Sometimes the biggest improvement an open-world RPG can make is letting players do something surprisingly ordinary. Elder Scrolls 6 ladders might sound like a minor feature, yet they highlight a much larger question: how much freedom will Bethesda give players when exploring its next fantasy world?
Bruce Nesmith, the former lead designer of Skyrim, has identified proper ladder climbing as one of his personal wishes for The Elder Scrolls VI: Sentinel. His reasoning goes beyond convenience. A world that lets characters move naturally between different heights could feel more convincing, while also giving level designers greater freedom.
Why Elder Scrolls 6 ladders matter beyond climbing
Think about how often fantasy adventures involve towers, castle walls, underground passages or buildings with several floors. These locations suggest vertical exploration, but Skyrim frequently relies on stairs, ramps or transitions that avoid actual ladder climbing.
In Bethesda’s 2011 RPG, interacting with a ladder moves the character between its endpoints rather than showing a continuous climb. That solution works mechanically. However, it also removes a natural way to connect spaces within the same environment.
During an interview with YouTube channel The Examined Game, Nesmith explained that the absence of climbable ladders restricts what environmental artists can create. Vertical level design becomes more flexible when developers can connect spaces without designing every route around stairs or alternative paths.
There is another benefit worth considering. In a game built around exploration, a ladder can communicate an opportunity without a quest marker or lengthy explanation. Players see an elevated platform, recognize a possible route and decide whether to investigate. That kind of intuitive discovery is central to what makes an open world satisfying.
The hidden technical cost of Elder Scrolls 6 ladders
The interesting part of Nesmith’s comments is that Skyrim did not simply overlook an obvious feature. According to the veteran developer, adding climbable ladders raised enough technical questions that Bethesda ultimately prioritized other systems.
Consider two characters approaching the same ladder from opposite directions. If an NPC is already descending, should the player wait? Could both characters pass one another? Would the NPC reverse direction, stop moving or temporarily block the route?
Each answer creates additional requirements for animation, movement, artificial intelligence and collision handling. Consequently, a mechanic that appears straightforward to players can become a complicated interaction between several game systems.
Other games have solved these problems, as Nesmith acknowledged. However, that does not mean implementing the same behavior in Bethesda’s particular style of RPG would be effortless. Its worlds allow players to interrupt routines, approach locations unpredictably and interact with characters outside tightly scripted sequences.
The real challenge is not animating someone climbing a ladder. It is making the entire world respond consistently when climbing becomes possible. For Sentinel, that distinction could be more important than the visual improvement itself.
Skyrim’s mounts expose a similar problem with player freedom
Ladders were not Nesmith’s only request. He also hopes Bethesda improves mounts, another aspect of Skyrim that has attracted criticism from players over the years.
Horses provide a useful alternative to walking, especially when crossing large distances. Nevertheless, riding through uneven terrain, navigating obstacles and moving between mounted and unmounted exploration can make the experience feel less natural than traveling on foot.
Nesmith described mount development as particularly difficult, acknowledging that designers must make challenging compromises. That observation connects directly to his ladder proposal: both mechanics depend on how characters interact with an unpredictable environment.
For players, the most meaningful upgrade would not necessarily be faster horses or elaborate riding animations. Instead, it would be movement that feels dependable across different situations, whether navigating a settlement, approaching a mountain path or exploring a complicated structure.
Those possibilities become especially interesting alongside the speculation surrounding Sentinel and Hammerfell. A varied landscape could place greater demands on travel and traversal systems, although Bethesda has not confirmed that the rumored setting or any specific movement improvements will appear in the finished game.
Todd Howard’s design philosophy may decide what gets improved
There is a reason Bethesda cannot simply add every feature that sounds appealing. Development time is limited, and greater mechanical complexity does not automatically create a better experience.
Nesmith’s comments about Todd Howard offer an important perspective on how such decisions are made. He believes Howard is particularly skilled at understanding what ordinary players actually want, rather than becoming absorbed in the complicated thinking that can dominate internal development discussions.
According to Nesmith, developers sometimes approach decisions from an overly technical perspective. Howard, by contrast, tends to favor solutions that are easier for players to understand. Nesmith also praised his ability to think deeply about games and emphasized the value of working with people who challenge one’s own assumptions.
What Sentinel needs to get right
This creates an interesting tension for The Elder Scrolls VI. Realistic climbing and more sophisticated mounts could strengthen immersion, but every additional system also introduces opportunities for awkward behavior, bugs or unnecessary friction.
From Battle4Play’s perspective, the strongest sequel would not be the one with the longest feature list. It would be the one where exploration feels more natural without making basic actions harder to understand.
That distinction also matters when interpreting the wider Elder Scrolls VI timeline and its connection to Skyrim. After such a long wait, players will understandably expect meaningful progress. Yet that progress may be easier to recognize in everyday interactions than in promotional promises about the size of the world.
The Elder Scrolls VI: Sentinel still has no announced release date, and Nesmith’s wishes should not be mistaken for confirmed features. His interview with The Examined Game offers insight into the compromises behind Bethesda’s earlier design decisions rather than a preview of completed sequel mechanics.
Ultimately, Elder Scrolls 6 ladders represent something more interesting than climbing itself: the possibility of a world that reacts more naturally to what players want to do. Would you rather see Bethesda perfect familiar mechanics or introduce entirely new ways to explore Tamriel?
Creator of the website, Pokemon trainer by nature. Trying to report on everything related to the world of video games, series and movies. Yu-Gi-Oh is my weakness, collecting cards since the dawn of time.
