The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered: Complete Guide

Character creation, how the remaster's new leveling system works, a main quest and guild roadmap, the best early loot, the DLC, and the difficulty settings added in later updates.

Researched September 2026 — current as of Update 1.2 (July 9, 2025), the latest official patch. Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

• Leveling is no longer a trap. The remaster uses a new system: every skill (major and minor) gives character experience, and at each level-up you spend 12 Virtue points on attributes. You no longer need to micromanage skill-ups to avoid a "weak" build.
• You can redo your character before leaving the sewers. At the end of the tutorial (the Imperial Sewers exit), the game lets you change race, class and birthsign. Play the tutorial, then decide.
• Custom class, and pick major skills you will actually use. Major skills level faster, so they should be the ones you rely on.
• Enemies and loot scale with your level. Do not rush levels; play at the pace you like.
• Sleep to level up. Level-ups only happen when you sleep in a bed you are allowed to use (owned, rented, or a free bedroll); waiting does not count.
• Use the difficulty settings. Since Update 1.2 there are six fixed tiers (Novice to Master), set separately for player damage and enemy damage.
• Join the Arcane University early if you use magic. It unlocks spellmaking and enchanting.
• Go to Kvatch when you are ready, not immediately. The main quest does not have a timer; exploration and guild quests are fine first.
• All the old DLC is included: Shivering Isles, Knights of the Nine, and the smaller packs (Frostcrag Spire, Deepscorn Hollow, Mehrunes' Razor, The Vile Lair, The Thieves Den, The Orrery, Spell Tomes, and Horse Armor).

Character Creation

Races (quick take)

Race | Good for | Notes

Altmer (High Elf) | Pure mage | Big magicka bonus, weak to magic

Breton | Spellsword, mage | Magic resistance, Dragon Skin

Dunmer (Dark Elf) | Spellsword, archer | Fire resistance, balanced

Bosmer (Wood Elf) | Archer, stealth | Strong Marksman and Sneak starts

Khajiit | Thief, assassin | Night-Eye, agile

Argonian | Thief, explorer | Water breathing, disease resistance

Imperial | Talker, merchant | Speechcraft and Mercantile bonuses

Nord | Warrior | Frost resistance

Orc | Heavy warrior | Berserk, excellent armorer

Redguard | Warrior | Adrenaline Rush, Blade bonus

Birthsigns

Birthsign | Effect in short | Who should take it

The Warrior | Strength and Endurance bonus | Melee

The Mage | Extra magicka | Casters

The Thief | Agility, Speed, Luck | Stealth

The Atronach | Large magicka bonus, spell absorption, no natural magicka regeneration | Experienced mages

The Apprentice | Extra magicka, weakness to magic | Glass-cannon mages

The Steed | Faster movement | Explorers

The Lady / The Lord | Personality or healing/defense | Hybrids

The Lover, Ritual, Serpent, Shadow, Tower | Once-a-day powers | Situational

The Atronach is powerful but annoying early because magicka does not recharge naturally; skip it on a first playthrough.

Build ideas

• Spellsword: Blade, Block, Heavy Armor, Destruction, Restoration, Alteration, Conjuration.
• Stealth archer: Marksman, Sneak, Light Armor, Security, Acrobatics, Illusion, Alchemy.
• Pure mage: Destruction, Restoration, Conjuration, Alteration, Mysticism, Illusion, Alchemy.
• Warrior: Blade or Blunt, Block, Heavy Armor, Armorer, Athletics, Hand to Hand, Restoration.

The Remaster's Leveling System

• All skills contribute to character level; major skills grant experience much faster than minor ones.
• On level-up you get 12 Virtue points. Each point raises an attribute by 1, with a maximum of +5 per attribute per level and up to three attributes per level.
• Luck is the exception: it costs 4 points and can be raised once per level.
• Endurance is retroactive: your health is recalculated as if your current Endurance had applied at every previous level. Raising Endurance late is no longer a permanent loss.
• Health now also factors Strength (per UESP, roughly two-thirds of Strength plus 1.33x Endurance at the base, plus an Endurance-based bonus per level). You also get natural health regeneration, about 7.5x faster out of combat.
• Magicka regeneration is based on Willpower alone and doubles out of combat.

Rule of thumb: Put points into your main damage attribute (Strength, Agility or Intelligence), Endurance for health, and Willpower or Speed depending on build.

Combat, Stealth and Other Systems

• Blocking is worth training: it cuts incoming melee damage heavily, and higher Block ranks add perks such as a chance to knock attackers off balance.
• Sidestep/dodge now unlocks at Apprentice rank in Acrobatics.
• Stealth: The sneak eye opens gradually as NPCs notice you, similar to Skyrim. Sneak attacks deal bonus damage.
• Encumbrance: Unlike the original, being over-encumbered no longer freezes you in place: you can walk slowly, but you cannot run, sprint, jump or fast travel.
• Lockpicking uses the tumbler minigame. The Skeleton Key (from Nocturnal's Daedric quest) is an unbreakable lockpick.
• Persuasion still uses the disposition wheel minigame; bribery works if you have gold.
• Alchemy is one of the best money-makers and power boosters; harvesting plants no longer fails.

Difficulty settings (Update 1.2)

Tier | Feel

Novice | Easiest; you hit very hard and take little damage

Apprentice | Easier than default

Adept (default) | Baseline damage both ways

Journeyman | New in 1.2; a moderate step up from Adept

Expert | Hard; enemies hit much harder and take longer to kill

Master | Hardest; the largest gap between player and enemy damage

Update 1.2 turned difficulty into two separate settings, Player Combat Damage and Enemy Combat Damage, each with these six tiers in the Gameplay menu. Bethesda added Journeyman as a better bridge between Adept and Expert. The patch notes do not list exact multipliers, so tune by feel.

Main Quest Roadmap

• Tutorial: Escape the Imperial Prison with Emperor Uriel Septim VII. Receive the Amulet of Kings.
• Deliver the Amulet: Travel to Weynon Priory near Chorrol and meet Jauffre.
• Find the Heir: Go to Kvatch, close the Oblivion Gate outside, retake the city, and find Martin.
• Weynon Priory: Return to find the Priory under attack; escort Martin to Cloud Ruler Temple near Bruma.
• The Path of Dawn and Dagon Shrine: Track the Mythic Dawn cult and recover the Amulet's trail.
• Spies, Blood of the Daedra, Bruma Gate, Miscarcand, Allies for Bruma: Collect artifacts for Martin's ritual and rally the counties.
• Defense of Bruma and The Great Gate: Large siege battles.
• Paradise and Light the Dragonfires: Enter Mankar Camoran's realm and finish the story in the Imperial City.

Tips: Allies for Bruma asks you to close gates near several cities; each city you help sends soldiers to the Defense of Bruma. Kvatch's Gate is a difficulty spike early; bring healing potions.

Guilds and Factions

Faction | How to join | Highlights

Fighters Guild | Talk to a guild member in any major city | Straightforward combat contracts

Mages Guild | Join in any city, then earn recommendations from the guild halls in all seven other cities (Anvil, Bravil, Bruma, Cheydinhal, Chorrol, Leyawiin, Skingrad) to enter the Arcane University | Spellmaking, enchanting, great questline

Thieves Guild | Get arrested or follow rumors about the Gray Fox; meet in the Imperial City Waterfront at night | Excellent heist quests

Dark Brotherhood | Commit a murder and sleep; Lucien Lachance visits | Widely considered the best questline

Arena | Imperial City Arena district | Fight up to Grand Champion

Knights of the Nine (DLC) | Visit the Prophet at the Anvil chapel after the chapel is attacked | Crusader's Relics, holy knight gear

DLC Highlights

• Shivering Isles: A large expansion in Sheogorath's realm. A strange door appears on an island in Niben Bay; enter and the story begins. Ends with the fight against Jyggalag. Worth it on any build.
• Knights of the Nine: Recover the Relics of the Crusader. Great armor for warriors and spellswords.
• Frostcrag Spire (Wizard's Tower): A mage home with altars for spellmaking/enchanting, handy if you have not finished the Mages Guild path yet.
• Mehrunes' Razor: A dungeon crawl for a Daedric dagger with an instant-kill chance.
• Deepscorn Hollow, The Vile Lair, The Thieves Den: Themed player homes (the Vile Lair is for Dark Brotherhood players).

Useful Early Loot and Money

• Alchemy: Buy cheap ingredients, make potions, sell them.
• Daedric Shrines give artifacts, but many require a minimum character level; talk to the shrine to see.
• Heist quests in the Thieves Guild pay well.
• Horse: Buy one early from city stables; every horse got a small speed boost (+5 Speed) in the remaster.
• Buy a house: Each city sells one; owned beds let you sleep safely to level up.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Rushing the main quest at very low level and then struggling with the Great Gate.
• Leaving Shivering Isles too late; its rewards scale well and it is great mid-game content.
• Carrying too much loot; sell or store it (containers in owned homes are safe).
• Stealing in front of guards, then losing stolen gear on arrest. Use fences in the Thieves Guild.
• Ignoring Restoration; it is the easiest healing in the game.
• Overlooking the new difficulty sliders if combat feels spongy.

Advanced Tips

• Spellmaking combos: Weakness to Magic followed by an elemental spell multiplies damage; stack weakness spells.
• Chameleon and Paralyze enchantments are extremely strong; Chameleon at very high values makes you effectively invisible.
• Enchanting at the Arcane University uses filled soul gems; Azura's Star (Azura's Daedric quest) is a reusable soul gem.
• Mods: The remaster runs on the original Oblivion engine for logic with Unreal Engine 5 visuals. Mod support is unofficial; read Nexus mod pages carefully and back up saves.
• Performance: Update 1.1 and 1.2 fixed many crashes (e.g. Jyggalag fight, paralysis kills). If you still stutter, lower the lighting/ray-tracing settings or use upscaling.
• Console commands: ToggleHudVisibility and ShowHud were enabled in Update 1.1; the console is available on PC for fixing stuck quests.

FAQ

Is Oblivion Remastered a remake? No. Bethesda and Virtuos kept the original game logic underneath, remade all visuals in Unreal Engine 5, re-recorded some voice lines, and modernized leveling and combat feel.

Does it include Shivering Isles? Yes, along with Knights of the Nine and all other official DLC.

How does leveling work now? All skills give experience (major skills faster), and each level gives 12 Virtue points to spend on up to three attributes (max +5 each); Luck costs 4 points.

What difficulty should I play on? Adept is the baseline. Journeyman (added in Update 1.2) is a good step up for experienced players, and you can raise enemy damage without lowering your own.

Can I change my class after starting? Yes, at the end of the tutorial before leaving the sewers. After that the choice is locked.

Will there be more updates? Update 1.2 (July 2025) is the latest official patch as of September 2026.

Sources

• Steam news: Oblivion Remastered (Updates 1.1 and 1.2)
• UESP: Oblivion Remastered
• UESP: Remastered Changes
• Fextralife Oblivion Remastered Wiki: Leveling