'The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition' Gets New Survival Mode Beta in Latest Patch

By Jessica Ferrera, Christian Post Contributor Monday, October 02, 2017

Bethesda Softworks recently added the beta version of the highly anticipated Survival Mode for "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition."

The Survival Mode beta was added through the game's patch 1.5 alongside some fixes and improvements. Players can access it through the Steam Beta platform. Its gameplay was crafted through Bethesda's Creation Club system exclusively for "Skyrim" and "Fallout 4" where the developers curate contents made by their partners and the gaming community.

In an earlier post, Bethesda detailed what players can expect from the Survival Mode and several reports have already commented that its gameplay could be very difficult to accomplish compared to the base game.

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Even Bethesda's description of Survival Mode – that it will "transform Skyrim into a land of unrelenting cold and harsh wilderness" – prepares players to expect the most difficult challenges seen in the game.

Several elements of the Survival Mode affect the gameplay drastically. For example, managing the player's hunger level will be more complicated. Once the character becomes hungry, it will immediately disturb the stamina level which will continue to lower as the player goes hungrier.

The player will then lose enough power to craft most weapons. Thus Bethesda advised players to keep their characters' hunger in check and they will receive a bonus once they consume enough food to recover.

The same principle applies to a character's fatigue level. As it gets worse, players will lose their magicka that will render some potions ineffective. Players will certainly want to keep an eye on this since an extremely high level of fatigue will make it difficult for their characters to recover stamina quicker.

With Survival Mode, Skyrim will experience extremely low temperatures. A character that will be exposed to too much cold will immediately get lower health levels. In effect, the player's movement and speed will be slower. A character will die instantly upon reaching the maximum level of cold.

Too much warmth can also slow down a character. To efficiently deal with cold and warmth, players can learn about the armors. Some costumes are designed to bring warmth, so these are effective to use in cold environments.

Bethesda added: "You no longer regenerate health. You must use restorative spells, food, and potions to replenish your health." Meanwhile, only sleeping in a bed can help players level up.