Entertainment · Gaming · 5 hrs ago
Former Skyrim designer hopes Elder Scrolls 6 adds climbable ladders
Former Skyrim lead designer Bruce Nesmith wants Bethesda to make ladders climbable in the next Elder Scrolls game, referred to as Sentinel in the story.
In Skyrim, characters do not climb ladders; they move instantly from one end to the other.
Nesmith says that workaround limits how artists can design multi-level spaces in the game.
Making ladders work is complicated because developers must decide what happens when a character and an NPC meet on one.
The issue involves both character movement and NPC behaviour, which developers would need to program.
Climbable ladders could make the game world feel more immersive, Nesmith says.
The game is years from release, and little is known about how it will handle ladders or other features.
Former Skyrim lead designer Bruce Nesmith hopes The Elder Scrolls 6 will feature ladders that players can climb.
Nesmith said Skyrim’s ladders move characters instantly between the bottom and top rather than showing them climbing.
He explained that working ladders create programming challenges, including how players and non-player characters interact on them.
The upcoming game was recently revealed as The Elder Scrolls 6: Sentinel, but little is known about it.
- Who
- Bruce Nesmith, former Skyrim lead designer and Bethesda veteran, shared his hope.
- What
- He hopes The Elder Scrolls 6 will let players climb ladders.
- When
- Eurogamer published the report on 2026-11-09.
- Where
- The discussion was in an interview with The Examined Game.
- Why
- Nesmith said working ladders could make the world more immersive, but bring complex programming questions.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
In Skyrim, characters move from one end of a ladder to the other without an animated climb.
Eurogamer reported on Nesmith’s hope for climbable ladders in The Elder Scrolls 6: Sentinel.
- Former designer
- Bruce Nesmith, Skyrim lead designer
- Game
- The Elder Scrolls 6: Sentinel
- Skyrim ladders
- Characters teleport between the ends rather than climb
- Interview outlet
- The Examined Game
What people are saying
It seems simple, it seems stupid, but you don't climb up and down ladders
So, I'd like to see Bethesda finally come around to making ladders a reality where you're actually climbing them and make the world feel a little more immersive.