# Oblivion : Late to the Party **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [November 21, 2011, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oblivion-late-to-the-party/603647 "2011-11-21T15:21:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oblivion-late-to-the-party/603647/41 "2011-11-28T06:01:41Z")
My two cents: I didn’t have much problem running through Oblivion (I played it on the Xbox, so there weren’t any mods). But that might have been because I had previously played through Morrowind and I knew from experience how useful spells like Paralyze and Invisibility were. My strategy was to create a Paralyze spell that lasts for maybe 3 seconds, then just alternate cast-stab-cast-stab-cast-stab, etc. That’s enough to kill most enemies in the game (except for magic immune or magic absorbing creatures). For multiple enemies, I created an area Paralyze spell that lasts for 1 second; it was less efficient, but still did the trick. Of course, you can basically ignore most enemies by running past them with Invisibility; I just created an Invisibility spell that lasts for 5 or 10 seconds and cast it repeatedly as needed. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oblivion-late-to-the-party/603647/43 "2011-11-28T07:18:43Z")
We’ve got a thread or two. Check them out. IMHO: Skyrim is better than Oblivion, and parts are either better or worse than Morrowind. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oblivion-late-to-the-party/603647/44 "2011-11-28T08:33:32Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > Because this is what happens when you level up in non-combat areas - **bldysabbas** essentially created a long-distance runner with an awesome magicka regeneration rate and health, but without the combat skills to foot it with the rubber-banded enemies that go with a higher level. Although to be fair, if you’re talking about the mercenaries you come across in the Dark Brotherhood questline I remember them being pretty difficult as well. Can you summon something up to divert their attention? Maybe take one out from a distance with a sneaky poisoned arrow? Well, I was being careful to level up destruction, but it doesn’t seem to be all that useful yet. And I didn’t level up in non-combat areas either - endurance is all but impossible to level up out of combat. I did it this way because endurance gives health boosts each level up, and you can’t really avoid increasing restoration and athletics, so these are the best attributes to get maxed and out of the way as early as possible. You’re right that the melee skills and attributes of the character aren’t up to scratch yet. To those who may want to meta game - an invaluable mod that no longer makes it ‘meta’ is the Skill Diary. It provides a very well implemented in-game tracker of which skills have increased by how many points since the last level up, so that you don’t have to do it manually. Without the mod, I wouldn’t have bothered. As for the merc situation, thanks - I remembered that I was running the game on 70% difficulty. It’s MUCH tougher than the default 50% difficulty level. Makes my attacks all but ineffective, and each blow the enemy lands takes a big chunk out of my health(which IMO is a horrible way to implement a difficulty level). I went back to the game after this thread. Beat the mercs by staying on sneak. For some reason this keeps all three of them from ganging up on me at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oblivion-late-to-the-party/603647/45 "2011-11-28T08:56:49Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > Well inspired by this thread I went and downloaded OOO (and the oblivion mod manager) and started a new game. Levelling in OOO is really slow! Make sure you read the readme so you select the mods you want when you install it. Harvest Flora is great (you can see which plants you’ve already picked) and the Living Economy thing seems okay (although it makes money even tighter at low levels). I’m toying with the idea of getting all the Unique Landscapes patches as well anyone ever used this? > > My impressions of OOO so far are positive, things are a lot more dangerous for the novice adventurer - so you have to be careful and save often. Oh and traps are now deadly rather than inconvenient. I’d like to hear more about your experience with OOO if you have the time. It sounded good, but a little too hardcore. I got the impression that it did away with things like quest markers and fast travel, and made the game much tougher in general. Also couldn’t find too much said about it in any forums, so decided against it eventually. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oblivion-late-to-the-party/603647/46 "2011-11-28T13:53:02Z")
I haven’t played Oblivion OOO in a long time, but I don’t remember it removing quest markers and fast travel. It does make it tougher in some ways, but when you are a high level and some bandit comes up to rob you it’s time to take out the trash. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oblivion-late-to-the-party/603647/47 "2011-11-28T13:56:06Z")
There are no initial map markers, you’ll have to find them yourself typically by using the quest compass. Fast travel exists though you’ll need the end point. Overall toughness is tougher but when you get to 10th level and wander into a goblin cave you become this angle of death and destruction. Compared to your level 1 performance as a terror stricken wannabe hero fleeing in terror while trying to find a patrolling legionary. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oblivion-late-to-the-party/603647/48 "2011-11-28T15:23:23Z")
Can anyone recommend a good mod for making the NPC faces look less God awful? I tried looking (briefly) but the sheer number of mods was overwhelming and many didn’t even show what the results would be. Or else I’d find mods which would only change one specific race or add in two hair styles or something. I’d really prefer a single mod to change things than dinking around with a dozen different mods, each changing a single race/gender. It’s not a deal breaker for me but it sure would be nice. 90% of the time it zooms in to a speaking NPC, I go “Nyeagh!” Scarier than a minotaur charging out from the shadows. The worst is that woman from the Merchants Society in Imperial City with her giant cranium and weird jowls. Each time I see her, I want to put her out of her misery. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oblivion-late-to-the-party/603647/49 "2011-11-28T17:43:22Z")
Finn Gleam, eh? I’ll have to get that. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oblivion-late-to-the-party/603647/50 "2011-11-28T18:11:57Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > I haven’t played Oblivion OOO in a long time, but I don’t remember it removing quest markers and fast travel. It does make it tougher in some ways, but when you are a high level and some bandit comes up to rob you it’s time to take out the trash. > [@Grey](#): > > There are no initial map markers, you’ll have to find them yourself typically by using the quest compass. Fast travel exists though you’ll need the end point. Overall toughness is tougher but when you get to 10th level and wander into a goblin cave you become this angle of death and destruction. Compared to your level 1 performance as a terror stricken wannabe hero fleeing in terror while trying to find a patrolling legionary. Thanks. That does sound good. Think I’ll get it, although the thought of starting another character doesn’t make me go acrobatic with joy. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oblivion-late-to-the-party/603647/51 "2011-11-28T18:59:48Z")
> [@Pine\_Fresh\_Scent](#): > > Another handy staff given as a quest award is one that turns one creature into another random creature. For instance, if you come across a minotaur, fire this particular staff it it and it will turn turn into a sheep or a deer for enough time for you to easily kill it. If you time it right, you can throw a soul trap spell at a target, change it into a sheep with the staff, almost kill it, then wait for it to turn back into the high-level form and finish it off for an easy grand soul capture. I can’t remember the name of the staff, but if you search the Oblivion wiki for shrine quests or reward staffs, it shouldn’t be too hard to find. I think it works on wisps, too. I usually used fire staffs on ghosts (hit them with a weakness to fire spell first if able). Wabbajack. It returns in Skyrim. And it is hilarious. There’s also two quest dialogues about it, one of which occurs if you finished Shivering Isles. Both are good, but the second option is utterly hilarious. Mega-spoilers follow: [spoiler]I Shivering Isles, you BECOME Sheogoreth. Yes, you attain a new position as the Daedric Prince of Madness, and Skyrim hints this may be the official story, as Sheogoreth in that game says he was present when Martin defeated Dagon. Granted, it’s Sheogoreth saying this, and he’s nuttier than a fruitcake. However, he’s extremely reliable after a fashion - kind of like the Joker, but as capable of immense kindness as cruelty. He’s actually extremely helpful and really quite brilliant, as he’s also Prince of creativity and art as well as insanity. In Oblivion, after you become Sheogoreth, you can go back to Cyrodiil and trigger your own Sheogoreth shrine… which results in your semi-divine butler (as tediously sane as you are nuts) commenting that obviously praying to yourself is excellent proof you’re suited to the position. He then suggests you go off and do the usual quest while he rummages around for the Wabbajack.[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oblivion-late-to-the-party/603647/52 "2011-11-28T20:16:33Z")
> [@Pine\_Fresh\_Scent](#): > > …Another handy staff given as a quest award is one that turns one creature into another random creature. For instance, if you come across a minotaur, fire this particular staff it it and it will turn turn into a sheep or a deer for enough time for you to easily kill it. If you time it right, you can throw a soul trap spell at a target, change it into a sheep with the staff, almost kill it, then wait for it to turn back into the high-level form and finish it off for an easy grand soul capture. I can’t remember the name of the staff, but if you search the Oblivion wiki for shrine quests or reward staffs, it shouldn’t be too hard to find. I think it works on wisps, too. I usually used fire staffs on ghosts (hit them with a weakness to fire spell first if able)… The wabbajack staff (sp?). Another fun thing about that staff is that sometimes it turns a monster into a much worse kind of monster that then kicks your ass. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oblivion-late-to-the-party/603647/53 "2011-11-28T20:23:45Z")
> [@bldysabba](#): > > I’d like to hear more about your experience with OOO if you have the time. It sounded good, but a little too hardcore. I got the impression that it did away with things like quest markers and fast travel, and made the game much tougher in general. Also couldn’t find too much said about it in any forums, so decided against it eventually. **madmonk28** and **Grey** have already answered your specific questions. Basically when you come out of the Imperial sewers there are no markers on your map, so you have to fill them in yourself either by walking places or through conversations. I tend to walk most places anyway so I didn’t find it too much of a hassle. I think there aren’t any map markers for the some of the added quests though. I’ve only come across one and haven’t started it yet. I’ve only really scratched the surface of OOO but I like what I’ve found so far. Yes, it’s harder than vanilla but it’s added a lot more to the world. Personally I think you should finish off your vanilla game first before trying OOO. Oh and don’t forget to get a mod manager (I use OBMM, but I think you can use Wrye Bash) so you can set load order and the like. As for **Jophiel’s** question about NPC faces, I haven’t monkeyed around with textures and the like (I must have a higher tolerance of teh ugly I guess) so I can’t help. Have a look around on the [TESNexus](http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/index.php) ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oblivion-late-to-the-party/603647/54 "2011-11-28T20:27:14Z")
Yeah, that’s where I looked but I felt a bit overwhelmed with options and past experience with mods (in other games) have taught me that you’re likely to randomly grab chaff than wheat. It’s not a deal breaker for me but I figured since people were discussing mods, I’d ask. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oblivion-late-to-the-party/603647/55 "2011-11-28T20:57:18Z")
Yes, it all gets too much for me as well. So I’m only running OOO on top of the patched GOTY version (with Shivering Isles and Knights of the Nine) at the moment. I’m about to give the Unique Landscapes a go over the weekend. But I don’t want to spend more time fiddling with mods and load orders than actually playing hte game… ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oblivion-late-to-the-party/603647/56 "2011-11-28T20:59:49Z")
I usually sort by downloads or endorsements. Yeah, popular != good, and usually it just means bewbs! especially when the game first comes out. The top on TESNexus is [IFT](http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=5643), which I don’t know much about. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oblivion-late-to-the-party/603647/57 "2011-11-28T22:01:39Z")
Another great thing about OOO is that it has some absolutely beautiful armor and weapons that put the original textures from vanilla Oblivion to shame. ETA: That I just found out OOO3 has a facebook page to answer any questions you might have. Just search for Oscuro’s Oblivion Overhaul. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oblivion-late-to-the-party/603647/58 "2011-11-28T23:02:22Z")
That’s a good point, OOO isn’t just a rebalance mod; it includes a whole bunch of new textures and content as well, and puts it all together for you in an easy to use way. The OOO readme lists all the various merged mods (about 60 odd additions in the amror, clothing and weapons categories). ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oblivion-late-to-the-party/603647/59 "2011-11-29T03:08:26Z")
I just figured out how to download OOO correctly, which is good, given how bored I’ve been getting with Oblivion by level 4. Hopefully it’ll be good enough with OOO to keep me playing. ---
**Author:** ![Pine\_Fresh\_Scent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/43a26b/32.png) [@Pine\_Fresh\_Scent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pine_Fresh_Scent)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oblivion-late-to-the-party/603647/60 "2011-11-29T12:10:03Z")
I’m thinking of building a gaming rig this Spring to run Oblivion. Is there a good mod to lower the height of the grass in the world? I’d like to lower the height from waist-high to more like ankle-high. Figured I’d ask now rather than four months from now. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oblivion-late-to-the-party/603647/61 "2011-11-29T13:24:03Z")
I have an old (+4 year) rig that runs Oblivion just fine. For video options go to Options --\> Video on the game start up menu and modify grass height, view distance etc. there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oblivion-late-to-the-party/603647.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oblivion-late-to-the-party/603647.md?page=4)