As you exit the prologue sewers in Oblivion Remastered, you’re greeted by a whole lot of nothing. There are ruins across the water, a small abandoned dock down the hill, and behind you, an entire city. But where do you go, what do you do, and why should you care about delivering a necklace of all things? There’s a lot the game doesn’t tell you, and we aim to fix that.
If you’re new to Oblivion, you may not be aware of this somewhat frustrating fact. Enemy level scaling is an age-old issue that folks complained about back in the Xbox 360 days, and yes, it’s still problematic in Oblivion Remastered. Every enemy you face scales alongside you, so they’ll grow in power as you level up. It makes for a challenging RPG, to say the least. Thankfully, this version of the game altered how leveling works slightly, so you can place points into three Attributes each time you gain a rank.
To avoid becoming overwhelmed, don’t opt for an entirely passive playthrough, though. It won’t work well to just avoid fights. Instead, mix and match your skills by, say, choosing Mercantile and Blade. After all, anyone traveling the roads of Cyrodiil could benefit from a hidden knife.
If you’re playing a stealth-focused character, specifically a thief making a living robbing everyone in sight, you’ll soon learn that selling stolen goods proves problematic in Cyrodiil. Every stolen item is marked with a red hand, meaning it’s illicit goods, and no merchant worth their weight in gold will touch said items. You need a fence!
You won’t find a fence out in the wild, not easily. Instead, join the Thieves’ Guild to unlock Ongar the World-Weary, a fence in Bruma, who will buy stolen items. It’s the earliest and easiest fence unlock in the game.
Yes, the entire prologue is the game’s way of introducing you to the overarching story, of the fates and of political intrigue, and Daedric portals wiping clean the land. But once you exit the sewer, it’s quickly forgotten in favor of the expansive open world.
It may be tempting, but don’t ignore the main quest (unless you want to delay when Oblivion gates spawn)!
Follow the main quest and take back Castle Kvatch, in which you’ll pass through an Oblivion Gate and enter the Daedric Realm. Once you complete this task, Oblivion Gates will open across the land, outside of each major city, and where you least expect them to: Out in the wild. They’re easy loot and leveling opportunities, especially if you’re playing a combat-oriented class!
Oblivion Remastered is available now on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Windows PCs, and Game Pass.