Help ?

[joe05]

Seems, even the wolves are tough for me

For those who don't know me; I have poor manual dexterity.
Now, I'm using a tracball. So, my precision is now my biggest headache.

I decided to try a Destruction/Conjuration - MAGE.
Use my Destruction spells at range and my "summon" as a meat shield.

Then we bought the Daedra Spider and went to Hackdirt ... spider was killed quickly
Got my refund

Hit a few caves. Regular "iron bow" archers take my health far too low ?

Something is different. When compared to ES3 MORROWIND.

Do you have suggestions as to this build.
Do I start over.

All this started when I leveled up.

[dragon wench]

The problem is called "level scaling." In Oblivion everything levels up when you do.

Since you are playing on PC, however, all is not lost. There are various mods that address the issue:

[url="http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=oblivionmods.Detail&id=268"]Francesco's Levelled Creatures and Items[/url]

[url="http://www.oscurogamedesign.com/down-game-ooo-high.html"]Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul[/url] (note do not use OOO with Fran's)

[url="http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/search.php"]Numerous levelling mods[/url]. Of these my personal favourite is [url="http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=13879"]Realistic Levelling[/url] which I'm running with OOO. However, be aware that Realistic Levelling requires both the Oblivion Mod Manager (OBMM) and the Oblivion Script Extender. (OBSE)

[Ragin Cajun]

I ran into similar problems when I started Joe. My issues turned out to be with the leveled scaling of mobs. I was leveling too fast without being able to get the max +5 bumps in the right categories at each level. Level 8 or so and I was still doing Level 1 or 2 damage...but the monsters were not.

I had to start over and rework my build. Oblivion builds are totally counter intuitive. Let me find the thread I started and I'll come back and link it here.

http://www.gamebanshee.com/forums/the-e ... 17161.html

Some good info from the community in there that helped me out.

[galraen]

Level scaling is a major problem with this game, the easy soltuion is to avoid levelling if it's a problem for you. The real path to power in the game are skills not levels, boost your skills and limit your level ups. The best way to do this is by putting the skills you are likely to use least as majors.

Sorry to be picky DW, but Francescos and OOO don't address the levelling problem in Oblivion, they simply overwrite Bethesdas levelling with their own, and sometimes badly; especially OOO.

[dragon wench]

Sorry to be picky DW, but Francescos and OOO don't address the levelling problem in Oblivion, they simply overwrite Bethesdas levelling with their own, and sometimes badly; especially OOO.

Details and the nitty gritty of game mechanics aren't something I'm great at, and I'd be the first to admit this is the case
That being said, though, I've found that when I've had Fran's installed the levelling system has been *much* less annoying, and I haven't needed to poison my blade every time I've encountered an enemy. Equally, my current setup of OOO and Realistic Levelling works very well for me. With OOO, enemies don't level up at all, rather they have set levels which is reminiscent of Morrowind, BG2 etc. Or, at least, that's my understanding anyway.
I hate playing counter-intuitively, so I'd rather use mods to deal with the issue, and generally I find the afore-mentioned strategies solve my problems.

[url="http://theelderscrolls.info/?go=4zscalingcomparison"]This page[/url] compares the various overhaul mods, and [url="http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=913430"]here[/url] is a thread debating the relative merits of Frans and OOO.
If Joe goes with either, I suspect Frans would be the better bet, just because OOO can make things tough early on. I found OOO to be the better of the two, but that's just personal preference and I don't have difficulties with manual dexterity.

[galraen]

With OOO, enemies don't level up at all

Qué?

You obviously have a different version from me, that certainly hasn't been my experience.

Fran's is, IMO, the better of the two by far, it does as you say take some of the sting out, but it still leaves a lot of it behind.

[dragon wench]

Qué?

You obviously have a different version from me, that certainly hasn't been my experience.

Fran's is, IMO, the better of the two by far, it does as you say take some of the sting out, but it still leaves a lot of it behind.

Hmm.... It's something I've generally read and experienced, but I may be wrong. I have the most recent version which, I believe, has been tweaked by others since Oscuro has retired from the Oblivion modding scene.

I don't know, maybe the Realistic Levelling mod I'm using helps as well? Whatever the reason, I've largely enjoyed OOO, like I said, different tastes
I suppose I should test this out some more too, but as usually happens I ended up going back to other games, so my character is in limbo somewhere.

[joe05]

Galraen - nice to hear from you
DW/RC - thanks for the help.

I was going to "mod". But, I forgot the extraction process.
It's been a long time since I touched a computer

I couldn't find the meshes/textures folder in WIN 7.
Considering I don't have much help here, I was afraid I might mess it up and corrupt the game. The CNA's are not careful/patient with my stuff.

Ill have to go back to the MORROWIND forum and read up on modding. Plus search WIN 7 to find the folders.

Nice talking to you.
Glad to be "playing" again.

[Dowaco]

Mage characters can be powerful in the mid and end game but are relatively weak in the beginning. Make sure you have a good shield spell (alteration) and train your restoration.

If hitting the target is difficult, you might try using destruction spells that affect an area instead of "on target" type spells.
Like 5 fire damage in 15 feet for 2 sec. That way, just hitting close to the target will still have an effect and will affect multiple enemies at once.

Even a mage should carry a weapon. I find a short sword or dagger balances weight with killing power. If it is enchanted, all the better.

Use potions both to poison your weapon and to strengthen your character before a fight. Stock up on Fortify health, Fortify magicka, shield and restore health potions every chance you get. Learn what ingredients you need and gather them all the time.

When you level up, pick endurance even if it is not the highest improvement.

You still need to train up your blade (or blunt), block and either light or heavy armor to get the most benefit from leveling up. Level your minor skills as much as possible before leveling your major skills. That way you will get stronger while keeping enemies at lower levels.
A good way to do that is practice fighting one of your weaker summoned critters. The first three whacks are free. You can improve conjuration as well as hand to hand, blade, blunt, block, l or h armor in relative safety.

Hope that helps.

[joe05]

Dowaco ... thank you
I'm still working on the modding. Unable to open and transfer. When I fix the leveling up problem, I'll try your "build".
Thanks for your post.

[dragon wench]

Joe,
what do you mean by "open and transfer" ?
If you are having trouble opening up the mod's packaging, I suggest [url="http://www.windows7download.com/win7-zipgenius/mxjerplu.html"]Zip Genius[/url]. It's excellent, I've used it for years:

Free
Works with almost *any* compression format
No malware

[joe05]

DW - I can't find the meshes/textures folder in WIN 7.

Then I need to learn how to open the mod ... transfer to/from my "desktop" folder to the game folder.

Sorry if I'm confusing you.
Been about 2yrs since I touched a computer.

Joe

[dragon wench]

Joe,
I'm still running XP Pro.. so I can't help you at all there.
Maybe check the official forums? I've generally found the people there to be quite helpful.

[Cionaoith]

Windows 7 directory might depend on which version you have, but for 64-bit, the Meshes and Textures folders will be found in the Data folder at C:\Program Files (x86)\Bethesda Softworks\Oblivion\Data

Every mod I've downloaded that has textures or meshes is set up in a way that all you need to do is unzip the file to the Data folder, so if the folders do not already exist, they will be created when you unzip (you might get a message asking if you want to create the folders; click "Yes"). If the folders do exist, you might get a message asking if you want to merge the folders; click "Yes".

[joe05]

Read the mod tutorial.
For some reason, I'm not able to open the esp files.
No knife icon.

I'll have to try another game.