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[Kung Fu Jedi]

How do you kill

Spoiler

GHOSTS

?!?!?!

Use Magic Items and Spells.

 

[ZombieSupaStar]

ive had the pc version since the first week, (originally i had the 360 version on launch day, untill I read about the game being leveled), and I havent played it at all since I was waiting for this mod to be finished (or mostly completed) basically it makes the game non leveled and more dangerous/adventerous.

The following list describes the problems and how I addressed them:

The first major issue is that of linearity of challenge. In Oblivion, quests and combat encounters are "leveled" relative to the level of the player's character. This concept, while offering some good gameplay elements (freedom of choice, gentle learning curve, etc.) was implemented too indiscriminately.

The sense of accomplishment in improving one's avatar suffers because the world is constantly changing to meet a pre-designed level of challenge. Also, "realism" and "immersion" disappear when the player notices glitches in the continuity of the world (Town guards so high in level that one wonders why they need a "hero" after all; lowly creatures that can suddenly give High-Chancellor Ocato a senseless beating, etc.)

The goal of this mod is to increase the overall challenge of the game, to increase the chances of the unexpected to happen, to reduce the flaws that hurt the "realism-factor" of the "leveled" system, to tweak item rarity and presence in the world, to add some new content and, lastly, to change some of the variables of the game system to balance its gameplay.

To preserve the positive aspects of the "leveled" system and remedy the negative ones, this mod changes the following:

I went through every NPC and creature in order to cap their max level.

In general, the caps fall mostly between 4 and 40, with some special cases. Every modification allowed a range where the creature or NPC can level relative to the level of the player; those that were capped or static by default I left untouched.

The criteria to choose the level of caps took into account the relative power of the creature, the frequency, the status (named, boss, occupation), the relevance for the main quest and guild quests, the lore of tamriel, etc. Also, most of these changes also included a minimum level. This will enhance the sense of danger when traveling into unknown areas, it will also add to the realism of the game's world and, finally, provide a sense of accomplishment when what once was a threat becomes a hunt for sport. A complete list would be too large for a readme file, here are some of the most significant and common changes:

Daedra: Daedra remain unchanged except for capped levels. Also, their spawn lists were changed to give a more random chance of encountering weaker daedra at higher levels. For example, Fire atronarchs, clannfears and scamps can appear in oblivion areas, gates, special dungeons, etc, regardless of the level of the player. The higher level daedra have a slightly higher chance of spawning, to keep the player on guard.


Dremoras: Dremoras are now significantly more powerful. Markynaz and Valkynaz have their levels capped but with a range where they keep up with the player. Every leveled list that included dremoras is now updated, even quest ones. This means that some quests, specially the main quest, will be more difficult and the player will not be able to complete them at low levels. Roughly, a level 20-25 will stand a chance, anything below that and it will be a world of hurt. At a player level of 40+ almost all dremoras will be lower than the player, with the exception of some special cases. At lvl 50 the player should be able to mop the floor with just about every creature in Cyrodiil. (Example: Kynval are lvl 12, in most cases they will not spawn unless the player is level 13--the intervals of Dremora reach near lvl 40)


Vampires: NPC vampires are very different now. There are four different types of vampires: regular, fearsome, deadly and ancient. They all have an interval where they will appear in the usual vampire havens and dungeons. The space between the intervals allows the player to experience both challenge and a good ol-fashioned vampire-killing spree. For example, at lvl 16 there is a good chance that you can clean up a vampire nest with ease (except if patriarchs or matriarchs are around) Anything below level 8 will have a very tough time against the regular vampires. Deadly and ancient vampires carry specially good loot, but they will not show up until level 22. Again, some surprises are in store for the daring adventurer. The most powerful vampires are the ancient patriarchs and matriarchs. These will appear in the late stages of the game provided that you have not cleaned every other regular patriarch or matriarch in Cyrodiil, something hard to do unless you reach mid twenties. Some dungeons will become "re-occupied" if you clean them early on. Rumor has it that a very powerful vampire lord has brought to Cyrodiil a feared relic in order to cleanse it of its power with the aid of other elder buddies of his kin.


Goblins: Goblins of different tribes vary now in power. Some are rather scrawny, others are now very strong in comparison. All of their levels and loot tables are capped and adjusted accordingly, plus a new item here and there if you can find them. Regular, run-of-the-mill gobbies are also capped and tweaked, the warlords will give you a good beating unless you are a seasoned adventurer.


Mythic creature: Mythic Creature leveled lists are modified so that there is a chance that lower level critters will spawn even at high levels. This is specially prevalent in wilderness areas, where now there is also the chance that powerful creatures may surprise the wandering player. That is, there is now the slight possibility that you will run into very tough fights while exploring the wild. The more remote and inaccessible the area, the higher the likelihood of an untimely encounter. The strongest of mythic creatures, the Minotaurs, are capped but can put up a fight even against the experienced player.


Undead: Undead are mostly untouched, except for level caps on their strongest versions: wraiths/Lichs. Some skeletons are a bit stronger but they remain among the weakest of the undead, alongside zombies. Leveled lists for undead are modified so that there is now the chance that they will spawn weak undead regardless of the level of the player. Again, higher level undead have a greater chance of appearing in these situations.


Bandits, Marauders, Conjurers and Necromancers: These NPCs are capped, their loot lists adjusted and spread at variety of level ranges so that some difference between them is apparent. Bandits can be very low level and reach early twenties. Some exceptions are the bandit bosses and the infamous Black Bow Bandit crew. Marauders tend to be slightly more powerful. Necromancers and Conjurers will give some trouble to the inexperienced adventurer, but later on they will easily become cannon-fodder. However, the boss versions are rather powerful. The expulsion of necromancers from the Mages Guild has bred resentment. Necromancers of Tamriel, under the guide of the experienced Fayth Noor, gather in Cyrodiil to plot against the Archmage.


Guards: All guards in the game are now level-capped. They are not lowly beginners, but you will not get the feeling that they are so powerful that your presence in Cyrodiil is a nuisance. At high levels you will be able to school most guards. Some towns have stronger regiments, others are weaker. Guards in the stages of the main quest are leveled appropriately, stocked with some healing potions and ready to rumble. Still, powerful enemies will take them down more easily than they can do the same to you. This also applies to the blades and the imperial guards.


Citizens: All citizens of Cyrodiil, friendly or not, are level capped, when possible, in-synch with the difficulty of the quests with which they are associated. I have tried to give them a generous level range so as not to stiffle or demean the quest progression. With that said, a lot of npcs involved in quests have minimum level caps which means that you may not be able to finish the hard guild quests early on. A great feature of this change is that you will no longer get your ass handed down to you by a hoe wielding punk of a farmer after you pilfer his house clean or take his daughter to the "barn."



The Arena: Arena fights are completely changed. They do not simply scale according to your level. Now, each batch of fighters has its own level range, increasing up until a much more epic fight with the Grandchampion. You will not be able to beat the Arena unless you are highly experienced and decked out. This is a significant change from the original, where the Grandchampion of Cyrodiil, capital of Tamriel, was a fearsome level 10 warrior! Morituri te salutant!






Loot Tables and NPC-Gear Tables: All pertinent leveled item tables have been adjusted to match NPCs' occupation and status. You will not find hardly any npcs with Elven, Ebony or above, except in some cases to flesh out the mysteries of Tamriel. The same applies to monsters, except powerful ones, and Bandits, Highwaymen and Marauders. Also, even at higher levels they will not constantly sport chainmail, mithril, dwarven and orcish. They will still appear in leather, iron, fur and steel on a regular basis.



"Leveled" system changes


Those changes addressed some of the problems that I found with the "leveled" system. I believe that the game's atmosphere and gameplay improve greatly with them. I added a few more changes for the sake of rounding the mod, also with the aim of improving realism, tweaking lackluster skills, birthsigns and a few other issues. The changes are:


Item Tables: Every pertinent loot table for armor, weapons, gems, jewelry and special items has been revamped, except most of the quest-related ones. The aim here was to make items more scarce and rare until higher levels. For example, Dwarven will not appear at lvl 6, but lvl 13+; Daedric will not begin to drop until around very early thirties. The same formula, scaled appropriately, I applied to the remaining lists. Powerful items will be more special and not simply lying around at every corner after level 20.


Value: The value of gems, jewelry, silver house-wares and pelts is now higher so that thieves have a greater enticement in risking their neck than the measly gold coin that they can squeeze out of a silver fork.
New Items: A few new items now appear near or in powerful NPCs. These are not mighty or common enough to imbalance the game, but they add some flavor to the also new NPCs.


Birthsigns: Birthsigns have changed. I have kept the original spirit of each constellation but I have modified their effects, and added new ones, to balance them out.


Skills: The skills of Hand to Hand and Sneak have some modifications. Hand to Hand was sorely lacking at release. Its range is very short, its damage can't hold a candle to powerful weapons, its rate of block was half of wielded weapons and the player cannot use gauntlets to add offensive on-hit spell effects as with every other weapon. Now, hand to hand damage max is higher, its rate of block also went up (although still lower than that for weapons), it has a longer reach and its staggering chance while blocking was adjusted upwards. Sneak Attacks now do slightly higher damage at Journeyman and Expert ranks, x7 and x8 respectively. Marksman Sneak attacks in the same ranks are x3.5 (displays just as the normal x3) and x4 respectively. Also, disarming chances of Special Attacks and Blocks are now higher than a poor 5%, which meant that only 1 out of 20 blows would actually disarm an opponent. The chances to Knockdown and Paralyze with Marksman Special Attacks also went up slightly.


Descriptions: Descriptions for the notices of Mastery achievement in-game are re-written now to reflect a higher sense of pride and accomplishment, rather than the same old text used in the prior perks' notices. Descriptions of Birthsigns differ so as to include the changes and additions. Finally, changes to the perks of Sneak also appear in the notices brought up when a player reaches a new rank.


The speed of arrows and magic: Arrow and Magic attacks' speed increases by 20% and 10% respectively. This is done to offset the ease with which one could avoid the ranged attacks of NPCs and monsters by timing sidesteps. (This changes to higher speed from 1.2 onward, check below for specific values)


Daedra Lord Quests: The minimum levels necessary to receive Daedra Lord quests at their shrines is now higher for most of them--anywhere from lvl 15 to lvl 20. This change obeys two reasons. First, it did not make a lot of sense to me that a Daedric Lord would grant a lowly lvl 2 the honor of serving under them with the promise of an item of power. Now, in order to be a worthy champion, you are going to need to know how to skin some beast other than sheep. The second one is related to acquiring a decent level before tackling more dangerous stages of the main quest--a build-up towards a more epic finale.
Storage Chests: Fighter's and Mage's Guilds in the main towns of Cyrodiil now have special Storage Chests to stash the player's growing inventory.

Link to Oscuros Oblivion Overhaul Post

Teaser Trailer

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

We've discussed the leveling system in here to death, with the consensus being some love it, some hate it. It's nice that there are some mods for the PC that give you a different option, but honestly, one of the things about Morrowind that made it less interesting over the long haul is that you could make an Uber-character that wasn't challenged much at the upper levels. The Oblivion system, although it does have flaws, is a step toward keeping a challenge throughout the length of the game.

With it's wide open style of play, it's easy to find exploits, or power level your character. It's been my experience that most role players don't mind the Oblivion system, while most Power Gamers hate it. Over generalization to be sure, but kind of true.

 

[ZombieSupaStar]

We've discussed the leveling system in here to death, with the consensus being some love it, some hate it. It's nice that there are some mods for the PC that give you a different option, but honestly, one of the things about Morrowind that made it less interesting over the long haul is that you could make an Uber-character that wasn't challenged much at the upper levels. The Oblivion system, although it does have flaws, is a step toward keeping a challenge throughout the length of the game.

With it's wide open style of play, it's easy to find exploits, or power level your character. It's been my experience that most role players don't mind the Oblivion system, while most Power Gamers hate it. Over generalization to be sure, but kind of true.

indeed, but for me in an open world game, I was disapointed when I realized that it didnt really matter what "cool new dungeon" I came across, because whatever was in the chests was going to be loot tabled to my level, and when I did hit a certain level, the people who were challenging before would either A disappear with a new spawn in its place, or B be decked out in "rare" armor.

I guess im more of the "if I walk into the wrong dungeon and get smeared by a godlike boss", then "later on when I come back and am able to defeat him, Id like there to be a an awesome item for his uber level guarding it"

 

[bengraven]

Use Magic Items and Spells.

You can also use silver and daedric weapons. And remember, even if your enchanted weapon runs out of charge, you can still use it, regardless of it's origin, against ghosts. So even a steel sword can be used if it has been enchanted once (regardless of amount of charge).

indeed, but for me in an open world game, I was disapointed when I realized that it didnt really matter what "cool new dungeon" I came across, because whatever was in the chests was going to be loot tabled to my level, and when I did hit a certain level, the people who were challenging before would either A disappear with a new spawn in its place, or B be decked out in "rare" armor.

I guess im more of the "if I walk into the wrong dungeon and get smeared by a godlike boss", then "later on when I come back and am able to defeat him, Id like there to be a an awesome item for his uber level guarding it"

Wow. Talk about making a huge deal over nothing.

The leveling system never affected me at all. I think it works out nicely. Call me apologetic, but the only problem I ever had was that items on tables or in racks never went up with your level as well as non-quest essential NPC armors/weapons (with the exception being hostile NPCs like bandits/vampires).

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

indeed, but for me in an open world game, I was disapointed when I realized that it didnt really matter what "cool new dungeon" I came across, because whatever was in the chests was going to be loot tabled to my level, and when I did hit a certain level, the people who were challenging before would either A disappear with a new spawn in its place, or B be decked out in "rare" armor.

I guess im more of the "if I walk into the wrong dungeon and get smeared by a godlike boss", then "later on when I come back and am able to defeat him, Id like there to be a an awesome item for his uber level guarding it"

I won't disagree with you on some of this. I think in the next game they can offset it some by having certain dungeons that relate to the main quest for instance, that are tagged as being high level or something and the creatures that exist in there are ones that would kick your ass at lower levels. There is a certain incentive system in place to make you want to work harder and to come back to defeat them. Plus, I think something does need to be done with the loot system as well. It's not bad, just needs tuning, which is the way I pretty much feel about the leveling system in general with Oblivion. Needs a little tweaking.

 

[Confidence Man]

indeed, but for me in an open world game, I was disapointed when I realized that it didnt really matter what "cool new dungeon" I came across, because whatever was in the chests was going to be loot tabled to my level, and when I did hit a certain level, the people who were challenging before would either A disappear with a new spawn in its place, or B be decked out in "rare" armor.

I guess im more of the "if I walk into the wrong dungeon and get smeared by a godlike boss", then "later on when I come back and am able to defeat him, Id like there to be a an awesome item for his uber level guarding it"

I feel the same.

Unfortunately, short of someone going through every dungeon in the game hand-placing items and making sure the enemies are appropriately levelled there isn't much hope for that kind of thing even with the overhaul mods.

 

[ZombieSupaStar]

I won't disagree with you on some of this. I think in the next game they can offset it some by having certain dungeons that relate to the main quest for instance, that are tagged as being high level or something and the creatures that exist in there are ones that would kick your ass at lower levels. There is a certain incentive system in place to make you want to work harder and to come back to defeat them. Plus, I think something does need to be done with the loot system as well. It's not bad, just needs tuning, which is the way I pretty much feel about the leveling system in general with Oblivion. Needs a little tweaking.

I agree, I can totally understand how leveling prevents game breaking exploits, and keeps a nice challenge going, but at the end or near the end the game, your char should be almost a god (in my opinion), you start out as a nothing, you end as the greatest hero of the world :lol.

its almost like they would have to emulate a MMO world setup to keep linear leveling with open ended gameplay, which would definatly be more of a pain in the ass to develop.


I think your idea is good though, basically have quests, items, / bosses only be completable when you reach certain levels of bad assery (not pwning everything in the arena as level 2, when guards can beat your ass)

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

I agree, I can totally understand how leveling prevents game breaking exploits, and keeps a nice challenge going, but at the end or near the end the game, your char should be almost a god (in my opinion), you start out as a nothing, you end as the greatest hero of the world :lol.

its almost like they would have to emulate a MMO world setup to keep linear leveling with open ended gameplay, which would definatly be more of a pain in the ass to develop.


I think your idea is good though, basically have quests, items, / bosses only be completable when you reach certain levels of bad assery (not pwning everything in the arena as level 2, when guards can beat your ass)

Oh! The guards kind of piss me off, I'll grant you that one. They should be able to take down my punk-ass at the beginning of the game, no problem, but later on they should become much easier for me. They did become easier, but it took longer than it probably should have. (I recently had a fight with them that nearly took me down, I'm like level 42, buy there were four or five of them at the same time. )

I think next time they need to insitute a more tuned leveling system. Much of the game should have the leveling assigned to it, but certain dungeons and creatures should be flagged to act differently based on context. As I said earlier, some of the main quest stuff should probably be created by hand and made so that it's going to be tough as hell if you wander in at the wrong time.

Likewise, some real, giant, boss like creatures could be added that will be a challenge to you at high levels, and will outright slaughter you early in the game. For instance, you might wander into a dragon's lair, and find a huge dragon to fight. At level five, he can kill you with one hit. At level 40, he's still tough as hell, but you can now stand and fight him. The addition of special "boss" type creatures would also give you a bigger sense of accomplishment, which Oblvion lacked at types.

 

[GhaleonEB]

indeed, but for me in an open world game, I was disapointed when I realized that it didnt really matter what "cool new dungeon" I came across, because whatever was in the chests was going to be loot tabled to my level, and when I did hit a certain level, the people who were challenging before would either A disappear with a new spawn in its place, or B be decked out in "rare" armor.

I guess im more of the "if I walk into the wrong dungeon and get smeared by a godlike boss", then "later on when I come back and am able to defeat him, Id like there to be a an awesome item for his uber level guarding it"

While this is sort of true, I don't agree that you can't find great loot. A few pages ago I was reporting on an item valued at 5,000 gold I found in the first cave I did, at level 1, for my new character. And shortly after found a dagger with +15 frost damage, which absolutely OWNED for several levels when I found it.

At any rate - the leveling just does not bother me. The impact just does not cause the game play any different than any RPG I've ever played (all on consoles). As I get stronger and go further, the enemies get harder. That's true of any other RPG I've played, though those do it with linear progression and fixed items. Given that I'm now level 26 and have barely done any questing at this time through, I think it's a godsend. Were enemies not leveled I'd plow through the quests untouched.

 

[Diseased Yak]

Sorry to get off the tired, dead-horse topic of the leveling system, but I wanted to report on the Vile Lair, the latest DLC from our benefactors at Bethesda. Spoilers ahoy, though there really isn't that much to spoil. Still, if you want to experience it fresh, avoid the following...

First off, this is probably the smallest DLC since the horse armor, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing. When you first enter the game after having purchased it, you are given the now-familiar quest update, indicating that a mysterious (and in this instance, evil) fellow has willed his abode to you. Ironically, at least for me, the place is located on the southern-most tip of Cyrodiil. The irony comes from the fact that previous to this being released I had just been down that way looking for missed caves and such and stopped to think how nice a house would be placed on the little island found down there.

Not so good, however, is the fact that instead of an evil citadel, we get an underwater lair accessable by submerged hollow log (yes, a hollow log, complete with wooden door) or by a trap door located nearby. I went and checked the place out immediately, and it was actually fairly small and cramped. It showed potential, though.

Upon entering, you find a nicely written but fairly short diary that gives you the backstory of the place and its former inhabitant, as well as a quest update on where to buy stuff for the place. This dude happens to be in the Weylon(sp?) Inn, right near Cap City. Evil guy, but I was pleased to see he had $2k of merchant credit!!! Bonus!

After shelling out a lot to outfit the place, a return visit really impressed me. I had a sleeping wench in a stockade, perfect for feeding on (I am a vampire, btw). I had an evil minion in the form of a thin human wearing a black hood. The conversation options for him were awesome. The place had plenty of books, I was glad to see, and I think I found 3 that I had never read before. Naturally, all of them were very well written and at least 1 was a skill book (for Stealth, which incidentally put me over into "Expert" territory).

Overall, I'm very pleased with what you get for 150 points. Is this DLC necessary? Not at all, but if you are a vampire character it is very nice. Oh, and you are given a pool of water with a clickable stalagtite that cures you of vampirism, but I haven't tried that out yet. I too much enjoy being a Child of the Night to cure it.

Hope you all have enjoyed this small review.

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

Thanks for the impressions on the Vile Lair. I'm always interested in what the DLC entails, even if it's not something I intend to purchase. Sounds like this one is good, for the right audience. Much like the others.

By the way, to show that I'm not totally against DLC, I did grab the new stuff for Chromehounds last week.

Spoiler

Of course, it was free though!

:lol

 

[yonder]

Wow, the fact that there's a 190 page thread on GAF makes me want to but this game. I might be joining you soon.

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

Wow, the fact that there's a 190 page thread on GAF makes me want to but this game. I might be joining you soon.

The game is amazing. If you like RPG's at all, you'll love it, and it's probably the best game on the 360. Besides, we need you to join this thread so you can help us our goal of 10,000 posts!

 

[teiresias]

Does anyone else have sound issues in this game? It's probably my soundcard, but I thought I'd ask. I get a ton of popping, crackling, and squealing noises when I'm playing, one like every second, I can't play the game at all. I'm using an Auzentech Xplosion soundcard connected via optical to the home theater receiver. I don't have any issues with any other game, and I didn't have issues with Oblivion until switching to this soundcard. Not sure anyone else here is using the Xplosion, but i just thought I'd ask. Thanks.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Hope you all have enjoyed this small review.

Indeed I did. That was the most detail I've read about any DLC - thanks!

Now, about that leveling system....

Just joking.

I just learned about an entire element of the game I had not heard of. Regulars to this thread know this is a frequent occurance. Ahem. Minor spoilers about goblins ahoy!

I just found a campsite in the wilderness with a whole pack of people standing around. This is usually bad news so I had assumed a sniper position and zoomed in on them with a poisoned, flaming arrow. I made it go astray when I noted nobody was carrying weapons.

These guys were in the middle of a goblin conflict between two warring factions, and needed my help to clear it up. All my previous encounters with goblins entailed my slaughtering them completely, or doing so and then retrieving an object of some kind. This time they gave me two options: kill everyone, or stop the war by snagging a totem of some kind and ending the rivalry.

Apparantly, this is true of many different goblin factions in the game. I once ran into a massive fight between two groups of goblins - about six guys on each side, but I didn't realize they were actually fighting over something. I'm still a little confused about how this works, so I was wondering if anyone had done some tinkering with it.

 

[yonder]

The game is amazing. If you like RPG's at all, you'll love it, and it's probably the best game on the 360. Besides, we need you to join this thread so you can help us our goal of 10,000 posts!

You don't have much left now! Hopefully I'll be playing it before you reach your goal

 

[Diseased Yak]

I just found a campsite in the wilderness with a whole pack of people standing around. This is usually bad news so I had assumed a sniper position and zoomed in on them with a poisoned, flaming arrow. I made it go astray when I noted nobody was carrying weapons.

These guys were in the middle of a goblin conflict between two warring factions, and needed my help to clear it up. All my previous encounters with goblins entailed my slaughtering them completely, or doing so and then retrieving an object of some kind. This time they gave me two options: kill everyone, or stop the war by snagging a totem of some kind and ending the rivalry.

Whoa! Where did you run into this at, do you remember? This is totally new to me. I've reached a point in the game after 160 hours that I thought I had pretty much uncovered most everything, but I somehow have missed this one, which is awesome!

The last new thing (other than DLC) I found was like 20 game hours ago, when I found an Inn I somehow missed, that contained a small quest to help a researcher retrieve a notebook of his that he had dropped in his haste to escape marauders in a nearby cave.

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

I remember coming across the Goblin thing as well. Watching the tribes fight it out the first time I saw it, I was like WTF? :lol Can't remember where I first encountered it though.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Whoa! Where did you run into this at, do you remember? This is totally new to me. I've reached a point in the game after 160 hours that I thought I had pretty much uncovered most everything, but I somehow have missed this one, which is awesome!

The last new thing (other than DLC) I found was like 20 game hours ago, when I found an Inn I somehow missed, that contained a small quest to help a researcher retrieve a notebook of his that he had dropped in his haste to escape marauders in a nearby cave.

I just did that notebook quest yesterday, also new to me.

I just yanked this from a wiki about the quest: "A campsite next to the Yellow Road, on the north bank of the Corbolo River." It's near Cropsford, which is between two caves. It's called Crestbridge Campsite.

At Crestbridge Camp you will find a small group of farmers (headed by Barthel Gernand) who were trying to set up a new farm at Cropsford, a short distance to the northwest. However, goblins overran their farm; they would like your help putting an end to the goblin skirmishing. Their guide, Mirisa, can give you the details: Cropsford is between two caves occupied by rival goblin tribes, the Rock Biter Goblins at Timberscar Hollow and the Bloody Hand Goblins at Cracked Wood Cave. They are fighting because the Rock Biter Goblins stole the tribal Totem Staff from the Bloody Hand Goblins.

I only read the description in the wiki entry since the rest looks like a walkthrough and I want to do the quest without reading it. But the link is: http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Goblin_Trouble

 

[Diseased Yak]

Ahh, see I remember doing that quest where the farmer had Goblin troubles, and they would come attack the fields in a couple of waves, and then the quest was over. I must have not explored around that area much to find the two rival factions.

Gives me something new to do tonight, I can't wait!

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

I've said it before, I'll say it again. The game that keeps on giving.

 

[gblues]

I thought I'd done about everything on my first playthrough, but I also still managed to find some new stuff.

The quest I stumbled upon was the "Shadowbanish wine" quest. I was looting some fort and picked up a couple bottles of the stuff, then got the quest notice. I had to use the guide to figure out what to do because NOBODY knew anything about it, and the first place I thought to try--the wine makers in Skingrad--didn't turn up any clues either.

Turns out it's some lady in that in just across the bridge from the Imperial City. Still, only 6 bottles needed to complete the quest. Much better than those damn Nirnroots.

Nathan

 

[GhaleonEB]

I thought I'd done about everything on my first playthrough, but I also still managed to find some new stuff.

The quest I stumbled upon was the "Shadowbanish wine" quest. I was looting some fort and picked up a couple bottles of the stuff, then got the quest notice. I had to use the guide to figure out what to do because NOBODY knew anything about it, and the first place I thought to try--the wine makers in Skingrad--didn't turn up any clues either.

Turns out it's some lady in that in just across the bridge from the Imperial City. Still, only 6 bottles needed to complete the quest. Much better than those damn Nirnroots.

Nathan

True that only six bottle are needed. Now try finding six of them.

(I've been hauling two around for quite a while. Though, I'm focusing on Alyid ruins right now, and the wine is in forts.)

 

[Wolffen]

Finally completed the main quest Sunday night. Cool ending.

Spoiler

Does Sean Bean ever play a part where he doesn't bite it?

. I made the mistake of completing the main quest line after doing all the guilds and getting to a higher level (over 35), so closing gates was a bit of a pain. Thank God for Ghostwalk.

I do have a question about the Oblivion gates though. Spoiler tags, just in case.

Spoiler

First, do the large gates in Oblivion that block your access to the Tower Portal only show up when your character is higher level, or after you closed so many gates? I was annoying as hell to have to trek all over the Oblivion wastes to get to another tower to pull the switch to open the gate to get to the main tower. Once I was strong enough, I started taking a swim in the lava rather than finding the switch to open the gate half the time.

Second: Is there any way to kill/destroy the damned fireball launchers (the ones that spin up and spit fireballs at you as you walk by) that show up in Oblivion? I hated those ****ing things!

I must say, I got my money's worth and then some out of this game. The main quest was less laborious and more epic than Morrowind's, IMO. The guild quests were much, much better, especially the Dark Brotherhood (I think the 'party' was my favorite). I think I was close to 150 hours, over level 35, all achievements, but still a bunch of unexplored ruins/caves and side quests to go.

Oh, if I can give one bit of advice to people starting out: if you think you'll be spending a lot of time wearing enchanted armor or using enchanted weapons, make armorer a major skill. It got reaaaaaally old not being able to repair any of my weapons or armor after closing a gate or running through a dungeon just because my armorer level was less than 50.

I'm going to take a break from the game for a while and play a few other things (I'm renting GRAW, right now, as a matter of fact), but I know the game will keep giving for quite a while when I'm ready to step back into Tamriel.

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

I do have a question about the Oblivion gates though. Spoiler tags, just in case.

Spoiler

First, do the large gates in Oblivion that block your access to the Tower Portal only show up when your character is higher level, or after you closed so many gates? I was annoying as hell to have to trek all over the Oblivion wastes to get to another tower to pull the switch to open the gate to get to the main tower. Once I was strong enough, I started taking a swim in the lava rather than finding the switch to open the gate half the time.

Spoiler

I think those special towers and gate combos were on in the Gates that you have to close for the Allies for Bruma Quest.

Second: Is there any way to kill/destroy the damned fireball launchers (the ones that spin up and spit fireballs at you as you walk by) that show up in Oblivion? I hated those ****ing things!

I never found a way to destroy them. But then again, once I realized how little damage they did, and how easy they were to avoid, it never really bothered me.

I must say, I got my money's worth and then some out of this game. The main quest was less laborious and more epic than Morrowind's, IMO. The guild quests were much, much better, especially the Dark Brotherhood (I think the 'party' was my favorite). I think I was close to 150 hours, over level 35, all achievements, but still a bunch of unexplored ruins/caves and side quests to go.

Yeah, the game is a real bargain when you consider how much you pay for it vs. how much time you get out of it. A few dozen pages back, we were all rating the game in number of cents/hour that it cost us. :lol 35 cents an hour is a bargain!

I'm going to take a break from the game for a while and play a few other things (I'm renting GRAW, right now, as a matter of fact), but I know the game will keep giving for quite a while when I'm ready to step back into Tamriel.

Take a break, and when you come back, you'll be ready to explore all over again. But really, GRAW is an amazing game too, and well worth your time and money.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Oh, if I can give one bit of advice to people starting out: if you think you'll be spending a lot of time wearing enchanted armor or using enchanted weapons, make armorer a major skill. It got reaaaaaally old not being able to repair any of my weapons or armor after closing a gate or running through a dungeon just because my armorer level was less than 50.

Being able to repair your armor is critical, IMO. In the Market District of Imperial City there is a weapon shop, and the proprieter trains on the Amorer skill. I dumped all my early gold into training on that, so that by level 10 I was over 50 armorer and could repair my enchanted items. Especially for armor, it makes a HUGE difference when you're in the middle if a big dungeon.

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

Being able to repair your armor is critical, IMO. In the Market District of Imperial City there is a weapon shop, and the proprieter trains on the Amorer skill. I dumped all my early gold into training on that, so that by level 10 I was over 50 armorer and could repair my enchanted items. Especially for armor, it makes a HUGE difference when you're in the middle if a big dungeon.

I disagree with it being critical. While I eventually trained my up to do repairs, I didn't rush it at all, and didn't think about it much for most of my early levels. At a certain point in the game, you have so much gold, that about the only thing you have to spend it on are magic item recharges and repairing items. I'd often pay for the re-charges while in town so I could keep my soul gems for when I was out exploring, and I'd often pay to have my armor fixed as well, just to make sure everything was good before venturing out.

For me, getting the skill raised up enough to do it myself, was just for a matter of convience and was never all that critical for me.

 

[GhaleonEB]

I disagree with it being critical. While I eventually trained my up to do repairs, I didn't rush it at all, and didn't think about it much for most of my early levels. At a certain point in the game, you have so much gold, that about the only thing you have to spend it on are magic item recharges and repairing items. I'd often pay for the re-charges while in town so I could keep my soul gems for when I was out exploring, and I'd often pay to have my armor fixed as well, just to make sure everything was good before venturing out.

For me, getting the skill raised up enough to do it myself, was just for a matter of convience and was never all that critical for me.

Well, it does depend on the kind of character you have. My first character was a fighter/mage combo, heavy on the fighting part. I didn't rush it and was fine. My current character is a thief/archer. I don't have a lot of health, I'm not that fast and it only takes a few swipes from powerful creatures to take me out. (Got raped by an ogre/minotaur lord combo last night.) For me, when my armor degrades pretty far it means I'm very, very vulnerable. Magic weapons or no, I still get hit and have to survive it. I should have qualified my earlier comment about criticality - it's been critical this second time through.

Also, I was a theif so I just stole tons of soul gems from various shops while I leveled my armorer skill.

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

Well, it does depend on the kind of character you have. My first character was a fighter/mage combo, heavy on the fighting part. I didn't rush it and was fine. My current character is a thief/archer. I don't have a lot of health, I'm not that fast and it only takes a few swipes from powerful creatures to take me out. (Got raped by an ogre/minotaur lord combo last night.) For me, when my armor degrades pretty far it means I'm very, very vulnerable. Magic weapons or no, I still get hit and have to survive it. I should have qualified my earlier comment about criticality - it's been critical this second time through.

Also, I was a theif so I just stole tons of soul gems from various shops while I leveled my armorer skill.

I was a Fighter/Mage combo as wealth, with stealth abilities. Heavier on the Mage than on the Fighter. For many levels I didn't even wear armor at all, just a magic robe. But I did have a pair of magical boots and gauntlets that I needed to repair regularly. In the case of the boots, pretty much every time I went back to town. :lol

 

[GhaleonEB]

I was a Fighter/Mage combo as wealth, with stealth abilities. Heavier on the Mage than on the Fighter. For many levels I didn't even wear armor at all, just a magic robe. But I did have a pair of magical boots and gauntlets that I needed to repair regularly. In the case of the boots, pretty much every time I went back to town. :lol

Early on I had nearly all of my armor items enchanted with Feather so I could carry more loot. My strength is still pretty low since I do very little melee; agility is at 100, though. So I could repair my chestplate if I needed to, and that was it. I once was dying left and right and discovered my armor was nearly all at zero. I decided then to power-level the skill. It's mattered.

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

I guess it's just another example of the wide-open, do as you please game style. Another example is Alchemy, which I barely touched, but I know others who swear by it. Just have to love the different approaches to the game.

 

[Suerte]

Wow, the thieves guild is pretty awesome so far, I didn't expect to like it since I'm not usually a fan of "stealth" in games! It's probably just because it's a welcome change to "go to X cave and kill X" quests.

 

[Wolffen]

Early on I had nearly all of my armor items enchanted with Feather so I could carry more loot. My strength is still pretty low since I do very little melee; agility is at 100, though. So I could repair my chestplate if I needed to, and that was it. I once was dying left and right and discovered my armor was nearly all at zero. I decided then to power-level the skill. It's mattered.

That's the same boat I was in. Assassin/Theif character, heavy on the bow/agility, light on strength. I had to enchant my armor (feathered every damn bit of it) to be able to haul loot to pay for repairs, recharges, etc. Before I knew it, I was at level 35 or so (after training), and no armorer trainer would train me any further (still not sure what happened there), and I could improve by working on my own armor or weapons, and being a stealth-bow character, I would normally kill most creatures in 2 or 3 hits from a flaming/poisoned arrow. Which meant their armor had very little (if any) damage, so the experience off repairing their armor was a pittance.

 

[GhaleonEB]

I guess it's just another example of the wide-open, do as you please game style. Another example is Alchemy, which I barely touched, but I know others who swear by it. Just have to love the different approaches to the game.

My character would not work without Alchemy. I didn't touch it the first time, but now I go into Oblivion gates with a good 20 damage health poisons. Since they stack, I can tag the really nasty guys with three of them via arrows, run around for a little bit and listen for the "uuurraraaarrrrggg....." as they collapse.

They're getting pretty powerful, now that my equipment is better.

I'm basically using every skill this time through that I didn't use the first game: alchemy, illusion, alteration, sneak, marksman. Fun stuff.

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

My very first go at the game was a pure stealthy thief type, using the bow as my primary weapon as well, although I did have a decent blade skill for when things got too close. I still didn't use alchemy at all, nor did I do much with armorer. I did however augment everything with spells. Destruction, Conjuration, and a healthy dose of Restoration. It was a good play combo, but I definitely had to work on my tactics, and continue to improve my equipment.

 

[GhaleonEB]

My very first go at the game was a pure stealthy thief type, using the bow as my primary weapon as well, although I did have a decent blade skill for when things got too close. I still didn't use alchemy at all, nor did I do much with armorer. I did however augment everything with spells. Destruction, Conjuration, and a healthy dose of Restoration. It was a good play combo, but I definitely had to work on my tactics, and continue to improve my equipment.

Interesting, I basically took armorer and alchemy in place of your spells. Amazing how many viable options there are which result in very different play styles. The only offensive spells I use are conjuration, usually to distract the enemies chasing me long enough for the poison to take them out.

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

Ghaleon: I just saw your post about Oblivion on the PSP over in that other thread. I actually own a PSP, so when/if it comes out, my life will be over! :lol Oblivion on the go. I'll never leave home without it!

 

[GhaleonEB]

Ghaleon: I just saw your post about Oblivion on the PSP over in that other thread. I actually own a PSP, so when/if it comes out, my life will be over! :lol Oblivion on the go. I'll never leave home without it!

I don't own a PSP, and oridinarily this kind of announcement would get me to consider one (if it happens, of course). But in this case, I'm staying far, far away. My wife is already irked that I rarely come to bed with her at night. "Good night honey, I've got an Oblivion gate to close!" The only things that keep me away are my paying job and biological need for sleep. :lol

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

I don't own a PSP, and oridinarily this kind of announcement would get me to consider one (if it happens, of course). But in this case, I'm staying far, far away. My wife is already irked that I rarely come to bed with her at night. "Good night honey, I've got an Oblivion gate to close!" The only things that keep me away are my paying job and biological need for sleep. :lol

Oh, come on! Where's your dedication. Do you really need a job? :lol

 

[SteveMeister]

9500!

I find it surprising that some people never delved in to alchemy. For me, it was one of the best parts of the game. I loved searching for rare ingredients, experimenting with potions, hunting down better apparatus, and of course creating many poisons and potions.

 

[GhaleonEB]

9500!

I find it surprising that some people never delved in to alchemy. For me, it was one of the best parts of the game. I loved searching for rare ingredients, experimenting with potions, hunting down better apparatus, and of course creating many poisons and potions.

One of the main reasons I didn't do much with it in my last game was the large number of effects I didn't find usefull. Restore luck? Damage luck? Damage magika? Damage agility? Lots of effects I just mix in order to level Alchemy and sell for gold. So far the only poisions/potions I mix are:

*Damage Health
*Shock Damage
*Frost Damage
*Fire Damage
*Parlyze
*Silence
*Restore Health
*Restore Magika

All of the other effects I have not found a use for. I really underestimated how usefull the above effects were, partly because I did not know the damage effects stack, so maybe I'm missing out. Tagging a really powerful creature with three poisons of 7 points damage/second for 30 seconds is devastating.

 

[gblues]

I don't own a PSP, and oridinarily this kind of announcement would get me to consider one (if it happens, of course). But in this case, I'm staying far, far away. My wife is already irked that I rarely come to bed with her at night. "Good night honey, I've got an Oblivion gate to close!" The only things that keep me away are my paying job and biological need for sleep. :lol

Something tells me that if the PSP gets Oblivion, it's going to be the Vir2L version ported from the cell phones and not ported from the PC/X360 version. It just doesn't have the oomph or the featureset to do the game justice.

Nathan

 

[SteveMeister]

One of the main reasons I didn't do much with it in my last game was the large number of effects I didn't find usefull. Restore luck? Damage luck? Damage magika? Damage agility?

Luck has an effect on every skill in the game. 50 luck is "nominal", meaning there's no positive or negative effect on skills. But anything below 50 reduces the effective skill in all formulas, while anything above 50 increases it. So if you damage an opponent's luck, their skills will be, in effect, reduced. All of them.

Agility governs knockdowns & staggers. If you damage an opponent's agility enough, you'll have a greater likelihood of either staggering them or knocking them down when you hit them.

And damage magicka is very useful against magic using opponents, of course. I'd hit a magic user with arrows poisoned with Damage Magicka and they wouldn't be able to use their most powerful spells against me.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Luck has an effect on every skill in the game. 50 luck is "nominal", meaning there's no positive or negative effect on skills. But anything below 50 reduces the effective skill in all formulas, while anything above 50 increases it. So if you damage an opponent's luck, their skills will be, in effect, reduced. All of them.

Agility governs knockdowns & staggers. If you damage an opponent's agility enough, you'll have a greater likelihood of either staggering them or knocking them down when you hit them.

And damage magicka is very useful against magic using opponents, of course. I'd hit a magic user with arrows poisoned with Damage Magicka and they wouldn't be able to use their most powerful spells against me.

I'll tinker with the luck one. In general I find that I'm not fighting individual enemies long enough for those kind of things to make a big difference. I just use silence instead of damage magicka. I may have to bump up MY luck, though, to see if it helpes.

 

[gblues]

Best way to go is start a new game; one of the birthsigns gives a bonus to luck, and I *think* one of the races does too (Dunmer?).

Nathan

 

[mikeGFG]

I recently started my first Marksman character, and I have to ask: What the hell is up with the aiming mechanics??

It seems like as soon as I draw an arrow, regardless of my user-preset sensitivity settings, the sensitivity drops to a crawl and the joystick's deadzone increases like crazy. It makes the whole aiming process annoyingly sluggish and cumbersome.

Is this only happening because my Marksman/Agility skills are low, or is this something I'll have to deal with throughout the entire game?

 

[GhaleonEB]

I have now reached level 100 in Alchemy, the Master class, having mixed nearly 1,800 potions or poisons. The benefit is I can now mix poisons and potions with only one ingredient, rather than two. I thought this meant I would be able to select the effect, of the four offered, that I wanted from each, but alas it is not so. Each ingredient has one fixed effect, and it seems random which it is. Of about 10 ingredients which have Damage Health, for example, only one actually did Damage Health being mixed up alone.

Major bummer. Also, the strength of my concoctions did not change when I hit 100. Bummer part 2.

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

9500!

I find it surprising that some people never delved in to alchemy. For me, it was one of the best parts of the game. I loved searching for rare ingredients, experimenting with potions, hunting down better apparatus, and of course creating many poisons and potions.

I was the exact opposite. I had little to no intrest in hunting down ingredients or expiermenting with poitions. Especially when there was an over abundence of potions already in the game. I always had a ready supply of the potions, and poisons for that matter, at my disposal for the things I needed, namely health and magica restoration. Yes, I know that you can make potions that go way beyond that, but again, I had little interest in tracking down the ingredients I'd need, or mixing them together, let alone finding better apparatuses to make the potion.

I do love the fact that the alchemy component of the game is so deep. Obviously you guys put a lot of time and effort into creating it and making it feel real. It just offered nothing to me, and I personally felt that there were so many other things to do in the game, that I didn't want to spend my time picking plants and mixing potions. As I said earlier, it's a testament to the game that you can play it so many different ways.

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

I recently started my first Marksman character, and I have to ask: What the hell is up with the aiming mechanics??

It seems like as soon as I draw an arrow, regardless of my user-preset sensitivity settings, the sensitivity drops to a crawl and the joystick's deadzone increases like crazy. It makes the whole aiming process annoyingly sluggish and cumbersome.

Is this only happening because my Marksman/Agility skills are low, or is this something I'll have to deal with throughout the entire game?

What are your Marksman and Agility scores? Make sure you're not being affected by some curse/spell that is lowering your Agility greatly. I never really found the aiming mechanics to be slow or cumbersome at all. Quite the contrary actually. I thought they worked well, and had a nice balance.

The zoom feature that you get when your Marksman skill gets high enough is awesome too.