Oblivion Remaster: Hoping for a Smoother Vampire Cure Experience
*The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion* remains a beloved title in the gaming world, lauded for its expansive world, immersive quests, and player freedom. Among its many engaging features is the option to become a vampire, a path filled with both extraordinary powers and crippling weaknesses. However, the quest to rid oneself of this affliction, the infamous Vampire Cure quest, is often remembered not for its intriguing narrative, but for its tedious and frustrating gameplay. As anticipation builds for a potential *Oblivion Remaster*, many are hoping that this notoriously difficult quest receives a much-needed overhaul, offering a smoother and more enjoyable experience for players seeking to reclaim their mortality.
Picture this: You’ve embraced the allure of the night, relishing the enhanced strength and speed of a vampire. You stalk Cyrodiil under the cover of darkness, feeding on unsuspecting victims. But the sun’s growing intolerance, the constant fear of being hunted, and the ever-increasing aggression from villagers begin to wear you down. You decide enough is enough; it’s time to find a cure. But the path to salvation is paved with far more hardship than any novice vampire could anticipate, leaving many players to simply reload an old save or embrace their eternal curse.
The Original Vampire Cure Quest: A Recap of the Pain
Before we delve into potential improvements, let’s revisit the original Vampire Cure quest and dissect what made it such a frustrating endeavor. Understanding the issues is crucial to appreciating the potential for improvement in a remaster.
The Stages of Vampirism in Oblivion
The progression of vampirism in *Oblivion* is divided into four distinct stages. At each stage, your character gains increased strengths, such as enhanced strength, speed, and resistance to normal weapons. However, these benefits come at a steep price: escalating vulnerabilities to sunlight and fire, and a decreasing disposition from NPCs. The higher the stage of vampirism, the more aggressive the world becomes towards you, making it increasingly difficult to interact with townsfolk or even travel without being attacked on sight. This creates a constant balancing act between enjoying your powers and enduring the crippling drawbacks, pushing many players towards seeking a cure.
Finding a Cure: The Quest Begins
The initial steps of the Vampire Cure quest are shrouded in obscurity. Players often stumble upon the quest by overhearing rumors, speaking to specific NPCs in taverns, or seeking out healers in temples. The lack of clear direction from the outset contributes significantly to the frustration. Many players find themselves wandering aimlessly, desperately seeking a lead that will point them toward a solution. There is no specific quest giver in the beginning. The game relies on players to actively seek information, a design choice that can feel punishing in the absence of effective guidance.
Count Hassildor and the Bargain
Eventually, the quest leads to Count Hassildor of Skingrad, a powerful but troubled figure who harbors a dark secret of his own: He too is a vampire. The Count, recognizing your plight, offers to help, but only in exchange for a series of arduous tasks. This marks a turning point in the quest, as you are now presented with a tangible goal and a clear objective. However, the challenges that lie ahead are far from straightforward, requiring considerable patience and perseverance.
Gathering the Ingredients: A Frustrating Scavenger Hunt
The heart of the Vampire Cure quest lies in gathering a collection of rare and obscure ingredients. These include Argonian Bloodgrass, Garlic, two leaves of Nightshade, five ears of Wheat, and the ashes of a powerful vampire. The difficulty lies not only in the rarity of these items, but also in the often-random nature of their locations.
Argonian Bloodgrass, for example, is primarily found in the Blackwood region and around Leyawiin, but its spawn rate is not guaranteed. Garlic is commonly found in homes, but not always in sufficient quantities. The requirement to find specific ingredients scattered across Cyrodiil turns the quest into a tedious scavenger hunt, demanding countless hours of exploration and relentless searching. Furthermore, the need to wait for plants to respawn or for specific NPCs to appear to acquire certain items adds another layer of frustration to the process.
The Grand Soul Gem: Ethical Dilemmas and Challenges
Perhaps the most morally ambiguous and challenging aspect of the Vampire Cure quest is the need for a Grand Soul Gem filled with a Grand Soul. To fill a Grand Soul Gem, a player must trap the soul of a powerful creature or, more controversially, a humanoid. The use of Black Soul Gems, which are specifically designed to trap the souls of humans and elves, introduces a stark ethical dilemma: Should you sacrifice an innocent life to break free from your vampiric curse?
The acquisition of a Grand Soul Gem itself can be challenging, requiring significant investment in magic shops or luck in finding them in dungeons. Moreover, finding a suitable target with a Grand Soul, such as a powerful wizard or a minotaur, poses its own set of difficulties. This stage of the quest forces players to confront the moral implications of their actions, adding a layer of complexity that many find unsettling.
The Cure Itself: A Final Hurdle
Once all the ingredients have been gathered and the Grand Soul Gem is filled, the final step involves performing a ritual at the grave of a vampire hunter. This requires following precise instructions and avoiding any missteps. However, even at this late stage, the quest can be prone to glitches or unexpected complications, adding a final dose of anxiety to an already stressful experience. Upon successful completion of the ritual, the player is finally cured of vampirism, returning to their former self.
Summary of what made the quest frustrating
The combination of vague initial guidance, a tedious scavenger hunt for rare ingredients, the ethical dilemma of soul trapping, and the potential for glitches all contribute to the overall frustration of the Vampire Cure quest. It’s a gauntlet of challenges that tests the patience and resolve of even the most dedicated players.
What the Remaster Needs: Addressing the Problems
Given the enduring popularity of *Oblivion* and the anticipated remaster, it’s crucial to address the shortcomings of the Vampire Cure quest. By implementing thoughtful improvements, the remaster can transform this challenging quest into a more rewarding and enjoyable experience.
Improved Quest Guidance and Clarity
One of the most significant improvements the remaster could offer is clearer quest guidance. This could involve implementing more detailed quest markers, more informative journal entries, and more helpful dialogue from NPCs. A structured quest log with step-by-step instructions would also greatly enhance the player experience. The remaster needs to reduce the amount of aimless wandering and guesswork required to progress through the quest.
Streamlining the Ingredient Gathering
The tedium of gathering rare ingredients can be alleviated by providing more reliable sources. This could involve adding guaranteed spawn locations for key ingredients, introducing merchants who sell the necessary items, or offering alternative methods of acquisition, such as completing side quests in exchange for ingredients. Reducing the number of ingredients required or allowing players to cultivate their own ingredients would also streamline the process.
Ethical Considerations: A More Palatable Solution
The ethical dilemma surrounding soul trapping can be addressed by offering alternative methods for filling the Grand Soul Gem. This could involve trapping the souls of powerful monsters or Daedra, providing a less morally compromising option. Alternatively, the remaster could implement a morality system that affects the cure’s effectiveness based on the method used. Sacrificing an innocent life could result in a less potent cure, while using a non-human soul could yield a more complete and lasting effect.
Difficulty Options
Implementing difficulty settings is crucial. A higher difficulty setting could keep the original spawn rates, while lower difficulties make the ingredients more accessible. This offers the player the freedom to choose how much challenge they want in the ingredient hunt.
Balancing the Stages of Vampirism
Re-evaluating the severity of the penalties associated with higher stages of vampirism is essential. While the weaknesses are an integral part of the vampire experience, they should not be so crippling as to render the game unplayable. Consider adding more benefits to counterbalance the drawbacks, such as increased skill bonuses or unique abilities. The goal is to create a more balanced and engaging vampire experience that encourages players to embrace their powers without being overwhelmed by the negative consequences.
Quality of Life Improvements
Allowing fast travel at any vampire stage is a must-have quality of life improvement. Having the sun affect stats while fast-traveling is fine, but preventing travel adds significant downtime. Furthermore, clearer explanations of powers and weaknesses are necessary. New players are often confused with the mechanics.
Conclusion
The potential *Oblivion Remaster* represents a golden opportunity to refine and enhance one of the game’s most memorable, yet flawed, quests. By addressing the issues of unclear guidance, tedious ingredient gathering, and ethical dilemmas, the remaster can transform the Vampire Cure quest into a more rewarding and engaging experience. The hope is that the remaster will breathe new life into this classic quest, making it a smoother, more enjoyable, and ultimately more satisfying journey for players seeking to escape the clutches of vampirism. Ultimately, the *Oblivion Remaster*, specifically the Vampire Cure quest, should not be remembered as an annoying chore but as a compelling journey through an already fascinating game. What are your expectations for an *Oblivion Remaster* and its approach to vampirism?
