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[Kung Fu Jedi]

All this talk of "rubberband creatures" is crazy. Yes, there is obviously some leveling of enemies in the game to make sure it stays a challenge, but too much is being made of this, and it's not at the level that some make it out to be.

For instance, when you meet a goblin early on in the game, he'll be challenge for you, but you should be able to overcome him. As you level up, he'll remain a challenge for awhile, but by the time you reach say level 10, you're clearly improving faster than he is, and there is a wide gap between you and the goblin. At that point, you can easily dispatch with him despite the fact that he has continued to improve some as well. Now higher level creatures, say Minotaurs have a higher intial level to begin with, so they will remain a challenge much longer, and really powerful creatures beyond that even more so.

I like the fact that the game remains a challenge, and I'd never say that leveling up isn't worth it. Your character is improving at a much faster rate than the creatures around you, it's just a method for allowing the game to keep some of it's difficulty over the life of your character.

 

[urk]

I like the fact that the game remains a challenge, and I'd never say that leveling up isn't worth it. Your character is improving at a much faster rate than the creatures around you, it's just a method for allowing the game to keep some of it's difficulty over the life of your character.

Not to mention that your skillset should become more complex, allowing you more choices when battling enemies.

 

[WarLox]

could someone explain "charges" on the staffs to me ... thanx


also is it possible to recharge a staff ??

 

[Hitler Stole My Potato]

Eurogamer review is up http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=63571

I won't spoil the score

Woot!

 

[Sysgen]

could someone explain "charges" on the staffs to me ... thanx


also is it possible to recharge a staff ??

Use soul gems to recharge. You can trap your own souls (larger/complex monsters require larger gems) if you have the soul trap spell or you can find filled soul gems.

 

[Sysgen]

Holy sh*t at my horse last night.

Spoiler

A bandit went to attack me while I was mounted but I unmounted and he hit the horse instead. The horse got pissed and stamped (attacked) the bandit IIRC knocking him to the ground.

Totally unexpected.

 

[Geoff9920]

So I've put several hours into the game and I've been looking to buy my guy a house. The only luck I've had is the

Spoiler

haunted place in anvil. Is there an easy way to get rid of the ghosts?

 

[eso76]

OMG

Took them from the official forum.
p4 1.6
256ram
geforce fx5200

Well..the engine's scalability is impressive

 

[teh_pwn]

Where do I buy lockpicks?

Seriously, I've been wandering around for hours looking for bandit caves, only to find 1 or 2 lockpicks. There was a locked chest that I hoped would have more, but it broke even though it was a very easy. wtf. I didn't save so yeah lesson learned...

 

[Xenon]

Most enemies scale according to your level, and so does loot. One of the main complaints about Morrowind was that it was that it was too easy to become so uber-powerful that you could kill anything without breaking a sweat. So in Oblivion, we've worked hard to make sure the game is a challenge no matter how long you've been playing it.

You will still run into some low-level creatures as you go along. Also, it's not always a one-to-one leveling. Some things always stay above your level, others always stay below, sometimes there's randomness to it.

I have a level 40 character with several stats and major skills maxed out, and the game is DEFINITELY challenging even at that level. I prefer it that way, and I think most gamers will too.

If it's too hard, there is a difficulty slider

Wow.... This is very disappointing to hear. Unfortunately I don't think I can forget about it. I'll try but it really hurts the authenticity of the world. Its like a playing an RPG equivalent of the Truman Show. My character should have to adjust to the world not the other way around. This less roll playing and more game. If I want a challenge I would choose a class that offered it. I would avoid taking advantage of bugs and flaws. But if I want to spend my time leveling up so I can fuck everyone up, it should be my option. Sorry but there should have been other ways to ramp up the difficulty without applying one of the lamest techniques used in video games. At least there could have been an option to turn it off.

For instance, when you meet a goblin early on in the game, he'll be challenge for you, but you should be able to overcome him. As you level up, he'll remain a challenge for awhile, but by the time you reach say level 10, you're clearly improving faster than he is, and there is a wide gap between you and the goblin. At that point, you can easily dispatch with him despite the fact that he has continued to improve some as well. Now higher level creatures, say Minotaurs have a higher intial level to begin with, so they will remain a challenge much longer, and really powerful creatures beyond that even more so.

If this is accurate then it wouldn't be too bad.


Sorry to such a bitch about it, but shit like this bugs me.

 

[cleveridea]

I think maybe this game has gone too far away from morrowind because I am now finding that I feel weaker and weaker as I level up.

problem is, I am primarily a thief/archer and whats happening is that now its taking like 15+ arrows to take down a single enemy, like a bear. taking away a lot of the atmosphere for me as in earlier levels I could sneak and do a triple damage shot and not kill but greatly injure the enemy. now, the sneak attacks are barely harming the monsters. so my fun times sneaking around are over, I have to just pull the enemy outside and run backwards letting lose 15-20 arrows to take them down. not very atmospheric.

will things just keep getting worse? will I need to put 100+ arrows into monsters when I am leveled to 50 or 100?

BTW to balance out what seems like hating - amazing, amazing world they created here. just incredible. I have found myself just walking instead of fast travelling just to take in the sights. very ambitious game.

 

[Diseased Yak]

Where do I buy lockpicks?

Seriously, I've been wandering around for hours looking for bandit caves, only to find 1 or 2 lockpicks. There was a locked chest that I hoped would have more, but it broke even though it was a very easy. wtf. I didn't save so yeah lesson learned...

Join the Thieves Guild, you can buy them immediately after joining.

 

[Unison]

I think maybe this game has gone too far away from morrowind because I am now finding that I feel weaker and weaker as I level up.

problem is, I am primarily a thief/archer and whats happening is that now its taking like 15+ arrows to take down a single enemy, like a bear. taking away a lot of the atmosphere for me as in earlier levels I could sneak and do a triple damage shot and not kill but greatly injure the enemy. now, the sneak attacks are barely harming the monsters. so my fun times sneaking around are over, I have to just pull the enemy outside and run backwards letting lose 15-20 arrows to take them down. not very atmospheric.

will things just keep getting worse? will I need to put 100+ arrows into monsters when I am leveled to 50 or 100?

Yeah, playing a thief here too and noticed this trend. I got to level 14 and tried to clear the castle after the first gate, and it was damn near impossible since the AI would negate my ability to sneak by running around and attacking everything.

I'm fine in situations where I'm up against one or two monsters, but when you throw a half-dozen at me, I'm doomed.

The only solution was to drop the difficulty slider for that combat intensive area. It might sound like a weaksauce thing to do, but it certainly makes you feel somewhat powerful again.


The slider negates most of these complaints, I think, but people are too proud to use it.

It's certainly better to have the game stay tough than to have it break easily.

 

[urk]

I think maybe this game has gone too far away from morrowind because I am now finding that I feel weaker and weaker as I level up.

problem is, I am primarily a thief/archer and whats happening is that now its taking like 15+ arrows to take down a single enemy, like a bear. taking away a lot of the atmosphere for me as in earlier levels I could sneak and do a triple damage shot and not kill but greatly injure the enemy. now, the sneak attacks are barely harming the monsters. so my fun times sneaking around are over, I have to just pull the enemy outside and run backwards letting lose 15-20 arrows to take them down. not very atmospheric.

Have you worked on any of your skills beside sneak and marksman? You should have upgraded weapons and armor, should be poisoning your shots, and you should be casting spells to supplement your lack of combat skills. If possible you should be getting stealth damage and, if the terrain allows, you should be attacking from on high, where many enemies can't reach without magic or projectile attacks. These are all readily available in your arsenal and if you don't use them, then plan on doing what you are doing now: a lot or running. After all, your character class is not what you would call built for close range combat.

 

[RegularMK]

Wow.... This is very disappointing to hear. Unfortunately I don't think I can forget about it. I'll try but it really hurts the authenticity of the world. Its like a playing an RPG equivalent of the Truman Show. My character should have to adjust to the world not the other way around. This less roll playing and more game. If I want a challenge I would choose a class that offered it. I would avoid taking advantage of bugs and flaws. But if I want to spend my time leveling up so I can fuck everyone up, it should be my option. Sorry but there should have been other ways to ramp up the difficulty without applying one of the lamest techniques used in video games. At least there could have been an option to turn it off.

I can understand your problem, but I never had a problem with it in Morrowind. As your character grows, its obvious that you're getting more powerful than the lower level monsters. You could grow so powerful that the rubberband difficulty never really caught up, making it a non-issue. I'm sure its the same here, as becoming an all-powerful mage certainly wouldn't be fun if you weren't sending goblins flying over mountains with one fireball.

The scaling difficulty is only enough to make it so the game doesn't get too easy too fast. You're probably assuming its worse than it really is.

 

[.Abras.]

I just can't believe this is happening to me. This is my most wanted game, and it just arrived here (I live in Brazil), and It keeps giving me This disc is unreadable message.

ARGH!!!! I can belive this, I tried everthing, clean the cache, horizontal and vertical possition, delete the save game, everthing!!!

ps. Jumping from the 18th floor.

 

[Gattsu25]

OBLIVION!!!!


PC Collector's Edition GET :b

 

[Jo-El]

After playing for 28 hours, I am now guild master of the Thief's guild.

 

[Zabojnik]

I'm 5 hours into the game and my social life is already over for the next month or so. Incredible world they created, incredible.

Um, could somebody explain how the difficulty slider affects the gameplay exactly? I'm playing on default atm. (It's probably in the manual, I know.)

 

[Fallout-NL]

OMG

Took them from the official forum.
p4 1.6
256ram
geforce fx5200

Well..the engine's scalability is impressive

Puts the whole 'xbox 360 vs high end pc' thing in perspective, doesnt it?

 

[Nerevar]

After playing for 28 hours, I am now guild master of the Thief's guild.

I just realized, one of the awesome aspects of Oblivion is that it has completely made me forget about achievements. I hadn't even thought about them at all until you mentioned that :lol

And Steve / Vark, why are you guys being so coy about how multipliers work when levelling? Come on now, out with it!

Well..the engine's scalability is impressive

I see an xbox 1 port in there somewhere.

 

[Diseased Yak]

After playing for 28 hours, I am now guild master of the Thief's guild.

Awesome! Without giving away anything, were the missions cool and was it ultimately worth your time?

 

[Dr_Cogent]

Sorry to such a bitch about it, but shit like this bugs me.

Send me your copy of the game. I will find someone who can put it to good use.

 

[ToyMachine228]

I'm about 7 hours in, and I'm considering trading it in and getting GRAW. Not positive yet but...It's just not reaching out and grabbing me.

 

[kaching]

Holy sh*t at my horse last night.

Spoiler

A bandit went to attack me while I was mounted but I unmounted and he hit the horse instead. The horse got pissed and stamped (attacked) the bandit IIRC knocking him to the ground.

Totally unexpected.

Heh...my horse and I have become a bandit fighting team on more than one occasion. There was even an instance where we encountered two bandits and one specifically went after my horse...idiot.

 

[cleveridea]

Have you worked on any of your skills beside sneak and marksman? You should have upgraded weapons and armor, should be poisoning your shots, and you should be casting spells to supplement your lack of combat skills. If possible you should be getting stealth damage and, if the terrain allows, you should be attacking from on high, where many enemies can't reach without magic or projectile attacks. These are all readily available in your arsenal and if you don't use them, then plan on doing what you are doing now: a lot or running. After all, your character class is not what you would call built for close range combat.

yeah I also got Blade and Block, so I can fight. Its more an issue of my primary focus was being an archer, with sneak, so that I THOUGHT the damage modifier would kick ass. and it did, at first. But as I posted, I am finding sneak attack archery less and less effective as I level up. Using the blade (with conjured weapon) and block works fine but my whole intention of the character was primarily a sneak attacking archer. If I knew I would end up just fighting with blade and shield, I'd have built a more melee focussed character (with Heavy Armor etc)

I also picked illusion and conjuration skills and I feel that the illusion isnt working out. My problem isnt staying hidden, its making sneak attacks worthwhile. I would probably have been better off with alchemy instead of illusion, but I dont like the busy work that poisoning sounds like it would be.

edit- I'd like to add, I was just stunned at how greatly improved the stealth element was over morrowind, it was like playing a new game of the Thief series.

 

[Jo-El]

Awesome! Without giving away anything, were the missions cool and was it ultimately worth your time?

They were all very cool, and it was definitely worth the time. The last quest is expesialy awesome.

 

[Justin]

Anyone know of a place with ghosts so I can get some Ectoplasm for the Fighters Guild quest. I sold the ones I got from the previous quest and cant find another dungeon with the ghosts.

 

[Dr_Cogent]

I'm about 7 hours in, and I'm considering trading it in and getting GRAW. Not positive yet but...It's just not reaching out and grabbing me.

Wow. That's too bad. I have both - and I love them about the same but for different reasons obvioulsy.

GRAW + Oblivion has been my 360's salvation.

 

[urk]

I also picked illusion and conjuration skills and I feel that the illusion isnt working out. My problem isnt staying hidden, its making sneak attacks worthwhile. I would probably have been better off with alchemy instead of illusion, but I dont like the busy work that poisoning sounds like it would be.

It looks like we have the same character, but instead of Block, I went with Alchemy. Creating poisons is really easy. You can whip up a few dozen in about a minute as long as you have the ingredients. With the 3x stealth modifier and distance striking, the enemy is often dead, nearly dead, or severly crippled by the time you need to draw a sword.

 

[Teknopathetic]

"and it did, at first. But as I posted, I am finding sneak attack archery less and less effective as I level up. Using the blade (with conjured weapon) and block works fine but my whole intention of the character was primarily a sneak attacking archer. If I knew I would end up just fighting with blade and shield, I'd have built a more melee focussed character (with Heavy Armor etc)"

IIRC, Once you get Marksmanship up high enough you can block attacks with your bow while aiming.

 

[SonnyBoy]

Anyone know of a place with ghosts so I can get some Ectoplasm for the Fighters Guild quest. I sold the ones I got from the previous quest and cant find another dungeon with the ghosts.

Theres a dungeon just north west of the city in the snow region. It has quite a few. Im at work so I dont have names.

 

[kaching]

I would probably have been better off with alchemy instead of illusion, but I dont like the busy work that poisoning sounds like it would be.

It's not that bad - I'm only level 3 and I've already started to rely on coated arrows. One shot from a decent distance coated with a poison that does progressive damage can often fell or nearly fell the creatures I'm encountering before they close the distance. Granted, that will probably change once I get to higher levels, but I assume I'll also be able to make more efficient poisons at that point too.

Still, I wouldn't mind if the "critical damage" rules for bow weapons were just a tad more encompassing - it would be nice if they weighted for head shots, but it doesn't seem they do.

 

[cleveridea]

It looks like we have the same character, but instead of Block, I went with Alchemy. Creating poisons is really easy. You can whip up a few dozen in about a minute as long as you have the ingredients. With the 3x stealth modifier and distance striking, the enemy is often dead, nearly dead, or severly crippled by the time you need to draw a sword.

yeah I'll have to give it a try. I have been grabbing every plant/herb I see and eating them to raise my alchemy - which is pretty hilarious when you eat 5 watermelons, 40 carrots, 10 cheese wedges, 20 lettuces in one go! if i come across enemies I am too weak to fight, I run for my life toward a guard. whats funny is that I grab all the plants/herbs during this frantic escape - my wife thought it hilarious that I was picking flowers while being chased by scary monsters (trolls I think).

how do you get recipes for alchemy - do you automatically get the option to mix them when you have the ingredients in the inventory or do you have to find these recipies? I remember seeing some scrolls with recipes on them.

 

[snatches]

Woot!

When was the last time Eurogamer gave a game a perfect 10/10????

 

[Teknopathetic]

"how do you get recipes for alchemy - do you automatically get the option to mix them when you have the ingredients in the inventory or do you have to find these recipies? I remember seeing some scrolls with recipes on them."

When you mouse over/highlight an ingredient, it'll say what effect it does. Mix together ingredients that have the same effects and ouila, you have a potion. The higher your alchemy, you'll see that ingredients have more effects than are initially shown.

 

[kaching]

how do you get recipes for alchemy - do you automatically get the option to mix them when you have the ingredients in the inventory or do you have to find these recipies? I remember seeing some scrolls with recipes on them.

You don't necessarily need recipes. Just get a mortar & pestle and you can start experimenting right away with the ingredients you have for some basic alchemy. When you add an ingredient to the M&P, successive ingredients to be added are automatically filtered based on those that have complementary effects. i.e. If you want a potion that does health damage (to coat your weapon), you need two separate ingredients that list "Damage Health" as one of their effects. You can't mix two of the same ingredient to achieve the same thing.

 

[Son of Godzilla]

But as I posted, I am finding sneak attack archery less and less effective as I level up. Using the blade (with conjured weapon) and block works fine but my whole intention of the character was primarily a sneak attacking archer. If I knew I would end up just fighting with blade and shield, I'd have built a more melee focussed character (with Heavy Armor etc)

I also picked illusion and conjuration skills and I feel that the illusion isnt working out. My problem isnt staying hidden, its making sneak attacks worthwhile. I would probably have been better off with alchemy instead of illusion, but I dont like the busy work that poisoning sounds like it would be.

Maybe your class isn't particularly suited for what you want to be doing? Stats can screw things up pretty big time. Also what level are you? From what I've seen bows/arrows scale pretty decently.

Oh and as for the rubberband ai, I really like it alot. I kinda wish every RPG had it. What I don't like is how shitty the daedra loot is regardless of how much they utterly kick your ass.

 

[Prine]

Bought special edition on 360 today.

Just by looking at the package im awarding it GOTY. Fucking smart

 

[Musashi Wins!]

Bought special edition on 360 today.

Just by looking at the package im awarding it GOTY. Fucking smart

Clever git. Throw it in your machine and see why it really is.

 

[Drinky Crow]

Justin, there's a whole truckload of ghosts in the basement of the cathedral in Bravin.

 

[Brandon F]

After a couple days of doing nothing but plundering crypts, caves, and wealthy homes for riches, I've finally decided to invest in a proper set of Illusion spells to assist my thievery.

I can't believe I went 10 hours of this game without the 'detect life' and Nighteye spells. Now I can get serious...

 

[DenogginizerOS]

Bought special edition on 360 today.

Just by looking at the package im awarding it GOTY. Fucking smart

Cool. You could convert the coin into a monocle for when you sip your tea at 3 you proper bitch. :lol

 

[Sysgen]

Justin, there's a whole truckload of ghosts in the basement of the cathedral in Bravin.

I think if you summon your own ghosts and destory them you can get the ectoplasm also.

 

[IJoel]

I gotta say that the 'rubberband' level of the enemies annoy me, as a pure mage, mainly because the enemies seem to be harder. Essentially, what was easy for me at level 1 is significantly more difficult at level 16 (current level.)

Also, where the heck can I find the unlock average locks spell? Mages Guild quest question:

Spoiler

I'm trying to do the quest where i have to open this mage leader's chest, which has an average lock, and I'm out of lockpicks. I've searched all over the place for that spell.

On another note, I had a hell of a hard time last night killing a vampire mage last night. The bastard wouldn't stop conjuring zombies and doing high damage spells. Bastard had me running around like crazy for minutes until I could get a chance to beat him. Where the hell is a paralyze spell? Geez, pure mages have a hard time.

 

[SteveMeister]

I gotta say that the 'rubberband' level of the enemies annoy me, as a pure mage, mainly because the enemies seem to be harder. Essentially, what was easy for me at level 1 is significantly more difficult at level 16 (current level.)

Have you made or purchased more powerful spells? Spell costs go down as your skills go up, but they don't get more powerful, while enemy hit points DO go up. So while it might only take for example 3 Flares to take down a level 1 bandit, it might take 20 for a level 10 bandit. Join the Mages Guild so you can make more powerful spells. You'll definitely want to do that a lot as you progress through the game.

 

[SteveMeister]

I gotta say that the 'rubberband' level of the enemies annoy me, as a pure mage, mainly because the enemies seem to be harder. Essentially, what was easy for me at level 1 is significantly more difficult at level 16 (current level.)

Have you made or purchased more powerful spells? Spell costs go down as your skills go up, but they don't get more powerful, while enemy hit points DO go up. So while it might only take for example 3 Flares to take down a level 1 bandit, it might take 20 for a level 10 bandit. Join the Mages Guild so you can make more powerful spells. You'll definitely want to do that a lot as you progress through the game.

Also the spell merchants in the mages guilds of each town have different specializations. Be sure to visit all of them. You'll get access to more spells at the Arcane University once you get all your recommendations done. Also, see healers in the various cathedrals to pick up restoration spells.

 

[GashPrex]

in case you missed it, steve really wants you to buy a new spell

gamerankings has it 96% on 8 reviews with 3 perfect scores

http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages4/927345.asp

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

in case you missed it, steve really wants you to buy a new spell

:lol

 

[IJoel]

Have you made or purchased more powerful spells? Spell costs go down as your skills go up, but they don't get more powerful, while enemy hit points DO go up. So while it might only take for example 3 Flares to take down a level 1 bandit, it might take 20 for a level 10 bandit. Join the Mages Guild so you can make more powerful spells. You'll definitely want to do that a lot as you progress through the game.

Also the spell merchants in the mages guilds of each town have different specializations. Be sure to visit all of them. You'll get access to more spells at the Arcane University once you get all your recommendations done. Also, see healers in the various cathedrals to pick up restoration spells.

Oh, I have. I've bought almost all destruction-based spells from Chorro. I also looked up basically 4 different mage guilds (towns) for a damn paralyze spell and that average lock pick spell too with no luck. Spent basically 3 hours looking for that damn spell last night (open average lock.) The game really owns me though... 3 days, 15 hours into it... I only stopped looking for that spell once I ran across a vampire cave.

I also bought more conjuration spells at Chorro. Latest one I got was one of something like a fire elemental that required conjuration to be at 75 (have it at 76 currently.)

BTW, what's the best way to level up Destruction? It takes ages to do so. I've found myself conjuring skeletons and taking them down to level it up. I only have it at 59 though.