Introduction
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, a cornerstone of open-world role-playing games, invites players to explore the vast and vibrant province of Cyrodiil. From battling fearsome creatures to uncovering ancient secrets, the journey through Oblivion is one of constant growth and self-discovery. A critical aspect of this journey is leveling up your character, which allows you to become stronger, unlock new abilities, and access better equipment, ultimately shaping your hero into a force to be reckoned with. However, Oblivion’s leveling system is unique and, at times, controversial. It requires a deeper understanding than simply grinding experience points. This guide aims to provide a comprehensive overview of how to level up effectively and efficiently in Oblivion, ensuring that your character becomes the hero you envision.
Understanding Oblivion’s Progression Mechanics
The core of Oblivion’s character development revolves around the interplay between skills, attributes, and your overall character level. Skills represent your proficiency in various areas, such as combat, magic, and stealth. Attributes, on the other hand, are your character’s fundamental strengths, such as Strength, Intelligence, and Endurance. Your character level is a general indicator of their overall power and is directly tied to the progression of both skills and attributes.
The primary way to level up is by increasing your Major Skills. These are the skills you selected when creating your character (or choosing a pre-made class). Once you’ve increased your Major Skills a total of ten times, you’ll be prompted to sleep, which triggers the leveling up process. It is here that the game deviates from typical RPGs.
Another vital element of the skill system is skill trainers. These non-player characters (NPCs) can increase a skill’s proficiency in exchange for gold.
The Controversial Aspects of Leveling
Oblivion’s leveling system has been the subject of much debate among players. One of the main criticisms is the concept of “efficient leveling,” which refers to the practice of strategically training your Minor Skills to maximize attribute bonuses upon leveling up. The root of this controversy stems from the way attribute bonuses are calculated. When you level up, you receive points to distribute among your attributes. The number of points you receive for each attribute is determined by how much you’ve increased skills governed by that attribute during the previous level.
For example, if you increase Blade, Blunt, and Hand to Hand skills (all governed by Strength) a total of ten times during the course of gaining the ten Major Skill increases needed to level, you’ll receive a +5 bonus to your Strength when you level up. Failure to optimize these attribute bonuses can lead to a character that is significantly weaker than they could be, especially considering that enemies in Oblivion scale with your level. This means that as you level up, enemies become stronger, which can make the game more challenging if your attributes aren’t keeping pace. The efficient leveling paradigm pushes players to micro-manage their skill training, a process that many find tedious and detracts from the immersive experience. The frustration many feel with the leveling system stems from the perception that it prioritizes statistical optimization over natural gameplay, ultimately hindering their enjoyment.
Efficient Leveling Strategies: Maximizing Attribute Bonuses
The key to effective leveling in Oblivion lies in planning and strategy. It starts with carefully considering your character’s build. Think about the type of character you want to play – a powerful warrior, a cunning mage, a stealthy assassin, or something else entirely. Once you have a clear vision, you can choose a class that aligns with your desired playstyle or, alternatively, create a custom class tailored to your specific needs. Your Major Skills should complement your intended playstyle, but crucially, they should *not* be the primary skills you use all the time. This might seem counterintuitive, but it’s essential for efficient leveling.
For example, if you want to play a warrior who relies heavily on the Blade skill, you shouldn’t choose Blade as one of your Major Skills. Instead, choose other skills that are useful but you use less frequently, allowing you to control when you level up. This allows you to train your Minor Skills to boost your attributes. The game’s attributes govern each skill. The goal is to train the Minor skills in a controlled manner so that you can maximize stat gain when it’s time to level up.
A popular and effective strategy is the five-five-five method. This involves aiming for a +5 bonus to three different attributes each time you level up. To achieve this, you need to increase skills governed by each of those attributes five times during the course of gaining those ten major skill increases.
For example, let’s say you want to increase Strength, Intelligence, and Agility. Strength is governed by Blade, Blunt, and Hand to Hand; Intelligence is governed by Alchemy, Conjuration, and Mysticism; Agility is governed by Security, Sneak, and Archery. To get +5 to each attribute, you would need to increase skills in each list by five. It’s best to find skills within these lists that you use less frequently as to not accidentally trigger a level up.
Strength
Focus on training Block, Armorer or Blunt.
Intelligence
Alchemy is great here, as ingredients are readily available and potions can be sold for profit.
Willpower
Train Alteration, Destruction or Restoration.
Agility
Train Security by picking locks (even easy ones), Sneak, or Archery.
Speed
Train Athletics by running everywhere or Acrobatics by jumping.
Endurance
Train Armorer and Heavy Armor.
Personality
Train Speechcraft or Mercantile.
Luck
Luck is unique in that it doesn’t have governing skills. It is always given a +1 bonus.
The efficient leveling style may seem overly complex. For those who prefer a more streamlined approach, min-maxing is an even deeper dive into character optimization. This takes time and requires meticulous planning and tracking.
Fast Leveling Methods: Speeding Up the Process
While efficient leveling focuses on maximizing attribute bonuses, other methods can accelerate the leveling process. However, proceed with caution, as some of these methods can feel like exploits and may detract from the overall game experience.
Alchemy Exploit
Continuously create potions. This rapidly increases your Alchemy skill. The more ingredients you combine, the more experience you gain. Making valuable potions allows you to also level up your Mercantile skill.
Restoration Exploit
Find a relatively inexpensive Restoration spell and cast it repeatedly. The easiest way to do this is to damage yourself and cast a healing spell repeatedly.
Security Exploit
Find a lock (preferably an easy one) and pick it repeatedly. For convenience, find a lock that you can pick repeatedly without being detected.
It is crucial to understand that while these exploits can significantly speed up leveling, they may be considered cheating by some players. Over-reliance on these methods can diminish the sense of accomplishment.
Another way to speed up the process is using skill trainers. Skill trainers can significantly accelerate your skill progression. However, trainers require payment for their services, so managing your gold is important.
Questing can also offer great experience, especially during early game. The Dark Brotherhood and Thieves Guild questlines are particularly rewarding, offering opportunities to level up combat and stealth skills while providing engaging storylines. The Arena questline is also a good source of income and combat skill improvements.
Managing Character Progression and Avoiding Pitfalls
When managing your character, you should choose your Major Skills wisely. Reiterate the importance of *not* choosing your primary skills as Major Skills. Suggest using a mix of combat, magic, and utility skills.
Understand enemy scaling. Enemies in Oblivion become stronger as you level up. You may find the game more difficult to play if you are not strategic about managing your skills and attributes. Leveling up too quickly without improving your character’s stats will create a disadvantage.
Above all else, have fun! Don’t get so caught up in optimizing that you forget to enjoy the game. Experiment with different leveling strategies, explore the vast world, and immerse yourself in the rich lore.
Conclusion
Leveling up effectively in Oblivion requires a blend of strategic planning, skillful execution, and a willingness to adapt. Whether you choose to embrace the challenges of efficient leveling, explore faster leveling methods, or forge your own path, the most important thing is to enjoy the journey. Oblivion is a game that rewards exploration, experimentation, and creativity. By understanding the mechanics of the leveling system and applying the principles outlined in this guide, you can shape your character into the hero (or villain) you’ve always envisioned and master the art of efficient progression in the province of Cyrodiil. Experiment, optimize, and carve your own path through the world of Oblivion!
