Oblivion Remastered Stats Explained: Your Comprehensive Guide to Mastering Character Builds
The Building Blocks: Unveiling Primary Attributes
At the heart of your character lies a foundation of fundamental attributes. These attributes, the primary building blocks of your digital persona, are the pillars upon which your journey is built. They determine your raw capabilities, influencing everything from how much you can carry to your proficiency in wielding powerful magic. Choosing these at the start is a serious decision that will impact every interaction you have with the game.
These attributes define your character’s innate capabilities. They shape your strengths and weaknesses and determine your aptitude in various skills. It’s a strategic choice.
These are the primary attributes you need to understand to conquer the world of Oblivion:
Strength: The Power of Brawn
Strength is a measure of your physical prowess, directly influencing your capacity to carry items and the damage you inflict in melee combat. A higher strength attribute grants you the ability to haul more equipment without being encumbered, a vital advantage for adventurers who enjoy looting treasure and gathering resources. In combat, Strength amplifies the impact of your physical attacks. Those who prefer to smash their way through enemies will find that upping Strength increases the damage dealt when wielding swords, axes, blunt weapons, and even fists.
The skills directly connected to Strength are your martial competencies: Blade, Blunt, and Hand to Hand. Increasing these skills further refines and boosts the effectiveness of your weapons in combat, and so, those looking to play characters centered around physical combat should definitely consider maximizing Strength from the start.
Intelligence: The Arcane Spark
Intelligence represents your mental acuity and capacity for knowledge. This is linked to the amount of Magicka you possess, the essential energy source for casting spells. The higher your Intelligence, the larger your Magicka pool, allowing you to cast more spells before needing to rest and recharge. Intelligence also influences the rate at which you acquire new skills, especially those associated with magic.
Intelligence is linked with the following skills: Alchemy, Conjuration, Mysticism, Restoration, Illusion, and Alteration. These skills are the backbone of any spellcasting build, so raising Intelligence can provide an immediate advantage.
Willpower: The Resilience of the Soul
Willpower embodies your character’s inner fortitude, the resistance to outside influence and ability to persevere. It has several effects: it governs the rate at which your Fatigue regenerates, allowing you to engage in continuous combat or exploration. Willpower plays a key role in resisting magical attacks, strengthening your defense against harmful spells and enchantments.
Willpower is primarily linked to your magical skills, but also to physical abilities. It is linked to Alteration, Destruction, and Restoration.
Agility: The Grace of Movement
Agility reflects your character’s coordination, balance, and dexterity. The benefits of agility are found across the board, from combat to social situations. It affects your ability to land ranged attacks accurately, impacting damage output from bows and crossbows. It also enhances your dodging capabilities, enabling you to evade attacks and lessen incoming damage.
Agility is critical for a wide array of combat skills: Marksman, Security, Sneak, and Acrobatics.
Speed: The Flow of Action
Speed is a measure of your physical swiftness and overall pace. This attribute affects your movement speed on foot, both during exploration and combat. It influences how quickly you can execute actions, like drawing a weapon or casting a spell.
Speed is associated with two skills: Athletics and Light Armor. If you want to traverse the landscape more rapidly, you should definitely spend time focusing on these skills.
Endurance: The Stamina of the Fighter
Endurance defines your character’s stamina and vitality. This attribute directly impacts both your health and your overall fatigue. A higher Endurance stat grants you more health points, allowing you to withstand a greater amount of damage before falling. A higher Endurance value increases fatigue, which, in turn, lets you perform more physical actions before you run out of stamina.
Skills associated with Endurance are: Armorer, Block, and Heavy Armor. Endurance is a key stat for characters built for defense and physical prowess.
Personality: The Art of Persuasion
Personality reflects your character’s social graces, charm, and influence. This attribute impacts your ability to interact with non-player characters (NPCs). Higher Personality grants a better chance of convincing individuals, making your dialogue and transactions easier. It directly affects the disposition of NPCs, increasing your success rates in Speechcraft.
Personality is primarily linked to one skill: Speechcraft.
Skills: The Arsenal of Ability
While attributes set the stage, skills define your actual abilities. These are your character’s learned talents, honed through practice and experience. They govern your effectiveness in combat, your mastery of magic, and your proficiency in various other fields.
Skills determine your character’s aptitude in specific areas, giving you practical advantages in the game. Skills are developed through practice and use, and become more effective as your skill level increases.
Blade
Description: Governs your proficiency with swords, daggers, and other bladed weapons.
Gameplay Impact: Higher skill results in increased damage output with bladed weapons.
Associated Attribute: Strength.
Examples of Usage: A high Blade skill allows you to cleave through opponents, allowing for more damage.
Blunt
Description: Governs your ability with blunt weapons like maces and warhammers.
Gameplay Impact: Higher skill leads to greater damage with blunt instruments.
Associated Attribute: Strength.
Examples of Usage: Crush through the defense of your enemies with greater efficiency.
Hand to Hand
Description: The skill for fisticuffs.
Gameplay Impact: Increases damage inflicted through unarmed combat.
Associated Attribute: Strength.
Examples of Usage: If you want to punch things, this skill is the one you need.
Marksman
Description: The ability to use bows and crossbows.
Gameplay Impact: Increased damage output and accuracy with ranged weapons.
Associated Attribute: Agility.
Examples of Usage: Aim from afar and strike your foes with accurate arrows.
Block
Description: The art of defending against attacks.
Gameplay Impact: Minimizes the damage taken when blocking and reduces the cost of blocking.
Associated Attribute: Endurance.
Examples of Usage: This is essential for a defensive playstyle.
Armorer
Description: The ability to repair weapons and armor.
Gameplay Impact: Keeps your equipment in tip-top shape.
Associated Attribute: Endurance.
Examples of Usage: This skill helps you to maintain your armor.
Heavy Armor
Description: The skill of wearing heavier armors.
Gameplay Impact: Provides better protection from physical damage.
Associated Attribute: Endurance.
Examples of Usage: Wear the strongest armor in the game with this skill.
Light Armor
Description: The skill of wearing lighter armor.
Gameplay Impact: Offers decent protection while allowing for greater agility.
Associated Attribute: Speed.
Examples of Usage: Perfect for sneaky and agile characters.
Sneak
Description: The art of avoiding detection.
Gameplay Impact: Reduces the likelihood of being detected and enhances your ability to deal sneak attacks.
Associated Attribute: Agility.
Examples of Usage: Useful for characters with a stealth playstyle.
Security
Description: The skill of picking locks.
Gameplay Impact: Enables you to open locks and disable traps.
Associated Attribute: Agility.
Examples of Usage: Open locked doors and treasure chests.
Acrobatics
Description: Your ability to run and jump.
Gameplay Impact: Reduces fall damage, increases running speed.
Associated Attribute: Agility.
Examples of Usage: Allows you to traverse terrain with greater ease.
Athletics
Description: Stamina and physical endurance.
Gameplay Impact: Increases stamina and running speed.
Associated Attribute: Speed.
Examples of Usage: Allows you to run for extended periods.
Speechcraft
Description: The art of persuasion and communication.
Gameplay Impact: Improves your chances of success in conversations and trading.
Associated Attribute: Personality.
Examples of Usage: Increase the chance to persuade NPCs.
Alchemy
Description: The art of creating potions and poisons.
Gameplay Impact: Allows you to craft potions that can enhance your stats or provide different effects.
Associated Attribute: Intelligence.
Examples of Usage: Create health potions or poisons to defeat enemies.
Conjuration
Description: The ability to summon creatures and weapons.
Gameplay Impact: Allows you to summon creatures to fight by your side.
Associated Attribute: Intelligence.
Examples of Usage: Summon daedra, weapons, and armor.
Mysticism
Description: The art of absorbing or creating magic.
Gameplay Impact: Allows you to cast different magical effects.
Associated Attribute: Intelligence.
Examples of Usage: Use magic like Detect Life or Soul Trap.
Destruction
Description: The art of casting offensive spells.
Gameplay Impact: Allows you to deal damage with a variety of spells.
Associated Attribute: Intelligence.
Examples of Usage: Hurl fireballs and lightning.
Restoration
Description: The art of healing and preventing damage.
Gameplay Impact: Use healing spells to restore health.
Associated Attribute: Intelligence.
Examples of Usage: Heal yourself or your allies.
Alteration
Description: The art of casting spells that alter the environment.
Gameplay Impact: Provides utility and support spells.
Associated Attribute: Intelligence.
Examples of Usage: Cast Levitate, or protect yourself with a shield.
Illusion
Description: The art of creating illusions and manipulating the mind.
Gameplay Impact: Can fool and confuse enemies.
Associated Attribute: Intelligence.
Examples of Usage: Make yourself invisible, or fear your opponents.
Other Important Stats
Beyond attributes and skills, several other stats play a vital role in your gameplay experience. Understanding these stats is essential for maximizing your character’s potential and achieving success in combat and exploration.
Health: This represents your vitality and ability to withstand damage. The higher your health, the longer you can survive in combat. Your health is primarily determined by your Endurance and skill levels.
Magicka: This is the essential resource required to cast spells. Magicka is primarily determined by your Intelligence attribute and can be increased with various potions and enchantments.
Fatigue: This represents your physical stamina and how long you can perform activities, like running and attacking. It is affected by your Endurance, and decreases when you perform strenuous actions.
Carry Weight: This determines how much you can carry. It is determined by your Strength attribute and influences your movement speed and ability to explore.
Resistances: The damage-mitigating properties of armor. You can improve your resistances to better withstand damage.
Character Builds and Strategic Decisions
The beauty of Oblivion lies in its flexibility. There’s no one “best” way to play. Instead, the game allows you to create a character that suits your playstyle. This is how you choose your path.
Example Build Types:
Warrior: Prioritize Strength and Endurance, focusing on melee combat skills like Blade, Blunt, Block, and Heavy Armor.
Mage: Maximize Intelligence and Willpower, focusing on spellcasting skills such as Destruction, Conjuration, and Mysticism.
Thief: Invest heavily in Agility and Speed, focusing on Sneak, Security, Marksman, and Light Armor.
Hybrid: Blend elements from multiple archetypes, such as a Battlemage who combines swordplay with spellcasting.
Leveling and Optimization
Character progression is a fundamental aspect of the game. Leveling is a process. Mastering this process is key to building a powerful character.
Choosing Your Path
Selecting a major skill determines which attributes you are going to focus on. The more you use those skills, the more you will level up and grow.
Strategy is Key
Choosing the right skills for your character.
Birth Signs
These can affect your character’s stats right away.
Conclusion
You now have a solid foundation for understanding the intricate character stats system of Oblivion. You have the tools to create a character perfectly tailored to your playstyle. Experiment, explore, and immerse yourself in the vast world of Oblivion. The secrets of Cyrodiil await those who take the time to learn the ins and outs of their characters. There are limitless combinations to explore in *Oblivion Remastered*, so experiment!
