Skyrim Modding Ideas One-Handed Perk Tree

// A quick preface: I've played Skyrim a ton but one of the things that's always bothered me about
// the game is that the perk trees seem to be pretty lazily designed and don't really allow for a lot
// of actual variance in character builds/playstyles. I think it would be a cool project to rework
// all of the perk trees in order to fix this, and I've decided to start what is in my opinion part of
// the game that is most lacking in diversity, melee combat. For now, I've focused on the one-handed skill.

One-Handed Perk Tree Rework Ideas

// In the vanilla game, one-handed is a pretty boring skill. The different weapon types all have the same
// playstyle, the only real differences being attack speed, and the precise method with which they deliver
// their damage (armor pen vs. crits vs. bleed).
//
// Bethesda seems to have been rather careless in balancing even these small differences,
// as swords have both the highest attack speed (which allows for better maneauvrability,
// and more effective use of enchantments) as well as the only type of extra damage that works on every enemy (crits).
//
// The focus of my rework is to give the 3 different types of weapon each a distinct set of strengths,
// and also a distinct playstyle.
//
// Swords are relatively vanilla, but have an emphasis on speed.
// Axes focus on damage, reliable DPS through bleed and high burst through power attacks.
// Maces focus on each blow having impact and interrupting the enemy. I feel this matches well with their low speed.
//
// Whether this provides good balance is hard to say, I think it's more important
// to provide interesting playstyles so players can create more unique character builds.
//
// In addition to diversifying the weapon types, I also want to make the different playstyles that
// the dual wielding system allows more viable. Namely one-handed + magic, and wielding only a single
// one-handed weapon without a shield. The latter should mostly be governed by the block skill though.
//
// My general philosophy is that I want the vast majority of perks to change how you play (or can play)
// the game in some way, and each perk should provide a noticeable benefit. As a general rule I dislike
// having multiple levels of the same perk, as that just ends up wasting perk points.
//
// The listed perks are merely the ideas I've come up with so far, some of which more thought has gone into than others.
// They may get expanded on, changed or scrapped in the future, and I may come up with more ideas.

	All one-handed weapons

		Spellsword

		// The spellsword playstyle makes dual casting or otherwise combining spells impossible.
		// This perk aims to make the playstyle more viable by increasing the potency of magic.
		// I'm not sure if this perk should even have multiple levels, but since it improves magic
		// it doesn't make much sense to lock it behind other one-handed perks which would be the other
		// method of preventing the player from gaining access to the more powerful benefits too quickly.

			lvl 1: 10% spell magnitude when wielding magic + one handed weapon
			lvl 2: 20% spell magnitude, 50% spell duration when wielding magic + one handed weapon

		Unhindered

		// Using just a single one-handed weapon is incredibly weak in the vanilla game.
		// This aims to make that a more viable option. From an immersion perspective, it makes sense
		// to be more deft when you're not holding something in addition to your weapon.

			Attack speed +20% when left hand is empty

		Southpaw

		// Left handed attacks are innately 10% slower than right handed attacks.
		// This perk gives incentive to use the left hand more while dual wielding.

			Left handed attacks are 20% stronger

		Synergy

		// This is a neat concept but may be annoying to implement, and with the lacking weapon
		// variety in Skyrim it might not end up being that much more interesting than
		// a straight up damage increase while dual wielding.

			Deal half of the weapon in the other hand's base damage as bonus damage when dual wielding

		Master of Arms
		(Requires every weapon specific perk)

		// This is here to provide more incentive to invest in multiple weapon types,
		// as it gives a decent payoff for completing all 3 perk trees.

			Damage +50%, attack speed +20% and crit chance +10% with all one-handed weapons

	Swords

		Sword Skill

		// Basic increased damage perk. All 3 weapons types have this. not very interesting,
		// but a lot more worthwhile than the vanilla perks that only give 20% damage per perk point.
		// I think I want these to require 1 or 2 of the other weapon specific perks so that
		// the more unique aspects of each weapon type get prioritized when going down the perk tree.

			Attacks with swords deal 50% more damage

		Dancing Blade

		// I don't want swords to get any special effects on their power attacks to maintain their vanilla feel,
		// so simply making them faster is a good way to make them feel different and provide a unique niche.

			Power attacks with swords are twice as fast

		Pinpoint Strike

		// Swords get this in vanilla, so I figured I'd just reduce it down to 1 perk point and keep it.

			+20% chance to critical strike with swords

		Swordmaster

		// I thought it would be fun to give each weapon type their own dual wielding perk.
		// This is basically the vanilla dual flurry perk, but it only works when wielding 2 swords.
		// It fits in with the swords = vanilla philosophy, and reinforces that swords emphasize speed.

			Wielding 2 swords increases attack speed by 35%

	Axes

		Axe Aptitude

			Attacks with axes deal 50% more damage

		Lacerator

		// Once again this is a holdover from vanilla, only reduced to one perk point.
		// I feel it fits axes thematically, and it's a decently interesting way to increase DPS.
		// I may tweak the values a little depending on whether I think it's necessary for balance.

			Attacks with axes cause bleeding damage

		Killer Axe

		// I think power attacks are very underutilized as a gameplay mechanic in the vanilla game.
		// Giving the different weapon types different effects on their power attacks is a fun way to
		// kind of give them their own 'special attacks' that you can't just spam (unless you abuse some
		// other game mechanics, but I won't worry myself with that).
		// This perk cements axes as the 'burst damage' weapon type, giving power attacks the chance
		// of dealing massive damage to a single target.

			Power attacks with axes have a 30% to deal a critical strike for quadruple damage

		Berserker

		// From a balance perspective this might become a little silly when combined with Killer Axe,
		// so the numbers are probably going to be changed. I do like the idea of axes being more
		// volatile than swords, which relatively high odds of dealing large amounts of damage,
		// counteracted by their slower attack speed.

			Wielding 2 axes grants 25% to deal a critical strike with increased damage

	Maces

		Mace Mastery

			Attacks with maces deal 50% more damage

		Bludgeon

		// A mace is basically just a heavy weight on a stick, so it makes sense to me that mace hits
		// have a large impact on opponents. As such they are given the chance to mildly stagger opponents
		// even on regular hits. The low speed of maces means this won't get procced super often, but
		// when it does it negates the negative effects of the slow attack speed as your opponent will not
		// be able to retaliate, and it combines well with magic as it gives you an opening to cast a spell.
		// This is a nice coincidence as priest builds tend to use maces, and it's a nice bit of immersion.

			Attacks with maces have a 15% chance to interrupt opponent

		Inertia

		// To expand upon the 'heavy hit' idea, I wanted power attacks to do something even more special.
		// Since regular attacks are given the ability to stagger, why not escalate that and give
		// power attacks the ability to completely knock enemies off their feet? 35% may be a bit much
		// given how powerful knocking down opponents is, but I don't like super unreliable abilities
		// and especially against multiple opponents, having the ability to somewhat reliably take one
		// of them out of the picture for a bit is very cool imo.

			Power attacks with maces deal 50% extra damage and have a 35% chance of knocking opponents down

		Macerator

		// Combining this with Inertia makes dual wielding maces extremely powerful. This move takes a while
		// to pull off and costs a lot of stamina, but since it hits 3 times it's very likely to
		// knock the opponent down and it will deal a lot of damage. An alternative idea I had for this perk
		// is to allow the dual wielding power attack to hit multiple opponents, but I feel like the
		// chance to literally floor every enemy around you is probably a bit too strong.

			Wielding 2 maces doubles dual wielding power attack damage