Introduction
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Just the name conjures images of vibrant landscapes, the thrill of exploration, and the promise of countless adventures. Even years after its initial release, the game’s open world and deep role-playing mechanics continue to captivate players. While there’s no official remaster currently on the market, the enduring popularity of Oblivion begs the question: what if a fresh coat of paint were applied? What if the game’s intricate systems, the foundation of its replayability, were refined and polished?
Central to the Oblivion experience, be it the original or a hypothetical remaster, is understanding and mastering your character. And at the core of character customization lie the attributes. These eight distinct traits, the very building blocks of your hero or villain, are far more than just numbers on a screen. They’re the keys that unlock Tamriel’s vast potential, determining your strengths, weaknesses, and how you interact with the world around you. This guide delves into the intricacies of Oblivion’s attributes, offering a comprehensive look at their significance, helping you craft the ultimate adventurer, should a remaster ever grace our screens.
The foundation of any successful character, be it in a classic title like this or a future remake, begins with understanding your attributes. Consider them the essential ingredients to your character’s personality, strengths, and skills. Each attribute influences various gameplay elements, from your combat effectiveness to your magical prowess and even your social standing. The right balance of attributes can transform a novice adventurer into a legendary hero. Before we dive further into the specifics, here’s a look at the main attributes that compose your in-game character:
- Strength
- Intelligence
- Willpower
- Agility
- Speed
- Endurance
- Personality
- Luck
The interplay between these attributes is what truly makes character creation in Oblivion so engaging.
Unveiling Strength: The Power Within
Strength, as the name suggests, is all about physical prowess. It dictates how hard you hit, how much you can carry, and the effectiveness of certain skills. A high Strength attribute is essential for those who favor a direct, hands-on approach to combat. If you envision your character as a towering warrior, clad in heavy armor and wielding a massive two-handed weapon, then Strength should be a top priority.
Several essential skills are directly influenced by your Strength:
- Blade: Increases your damage with swords, daggers, and other bladed weapons.
- Blunt: Increases your damage with maces, warhammers, and clubs.
- Armorer: Impacts how well you repair and maintain your armor.
- Block: Improves your ability to parry attacks and reduce damage.
Beyond combat, Strength also impacts your carry weight. A character with a high Strength can haul more equipment, allowing them to gather valuable loot, carry heavy armor, and stay in the field longer without having to return to town to sell their wares. Moreover, Strength directly impacts the damage you deal in close combat and is a crucial skill for anyone that wishes to dominate battles.
Decoding Intelligence: The Mind’s Dominion
In a hypothetical Oblivion remaster, Intelligence is the key to unlocking the secrets of magic and arcane knowledge. It governs the size of your Magicka pool, the resource used to cast spells. If you prefer to sling fireballs, summon daedra, or weave illusions, then Intelligence will be a crucial attribute to prioritize.
Intelligence directly impacts the effectiveness of a few skills, including:
- Alchemy: This skill governs your ability to create potions.
- Conjuration: Governs your ability to summon creatures from other planes of existence.
- Mysticism: Impacts your ability to cast various mystical spells.
- Restoration: Determines your skill at healing, and protective spells.
A high Intelligence grants a larger magicka pool, allowing you to cast more powerful spells or cast them more frequently. Moreover, it increases the effectiveness of your spells. The more intelligent your character, the more impactful their magic will become. This is a key attribute for mages and those who lean towards a more strategic playstyle.
Understanding Willpower: The Strength of Mind
Willpower is the attribute that measures your character’s mental fortitude and resilience. It dictates the rate at which your Magicka regenerates, making it critical for sustained spellcasting. A character with high Willpower will recover their magical energy more quickly, allowing them to maintain their offensive and defensive spells during long and intense combat situations.
The skills governed by Willpower include:
- Alteration: This school is often associated with magical effects.
- Destruction: Allows you to manipulate the elements to deal damage.
- Mysticism: Also influences your skill with various mystical spells.
Willpower also affects your resistance to various magical effects, making you more resistant to things such as paralysis or mind control. For mages, it is a fundamental attribute, as it impacts how well you maintain your magical ability over time.
Embracing Agility: The Grace of Movement
Agility is the attribute of finesse and dexterity. It governs your character’s coordination, influencing their ability to strike true, evade attacks, and move stealthily. If you plan on playing a nimble rogue, a deadly archer, or a sneaky assassin, Agility should be a cornerstone of your build.
Several vital skills are heavily influenced by Agility:
- Blade: Also tied to Strength, agility adds to hit percentage.
- Marksman: Impacts accuracy and damage with bows and arrows.
- Security: Determines your ability to pick locks.
- Sneak: Dictates your ability to move silently and remain hidden.
A high Agility character is harder to hit and more likely to land critical strikes. Agility is a key attribute for those who favor a tactical and less upfront approach to combat.
Speed: The Swiftness of Action
Speed is fairly straightforward. It dictates how quickly your character moves. While it may not directly impact combat or magic, it plays a crucial role in navigation and exploration. A character with high Speed will traverse Tamriel more swiftly, making questing and traveling much less tedious. The more you move, the more you see, and in a world as vast and detailed as the one of Oblivion, this matters.
Speed’s direct impact is straightforward: The faster your character’s movement, the more efficient your questing becomes. This attribute also ties into your ability to evade your opponents and get into better positioning on the battlefield.
Endurance: The Power of Perseverance
Endurance is an attribute that defines your health and stamina in a hypothetical Oblivion Remaster. It dictates how much damage you can take before being defeated. If you anticipate taking a lot of damage, then Endurance should be a high priority.
This attribute is also directly related to your skills:
- Heavy Armor: If you are using heavy armor, you will need a large pool of health.
- Light Armor: Allows you to become more durable and avoid taking damage in combat.
- Athletics: Is critical for a warrior and increases stamina.
For frontline combatants, a high Endurance will translate to extended survival in combat.
Discovering Personality: The Art of Influence
Personality is all about social grace and the ability to influence others. It impacts how NPCs perceive you and your ability to persuade them. In a hypothetical Oblivion Remaster, a high Personality could open doors to quests, discounts, and opportunities that would be unavailable to a character with low Personality.
Skills that benefit greatly from this attribute include:
- Speechcraft: Determines your ability to persuade, intimidate, and haggle.
If you prefer talking your way out of trouble, or simply want to build good relations with the citizens of Tamriel, then Personality is a fundamental attribute.
Embracing Luck: The Subtle Hand of Fate
Luck is a curious attribute. Unlike the others, it doesn’t directly influence any specific skills. Instead, it subtly impacts various aspects of gameplay, often in ways that are difficult to quantify. Luck, in this hypothetical remaster, could affect your chance of finding rare items, success in gambling, or even the outcome of certain quests. It serves as an overarching element, tying several gameplay aspects together.
Luck can be an important factor in your overall success in your adventures, even if it isn’t as clear as the rest.
Crafting Your Character: The Attributes in Practice
Choosing your character’s race is a pivotal first step. Each race in Oblivion starts with different attribute bonuses and skill proficiencies. For example, a Nord begins with a bonus to Strength and Endurance, making them well-suited for melee combat, while a High Elf receives bonuses to Intelligence and Willpower, making them natural mages. Think about the type of character you want to play. A melee fighter will benefit from a high Strength and Endurance. A mage will prioritize Intelligence and Willpower. A stealth archer will depend on Agility and Speed.
When you level up, you gain the opportunity to improve your attributes. You can select a certain number of points to assign to your attributes. Choosing to focus on your primary attributes will allow you to excel in the build you want. For example, as a mage, increasing your Intelligence at every opportunity will increase your magicka, helping you cast more often.
Remember that skills are directly linked to attributes. The skills you use most frequently in the game will often increase as you gain experience.
Methods of Attribute Augmentation
Fortunately, there are methods of increasing your attributes in your adventures. Equipment, enchanted items, and potions, can temporarily or permanently boost your attributes. This is a key factor that allows you to create a balanced character.
Final Considerations
Understanding Oblivion’s attributes is the key to a richer and more rewarding experience. Whether it’s a hypothetical remaster or revisiting the classic original, understanding these attributes allows you to sculpt a character perfectly suited to your playstyle. Knowing the attributes and how to use them is the difference between merely surviving and truly thriving in Tamriel.
Embrace the possibilities and experiment. Try different builds. Focus on the core attributes that speak to your play style, and witness how they bring the world of Oblivion to life. Let your journey begin!
