Oblivion Guide – Complete Beginner’s Walkthrough, Builds, and Exploration Tips

Welcome to the ultimate Oblivion guide, your gateway into one of the most iconic open-world RPGs ever made: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Whether you're diving in for the first time or returning after years, this walkthrough will help you navigate Cyrodiil's sprawling wilderness, optimize your builds, and uncover secrets hidden in ancient ruins.

🛡️ 1. Character Creation & Class Guide

Your choices at the start of the game—race, birthsign, and class—dramatically affect your playstyle.

• Best races:
  • Breton: Excellent for mage builds (50% magic resistance).
  • Argonian: Great for stealth and water-based exploration.
  • Orc: Ideal for melee tank builds.
• Custom class tip: Create your own class to focus on your preferred skills, such as Sneak, Destruction, or Heavy Armor.

⚔️ 2. Combat & Magic Mechanics

Oblivion blends melee, ranged, and magic in real-time combat.

• Melee tips: Block with shields, time your attacks to stagger enemies.
• Magic tips: Use destruction spells early and enchant gear later.
• Stealth: A stealth archer can dominate with sneak multipliers and poisons.

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🗺️ 3. Main Quest & Side Quest Highlights

• Main Quest: Focuses on stopping the Oblivion gates and restoring the Septim line.
• Recommended Side Quests:
  • The Dark Brotherhood – deeply immersive assassin storyline.
  • Thieves Guild – master stealth and unlock fences.
  • Knights of the Nine (DLC) – a holy crusade for legendary armor.
  • Shivering Isles (DLC) – a surreal, madness-filled journey into Sheogorath's realm.

🧭 4. Exploration & Secrets of Cyrodiil

Cyrodiil is vast, with countless dungeons, Ayleid ruins, and hidden items.

• Hidden locations: Explore Ayleid Wells for magicka boosts.
• Oblivion Gates: Close them to prevent daedra invasions and gain sigil stones.
• Best loot: Look for Umbra (powerful sword) in Vindasel early in the game.

💰 5. Economy, Crafting & Enchanting

• Gold tips: Loot caves, sell alchemy ingredients, and fence stolen goods.
• Alchemy: Create restore health/magicka potions early on.
• Enchanting: Use Sigil Stones for passive buffs on armor and weapons.

🏆 6. Tips for Console Commands and Mods

• Use the tilde (~) key to open the console on PC.
• Useful commands:
  • tgm (God Mode)
  • player.additem for adding gold or weapons
• Best mods (via Nexus Mods):
  • Oblivion Graphics Extender
  • Unofficial Oblivion Patch
  • Oscuro’s Oblivion Overhaul

🎯 Conclusion: Mastering Oblivion

With this guide, you now have the essentials to become a master of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. From crafting your perfect build to uncovering Daedric shrines and closing Oblivion gates, Cyrodiil is full of surprises.