- Official Site: The Elder Scrolls
- Developer: Bethesda Game Studios
- Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
After trying so many times, Bethesda Softworks finally pushes all the right buttons with Oblivion, and gets as close to perfection as an RPG can ever reach. It has it all; action, adventure, suspense, intrigue, awe, and giddy moments of glee. It is a favorite contender for Game of the Year awards.
Gameplay Movie
Screenshots
Oblivion is the sequel to Morrowind, and is the fourth game in The Elder Scrolls series. It is based on a rich world with a massive backstory, there’s even constellations and unique fauna in this world. In Oblivion, you choose your own path, your own abilities, your own enjoyment. There’s no shortage of things you can do, and due to the open nature of the game, you’re welcome to try to be the good guy or the bad guy, or a little in between.
Combat, unlike in Morrowind, is visceral and frenetic. Blows connect, tendons scream when your blow glances off a shield, and if that wasn’t enough, your enemy will taunt you if he feels confident he’s going to best you. Magic combat is rich and varied, there’s nothing more gratifying than seeing an enemy go down in a flurry of flames, or keel over after being frozen to death from a frost spell. A particular foe giving you a hard time? Bring out a shield spell, suck out his fatigue, even push him over the edge of a cliff if you have to. The options you have in any given fight are near limitless, only limited by your own imagination. Intelligence plays a factor with fights in Oblivion.
One of the strengths of Oblivion is the so-called “Radiant AI”. It’s supposed to be a form of artificial intelligence that breathes new life into non-player characters. It’s no simple technical buzzword, it’s the real deal. I could spend hours recounting some of the neat experiences I’ve had in the game, and others who have played Oblivion long enough could too. Here’s a couple of examples, though.
While riding on horseback down a mountainside, I spotted a deer standing over a dead body. My first reaction was, “What the … a deer killed a bandit?” As I approached, I went into Sherlock Holmes mode. The deer ran off, and the bandit had two arrows in him, one on his chest and one on the side of his leg. I walk around, and see another dead body; another bandit. This one with no arrows in him. I move down further, and see a dead Imperial Guard. Aha, so that’s what happened. Suddenly I hear a voice behind me, and I spun around to see another Imperial Guard, this one a marksman, which explains the arrows in one of the bandits. There was also a dead deer nearby, I’m assuming it got caught in the crossfire.
Another incident involved a robber approached me shortly outside the gates of a village. The Imperial Guard nearby rushed to my aid, and started fighting the bandit. Another bandit saw his buddy getting beat up on, and joined the fray. The second Imperial Guard guarding the gate joined. So there was 4 guys fighting, plus me. I took a nasty hit, and rushed back to drink down a healing potion. Right when I was about to reenter the pound-a-thon, a blistering lightning storm obliterates all four combatants in a blink of an eye. I swing around, and see a battlemage in full heavy armor gear sitting there, smugly inspecting his handiwork. Suddenly he runs off, at an almost superhuman speed. I was lucky enough to survive to share the tale at the local tavern (while drunk, of course.)
One aspect of fighting is the ragdoll physics, utilized by the Havok physics engine. It’s nothing special, but it never fails to amuse to see an enemy die and roll down a mountainside or keel over a barrel. Even their shield and weapon will go flying. I knocked a wolf down a slight incline and it went rolling downhill like a Slinky on steroids. Physics also play a role in traps, and you’ll learn to swear under your breath everytime it happens, unless you’re better at spotting traps than I am. Let’s just say they do make dungeon crawls a lot more interesting.
Speaking of dungeons; they’re an absolute blast to scavenge. Unlike in Morrowind, where they were all similar, and quite boring, each dungeon in Oblivion are unique and exciting. The traps are one element that adds a challenge to a dungeon crawl, but also the combat and smart enemies add whole new dimensions to these dungeons. You’ll find yourself eschewing Fast Travel, and hopping on your horse, just to discover new dungeons and plunder the riches you find within. Due to this, Oblivion has become that much better as a game.
It doesn’t end there either. There’s a gladiatorial combat part of the game, where you visit the Arena and sign up as a fight. Then you can become like Russel Crowe and fight battle after battle against other gladiators. Each fight progressively gets tougher, and the gold rewards grow. If Bethesda packaged this part of the game exclusively, and charged $30 for it, I would be all over it. But because it’s part of a game that has so much more to it, it just makes Oblivion even more fun.
Quests occur naturally, and they aren’t your generic quests, each one has a personality to them, a purpose, and an incentive to complete them. When you talk to others in the game, they may give you a quest, and sometimes you don’t even have to accept or deny it, you can just follow your own lead.
Joining one of the many guilds can give you even more quests. Fighters Guild will give you combat-heavy quest, while the Mages Guild will let you flaunt and utilize your magical abilities. The Thieves Guild gives you ways to buy lockpicks, sell your stolen wares (honest merchants won’t buy hot items), and do sneaky jobs; stealing and sneaking around. There’s also the Blades, the bodyguards to the Emperor; think of them as the Secret Service, they’re specialized and deadly. Finally, if you’re the murdering and assassination type, the Dark Brotherhood will seek you out and give you some nefarious deeds to accomplish.
Travel takes place either on horseback, by running, or using the Fast Travel system. Fast Travel is simply clicking on a marker on the map. All major cities are accessible right at the start of the game, but small villages, caves, and other locations have to be visited first before you can Fast Travel to there. Exploration is encouraged however, and doing it on horseback is great. You may get lucky and snag a rare Unicorn out in the wild. Stolen horses leave you once you dismount, so it’s recommended to actually own one, so you’ll always have a horse on you.
Touching on the graphics in Oblivion is a daunting task. Most who have seen the screenshots have been drooling over its cutting-edge style. Bright, vibrant colors outside, and dark and creepy in dungeons. Lighting and shadows in Oblivion have to be seen to be believed. While facial animation could be better on characters you talk to, the lip syncing is spot on. The water effect isn’t anything to write home about, however, although it does an amazing job of reflecting objects like trees and rocks. Each town has its own distinctive style, with differing architecture and materials used.
The trees are realistic and stunning, swaying in the wind and even filtering out the sunlight appropriately using the excellent HDR technology. The grass are plentiful, and they look gorgeous, especially as they sway in the wind alongside the leaves on the trees. Oblivion has an amazing draw distance. You can see a very long way into the distance, without any fog (if your machine can handle it, that is.) The sky, whether it’s raining, sunny, snowing, or foggy, evokes a sense of wonder. Sitting on top of a high mountain and watching the sunrise early in the morning is an experience in of itself. The stars and moon looks great, and if you studied the lore of the gameworld, you would even recognize the constellations.
While most of these graphical touches are little in scope, when you add it all up, it makes a remarkable visual experience that leaves an impression on you the moment you experience it all. Three to four years from now, Oblivion will still have impressive graphics, and that’s a testament to the power of the game’s engine. It takes a beefy system right now to enjoy the game at the full visual splendor, but it is scalable for those with slower systems.
Since sound is physics-based, the world of Oblivion is more immersive. Drag a sword across concrete and it’ll make the appropriate sound. Drag it across the dirt ground, and it’ll have a different sound. The sounds of your sword hitting your opponent’s shield is bone-jarring to say the least. When you fry your first enemy with a fireball, a satisfying sizzle takes place. Everything just fits perfect. The same can be said about the music, composed by Jeremy Soule. It is elegant, soaring, and when in battle, uptempo. I don’t purchase many soundtracks, nevermind game soundtracks, but I had to for Oblivion’s soundtrack because it’s so well composed. There are hours upon hours of voice dialogue recorded, so every spoken word actually has a voice behind it, and the voice acting is strong and professional. This helps bring the game alive moreso than ever.
Finally, there are the modifications, or mods. Oblivion’s mods are like optional patches, with thousands of people creating all kinds of mods to enhance, change, and manipulate the game. Oblivion is insanely flexible, with an downloadable Construction Kit that allows anyone to go in and change any mechanic and inner workings of the game. This means that if you don’t like a certain aspect of the game, chances are there’s a mod out that fixes it, and if not, it’s likely being made.
For example, the water in Oblivion isn’t as great as it can be — so someone released a mod that made it much better. Don’t like the fact that there isn’t a cursor when in 3rd person? Grab the mod that puts it in. A new mod that I like is one that makes the interface display more item, allowing for easier navigation. The game hasn’t been out for a week, and already a slew of mods are coming out, and they will get better as time goes on. Soon people will release new content, new quests, new dungeons, possibly even a new land. A lot is possible using the Construction Kit.
There’s a lot I could still touch on in this review, but it’s already getting long. Oblivion is large enough in scope, that you could easily write a book about the game. There are so many ways to play the game, so many places to visit, so many ways to accomplish a quest with combat, that it can be overwhelming sometimes. It’s not often in my gaming life that I’d be overwhelmed by a game, but when it happens, it’s a sign of a great game. A mistake would be to play the game, thinking you’re going to scour the whole land, do all the quests, and see everything all at once. That will just drive you crazy if you try to do that right out the gate.
Even though it’s still early in the year, already the words, “Game of the Year”, is being used to describe Oblivion. There’s many games that will be great in 2006, but I’m adding Oblivion to my Game of the Year pick as well. Even after over 48 hours of game time put into the game, I’m just as excited playing the game as I was when I first entered the world. Suffice to say, Oblivion will be on my hard drive long after most other games get uninstalled.
You are talking about a mod that disables all the constant loading while walking around. Have looked around but haven`t found it yet. Do anyone know where to find it ?
glad for any response
Haakon on 03 28th, 2006
You can download it here.
Matt on 03 28th, 2006
aah, niice man! appreciate that!
Thanks a lot!
haakon on 03 28th, 2006
were the hell is the unicorn in the elderscrolls IV: Oblivion i will be gratful for a reply!
5UNNU1D on 03 31st, 2006
I think it is found at random through the entire land. You have to explore. I found it in the Nibanese Valley in a grove.
Matt on 03 31st, 2006
WHERE IS NIBANESE VALLEY. I NEED SPECIFIC DIRECTIONS! please
I NEED A UNICORN on 04 4th, 2006
To find the unicorn: South of Bravil, there’s an inn called Inn of Ill Omen, head slightly northewest until you reach a cave. From that cave, head directly east. You’ll find the unicorn there.
Matt on 04 4th, 2006
Correction: The inn is north of bravil
Anonymous on 04 7th, 2006
i found a way to get your stealth level up way high when you play through the thieves guild you will have to do a mission where you have to break into a chapel full of blind people when you get into a big room full of tables and beds back your charecter against the wall crouch down and put an elastic band on the thumb stick so your charecter is always walking backwards once you have done that leave the game and come back in an hour to find your charecters level has gone up loads. if stealth is a major skill you may have gone up 1 or 2 levels as well i left mine and went out for an hour and my charecters stealth level had gone from 35 to 120 its worth it
Anonymous on 04 12th, 2006
I had Shadowmere from the dark brotherhood quests and while searching for the daedric shrine of Hircine I saw a stately unicorn standing atop a nearby gnoll. I went up to it, don’t know if its aggressive on sight since I was invisible as usual, and hopped on and preceded to gallop around in glee. Then I was wondering if it stays with you so I fast traveled and was on it, then hopped off and fast traveled and it stayed with me. But then it started wandering away and next time I fast traveled the unicorn wasn’t there and my trusty shadowmere I have had since near the beginning of the game was nowhere to be found. Does anybody know if you can tame the unicorn or get my other horse back?
Caedo on 04 15th, 2006
Does anyone know if the Chrysamere is in this game, and if so - where? I would love to find it
Jess on 04 17th, 2006
The unicorn is the goal of a deadric artefact quest, you need to kill it and return the horn (the deadric shrine is due south of the unicorn grove, not far, you need a bear or wolf pelt as an offering).
I tried using the unicorn as a mount first, but it wanders off when you leave it (hint: if you want to keep riding it, get the deadric quest to hunt it, and every time you ‘activate’ that quest, the quest’s map marker will show it’s current position, making it easy to find).
The artefact you get is pretty useless, a ligh armor hide with 25% magic resist (I prefer my self-enchanted deadric armor, even the dragon armor from completing the main quest line is inferior to deadric), but of course you must complete all the Deadric quests to get the final one and that major stat/skill bonus at the end.
Finally, Guards attack the unicorn on sight (including at cloud ruler temple as mentioned above), so that combined with its tendancy to wander makes it less than an ideal mount. Looks nice tho.
Paul on 04 18th, 2006
look at the first place where u got shadowmere, the hosre walks back there after you leave it in the wilderness, but im not sure of the places name off the top of my head… download the horse armor, its tight, and the orrary or w/e it is… its cool! does anyone know where to find elvish armor?
nasty nate from da nati on 04 19th, 2006
To get the elvish armor you must join the fighters guild and in a mission modryn oryen or wat ever his name is will ask you to go somewere and kill someone with him. when you find and kill the man search nim and he wearing elvish armor (apart from the helmet).
Personaly i think its crap and would prefer the imperial dragon armor (given to you wen you complete the game) or the the raiment of valor (givin to you when you become grandmaster of the arena) or the blackwood company armor just go into the blackwood company hall in cheydinhal (i think thats where the hall is).
I know this because i have them all and i also have the arch-mage robes (given to you for becomeing the arch-mage of the mages guild) but there poo.
I currently have the elvish armor displayed in my manor in anvil. It look cool but the armor rating is crap.
lol
5unnu1d on 04 20th, 2006
Keep in mind that weapons, armor, etc. are levelled. They appear based on your level. Keep playing, levelling up, and eventually you’ll get elven armor.
Matt on 04 20th, 2006
Where do you find Shadomere. I did the mission for Lucien Lachance and he said that he gave it to me but i couldnt find it.
Anonymous on 04 28th, 2006
Anonymous: Shadowmere can be found outside the front gate of the fort.
Matt on 04 29th, 2006
Hey,
I’ve got the Imperial Dragon Armour, but I was just wondering if there’s a sword and shield to go with it? Any help would be appreciated.
Vamped101 on 04 29th, 2006
For some reason The Grey Fox won’t take the Springheel Jack boot’s out of my inventory required of the mission he sent me to do thus I can’t complete the theives guild quest what’s up? with that also Fathis ules will not be my fence. I completed Sins of the father first and returned the sword to the castle instead of him now he hates my gut’s someone please help me, if theirs any way to complete the quest please help me out P.S I kept a journal from the mission that let me ask grey fox a personal question about his freindship with another theif.
Heratio HeartFire on 05 5th, 2006
Hi. I was thinking of spending some time as a vampire (i know all about the ups and downs of it) but i want to be able to get rid of it quickly and easily if i get bored or if it is not too good so i was wondering is it quick and easy to get a cure or does it take ages of ridiculously hard work. thanks in advance for replies
TheJudderMan on 05 5th, 2006
i dont mean to be impatient but i would rather not talk to a BRICK WALL!! how do i cure vampirism and does it take long
TheJudderMan on 05 5th, 2006
why o why does nobody answer me all i want is a simple bit of information i was polite the first time but now i cant be bothered. i will go elsewhere to find what i am after
TheJudderMan on 05 5th, 2006
you have to go to the church in the imperial city and talk to one of them and they will send you to the count of skingrad. he will tell you to go see a witch in the hills. when you get to her she will send you to find 5 empty soul gems. i think theres nine of em out there but you have to find the 5 empty ones then you take them back to her and she will ask you for some nightshade, garlic and blood grass. its a bunch of bullshit man. its not worth your free time. it took me a long minute to get that shit.
oldskewl on 05 6th, 2006
love the embedded gaming vids, nice idea! also great web design in general, i hope it does well!
gaurav sharma on 05 6th, 2006
where do you find a guild for knights
hidden on 05 6th, 2006
get the spell
Anonymous on 05 7th, 2006
i need help with the main quest its to do with that rather secretive count of skingrad. ive spoken to him before but now i am gathering reinforcements for bruma and have just closed skingrads oblivion gate but now i cant find the count to ask for help in the bruma battle where is the count of skingrad his aid in the hall just says “wait in the hall the count will see you shortly” so i wait but he never comes HELP
jack5p1c3r3v1lg3n1u5 on 05 8th, 2006
never mind ive found him i just had to sneak and tresspass my way through the castle
jack5p1c3r3v1lg3n1u5 on 05 9th, 2006
quest “the potato snatcher” what the hell is that about. i knocked off some big fat ogre thing out in the middle of nowhere (i was lost at the time as i enjoy exploring without using the map) and on his cold dead corpse i found some “jumbo potatoes” now they are in my inventory and i cant get rid of them i cant drop them or eat them or stash them in a box somewhere. how do i get rid of these dammed jumbo potatoes.
RandomActsOfViolence on 05 9th, 2006
given the name of the quest i am assuming the ogre “snatched” the spuds perhaps from a nearby farm. you should search the little villages dotted around the place to see if they are missing any spuds
FOODMONSTER on 05 9th, 2006
that’ll take damn near forever isnt there an easier way. these ruddy jumbo potatoes have been cluttering up my inventory for god nows how long and its driving me nuts
RandomActsOfViolence on 05 9th, 2006
Theirs a Khajit named S’jirra in a inn called Faregyl Inn it’s located off the green road south of the Imperial city near the southeastern headwaters of the white river she will be more than happy to take the potatoes. I hope that helps.
Heratio HeartFire on 05 10th, 2006
at last i can finally get rid of these things. thanks a bunch
RandomActsOfViolence on 05 11th, 2006
dude if u get a horse mount it and equip your weapon make shure it is expensive and sell it and it will stay in inv allowing you to re sell it over and over.
joe on 05 11th, 2006
aha the money glitch. there is another one aswell. find “Dorians house” in the imperial city talos plaza district go into the house talk with Dorian and bribe him with as much gold as possible then kill him you can now take your money back but it wont leave his inventory so you can keep taking more and more you will get in trouble with the law but you can simply use Dorians millions to pay off the bounty. a word of warning though take as much as you can carry because eventually Dorians body will vanish along with all of his dosh. maybe you knew this already i dont know but please dont go off on one with all the “I KNEW THAT ALREADY BLA BLA BLA”
RandomActsOfViolence on 05 12th, 2006
or if you do the cure for vampirism quest at the end you can collect the reward from the count of skingrad as many times as you want
RandomActsOfViolence on 05 12th, 2006
I’ve run into a problem On the daedric mission of Clavicus Vile when I try to complete the mission the game always freezes thus I can’t try the Hermaeus Mora mission has anyone else run into this problem if so did you find a way to fix the problem My version is the 360 version please help. p.s Vile’s dog is taken from the statue of clavicus when you begin the mission I think the game freezes when it tries to program the dog statue back on the altar.
Heratio HeartFire on 05 14th, 2006
i heard about the problem on the “clavicus vile” quest before i attempted it there is a way around the problem before you begin the quest go to the dungeon place that you get the umbra sword from before talking to clavicus vile and you can get the sword and bring it to him
RandomActsOfViolence on 05 15th, 2006
Thats just it, When I bring it to him thats when it freezes I geus I’m screwed. lol
Heratio HeartFire on 05 15th, 2006
hmm i honestly dont know what to say. on another note i have a question. if you wear a necromancer robe and hood will necromancers still attack or will they fall for the disguise
RandomActsOfViolence on 05 16th, 2006
Unfortuneatly no they’ll see through the desguise the black hoods are a nice addittion for you robes in the mages guild though.
Heratio HeartFire on 05 16th, 2006
Also my guide says that theirs a ayleid statue in the ayleid temple saradavar leed south of the Emperial city I’ve looked for two hours and can’t find it i’ts said to be in the gate enclosed room with the Necromancer adept but I’ts not their. however theirs a level above you when you enter the ruins that I can’t figure out how to get to, it might be there,. I’ts definitly one of the more complicated ayleid ruins to navigate.
Heratio HeartFire on 05 16th, 2006
i was searching an ayleid ruin (i forget which one) and found an ayleid statue its certainly worth alot but what does it actually do. i know theres a bloke in the imperialcity called umbacano who collects that kind of thing hopefully he can take it off my hands. is there anything more to this umbacano person he seems important.
RandomActsOfViolence on 05 17th, 2006
please i am level 12 almost 13 and i would just loooooooooooove to get the elven armor and clamore and same for glass stuff please help me. oh and to make money justgo to the areana becom grand champ and later the old women at the areana will tell you she ceated monster figts do it but dont report befor about a week of playing or too or tree etc.then reaport ive done a month and got 10 thousand and twety tree. sweet deal aint it.
arkazel on 05 17th, 2006
Umbacano Is the sourse for the missions “The collector” and “Nothing you can Possess” I highly recomend you complete”The Collector” mission first If you do you get 10,000 gold ! If he dies in “Nothing you can Possess” first then youre outa luck for the 10,000, Simply sell a Ayleid statue in any city preferably the Emperial City and wait a man named Jollring will invite you to Umbacono manor and thats the begining of that mission you won’t get a swing at the “Nothing you can possess” mission till youve brought at least 3 Ayleis statues to Umbacono, but as I said beat the collection mission first heres a list of the folowing sites where the Ayleid statues are located. Fanacas, Mackamentain,Moranda,Ninedava,Saradavar Leed which is located south of the Imperial city and is hard to navigate somewhat and I have yet to find the statue their though I’ts said that their is indeed one there. Next is Vilverin,Welk,Wendelbeck,Wendir,Wenyandawik. Hope that helps every one oh and after youve got the loot from each dungeon go to the city and sell the stuff youve collected I have nearly 800,000 gold watch out for the gas traps in each dungeon, I have a level 50 Argonian and recently discovered it doest harm me but for the rest of you keep a keen eye that stuff killed a level 52 necromancer that got caugt in a trap very quickly.
Heratio HeartFire on 05 17th, 2006
thanks heratio thats really helpful. i am also an argonian level 22 its dam cool not being hurt by poison although it dosnt seem to make much diference. and for the other person “arkazel” vampires seem to prefer glass armour they can be found in fort carmala south of chorol. and another little question i am not sure if there is a glass variety claymore but i am searching for one if anyone knows where i can find one it would be appreciated i am sure heratio will be very helpful as always in finding one if such a thing even exists (thats a glass claymore if you missed it in my long-winded ramblings)
RandomActsOfViolence on 05 18th, 2006
(SPOILER WARNING) i have another little question although it is not nearly as important to me as my search for a glass claymore its still niggling away at me. i have read somewhere that in a quest for the theives guild you must steal a staff from the mages guild arch mage the problem comes in the fact that I AM the mages guild arch mage as i have already finished the mages guild quests. now i dont plan on doing many of the theives guild quests any time soon but i was wondering will my arch mage position affect that theives guild quest if i should choose to do it because the origional arch mage the one that the staff must be stolen from is gone he died in the mages guild quests. i apologise for my rather long winded question i could not think of a shorter way to word it.
RandomActsOfViolence on 05 18th, 2006
I found a glass claymore in a mine, I forget the name but it’s part of the Azura daedric mission you must be at least a level 20 character to obtain one so R.A.O.V youre good to go, in all truth searching random mines and ayleid ruins is your best bet on finding one or Highwaymen, they useally carry the good stuff. R.A.O.V for your second question don’t worry I’m also a archmage and am currently completing the theives guild. the staff won’t appear till you get the mission from the theives guild to collect it, besides the staff sucks. I wouldn’t use it should you decide to do so. And I’ll also give you the heads up on a glitch that would of really messed me over had I not saved it ahead of time. On the theives guild mission ‘The Boots of Springheal Jack if you happen to collect Jacks journal DO NOT! take it and ask the Grey fox about it first. He will tell you the truth about his so called immortality but then you can’t give him the boots thus you can’t complete the theives guild or at least I couldn’t. I hope that helps everyone good luck! P.S I can answer almost any other questions as well but I can’t reply till late that night due to my job Heratio out!
Heratio HeartFire on 05 18th, 2006
i cant think of anything else to ask so instead i will relay an experience of mine. i was trecking through the wilderness one day and was ambushed by two trolls (those green frogmen things) rather than fight them i wanted to have a little fun so i led them a short distance through the wilderness and came across a small priory (not theone from the main quest) i went into the main house and was soon followed by the two trolls. the four monks present then proceeded to lay a smack-down on one of the trolls with their bare hands. one monk didnt survive but the first troll went down the three severely weakened remaining monks then started on the second troll which managed to take out two of the three monks. sensing his end drawing near the last surviving monk legged it out of the house closely followed by the troll. feeling guilty for this masacre i gave chase in hopes of saving the final monk but before long the troll had blended in to the dense wilderness and i lost sight of both the monk and the troll. its kind of sad even to this day i wonder what became of that poor monk i am going back to that priory soon to see if i can once and for all find him and see if he is safe
RandomActsOfViolence on 05 19th, 2006
now i think of it those trolls look alot like the “hunters” from resident evil. hmmmm a little bit of brain food to ponder over
RandomActsOfViolence on 05 19th, 2006
it has just ocured to me that maybe i am posting too many times and that i should maybe just put all of my ramblings into one post near the end of the day rather than posting loads of stuff throughout the day so sorry if i am cluttering the board up i will try to be more efficient. with that aside another question has come to mind.(SPOILER WARNING) in the main quest the part involving reinforcements for bruma is it really nesecary to gather help from EVERY town. i can talk to brumas countess to start the battle but have only got reinforcements from 3 towns and i am eager to progress the main plot. to summarise does bruma really need help from every town or can i continue the main quest with what little help they have.
RandomActsOfViolence on 05 19th, 2006
u can carry on without all the reinforcement i did it with 2 reinforcements
5unnu1d on 05 19th, 2006
Uh I don’t believe you can complete the “Aid for Bruma” mission if you don’t get all of the cities to help you. Besides if you could I wouldn’t suggest it, In the final few missions it’ll be hard as hell to beat if you didn’t get all the help you can. Had I not saved my game I would of lost Jaufrre,Burd and Barus perminantly, Save everyone that you can you’ll need the help specificly in the emperial city. Besides it’s nice to be able to talk to the people that helped you throughout the span of the game.
Heratio HeartFire on 05 19th, 2006
By the way has anyone found a Aylied Statue in Saradavar Leed? Leed is directly south of the Arcane Univercity in the Imperial City beside the road.
Heratio HeartFire on 05 19th, 2006
i have a frustrating little problem with a fighters guild quest its called something like “mystery at harloms watch”. hopefully those of you that have finished it can help. ive killed the willow-the-wisps and cleared the cave of trolls now i have been told to look for evidence that the trolls killed the folks that have gone missing. i go to the place where the lil green arrow tells me to and its a room where i killed a troll that was standing over a pile of skeletons and corpses now if thats not evidence enough i dont know what is. the problem is thats as far as i can get nothing else seems to happen. i have tried picking up everything in the cave like items from boxes bonemeal bones and troll fat but nothing happens please help.
Anonymous on 05 22nd, 2006
that last one was me by the way
RandomActsOfViolence on 05 22nd, 2006
Be Quoted Here
TAME UNICORN
For those who are interested.. to tame the unicorn
the more you ride on it.. the more the unicorn likes you en after a while it will stay where you leave it AND if you’re lucky like I am.. IT WILL FOLLOW YOU EVERYWHERE lol .. it will protect you from any enemy’s etc…
Thx
bye
jamal on 05 22nd, 2006
Lol OK I’m doing the vampire hunters ‘Order of the Virtuous Blood’ quest where you have to go to the Imperial City and go to that vampire guy Roland Jenserie’s house and you have to look for evidence and clues of his whereabouts and I can’t find any! Seriously I looked all over his damn house and there is nothing there! Anyone know where the clues are?
TML4Life on 05 22nd, 2006
in the main room on a table to the left of the room will be a letter from his girlfreind read this and you can progress the quest
RandomActsOfViolence on 05 23rd, 2006
can somebody explain to me how this item duplication glitch works and what kind of stuff it will work on. i have read about how to do it but havent actually tried it and have no idea what stuff can be duplicated. i mainly want to use it on alchemical ingrediaents but if it works on other stuff then its all the better. so could somebody refresh my memory on the ins and outs of the item duplication glitch. i know it has something to do with having two sets of arrows.
RandomActsOfViolence on 05 23rd, 2006
Damn anyone knows the vampire cure?
jamal on 05 23rd, 2006
Well the only thing I know of on how to duplicate is either have a 75% to 100% armorer skill which is very handy or when a huminoid type enemy attacks you put them down I believe you need a bow and arrows at the ready not neccesarily drawn, take their weapon and put it back in their enventory exit then search their body again you should know have 2 of that enemies weapon but don’t do this to many times the game might freeze.
Heratio HeartFire on 05 23rd, 2006
As for Jamal seek count Hassildor at the skingrad castle he will help you, he pointed me in the right direction.
Heratio HeartFire on 05 24th, 2006
Glass armor is the best armor. Get it when you can, and then enchant to make even better.
To cure vampirism, go to Castle Skingrad, see count Hassildor and ask about it, you will be put on a quest to go meet a witch on eastern side of continent. She will send you to kill a powerful vampire for his ashes, and collect various alchemical ingredients. I had a pain in ass of a time finding the garlic. I think you need blood grass, garlic and nightshade…
A nice daedric mission is the nocturnal mission. If you complete it you get the skeleton key, which is unlimited lock picks. just north of leyawiin, leave the east gate, travel north on the road and the shrine is a ways up the road on your right.
God of Cyrodiil on 05 28th, 2006
okay.. I need a bit of help on a leveling up glitch
I decided to change my appearance using the console (just wanted to change the hairstyle), but I later realized, after some time that my stats had decreased! so i came up with a conclusion that it reset my stats back to the beginning.
I then used the advskill console command to give back the skills I lost before, but then I realized that the skills like blade, acrobatics, etc.. all got locked into place, and I couldn’t level up anymore!
I read up that there is some experience problem where the built-in experience system of leveling up acutally has to catch up to your skill level before you can advance anymore?
I dunno. my character is ruined, and I’m pretty far into the game so i definitely do not want to start a new character yet.
1cE on 05 28th, 2006
were do you get elven stuff i need to know
stone atronach on 06 1st, 2006
Will someone tell me an easy way to lvl up? I find it hard to get exp. Does it depend on what diff u have the game on?
Argonian Nightshadow on 06 2nd, 2006
Another Question: what lvls do u have to be for the high lvl items such as glass and whatnot?
When u reach this lvl will merchants change thier inventory to suit you?
Argonian Nightshadow on 06 2nd, 2006
You can find Elven weapons usually being carried by undead such as wraiths or gloom wraiths Elven armour on the other hand is most frequently used by bandits or highwaymen I found an entire elven suit over time simply by traveling roads by foot when a bandit,merc,highwayman sees you they’ll confront you kill them for their loot. good luck Stone Atronach.
Heratio HeartFire on 06 2nd, 2006
Ah! a fellow Argonian I presume, The higher the difficulty the more hits you can get in thus your weapon and respective stats will raise more quickly, keep in mind thought starting on a high difficulty can make raising your stats much more difficult due to the skill of the enemy and the damage they can cause, try taking it easy as you progress and get better increase the difficulty setting to youre liking you will likley progress much faster starting at an easier difficulty, take you time and just explore theirs plenty of things to do in oblivion and plenty of time to do it oh I almost forgot as far as armor availability goes heres the low down LV.1 FUR/IRON LV.3 LEATHER/STEEL LV.6 CHAIN/DWARVEN LV.10 MITHRIL/ORCISH LV.15 ELVEN/EBONY LV.20 GLASS/DAEDRIC. And yes merchants change their inventory to match youre level. Hope thats helps you Nightshadow P.S depending on what skill you want to level up let’s say sneak just practice at that skill you want to level up, find an enemy with low sneak skills such as the rats in Arvena Thelas house in Anvil and sneak around them to increase that skill quickley good luck!
Heratio HeartFire on 06 2nd, 2006
Alright I just became the Arch-Mage, and I was wondering how do I get in the Orrery because it says I still need a special key of some sort.
Imperial Mercenary on 06 3rd, 2006
You have to download the Orrey quest on Xbox Live. It is additional content for the game and will cost ya a few bucks.
Anonymous on 06 3rd, 2006
im haveing trouble finding the blackwood armor can someone send a step by step thing on how to get it i would greatly appreciate it fabiomysterio@gawab.com fabiomysterio@gawab.com plz
fabiomysterio@gawab.com on 06 4th, 2006
I need help BIG HELP please every time i try to go in room at fort grief i get stuck and cand do anything please help im stuck
dottie7258 on 06 5th, 2006
Hey, i’m fairly new to the game a meesly level8 but ive been putting off the main quest to explore lokking for either glass armor and weapons or daedric armor and weapons if i could get some help with that it would be greatly appriciated… thanks
VladdTrepe on 06 7th, 2006
UMMMMMM you cant have a skill over 100 in the game
ek46 on 06 7th, 2006
Hi all, can anyone help. I’m trying to complete the quest The Collector and I am in Sardavar Leed but can’t find the statue.
Anyone know where it is?
THx
Pammy.
Pammy on 06 9th, 2006
Ok,all, please forgive the ignorance, i have tried the dupe glitch SO MANY TIMES!!! i cant get it to work….. i equip a bow and arrows, pull the bow back, then go to inventory menu pick th other set (nothing happens) drop the “item to be duplicated” exit inverntoyr and NOTHING!!! please anyone help me with this glith i need to get back to the mage s guil and i need to dupe these flowers i’ve been to the place on the “L” on the map and the gold coast place but i only got 13 of one and 18 of the other help please!!!!!!!
Many Thanks,
-Quik
Quiksilver2k5 on 06 9th, 2006
you can find it on the green road above bravil to the right at Haracine grove
Anonymous on 06 11th, 2006
I found it in Harcane Grove between Hircine’s Shrine, Mingo Cave, and Fort Variela. This is my first Elder Scrolls game. What’s so special about the unicorn, other than it is a unicorn? Is there something special that you can do with it?
Annah on 06 12th, 2006
Get Bloodgrass, Garlic and Nightshade, Mix them together to form a potion.
Anonymous on 06 12th, 2006
How do you get shadowmere?
secret on 06 14th, 2006
there realy isn’t much special about the unicorn other than it is sweet to look at and kills everything in one hit
secret on 06 14th, 2006
Secret, simply complete Lucian Lanc’s missions in the dark brother hood quest.
Heratio HeartFire on 06 14th, 2006
BOOOO! I cant read..so boo!
Yo Mom! on 06 17th, 2006
Just wondering, Has anyone reached level 51 or higher?
Heratio HeartFire on 06 17th, 2006
i have a frustrating little problem with a fighters guild quest its called something like “mystery at harloms watch”. hopefully those of you that have finished it can help. ive killed the willow-the-wisps and cleared the cave of trolls now i have been told to look for evidence that the trolls killed the folks that have gone missing. i go to the place where the lil green arrow tells me to and its a room where i killed a troll that was standing over a pile of skeletons and corpses now if thats not evidence enough i dont know what is. the problem is thats as far as i can get nothing else seems to happen. i have tried picking up everything in the cave like items from boxes bonemeal bones and troll fat but nothing happens please help.
3Big_Bullets^^^ on 06 18th, 2006
i copied this from
RandomActsOfViolence on 05 22nd, 2006
3Big_Bullets^^^ on 06 18th, 2006
rite the problem is 3Big_Bullets if u leave the game too long and you go into the year 434 then the bodies rott and u cant identify them ass evidence. also ther is a rumour goin round that it also does this if u complete the main quest befor u do the fighters guild missions. (but thats jus a romour)
My only suggestion is do wat i do, and start a new game and do the fighters guild as soon as possible.
im sorry if this is an incoveniance but its the only option i am aware of.
if any one wud like to tlk 2 me on msn or e-mail me about oblivion then feel free to add me:
my e-mail is sunnuld2k@msn.com i will help as much as i can.
5UNNU1D
5UNNU1D on 06 18th, 2006
Find Eduard Denile’s corpse if you have already then kill all the trolls in the cave
Heratio HeartFire on 06 19th, 2006
hi will anybody tell me how to get all of the armor
master of oblivion on 06 20th, 2006
I cant find the Shadowmere, I mean i have it and it was knocked down and when i went back to the fort it was not there
HELP !!!!!!!!!!!!
Please Email Me if anyone knows what i need to do
Katie on 06 20th, 2006
Simply fast travel to a city or any location really if that does’nt work try either stealing or buying a horse then have it killed fast travel again and you should have shadowmere back,however should you own more than one horse the game will supply you with the type of horse you rode last and go down the list from their hopefullly youre shadowmere will be one of them, hope that helps.
Heratio HeartFire on 06 23rd, 2006
Where can I mithril armor? Anyone know?
I am a lvl ten redguard,I use the blades
equipment,and I kickass!
BLADE on 06 24th, 2006
The Quickest way to get it I believe is to travel roads by foot, I got the entire set within three in game days due to the the highwaymen and bandits trying to kick my argonian tail. p.s try buying a paralyze on target spell it gives them hell, good luck! OR! Try traveling to all the armorer stores in each city every other day. OR! LOL! Try infiltrating Ayleid ruins I’m level 51 and usualy always find vamps etc, wearing glass or mitheral armor hope that helps.
Heratio HeartFire on 06 24th, 2006
i kept the sword personally give it 2 the kid and he gives you a crappy helmet that fortifies personality so just 4get about it and plus since its a quest item it wont weigh anything
James on 06 26th, 2006
I talked to the Count in Skingrad, but he hasn’t asked me to go do the “Cure for Vampirism” quest. I’m a vampire and everything, yet he doesn’t give me the quest. What do I do?
SerjsPogoStick on 06 30th, 2006
sorry to be a pain in the ass by asking, but after you get out of the sewers and u have to bring the amulet the emperor gave you to juceffer (sorry if i spelt his name wrong) should i do this quest right off the bat or just wonder around and join guilds and do side quests?
thanks for the help and advice.
newbie on 06 30th, 2006
oh and i forgot, if u beat the game is it over ? or can u still go around and join guilds and do side quests?
newbie on 07 1st, 2006
Try talking to a chapel priest first, they will point you to the count of skingrad.
Heratio HeartFire on 07 4th, 2006
I’ts a free open world, you choose what you want to do first, theirs no time limit to complete the main mission.You can choose when to start it anytime.
Heratio HeartFire on 07 4th, 2006
Oh sorry almost forgot,the game does’nt end when you beat the main mission.Youre simply free to do whatever you want to do again.
Heratio HeartFire on 07 4th, 2006
I cant get the last quest from the gray fox i sold enough stolen goods but i cant get the message from him. i waited over a week and still didnt get anything. can anyone tell whats going on.
some-guy on 07 4th, 2006
I cant cant get the last quest from the gray fox i did everything i needed to and i waited over a week and still wasnt able to get the quest. does anyone know whats going on im desperate for a reply.
some-guy on 07 4th, 2006
Does anyone know how much garlic,nightshade,and bloodgrass u need fo the cure for vamparism
some-guy on 07 5th, 2006
Bloodgrass is found in any old plane of oblivion, Garlic is found hanging by any fireplace pretty much, and nighshade can be bought at “The Main Ingredient” in the imperial city.
Now. Where can i get me some elvish armour. i’m at level 13, and cant find any!
matt on 07 5th, 2006
i have all the ingrediants for the cure but i she wont give me the cure. how much of each do i need
some-guy on 07 5th, 2006
I was just wondering if there is just one unicorn because the one i had died and i wasent even near or around it. One day i walked up to it and it fell over and it was dead, i think it may have been a glitch or something.
Katie on 07 5th, 2006
ne1 know where the hircine shrine is? i went south, but i still couldnt see it (i did find a gate to oblivion though :P)
Lee on 07 5th, 2006
when do u get to do the final quest for grayfox because i cant get it .
some-guy on 07 5th, 2006
do u hav a problem if u palyed this game for over 60 hours in a week and a half
game_lover on 07 5th, 2006
Anyone know where i can find vamps? when i get vampire dust, i can get a reward from The Order Of The Virtuous Blood
Lee on 07 6th, 2006
I had the same problem,I waited near my house in the waterfront district in the Imperial city for almostsix or seven days I did not hit the wait button if you do that youre messenger will never show just wander around the waterfront for a few days Amusei should show,however Their is a glitch in the game,if you found the journal in the vampire cript that has the boots of springheel jack and you talked to the greyfox about the journal first you ca’nt give him the boot’s then youre just screwed,you will know if you made this mistake if the grey fox tells you to get lost when you try to talk to him and you still have the boots in youre inventory.
Heratio HeartFire on 07 6th, 2006
I had the same problem,I waited near my house in the waterfront district in the Imperial city for almostsix or seven days I did not hit the wait button if you do that youre messenger will never show just wander around the waterfront for a few days Amusei should show,however Their is a glitch in the game,if you found the journal in the vampire cript that has the boots of springheel jack and you talked to the greyfox about the journal first you ca’nt give him the boot’s then youre just screwed,you will know if you made this mistake if the grey fox tells you to get lost when you try to talk to him and you still have the boots in youre inventory.
I gave the boots and waited over a week at the waterfront and amusei didnt come. is this glitch or something.
some-guy on 07 6th, 2006
I was just wondering if there was more than one unicorn because mine died and i was not even near it when it died, i mean when i walked up to it it fell dead.
Katie on 07 7th, 2006
Speak to Raminus Polus in the Arcane University in the Imperial City and ask about the Vampire Cure. He will tell you about the Count of Skingrad also being a vampire and that you might want to speak to him.
Speaking to the Count continues the quest. The Count will tell you about a witch who is the last of her kind. Legend has it they were able to cure Vampirism. He will also tell you where to find this witch.
Once you have spoken to the witch, she will ask for 5 empty Grand Soul Gems before she will help you. The soul gems may be purchased from certain members in the mages guilds. Felen in Anvil; Ardaline in Bravil; Selena in Bruma; Eilonwy in Cheydenhal; Angalmo in Chorrol; and Alves in Leyawiin. You can of course also try to steal them from various display cases located around in the various guilds. There is also one in her basement, the entrance is under the fireplace.
On returning to the witch, she will require the following items from you: Two Bloodgrass shoots, six cloves of Garlic, five Nightshade leaves, the blood of an Argonian and the ashes of a powerful vampire.
Two Bloodgrass: This is the tall red grass you see everywhere in Oblivion, so is easy to find. It can be bought in some alchemy shops as well, but due to a common bug it is advisable that you harvest the bloodgrass from Oblivion.
Six cloves of Garlic: Many homes have these lying around on the dinner table or stacked somewhere else. Try some homes in Skingrad.
Five Nightshade leaves: You can find some southwest of Skingrad. You can also find some at “The Main Ingredient” in the Imperial City.
Blood of an Argonian: You can get this from any Argonian (lizard people).Don’t worry about getting into the Dark Brotherhood though, you just need to stab one in the back once with the special dagger you get from the witch and run before the guards come, no need for killing. If you don’t want a bounty: There is an Argonian at a Deadric Shrine on the south bank of the Silverfish River. (Where the letter R in “Silverfish River” is on your map). He is frozen and can’t fight back thus you can stab without consequence.
Ashes of a powerful vampire: This ‘powerful’ vampire’s name is Hindaril. Ask the witch about it and she will mark his location in Redwater Slough on your map. Killing Hindaril will provide you with Ashes of Hindaril instead of regular Vampire Dust. His home is a nesting ground for vampires but they die easily (especially with fire spells). If you still have trouble you could wait until you’re in the fourth and final stage of being vampire and slaughter them like lambs.
When you have given all ingredients to the witch, ask her again for the cure and she will tell you to return in 24 hours.
When you return, her shack might be empty. If that is the case, just wait a while until she appears near the fireplace. Ask her again for the cure, and she will give you two potions - one for you and one for the count’s wife.
Return to Castle Skingrad and ask the steward for the count. Mention the cure and she will arrange a meeting and lead you to the countess’ secret chamber where the count and a healer wait beside the countess’ bed. Tell the count that you aquired the cure to give it to him. He will allow you to stay and watch provided that you keep quiet.
(RUINER!!!!!!!)Step aside and watch the healer waking up the countess. Then you can listen to her and the count talking about ending her suffering. After that the countess drinks the potion, is healed from vampirism and drops dead on the bed.
Speak to the count again and he will ask you to leave now and return to his steward after 24 hours in order to be given a reward.
Do as told and the steward will lead the count to you. If you cure yourself before talking to him, he will mention that he can not provide you any help about vamirism. This provides a new dialogue item, “Reward”. Talk to him about this, and he will give you a level-dependent amount of gold (see below).
Reward
Level Reward
1-4 250 Gold
5-9 500 Gold
10-14 1000 Gold
15-19 2500 Gold
20-24 5000 Gold
25-29 7500 Gold
30 10000 Gold
Bug
Apparently there is a bug which may occur if you hand in the items in the wrong order which prevents you from completing the quest.
Your option then would be to reload a previous game
Bug (sweeet…)
After the quest reward is recieved, it is possible to keep pressing the reward topic to recieve the reward over and over again. It is possible to return to the count later and do this anytime, even after the quest is completed. There does not seem to be any limit to the amount of gold you can amass.
Bug
There have been problems with the witch accepting bloodgrass. This is because the witch only takes bloodgrass harvested from Oblivion as opposed to bloodgrass bought in shops.
Sorry!!!!!!!! thats its so big but its answering all those ppls Questions on the vampire cure. hope it helps, and sorry again.
Kung-Pow-Chiken on 07 7th, 2006
Sorry man, i forgot to tell you how much you need of each. you need 2 bloodgrass, 6 garlic, and 5 nightshade. really sorry man.
matt on 07 7th, 2006
I also found an INCREDIBLY STUPID BUG where i am in the cavern to revive the counts wife, but the spell goes and she dosent get up or say anything! i REALLY am stuck, because it happens any time i reboot!
Please answer this!
matt on 07 7th, 2006
every time i talk to the gray fox he keeps saying not now i need to think. is this a glitch
some-guy on 07 7th, 2006
there is a glitch in the game if u go to the water front got to the stairs heading toward the shacks and use a life detection spell and look at the satirs there is an imperial soldier waiking back and forth and speaks to u. it might not work for u though.
some-guy on 07 7th, 2006
does anyone know where to find trolls im doing a daedric quest and i need troll fat
some-guy on 07 7th, 2006
Trolls are generally wandering arround the wilderness, go up the road on the right side of leywein and you’ll probably bump into a few, perhapps depending on your level, also along the road there is a shrine calld the shrine of noctunal and it has a quest. in the quest you will have to go to a cave which has trolls in it, plus you get a lovely thing called the skeleton key which is a lockpick that doesnt brake and fortifues lockpicking 40. hope that helps. Im at the point in the theives guild where i need to be contacted, but nomatter how long ive waited either with the wait command or just sitting their waiting (mostly at the waterfront but other places in the imperial city too) i just dont get the quest. Ive fenced nearly 8000 gold, way above the 600 i need. has anyone els encountered this? Is it a glitch?
Jack on 07 8th, 2006