In Oblivion Remastered, the Attributes system is a crucial element that shapes your character’s initial stats and ultimately influences their development path. Unlike Skyrim, where versatility might be rewarded, aiming for a jack-of-all-trades approach can be detrimental. Instead, focusing on specific Attributes that align with your character build is the most effective strategy.
This guide will explore the hierarchy of Attributes in Oblivion Remastered, highlighting which ones are essential for various play styles.
Understanding Oblivion Remastered Attributes
Similar to the Fallout series, Oblivion Remastered presents players with eight foundational Attributes to choose from. Understanding what each Attribute does is vital for tailoring a successful character build. These Attributes also significantly influence four key gameplay stats: Fatigue (stamina), Health (overall health pool), Magicka (mana reserves), and Encumbrance (the maximum weight you can carry before being burdened).
Basic Attributes Overview
Here’s a summary of what each Attribute contributes to your character:
- Strength: Increases maximum Fatigue and enhances melee damage, with your Encumbrance being five times your Strength score.
- Intelligence: Boosts your total Magicka, where your base Magicka equals twice your Intelligence, supplemented by racial bonuses and Birthsigns.
- Willpower: Enhances natural Magicka regeneration, although a baseline Magicka recovery exists even without Willpower.
- Agility: Raises both your total Fatigue and the damage output when using bows.
- Speed: Directly affects how fast your character moves, with a cap of about 40% more movement for those maxing Speed compared to others.
- Endurance: Increases base Health and Fatigue, where your starting Health is double your Endurance, augmented by any racial traits.
- Personality: Influences NPC interactions and disposition, affecting prices in trade and persuasion attempts, as well as the frequency of hostility in encounters.
- Luck: Affects the efficacy of nearly all Major and Minor skills through a hidden formula, although it does not impact Acrobatics, Athletics, or Speechcraft.
Optimal Attributes for Your Build
The best Attributes to prioritize will largely depend on your intended character build:
- Melee-focused characters should prioritize Strength and Endurance for both survivability and damage output.
- If you prefer archery, start with Agility, followed by Speed. Consider adding some Endurance to withstand returning fire.
- Mages and spellcasting characters should focus on raising Intelligence and Willpower, with some emphasis on Speed for effective maneuverability.
Considerations for Luck
For characters leaning towards thievery or stealth, a higher Luck stat is beneficial, as it enhances the probability of success in lockpicking, pickpocketing, and even affects betting outcomes in the Arena. Despite its significance, don’t disregard Luck entirely; a lower Luck score can result in decreased spell effectiveness and haggling troubles. Remember: fortune truly favors the lucky.
Attributes You Can Downplay
Mages equipped with Illusion spells (specifically Guile) may find Personality less critical, as this Attribute primarily influences quest interactions and the persuasion mechanic. However, decisions about which Attributes to neglect should still align with your specific character strategy.
It’s also important to evaluate the Speed Attribute; unless your strategy relies on stealth, do not overcommit here. As you progress through the game, movement speeds will naturally improve through skills like Athletics and Acrobatics, making excess investment in Speed less necessary.
Overall, developing a character in Oblivion Remastered is intricately complex. This guide aims to offer a foundation for newcomers to understand and navigate the Attributes system effectively.