According to a post that surfaced on Bethesda’s developer notes page, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition will be updated with a new Survival Mode. Currently in beta on Steam, Survival Mode dials up the difficulty level by introducing new parameters like hunger, cold, and an exhaustion system.
The province of Skyrim is transformed into a land of unforgiving wilderness characterised by treacherous climate zones. Bethesda recommends playing Survival Mode with Legendary difficulty for the ultimate challenge.
The full list of changes in Survival Mode is as follows:
- Hunger – Impacts overall stamina, ability to wield most weapons. Can be restored by eating food.
- Fatigue – Decreases total available magicka, and reduces effectiveness of potions. Reversed by sleep.
- Cold – Decreases total available health, and movement speed is reduced. Fixed with warm fire or hot soup.
- Warmth – Freezing temperatures have less impact when you possess certain armours or hold a torch.
- Freezing Water – Causes health damage and can lead to rapid death. Use Flame Cloak or Dunmer Ancestor’s Wrath for temporary immunity.
- Fast Travel – Disabled. Travel options include horseback and walking.
- Health Regeneration – Disabled. Restorative spells, potions and food are necessary to replenish health.
- Levelling up – Can be achieved by sleeping in a bed.
- Carry Weight – Massively reduced. Arrows and lockpicks have weight. Burdening yourself drains stamina.
- Disease – Previous diseases are more debilitating, threatening new maladies introduced. Eating raw meat puts you at risk of food poisoning.
- Afflictions – Linger even after your condition has improved. Includes weakened (less effective at using melee weapons), addled (all enchantments and spells are less effective) and frostbitten (less effective at picking locks)
- Shrines – Now require a gold offering in exchange for curing diseases.
- Perks & Standing Stones – The Extra Pockets and The Seed Stone allow 50 extra weight, not 100.
- Vampires & Werewolves – Can restore hunger by feeding on victims. Are colder and slower while transformed.
Players who own The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim can access the beta by right clicking on the game, selecting ‘properties’, then ‘betas’ and follow through with the available beta option. Bethesda notes that once you participate in the Skyrim Creation Club beta, backing out means Survival Mode will no longer work.
Xbox One and PlayStation 4 users will get to experience Survival Mode starting early next month.
As for The Elder Scrolls VI, it’s unlikely we’ll be seeing it on shelves for a while yet.
