The Elder Scrolls franchise has always had a unique take on character progression where player abilities leveled up with use. This system has been in use all the way up through the latest game – Skyrim – but some fans may be concerned that Zenimax Online would take a different approach with the franchise’s first foray into MMOs.

In the latest trailer for The Elder Scrolls Online, the developers at Zenimax Online discuss just how character progression works in their first MMO. The good news is that they do keep some of the use-based skill progression from the mainline Elder Scrolls games, but now there is a heavy dependence on experience when leveling up. To clarify, all players will gain experience upon defeating enemies, exploring the world and completing quests. Upon leveling up, you will gain points that can be spent on both stats and skills.

It’s all pretty standard MMO fair so far, but the skills is where The Elder Scrolls Online becomes more like a traditional Elder Scrolls game. Every player starts out with only a basic skill, but will unlock new skills along its skill tree as they use it more. Players will gain access to specific skill trees based upon their race and class, but they will also gain access to new skill trees based upon a player’s progression through the story. For example, you can gain new skill trees by becoming a werewolf or vampire.

You can see all the above and more in action in the trailer below:

The Elder Scrolls Online is slated to release in 2014 on PC, Xbox One and PS4.

[Image: ZenimaxOnlineStudios/YouTube]