Need a good character build for Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

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Pepsimies

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#1 Pepsimies
Member since 2004 • 25 Posts
Hey, I was thinking of creating a new character in TES IV, cause I think I screwed my current character. I was thinking of creating a Battlemage, but is it a good build? And if I make a Battlemage, the race should be Dark Elf, right? So, should I make a guy like that?
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zeus_gb

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#2 zeus_gb
Member since 2004 • 7793 Posts

I use a Mage Crusader. Good strength, heavy armour, blade, blunt, good restoration, alteration and desruction skills.

Imperial born under sign of the mage.

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Planeforger

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#3 Planeforger
Member since 2004 • 19583 Posts

You can't really make a bad build in Oblivion - the game is 'flexible' enough to allow almost any character to handle every situation.

Probably the only thing you want to avoid while making a character is choosing non-combat skills that will level up quickly. For example, picking Security will probably be a bad idea - firstly because there's an easy-to-find artifact that makes that skill totally redundant, and secondly because the enemies level up with you - you don't want to be fighting high-level enemies when you have only been levelling up non-combat skills.

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#4 Pepsimies
Member since 2004 • 25 Posts

Probably the only thing you want to avoid while making a character is choosing non-combat skills that will level up quickly. For example, picking Security will probably be a bad idea - firstly because there's an easy-to-find artifact that makes that skill totally redundant, and secondly because the enemies level up with you - you don't want to be fighting high-level enemies when you have only been levelling up non-combat skills.

Planeforger

That does make sense. So, what should I do? Do you think the Battlemage would be a fun and good build to play? But I was also thinking of a Warrior, but since it has Blade, Blunt and Hand to Hand, should I replace one of those with something else? I was thinking of replacing HTH with Restoration. BTW, here is my current character:

Race: Breton Male

Birthsign: Thief

Class: Warrior (except that I replaced Blunt and HTH with Restoration and Destruction)

I have only played a few hours with this guy, so I don't mind restarting. Anyone know any better builds?

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Planeforger

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#5 Planeforger
Member since 2004 • 19583 Posts

^^ I can't remember the pre-set Warrior build, so I can't really comment...but you're on the right track if you've only picked one weapon skill - there isn't much point specialising in three weapon types when you'll maily only be using one weapon.

If you're going to be playing as a melee fighter, you'll probably want Armourer, Block, an armour skill (either) and a weapon skill (any of them).
The rest are really up to you - Alchemy/Restoration would be useful for healing, Illusion/Sneak may give you the edge in battles, Acrobatics/Athletics are great if you want to move around a lot in combat, and you may Marksmanship/Destruction to hit those few enemies which you can't reach with your melee attack.

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JN_Fenrir

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#6 JN_Fenrir
Member since 2004 • 1551 Posts
Technically, it doesn't really matter which race you choose. The reason for this is that you can freely train any skill you want, so even if you choose a race with relatively low starting levels in the skills that are most important to your character, you can always just spend a little extra time training those skills to raise them up anyway. There are only a few things you should consider when choosing a race: Starting attributes Depending on your character class, some attributes can be much harder to raise naturally than others. Therefore, it can be really beneficial to pick a race that already starts with high levels in those attributes. So if you're going to play a battlemage, it may be better to choose a race that starts with high Strength and Endurance since raising those skills on your own means putting yourself in harm's way, whereas a magic skill like Destruction or Mysticism can be much "safer" to train, since you don't need to be engaged in combat to do it. On the other hand, it could also be beneficial to choose a race that has has high levels in other attributes. If you were to play an Argonian, for example, you would start at level 50 in Agility, which is what keeps you from being staggered or knocked down in combat, and Speed, which is what lets you haul a** out of there when things get really hairy. An Imperial starts with 50 Personality, which will make you money sooner, and could eventually make bandits a little less eager to rob you (you mad, crotchety, old wizard, you!). Remember, there's no "correct" way to build your character, and any shortcomings you may start with can often be offset by your birthsign and the skills you choose. And here's another quick tip: Orcs can actually end up being the fastest (on foot) race in the game due to their height/stride advantage over other races. Clearly, Oblivion welcomes you to think outside the box. :) Special Traits & Abilities Many of the special traits and abilities belonging to a given race provide advantages that would be very difficult, if not impossible, to attain otherwise: Altmers (High Elves) have an enormous +100 bonus to magicka, which is the equivalent of 50 points (a minimum of 10 levels) of Intelligence; Bretons and Orcs have natural resistances to magic (50% and 25% respectively) which could be really helpful to a melee character; Redguards and Argonians have enormous resistances to poison and disease, making them hardy, self-reliant adventurers. In general, most of the daily abilities are pretty weak due to their limited use, such as the Khajiit ability to cause an enemy to flee or the Dunmer (Dark Elf) ability to summon a lowly Ancestral Ghost for protection (both of these effects can rather easily be made as custom spells), but they can also be pretty useful depending on your style of play. The Khajiit Eye of Fear, for example, could be very useful for the fledgling thief who has yet to practice his or her Illusion magic, while provoking the attack of a summoned Ancestoral Ghost would give a Dunmer born under the sign of the Atronach a way to replenish his or her mana pool without guzzling potions. Again, it really pays to be a little creative with your character choices. ...and finally: Appearance and Profile If you're interested in staying somewhat faithful to game lore and/or logic and reason, you will probably want to choose your race carefully. I'll give you an example of what I mean. Dunmer have really nice bonuses to Destruction and various combat skills, and are also highly resistant to fire. You could easily see this as being a prime setup for a noble, holy-rollin', do-gooder paladin-type character. According to game lore, however, the Dunmer are known for being extremely selfish and distrustful of other races, which means they probably wouldn't be devoting their lives to anyone else's causes. Likewise, you may also have picked up on the fact that the natural skills and abilities of the Khajiit are well-suited for a life of thievery. However, the Khajiit culture is rather like that of monks, from their preference for simple dress to their skills in unarmed combat, to their love of passing around the skooma pipe. Yes, they're crafty enough to swipe a jewel or two, but they're also known to be cunning merchants, and no more underhanded than the members of any race in Tamriel. But all that only matters if you really want to roleplay, which you certainly don't have to if you don't want to. Again, don't limit yourself to thinking that there is only one way to create the type of character you want to play. Not every path in Oblivion is easy, but just about all of them are possible. Most of the fun (at least it was for me) is challenging yourself to see what you can come up with and accomplish. A sword-swinging brute who knows a thing or two about magic is probably the easiest type of character to play in Oblivion, but the easy way isn't necessarily the most fun, rewarding way. If you were to play a battlemage and truly stay "in character" -- relying on destruction magic and your summons to supplement your somewhat meager fighting skills -- mixing sword and sorcery would certainly require a little more strategy. I always recommend creating a custom class since it gets you better in tune with your character and helps you learn more about the levelling system, but if you're interested in the Battlemage class, I'd definitely change a few things. First of all, you don't need two weapon skills, so pick the one you want to keep and replace the other with an armor skill (personally, I'd go with Light Armor for this character). Next, I'd axe Alteration. It can be useful in certain situations, but it doesn't give you any abilities you wouldn't get from even a moderate level in Alchemy. Speaking of which, scrap that one too. You'll be using it a lot, so you'll want to keep it as a minor skill so it doesn't cause you to level prematurely (thus advancing the difficulty of the game before your character has adequately developed skills in other areas). I'd replace those two skills with Mercantile (better bargaining ability + high skill in alchemy = one filthy rich battlemage) and Block, which is always useful for warrior classes. As for race, like I said, I think that's mainly up to you. But I'd probably go with either a Redguard, for their resistances and high starting Endurance (birthsign: The Apprentice or The Mage), or a Breton, for their +50 bonus to magicka and 50% resistance to magic (birthsign: The Warrior, or maybe even The Steed). Don't worry about the +10 bonus to Destruction you would get as a Dunmer, you can easily make that up in a level or two. Maxing your health means raising Endurance starting as early as possible, and you'll be glad to have a little more "fight" in you when you're just starting out. I also advise that you avoid Restoration magic because you aren't playing a pure mage class, and so you'll want to save your fairly small magicka pool for disposing of the enemy. Besides, that's what you have Alchemy for. Blah, blah, blah... And I'm rambling. It's your character, after all. :)
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Pepsimies

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#7 Pepsimies
Member since 2004 • 25 Posts

Ok, so one more thing.. I will make a warrior, but a few more questions:

1. What race should I use (I was thinking about Redguard, Nord or Breton)

2. What birthsign? (Thief or Warrior, or your own suggestion)

3. What class (I was thinking about warrior, but replace Blunt and HTH with something else, but replace them with what??)

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Pepsimies

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#9 Pepsimies
Member since 2004 • 25 Posts
Bump...
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Domingo1093

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#10 Domingo1093
Member since 2005 • 195 Posts
Before creating a battlemage, be sure you understand how to level up your character. I built a very strong mage but I didn't select the pre-built character. You MUST create a new class to get the strongest mage. I leveled up each time with the maximum points I could per level (which is 5). Now, my character is almost at 100 in each characteristic. You have to select primary abilities that you won't use a lot. Be sure to understand that before starting a new game...
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The_Great_Samu

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#11 The_Great_Samu
Member since 2006 • 458 Posts

You have to select primary abilities that you won't use a lot. Be sure to understand that before starting a new game...Domingo1093

Luckily not all of us play like u...

Pepsihemmo pelaa Oblivionia hahmolla joka haluaisit olla tai jolla haluaisit pelata. U know what I mean. I mean pick the race, the birthsign and the class u want. U should play Oblivion based on your character, not to max every skill.

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FPSGunnerDude

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#12 FPSGunnerDude
Member since 2006 • 948 Posts
Argonians rule. Free water breathing, poison and disease resistance
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JN_Fenrir

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#13 JN_Fenrir
Member since 2004 • 1551 Posts

Ok, so one more thing.. I will make a warrior, but a few more questions:

1. What race should I use (I was thinking about Redguard, Nord or Breton)

2. What birthsign? (Thief or Warrior, or your own suggestion)

3. What class (I was thinking about warrior, but replace Blunt and HTH with something else, but replace them with what??)

Pepsimies
I'm going to answer these backwards because it actually makes more sense that way. 3. Abandoning magic altogether isn't really a good idea, but it is possible. Instead of Blunt and H2H, I recommend Marksman and Sneak. If you're not going to use magic, you're definitely going to want to have the ability to dish out damage from afar. In fact, Alchemy would be a really good idea too (it is with most classes anyway, so learn to love it). 2. & 1. This depends on the race you choose. If you're going with a Redguard, I'd choose The Thief, or maybe even the Atronach since you won't be using magic anyway. You could also go with an Argonian born under the sign of The Warrior, which would give you starting stats similar to those of a Redguard born under the sign of The Thief -- 10 less Endurance points, but you'd have 25% more resistance (and therefore immunity) to poison and the ability to breathe underwater, which can come in handy at times. Don't forget to factor in the +5 you get from your two favored attributes as well.
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Domingo1093

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#14 Domingo1093
Member since 2005 • 195 Posts

[QUOTE="Domingo1093"]You have to select primary abilities that you won't use a lot. Be sure to understand that before starting a new game...The_Great_Samu

Luckily not all of us play like u...

Pepsihemmo pelaa Oblivionia hahmolla joka haluaisit olla tai jolla haluaisit pelata. U know what I mean. I mean pick the race, the birthsign and the class u want. U should play Oblivion based on your character, not to max every skill.

I play Oblivion based on my character...I only like to make the most powerful character possible. If you like to have a crappy character, that's your problem...

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RK-Mara

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#15 RK-Mara
Member since 2006 • 11489 Posts

I play currently with breton battlemage and Oscuro's Overhaul mod. And it has worked really well so far (level 20).

I still like playing a thief more though.

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weirjf

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#16 weirjf
Member since 2002 • 2392 Posts

You can't really make a bad build in Oblivion - the game is 'flexible' enough to allow almost any character to handle every situation.

Planeforger

Oh sure you can. I've made a couple of class-types that didn't survive well at all in aMOST situations.

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#17 sircyrus
Member since 2003 • 6358 Posts

Blade (or blunt), block, sneak, marksman, destruction, restoration, light armor. That's what I'd suggest if you want a battlemage-type character. If you're going to be sneaking and using spells you wont be getting many strength-ups at level-up so light armor will let you carry more. Yeah you wont be encumbered by heavy armor at higher ranks as much as you will be at lower ranks, but it takes a while to get that high, and light armor gets an armor boost later so the difference isn't very noticable.

When I played I just wore what I liked the appearance of and didn't care how well it protected me. Ran around for quite a few levels in some black pants and fur vest (barbarian look, hehe). If doesn't matter what you wear if you rarely get hit. All depends on how you play.

As for race, choose what you like the appearance of, or what you like the bonuses for. Only you can make that call. Same with birthsign, though typically you'll want a useful birthsign - attribute bonuses, not the ability ones. The abilities are a waste since they're so easily mirrored in the game world (quest lockpick, poison/paralyze potions, invisibility spell or potions, etc).

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marc5477

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#18 marc5477
Member since 2005 • 388 Posts
All characters created in Oblivion eventually becomes the same at end game anyway unless you purposely try to play without leveling (which makes the game very easy btw). The only real differences between characters is if you pick the Atronach birth sign which does change the gameplay a little since it changes is how you regen magicka. Otherwise... making a new character is pointless unless you just want to play the game again.
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JN_Fenrir

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#19 JN_Fenrir
Member since 2004 • 1551 Posts

When I played I just wore what I liked the appearance of and didn't care how well it protected me. Ran around for quite a few levels in some black pants and fur vest (barbarian look, hehe). If doesn't matter what you wear if you rarely get hit. All depends on how you play.

sircyrus
Just wanted to add that you can also enchant clothing with elemental shield, which still adds to your armor rating. That way, you get armor that looks good, weighs next to nothing, and doesn't hurt your spell effectiveness.
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#20 drnick7
Member since 2004 • 995 Posts
To be honest, it doesn't really matter, as any character, at level 1, can complete the entire game. Level-scaling FTW. :?
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deactivated-59d151f079814

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#21 deactivated-59d151f079814
Member since 2003 • 47239 Posts
........Why would any one need a build when you max out every skill in the end? This is why I despise Oblivion the most. They have basically removed as much descision making from the user as possible..
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ArcticSnake

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#22 ArcticSnake
Member since 2003 • 942 Posts

LAWL at everybody that plays Oblivion on the PC vanilla.

Mate, get the OOO mod NOW (Obscure's oblivion overhaul i believe its called) plus the MMM mod (something something magic?)

What this does is makes stuff static. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? Yep, you guessed it, you actually have monsters static level making the game fair in terms of character creation. Now it actually plays out with parts you can't accomplish without being a higher level. This makes it important that you actually level up as much as possible so you shouldn't be afraid at ALL to put fast leveling skills as your primary *GASP*

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JN_Fenrir

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#23 JN_Fenrir
Member since 2004 • 1551 Posts

LAWL at everybody that plays Oblivion on the PC vanilla.

Mate, get the OOO mod NOW (Obscure's oblivion overhaul i believe its called) plus the MMM mod (something something magic?)

What this does is makes stuff static. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? Yep, you guessed it, you actually have monsters static level making the game fair in terms of character creation. Now it actually plays out with parts you can't accomplish without being a higher level. This makes it important that you actually level up as much as possible so you shouldn't be afraid at ALL to put fast leveling skills as your primary *GASP*

ArcticSnake
Uh, I believe you mean Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul and Martigen's Monster Mod. Dude, have you ever actually played Oblivion?
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Pepsimies

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#24 Pepsimies
Member since 2004 • 25 Posts
To be honest, it doesn't really matter, as any character, at level 1, can complete the entire game. Level-scaling FTW. :?drnick7
So is it true that the game is actually easy if you always stay at level 1? And by the way, aren't those mods cheating? Cause I don't want to cheat -.- And the character im currently playing is level 5.
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#25 thegreatspanky
Member since 2005 • 88 Posts

Mods only change the degree of play associated with a game..., its not really cheating but rather enhancing your gaming experience, basically rebuilding the game to associate more from what you want from it.  I prefer not to change a game so bad that it destroys the original premise of mechanics within a game, which OOO and MMM do, but, some, like those that have already posted, think that Oblivion needed a good fix (why the mods were probably made in the first place :) and I prefer to play a game under the notion of the original intent from the gaming developers.  Not that mods are bad in my eyes, I've got quite a few graphical enhancements and other cosmetic components to my game that make it far better both visually and in play...,  

In any case, you can play Oblivion however you want to, a strong leveled character, using the degree of play already in the original, you probably want to pick primary skills that are not nessesarly what you want to use all the time, say, for a Mage, instead of picking the obvious seven, pick Hand to hand, Blade, Blunt, Heavy Armor etc..., that way, you use skills that are minors but still get the plus 5 attribute change thats associated with the skills without worry of leveling up too fast.  I always pick Mercintile, Speechcraft, and Mystisim within any of my character builds because, when your ready to level up, you can work those skills up fast and controlled, just sell a lot of things, talk to people using the dialogue wheel, or make yourself glow, they also make a good transition from a Warrior to a Mage later on when you start getting 100s in your three major attributes.    

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Pepsimies

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#26 Pepsimies
Member since 2004 • 25 Posts
So, if id create a warrior for example, i should choose the primary skills that i will NOT use alot, right? So it means that I will raise blade for example, that i can raise it to 100 and i would still be lvl 1, as a warrior normally has blade as primary? Is this the point? And when you're lvl 1, the game is easy because monsters level up with you, and when you raise your skills that are normally warrior's primaries to 100 :P, but monsters are still easy because you never level up but still raising the skills that the warrior actually needs? Is that how it goes? ;D
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#27 krb686
Member since 2006 • 63 Posts
Have you ever used the construction set? If so, create your own 8 ft tall character...its alot of fun!
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#28 SunnySimantov
Member since 2005 • 784 Posts

Wow I think my character sucks badly. I mean, I have just started the game but it feels too big and finding out how to improve one aspect seems to me like really hard job (or just reading other people's answers, which spoils).

I chose at tiger-man race, some star-mark which is good for thieves (I guess the Thief sign, but I remember others were good). And a class of Agent. I guess I'm going to die constantly, but that doesn't worry me, I'm not really paying too much attention to the game (which I think is a big waste of time, if you try to do everything perfectly)

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JN_Fenrir

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#29 JN_Fenrir
Member since 2004 • 1551 Posts

I always pick Mercintile, Speechcraft, and Mystisim within any of my character builds because, when your ready to level up, you can work those skills up fast and controlled, just sell a lot of things, talk to people using the dialogue wheel, or make yourself glow, they also make a good transition from a Warrior to a Mage later on when you start getting 100s in your three major attributes.

thegreatspanky
Since you mentioned the "glow" spell (Light on self) I think you may have meant Illusion rather than Mysticism. And I wouldn't be so quick to write off Illusion as just a skill to use when you want to level up, because Illusion is easily the most powerful school of magic in the game. And I don't think you have to go so far as to choose the skills of an opposite class as majors (i.e. all Stength and Endurance skills for a mage). Even when playing with attribute bonuses in mind, you should still try to pick major skills that are pertinent to your character. Heavy Armor probably isn't going to be that useful to a mage since they'll likely want to avoid getting hit as much as possible anyway. On the other hand, every wizard needs gold, so go with Mercantile. Or, in the case of a melee-oriented character: Conjuration magic is fairly cheap and easy to train, plus it will ensure that you always have something to fight, making it easy to train your melee skills. But those go up easily enough as you play, and odds are, you probably won't be summoning a Skeleton Hero when you're fighting real enemies. But hey, having a high Agility can keep you from being staggered or knocked down, and sometimes, it'd be nice to cause some damage from afar, so pick Marksman. Again, I wouldn't recommend picking skills as majors simply because you know you'll never use them in normal situations, in particular because training skills that are useless to your character absolutely ruins the immersion. Here are two techniques I use when selecting majors: 1, Choose constructive, non-combat skills that a real person wouldn't be born with a natural affinity for, but rather that they might eventually learn as they went along in life (Mercantile, Speechcraft, Security, Armorer, Alchemy). None of these skills can "accidentally" be trained, and all of them can be useful to any character (even Speechcraft and Security, because the mini-games are annoying and should only have to be endured for the shortest amount of time possible). 2. Use "one skill per attribute" as a guideline. This leaves you with two skills that you can freely train for a given attribute without worrying about going up in level. Of course, this system doesn't always work out perfectly, but it can be a good thing to consider when trying to pick out that last major skill or two. Now, to the OP: Yes, I also highly recommend Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul and Martigen's Monster Mod (in fact, you may as well just get the whole FCOM mod pack). In my opinion, they make the game a lot more dynamic and challenging, and thus, more rewarding. On the other hand, I spent a good 40 hours playing "vanilla" Oblivion before installing any mods, and although the ones I've listed DEFINITELY made it a far better game, I can't say that I enjoyed myself any less without them. And I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have appreciated the mods as much as I do now if I had played them before I really understood the complexities (and flaws) of the levelling system. Bottom line, if you find yourself 30 hours or so into the game, getting bored or frustrated, absolutely give these mods a try; the new challenges and rewards they offer will likely double the number of hours you will get out of the game. In the meantime, just focus on exploring the world and playing smart. Use the tips you get here to build a more effective character, but don't worry too much about maximizing your attribute bonuses. Most of the problems with the levelling system only seriously affect stealthy or less combat-oriented characters anyway, as they simply cannot take a hit or deal damage as well as your average barbarian or mage. If you're adept at swinging a sword or slinging a spell, you can pretty much just create your character how you imagine they ought to be created, and you'll be fine. Thieves, bards and the like, however, are rather poorly represented by default, so if you're interested in trying your hand at a little deeper gaming and roleplaying experience, you'll probably want to do some downloading. EDIT: And remember, there is absolutely nothing wrong with using the in-game difficulty slider to help you get through a really sticky situation, should one arise. That's what it's there for!
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Pepsimies

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#30 Pepsimies
Member since 2004 • 25 Posts

Alright, I was thinking of creating a character like this:

Race: Redguard

Birthsign: Thief or Warrior

Major Skills: Athletics, Armorer, Blade, Block, Heavy Armor, Marksman, Sneak.

Or then I was thinking of a mage:

Race: (The one that you think is the best for a mage)

Birthsign: Mage or Atronach

Class: Mage (If you know a better way, please tell me)

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deactivated-59d151f079814

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#31 deactivated-59d151f079814
Member since 2003 • 47239 Posts
Get rid of Atheletics (run included I can't remember?) because it will level so fast making you level thus gimping you.
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Pepsimies

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#32 Pepsimies
Member since 2004 • 25 Posts
Ok, how about I replace athletics with alchemy, or restoration? Or perhaps Mercantile?
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#33 Pepsimies
Member since 2004 • 25 Posts
Bump
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shinian

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#34 shinian
Member since 2005 • 6871 Posts
You can make such a weak character in Oblivion that it's impossible to finish the game? I just can't belive it. I was playing as battlemage. My character race was high elf. No problems.
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#35 Pepsimies
Member since 2004 • 25 Posts
No no no, not at all. It's just that I got bored of my current character, and I want to make a new one, but I just wanted to make sure that I won't screw it up.
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#36 crapdog
Member since 2006 • 427 Posts

yeah i also was bored of that typical warrior/mage type, so i played the evil assassin type and had extreme much fun ,i also didnt play the fighters or mages guild quests, only finished thiefs and dark brotherhood (they rock) missions as they fit better to that rogue playing style. i had a wood elf with thiving skills and alchemy for poisoning my arrows and illusion for paralyze and night vision.

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#37 JN_Fenrir
Member since 2004 • 1551 Posts

yeah i also was bored of that typical warrior/mage type, so i played the evil assassin type and had extreme much fun ,i also didnt play the fighters or mages guild quests, only finished thiefs and dark brotherhood (they rock) missions as they fit better to that rogue playing style. i had a wood elf with thiving skills and alchemy for poisoning my arrows and illusion for paralyze and night vision.

crapdog
My first character was a sneaky Khajiit monk/archer, and it was quite a bit of fun. I joined the Dark Brotherhood, took screenshots of my character perched atop Cloud Ruler Temple with a daikatana in the moonlight, and didn't have any real difficulty completing the main questline either, although I'd hardly say it was easy. Building a stealthy character is a great way to explore the gameplay and learn about the levelling system. I also recommended it to a friend of mine who recently started playing the game, and he's really getting into it. The warrior/mage combo is only fun if you design it with a particular class in mind. For example, a crusader build would aim for the highest defense instead of the highest damage, and use spells/prayers to fortify his attributes and weaken -- not damage (except Drain Health, because it's only temporary) -- the enemies. A nightblade build would generally try to avoid combat, and rely on stealth, magic and poison to make any necessary battles as short as possible. Of course, the standard classes in Oblivion are pretty poorly built, but their character concepts are simply awesome. My advice is to read the descriptions of the various classes, find one that sounds interesting, and then custom-build your own version with a better choice of skills. The other thing I like to do is build a custom class using a character from another source as a base. You get some really interesting options that way. For example, I built a character based on the barbarian class from Diablo 2, who had a fantastic ability to leap (Acrobatics) and intimidate enemies (Illusion). I've also built a character based on Vic Mackey from the TV series The Shield, who has a knack for being persuasive (Speechcraft), tricking people to get what he wants (Illusion), and, well, clobbering (Hand to Hand). Oh, and he also excelled in Alteration magic. Why? Shield, duh. ;)
No no no, not at all. It's just that I got bored of my current character, and I want to make a new one, but I just wanted to make sure that I won't screw it up.Pepsimies
I think you'd probably have fun as a battlemage if you play as the class was intended (but again, design your own custom version). Focus on getting the highest possible damage you can with a melee weapon, and then use magic to really maximize your damage dealing ability. And of course, a great way to maximize the amount of damage you can deal is to summon up something that can deal damage right alongside you. Your summoned creatures will also help keep enemies off of you, which will be especially important given that you won't be pumping many points into Speed or Agility. I can't tell you how you should play the game, but it's pretty clear you're looking for a complete answer, so here's one way I might go about building a battlemage:

Race/Gender: Dark Elf (Dunmer) / Male Reason: Dunmer have 75% resistance to fire, which is really helpful in the planes of Oblivion. More importantly, however, they have the ability to summon an Ancestoral Ghost for 1 min. once per day. This will help offset the Stunted Magicka drawback of the Atronach birthsign. They also don't have any penalties to Strength or Endurance, making them perfectly capable of becoming strong warriors. Birthsign: The Atronach Reason: The 150-point magicka bonus to this character's base 90 brings his total magicka pool to a handsome 240 points, which will be more than enough to summon a creature and fire off a few lightning bolts (the element of choice, since almost no creatures in the game have a resistance to shock, and many Daedra actually have a weakness to it). The best aspect of this birthsign, however, is the 50% spell aborption, which is a path our battlemage here will want to pursue. Having 100% spell absorption means that every spell cast against you just goes right into your mana pool, making you completely immune to magic. Specialization: Magic Attributes: Intelligence, Strength Major Skills: Conjuration, Destruction, Alteration, Mercantile, Athletics, Blunt, Armorer Health/Magicka/Fatigue: 80/240/155 Encumbrance: 225 Abilities: - Summon Ghost (daily: for 1 min.) - Resist Fire (constant: 75 pt. Self) - Spell Absorption (constant: 50 pt. Self) Drawbacks: - Magicka regeneration disabled Stats: - INTELLIGENCE-45: Alchemy-10, Mysticism-15, Conjuration-30 - WILLPOWER-30: Destruction-40, Alteration-30, Restoration-10 - PERSONALITY-30: Illusion-10, Mercantile-25, Speechcraft-5 - AGILITY-40: Security-5, Sneak-5, Marksman-10 - SPEED-50: Athletics-30, Acrobatics-5, Light Armor-10 - STRENGTH-45: Blunt-30, Blade-15, Hand to Hand-5 - ENDURANCE-40: Block-5, Armorer-25, Heavy Armor-5 - LUCK-50

Hope that helps. ;)
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#38 deactivated-57cd7ac088d47
Member since 2006 • 493 Posts
the raper + 5 to raping
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#39 chris7633
Member since 2007 • 25 Posts

Hey guys.

i need your help making a pure combat character in oblivion aswell.heres what i have so far:

male orc

specialization-combat

attributes-strength and endurance

birthsign-warrior

skills-blade,heavy armour,block,armourer,conjuration,sneak,restoration

this will be a new character so im unsure if it will work. any ideas on how i could improve?

if you think i should swap anything please state why.

thanks in advance, Chris