The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered reintroduces one of the most beloved RPG worlds, enhanced with modern visuals and smoother gameplay while preserving its deep exploration, flexible character building, and immersive storytelling. Despite the remaster’s improvements, Cyrodiil remains a land full of danger, mystery, and difficult choices. Mastering it requires understanding the game’s mechanics, leveling systems, combat, guilds, and the many optional paths players can take. This guide leads you through every stage of progression—from escaping the Imperial Prison to closing the last Oblivion Gate—ensuring you rise as a true Champion of Cyrodiil.

Beginning Your Journey in Cyrodiil

Your adventure begins in the Imperial Prison, where you encounter Emperor Uriel Septim and his Blades escort. This opening teaches stealth, movement, weapon swapping, and basic combat while offering your first gear choices.

The remastered version improves lighting, textures, and animations, making the early dungeons more atmospheric but still full of weak enemies ideal for experimentation. Whether you prefer magic, blades, bows, or fists, this is the time to explore your style.

When you finally reach the sewers and exit into the bright wilderness of Cyrodiil, you’re free to roam. The beauty of Oblivion is its openness—only experience and preparation define your limits.

Crafting Your Build Through Attributes and Skills

Oblivion’s leveling system is unique: leveling occurs when major skills improve, which can make the game harder if not managed wisely. Remastered tooltips help clarify growth, but the underlying system remains demanding.

Attributes like Endurance, Willpower, and Agility shape the future of your character. Specializing too broadly can weaken your progression, while focused builds excel in higher difficulty zones. Whether you choose battlemage, stealth archer, spellsword, or pure warrior, your skill choices can either create a powerhouse or a struggling adventurer.

Choosing a birthsign also has lasting impact. The Warrior offers lasting physical boosts, while The Apprentice provides magical power at the cost of vulnerability. Understanding your strengths early prevents future frustration.

Popular Build Directions

• Warrior with heavy armor, blade, and block

• Stealth archer with marksman and light armor

• Pure mage with destruction, conjuration, and alchemy

Mastering Combat in the Remastered Edition

Combat in Oblivion Remastered feels faster and more responsive, though its core depth remains unchanged. Proper spacing, timing, and stamina management matter more than rushing into battles.

Warriors must balance blocking, striking, and maneuvering to avoid being overwhelmed. Light armor users rely on mobility to survive, while heavy armor users absorb hits but suffer stamina drain. Archers shine when maintaining distance, using terrain to isolate enemies.

Magic users gain numerous advantages thanks to improved visual clarity on spell effects. Destruction spells allow ranged damage, restoration provides safety, and conjuration summons create battlefield control. Learning which spells best complement your build is essential.

Combat Priorities

• Keep stamina above half for efficient dodging

• Use ranged options when outnumbered

• Switch tactics depending on enemy resistances

Exploring Cyrodiil’s Vast Open World

The open world of Cyrodiil blends cities, forests, mountains, swamps, caves, and mystical ruins. The remaster revitalizes these environments while maintaining their strong sense of discovery.

Clearing dungeons grants rare loot, soul gems, alchemy ingredients, and artifacts. Many caves hide boss-level threats or mini-stories told through notes, corpses, or architecture. Oblivion rewards those who explore every forgotten corner.

City exploration also helps your growth. Visiting arcane shops, smithies, guild halls, and local NPCs unlocks quests that dramatically improve your character. Everything you do increases skills and shapes your reputation.

Exploration Checklist

• Mark difficult locations for return later

• Visit every Mages Guild and Fighters Guild early

• Explore Ayleid ruins for magical loot

Joining Guilds and Unlocking Questlines

Guilds are the heart of Oblivion’s RPG identity. Each offers unique rewards, quests, and skill progression that shape your journey.

The Fighters Guild focuses on heavier combat, offering gold, gear, and training. The Mages Guild unlocks the Arcane University, where you create custom spells and enchantments—one of the most powerful systems in the game.

The Thieves Guild provides stealth-based missions that test your cunning, while the Dark Brotherhood delivers one of the richest storylines in RPG history, filled with assassinations, betrayals, and moral decisions.

Essential Guild Benefits

• Mages Guild grants access to spellmaking

• Fighters Guild provides early gold and gear

• Dark Brotherhood unlocks high-reward contracts

Managing Inventory, Loot, and Economy

Oblivion’s world is full of valuable items, but inventory space is limited. Careful management is crucial to avoid being weighed down during exploration.

Alchemical ingredients weigh little but accumulate quickly, so prioritize high-value combinations or sell extras. Daedric, ebony, and glass gear represent major upgrades but are heavy and often worth selling rather than hoarding.

Merchants in different towns specialize in different item types. Leveling the Mercantile skill increases profit and improves selling efficiency, making gold easier to acquire. Wealth is freedom—better gear, better potions, and better enchantments.

Inventory Advice

• Drop low-value heavy items like iron armor

• Carry repair hammers to maintain gear

• Sell rarely used potions to free space

Entering Oblivion Gates and Battling Daedra

Oblivion Gates are the game’s most iconic threat. These fiery portals lead to Daedric realms filled with deadly creatures, traps, and valuable loot. Each gate features towers, locked bridges, lava pits, and roaming Daedra like Clannfear, Scamps, and Dremora.

Your goal is to reach the Sigil Tower and remove the Sigil Stone, collapsing the realm and sealing the gate. Sigil Stones grant powerful enchantments, often surpassing conventional enchantments for early and mid-game builds.

The remastered version enhances visual clarity and enemy animations, making these realms even more striking. The danger, however, remains: entering unprepared can result in ambushes or overwhelming battles.

Oblivion Gate Strategies

• Use ranged attacks on flame atronachs

• Keep healing potions for sudden traps

• Grab Sigil Stones for major enchantment boosts

Developing Magic, Enchantments, and Custom Spells

Magic is one of Oblivion’s strongest systems. Spellmaking allows players to create unique combinations, such as fire damage with paralysis, or healing spells with fortify attributes.

Enchanting gear with soul gems provides lasting bonuses. Strong souls like Xivilai or Dremora Chiefs create powerful enchantments, while petty souls offer early-game convenience. Magic gear can boost attributes, resistances, or spell damage, shaping specialized builds.

The remaster improves spell visuals, making battles more intense and easier to read. Whether you master destruction spells or rely on conjured allies, magic remains an incredibly versatile tool.

Magic Priorities

• Unlock the Arcane University early

• collect filled soul gems constantly

• Combine multiple effects for advanced custom spells

Handling Choices, Reputation, and Roleplay

Oblivion offers branching choices that influence story outcomes and character reputation. Whether helping citizens, supporting factions, or pursuing darker paths, each action builds your legacy.

Many quests contain moral dilemmas, encouraging players to weigh outcomes rather than rushing choices. Some decisions lead to hidden rewards, alternate endings, or significant world-state changes.

Roleplaying remains central: your skills, guild memberships, and actions shape how people view you. Oblivion’s writing rewards thoughtful players who care about the world and its people.

Decision-Making Advice

• Read quest journals to understand consequences

• Avoid rushing choices—many affect future quests

• Roleplay consistently based on your chosen build

Conquering the Main Quest and Final Battles

The climax of Oblivion involves uniting Cyrodiil’s factions, defending cities, and stopping Mehrunes Dagon’s invasion. These late-game battles demand high-level gear, optimized attributes, strong combat discipline, and effective spell usage.

Fighting Daedra forces you to adapt constantly—some resist magic, others charge aggressively, and many attack in groups. Proper positioning, buffing, and crowd control become essential.

The final confrontation is iconic and unforgettable. As you seal the last gates and witness the ultimate sacrifice that saves Cyrodiil, your path as the Champion becomes secured.

Conclusion

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered offers a deep, open-world journey filled with mystery, exploration, danger, and choice. By mastering combat, magic, guilds, inventory management, and the unique leveling system, you can navigate every trial Cyrodiil presents. Whether you become a noble protector, a master of the arcane, a silent assassin, or a fearless adventurer, your story becomes part of the enduring legacy of the Elder Scrolls.