Understanding the Leveling System
The Core Mechanics
You gain experience in Oblivion primarily by using skills. The more you use a skill, the faster it increases. Simple, right? But the devil is in the details. Each skill has a value that ranges from novice to master, and these levels dictate how effective you are at that skill. Skills are divided into the major and minor categories, with this division having a very large impact on your character progression. As your skills increase, you’ll earn experience points (XP) towards your level.
Attribute points, which influence your character’s physical and mental capabilities, also play a crucial role. Each time you level up, you can increase your attributes, which in turn will give you increased health, magicka, and other important stats.
Your major and minor skills also influence how you level. Each time you level up, you gain attribute bonuses based on your skill usage. You get to choose the class of your character. This choice is very important as it determines what skills you have in your major skills section.
Skill Specialization
Choosing a class at the beginning of the game is an important decision that affects your major skills. Your chosen class determines which skills are considered “major skills” and which are “minor skills.” Your major skills level up more quickly. You’ll likely use these skills more, resulting in more rapid experience gain and access to better attribute bonuses at each level. Think carefully about your preferred play style and choose a class that complements it. Do you want to be a master swordsman, a cunning thief, or a powerful mage? Your class should reflect this.
Efficient Skill Training Strategies
Major Versus Minor Skills
The distinction between major and minor skills is critical. Major skills contribute directly to your level progression, while minor skills level up independently but often at a slower rate. The amount that your major skills are utilized will determine how fast you level up and how quickly you get attribute bonuses.
Strategically, consider leveling your major skills first to get your attributes up. You’ll be able to keep the game challenges at a manageable level. Your minor skills will increase more slowly, but using them in conjunction with your major skills will help keep your character well-rounded.
Skill-Specific Leveling Guides
Here’s how to approach training the skills that are essential for your character.
Combat Skills
- Blade/Blunt: The bread and butter of any melee character. Practice your strikes against enemies whenever possible. Find a weak enemy like a mudcrab to practice.
- Hand to Hand: Practice by fighting weak opponents.
- Marksman: Head to the practice range or seek out practice dummies. Head to a quiet location and practice.
- Block: Practice blocking, and equip a shield.
- Armorer: Repair your armor as often as possible, especially after combat.
Magic Skills
- Destruction: A powerful offensive skill, use it in combat to quickly destroy enemies.
- Alteration: Practice the detect life spell.
- Conjuration: Summon creatures frequently during combat.
- Illusion: Cast illusion spells on enemies and allies.
- Mysticism: Cast the soul trap spell.
- Restoration: Heal yourself frequently after taking damage, and heal allies in combat.
Stealth Skills
- Security: Practice picking locks on various chests.
- Sneak: Practice sneaking by enemies and in dungeons.
- Acrobatics: Jump frequently to level up your acrobatics.
- Light Armor: Equip light armor and take damage to level up your light armor skill.
- Speechcraft: Practice the speechcraft by talking to vendors and using persuasion techniques.
Maximizing Attribute Bonuses
When you level up, you have the opportunity to increase your attributes. These increases are vital for your character’s overall strength and survivability.
Attribute Bonuses: How They Work
To gain attribute bonuses when leveling up, you need to level up skills associated with those attributes. For example, if you want to increase your Strength attribute, you need to improve skills like Blade, Blunt, and Armorer. The more skill levels you gain in the associated attributes, the higher the bonus.
Planning for Bonuses
When leveling, keep a close eye on the skills associated with the attributes you want to improve. Your character build should take your major skills into account. Consider taking a character class that has major skills focused on the attributes you want to level up.
Level Scaling and Combat Strategies
Oblivion Remastered’s level scaling can be a double-edged sword.
Addressing Level Scaling
The game scales the strength of enemies to your level. The scaling ensures the challenges remain, but it means that enemies will get stronger as you level up. This can make early game areas more dangerous and make loot weaker. It is important to manage this level scaling and keep your character strong at all stages of the game.
Combat Strategies
- Use your most effective skills.
- Pay attention to your enemy’s weaknesses, and exploit these weaknesses.
- Use potions. Potions can provide an edge in combat.
- Learn to manage stamina to ensure you have enough for the best strikes.
- Use stealth and positioning.
- Use the environment to your advantage.
Beyond Leveling: Other Important Factors
Leveling is only one piece of the puzzle. Consider these factors.
Gear Acquisition
Good gear can make a significant difference in your ability to survive and thrive. As you level up, seek better weapons, armor, and magical items. Explore dungeons, complete quests, and trade with merchants.
Potions and Crafting
Learn to use potions effectively. Crafting potions can create specialized enhancements that can get you out of difficult situations.
Quests and Exploration
The world of Oblivion is filled with quests and secrets. Exploring the vast landscape of Cyrodiil will provide opportunities to discover new items, level up skills, and earn valuable experience.
Managing Inventory
Keep your inventory organized. You’ll quickly become overwhelmed by clutter if you don’t.
Conclusion
Leveling up in Oblivion Remastered is a journey that requires careful planning, strategic skill development, and a bit of patience. Remember that your character should feel strong, and that you should be able to keep your character at a reasonable level. It is important to adapt to the situation. Choose skills that complement your play style.
This guide has provided the tools you need to take on the challenges of Oblivion. Experiment, have fun, and make the most of your adventure. Good luck, adventurer!
