I believe that Oblivions Imperial armour is inspired by the armour worn by Gondor forces in Lord of the rings movies, which interestingly in the original books Gondor was itself inspired by the eastern byzantine romans.
Firstly in the Lord of the Rings books Gondor inspiration is likely more central European than the Byzantines for they have little correlation besides some broad strokes with Gondor . Secondly it is possible that lotr was an inspiration but unlikely as the troops in the movies are very different when compared to it is likely that they were not inspired by lotr to make the Imperials more medieval
i just hope that Bethesda doesn't change the design of the imperial armor again... i love that Roman style, it fits the Empire of Tamriel very well in my opinion
Erick Viana Well seeing as Elder Scrolls Online is cannon and in that game there is almost no empire left, Im not so sure there will be an empire in TES VI...
Actually, I hope they do change it. Every TES game is separated from another by at least a couple hundred years in the timeline. It would be extremely strange if the armor stayed the same. The problem is, though, that as with most fantasy worlds, the TES world seems to be suffering a terrible case of "medieval stasis" (Consult TV Tropes for what that is).
The Oblivion armor is well designed, but just like the Skyrim, it just looks so bulky. Funny enough, I think because of the low-poly models in Morrowind, the armors look more appropriately thin, because the plates are just flat polygons for the most part. THe fully modelled armors from the newer games sometimes look like they were carved out of rock, or cast in iron.
Well I have to say, I am actually the big fan of the Imperial armor of Oblivion, it was literally my main armor for most of the campaign. The armor in Skyrim was cool and all but I was more into their Steel Plate, and Ebony Armor. Love these kinds of videos, hope you would get back tot he dark souls analysis but this is fun too.
Hey if someone wants Oblivion Imperial armors as replacers for Skyrim ones, I have a mod on my channel called "Weapons and Armors from Cyrodiil" follow the link in the description, it will take you to the mod page and you'll be able to choose which Skyrim armor you want to replace (heavy, medium or light or all together)
the Imperial Armour in Skyrim looks good, but my only problem with it (and the rest of the game really), is that it shows too much skin, it doesn't keep you warm. I think that's a missed opportunity. I like Morrowinds' Imperial armour the most. Probably because of nostalgia, but also because it's an interesting take on the Roman type armour, making it purple, making it more medieval. The decorations on the armour also remind me of later European imperial powers.
What I find interesting is the Blades armour. It's a mixture of the Roman Lorica Segmentata and Japanese Tatami Gusoku designs. It does have a reason for this lore wise. I suppose it's because for a time the empire was under the control of a Tsaesci potentate. The Tsaesci are a race of snake people from Akavir, whose culture is heavily inspired by feudal Japanese culture. EDIT: Completely forgot about the Tsaesci Dragonguard and the Akaviri invasion of the first era. I guess that the design of the armour was modified after their annexation into the Empire so that it'd be distinctively Imperial, while still holding Tsaesci design concepts.
Same here. I wish the game would let you have the other variants too. The White Imperial Watch Armor and then the more fancy looking Imperial Palace Gaurd Armor. The Palace Guard has more golden inlays and a red dragon belt and not as common as the other white imperial watch armor. The only Imperial Armor (aside from the Dragon Armor after main quest) you can have is the grey Imperial legion armor.
I like the Imperial Armor in Oblivion the best. I remember looking at the armor, and thinking "These guys are tough! Enemies of the Empire will have one hell of a time taking down an Imperial soldier wearing that armor."
That's because the Oblivion Legionnaires are protecting the capital. Hence why they look tougher. That, and it seems that the Empire in Oblivion prior to the Oblivion Crisis was at the peak of its powers, while the Empire in Skyrim is experiencing a downturn with some provinces rebelling (like one half of Skyrim) and other provinces having already broken away, (Morrowind, Black Marsh) with some even defeating the Empire in war, like the Third Aldmeri Dominion (the alliance that rules the Summerset Isles, Valenwood, Elsweyr)
Skyrim the officers don't have armor they just use the armour the other soldiers use since the Imperial Heavy armor is actually meant to be used more by the Soldiers (ingame dialogue keeps saying that the Imperials are mainly in Heavy) The Legionnaires in Cyrodiil are protecting the Imperial City since there's no Legion properly in Cyrodiil (unlike Skyirm and Morrowind) since there's no forts garrisoned like Fort Ash which would help protect the roads. As such the Imperial City guards also have to take on patrolling the roads.
IM that’s only some types. Like from the genera at Helgen it is iron armor. But if you get it from joining the imperials or crafting it yourself it is as protective as steel
I like Morrowind imperial armor best even though it's low poly. For me, I don't care that much if the armor has a historical resemblance to Roman armor. I care more about if it looks 'imperial', in other words, I want the armor to exude power, order, authority, and dignity. The imperial armors of Oblivion and Skyrim were ok, but I find them somewhat boring with their overall gray color scheme. Morrowind's ordinary imperial armor had colored decorations on its breastplate for example which kind of gave the armor a luxurious feel to it-one could say, it gave the impression that the empire had power and wealth.
Lovely video mate, I always enjoy your analyses of stuff from my favourite videogame series. I would like to make two additions: 1. In Morrowind there is also Imperial Templar Armour, which is even more Roman-looking, and supposedly worn only by the high-ranking Imperial Knights from within the Legion. 2. In regard to full metal shields, I'd like to mention the rotella, a Renaissance full metal round shield that is strapped to the forearm. (You can even find videos on TH-cam of people sparring with it!). Cheers mate!
So glad to see that your channel is growing at a very fast pace! I joined not so long ago and you had 83k subscribers... and now, maybe 10 days later, you already have 95k! It is totally deserved! I never cared about latin language or roman history in high school but I do find it interesting now (totally thanks to you!). WELL DONE NOBLE ONE! :D :D :D
Love the video man! And god *_damn_* does this make me wanna go back to my blacksmith in Skyrim! This video really makes me wonder how much the armor designers research all this stuff, seeing how there were the fusions, where they clearly wanted the Roman aesthetic but also bolstered by later advances in armor designs. It also makes me wonder that, if Rome had survived _as it was_ for longer, then how much like the Elderscrolls designs would their later armors have looked or become :P I also wanna say that my favorite would be Morrowind but there's something so.. borderline _hypnotic_ about the suit used in Oblivion. Its really really hard to describe, it's not just the shape, but the severely aged look it has and how thoroughly metal it is. Most armor has segmenting and other stuff for style, flexibility, or authenticity but there's something amazing and imposing about just how thoroughly metal that armor is, that just - again - is somehow so hypnotic, I just love it
Obviously the Stormcloak set is better, because the Empire turned its back on Talos. Though there is something interesting about the Stormcloak/City Guard armor, the mail on the shoulders is actually a Japanese 6-1 kusari pattern rather than the standard 4-1 European style.
Ana Banana Empire is gone dude. With ESO being cannon and the empire being pretty much only down to Cyrodiil, I highly doubt there will be an empire in TES VI
Hey if someone wants Oblivion Imperial armors as replacers for Skyrim ones, I have a mod on my channel called "Weapons and Armors from Cyrodiil" follow the link in the description, it will take you to the mod page and you'll be able to choose which Skyrim armor you want to replace (heavy, medium or light or all together)
I would argue that the Imperial shield in oblivion is in fact wood cored. You can see four segments on the front going on a circle around the "boss" that appear to have a darker colored leather on them. Perhaps the exposed wood is simply lined with leather.
Linty it goes from Roman in morrowind, to a more medieval style in oblivion then back to sorta Roman in Skyrim, and Skyrim is set 200 years in the 4th era while oblivion and morrowind were set during the end of the third
Alex The Awsome well the legion armor in Skyrim looks like ass, oblivion did that better, and why were you talking about the ES6? I didn’t mention it at all, and I know Skyrim is present day for the elder scrolls, it’s 200 years in the 4th era
Alex The Awsome also I didn’t have a problem with them going back to Roman design (just didn’t like how it looked), I was just stating how it changed during the 3 games
The Legion armour in Oblivion makes more sense as Imperial City guard considering there is no proper Legion in Oblivion just the Garrison for the Imperial City (There is no garrisoned Legion forts in Oblivion) and that Skyrim and Morrowind actually have a Legion there.
I love the look of the Skyrim armor as much as the one of the Oblivion one. But since Oblivion storywise is just my favourite game of all time, I gadda go with the Oblivion set here. Love that you made a video about this! :-)
Oblivion armor is the best I feel, combines that awesome Gonfor armor from the LotR movies with a Roman and dark fantasy vibe. Easily the coolest, it made the empire feel extremely powerful to see the average grunt in such incredible armor
Its especially weird since in ESO (The Elder Scrolls Online) The Imperial Armor Was similar to the Oblivion style but it seemed more...advanced even tho the game plays 700 before Morrowind.
Sort of makes sense for Elder Scrolls for the Imperial armor to be a mixture of Roman and Nordic looking armor. Seeing as how you have the Imperials and Nords usually being such good friends, they take inspirations from each other.
Oblivion is my favorite. It's what I'd think a fusion of Greek/Roman and late century Knight armor. and the Imperial Dragon Armor is just amazing. And when worn, I believe the gauntlets are fully articulated with metal on the fingers. The world model (when you drop it) has the fingers not covered.
The thing I hate about Skyrim, well one of the things hahahahaha is that they go from having full suits of armor for the Imperials to wearing the Roman Skirt type armor. That just irks the shit out of me because the Morrowind Imperial Armor is so awesome and then you basically just have armor like a Roman Legionary in Skyrim.
What a well made video!, For me I prefer Cyrodiil, Oblivion game Imperial armor. Imperials are my favorite race. Hey just a suggestion have you thought to do similar content related to architecture, like for example Morrowind Imperial architecture Cyrodiil Imperial architecture and Skyrim Imperial architecture (I guess the most imperial architecture is on Solitude of course), would be really cool, maybe not too specific about real life historical comparison but to compare the features between lands
On the Oblivion shield, between the dark grey outer steel and inner light colored steel, looks to be like leather to me, and possibly a stitching between the brown and dark grey (there are very small white dots around the edge where they meet). Could be like the wooden core model you showed with a leather bounding on the front of the wood? Just a possible observation.
I'd like to see Metatron make a game where he can design any armor with no strict adherence to history. I bet he'd come up with the most cool looking functional armor of all time. I wonder how easy it would be to think outside the box and be able to make armor with features that never existed together, but inspired maybe by historical reality so the game is still immersive enough.
I think my favourite is the Morrowind one, but I really love the skyrim one with the closed spartiat-like helmet. Not accurate, but soooooo intimidating.
I liked the Morrowind armor the best, don't forget also there were several categories of Imperial armor in Morrowind as you looked further up the ranks and started encountering the various Orders within the Imperial Military. It got more interesting as you went. They also had variety with the scout armors in both Morrowind and Skyrim that were interesting.
Stannis Baratheon See, a lot of people say that but to me morrowind just seems poorly made. First of all, the game mechanics are poorly designed. At the beginning you seem to miss every single attack despite obviously hitting the enemy, and by the end the laws of physics seem to no longer apply to you since you can now jump over mountains, run faster than the speed of sound and straight up fly while AC130ing in people with 1 shot fire balls... Not to mention that alchemy was completely broken and with it you can beat the game in 5 minutes from a new save... Thats just bad design imo.
Re-playing a game doesn't count the nostalgia argument. No matter how much time in between playthroughs you never look at it with fresh eyes. You experience can still be heavily influenced by nostalgia, since you go back to the game to reminisce on the way it made you feel when you first played it.
I agree about the game mechanics is not the best played some time ago and the combat is just argh... But the world of Morrowind is the best one they made, every tree, every rock, and every curve of landscape was placed by hand, as opposed to using a number of templates or pregenerated random land. And the world is so mystic and alien, it have such a great feeling about it, and it really draws you in.
Morrowind is easily my favorite too. I really enjoyed the world design of morrowind. Also it does not feel like the game is constantly holding your hand. Might be just nostalgia though.
In Morrowind, I used an override that gave the Imperials a more Roman-looking style - it was magnificent. I will send you a link to some screenshots when I will login again into Morrowind, if I will remind to take them.
there's also a Greek hoplite influenced Imperial helmet in skyrim you can find in some dungeons or on some random bandits, though it's rare for a outlaw to have such an item
Morrowind definitely takes the cake in this category. It's also important to point out that there are other variants in the game, a good variety actually, that also more or less keep to the roman/hre theme. Oblivion's is alright, but of course much more fantasy inspired, and Skyrim is also pretty good, but it gives more of a feeling of how romans were shown in older movies, which is a plus.
I'm not too familiar with the lore, but perhaps the armour in Skyrim is 'less protective' because after the Great War, their reduced funds meant it was easier to compromise on the protection of the armour so they could make more sets of it and arm more men? Just a thought.
It's cool how the skyrim helmet is a mixture of Roman and Early Viking because the legion in Skyrim is mainly comprised of Imperials (Based off Romans) and Nords. (Based off Vikings)
I think ESO Imperial armour is the best looking can you please do a video on that. I like the Roman style armour the most, but I still enjoy the Oblivion armour as well. I just assume that the armour in Morrowind and Skyrim is the regular armour worn by the legions while in Oblivion they wear it in the home province.
The Legion in Morrowind also has what looks like a mail haubrerk which is pretty nice and seems like it would be the most common they also have the fancy armors for higher ranks the dragon stuff its bronze or gold color
BoxBear I would say it got worse. Mabye after the great war they couldnt afford as good armor as before. Most of the legionares are eaven wearing mostly leather than iron.
I would say it has more to do with the fact, that Legion in Skyrim uses mostly locals - on training level, they are basically conscripts in hastily-made equipment.
More like - in Oblivion, it simply got LoTRified - look at this - Oblivon's Legion troops are basically Gondor soldiers with worn, badly kept equipment.
HidesHisFace it would seem that way but the one this that bothere is that of skyrim is so cold why don't the Imperial legionnaires who aren't nords have cloaks or some kind of other cold weather protection. I mean just look at how much is left exposed in a northern climate your going to loose troops to weather like that.
Andrew Storey Most of the legionaries you see in Skyrim are Nords and they are naturally resistant to cold. And the rest - my guess would be simplification for the gameplay and economical purposes - they probably had to limit the number of potential armour models in game for that matter - a thing that supports this is existence of closed imperial helmets - they are in game but NOBODY wears them, EVER (unless you mod the game, that is). And honestly - how many legionaries that are not Nords are in game? General Tulius is one and possibly the player's character. You see some Dunmer on their way to join the legion but none in game. The reason is simple - in Skyrim only Nords can be guards (they are the only ones with voiced lines) - just like in Oblivion only Imperials could be guards and legionaries (you see couple who are not Imperials in Kvatch, but notice - they are unable to perform guard duties) - it is just a mechanical simplification here - when analyzing game you always have to take these types of things into account. Also notice - in battle sequences, Legionaries generally do not use shield, except few selected characters. It is to make battle sequences more balanced - Stormcloak armours are weaker in quality and they use Iron grade weapons, while Legionary armour, even the leather one is just better, and their swords are Steel quality - shield would make them overpower the Stormcloaks in every combat. Again - gameplay limitation.
I personally like the Oblivion armour most because i like generally Plate armours in games which looks like typical 14th century knights (or similar) ^^ The only thing i don't like is the spike on the shield. (I don't like spikes on Armour at all). By the way, great Video :D
any chance Warhammer fantasy is doable? some parts it clearly pulls from historical armor sets, but some of it is out of left field, might make for a fun one.
In general a lot of the astetics in Oblivion seemed quite out of place for me, the 'city's' especially (excluding the Imperial city and the city in the north with the nords) all had 17th and 18th century designs which doesn't go along with the Elder Scrolls being in a sort of eternal pre-17th-century state.
I find it strange that the armor kinda reverts back to a more Roman/ancient look in Skyrim versus what it looked like in Oblivion, given that technology should have only increased. The armor in Skyrim seems a bit more primitive, and the only explanation I can reason with this is that there is different armor worn for the outer provinces than in Cyrodiil itself which would explain why Morrowind and Skyrim guards are more similar.
Yes, there is an in-game book (Armorer's Challenge) explaining that the Legion's Armor & Weapons are adapted to the environment, they wouldn't take their heavy knightly Cyrodiilic Armor (Oblivion) slogging through a swamp, or to a frozen frontier. Though I would use the mod "Sleeved Imperials" to fix the problem of them having to much skin exposure is the SNOW. And another note that people forget, yes there is 200yrs between Oblivion & Skyrim, so you would expect advancement, but the Oblivion Empire is the Septim Dynasty, and Skyrim is the Mede Dynasty, the Mede's are (for lack of better term) more poor compared to the glory days of the Septims.
I think that the soldiers that stay within citadel to protect the roads and towns where that armor in that was in oblivion while the soldiers that are actually sent to war wear the imperial armor that's in skyrim
My very favorite armor set in the game! It encompasses my two great loves - European Knight and roman legionarre in such an interesting way. Its imposing and worthy of Tamriel's best infantrymen.
I missed out on Morrowind, skyrim was great. But I'm sorry Oblivion was the greatest, I would completely lose track of time and get lost in the immersion of that game.
Skyrim’s (and Morrowind’s) Imperial armor is the best. I hate how the Oblivion armor is just generic fantasy knight armor. The Imperials and the Legion itself have always been inspired by the Latin Roman Empire. Their armor design should reflect that. The Roman style sets the Legion apart from other fantasy armies which are inspired by medieval knight armor.
Considering all the different styles of Imperial Armour in Morrowind, could you do a Historical Evaluation of most of them, if not all? Also, your video is excellent, as always.
Alot of people complain about how the armour 'downgraded' in Skyrim but logic can easily be made of two things. One. Its been 200 years and a different dynasty sits on the throne, possibly returning to the look from Morrowind was the emperors attempt to intill a sense of nostalgia in the people and link his dynasty to the old? and two. Its very likely in my opinion that the armor in oblivion is better and more advanced because it is for troops in the home province, the heartlands of the empire. What if outside of cyrodiil, all legionairres have romanised armor and the plate legion armor is specific to cyrodiil?
Has he done any video evaluating the society in Oblivion specifically? Even though the Empire has Roman inspiration, Cyrodiil seems to be very Medieval. It is divided up into counties led by Counts who live in castles, and everything else in the game from armor to titles seems to be Medieval.
No, really, they didn't... There is a very little time difference (6 years to be precise) between Morrowind and Oblivion - yet the leap from Roman-style armour to LoTR-stryle common soldiers in full plates is huge. At the same time - Skyrim takes place a good 200 years AFTER Oblivion - and we see a leap backwards in terms of technology there - many armours look more primitive or barely changed at all.
Indeed! The differences are useful to enhance not only the changes in Tamriel's timeline, but also the specific regions and their influences on imperial armoury.
Yes, there is an in-game book (Armorer's Challenge) explaining that the Legion's Armor & Weapons are adapted to the environment, they wouldn't take their heavy knightly Cyrodiilic Armor (Oblivion) slogging through a swamp, or to a frozen frontier. Though I would use the mod "Sleeved Imperials" to fix the problem of them having to much skin exposure is the SNOW. And another note that people forget, yes there is 200yrs between Oblivion & Skyrim, so you would expect advancement, but the Oblivion Empire is the Septim Dynasty, and Skyrim is the Mede Dynasty, the Mede's are (for lack of better term) more poor compared to the glory days of the Septims.
I believe that Oblivions Imperial armour is inspired by the armour worn by Gondor forces in Lord of the rings movies, which interestingly in the original books Gondor was itself inspired by the eastern byzantine romans.
Firstly in the Lord of the Rings books Gondor inspiration is likely more central European than the Byzantines for they have little correlation besides some broad strokes with Gondor . Secondly it is possible that lotr was an inspiration but unlikely as the troops in the movies are very different when compared to it is likely that they were not inspired by lotr to make the Imperials more medieval
Actually it was inspired by 15th and 16th century Italian armors and helmets (that the byzantines bought in high quantities)
Can I just point out that the Imperial Legion decided to invade the frozen tundra while wearing tunics and sandals?
They didn't invade anything. Imperial legion is official military of Skyrim just like any other province. Stormcloaks are just rogue group of rebels.
@@darthportus I don't care, they still wore skirts and sandals to a frozen wasteland
@@HSnake5 Most of them are Nords so they are resistant to cold
@@dio6942a That's not even true, though. And even if that was the case, it's still beyond stupid when the natives still cover themselves.
@@HSnake5 God bless you for still responding 3 years later.
I actually just started oblivion again, such a game :D I love the skyrim armour but the knight style armour in oblivion is amazing looking
Ana Banana But Oblivion still has another atmosphere and you have a mass of mods for it. Skyblivion is the vanilla game.
karl warren Do you mean the 'Relics of the Crusader' armour? If so, I agree. I loved that set
William O' Carroll yeah, easily the best set :D
it's a bit odd they did their armor in Oblivion this way. considering knights and medieval is on the Breton side of things.
karl warren If Bethesda gets some free time, they should remaster Oblivion. I have so many fond memories of it and I just started it again
i just hope that Bethesda doesn't change the design of the imperial armor again... i love that Roman style, it fits the Empire of Tamriel very well in my opinion
Erick Viana Well seeing as Elder Scrolls Online is cannon and in that game there is almost no empire left, Im not so sure there will be an empire in TES VI...
Pumpal ESO is set before the septim dynasty though iirc (I don't play ESO).
tisFrancesfault oh shit! you are right! well in that case, ALL HAIL TO THE EMPIRE!! XD
Actually, I hope they do change it. Every TES game is separated from another by at least a couple hundred years in the timeline. It would be extremely strange if the armor stayed the same. The problem is, though, that as with most fantasy worlds, the TES world seems to be suffering a terrible case of "medieval stasis" (Consult TV Tropes for what that is).
I always just saw that the armour is just different because of the regions. I know it doesn't make sense but eh.
I always prefered the Morrowind style, it was a perfect fusion of roman and medieval style armors
I love when you do historical *evalutaions* !
The Oblivion armor is well designed, but just like the Skyrim, it just looks so bulky. Funny enough, I think because of the low-poly models in Morrowind, the armors look more appropriately thin, because the plates are just flat polygons for the most part. THe fully modelled armors from the newer games sometimes look like they were carved out of rock, or cast in iron.
Well, that's the other side of the coin of what I said. Round surfaces=more polygons. But I think they did a good job with the helmets at least.
SpaghettiToaster the armor in Mount and Blade looks more realistic than the armor in skyrim.
Mount and blade is also more fiction than fantasy tbf
I really enjoy your historical analysis of the elder scrolls world! Please do more, it's really interesting!
Well I have to say, I am actually the big fan of the Imperial armor of Oblivion, it was literally my main armor for most of the campaign. The armor in Skyrim was cool and all but I was more into their Steel Plate, and Ebony Armor.
Love these kinds of videos, hope you would get back tot he dark souls analysis but this is fun too.
Hey if someone wants Oblivion Imperial armors as replacers for Skyrim ones, I have a mod on my channel called "Weapons and Armors from Cyrodiil" follow the link in the description, it will take you to the mod page and you'll be able to choose which Skyrim armor you want to replace (heavy, medium or light or all together)
the Imperial Armour in Skyrim looks good, but my only problem with it (and the rest of the game really), is that it shows too much skin, it doesn't keep you warm. I think that's a missed opportunity.
I like Morrowinds' Imperial armour the most. Probably because of nostalgia, but also because it's an interesting take on the Roman type armour, making it purple, making it more medieval. The decorations on the armour also remind me of later European imperial powers.
Lotoreo I have s mod that adds trousers and sleeves to the set
What I find interesting is the Blades armour. It's a mixture of the Roman Lorica Segmentata and Japanese Tatami Gusoku designs. It does have a reason for this lore wise. I suppose it's because for a time the empire was under the control of a Tsaesci potentate. The Tsaesci are a race of snake people from Akavir, whose culture is heavily inspired by feudal Japanese culture. EDIT: Completely forgot about the Tsaesci Dragonguard and the Akaviri invasion of the first era. I guess that the design of the armour was modified after their annexation into the Empire so that it'd be distinctively Imperial, while still holding Tsaesci design concepts.
Always liked the way Solitude Guards had a mix of Nordic padded cloth armour and full face helmet mixed with the Imperial shin/wrist guards -
i prefer oblivion imperial armor. it was just so damn cool and the guards seemed like they could rek annything
Same here. I wish the game would let you have the other variants too. The White Imperial Watch Armor and then the more fancy looking Imperial Palace Gaurd Armor. The Palace Guard has more golden inlays and a red dragon belt and not as common as the other white imperial watch armor. The only Imperial Armor (aside from the Dragon Armor after main quest) you can have is the grey Imperial legion armor.
I like the Imperial Armor in Oblivion the best. I remember looking at the armor, and thinking "These guys are tough! Enemies of the Empire will have one hell of a time taking down an Imperial soldier wearing that armor."
I personally prefer the legion armor from skyrim myself, but the armor from oblivion is pretty badass.
I find it funny that in skyrim the imperial officer armor is equal to the iron armor found on bandits
but requires steel to upgrade XD
That's because the Oblivion Legionnaires are protecting the capital. Hence why they look tougher. That, and it seems that the Empire in Oblivion prior to the Oblivion Crisis was at the peak of its powers, while the Empire in Skyrim is experiencing a downturn with some provinces rebelling (like one half of Skyrim) and other provinces having already broken away, (Morrowind, Black Marsh) with some even defeating the Empire in war, like the Third Aldmeri Dominion (the alliance that rules the Summerset Isles, Valenwood, Elsweyr)
Skyrim the officers don't have armor they just use the armour the other soldiers use since the Imperial Heavy armor is actually meant to be used more by the Soldiers (ingame dialogue keeps saying that the Imperials are mainly in Heavy)
The Legionnaires in Cyrodiil are protecting the Imperial City since there's no Legion properly in Cyrodiil (unlike Skyirm and Morrowind) since there's no forts garrisoned like Fort Ash which would help protect the roads. As such the Imperial City guards also have to take on patrolling the roads.
IM that’s only some types. Like from the genera at Helgen it is iron armor. But if you get it from joining the imperials or crafting it yourself it is as protective as steel
I would prefer Skyrims if they just had pants sleeves and gloves and a shinier look to the armor. So my favorite is the Morrowind armor
I like Morrowind imperial armor best even though it's low poly. For me, I don't care that much if the armor has a historical resemblance to Roman armor. I care more about if it looks 'imperial', in other words, I want the armor to exude power, order, authority, and dignity. The imperial armors of Oblivion and Skyrim were ok, but I find them somewhat boring with their overall gray color scheme. Morrowind's ordinary imperial armor had colored decorations on its breastplate for example which kind of gave the armor a luxurious feel to it-one could say, it gave the impression that the empire had power and wealth.
I freakin' love this, Metatron historically evaluating armor in games.They are extremely entertaining to watch.
Lovely video mate, I always enjoy your analyses of stuff from my favourite videogame series.
I would like to make two additions:
1. In Morrowind there is also Imperial Templar Armour, which is even more Roman-looking, and supposedly worn only by the high-ranking Imperial Knights from within the Legion.
2. In regard to full metal shields, I'd like to mention the rotella, a Renaissance full metal round shield that is strapped to the forearm. (You can even find videos on TH-cam of people sparring with it!).
Cheers mate!
So glad to see that your channel is growing at a very fast pace! I joined not so long ago and you had 83k subscribers... and now, maybe 10 days later, you already have 95k!
It is totally deserved!
I never cared about latin language or roman history in high school but I do find it interesting now (totally thanks to you!).
WELL DONE NOBLE ONE! :D :D :D
Love the video man! And god *_damn_* does this make me wanna go back to my blacksmith in Skyrim!
This video really makes me wonder how much the armor designers research all this stuff, seeing how there were the fusions, where they clearly wanted the Roman aesthetic but also bolstered by later advances in armor designs. It also makes me wonder that, if Rome had survived _as it was_ for longer, then how much like the Elderscrolls designs would their later armors have looked or become :P
I also wanna say that my favorite would be Morrowind but there's something so.. borderline _hypnotic_ about the suit used in Oblivion. Its really really hard to describe, it's not just the shape, but the severely aged look it has and how thoroughly metal it is. Most armor has segmenting and other stuff for style, flexibility, or authenticity but there's something amazing and imposing about just how thoroughly metal that armor is, that just - again - is somehow so hypnotic, I just love it
Obviously the Stormcloak set is better, because the Empire turned its back on Talos.
Though there is something interesting about the Stormcloak/City Guard armor, the mail on the shoulders is actually a Japanese 6-1 kusari pattern rather than the standard 4-1 European style.
demomanchaos the stormcloaks are ensuring the thalmors victory.
Plattfisken Only if by victory you mean them winning a trip to the afterlife at the hands of a true Nord :P
Then again... I always play Khajiit.....
I think he touches on Stormcloak armour in his Imperial vs Stormcloak politics video. He wasn't quite a fan of it if I recall.
Ana Banana Nope, Stormcloaks are better. They have pizza. The Empire does not have pizza nor pasta, thus it is not as good as the Stormcloaks.
Ana Banana Empire is gone dude. With ESO being cannon and the empire being pretty much only down to Cyrodiil, I highly doubt there will be an empire in TES VI
I think the imperial armor in Skyrim is un suited for the cold temperature.
oblivion imperial armor is the best
Hey if someone wants Oblivion Imperial armors as replacers for Skyrim ones, I have a mod on my channel called "Weapons and Armors from Cyrodiil" follow the link in the description, it will take you to the mod page and you'll be able to choose which Skyrim armor you want to replace (heavy, medium or light or all together)
@@gothic3theageofwar565 I'll have to check that out thx
I would argue that the Imperial shield in oblivion is in fact wood cored. You can see four segments on the front going on a circle around the "boss" that appear to have a darker colored leather on them. Perhaps the exposed wood is simply lined with leather.
I enjoy these types of videos, even though I have never been big on video games.
Also, the audio on this one is awesome.
Oblivion Imperial armour gives of that Gondorian look
An old video, back from when I had 18 years, and still so great.
thanks metatron. never knew I'd wake up to you talking about morrowind!! =)
Finally, Metatron is touching upon the best Elder Scrolls game too.
I have plenty of videos about the elder scrolls mate, use the search engine :3
Yes, but these were Oblivion/Skyrim ones. I think this is the first time you actually mentioned Morrowind armor.
R Zero Ah ok yes indeed, and I will continue to do so, although my favourite is probably Oblivion, but more Morrowind to come!
R Zero sorry to piss you off. I consider skyrim superior
To me the Roman style armor makes no sense.. Skyrim is set in the future and the Imperials seem to have gone backwards with their design.
It’s not set in the future
Linty it goes from Roman in morrowind, to a more medieval style in oblivion then back to sorta Roman in Skyrim, and Skyrim is set 200 years in the 4th era while oblivion and morrowind were set during the end of the third
Alex The Awsome well the legion armor in Skyrim looks like ass, oblivion did that better, and why were you talking about the ES6? I didn’t mention it at all, and I know Skyrim is present day for the elder scrolls, it’s 200 years in the 4th era
Alex The Awsome also I didn’t have a problem with them going back to Roman design (just didn’t like how it looked), I was just stating how it changed during the 3 games
The Legion armour in Oblivion makes more sense as Imperial City guard considering there is no proper Legion in Oblivion just the Garrison for the Imperial City (There is no garrisoned Legion forts in Oblivion) and that Skyrim and Morrowind actually have a Legion there.
I love the look of the Skyrim armor as much as the one of the Oblivion one. But since Oblivion storywise is just my favourite game of all time, I gadda go with the Oblivion set here.
Love that you made a video about this! :-)
So glad to have content like this on these late nights at work. Not surprised that the Imperials in Elder Scrolls borrow so heavily from Roman culture
I have to agree, with you. I like the skyrim imperial armor for it being more accurate, but still love the armor in oblivion.
Oblivion armor is the best I feel, combines that awesome Gonfor armor from the LotR movies with a Roman and dark fantasy vibe. Easily the coolest, it made the empire feel extremely powerful to see the average grunt in such incredible armor
my favourite imperial armor is those being worn by the clones
rahadian panji oki ayyyyyy
personally i prefer the oblivion set, i like the medieval-greek style
I got so excited when I saw this :D I love your content!
Its especially weird since in ESO (The Elder Scrolls Online) The Imperial Armor Was similar to the Oblivion style but it seemed more...advanced even tho the game plays 700 before Morrowind.
My favorite was Oblivion's imperial armor
Sort of makes sense for Elder Scrolls for the Imperial armor to be a mixture of Roman and Nordic looking armor. Seeing as how you have the Imperials and Nords usually being such good friends, they take inspirations from each other.
Oblivion is my favorite. It's what I'd think a fusion of Greek/Roman and late century Knight armor. and the Imperial Dragon Armor is just amazing. And when worn, I believe the gauntlets are fully articulated with metal on the fingers. The world model (when you drop it) has the fingers not covered.
I really, really loved the Imperial armor in Oblivion.
The thing I hate about Skyrim, well one of the things hahahahaha is that they go from having full suits of armor for the Imperials to wearing the Roman Skirt type armor. That just irks the shit out of me because the Morrowind Imperial Armor is so awesome and then you basically just have armor like a Roman Legionary in Skyrim.
What a well made video!, For me I prefer Cyrodiil, Oblivion game Imperial armor. Imperials are my favorite race. Hey just a suggestion have you thought to do similar content related to architecture, like for example Morrowind Imperial architecture Cyrodiil Imperial architecture and Skyrim Imperial architecture (I guess the most imperial architecture is on Solitude of course), would be really cool, maybe not too specific about real life historical comparison but to compare the features between lands
I like the Imperial Armor in Oblivion.
On the Oblivion shield, between the dark grey outer steel and inner light colored steel, looks to be like leather to me, and possibly a stitching between the brown and dark grey (there are very small white dots around the edge where they meet). Could be like the wooden core model you showed with a leather bounding on the front of the wood? Just a possible observation.
I'd like to see Metatron make a game where he can design any armor with no strict adherence to history. I bet he'd come up with the most cool looking functional armor of all time. I wonder how easy it would be to think outside the box and be able to make armor with features that never existed together, but inspired maybe by historical reality so the game is still immersive enough.
Just noticed that the nord plate armour, in skyrim, looks very similar to polish winged hussar armour. Lovely video, Metatron :D
Andre of Astora so if you get on a horse, your enemy can see you coming down (or in skyrims case, up) the mountainside.
I thought the Oblivion pauldron was more reminiscent of the Roman gladiator's shoulder piece, called a galerus, I believe.
I think my favourite is the Morrowind one, but I really love the skyrim one with the closed spartiat-like helmet. Not accurate, but soooooo intimidating.
***** Hey, I know. I'm playing a lot of Morrowind this last months !
One of my favourite games, actually. Faaaar before Skyrim or Oblivion.
I always watch entire outro for its awsomeness :D
Ah good old Morrowind. I loved playing that game back when. Time for a long overdue replay I think.
Weighted is also a word, which sounds like waited. As in "the curtains were weighted at the bottom with lead weights."
I liked the Morrowind armor the best, don't forget also there were several categories of Imperial armor in Morrowind as you looked further up the ranks and started encountering the various Orders within the Imperial Military. It got more interesting as you went. They also had variety with the scout armors in both Morrowind and Skyrim that were interesting.
Morrowind is the best, best Elder Scrolls game ever and still playing it today so the "nostalgia" argument is bullshit.
ok
Stannis Baratheon See, a lot of people say that but to me morrowind just seems poorly made. First of all, the game mechanics are poorly designed. At the beginning you seem to miss every single attack despite obviously hitting the enemy, and by the end the laws of physics seem to no longer apply to you since you can now jump over mountains, run faster than the speed of sound and straight up fly while AC130ing in people with 1 shot fire balls... Not to mention that alchemy was completely broken and with it you can beat the game in 5 minutes from a new save... Thats just bad design imo.
Re-playing a game doesn't count the nostalgia argument. No matter how much time in between playthroughs you never look at it with fresh eyes. You experience can still be heavily influenced by nostalgia, since you go back to the game to reminisce on the way it made you feel when you first played it.
I agree about the game mechanics is not the best played some time ago and the combat is just argh...
But the world of Morrowind is the best one they made, every tree, every rock, and every curve of landscape was placed by hand, as opposed to using a number of templates or pregenerated random land.
And the world is so mystic and alien, it have such a great feeling about it, and it really draws you in.
Morrowind is easily my favorite too. I really enjoyed the world design of morrowind. Also it does not feel like the game is constantly holding your hand. Might be just nostalgia though.
Skyrim and Oblivion and Morrowind are my grandsons favorite games
The Penitus Oculatus Armor with the Steel Imperial helmet (closed) from Skyrim is my favorite.
Metatron have you ever considered doing a collaberation with Lindybeige? I'd love to see that!
I like the Oblivion Legion Armor better. Loved how it was a combination of a roman legionnaire and a feudal knight. 😈
In Morrowind, I used an override that gave the Imperials a more Roman-looking style - it was magnificent. I will send you a link to some screenshots when I will login again into Morrowind, if I will remind to take them.
The Imperial Steel Cuirass in Morrowind was heavily inspired by the armor Russel Crow's character wears in the Gladiator.
there's also a Greek hoplite influenced Imperial helmet in skyrim you can find in some dungeons or on some random bandits, though it's rare for a outlaw to have such an item
Elder Scrolls, Didn't expect Metatron to be a Elder Sage
Morrowind definitely takes the cake in this category. It's also important to point out that there are other variants in the game, a good variety actually, that also more or less keep to the roman/hre theme. Oblivion's is alright, but of course much more fantasy inspired, and Skyrim is also pretty good, but it gives more of a feeling of how romans were shown in older movies, which is a plus.
I'm not too familiar with the lore, but perhaps the armour in Skyrim is 'less protective' because after the Great War, their reduced funds meant it was easier to compromise on the protection of the armour so they could make more sets of it and arm more men? Just a thought.
It's cool how the skyrim helmet is a mixture of Roman and Early Viking because the legion in Skyrim is mainly comprised of Imperials (Based off Romans) and Nords. (Based off Vikings)
Ooh the paintings of the Gaelic Roman helmets are from Robbie McSweenie on DeviantArt. He's an awesome artist, I highly recommend him.
I think ESO Imperial armour is the best looking can you please do a video on that.
I like the Roman style armour the most, but I still enjoy the Oblivion armour as well. I just assume that the armour in Morrowind and Skyrim is the regular armour worn by the legions while in Oblivion they wear it in the home province.
Metatron, you neglected to mention the Corinthian-styled Imperial Closed Helmet.
Hey just found your channel you have amazing content subbed just wanted to say to keep up the good work.
The Legion in Morrowind also has what looks like a mail haubrerk which is pretty nice and seems like it would be the most common they also have the fancy armors for higher ranks the dragon stuff its bronze or gold color
So did the imperial amour improve or get worse over time?
BoxBear I would say it got worse.
Mabye after the great war they couldnt afford as good armor as before. Most of the legionares are eaven wearing mostly leather than iron.
I would say it has more to do with the fact, that Legion in Skyrim uses mostly locals - on training level, they are basically conscripts in hastily-made equipment.
More like - in Oblivion, it simply got LoTRified - look at this - Oblivon's Legion troops are basically Gondor soldiers with worn, badly kept equipment.
HidesHisFace it would seem that way but the one this that bothere is that of skyrim is so cold why don't the Imperial legionnaires who aren't nords have cloaks or some kind of other cold weather protection. I mean just look at how much is left exposed in a northern climate your going to loose troops to weather like that.
Andrew Storey Most of the legionaries you see in Skyrim are Nords and they are naturally resistant to cold.
And the rest - my guess would be simplification for the gameplay and economical purposes - they probably had to limit the number of potential armour models in game for that matter - a thing that supports this is existence of closed imperial helmets - they are in game but NOBODY wears them, EVER (unless you mod the game, that is).
And honestly - how many legionaries that are not Nords are in game? General Tulius is one and possibly the player's character. You see some Dunmer on their way to join the legion but none in game. The reason is simple - in Skyrim only Nords can be guards (they are the only ones with voiced lines) - just like in Oblivion only Imperials could be guards and legionaries (you see couple who are not Imperials in Kvatch, but notice - they are unable to perform guard duties) - it is just a mechanical simplification here - when analyzing game you always have to take these types of things into account.
Also notice - in battle sequences, Legionaries generally do not use shield, except few selected characters. It is to make battle sequences more balanced - Stormcloak armours are weaker in quality and they use Iron grade weapons, while Legionary armour, even the leather one is just better, and their swords are Steel quality - shield would make them overpower the Stormcloaks in every combat. Again - gameplay limitation.
what about the imperial armors of ESO
I personally like the Oblivion armour most because i like generally Plate armours in games which looks like typical 14th century knights (or similar) ^^ The only thing i don't like is the spike on the shield. (I don't like spikes on Armour at all).
By the way, great Video :D
and the guantlets of Skyirim set?
any chance Warhammer fantasy is doable?
some parts it clearly pulls from historical armor sets, but some of it is out of left field, might make for a fun one.
I'll see what I can do ^^
TheCrankyCow Great Idea, I'd love to see that!
I think the regalia from Sheogoraths DLC is really nice because the metal links are more similar to fish scale.
In general a lot of the astetics in Oblivion seemed quite out of place for me, the 'city's' especially (excluding the Imperial city and the city in the north with the nords) all had 17th and 18th century designs which doesn't go along with the Elder Scrolls being in a sort of eternal pre-17th-century state.
Elder scrolls human are all superhuman across the board, a base farmer threw his friend two stories up to save him
I find it strange that the armor kinda reverts back to a more Roman/ancient look in Skyrim versus what it looked like in Oblivion, given that technology should have only increased. The armor in Skyrim seems a bit more primitive, and the only explanation I can reason with this is that there is different armor worn for the outer provinces than in Cyrodiil itself which would explain why Morrowind and Skyrim guards are more similar.
Yes, there is an in-game book (Armorer's Challenge) explaining that the Legion's Armor & Weapons are adapted to the environment, they wouldn't take their heavy knightly Cyrodiilic Armor (Oblivion) slogging through a swamp, or to a frozen frontier. Though I would use the mod "Sleeved Imperials" to fix the problem of them having to much skin exposure is the SNOW. And another note that people forget, yes there is 200yrs between Oblivion & Skyrim, so you would expect advancement, but the Oblivion Empire is the Septim Dynasty, and Skyrim is the Mede Dynasty, the Mede's are (for lack of better term) more poor compared to the glory days of the Septims.
please do more set comparisions, there are few that cover all the three games :)
I think that the soldiers that stay within citadel to protect the roads and towns where that armor in that was in oblivion while the soldiers that are actually sent to war wear the imperial armor that's in skyrim
My very favorite armor set in the game! It encompasses my two great loves - European Knight and roman legionarre in such an interesting way. Its imposing and worthy of Tamriel's best infantrymen.
I missed out on Morrowind, skyrim was great. But I'm sorry Oblivion was the greatest, I would completely lose track of time and get lost in the immersion of that game.
Skyrim’s (and Morrowind’s) Imperial armor is the best. I hate how the Oblivion armor is just generic fantasy knight armor. The Imperials and the Legion itself have always been inspired by the Latin Roman Empire. Their armor design should reflect that. The Roman style sets the Legion apart from other fantasy armies which are inspired by medieval knight armor.
Considering all the different styles of Imperial Armour in Morrowind, could you do a Historical Evaluation of most of them, if not all? Also, your video is excellent, as always.
Fun fact: The name Tiber Septim is believed to have been derived from Septimius Severus, strengthening the Idea that the Empire is based off of Rome
i love the coffin-shaped shields of skyrim imperial legion. menacing and somewhat morbid.
Alot of people complain about how the armour 'downgraded' in Skyrim but logic can easily be made of two things. One. Its been 200 years and a different dynasty sits on the throne, possibly returning to the look from Morrowind was the emperors attempt to intill a sense of nostalgia in the people and link his dynasty to the old? and two. Its very likely in my opinion that the armor in oblivion is better and more advanced because it is for troops in the home province, the heartlands of the empire. What if outside of cyrodiil, all legionairres have romanised armor and the plate legion armor is specific to cyrodiil?
Can you review the Imperial Armor Mods from the Skyrim Nexus?
Has he done any video evaluating the society in Oblivion specifically? Even though the Empire has Roman inspiration, Cyrodiil seems to be very Medieval. It is divided up into counties led by Counts who live in castles, and everything else in the game from armor to titles seems to be Medieval.
Have you ever tried the Total War series? You should evaluate the weapons and armours there.
But what about the Blades armor? It bears a resemblance to Lorica Segmentata. And the helmet appears to be a more decorative variant of roman helmets.
I like the dawnguard armor of Skyrim myself.
Is it me, or the Oblivion version have the cuirass reach the hips as a single unarticulated piece? I find that a common mistakeon fantasy armours.
I think you should have also covered the 3rd heavy imperial helmet in this videos
Metatron have spread his wings...
Spread Wings.... Wings..........
But what about the DRAGONS?
i wish their were paladin armors. the imperial watch armor has the perfect color but you cant wear it without commands and yet it still bugs out
I love the Armor from Oblivion
Bethesda did a good job of updating the look between games making you feel like you are in a new era of technology
No, really, they didn't...
There is a very little time difference (6 years to be precise) between Morrowind and Oblivion - yet the leap from Roman-style armour to LoTR-stryle common soldiers in full plates is huge.
At the same time - Skyrim takes place a good 200 years AFTER Oblivion - and we see a leap backwards in terms of technology there - many armours look more primitive or barely changed at all.
Indeed! The differences are useful to enhance not only the changes in Tamriel's timeline, but also the specific regions and their influences on imperial armoury.
HidesHisFace makes sense. oblivion is in the cosmopolitan capital and morrowind and skyrim are in the boonies of the empire
Yes, there is an in-game book (Armorer's Challenge) explaining that the Legion's Armor & Weapons are adapted to the environment, they wouldn't take their heavy knightly Cyrodiilic Armor (Oblivion) slogging through a swamp, or to a frozen frontier. Though I would use the mod "Sleeved Imperials" to fix the problem of them having to much skin exposure is the SNOW. And another note that people forget, yes there is 200yrs between Oblivion & Skyrim, so you would expect advancement, but the Oblivion Empire is the Septim Dynasty, and Skyrim is the Mede Dynasty, the Mede's are (for lack of better term) more poor compared to the glory days of the Septims.
ReichspepesKonzentrationsLager Die Bethesda Jüden hat es ruiniert