How Starfield's Outposts and Fallout 4's Settlements Could…

Summary

Fallout 4 and Starfield's settlement and outpost-building features have been highly praised and allow players to customize their gaming experience.
Implementing a similar feature in The Elder Scrolls 6 would likely come with challenges, but it is possible and could improve upon Skyrim's house-building mechanics.
The Elder Scrolls 6 could also include the ability for players to build camps anywhere in the open world, making exploration more manageable. The positive reception of building mechanics in Bethesda's previous games suggests that players would welcome this feature.

Fallout 4's settlements have consistently proven to be one of the game's best features, as fans all over the world continue to share their impressive designs to this day. Starfield, Bethesda's latest IP, added an almost identical feature when it gave players the ability to build outposts on the planets of their choosing. In this way, both Fallout 4's settlements and Starfield's outposts have served as an excellent way for players to customize their gaming experience and create a unique home away from home for themselves in each game. Now, Bethesda's upcoming RPG The Elder Scrolls 6 should look at implementing something similar, as it would surely earn accolades from fans.

A settlement or outpost-building feature in The Elder Scrolls 6 would likely come with its challenges, considering the series follows a set of rules starkly different from the futuristic mechanics of Fallout and Starfield. However, despite these challenges, it's still entirely possible for The Elder Scrolls 6 to include a feature like this, especially in light of what Skyrim was able to accomplish in its Hearthfire DLC and what could potentially be an even larger open world than the franchise has ever seen.

How The Elder Scrolls 6 Could Make Settlements Work

The Elder Scrolls 6 Could Improve Upon Skyrim's Hearthfire Content

While The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim has been one of the most praised (and most re-released) games ever made, its various DLC content additions were a different story — namely, Hearthfire. The concept of Hearthfire was solid: purchase land, build a house, and live there. However, many players and critics found the house-building feature to be too restrictive on their creative capabilities, to the point that many considered purchasing one of the pre-built houses in Skyrim to be a much more satisfying experience. Nevertheless, Hearthfire set a precedent for the building mechanics in Bethesda's subsequent games, and The Elder Scrolls 6 could improve upon that concept and make it standard gameplay.

Perhaps The Elder Scrolls 6 could bring Hearthfire back to The Elder Scrolls by allowing players to purchase land and build a house there, but instead, integrate it into regular gameplay rather than adding it on later as DLC. Additionally, The Elder Scrolls 6 could improve upon Hearthfire's divisive mechanics by implementing and enhancing those of the settlements and outposts in Fallout 4 and Starfield, respectively. A house-building feature would then undoubtedly fit into the world of The Elder Scrolls 6, as it would settle on a foundation previously established by one of Skyrim's DLC packs - if not one of its worst.

The Elder Scrolls 6's Settlements Could Serve as Camps

Another way The Elder Scrolls 6 could include settlement-building mechanics is by allowing players to build camps anywhere in the open world. It can be assumed that Bethesda plans to make The Elder Scrolls 6's open world even larger than its predecessor, especially following Starfield, and providing players with the ability to construct camps in the wilderness would make exploring its predictably sizable open world a bit more manageable. Bethesda's online RPG Fallout 76 included a feature similar to this, and it would surely find a good home in The Elder Scrolls 6, especially if players could progressively improve their camp-building potential by collecting new blueprints or harvesting unique materials.

It is currently unclear what The Elder Scrolls 6 will bring to the beloved franchise, but some kind of settlement or outpost construction feature similar to Fallout 4 and Starfield would be welcomed with open arms. In fact, a feature such as this is almost expected to be implemented in The Elder Scrolls 6 in some way, considering the positive reception the building mechanics of Fallout 4, Fallout 76, and Starfield have garnered. The only obstacle will be ensuring it fits into the world and lore of The Elder Scrolls without feeling out of place or unnecessary.