, Broadswords, Claymores, Katanas, Scimitars, all the hand-to-hand stuff... there's actual build identity in just picking your weapon class. In Skyrim you're basically picking between "fast" and "slow" and then the material, and that's it.

Like I'm doing a pure warrior run right now in Oblivion and I actually feel like I'm making meaningful choices about my character instead of just "okay what does more DPS." A Blunt user plays different from a Blade user plays different from a Spear user. In Skyrim a Greatsword and a Warhammer feel almost identical once you account for the slight weight difference.

Does anyone else miss having that many weapon types, or am I just being nostalgic? Because it's making me realize how much Skyrim's streamlining actually cost us in terms of character differentiation.

 

[ScrollsOfTamriel]

I think you're onto something real, but I'd push back a little on the "Skyrim streamlined for console hardware" angle - that's only part of it. Oblivion's weapon variety was partly bloat. You had like eight sword types that all did basically the same thing with marginal stat differences. Skyrim cutting it down to one-handed and two-handed swords was actually the right call mechanically, even if it feels less.

Where I genuinely agree with you is the vibe loss. A Daedric weapon in Oblivion looked genuinely evil and alien in a way Skyrim's just... doesn't. The aesthetic weight of your choice mattered more. And yeah, Blunt vs Blade actually encouraged different playstyles because of the perks - you'd spec into one tree and commit to it. Skyrim's perk trees are better designed overall imo, but they're also more forgiving, so a Warhammer and a Greatsword user end up feeling pretty similar if you're not deliberately building around them.

But here's the thing - Skyrim's material variety kind of replaced weapon type variety as the differentiator. A Daedric Greatsword and an Elven Greatsword feel wildly different to use because of the swing speed and damage profile, even if they're both "greatswords." Oblivion had both layers and some of that was just noise.

That said, I do miss having a reason to actually choose my weapon beyond "what's the highest damage I can get." On my current warrior run I'm deliberately sticking with one material type just to get that sense of commitment back.