Avowed: How Obsidian Finally Fixed The Elder Scrolls' Combat

Alright everyone, let's talk about something that's been bothering me for years—The Elder Scrolls combat. Look, we all love Skyrim, right? The world, the exploration, the mods... but let's be real, the combat has always been... well, kinda janky. It's the reason why, after dozens of hours, we all end up as stealth archers hiding in the shadows, picking off enemies from a distance. It's not because we love bows—it's because melee combat in TES games feels like swinging a foam sword at a damage sponge while doing an awkward little dance. Step forward, swing, step back, repeat until your fingers cramp. Not exactly epic fantasy material.

But then came Avowed in 2025. Now, I know it's technically a Pillars of Eternity spin-off, but playing it feels like someone at Obsidian looked at Skyrim and said, "What if we made this... actually fun?" And let me tell you, they absolutely delivered. The core DNA is still there—it's a first-person fantasy RPG with swords, spells, and sprawling landscapes. But Obsidian injected some much-needed modernization into the formula, especially where it counts: making you feel powerful and in control during every fight.

Magic That Actually Feels Magical ✨

Remember learning spells in Skyrim? You'd find a book, read it, and... that's it. The spell gets added to a massive list in your menu. Want to cast something mid-fight? Better hope you assigned it to a favorite slot, or get ready for some frantic menu scrolling while a Draugr Deathlord is charging at you. It was functional, sure, but about as exciting as reading a phone book.

Avowed completely rethinks this. First off, spells feel impactful. When you cast a frost shard, you see the ice form and spear through the air. When you summon a fireball, the heat practically radiates from your screen. But the real game-changer is the spell combo system. As you level up, you unlock ability slots on a hotbar. This lets you chain spells together seamlessly. Freeze an enemy solid with one hand, then whip around and electrocute their buddy with the other—all without ever opening a menu. It turns magic from a tactical menu-based system into an intuitive, flowing part of your combat rhythm.

And here's my favorite touch: Grimoires. Scattered throughout the Living Lands are these ancient, magical tomes. When you find one, you don't just "learn" the spell. You can literally summon its power directly from the book's pages in combat. There's something incredibly satisfying about pulling out a leather-bound grimoire and watching a vortex of energy erupt from it. It makes magic feel like a discovered, tangible art, not just another skill in a list.

The Simple Joy of Not Getting Hit 🛡️➡️💨

Here's a wild concept for a fantasy RPG: a dedicated dodge button. Seems obvious, right? Well, Bethesda never got the memo. In Skyrim, "dodging" meant backpedaling awkwardly or hoping your armor rating was high enough. Modders tried to add Dark Souls-style rolls, but in first-person, it usually just made you motion sick.

Avowed gives you a proper, responsive dodge. Tap the button while moving sideways, and your character sidesteps. Tap it while moving backward, and you get a quick backstep. It's intuitive, it's fluid, and it completely changes the flow of battle. You're no longer a stationary damage sponge; you're a nimble warrior weaving between attacks.

Even better, the game rewards you for good timing. Successfully dodging an attack at the last second can trigger a brief window of slow motion, letting you line up the perfect counter-attack while your opponent is off-balance. This one mechanic alone makes combat feel ten times more dynamic and engaging than the classic "TES Tango" of step-in, swing, step-out.

It's Still The Elder Scrolls At Heart, But Better 🔧

Now, I don't want to give the wrong impression. Avowed isn't trying to be Dark Souls or a character action game. It's not a complete reinvention. What Obsidian did was take the familiar, clunky foundation of TES combat and polish it to a shine.

• The feel is there: Weapons have a satisfying weight. Enemies react to hits (sometimes a bit too much, with hilarious ragdoll physics that are pure Oblivion nostalgia).

• The freedom is there: You can dual-wield spells, mix sword and shield, or go full battlemage.

• The jank... is mostly gone: The awkward animations, the unresponsive controls, the menu-hell—they've been streamlined into a system that just works.

Playing Avowed made me realize something: The Elder Scrolls' combat problems aren't fundamental. They're relics of a bygone era of RPG design that Bethesda has been oddly reluctant to fully modernize. Avowed proves you can keep that classic first-person fantasy feel while making the moment-to-moment gameplay actually fun and skillful.

So, here's my takeaway in 2026: If you've ever loved an Elder Scrolls game but wished the fighting was half as good as the exploring, you owe it to yourself to check out Avowed. It's the proof-of-concept we never knew we needed, showing that this beloved style of RPG can evolve without losing its soul. Obsidian didn't just make a good game; they sent a love letter to TES fans with a helpful post-it note attached that says, "See? It can be this good." Bethesda, I'm looking at you for The Elder Scrolls VI. Take notes.