Xbox and Bethesda Showcase, Todd Howard walked viewers through the very first gameplay reveal trailer for Starfield, and there were a lot of intriguing details - including the new skills and traits system that players will get to experience once the RPG launches in early 2023. However, there was only a short fifteen-second clip shown during the character creation section that touched on the new system; nevertheless, it was enough to grasp a basic understanding of how it works.
As seen in the gameplay trailer, Starfield's character creation begins the role-playing process by making players choose a background and three traits for their protagonist. The chosen background starts players out with three initial perks depending on what they choose while the traits give specific advantages and disadvantages that go along with the player throughout the entirety of the game. Starfield's extended gameplay reveal also showed off a brand-new skill tree that's separate from the background and traits. In a traditional Bethesda fashion, this skill tree allows players to continuously enhance their capabilities in a variety of ways; it also brings back the four-tier ranking system within the skill tree, which makes the skills even more powerful than its initial benefits. Starfield's skills and traits system borrows aspects from both Skyrim and Fallout 4, but whether it's better than the other two is still yet to be determined.
There's no doubt that the way Starfield starts players off with traits and rewards them with skills later is the most complex and bold system seen in a Bethesda RPG so far. Skyrim and Fallout 4 have their own unique systems that reward players as they level up, and it's clear to see some of their traces in Starfield. Although there are a lot of similarities, there are also some key differences between all three games' systems that are worth noting.
Starfield & Skyrim Have Similar Progression Systems For Skill Leveling
Starfield and Skyrim utilize somewhat of a similar skill tree progression system. Essentially, there are various skill groups that players can continuously upgrade, earning points as they level up to spend on the tree. It's no surprise that Bethesda brought back this type of skill progression system, as it was easily one of the game's (Skyrim) most beloved elements, and it worked well with the role-playing format of being able to mix and match playstyles. Starfield's skill tree will obviously offer the same, if not more, freedom and customization options. Indeed, Starfield and Skyrim had some look-alike moments during the gameplay reveal, and Bethesda's DNA was clearly written all over it. That's not necessarily bad though: honoring what has been successful in the past while still pushing for new boundaries is key for healthy evolution, and it looks like that's exactly what Starfield aims to achieve with its familiar but fresh skill progression.
However, not everything between these two games' systems is the same. The major differences between Starfield's and Skyrim's skill trees are the categories offered and the types of perks players can earn. For example, in Skyrim, there are three overarching areas of improvement - warrior, mage, or thief - which then breaks down into an umbrella where each area has six specific categories of unique upgrades. Starfield on the other hand looks like it's cutting out the specific areas of improvement and goes straight for various category improvements. With Starfield's massive 1,000 planet universe, this will work better, as there are bound to be various areas that players will want to upgrade throughout their playthrough without feeling that they need to sacrifice for a particular kind of playstyle. It's currently not confirmed if Starfield offers more skill categories than Skyrim's eighteen, however.
Starfield & Fallout 4 Skills & Traits Offer Little Resemblance
Despite there not being a ton of similarities between Starfield and Fallout 4, at least when it comes to the skills and traits system, they do share one quality. Both games have tier ranking for earned skills and perks, which means that players can continue to upgrade the same skill to make it stronger over time. Although it's not the best feature Starfield and Fallout 4 share, it's still a part of Bethesda's plan to incorporate the best of both previous games into its newest and most ambitious RPG. In Starfield, skills can be ranked up a total of four times, and players get to choose whether they rank them up or want to unlock new ones instead. In Fallout 4, the skills and perks rank up alongside leveling up, which goes all the way to ten levels and a four-tier ranking system as well. This one element is something Starfield and Fallout4 both have that Skyrim doesn't, but it pretty much ends there.
There are plenty of differences between Starfield's and Fallout 4's skills and traits system, but it's primarily engulfed in the idea of having more or less freedom over playstyle. Bethesda's confirmation that Starfield drops Fallout 4's voice feature is only one of the many differences between the two games. Like Skyrim, players get to choose the way they spend their skill points after leveling up, but Fallout 4 doesn't really embrace that. Instead, players must choose which of the seven categories they want to enhance or sacrafice choosing a perk that goes along with the category of choosing. There are different kinds of perks, such as magazines and bobbleheads, that can be obtained in Fallout 4, but they usually require immense exploring or completing quests to get, which just isn't ideal. Starfield's gameplay trailer was keen on showing just how different its skills and traits system was from Fallout 4's.
Starfield, Skyrim, and Fallout 4 all share unique similarities and have distinct differences between their skills and traits system. While some elements may be closer than others, Bethesda's role-playing format can be clearly seen throughout all three. Regardless, the studio builds on the best parts of them all with Starfield, but that doesn't mean it won't have its own problems. However, the newest traits and skills system is returning to its roots and wants to give players the most control over customization that they've ever experienced in a Bethesda title.
