Elder Scrolls General

Something just dawned on me.

In Arena, does swinging your weapon in different directions actually have an effect on combat, or is it just for visual effect?

Downloaded Arena two days ago. It's much better than I thought it would be.

Elder Scrolls MMO announcement in May?

Probably just a rumor, though admittedly the idea of exploring the Second Era does interest me. I can hear the complaints from a mile away though.

The rumor's been hot for 2 years, tho.

May would make sense. Announce mid-to-late May, show at E3.

I don't know about Arena, but in Morrowind, swinging your weapon in different directions used different stats. Thrusting with a dagger, for example, being more effective than with a mace.

So I just started Oblivion, any tips or recommended builds? And I heard the level scaling is terrible, can anyone elaborate?

edited 8th May '12 3:48:47 PM by Spirit

If I liked Skyrim, is Oblivion worth it or will I find it unrefined?

The problem with level scaling in Oblivion is that because of how the level-up system works, it's possible for your character to be much weaker in combat than the game thinks you're supposed to be. For example, if you like to raise lots of non-combat skills or put most of your attribute points into things like Personality and Speed (or if you pick gains with low multipliers), you'll end up fighting monsters that are simply put, too strong for you to handle. Unlike Morrowind, monsters in Oblivion don't have a level cap, so this problem persists for the entire game, which is why "efficient leveling" is so often encouraged in Oblivion, but not in Morrowind.

As far as your build is concerned, you'll want to build your maximum potential magic in the long run. Even if you're a warrior, you'll still be able to reach maximum weapon damage anyway, so you might as well increase your spell potential (unlike weapons, which cap in damage at 100 Strength, spell strength is only limited by your Magicka reserves). As such, a Breton with the Mage birthsign is probably the most effective class, statistically at least. Just equip a Mudane Ring and wear equipped armor/clothes enchanted by +50 Magicka Transcendent Sigil Stones, and you'll have just as much, if not more Magicka than a character who chose a more aggressive +Magicka birthsign/race (Apprentice, Atronach, Altmer), assuming both characters wanted to achieve magic immunity.

IMO, Oblivion is a bit less user friendly than Skyrim if you've never played it, due to how the leveling system works. Conversely, its game mechanics are also far more exploitable. Magic is also ridiculously good in Oblivion, while in Skyrim, offensive spells are complete garbage. Spells were severely nerfed during the transition from Oblivion into Skyrim.

As far as the setting and atmosphere are concerned, I doubt Oblivion will impress you if you've played Skyrim or Morrowind. Compared to Skyrim, Oblivion is very politically correct, idealistic and arguably kind of shallow in themes for the most part. Think of it like playing Morrowind, except with no cultural tension or moral ambiguity. Granted, it's still fun, but it's probably the last on my list compared to the ES III and V.

edited 9th May '12 4:39:01 AM by Vellup

Oblivion's guild questlines are better than both Morrowind's and Skyrim's. The setting isn't as exotic as the other two but it's not exactly unimpressive either. It's still quite pretty and probably the most colorful. People look really odd though. Like waaaay weird.

edited 10th May '12 1:14:12 AM by VertigoHigh

This post was thumped by the Merciless Hammer of Doom

If you play on PC, it's a must to download Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul, it's a mod that alters the level scaling (in fact Skyrim's system is in part inspired by that mod, and I think the author got hired by Bethesda). I never ran into balance problems, but my issue was that the original levelling system is incredibly immersion breaking. You are facing this Oblivion Gate, whose forces destroyed a city, and meet the frightened survivors? well you are low level, so only Imps and Scamps come out of the portal. You are high level? Well that lowly bandit that assaults you has full daedric armor and weapons. It can be quite hilarious. Oh and creatures have a level range, but it means that they don't appear at all if you don't meet this required level. You can finish the main quest without seeing all the varieties of Daedra, and you could be fighting Scamps, Imps and low level Dremora non-stop.

edited 10th May '12 5:30:46 PM by Anfauglith

Can someone give me the laymen's explanation of Efficient Levelling?

edited 10th May '12 6:17:14 PM by Spirit

Efficient leveling: Stat points are gained from gaining skill points in skills. When you just upgrade your main skills you get only 1-2 stat points per level. But if you upgrade other (Non-Main) skills with the intent of raising stat points then you can make 5 points/level (Except Luck). From a gameplay perspective it is backasswards and rewarding what seems to be stupidity..

So upgrade a few non-main then sleep?

To answer people's earlier question: IIRC yes, different swings in Arena do get different results. Although, its not noticable.

All right I finally figured out Oblivion's leveling system. What a pain in the ass.

I still think people exaggerate how bad it is. Especially the BAH YOU DON'T GET STRONGER. I honestly never got that from Oblivion. Enemies got tougher, but you get so many better tools later levels it tends to negate that a bit. Enemies level with you but they still manage to always be one step or more behind...exception being the goblin bosses. Those guys were serious. Bears somehow always manage to be a pain in the ass too...but those two are probably the biggest offenders. Bandits are never really hard though, no matter what level or gear they're decked out in. everyone else can be dealt with just by fighting them with the right strategy. I can say that at level 40 atronachs were far easier to deal with then they were when I first met them at their respective debut level.

Immersion thing is a legitimate complaint, with the pimped out bandits wearing 8000 gold armor and whatnot. However I actually dislike being able to kill everything in sight in like 2 hits, makes it boring. Oblivion at least attempts to keep the enemies from getting too easy without making it feel totally unfair or having me turn up the difficulty(which is basically a percentage handicap, and IMO an immersion killer in itself).

Oblivion's level scaling is definitely broken. I barely level up (level 13 at 75 Destruction and 80 Illusion), but still enemies take multiple hits from my obscenely powerful, magicka-draining fire/ice/lightning spell. Just ordinary enemies. That's the main reason my Illusion is so high: I have to use invisibility to make dungeons at all possible.

triple element spells aren't a good idea(except against high elves)...too many resistances floating around means you're less likely to deliver full damage with it. How strong is this spell exactly? Maybe you're just not nearly as good as you think?

Does Oblivion end after the main quest or can I keep playing?

edited 22nd May '12 1:11:21 PM by Spirit

The game continues. I think none of the Elder Scrolls games end...bah I did not play the ones older than Morrowind.

edited 22nd May '12 1:21:40 PM by Anfauglith

Well I decided to try out morrowind for 5 bucks from steam after hearing from everyone and their dog about how "Zo MG liek its teh greatest RPG of all time"

I know this is going to get me flamed to death but... Im only 2 hours into the game and I'm quite disappointed so far. The combat is boring, and clunky to the point of being almost unplayable. The environments are bland at best and flat out ugly at worst and have very little color other than various shades of brown .Don't get me wrong I enjoy old games. I can go back and play final fantasy vii, final fantasy x, ocarina of time, ape escape, etc and thoroughly enjoy them, but morrowind just wasn't an enjoyable experience for me ,it feels too clunky. All in all morrowind is one of the few games I consider truly overrated. * hides from rabid fanboys*

edited 6th Jan '13 9:49:51 AM by monkeyheroine

Nah, thats pretty common opinion for pretty much everyone who tries to begin playing the game now.

It was always a game that you played despite its gameplay and not because of it, and while its graphics were awesome when the game was released, it was released more than 10 years ago.

If you want to give it second chance sometimes, I would recommend browsing the (gigantic) mod database and find some of them that revamp the gameplay and enhance its graphics. Some of them are impressive.

edited 6th Jan '13 11:48:07 AM by Drakovicz

It comes down to what you consider important about the game. The combat in Oblivion improved on Morrowind, but the combat has never been why I play ES games so that is not a significant factor to me. But other things, such as the huge amount of quests and factions, unique art design, hand-placed loot and interesting lore are important to me, and Oblivion is weaker than Morrowind in all these areas.

There's also the fact that it can be very hard to get into older games if you're used to modern genre conventions and Anti-Frustration Features. Ask someone who played X-Com - UFO Defense in 1994 and they'll tell you it's one of the best games ever made. Ask someone who played it in 2012 and unless they're an old-school gamer, they'll probably find it tedious and cumbersome to play.