About to start Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion. Any tips?
I'm about to start Oblivion on the 360. I've read somewhere about unbalanced character issues. I read a guide on gamefaqs but it was pretty dense for someone who has never played the game yet.
Any simple tips, suggestions or things to be aware of before I dive in?
3,582 games and counting! Pics of tons of stuff!
Come visit and sign the guestbook:
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v48/SimplyDave/
The first time you play Oblivion, I think it's good not to go crazy on mods. Just the un-official patch is probably fine for enjoying the game.
As far as unbalanced characters, some people will talk about overhaul stat mods, don't listen to them. Just understand how the levelling system works, and you'll be fine. If you want to mess with that stuff, wait until you've beaten the game at least once, I think.
If you need help with any of the quests, this is a great website:
http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Oblivion
As far as levelling goes, you gain a level every time you gain 10 skill points in your major stats. Your level-ups won't be fruitful though if you neglect your non-major skills. Given that enemies get stronger as you level up, the game can get harder the more you level up, IF you levelled poorly and got meager stat gains. This might be able to help you understand the system:
http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Leveling
Just have fun with the game. It's an awesome game, lots of area to explore.
Make sure you don't choose a dual class type character such as Spellsword etc.
You'll be much better choosing either to use or melee or attack magic. Don't mix and match. Make sure to do stuff like pick either light or heavy armor, don't try both. Only one specific weapon type.
For melee characters have stuff you'll use often and melee characters should only have the restorative magic ability if any. Magic users use stuff you'll use often. But yeah. The game punishes you for making a cross class character.
I think Oblivion pretty much sucks though. It's not even that great even when you do everything correct.
Everything in the above post is opinion unless stated otherwise.
One thing though: if you get bitten by a vampire and don't want to become one, dont wait to get the antidote that will turn you human again (search for FAQs on that if it happens). I waited too long and didn't want to be a vampire, but by the time I got around to trying to find a cure, it was too late: people were afraid of me. I had to track back to an older savefile to undo my mistake (like many RPGs, always a good idea to have a couple of savefiles in case you make a major mistake or what not).
I was also going to mention this. Any time the game says you have contracted "Porphyric Hemophilia" you want to use some form of Cure Disease (a potion, etc.) fairly soon. If you wait too long, you become a vampire and have to undertake a long and difficult quest chain to get cured. Being a vampire does give you some nice bonuses and abilities, but for your first play-through you probably want to avoid it since it makes doing many quests more difficult.Originally Posted by Lady Jaye
Go destroy all the Oblivion gates first!
They just get harder the higher level you go and can even start spilling monsters over into the regular land. Do the main story quest first! Unless you like a really hard challenges and enjoy getting your azz kicked.
I think harder is better. I tried to do everything in the game except some of the evil stuff and eventually you get tough enough that nothing can stop you.
I think exploration is the fun part and the gate areas get repetitive of you do them in a row. Complete quests as they are convenient...follow your own whims...and of course don't become a vampire -- at least too soon.
This is really the best possible advice you will get...
Make sure your major skills/attributes are based around things you'll be doing all the time. That way you don't have to concentrate on grinding skills that you never/rarely use to level up.
"One of the ways I gauge a DS game is by recharges. "...Tycho (Penny Arcade)
This is typically what I do, with the exception being Athletics/Acrobatics, which I'd recommend against choosing as a major skill in ANY Elder Scrolls game. Remember, you don't need to have something picked as a major skill in order to gain in it. These go up quickly just by running/jumping, so by picking them as majors you're going to drastically accelerate your level gains, which isn't necessarily a good thing because it means your important major skills probably won't be as powered-up as they otherwise would be.
As for tips, here are a few...
- The difficulty slider is your friend, use it! No excuse for the game being too easy or especially too hard with that feature.
- Make an extra save file just before you're about to leave the Imperial Sewers. This will be your template for new games, so you don't have to go through the tutorial over and over again.
- If you're a magic user, try to get into the Arcane University as soon as possible. It's worth it just for the spellmaker, which you can use to make things like a 5-second 100 pt charm spell, which comes in VERY handy for merchants and just in general.
- TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SIGIL STONES. Man, I sure wish I would have the first time I played through the game instead of just ignoring them in my inventory. These are the shimmery orb things you get as a reward for destroying an Oblivion gate. They carry a random enchantment effect, that can be more powerful than any enchantment you can possibly make at the altar in the Arcane University, and they're available to ANY character type. There are a zillion Oblivion gates, so don't feel bad about using up a stone.
The real way to take advantage of the stones is to save your game just before you go to remove one (you'll know what I'm talking about). The effect the stone has is random, and it's assigned when you remove the stone from its altar or whatever. So basically you remove the stone, check its attributes, and if it's not what you want, reload and repeat. A little tedious maybe, but worth it.
Also, the power of the effect given to stones is determined by your level, so it's worth gaining a few before you start going through the gates.
- Don't be in a huge rush to complete the main quest. After a certain point in the main quest, the Oblivion gates stop appearing (and so do the Sigil stones). I would play through enough of the main quest for Oblivion gates to start appearing, and then hold off for a good while until you acquire all the levels and enchantments you want.
There's more of course, but I'll stop there. There's obviously a lot to this game. It has a few warts, and it's easy for people to just hate it outright because of them, but I think the issues are mostly minor, easily-overcome, and once you do get over them you realize there's a pretty damn awesome game there. Have fun with it!
The game could also autosave on you when you have no health, and are dying due to the light, and can only walk a step before deathSadness.
Look up information on efficient levelling on google...it helps balance the game. Keep track of your major and minor skill improvements on paper. This added a lot more time to the game for me, and was tedious at times, but it did not wreck the overall enjoyment,
There are suggestions on how you should choose your major and minor skills, etc.
The thing about sigil stones is, as you level up the enhancements they offer improve... but so does the difficulty of closing the oblivion gates. What I'm trying to say is don't immediately go mad on oblivion gates, explore other dungeons as well (ayelid ruins are the best type for looting purposes- particularly if you're a magic user) to maximise your potential gain.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
