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https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/8098811/#Comment_8098811

Not sure if this has been asked but is there a lore explanation for no levitation in eso ?

  • Kajuratus
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    Nah, there's no lore answer for it, we just don't have access to that spell in the game. There's a lot of spell effects we can't use, doesn't mean they don't exist at this point in time, it just means that the game doesn't support that mechanic. We even hear NPCs around Mournhold wondering why Almalexia finds levitation offensive. Do we need an explanation for why banks only exist during Daggerfall and ESO? Or why children only exist in Daggerfall and Skyrim?
    It’s silly but at least it gives a explanation.
    There are many other things across the whole series that still could use some explanation this is just one of them.
    Personally, I prefer it this way. When Oblivion introduced the Levitation Act, all it did was limit future games being able to bring back levitation. ZOS doesn't need to give a reason for why the player can't fly, and if they want to include some kind of flying mechanic in the future, they can do so without having to worry about retconning any explanation originally given for why the spell isn't available. The implications of outright banning a spell effect actively harms the setting, as opposed to making it more immersive, since if you think about the Levitation Act for more than a few seconds, it makes no sense. There's no lore reason given why the player can't teleport in Oblivion or Skyrim, and there doesn't need to be. I'm not saying we shouldn't have teleportation spells in those games, they definitely should have been a part of the game, but I applaud the lack of lore explanation for why the player can't learn those spells. The Levitation Act did more harm than good to the series.


    So the Dark Elves have weird alien architecture, where people live in mushroom towers and the shell of a giant crab, but the High Elves, the pinnacle of technology, the most magically advanced race in Tamriel, are still stuck in slightly pretty, fairly tall stone buildings? Not even a hint of a glass city? Are stainless glass windows really enough to claim that a city is made of glass?
  • isadoraisacat
    isadoraisacat
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    Kajuratus wrote: »
    Nah, there's no lore answer for it, we just don't have access to that spell in the game. There's a lot of spell effects we can't use, doesn't mean they don't exist at this point in time, it just means that the game doesn't support that mechanic. We even hear NPCs around Mournhold wondering why Almalexia finds levitation offensive. Do we need an explanation for why banks only exist during Daggerfall and ESO? Or why children only exist in Daggerfall and Skyrim?
    It’s silly but at least it gives a explanation.
    There are many other things across the whole series that still could use some explanation this is just one of them.
    Personally, I prefer it this way. When Oblivion introduced the Levitation Act, all it did was limit future games being able to bring back levitation. ZOS doesn't need to give a reason for why the player can't fly, and if they want to include some kind of flying mechanic in the future, they can do so without having to worry about retconning any explanation originally given for why the spell isn't available. The implications of outright banning a spell effect actively harms the setting, as opposed to making it more immersive, since if you think about the Levitation Act for more than a few seconds, it makes no sense. There's no lore reason given why the player can't teleport in Oblivion or Skyrim, and there doesn't need to be. I'm not saying we shouldn't have teleportation spells in those games, they definitely should have been a part of the game, but I applaud the lack of lore explanation for why the player can't learn those spells. The Levitation Act did more harm than good to the series.


    Well it’s not really relevant, because this takes place prior to those events. Being this is supposed to be in an age prior to all that, and we can do it in the first 3 games I find it odd we can’t in this game which is before even all of them. Obviously the reason in tes 4 and 5 it’s just to explain away game mechanics.

    But once you develop lore it ties it together and makes it more realistic to give explanation. This is one of my issues with the game along with a lore inaccurate map.

    The levitation act didn’t do any harm as once the developers have the ability to re-add it back in the game the lore can “lift” the act and there is your lore explanation for it once the developers are able to implement it again in a modern game.

    Here it’s it just makes it seem less believable. But I will just chuck it up as “magic was in its infancy” for this game… but I hope they start giving more lore explanations.
  • Kajuratus
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    Well it’s not really relevant, because this takes place prior to those events. Being this is supposed to be in an age prior to all that, and we can do it in the first 3 games I find it odd we can’t in this game which is before even all of them. Obviously the reason in tes 4 and 5 it’s just to explain away game mechanics.

    But once you develop lore it ties it together and makes it more realistic to give explanation. This is one of my issues with the game along with a lore inaccurate map.

    The levitation act didn’t do any harm as once the developers have the ability to re-add it back in the game the lore can “lift” the act and there is your lore explanation for it once the developers are able to implement it again in a modern game.

    Here it’s it just makes it seem less believable. But I will just chuck it up as “magic was in its infancy” for this game… but I hope they start giving more lore explanations.

    Think of it like how there's no explanation for the lack of children in this game. That doesn't make the game less believable, does it? Of course not. I hardly think a lore explanation for the lack of children would make this game more realistic, all it would do is highlight the issue. Ironically, doing exactly what the levitation act has done right here. Since there was a precedent for a lore explanation as to why levitation wasn't in a game, you now think the setting needs there to be one for this game. Trust me, treat levitation like children. Just because it doesn't exist in this game doesn't mean it doesn't exist during this time period. It just means we can't access it due to game mechanics. Hell, treat it like teleportation magic, and the portals that NPCs can conjure during certain story related quests. We can only teleport ourselves to wayshrines, why can't we set up those portals? Because thats not what the game needs the player to do.
    So the Dark Elves have weird alien architecture, where people live in mushroom towers and the shell of a giant crab, but the High Elves, the pinnacle of technology, the most magically advanced race in Tamriel, are still stuck in slightly pretty, fairly tall stone buildings? Not even a hint of a glass city? Are stainless glass windows really enough to claim that a city is made of glass?
  • isadoraisacat
    isadoraisacat
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    Kajuratus wrote: »

    Well it’s not really relevant, because this takes place prior to those events. Being this is supposed to be in an age prior to all that, and we can do it in the first 3 games I find it odd we can’t in this game which is before even all of them. Obviously the reason in tes 4 and 5 it’s just to explain away game mechanics.

    But once you develop lore it ties it together and makes it more realistic to give explanation. This is one of my issues with the game along with a lore inaccurate map.

    The levitation act didn’t do any harm as once the developers have the ability to re-add it back in the game the lore can “lift” the act and there is your lore explanation for it once the developers are able to implement it again in a modern game.

    Here it’s it just makes it seem less believable. But I will just chuck it up as “magic was in its infancy” for this game… but I hope they start giving more lore explanations.

    Think of it like how there's no explanation for the lack of children in this game. That doesn't make the game less believable, does it? Of course not. I hardly think a lore explanation for the lack of children would make this game more realistic, all it would do is highlight the issue. Ironically, doing exactly what the levitation act has done right here. Since there was a precedent for a lore explanation as to why levitation wasn't in a game, you now think the setting needs there to be one for this game. Trust me, treat levitation like children. Just because it doesn't exist in this game doesn't mean it doesn't exist during this time period. It just means we can't access it due to game mechanics. Hell, treat it like teleportation magic, and the portals that NPCs can conjure during certain story related quests. We can only teleport ourselves to wayshrines, why can't we set up those portals? Because thats not what the game needs the player to do.


    Let’s agree to disagree on that.
    The same way there is no explanation for rune stones no longer existing in the other games when it’s a normal thing you see daily in eso. Same with the wayshrine you see a few in Skyrim but for the most part something usual is basically removed.

    I think more lore explanation makes the world more believable. And I will die on that hill.
  • Elsonso
    Elsonso
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    The same way there is no explanation for rune stones no longer existing in the other games when it’s a normal thing you see daily in eso. Same with the wayshrine you see a few in Skyrim but for the most part something usual is basically removed.

    I think more lore explanation makes the world more believable. And I will die on that hill.

    Have you ever watched farmers out in the world? It's surprising any rune stones survive, today! :smile:

    As for the Lore reason about children and levitation in 2nd Era ESO, I don't have to have ZOS or Bethesda fill in all the blanks. I can fill them in with my own speculation, and as long as there is no official Lore to contradict it, my thoughts are just as valid as anything else.
    PC NA/EU: @Elsonso
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  • isadoraisacat
    isadoraisacat
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    Elsonso wrote: »
    The same way there is no explanation for rune stones no longer existing in the other games when it’s a normal thing you see daily in eso. Same with the wayshrine you see a few in Skyrim but for the most part something usual is basically removed.

    I think more lore explanation makes the world more believable. And I will die on that hill.

    Have you ever watched farmers out in the world? It's surprising any rune stones survive, today! :smile:

    As for the Lore reason about children and levitation in 2nd Era ESO, I don't have to have ZOS or Bethesda fill in all the blanks. I can fill them in with my own speculation, and as long as there is no official Lore to contradict it, my thoughts are just as valid as anything else.

    Right but it doesn’t explain why they STOPPED using them not that didn’t they survive.

    Again that’s how you feel I don’t agree so let’s agree to disagree.
  • Jaimeh
    Jaimeh
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    Eporem wrote: »
    you as a player can levitate, using the Meditative state - an ability of the Psijic Order. I think this spell falls under the Thaumaturgy school of majic that affects will and personal state of mind - thus the meditative state. Ylahizy the Magnificent claims to be a Master of this School, and will levitate you for coins paid. So maybe a lore explanation would be that in ESO's time Thaumaturgy majic is just beginning to be discovered - like you say, in its infancy.

    Yep, that skill also came to mind. It's kind of a static levitation but it's levitation nonetheless. There's similar moves in some mementos, and also seen in the Tribunal animations.
  • Kajuratus
    Kajuratus
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    The same way there is no explanation for rune stones no longer existing in the other games when it’s a normal thing you see daily in eso. Same with the wayshrine you see a few in Skyrim but for the most part something usual is basically removed.
    If memory serves, there is an in game book on runestones that fill in enough gaps to insinuate the reason for the lack of runestones in future games. Something about them flooding the market and making them completely worthless, or something to that effect.

    Even if there wasn't, I would just chalk that up to the games not being a 100% accurate representation of Tamriel. Like the wayshrines, they are still there during the times of the future games, it's just that we don't see them, because we don't need to. Every game is merely a representation of the world of Tamriel, and each game has a different focus that they want to show.
    Let’s agree to disagree on that.

    I think more lore explanation makes the world more believable. And I will die on that hill.
    Fair enough. Personally, I think that the lack of a lore explanation is better than a bad one. The bad one makes the world less believable. And I will die on that hill.
    So the Dark Elves have weird alien architecture, where people live in mushroom towers and the shell of a giant crab, but the High Elves, the pinnacle of technology, the most magically advanced race in Tamriel, are still stuck in slightly pretty, fairly tall stone buildings? Not even a hint of a glass city? Are stainless glass windows really enough to claim that a city is made of glass?
  • isadoraisacat
    isadoraisacat
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    Kajuratus wrote: »
    The same way there is no explanation for rune stones no longer existing in the other games when it’s a normal thing you see daily in eso. Same with the wayshrine you see a few in Skyrim but for the most part something usual is basically removed.
    If memory serves, there is an in game book on runestones that fill in enough gaps to insinuate the reason for the lack of runestones in future games. Something about them flooding the market and making them completely worthless, or something to that effect.

    Even if there wasn't, I would just chalk that up to the games not being a 100% accurate representation of Tamriel. Like the wayshrines, they are still there during the times of the future games, it's just that we don't see them, because we don't need to. Every game is merely a representation of the world of Tamriel, and each game has a different focus that they want to show.
    Let’s agree to disagree on that.

    I think more lore explanation makes the world more believable. And I will die on that hill.
    Fair enough. Personally, I think that the lack of a lore explanation is better than a bad one. The bad one makes the world less believable. And I will die on that hill.

    I don’t really think it’s a “bad” explanation I just think it’s one YOU don’t like and that’s just subjective.
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