The Official Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Thread

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

This seems to be a good time to start one of these instead of waiting until after it's released. That way, if anyone wants to post their expectations (compared to Morrowind), any good previews, interviews, etc, this will be a good place to find it. When the game comes out (I'm still leaning on somewhere between March 21st and Mid-April), impressions and all that good stuff can be posted here as well.


I'm really looking to some good lighting in Oblivion. Morrowind was dark as hell during the game's nights, which seemed longer than the days. If there was a lot of sunlight in the room, there's no way I can see if it was nighttime in the game. Or in a cave. Or underwater. The torches didn't help, and the night-eye magic wore off too fast, even on enchanted items.

Has anyone seen the combat for this game on a video or something? I'm really not going to expect anything great in this area, just in case.

[Cuddly Knife]

While the combat is no Condemned combat, what I've seen of it looks a lot better than what's on Morrowind. I'm expecting a lot of effects when using spells, though.

I wonder how they are working the draw-distance. Morrowind was the pop-up queen(GTA3 being the king), and I fear that they might've sacrificed draw for pretty. I saw some pictures on the new OXM and they weren't to promising. Unless they're doing the type of blur-fade-in seen in SotC.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

I haven't read anything new on the draw distance. I'm hoping a few of these sites will get a hold of a playable build and can do an Oblivion: 5 hours in, similar to GI and OXM did a few issues ago, so we can find out some more things. I never noticed how bad the draw distance was on Morrowind until my last go around with the GOTY edition. It should be better, but it remains to be seen how much better.

I read that the enemy AI is going to scale based on your character. That's good for having a challenge after 100 hrs in the game, but I'm going to miss being able to "Conan" my way through weaklings.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

Latest interview:

Boomtown (http://rpg.boomtown.net/en_uk/articles/art.view.php?id=10641)

[Fivespot]

XBOX Live has a free trailer up for Oblivion in both 480p & 720p. Of course you'll need a 360 to download it but I thought I'd share that with everyone.

In addition, gamer pics and themes have also been posted for this upcoming title.

If only a demo was up..... I'll keep my fingers crossed on that one.

[Fivespot]

Here are the achievements for this upcoming 360 game:

http://live.xbox.com/en-US/profile/Achievements/ViewAchievementDetails.aspx?compareTo=THE+BENERGY&t=%09%5d%3acn*i7%05%01

A whopping 50 achievements. I bet these are hard to earn. At least you'd think a game bearing the Elder Scrolls name would require many hours of gameplay to earn all of the achievements.

Please don't be like EA and make the achievements too easy or lame. I prefer something more along the lines of this or PD0 where you can earn many different achievements covering all facets of the game.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

The achievements don't look too difficult. I figured most would have to do with climbing the ranks in different guilds and such. I don't expect gaining any achievements anytime soon for the main quest, because like Morrowind, I'm probably going to stray off the main path for a long time.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

There's a few new hands-on previews at various sites, including Gamespot, IGN and TeamXbox. I found the IGN preview to be the best, mainly because there were a lot more pages, and the writer went into detail about the things he was able to do in his session.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

TeamXbox (http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/10372/The-Elder-Scrolls-IV-Oblivion-Dated/)

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Dated
Press Release
Mar. 2nd, 2006 10:05 am


Bethesda Softworks and 2K Games, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., today announced that the highly-anticipated role-playing game, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion has gone to gold master and will be available in stores in North America and Europe during the week of March 20. Oblivion will be available for Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PC in both regular and collector’s editions.

“Our most ambitious project ever is finally done,� said Todd Howard, executive producer of Oblivion. “We’re excited to get the game into everyone’s hands and let them experience it for themselves. We hope they enjoy it. I think it’s our best game yet.�


Oblivion is an epic, open-ended single-player RPG for the next generation providing gamers with one of the most life-like gaming experiences to date. The powerful combination of unprecedented graphics and freeform gameplay allows gamers to unravel the main quest or explore the vast world at their own pace. Oblivion is the fourth chapter in the award-winning Elder Scrolls series that includes Morrowind (2002 RPG of the year – Computer Gaming World), Daggerfall™ (1996 RPG of the year -- PC Gamer), and Arena (1994 RPG of the year – Computer Player).

“Oblivion will set the new standard for next generation gaming and change the way role-playing games are viewed forever,� said Vlatko Andonov, president of Bethesda Softworks. “We set very high goals and ensure they are reached because that is what our fans deserve and have come to expect from Bethesda Softworks. We are very proud of our team’s accomplishments with respect to Oblivion.�

Oblivion has already garnered numerous awards and an impressive collection of accolades, including being voted “RPG of Show� in 2005 by the Best of E3 Game Critics Awards. Oblivion ranks as one of the “Most Anticipated Games of 2006� according to PC Gamer, GameSpy, IGN, and Yahoo Games among many others, and has been featured on nearly thirty magazine covers worldwide.

“Oblivion is one of the most anticipated video games of 2006 and its release will be a milestone for the Xbox 360 and PC,� said Christoph Hartmann, Managing Director, 2K Games. “A shining example of next-generation role-playing, Oblivion breaks new ground in the genre with unparalleled graphics, revolutionary gameplay and an expansive RPG world.�

Oblivion for Xbox 360 and PC, co-published by 2K Games and Bethesda Softworks, has been rated “T� for Teen by the ESRB. For more information on the title visit the official web site at www.elderscrolls.com.

[Glockstar]

Wow. I don't believe it. Good thing I never bet on it.

And it's a good thing you got your Xbox when you did, Hunter. Good call!

-

Alright everybody, you got less than three weeks to finish up your current games and tie up loose ends! (Less than three weeks?! Wait! Wait! I need more time!)

[Mochan]

Just so you guys know, the lighting in Oblivion has been toned down so we won't have too much shadowing anymore. We will still have HDR, but I would expect the same problems from Morrowind -- if you had too much sunlight in your room and your TV/monitor reflects it a lot, don't expect to see any better with Oblivion either in the dark areas.

Draw distance allegedly will not be pop-ups like in Morrowind; Oblivion uses a tesellation engine that uses low-detail objects at distance and fills them in with the more detailed objects as you get closer -- same thing we saw in Black and White. However there is a lot of controversy on this and some previewers have mentioned that trees, grass and even buildings still pop-up in the distance. Grass is a given; PC games these days still pop grass but for buildings to pop up, that would be a major issue. But we shall see.

Combat should be a ton better than what Morrowind had, but hey when you're at rock bottom it's hard not to improve.

As for the release date, March 20 was the date I bet on in the Bethesda boards (of course nobody there listens to anyone if they're not the Bethesda employees) so I'd say it's safe for us to expect Oblivion to ship by March 20.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

Wow. I don't believe it. Good thing I never bet on it.

And it's a good thing you got your Xbox when you did, Hunter. Good call!

Alright everybody, you got less than three weeks to finish up your current games and tie up loose ends! (Less than three weeks?! Wait! Wait! I need more time!)

Good call, and great luck.

Three weeks? I was actually hoping Bethesda would shock me and say the game will be out next week. Oh, well, it's now or never to finish Ace Combat.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

Just so you guys know, the lighting in Oblivion has been toned down so we won't have too much shadowing anymore. We will still have HDR, but I would expect the same problems from Morrowind -- if you had too much sunlight in your room and your TV/monitor reflects it a lot, don't expect to see any better with Oblivion either in the dark areas.

Draw distance allegedly will not be pop-ups like in Morrowind; Oblivion uses a tesellation engine that uses low-detail objects at distance and fills them in with the more detailed objects as you get closer -- same thing we saw in Black and White. However there is a lot of controversy on this and some previewers have mentioned that trees, grass and even buildings still pop-up in the distance. Grass is a given; PC games these days still pop grass but for buildings to pop up, that would be a major issue. But we shall see.

Combat should be a ton better than what Morrowind had, but hey when you're at rock bottom it's hard not to improve.

As for the release date, March 20 was the date I bet on in the Bethesda boards (of course nobody there listens to anyone if they're not the Bethesda employees) so I'd say it's safe for us to expect Oblivion to ship by March 20.

As far as the lighting, any idea of the game will have a "brightness" slider in the options area? I know Morrowind didn't, and even if my tv wasn't hit directly by sunbeams, it was still hard to see the game at times during daytime.

March 20 is a definite. Time to get pre-orders lined up.

[Glockstar]

Time to get pre-orders lined up.

Oooh... there's another good call. Nice!

[Mochan]

Morrowind didn't have brightness settings on the Xbox? Really!? It had those settings on the PC. Well, I'm 100% sure Oblivion will have brightness/contrast settings for the PC (and if it doesn't we can always tinker with the ini files) and it should have the same settings on the 360, unless Bethesda brainfarts like it did with Morrowind.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

Oooh... there's another good call. Nice!

Where will you pre-order the game (I hope the store doesn't start with a B)?

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

Morrowind didn't have brightness settings on the Xbox? Really!? It had those settings on the PC. Well, I'm 100% sure Oblivion will have brightness/contrast settings for the PC (and if it doesn't we can always tinker with the ini files) and it should have the same settings on the 360, unless Bethesda brainfarts like it did with Morrowind.

Nope, no brightness setting on Xbox. It was something I didn't notice until I started playing other games with that setting. The lighting looks so much better in Oblivion, even if Bethesda forgets about that setting again, it shouldn't be much of a problem this time around.

Thanks for the info. If there's anything else you find out before there's a review, I'll be glad to hear about it.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

I don't have the issue, but according to GameRankings, OXM has given Oblivion a 9.5 (95%).

Not for this review, but I may pick up the next OXM just to see if there's an improvement from the last issue I received (King Kong cover). Either that or OPM, since that one's supposed to have a demo of Tomb Raider.

[Cuddly Knife]

Will it be possible to have the types of mods that will be seen for the pc version of this game on the 360 through Live?

[Mochan]

Unfortunately, no and this is one of the major selling points of the PC version over the 360 version. Word is MS doesn't want to risk opening their Live system with public downloads and thus will not allow non-official content to be available as downloadable mods.

Still no additional word on brightness settings, but again I think Bethesda would have to brainfart to forget it.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

Still no additional word on brightness settings, but again I think Bethesda would have to brainfart to forget it.

I guess we'll know for sure next week.


As big as Morrowind was, and the amount of dungeons in the game, I really didn't see any use for mods. I feel the same way about Oblivion. I just hope to beat the game (beat as in try to do as much in the game that I can) during the life cycle of my 360, so adding more really isn't a necessity.

[Cuddly Knife]

Well, the OXM reveiw says that it can be beaten in about 25 hours, compared to maybe twice that on Morrowind. Although, I have seen a speed run of Morrowind(PC) getting beat in under ten minutes.

[Fivespot]

I've got one reserved but are reconsidering. Not because it looks like a bad game but because I recently picked up a few other new titles that I'm enjoying. I'm afraid that if I get this game at launch, I'll either not be able to give it the attention it deserves or will give it too much attention indirectly forcing myself to stop playing these other games I'm enjoying so much.

I might wait until summer when I can muster the proper amount of time to invest in a larger game. Plus, it may be fun to read what you guys have to say about it first.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

Well, the OXM reveiw says that it can be beaten in about 25 hours, compared to maybe twice that on Morrowind. Although, I have seen a speed run of Morrowind(PC) getting beat in under ten minutes.

From my experience in Morrowind, I never really considered finishing the main storyline as beating the game, especially in the GOTY edition. It was so easy to forget there was a main story in that game, and I hope it's the same for this one.

Did OXM mention any problems or bugs in Oblivion?

[VGV]

I recommend reading Hieremias post in the PC forums regarding Oblivion. <a href="http://forums.videogamereview.com/showthread.php?p=72079#post72079" target=_blank>Click Here</a> to read it.

To watch or download the videos he mentions :

Countdown 1 week : <a href="http://www.gamingtrend.com/video/Oblivion_Countdown1.wmv">CLICK HERE</a> or right click on the link and choose save target as ...
Countdown 6 days : <a href="http://www.gamingtrend.com/video/Oblivion_Countdown2.wmv">CLICK HERE</a> or right click on the link and choose save target as ...
Countdown 5 days : <a href="http://www.gamingtrend.com/video/Oblivion_Countdown_number_3.wmv">CLICK HERE</a> or right click on the link and choose save target as ...

P.S. Recommended viewing : Full Screen. These vids make me even more impatient
to get this gem !

[Glockstar]

So who's getting the Collector's Edition?

And who's getting the strategy guide? (Or is that the dumbest question ever?)

[Renzatic Gear]

I just bought the PC collectors edition...mainly because I had to. When I prebought it, EB accidently sold me the Xbox version, and when I caught the mistake and went back to switch it they wouldn't give me my $10 back.

So I figured I could either buy some stupid magazine, or get the CE. Hell, why not...THAT COIN SURE IS AWESOME!

[Glockstar]

It comes with a coin?! :eek: :rockon:

[Mochan]

It comes with a GOLD coin.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

So who's getting the Collector's Edition?

And who's getting the strategy guide? (Or is that the dumbest question ever?)

I'm passing on both. I rarely ever get a Collector's Edition unless it's the same price as the regular edition (Jade Empire), or if what's in the CE makes it worth getting.

I saw the strategy guide and it's as big as the Real Yellow Pages. I didn't want to spoil anything, so I didn't really look through it.

Also, I'm disappointed there's no new chick in your Love/Hate list, Glock.

[Fivespot]

Just got home with my copy. Picked up the Collector's edition and strat guide. Not sure if I'll need the guide but I got a great deal on it with the game so I grabbed one anyhow.

Took a vacation day from work today and as a coincidence Gamestop called and said my copy was in. I had some chores to do this morning and planned to spend the afternoon finally starting Ghost Recon AW.

Now that I have this game in hand, I have a tough call - do I start Elder Scrolls 4 or GRAW???? I think I may have to put GRAW off a little while longer and start Oblivion. Too tough to resist.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

Just got home with my copy. Picked up the Collector's edition and strat guide. Not sure if I'll need the guide but I got a great deal on it with the game so I grabbed one anyhow.

Took a vacation day from work today and as a coincidence Gamestop called and said my copy was in. I had some chores to do this morning and planned to spend the afternoon finally starting Ghost Recon AW.

Now that I have this game in hand, I have a tough call - do I start Elder Scrolls 4 or GRAW???? I think I may have to put GRAW off a little while longer and start Oblivion. Too tough to resist.

So you already received your copy, huh? Time to put you on the ignore list, out of pure jealousy :)

I still have to twiddle my thumbs until tomorrow when it releases here, where I too have a free day.

If you do start Oblivion tonight, pop a quick impression of the game in the thread, if you don't mind.

[Fivespot]

If you do start Oblivion tonight, pop a quick impression of the game in the thread, if you don't mind.

I've played the game four hours so far and here are my quick, initial impressions.

The game is gorgeous. Graphically the detail is tremendous with attention paid to every nook and cranny. A stone staircase hidden in a forest has moss growing on the stairs. While walking through the woods or field, you'll occasionally run into wildlife (deer, wolf, etc..).

The framerate stutters at times mainly when the game is loading more of the map. While free-roaming the game slows down here and there with a "Loading" message popping up. Draw distance varies. Large objects like trees and buildings are visibe for miles. Bushes and plants on the ground however only seem to draw in 25 feet in front of you. So as you're walking, you'll see the ground growing in front of you (so the game isn't perfect).

I like the first person perspective especially while fighting (the game also allows a third person view). The interface is easy to use with weapons and spells fairly easy to get at. A hot key set-up allows weapons to be assigned to the directional pad (8 way - not just 4) which makes accessing different weapons during battles easy.

Lighting is realistic and nice. The music fits the game well and is epic sounding with mood changes and loud crescendos. Almost sounds like something Elfman would have cut (a definate plus in my opinion).

I'll refrain from saying much more to prevent from listing any spoilers.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

Thanks for the info. I didn't put you on my ignore list, btw. I've actually never put anyone on there.

How often do the loading messages pop up?

With the directional pad, can you also map spells on the directions, or just weapons?

Now that you've played some of Oblivion, will you continue with the game or switch to GRAW?

[Cuddly Knife]

I'm not expecting Condemned-quality melee action, but hopefully, the fighting is better in Oblivion than Morrowind?

[Mochan]

*takes out voodoo doll of Fiveski and begins pushing pins in. SLOWLY.....*

[ThaMaskedGamer]

I was gonna wait, but changed mind. hopefully can snag it tonite, regular version.
Hey Fiveski why not just play the MP GRAW? I was ask Darwin if he was ready to rock the other night. I'm not done with SP but I can't hold off online any more. We usually play cooperatively late at night.

[theWacoKid]

I was gonna wait, but changed mind. hopefully can snag it tonite, regular version.
Hey Fiveski why not just play the MP GRAW? I was ask Darwin if he was ready to rock the other night. I'm not done with SP but I can't hold off online any more. We usually play cooperatively late at night.

If you're looking for other GRAW players, I'm down, and I have a few guys on my friends list interested in co-op as well. PM me if you want my gamertag. Word of warning, limit the number of players. There have been performance and connection problems with the game online. I had to switch out my modem and upgrade my internet service.

Co-op play is good with 4 to 8. When you get 12 to 16 guys, provided you have the type of upload speed to handle that, it gets hairy and chaotic.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

*takes out voodoo doll of Fiveski and begins pushing pins in. SLOWLY.....*

There's a brightness slider in the game.

I'll give an impression of the game as soon as I finish the "tutorial".

[ThaMaskedGamer]

If you're looking for other GRAW players, I'm down, and I have a few guys on my friends list interested in co-op as well. PM me if you want my gamertag. Word of warning, limit the number of players. There have been performance and connection problems with the game online. I had to switch out my modem and upgrade my internet service.

Co-op play is good with 4 to 8. When you get 12 to 16 guys, provided you have the type of upload speed to handle that, it gets hairy and chaotic.

Sounds good Waco let's do it just add me since everybody already knows my GT. Just remember the "oh" in hav0k is actually a zero, so its codename hav0k.

I'll be online sporadically in the next few days.

Well I guys I splurged. I never bought a C.E. game before, but I did with Oblivion. If there is a guide or map inside then it'll be worth it because these worlds are huge. Also it will be nice to have a handy reference of the baddies and their strengths and weaknesses. I still can't comprehend the fact I spent $70 for a game!!

I am not buying another game till Test Drive, it aint the money its the principle of the matter. This is just toooooooooo much moola for games!

[theWacoKid]

Sounds good Waco let's do it just add me since everybody already knows my GT. Just remember the "oh" in hav0k is actually a zero, so its codename hav0k.

I'll be online sporadically in the next few days.

Well I guys I splurged. I never bought a C.E. game before, but I did with Oblivion. If there is a guide or map inside then it'll be worth it because these worlds are huge. Also it will be nice to have a handy reference of the baddies and their strengths and weaknesses. I still can't comprehend the fact I spent $70 for a game!!

I am not buying another game till Test Drive, it aint the money its the principle of the matter. This is just toooooooooo much moola for games!

The guide seems to be nothing more than some made up history of the oblivion universe. The map is a foldout and quite basic. The manual is 48 pages. You get a making of documentary on dvd and a coin. Everything's well designed. You get some nifty fold out packaging. The canadian edition features an ugly ass oversize box because it has to fit in french language versions of all the printed material. Argghhh!

I'll send out a friends invite, codename HAV0K with a zero. I don't think Test Drive is out for a while. Next game for me will be MotoGP. Test Drive looks interesting but I don't how they're going to pull this game off and with Atari being in bad financial shape, who knows if Test Drive gets released.

You can't comprehend you spent $70 for a game, welcome to the Canadian reality on a daily basis.

[Cuddly Knife]

Looks like I won't be playing this one until friday, since my local Wally World never gets anything in when it comes out. Grrrr. I hate ordering online.

And what's the deal with us paying ten dollars less than the PC guys? This ten dollar hike for next-gen gaming is a rip-off. :( But that's another topic for another day.

[ThaMaskedGamer]

Wake me when the fun starts! Okay this is officially my last non-online RPG. This game is starting so slowly it makes you realize how long of a ride you are in for. Everytime I play a one character rpg it reminds of why I love the multiple party rpgs.
But to the game, rats were stompin my azz, so I had to turn the diff. level down. I finally made it out prison and sewers and into the country. It was night so I could see nada.
Finally I went east and walked to a town, sun came up and I was blown away! This game is unbelievable! The console world has NEVER seen anything like this, EVER. They musta been on CRACK to think they coulda made launch. If there is power left in this 360 we are in for some unimaginable games.
Well i'm an Elven Archer. I probably chose the hardest thing u can be, a ranged fighter in a 1 party rpg.
This game is beautiful. First COD2, then GRAW with Mexico City, and now this. I feel sorry for those who miss out on the 360 this gen., especially because of bias.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

Pre-ordering sucks, especially when the store you pre-order from doesn't get their shipment on time, yet another store has a glass case full of Oblivion, including the Collector's Edition.

For anyone who played Morrowind and want to play Oblivion with a Khajit (cat-man/woman), the armor restrictions are no where to be seen. I have three different saves with different characters (wood elf, khajit, imperial, since I couldn't make a clear cut choice), and every armor that I got with the elf and imperial, I could also equip with the khajit.

I decided on a Wood Elf chick, to remake my character from Morrowind that I never finished. She's a future Xena Warrior Princess type of character, but for now, she's kind of weak. I'm also using the 3rd person view most of the time, especially in combat. If I need to shoot a fireball from a distance, I'll switch to 1st person, but for the hacking and slashing, it's in 3rd. She skates around like Michelel Kwan when she's straffing, but it doesn't take away from my enjoyment of the game.

This will be my last 360 game until....April 12, when all version sof Tomb Raider Legend arrives in store. After that, it may be a few months before I get anything, well, at least anything new.

[Hieremias]

I posted my initial impressions in the PC forum <a href="http://forums16.consumerreview.com/showthread.php?t=6454">here</a>. I have the PC version of course, but I'm sure most of the impressions are applicable to the Xbox.

Any thoughts from you guys?

By the way, has anyone found the Thieves' Guild? I've been looking all over the place. I want to join, but I can't find them! (Obviously they don't advertise their whereabouts.)

[theWacoKid]

Initial impression. Far more refined in every aspect over morrowind. Smooth framerate while in the dungeons. Things not so great when you're out and about on land. Still, this is a very vast environment with a large draw distance.

The character creation tool is far better than the create a player crap, publishers like EA give you. The clothing and weapons all look great, the menu system is very slick. I may shut the music off, I don't like the way the music kicks in when enemies approach. Might be cinematic, but its very contrived.

I've tried both third person and first person. First person is more immersive. In third person, your character animations can be somewhat distracting. I also shut off the targeting cursor.

I'm not a hardcore rpg gamer, so when the guard says you look like an assasin, am I right. I went, right on buddy, sounds good and went with assasin for my class ranking. There's a sh#$load to do here, I know I'm going to be scratching the surface of this game. I enjoyed the making of documenatry. You can see just how geeky and enthusiastic this group was while making Oblivion.

Could I pick apart this game? Sure, but when you consider how ambitious this project is, what's the point. If the gaming media is going to reward the likes of Kojima for fixing serious defencies in MGS3 like the camera and finally at long last adding an online component, while rehashing the exact same game and give him a 10/10, then these guys deserve like a 15.

I think the real question is, will Oblivion appeal to rpg newbies who need their hands held, need little arrows pointing them in the right direction with a linear storyline. Probably not. This is the kind of game, for gamers who enjoy venturing off the beaten path.

[Glockstar]

Omg... when played in the first-person, my on-screen avatar has no legs or feet! This game sucks!

[Darwin]

I'm not expecting Condemned-quality melee action, but hopefully, the fighting is better in Oblivion than Morrowind?

It is. First of all you actively block (and the enemy can as well). There are different effects from getting hit like being stunned or knocked back. You can attack with regular melee or a power move. Also, you can use your majic without puting away your weapon, and can even use majic after you block. The ability to assign any majic, potion, weapon, or item to the 8 directions on the digital pad means you can really make the combat just the way you want. It just takes a little time to get used to the more complex controls. After an hour or so, you'll start to be able to use the digital pad really well.

Enemies seem to be a little tougher in the beginning than in Morrowind. I've died several times alreadty. Of course, you can change the difficulty slider at any time.

[Darwin]

I posted my initial impressions in the PC forum <a href="http://forums16.consumerreview.com/showthread.php?t=6454">here</a>. I have the PC version of course, but I'm sure most of the impressions are applicable to the Xbox.

Any thoughts from you guys?

By the way, has anyone found the Thieves' Guild? I've been looking all over the place. I want to join, but I can't find them! (Obviously they don't advertise their whereabouts.)

Well, the best place to find theives is probably in Jail. Just dump your valubles in a secure crate, committ a crime, and get ready for "Federal Pound You in the Ass Penitentary"

[Hieremias]

Well, the best place to find theives is probably in Jail. Just dump your valubles in a secure crate, committ a crime, and get ready for "Federal Pound You in the Ass Penitentary"

But doesn't jail cause your skills to decrease? I don't like that idea.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

By the way, has anyone found the Thieves' Guild? I've been looking all over the place. I want to join, but I can't find them! (Obviously they don't advertise their whereabouts.)

If the Thieves' Guild is as secretive as the Dark Brotherhood of Assassins, I think they'll find you and ask you to join. How will they find you? Well, I think Darwin's advice to start shoplifting is a good way to start. You may lose some skills, but a potion or two should clear that right up.

-

I started yet another character, and this will be my last. A high elf, who is tall enough to be a forward for the UCLA Lady Bruins basketball team.

Has anyone placed a bet at the Arena yet? I think they are scam artists. I placed one on the Blue team, and the gy came out there with fists trying to take down his enemy holding a hammer. I think the fight was fixed.

Has anyone found a talking mudcrab, wolf, deer or any weird merchant who will give you face value for goods instead of chump change these regular merchants are giving me?

Has anyone found a place to buy lockpicks? I've gone through 100 already, and I haven't left the main area yet. I think I've tapped out every crate, barrel, closeby fort, dungeon, and cave of their lockpicks.

[Fivespot]

SOB..... I hope I'm wrong here but are thinking I may need to start my game over (UGGHH).

I was playing the main quest last night and something happened that I didn't expect. After referring to the strat guide for the first time (darn it), I noticed no mention of what I had occur to me in the game.

Since this is my first game in the Elder Scrolls universe, I thought I'd ask for your help and/or thoughts on this situation. Does that sound like something that could happen?

POSSIBLE SPOILER:
In an attempt to not write any spoilers, I'll refrain from going into specific detail. Let's just say that a main character I am supposed to save isn't where they are supposed to be and the townsfolk I speak to say that he is deceased. Considering the main quest hinges on this character, I'm thinking I may have to either start over or carry on with no more main quest. Although I really want to play the main quest.....

And the strat guide doesn't even mention that this character could die.

Any help?????

[Renzatic Gear]

Since the NPC's are speaking about him being dead instead of saying "Oh, he's in blah blah blah", it sounds to me like it's a potential story branching. Play around with it a bit and see what else you can find out.

[Fivespot]

Thanks Renz - I'll mess around with it more later to see if you're correct (I sure hope you are!!).

Sure need a higher level of patience playing these types of games.... I guess I'll have to work on that a bit.

[DBS]

Just remember the game is meant to dig into like a huge novel. Do not think you need to rush through it....it is meant to be sipped on over hundreds of hours :)

[Fivespot]

Good point DBS. I'm not really rushing but almost had an anger management moment when I thought I may need to start over after investing 10+ hours.

I plan to spend lots of time enjoying all facets of this gem. I've already done a few of the misc. quests in addition to some minor exploration. This game is huge and will take quite a while to traverse which I'm excited to do. First I want to pass this lengthy quest I've been on before I get to some of those other things.

[Glockstar]

It's still early in the game, but I do have some impressions to give:

First off, I am loving this game. I don't quite know how to elaborate on that just yet, but I still want to make that clear. Especially in light of the following.

The game is far from perfect. Technologically speaking. There's LOTS of loading and lots of hiccups and stutters in the framerate. (Some of which is caused by the loading... but most isn't, which is dissapointing.) And, I got stuck once already. (And by stuck, I mean my avatar got wedged between two objects - a waist-high wall and rat fence - and couldn't get out.)

I'm a little dissapointed. But it's nothing really major. The game world is BEAUTIFUL and HUGE, so I can't imagine there not being any loading inbetween areas, really. Plus, they happen so quick - and half the time happen without a hitch - that I wonder why Bethesda bothered to bother us with so many "loading" messages? That's when you're traversing the countrysides tho'. The loading inbetween exiting and entering the various stores and houses is a lot more disruptive. The down time isn't that long, but these are areas of loading that surprise me, to be quite honest with you - if the loading in these instances happened in a flash as they do out on the roads and in the fields, then I wouldn't say anything, but when you get frequent full-screen loading messages and subsequent breaks in the action...

Again, these issues are not major. Sometimes the loading can be a pain, sometimes the framerate can bother... but the only time that I've really been taken out of the game was when I got stuck; my feelings of immersion have otherwise never dipped below 90%. (I think that's an inherent quality with an RPG such as this, tho'.)

Now here's some nitpicking for you... I don't know about these faces. They're certainly varied (up to now anyway), but 99% of the time they're heinous. They did a great job with their eyes (too good, actually - kinda creepy), but an awful job with their mouths (is that supposed to be their tongue, or do some of these people have three lips?!). Anyhow, I lose a little bit of touch with the game when I converse with human NPC's - my mind gets filled with... questions (for the developers), you know?

To finish on a high note... I also love the sound effects and the music. (Two other causes for all that immersion I'm feeling, I'm sure.)

[Darwin]

Good point DBS. I'm not really rushing but almost had an anger management moment when I thought I may need to start over after investing 10+ hours.


In Morrowind the game would give you a clear warning if you did something to "break" the main quest (i.e. if you accidently killed an essential character or did something to prevent you from being able to complete the main quest.) Then you could reload from your last save and reconnect.

interestinly enough, in Morrowind there was actally a way to reconnect to the main quest long after you broke the ties to the main quest.

[Darwin]

Thanks to Sheer Lunatic for finding this and posting it over at xblgames.com

http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/10531/Oblivion-Fragmented-Cache-Data-Fix

"It has been found in rare cases on some Xbox 360s that the cached data can get overly fragmented. This exhibits itself by the game taking a long time to load anything from menus, dialogue, sounds, objects, levels, and more.

To solve this problem, reset your Xbox, and hold down the A button as the game is booting up. If any button is held while Oblivion is loading, it will clear its hard drive cache, and create a new one.

Once you see the “Bethesda Softworks” logo video, the game is already loaded, and the cache should have been cleared.

Note, this does not effect your game in any way other than loading. You will not lose any saved data."

And here come the Elder Scroll bugs ... we knew they were coming.

[Mochan]

Glocky, comparing it to the PC version, while the PC *does* have its own framerate issues, the nice thing about the PC is there is no loading whatsoever. I've said it before, I'll say it again: the 360 doesn't have enough RAM! Well there is loading in between city cells and buildings, but by all accounts it's a lot faster on the PC. Of course I'd need to have an actual 360 on me to test it out, but I have no reason to doubt this.

And yes, the faces are goddamn HEINOUS.

As for the music, what I love the most about it is how I can replace it with my standard suite of BGM MP3s. :)

Also... anyone find magic to be unbalanced (again). It got nerfed in Morrowind, but this time it seems the complete opposite, and is too strong.

Anyway I too am a little disappointed, but I haven't even scratched the surface of this game yet. I'm sure I will get to grow to love this game even more.


In Morrowind the game would give you a clear warning if you did something to "break" the main quest (i.e. if you accidently killed an essential character or did something to prevent you from being able to complete the main quest.) Then you could reload from your last save and reconnect.

In this game, you can't break the mainquest at all (purportedly) so I think Fiveski should be safe.

[Fivespot]

In this game, you can't break the mainquest at all (purportedly) so I think Fiveski should be safe.

Turns out my main quest was OK. Branching story path as Renz stated in a prior post. Phew.

I too am majorly enjoying this game. A little unique from most others is the fact that I've never truly played a large-scale RPG so this is a new experience entirely. I think that is making this game that much more interesting for me.

[Cuddly Knife]

Bah! I told you guys I hated ordering online, because something always goes wrong. Well, I ordered the game on Tuesday, and just today, I got an email saying that I'm special and it will be shipping early. Hmm, it came out tuesday. Lying bastards. So, I go to the tracking page, and it says that I won't be getting it until 4-4-06!! Grrr. So I just cancelled the whole damn thing. Hopefully this weekend me and my girl will go to Los Lunas to the nearest Gamestop so I can pick it up. Grrr. Oh well, with my spare gaming minutes I could beat FNR3, since I just destroyed Burnout Revenge last night. :)

[Cuddly Knife]

And just five minutes ago, my friend told me he was at Wal-Mart, and they had a full load of Oblivion! So I rushed over there and got a copy, and now you won't see me for a while.:):):):):)

[Mochan]

Was this the thread asking about the Thieve's Guild? I found them already. You have to get caught by the guards, spend time in jail, get caught again and pay off a bounty. Then someone will approach you with the test for admission.

If you're the type that always reloads when you're caught, you'll never find the Thieve's Guild.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

Was this the thread asking about the Thieve's Guild? I found them already. You have to get caught by the guards, spend time in jail, get caught again and pay off a bounty. Then someone will approach you with the test for admission.

If you're the type that always reloads when you're caught, you'll never find the Thieve's Guild.

They approached me a day after getting caught just once, and it wasn't even a real crime. I was accused of stealing a lost horse when I was just returning it. I should have just kept it. Oh, well. I failed the test of admission, and decided to find the Fighter's and Mages' Guilds instead.

[Renzatic Gear]

There are other ways you can get invited into the Thieves Guild. Spoilers below...

If you read the wanted posters and the newspapers, you'll see that Grey Fox has a network of beggars set up as spies. I ended up bribing the hell out of one of the beggars in the Imperial City to get some information, and after telling him I wanted to work for the guild, he gave me directions on where to meet up with certain people that could help me out.

[Mochan]

Multiple paths to the same place, I like that.

I just turned vamp, its' great because there is no real drawback: you can frollick in the day! I was having second thoughts of turning vamp, since I so did not want to give up those HDR-filled afternoons. I just love the scenery! I almost never play at night, except when I'm fattening my purse stealing from merchants.

I find it almost aburd how you can prance around at noontime as a vampire. Other than looking uglier (your face ages and turns... uglier than it was) there is no drawback whatsoever to being a vampir.

[Darwin]

I find it almost aburd how you can prance around at noontime as a vampire. Other than looking uglier (your face ages and turns... uglier than it was) there is no drawback whatsoever to being a vampir.

Go a few days without feeding blood and then let me know what happens. Mwa - ha - ha !!!

[Mochan]

Okay, I modded the game so I don't look ugly as a vampire anymore. Excellent.

Now I can enjoy all the perks, drink blood when people are sleeping, and still dance in the sun at noontime while maintaining my youthful beauty. Unlife couldn't be any better.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

Multiple paths to the same place, I like that.

I just turned vamp, its' great because there is no real drawback: you can frollick in the day! I was having second thoughts of turning vamp, since I so did not want to give up those HDR-filled afternoons. I just love the scenery! I almost never play at night, except when I'm fattening my purse stealing from merchants.

I find it almost aburd how you can prance around at noontime as a vampire. Other than looking uglier (your face ages and turns... uglier than it was) there is no drawback whatsoever to being a vampir.

I had a few chances to turn vamp, but I keep healing myself at Chapels :).

So far, it seems that the vamp forts/caves have the best armor and weapons so far, even if they are too heavy to carry more than a few pieces.

[Cuddly Knife]

You know what my problem is? I play this game like I would play say, Ninja Gaiden or some sort. I pretty much go straight until I find my current objective, then I beat it, and go on to the next part of the story. It's really hard for me to wander off the beaten path, so to speak. It's hard for my tiny, action-oriented mind to understand how free this game is. Anyone have any suggestions to help me play more RPG-ish? I mean, I've only used a total of about ten items. I changed my clothes, equipped some weapons and potions, and that's all I've used up to the point where I am(a bit after unlocking the third acheivement for the main story).

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

You know what my problem is? I play this game like I would play say, Ninja Gaiden or some sort. I pretty much go straight until I find my current objective, then I beat it, and go on to the next part of the story. It's really hard for me to wander off the beaten path, so to speak. It's hard for my tiny, action-oriented mind to understand how free this game is. Anyone have any suggestions to help me play more RPG-ish? I mean, I've only used a total of about ten items. I changed my clothes, equipped some weapons and potions, and that's all I've used up to the point where I am(a bit after unlocking the third acheivement for the main story).

I have two suggestions:

1) Whenever you're in a town, just start talking to people. Someone somewhere will have a problem that needs fixing, whether it's finding someone, investigating people, or ust clearing out places that's overrun with creatures.

2) If you're using the fast travel, take a few minutes and just walk from point A to B. You'll come across a lot of forts, ayelids, caves, etc that will peek your interest. Just make sure you have the least amount of items needed, because you'll need the space for things you'll find in these places.

Also, have you joined any Guilds (fighters, mages, thieves)?

[Mochan]

LOL Cuddly, you have a long way to go from really getting the most out of this game, then!

I guess you need to imagine yourself as a tourist. Oblivion is a game that I think a tourist would get the most out of. Somebody who goes to Cyrodiil to see the sights and sounds and soak in the local color.

Fast Travel? Don't ever use it! Walk everywhere! That's one way to get into the groove. If you're just passing by the scenery looking for the next opponent to hack and the next quest objective to accomplish, you're missing out on half the game right then and there. Bethesda took the trouble to study soil erosion and weather patterns just to make the game look good, better reward their efforts by taking in the scenery!!

And as RBH mentioned, when in a town try ignoring your quests and just walking around and talking to everyone. That's what RPGs are about, actually. I admit I haven't been doing this either because I'm feeling "rushed" playing this game (must be because of the specter of work looming over my shoulder --- I need a vacation). But ideally you should be lounging around the town and looking for things to do... and you WILL find a lot to do! I have like 20 quests in my quest log that need to be done, and only one of them pertains to the main quest -- and I wasn't trying to find any quests to do!

[Cuddly Knife]

Thanks for the tips, guys. I do need to learn how to talk to people. The only ones I talk to are people that are a green arrow on my map.

I've joined the Fighters Guild, and right after, I joined the Mages Guild, so I'm doing the Mage quests. I try to avoid being a bad guy, so I probably won't join any of the other dark guilds until I beat these two, and posibly the main story, since I heard that you can keep playing the rest of the game after you beat the main quest. How long are the guild portions?

[Mochan]

Well I've been playing the two "bad" guilds (Dark Bros and Thief) all weekend and I'm not halfway done yet. I think I've already done about 75% of the dark bro quests but only like 10% of the Thief ones. Each guild should last a goodly amount of time.

[Cuddly Knife]

Omygod, I'm a moron. I remember seeing an interview with the creators of this game, and they were talking about how they had an intuitive leveling up system where you had to do nothing but do stuff to increase stats, but what they didn't tell you is that you have to sleep in order to up your level. I vaguely remember the game forcing me to sleep on one occasion, but I must've forgotten to do it every so often. I just realized about two minutes ago that I had to do it, so I slept once, and my level increased. Then, I decided to sleep again to see if I had missed out on any other level ups. It turned out that I've been fighting up until this point as a level three, when I could've been a level 6 who knows how long ago!

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

Horse question -

When you buy one, will they show up in the stables outside any city that you are visiting?

[Darwin]

Anyone have any suggestions to help me play more RPG-ish?

Some of the best aspects of Morrowind or Oblivion are the spellmaking and enchanting. In essence, you get to make your own spells or magical items to your liking. It also allows you to play around and make really creative stuff. If you do the basic mages guild quests (get recommendations from all 8 guilds), you can then access the Arcane University where you are allowed to make spells and enchantments.

Don't forget to turn up the difficulty meter if you find fighting too easy.

I've thought about playing the game through as a criminal, stealing and killing, always having to dodge the law. I may start up a series of save games based on that just to see how it goes.

[Darwin]

I have two suggestions:

Just make sure you have the least amount of items needed, because you'll need the space for things you'll find in these places.

That's my main problem. I am mostly a magic user and have low strength so I can't carry much. One of my favorite parts of Morrowind was collecting the books. I am working on getting $5000 to buy a cheap house, so i can store my stuff. I'll probably start my own library.

[Darwin]

Omygod, I'm a moron. I remember seeing an interview with the creators of this game, and they were talking about how they had an intuitive leveling up system where you had to do nothing but do stuff to increase stats, but what they didn't tell you is that you have to sleep in order to up your level. I vaguely remember the game forcing me to sleep on one occasion, but I must've forgotten to do it every so often. I just realized about two minutes ago that I had to do it, so I slept once, and my level increased. Then, I decided to sleep again to see if I had missed out on any other level ups. It turned out that I've been fighting up until this point as a level three, when I could've been a level 6 who knows how long ago!

FYI, the game levels up the enemies in proportion to yours. So it keeps the game more ballanced. Now you will start to encounter different enemies in caves and in the wilderness when you level up. Also, merchants seem to start offering better stuff, and you tend to get more gold for rewards.

You should also have a basic understanding of leveling and how to gain bonuses to your attributes when you level up. If you level up your character without getting any of those bonuses, you will actually have a weaker character at higher levels.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

I am working on getting $5000 to buy a cheap house, so i can store my stuff. I'll probably start my own library.

Where is this house? I've been looking for a house to buy (except for the shack in Imperial City), and each one have been $15,000 to $20,000. I need one central place to store my expensive/heavy goods. As of now, I'm storing them at a couple of the Mages' Guilds.

8 Mages' Guilds? I need to get to work. I have only 2 recommendations so far, and I have a Dremora sword that is screaming to be enchanted.

FYI, the game levels up the enemies in proportion to yours. So it keeps the game more ballanced. Now you will start to encounter different enemies in caves and in the wilderness when you level up. Also, merchants seem to start offering better stuff, and you tend to get more gold for rewards.

That's true, and even then, I notice my character is stronger vs the rats and mud crabs and any armorless (or just plain weak) crook who tries to test my character. I also notice that after you have emptied some caves/forts, they will be restocked with bandits, but at least the chests aren't re-locked.

I haven't purposely been trying to commit crimes, but on two occasions, I've had fines that would keep me from getting blessings from Chapels, and get the guards on me, even during main quests. It would be nice if the game let me know what I did when I did it, but I think it has to do with friendly fire (or friendly sword). Not having to worry about hitting allies is one thing Fable still has over Oblivion.

[Hieremias]

I haven't purposely been trying to commit crimes, but on two occasions, I've had fines that would keep me from getting blessings from Chapels, and get the guards on me, even during main quests. It would be nice if the game let me know what I did when I did it, but I think it has to do with friendly fire (or friendly sword). Not having to worry about hitting allies is one thing Fable still has over Oblivion.

If an ally is attacking you because you accidentally hit him, you can yield the fight. Hold block and then press activate on the character (dunno what Xbox button, it's what you press to open doors and stuff). If the character likes you, (s)he'll stop fighting. I've had to do it once. Should cancel any fines as well.

[Mochan]

Well it's actually better not to level up in some ways.... your enemies stay weak at least.

I stayed at level 3ish for a while even though my stats already let me go up to level 15. I finally decided to sleep to gain all the levels, when I woke up I had a rude awakening... every NPC could kick my ass and the enemies had suddenly all turned vicious.

This is why I hate the levelling system, it's so artificial.

Well at least I can get better loot from enemies now.


Where is this house? I've been looking for a house to buy (except for the shack in Imperial City), and each one have been $15,000 to $20,000. I need one central place to store my expensive/heavy goods. As of now, I'm storing them at a couple of the Mages' Guilds.

8 Mages' Guilds? I need to get to work. I have only 2 recommendations so far, and I have a Dremora sword that is screaming to be enchanted.

Just pick any house you like. Enter, kill in habitant, it's yours. ;)

I'm currently residing in the ship of the pirate you have to kill for a dark brotherhood quest. Just make sure that the house you take over has containers that lose the red steal symbol (so that you're not stealing everything you put in it).


That's true, and even then, I notice my character is stronger vs the rats and mud crabs and any armorless (or just plain weak) crook who tries to test my character. I also notice that after you have emptied some caves/forts, they will be restocked with bandits, but at least the chests aren't re-locked.

Only NPCs level up with your character. Creatures don't level up. Dungeons could also make a nice base though I'm not sure if the items in the chests will stay there.

[Cuddly Knife]

How do you put items in chests? Or books on bookshelves?

I just became the Arch-mage, so now I guess I own the place where the old mage was?

If I get a quest(like the one to become a member of the Dark Brotherhood), can I leave the quest undone as long as I want, or will it leave my quest list if I don't do it by a certain time?

[Fivespot]

Is it just me, or are the 360's load times a little long in this game? Should I use the 'press A while you boot the game' trick?

I'm enjoying the game and have mainly just walked around a ton talking to everyone and exploring the huge game world. But from section to section the load times are beginning to annoy me as the game loads often which = lots of long load times.

Anyone else experiencing similar issues w/the 360 version?

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

If an ally is attacking you because you accidentally hit him, you can yield the fight. Hold block and then press activate on the character (dunno what Xbox button, it's what you press to open doors and stuff). If the character likes you, (s)he'll stop fighting. I've had to do it once. Should cancel any fines as well.

I think what's happening with my character, the ally is fighting the same creature that I am and will come too close, especially when his health is almost gone. One swipe, and I'm credited with his death. The last time was a Legion Imperial guy, but at least I got his armor before having to pay $1,000.

Just pick any house you like. Enter, kill in habitant, it's yours.

I'm currently residing in the ship of the pirate you have to kill for a dark brotherhood quest. Just make sure that the house you take over has containers that lose the red steal symbol (so that you're not stealing everything you put in it).

I can't kill the habitant. I'm a goody two-shoes :)

You just reminded me of something.....the pirate boat. Are you referring to the one in the Waterfront in Imperial City? I leaned that thing out a while ago, and unless more Pittsburgh Pirates have moved in, I should use that as my house. I'll still want a traditional house, but it wouldn't hurt to have a place right in the middle of the game.

There's no chance for me to be a Dark Brotherhood now. The messenger guy disturbed my character in her sleep, so she put him to "sleep".

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

How do you put items in chests? Or books on bookshelves?

I just became the Arch-mage, so now I guess I own the place where the old mage was?

If I get a quest(like the one to become a member of the Dark Brotherhood), can I leave the quest undone as long as I want, or will it leave my quest list if I don't do it by a certain time?

Open up a chest, and hit the left trigger after the items in the chest shows up. You can drop pretty much everything in one chest. As far as books, You'll have to use the left bumper to grab the books and attempt to stack them on the shelves. I haven't tried it, and I would need patience to get it done.

You can leave any quest undone, and can go back to them at any time. You can activate them if you want to concentrate on one and get the marker to show you the right location.

Where is your Arch-mage place? In the Arcane University?

Is it just me, or are the 360's load times a little long in this game? Should I use the 'press A while you boot the game' trick?

I'm enjoying the game and have mainly just walked around a ton talking to everyone and exploring the huge game world. But from section to section the load times are beginning to annoy me as the game loads often which = lots of long load times.

Anyone else experiencing similar issues w/the 360 version?

So far, I can't really tell the difference when I did the "press A" thing. I figured if I'm loading from the inside (store, or even city) to the outside (especially the forests), it will load a bit longer. I have noticed where it loads longer when I go in some stores. Not all, but some.

I've noticed more "loading area...." when I'm close to a lot of action (like a gate), to the point where it really messes with the framerate. That's annoying.

[Fivespot]

Yup, forgot to mention the framerate stutters while some areas load. Makes me feel like I'm playing on a slow PC or something. Oh well, I'm willing to make sacrifices for such a great game. Plus, my PC is weak so I won't go there.

[Cuddly Knife]

It is in the Arcane University area. The same building where you go to accept tasks for the Mages Guild. Top floor in my room, I guess.

Compared to the loading in Morrowind, this loading is nothing. At least in some areas if you enter a building, and then for some reason leave it quickly, you won't have to load up the area again. Sometimes. I got no beef with the loading in this game. The only problem I have is when you are walking in an open area, and you can see the low-rez scenery, and then you walk a little closer, and BAM!, you see the graphics to the next area appear instantly. Also, there's a lot of pop-up in this game. Trees and rocks, mostly, and foilage ten feet in front of you, and the deer disappear thirty feet in front of you.

RBH, since you don't have Live, how many gamerpoints have you gotten so far on this game? What about all your other games included?

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

It is in the Arcane University area. The same building where you go to accept tasks for the Mages Guild. Top floor in my room, I guess.

Compared to the loading in Morrowind, this loading is nothing. At least in some areas if you enter a building, and then for some reason leave it quickly, you won't have to load up the area again. Sometimes. I got no beef with the loading in this game. The only problem I have is when you are walking in an open area, and you can see the low-rez scenery, and then you walk a little closer, and BAM!, you see the graphics to the next area appear instantly. Also, there's a lot of pop-up in this game. Trees and rocks, mostly, and foilage ten feet in front of you, and the deer disappear thirty feet in front of you.

RBH, since you don't have Live, how many gamerpoints have you gotten so far on this game? What about all your other games included?

I've been able to run right along with the deer whenever I'm on a horse. It doesn't look like the horse is really faster than on foot until you come across Smokey the Bear and just want to get where you need to go. I believe I left Smokey, his cousin, and two Minotaurs in the dust going from Burma (?) to Chorrol.

As far as gamerpoints, hmm.....I may have only 30 or 40 so far in Oblivion. I've joined the Fighter's Guild, Mages' Guild, Blades, and got out the sewers so far. I don't think the game gives points for the sidequests.

Overall, I think I'm around 830 total in gamerpoints. The games I've played don't give many, and even with those, I don't think I played them long enough to gain a lot of points (I haven't beaten any, either due to lack of patience). So far, I've played NBA Live '06, Madden '06, PDZ, Need for Speed: MW, Kameo, two seconds of Hectic, Oblivion, and DOA4. I may add another game to the list tomorrow, but I'm not sure what I'm going to get.

[Cuddly Knife]

I forgot that I could join the Blades!!

I heard that there are two "hidden" cities in Oblivion. Anyone found any of them? Don't say where they are.

[Mochan]

Quests will stay in your log for as long as you don't do them. Feel free to rack them all up and ignore them until your fancy strikes.

To put items in chests, open the chest. At the bottom there are two icons, the left one is a pouch which represents your inventory. Click on this and you access your inventory. Click anything in it and this will put it in the container.

Putting items on shelves is a tougher proposition. Even on the PC with a mouse it's difficult, with the XBox controller it would be an exercise in frustration.

Drop the item on the ground, then use your grab button to pick it up. Then just bring it over to the shelf. This should be easier than it is, but Bethesda screwed up with the interface.

And now that you're the Archmage, I guess you own the guildhall. ;P I honestly don't know since I'm not the archmage yet.


As for load times, Fiveski you should note that I also get stutters on my PC (and my PC is no slouch). The game just can't help but stutter. It's like Morrowind in that respect (Morrowind still stutters on my monster PC).

[Cuddly Knife]

Damn, I really need to start reading intruction manuals again. Grab button?

So, since I'm the Arch-Mage, does that mean I can take anything from any Mage's Guild?

[Darwin]

Where is this house? I've been looking for a house to buy (except for the shack in Imperial City), and each one have been $15,000 to $20,000. I need one central place to store my expensive/heavy goods. As of now, I'm storing them at a couple of the Mages' Guilds.

The house is available in the city Anvil. It's $5000. Remember that you sometimes have to raise the disposition of the person who's selling it in order to get an offer. But it turns out there is a reason it's so cheap. You'll have to jump through some hoops to get it even after you buy it. I won't spoil it for you. But if you do want to buy it and cannot figure out how to progress the quest (buying a house is actually another quest), buy the house and then sleep in your house's bed to progress the story.

[Darwin]

Only NPCs level up with your character. Creatures don't level up. Dungeons could also make a nice base though I'm not sure if the items in the chests will stay there.

True, the enemies don't "level up" themselves. But the game puts higher level enemies in the wilderness and caves as you level up.

[Darwin]

Anyone else experiencing similar issues w/the 360 version?

It's just like with Morrowind, the loading times get longer as you play the game more. Near the end of Morrowind, it got rediculous. The game is having to keep track of all the stuff that's been taken or moved from it's default settings. And in this game some of the NPCs move around a lot and some even get killed by other NPC's or guards based on the AI. So as things keep getting changes from their default settings, the caching and save games get longer and thus load times get longer. At least, this is my theory.

[Darwin]

Damn, I really need to start reading intruction manuals again. Grab button?

So, since I'm the Arch-Mage, does that mean I can take anything from any Mage's Guild?

The left bumper acts as the grab button. Hold it to grab, release to relase the object. Be careful as moving objects that are not yours is the same as stealing.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

It's just like with Morrowind, the loading times get longer as you play the game more. Near the end of Morrowind, it got rediculous. The game is having to keep track of all the stuff that's been taken or moved from it's default settings. And in this game some of the NPCs move around a lot and some even get killed by other NPC's or guards based on the AI. So as things keep getting changes from their default settings, the caching and save games get longer and thus load times get longer. At least, this is my theory.

I know something that would have helped with the loading, but Bethesda didn't put the function in this game like they did Morrowind. That is...being able to dispose of the body. In order to keep my save file to be as small as possible, I would dispose of any and every enemy I came across. In Oblivion, I don't see where I can do this. After a while, the bodies are gone, but it would have been nice to be able to manually "clean up" the game a bit.

The house is available in the city Anvil. It's $5000. Remember that you sometimes have to raise the disposition of the person who's selling it in order to get an offer. But it turns out there is a reason it's so cheap. You'll have to jump through some hoops to get it even after you buy it. I won't spoil it for you. But if you do want to buy it and cannot figure out how to progress the quest (buying a house is actually another quest), buy the house and then sleep in your house's bed to progress the story.

That's the city on the West end of the map, right? I'm going to have to check that out, especially if there's a Mages'/Fighter's Guild in the city. Thanks.

[Fivespot]

So I can look forward to increasingly longer load times as I progress through the game? Fantastic. If it weren't a great game, I would have tossed it back in the pile long ago. These load times are rediculous (longest I've experienced between both the XBOX and 360 thus far). Sound about right to everyone else or is my 360 weaker than yours?

[Mochan]

True, the enemies don't "level up" themselves. But the game puts higher level enemies in the wilderness and caves as you level up.

Yes, you are correct.

NPCs level up with your character, while for monsters there are levelled lists where certain monsters will appear depending on your level.

[Fivespot]

I tried the clear cache trick tonight and my loading times improved significantly. Thanks goodness!!

[Cuddly Knife]

So, you do the trick by holding A when you turn on your 360? I remember that if I did that on my Cube, the button would be set a being pressed when you start up a game(example, if you held left on the stick while staring up your Cube, then when you let go of the stick, the default starting position is the left direction.

[Fivespot]

You perform the trick when you're booting the game. To make things easier, I inserted the game and then booted my system and game at the same time while holding down the "A" button.

Do that until you see the Bethesda logo and then you can release the button. Worked wonders for me!

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

Sounds like it's time for me to hold "A". Does clearing the cache also clear all the bodies that have been slain, along with any trinkets lying around?

[Fivespot]

Sounds like it's time for me to hold "A". Does clearing the cache also clear all the bodies that have been slain, along with any trinkets lying around?

I'm not sure, I didn't check. Let us know if you try it later.

[Cuddly Knife]

I think it might wipe more than that, because after I did the trick, I went back to my apartment at the Mage's Guild where I had a buttload of items and equipment in a drawer, but now it's all gone!

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

The house is available in the city Anvil. It's $5000. Remember that you sometimes have to raise the disposition of the person who's selling it in order to get an offer. But it turns out there is a reason it's so cheap. You'll have to jump through some hoops to get it even after you buy it. I won't spoil it for you. But if you do want to buy it and cannot figure out how to progress the quest (buying a house is actually another quest), buy the house and then sleep in your house's bed to progress the story.

Thanks for the tip on this Anvil house. Man, it feels good to be a home owner. I can now store all of my crap in two main locations now, including the Pirate boat in Imperial City.

-

What's some of the best (and worse) things you guys have done in the game so far?

[Cuddly Knife]

What's some of the best (and worse) things you guys have done in the game so far?
I was just thinking about making a post asking for the same general thing.

A little game I play when I'm wandering around the world is rock hopping. I only allow myself one step on the floor. Walls count the same as rocks, and free movement is allowed on objects once you jump on them. I also like to do Le Parkour all over the place. The only thing that sucks is how you take a lot of damage from high falls. Maybe there's a spell for that?

I jump off waterfalls. It's fun.

One of the best things Iv'e done was fight enemies along side a warthog. That hog kicked more ass than I did!

Anyone use the weapon enhancer stone dealies?

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

The only thing that sucks is how you take a lot of damage from high falls. Maybe there's a spell for that?

I'm not sure if there's one for Oblivion, but I beleive there were a few for Morrowind. It may have been the Levitation thing, that is supposed to have been axed from this game. If your character gets to a high(er) level in acrobatics, they will not take as much damage, if any at all.

Anyone use the weapon enhancer stone dealies?

You mean the Weilkald(sp?) stones? I've used a few, mainly to drop a few pounds on my character when she's carrying so much stuff.

-

Stuff My character has done:

Swam in lava and survived; Has a level so high in heavy armor, it's only about 1/2 the encumberance as long as I'm wearing it as opposed to just carrying it around; Lost a horse that was given to me. Seriously, the thing took off near Kvatch when a minotaur attacked me. Maybe it's still around there somewhere; I've found some Ebony armor, which looks the best so far in the game; I've had the disease that causes Vampirism three times, but cured it all three times; I've received a necklace for water breathing and a ring for Night-Eye. I remember where the necklace came from, but I must have picked up the ring from a cave or enemy somewhere; I failed miserably at joining the Thieves Guild, and I have a gaming conscience that I won't steal something just to gain membership now; I also killed the go-to guy for the Dark Brotherhood, ensuring my character will never join that Guild; and I'm a homeowner.

[Darwin]

I think it might wipe more than that, because after I did the trick, I went back to my apartment at the Mage's Guild where I had a buttload of items and equipment in a drawer, but now it's all gone!

Yeah, I had that happen to me as well. Stuff stored in barrels or cabinets that you do not own will eventually fade away.

[Darwin]

The only thing that sucks is how you take a lot of damage from high falls. Maybe there's a spell for that?

In Morrowind, there was a spell/effect called "slow decent" which slowed the rate at which you fell. It could be combined with a flight/levetate spell or jump high spell to keep you from hurting yourself.

I think falling and hurting yourself increases you acrobatics more. I do it on purpose to then practice my regeneration skill by healing myself.

Something I thought about trying is this. Does the enemy also jump? And, will they jump over rocks or fences to follow you? If so, make a spell that increases jump (a lot) on target. Cast it on an enemy. Get him to chase you and jump over and object. When he jumps, he goes flying into the air 200 feet, then falls to his death.

I wonder if the enemy will pick up weapons they see on the ground? I think they might. Do this: get yourself a Daedric dagger. Enchant it with Burden 250 pts or so. The actual dagger will not weigh 250 but will burden the person who equips it. Don't equip it yourself, but carry it with you. Then drop the dagger in front of the enemy. If he picks it up and equips it, he is then burdened and may become overencumbered and unable to move. Or just make a Burden on Target spell to encumber your enemies. I wonder if this trick would work?

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

I wonder if the enemy will pick up weapons they see on the ground? I think they might. Do this: get yourself a Daedric dagger. Enchant it with Burden 250 pts or so. The actual dagger will not weigh 250 but will burden the person who equips it. Don't equip it yourself, but carry it with you. Then drop the dagger in front of the enemy. If he picks it up and equips it, he is then burdened and may become overencumbered and unable to move. Or just make a Burden on Target spell to encumber your enemies. I wonder if this trick would work?

If you're a weapons based fighter, you gain a power move that gives you a chance to disarm an enemy. I always wondered, if I disarmed a bandit or marauder, will they try and pick their weapon back up, or will they just use their fists?

[Darwin]

If you're a weapons based fighter, you gain a power move that gives you a chance to disarm an enemy. I always wondered, if I disarmed a bandit or marauder, will they try and pick their weapon back up, or will they just use their fists?

I disarmed someone and they stopped to pick their weapon back up, giving me some free shots while doing that.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

I disarmed someone and they stopped to pick their weapon back up, giving me some free shots while doing that.

My character always seem to move left or right when trying to do the disarm power move, to the point where it looks like she's just trying to make herself dizzy. I did sucessfully do the knockdown move on a minotaur, and he just didn't want to get back up.

-

Is anyone getting burned out from this game yet? I've been feeling a bit of it, but it's short spurts that usually go away within a day.

[Cuddly Knife]

I'm a little burned out from having to do all these random seeming quests, but really, they're not random at all. Go to the destination, and kill every MF in sight. The Fighter's Guild quests are really taking a toll on me, since most of them seem to have more than one task before you get your advancement. It's all good, though, because when I get burned out, I go play some Revenge. I'm sure I'll really get back into the game when I start doing the main story mode again.

[Cuddly Knife]

I am resident to encounter the minotaur. It's horny protuberants cause me great conflagrations.

How many Oblivion gates are there? I've found 16. I've closed 1.

[Superjoint Ritual]

Well, I'm really late to the topic, but I have to say that this is one of the best games I've ever played. Bethesda has really improved on every aspect of Morrowind, imo. I'm 67 hours into it, and just barely touched the main quest. Of course, I've completed the Mage and Dark Brotherhood guilds. I just started working on the fighters guild, and it's a little drab, honestly. I think I'll jump into the thieves guild fo a while. It's amazing how much variety this game has. If you get tired of one thing, just move on to something else for a while. Plus, I have several incomplete missions from listening in on other people conversations. God, this game is enormous.

The Dark Brotherhood was, by far, my favorite guild. It actually made me feel evil doing some of the quests... But I don't want to ruin anything.

Has anyone else got umbra's sword, found the unlimited money glitch, or completed all the shrine quests? I made the mistake of giving up umbra's sword for a stupid helemt at one of the shrines... I was pretty pissed. But then I got a Dredic (sp?) longsword that hit for 24 and enchanted it will absorb 25 health everytime it strikes. Considering I'm a vamp, i thought it made sence.

My only gripe is that there's are no vampire guilds. I read a book that said thr vampires in Cydodill were the most socially evolved of all vampires. Which lead me to believe there were underground societys somewhere. Oh well.

Also, is the weapon SCOURGE in the game? I read a book which speaks of a weapon that was created to destroy the creatures in oblivion, but havn't heard of anyone who have found it.

[Mochan]

I'm a little burned out from having to do all these random seeming quests, but really, they're not random at all. Go to the destination, and kill every MF in sight. The Fighter's Guild quests are really taking a toll on me, since most of them seem to have more than one task before you get your advancement. It's all good, though, because when I get burned out, I go play some Revenge. I'm sure I'll really get back into the game when I start doing the main story mode again.

Yeah, all the quests that bombard you can get overwhelming. Just take your time playing Oblivion, there is no reason to rush. Me? I canned Oblivion for a bit and am working through Suikoden 5 at the moment.

You could say I burned myself out of the game for a bit -- and heck I haven't even started the mainquest.



Swam in lava and survived; Has a level so high in heavy armor, it's only about 1/2 the encumberance as long as I'm wearing it as opposed to just carrying it around; Lost a horse that was given to me. Seriously, the thing took off near Kvatch when a minotaur attacked me

Horseys will appear in the stables of a city when you fast travel. As far as I know you can't actually lose one, and I tried my darndest to. Now all we need is an Agro mode to whistle and the horse shows up.

I also made my own Night Eye ring. :)


I think it might wipe more than that, because after I did the trick, I went back to my apartment at the Mage's Guild where I had a buttload of items and equipment in a drawer, but now it's all gone!

Be careful storing stuff in containers, especially ones outdoors. They get thrown into the trash after a few days.

I think falling and hurting yourself increases you acrobatics more. I do it on purpose to then practice my regeneration skill by healing myself.

Something I thought about trying is this. Does the enemy also jump? And, will they jump over rocks or fences to follow you? If so, make a spell that increases jump (a lot) on target. Cast it on an enemy. Get him to chase you and jump over and object. When he jumps, he goes flying into the air 200 feet, then falls to his death.

Falling does increase your acrobatics, and I do the same thing. ;)

Enemies to the best of my knowledge do not jump. I've experimented on this extensively, as one of my favorite tactics back in Morrowind and Daggerfall was to jump up to a high place and rain arrows of death from there. The AI in Oblivion is still too stupid to jump up to ledges, but if they can walk up to you they will.



I wonder if the enemy will pick up weapons they see on the ground? I think they might. Do this: get yourself a Daedric dagger. Enchant it with Burden 250 pts or so. The actual dagger will not weigh 250 but will burden the person who equips it. Don't equip it yourself, but carry it with you. Then drop the dagger in front of the enemy. If he picks it up and equips it, he is then burdened and may become overencumbered and unable to move. Or just make a Burden on Target spell to encumber your enemies. I wonder if this trick would work?

I have not yet seen an enemy pick up weapons you or someone else dropped on the ground (although Bethesda made a big deal about them doing so), though this may be just because I haven't seen someone do so. I haven't played around with this, and since I don't disarm enemies maybe they simply don't feel the need to pick up a weapon because they still have one in their hand.

But your second trick does work, and I did it extensively in Morrowind (a bit different though; Damage Strength is more effective as it is permanent -- reducing your opponent's strength to zero totally paralyzes him forever whereas Burden will wear off after a while), and it still works in Oblivion.

Also, Burden affects you even if you just have the item in your inventory; carrying a 250 burden dagger will bump your encumbrance up 250 points (plus dagger's weight) even if you just have it in your inventory.

[Mochan]

The Dark Brotherhood was, by far, my favorite guild. It actually made me feel evil doing some of the quests... But I don't want to ruin anything.

Gotta love the Whodunit quest.

God, this game is enormous.

Not quite as enormous as Morrowind, though. And Daggerfall was even bigger, albeit randomly-generated.


My only gripe is that there's are no vampire guilds. I read a book that said thr vampires in Cydodill were the most socially evolved of all vampires. Which lead me to believe there were underground societys somewhere. Oh well.

Will probably be added into an expansion. Morrowind had a vampire guild, though. Three of them.

Umbra sword is a legendary sword and was in Morrowind, too. I found the girl who has it but I haven't killed her yet. Scourge is probably in the game, but I haven't found it yet. You can ask the question on the Beth boards, people there can look it up in the construction kit if nothing else.

[Superjoint Ritual]

Gotta love the Whodunit quest. Yep. Gotta love Shadowmare as well.



Not quite as enormous as Morrowind, though. And Daggerfall was even bigger, albeit randomly-generated. Are you talking about GOTY addition? Morrowind got to buggy the further you got into it. At least on the Xbox version.




Will probably be added into an expansion. Morrowind had a vampire guild, though. Three of them. Yeah, I was also a little dissapointed there was no werewolf's. It was fun trying to complete the main quest in Morrowind as a wolf.

Umbra sword is a legendary sword and was in Morrowind, too. I found the girl who has it but I haven't killed her yet. Scourge is probably in the game, but I haven't found it yet. You can ask the question on the Beth boards, people there can look it up in the construction kit if nothing else. She was so hard to kill. Oblivion is much more difficult than Morrowind. I just got her to chase me than ran to the Imperial City and let the guards kill her. Yes, I'm a gigantic vagina. But she was just too fast and hit too hard. I guess I could've turned the difficulty down. But that's the beauty of the game; you can complete quest in so many different ways.

I can't wait for KotoR.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

How many Oblivion gates are there? I've found 16. I've closed 1.

I'm not sure. After I closed the very first one, they just seem to pop up everywhere. I kind of think I shouldn't have done that one main quest, because they are actually the one part of the game I think is rather boring....closing the gates. After you close a couple, they are all the same, except for finding the right path/tower to close. Has anyone used one of those stones that are obtained after closing a gate? Are they best left for enchanting a weapon or something?

Horseys will appear in the stables of a city when you fast travel. As far as I know you can't actually lose one, and I tried my darndest to. Now all we need is an Agro mode to whistle and the horse shows up.

I also made my own Night Eye ring.

That horse must have bit the dust, then. I noticed my 2nd horse appeared at cities that I didn't even fast travel to (Skingrad to Choroll, for example).

I found two night rings (sold one). I like them, but they really take away the graphics of the game, especially if they are used in Oblivion gates.

Yeah, I was also a little dissapointed there was no werewolf's. It was fun trying to complete the main quest in Morrowind as a wolf.

I never got the chance to play as a werewolf in the GOTY edition. I got rid of the game after being burned out on that, and my last save was at the boat that goes from the main land to the cold territory.

-

As far as being burned out, I may actually take a break from the game, after I finish some quests in Leyiw....whatever the name of the Southern-most city in the game. I'll probably focus on GRAW, MGS3, and anticipate Tomb Raider next week (back from it's long fall from gaming grace....hopefully).
.
.
.
Who am I kidding? I'll probably put another 10+ hours in the game this week, easily.

[Superjoint Ritual]

Has anyone used one of those stones that are obtained after closing a gate? Are they best left for enchanting a weapon or something? Use them all the time, actually. What I do is save my game in front of the stone, then load until I get the one I want. I got one that gives a 125 points of feather, and anothers that absorbs 25 points of health every time it makes contact. So I put it on a necklace and now I can carry 650 pounds of stuff. I think it's the best way to enchant weapons. Black soul gems are pretty handy as well. But I liked the enchanting in Morrowind better.

[Mochan]

I'm not using my night ring anymore, I'm just using Vampire Hunter Vision instead. There's a mod that changes it from a duration spell effect to an on/off effect, which rules. I don't use it often myself, I actually prefer using Torches because they look awesome with the HDR. Even a light bauble is better (CE Light) but since it's a vampire ability you can't get rid of, it's not bad to keep around. The Detect Life Effect is also helpful in... looking for victims.

As for enchanting, Morrowind enchanting was broken. That's why they nerfed it here in Oblivion.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

Use them all the time, actually. What I do is save my game in front of the stone, then load until I get the one I want. I got one that gives a 125 points of feather, and anothers that absorbs 25 points of health every time it makes contact. So I put it on a necklace and now I can carry 650 pounds of stuff. I think it's the best way to enchant weapons. Black soul gems are pretty handy as well. But I liked the enchanting in Morrowind better.

I wanted to try one of the stones out, but I thought it wasn't a constant effect item so I held off. Whenever I get in Arcane U, I'll finally be able to try out some enchanting.

I'm not using my night ring anymore, I'm just using Vampire Hunter Vision instead. There's a mod that changes it from a duration spell effect to an on/off effect, which rules. I don't use it often myself, I actually prefer using Torches because they look awesome with the HDR. Even a light bauble is better (CE Light) but since it's a vampire ability you can't get rid of, it's not bad to keep around. The Detect Life Effect is also helpful in... looking for victims.

Does your vampire wear armor like the other vamps in various forts and caves? Can you see the fangs? I tried out a vamp character once in Morrowind, but (if I remember right) my character needed sleep and I forgot to change the ltime length of his nap and, well, he woke up outside around noon. Poof!! Into dust. Vamps do seem to have the best armor.

[Mochan]

Haven't met any vampires in dungeons yet.

The mod I have doesn't change your face into an old hag, so I still have my normal youthful looks. No fangs.

[Cuddly Knife]

Ack, I just became a vamp somehow, and now I have to do some fetching for the old lady. Boo hiss.

[Cuddly Knife]

Oblivion Horse Armor Now Available
Ready For Purchase on the X360 Marketplace.
by Charles Onyett
April 3, 2006 - Today a Horse Armor Pack for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion was made available on the Xbox 360 Marketplace. For 200 Microsoft Points ($2.50 USD) players can download a 2.52 MB file that will automatically be incorporated into the game. Upon restarting the game after downloading, a notice will pop up as the extra content loads. Once in the actual game, the horse armor will be immediately accessible.



Both elven and steel armor sets will be ready for purchase in-game. The elven armor is of a gilded tint, elaborately and ornately designed while the steel is more workmanlike and dull. After the first set, the armor costs 500 gold pieces and can be placed on any horse the player legitimately owns. In addition to giving the horse a significant upgrade in visual appeal, the armor also functions as insulation against enemy attacks.

Question
Do PC gamers have to pay for this stuff like we have to?

[Renzatic Gear]

I dunno. I doubt these'll even be available for the PC version to tell the truth.

But we make up for it with all the mods that tweak the graphics, gameplay, and add a load of content. It's the reason why I would've picked Oblivion up for the PC even if I had a 360.

[blademaster]

[Yes hello, id just like to know if anyone has found an artifact of significant power like the lords mail in morrowind, i d am not relitivly fused about the were abouts but am just wondering if there are artifacts like that. Also the grey prince has a mission for extra training FREE.
And yes my spelling is sad im sorry.
Also if you havent yet worked this out, the higher level you are the beter armour you will get from caves, a good cave to go to, rockmilk if you are around level 19 23 you will get Glass, ebony, and maybe event daidric.

[Cuddly Knife]

That'
s true about the leveling up and getting better weapons, because once I got to a certain point, all I started getting from chests and stuff was ebony weapons and armor. Maybe it was because I started to open up hard difficulty chests? Oh crap! I just remembered that I have the spell that unlocks hard chests!

Where can I find an Argonian?

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

My low magic levels (restoration, illusion, etc) must be the reason I have yet to find any good lightning bolt spells or any open lock spells/scrolls for average to very hard locks.

For armor, I can find some good stuff with a high level, except for a daedric helmet.

Where can I find an Argonian?

Do you need a specific Argonian? I know there's one that owns a store in Cheylendal (sp?), and also has an Argonian daughter walking around town, if you're near there.

[Glockstar]

Alright, I'm starting to get really frustrated now... how the frig do you pick locks?! Anything other than a "very easy" lock seems impossible to me. Help!

-

Also, Cuddly, you said you've been plowing thru this game - or at least thru the main quest - how is that 25-hours that The OXM said looking?

I just closed my first Oblivion gate, and I'm at the 19-20 hour mark!

Anybody else want to comment?

[Glockstar]

Yeah, I had that happen to me as well. Stuff stored in barrels or cabinets that you do not own will eventually fade away.

Are you sure they don't get stolen?

There are other thieves in the world besides yourselves, right? Maybe that's a part of the game, where NPC's rob from you, just as you rob from them.(?)

-

One of the places I call home is the sink-hole cave (right outside the sewer exit). After I cleaned house, of course. (Pun intended.)

-

Thanks for the heads up on that "A" button/cache-clearing trick, Darwin!

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

Alright, I'm starting to get really frustrated now... how the frig do you pick locks?! Anything other than a "very easy" lock seems impossible to me. Help!

The best advice I can give.....save before attempting to unlock something. After I went through 60+ lockpicks in one fort, I was done breaking picks and searching to find more. I either try each lock tumbler, or do an auto-attempt, especially after getting some training by random people (there one guy, Samuel something in Imperial City that I think gives training. He's always referred to in rumors as a real or true "locksmith"). Also, I'll just hit auto-attempt just to open the chests just to see what's inside. If it's not important, then I reload the game and avoid the chest.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

Are you sure they don't get stolen?

There are other thieves in the world besides yourselves, right? Maybe that's a part of the game, where NPC's rob from you, just as you rob from them.(?)

-

One of the places I call home is the sink-hole cave (right outside the sewer exit). After I cleaned house, of course. (Pun intended.)

I dunno. I stored some expensive items in a Mages Guild, and after so long, they were gone. I also stored some stuff in a Pirate ship in the Waterfront, Imperial City. Now, thieves could have taken those items, along with 2 bottles of Shadowbanish Wine I needed to complete a quest.

Speaking of homes, I'm done buying them in the game. It's one thing to save all the money for it, or plunder a cave full of Ebony Armor wearing marauders, but having to decorate the thing? This isn't the Sims, it should already be furnished. It's a complete rip off!!! I'm saving my future funds for whatever I can buy once I get in the Arcane University.

[Cuddly Knife]

Alright, I'm starting to get really frustrated now... how the frig do you pick locks?! Anything other than a "very easy" lock seems impossible to me. Help!

Here's what I do. Pay attention to how fast the pin is sliding up. There are about four or five different speeds at which it goes.You want the one that gets to the top the slowest, because it's also the one that stays in a "locked" position the longest, giving you plenty of time to press "A" and activate it. All of the sections can be done this way. I've found that more often than not, the second try will give you the slow speed one. It really doesn't matter since you have unlimited tries until you break your pick with a miss. Really easy once you get it down.

Also, Cuddly, you said you've been plowing thru this game - or at least thru the main quest - how is that 25-hours that The OXM said looking?
I was doing the main quest until I vamped out. I don't know how long I've spent on the story mode mission, but it's not anywhere near what I've spent on the two Guilds I've beaten. I can see it being 25+hours for people who take their time. I usually don't though. 43 hours into it, and I have 33 out of 50 achievements unlocked, all of the Mage and Fighters Guilds missions completed, and only two more achievements to get for the main story mode. This game will not take me 200 hours to completely finish the full story and all of the Guilds. Especially now that I'm pretty much done staring at scenery and bull****ting with random strangers. I hope the story mode doesn't take that long now, really, since I'm already sick of closing gates and doing fetch quests, which is what this game is all about, I'm finding. I've closed seven gates, and I'm sick of how similar they all are. It's too easy to get the Ascendent Sigil Stone because of how alike all the Oblivion realms and towers are.

[Superjoint Ritual]

Some questions I can answer... Maybe some minor spoilers.

What's the best way to pick locks ?

Reach level 10 and complete the Noctural Shrine quest ( very easy ), you'll recieve the Skeleton Key. It's a lockpick that's unbreakable and gives you a 40 point bonus to security. All you have to do is hit X until you pick the lock/ One of the best items I've found.

Any items like The Lord's Mail ?

Umbra's armor. It's southwest of Waterfront and can be attained at level one. You'll find better armor at higher levels, but until level 16 or so, it's the best. Plus, Umbra's Sword is one of the best one-handed swords in the game.

Do you change physically when becoming a Vampire ? Yes. Your eyes change color, your skin becomes pale, and when you completely vamp out, you have fangs. Also, people will notice your sickness and make some pretty funny comments. But trying to cure yourself is one of the worst quests in the game. I gave up.

I just beat the game at 81 hours with 47 achievments unlocked. I accidentally got kicked out of the thieves guild before I finished it, so I just finished the main quest.

[Mochan]

Are you sure they don't get stolen?

There are other thieves in the world besides yourselves, right? Maybe that's a part of the game, where NPC's rob from you, just as you rob from them.(?)


Bethesda disabled stealing and pickpocketing because they said it could cause complications and annoy people when people realized stuff in their inventory was missing.

Of course, my theory is that Radiant AI isn't all it's cracked up to be and implementing this couldn't be done properly, just as Bethesda did not implement anything they said RAI would do except manage NPC schedules.


As for lockpicking, you guys might want to do the Nocturnal Shrine quest (somewhere northeast of Llwewlyn (or whatever that SE-most town was); you get the skeleton key whcih never breaks and gives you a 40 bonus to your security skill. I powered my security up to 100 in no time with it (just keep picking an impossible lock).


I dunno. I stored some expensive items in a Mages Guild, and after so long, they were gone. I also stored some stuff in a Pirate ship in the Waterfront, Imperial City. Now, thieves could have taken those items, along with 2 bottles of Shadowbanish Wine I needed to complete a quest.

It's not thieves; the game just cleans out the contents of non-owned chests, it seems like it does so every 3 days or so. Thieves are not properly implemented by RAI as far as I can tell (RAI is a huge hack and way overhyped).


It's a complete rip off!!! I'm saving my future funds for whatever I can buy once I get in the Arcane University.

There's nothing to buy in the Arcane University....

[blademaster]

Has anyone been to rockmilk cave, it is a great place to get ebony stuff around level 19. 23
and if anyone finds a shop keeper with alot of money do tell, im sick of selling my good wepons and armour for 1200, thnx

[blademaster]

if you want to store things buy a house in skinrad for 25000, but the furnishings are about 2400 each, 3 stories and a basment, and has desplay cases in it, its great.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

I was doing the main quest until I vamped out. I don't know how long I've spent on the story mode mission, but it's not anywhere near what I've spent on the two Guilds I've beaten. I can see it being 25+hours for people who take their time. I usually don't though. 43 hours into it, and I have 33 out of 50 achievements unlocked, all of the Mage and Fighters Guilds missions completed, and only two more achievements to get for the main story mode. This game will not take me 200 hours to completely finish the full story and all of the Guilds. Especially now that I'm pretty much done staring at scenery and bull****ting with random strangers. I hope the story mode doesn't take that long now, really, since I'm already sick of closing gates and doing fetch quests, which is what this game is all about, I'm finding. I've closed seven gates, and I'm sick of how similar they all are. It's too easy to get the Ascendent Sigil Stone because of how alike all the Oblivion realms and towers are.

I'm sick of closing gates too. I've done 6, and refuse to do anymore for a while, unless it's right beside a town. I'm not sure how many achievements I've unlocked, but the Arena gives them out like there's no tomorrow. I've been doing more fast travel, mainly because I'm tired of having my horse attacked by bandits who are afraid of my character, aka The Crimson Blade, and would rather attack something weak. I also don't go into any forts/caves I see on the road since I'm determined to finish the Fighters and Mages Guild quests. I doubt I'll try to complete the main story anytime soon, since I'm about to put more time in GRAW.

What's the best way to pick locks ?

Reach level 10 and complete the Noctural Shrine quest ( very easy ), you'll recieve the Skeleton Key. It's a lockpick that's unbreakable and gives you a 40 point bonus to security. All you have to do is hit X until you pick the lock/ One of the best items I've found.


Does this Noctural Shrine quest have anything to do with Dark Brotherhood or Thieves Guild, or is it a stand alone quest given by someone?

There's nothing to buy in the Arcane University....

You still have to pay for enchantments, like in Morrowind, right? I thought the only way to do them were in Arcane U.

Of course, my theory is that Radiant AI isn't all it's cracked up to be and implementing this couldn't be done properly, just as Bethesda did not implement anything they said RAI would do