Across the and franchises, Bethesda has always employed two different leveling systems. Despite both series working somewhat similarly in terms of being open-world RPGs, the ways in which their protagonists get more powerful are very different.
These differences encourage players to see their characters in different ways and focus on different styles of gameplay. With presumably somewhere on the horizon, the developers will have to contend once more with the challenge of finding a satisfying approach to level progression.
It might make sense to follow in 's footsteps, buttaking inspiration from 's style of letting players get stronger could also pay off. Both approaches have pros and cons, and the next game might need to aim somewhere between the extremes.
employs a skill-based leveling system, where experience is gained for a specific skill when players use it. Attacking with fire bolts grants experience in the destruction skill, while blocking with a shield can grant block experience, and so on.
Each skill starts with a score somewhere around 15-20 and can get up to 100 throughout the game. Every time players reach a certain milestone with a skill's XP progression, they gain experience towards leveling up, eventually getting more health and a perk point.