I absolutely hate playing games on the "easy" setting, but I think that's what I'm about to be forced to do with Oblivion.
Somehow I managed the whole of Morrowind without any difficulty. I played as a thief, a mage, an archer - none of which were problems. But now I'm finding Oblivion near impossible. I'm just a pure mage, and all my main skills are level 50ish. (Can't remember my character level, but it's about 14.) Anyway, all enemies I encounter can kill me in about two hits. The only way for me to destroy anything is to run in circles around it whilst I hit it with a fireball, and then wait for my magicka to recharge. Is there something I'm not getting here? -_-
Why am I finding it so difficult?
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LiftedNevermore
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Using the search function would lead you to find many threads dealing with the same issue 
Its one of the most fundamental design flaws (in some respects) in Oblivion. Without going into detail, you can either fiddle with the difficulty slider as you go along or find a mod which attempts to solve the problem. Check out the mod links topic that is stickied or hunt around yourself
Good luck.
Its one of the most fundamental design flaws (in some respects) in Oblivion. Without going into detail, you can either fiddle with the difficulty slider as you go along or find a mod which attempts to solve the problem. Check out the mod links topic that is stickied or hunt around yourself Good luck.
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yrthwyndandfyre
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[QUOTE=LiftedNevermore]I absolutely hate playing games on the "easy" setting, but I think that's what I'm about to be forced to do with Oblivion.
Somehow I managed the whole of Morrowind without any difficulty. I played as a thief, a mage, an archer - none of which were problems. But now I'm finding Oblivion near impossible. I'm just a pure mage, and all my main skills are level 50ish. (Can't remember my character level, but it's about 14.) Anyway, all enemies I encounter can kill me in about two hits. The only way for me to destroy anything is to run in circles around it whilst I hit it with a fireball, and then wait for my magicka to recharge. Is there something I'm not getting here? -_-[/QUOTE]
Are you trying to play it like it was Morrowind? Don't do that. Play it like it was Oblivion. After Morrowind, I played almost a year and a half as a vampire in VTMB, and thus far I've found Oblivion to be a laugher. I run every guild and have finished the main quest at level 16. By level 14, I had finished the main quest.
Discard your preconceptions, and play the game on its own merits. This lesson I learned in VTMB: Forget about Morrowind, or Deus Ex, or the rest. In this game you are a Vampire. Be the Vampire. That is the essence of an RPG. Don't try to force the game to play the way you want it to play. Play the game the way the character would play it. Assume the role you have chosen.
Do you think a Mage would charge into battle like he was packing a BFG-2000? No. A Mage has no armor but spells. A Mage has no weapons but spells. Unless a Mage knows they are up against an immensely inferior opponent, they're not going to get into a fist-fight, or any kind of combat where the situation changes from moment to moment. Casting a spell takes time. A Mage would cast their protection spells in advance. A Mage would cast their offensive spells from concealment or at least a safe distance. A Mage would make sure they didn't get into a melee (that is the province of a BattleMage). A Mage would attack with a PLAN. A Mage would learn to sneak.
Somehow I managed the whole of Morrowind without any difficulty. I played as a thief, a mage, an archer - none of which were problems. But now I'm finding Oblivion near impossible. I'm just a pure mage, and all my main skills are level 50ish. (Can't remember my character level, but it's about 14.) Anyway, all enemies I encounter can kill me in about two hits. The only way for me to destroy anything is to run in circles around it whilst I hit it with a fireball, and then wait for my magicka to recharge. Is there something I'm not getting here? -_-[/QUOTE]
Are you trying to play it like it was Morrowind? Don't do that. Play it like it was Oblivion. After Morrowind, I played almost a year and a half as a vampire in VTMB, and thus far I've found Oblivion to be a laugher. I run every guild and have finished the main quest at level 16. By level 14, I had finished the main quest.
Discard your preconceptions, and play the game on its own merits. This lesson I learned in VTMB: Forget about Morrowind, or Deus Ex, or the rest. In this game you are a Vampire. Be the Vampire. That is the essence of an RPG. Don't try to force the game to play the way you want it to play. Play the game the way the character would play it. Assume the role you have chosen.
Do you think a Mage would charge into battle like he was packing a BFG-2000? No. A Mage has no armor but spells. A Mage has no weapons but spells. Unless a Mage knows they are up against an immensely inferior opponent, they're not going to get into a fist-fight, or any kind of combat where the situation changes from moment to moment. Casting a spell takes time. A Mage would cast their protection spells in advance. A Mage would cast their offensive spells from concealment or at least a safe distance. A Mage would make sure they didn't get into a melee (that is the province of a BattleMage). A Mage would attack with a PLAN. A Mage would learn to sneak.
Sic gorgiamos allos subjectatos nunc
(The Addams family motto: Gladly we feast on those who would subdue us)
Do not meddle in the affairs of Dragons, for you are crunchy, and good with Ketchup.
(The Addams family motto: Gladly we feast on those who would subdue us)
Do not meddle in the affairs of Dragons, for you are crunchy, and good with Ketchup.
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UncleScratchy
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[QUOTE=yrthwyndandfyre]Are you trying to play it like it was Morrowind? Don't do that. Play it like it was Oblivion...
Discard your preconceptions, and play the game on its own merits...
Don't try to force the game to play the way you want it to play. Play the game the way the character would play it. Assume the role you have chosen.
[/QUOTE]
Well said. I found in MW that it didn't matter what you picked out for a new char it all pretty much equalled out before long and your char was good at everything. Unlimited training, levitation, etc kind of spoiled the whole game once you knew the ropes. Only the first few levels of the game had that edge to them where you entered every battle wondering if you would survive it. Once you got beyound that point it was a cake walk.
Obliv is different. You are actually forced to play within the character choices you made. I chose a Khajiit acrobat and as such I was forced to become a thief/assassin relying on sneak attacks, speed (for outrunning opponents I couldn't handle), marksman, speechcraft, lockpicking, alchemy (for poisoning weapons) and acrobatics (for safe vantage points) to win my early battles. At level 14 I was easily dispatched buy a wolf or bear but could kill a vampire with a bow in the dark from repeated sneak attacks.
My magecraft has never amounted to much of anything except for casting restoration spells for healing and buffs and some mysticism and illusion skills for invisibilty, soul trapping, etc. - and that works for me. My destruction skills are good for dispatching rats and mudcrabs and thats about it. When I unwittingly became a vampire early in the game I played as a vampire for about 20 levels and used the perks to become a Dark Brotherhood assassin.
The whole Khajiit/acrobat/vampire thing forced me to not do the mage and fighters guild quests for the longest time - I had to play "in character" to survive and win. Thats what I like about this game over MW - you have to roleplay. Now my char is maxed out on level ups and I can let bears and wolves maul and chew on me so I can get my armor ratings up. I just killed the Grey Prince in the Arena with a single arrow (heavily poisoned of couse) bbecause that was one of my char's strong points.
So my advice for LiftedNevermore would be the same. Get into character, "be the mage" and enjoy.
Discard your preconceptions, and play the game on its own merits...
Don't try to force the game to play the way you want it to play. Play the game the way the character would play it. Assume the role you have chosen.
[/QUOTE]
Well said. I found in MW that it didn't matter what you picked out for a new char it all pretty much equalled out before long and your char was good at everything. Unlimited training, levitation, etc kind of spoiled the whole game once you knew the ropes. Only the first few levels of the game had that edge to them where you entered every battle wondering if you would survive it. Once you got beyound that point it was a cake walk.
Obliv is different. You are actually forced to play within the character choices you made. I chose a Khajiit acrobat and as such I was forced to become a thief/assassin relying on sneak attacks, speed (for outrunning opponents I couldn't handle), marksman, speechcraft, lockpicking, alchemy (for poisoning weapons) and acrobatics (for safe vantage points) to win my early battles. At level 14 I was easily dispatched buy a wolf or bear but could kill a vampire with a bow in the dark from repeated sneak attacks.
My magecraft has never amounted to much of anything except for casting restoration spells for healing and buffs and some mysticism and illusion skills for invisibilty, soul trapping, etc. - and that works for me. My destruction skills are good for dispatching rats and mudcrabs and thats about it. When I unwittingly became a vampire early in the game I played as a vampire for about 20 levels and used the perks to become a Dark Brotherhood assassin.
The whole Khajiit/acrobat/vampire thing forced me to not do the mage and fighters guild quests for the longest time - I had to play "in character" to survive and win. Thats what I like about this game over MW - you have to roleplay. Now my char is maxed out on level ups and I can let bears and wolves maul and chew on me so I can get my armor ratings up. I just killed the Grey Prince in the Arena with a single arrow (heavily poisoned of couse) bbecause that was one of my char's strong points.
So my advice for LiftedNevermore would be the same. Get into character, "be the mage" and enjoy.
"The Khajiit mind is not engineered for self-reflection. We simply do what we do and let the world be damned." Quote from the Ahziirr Traajijazeri
"Fusozay Var Var"
"Fusozay Var Var"
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yrthwyndandfyre
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[QUOTE=UncleScratchy]The whole Khajiit/acrobat/vampire thing forced me to not do the mage and fighters guild quests for the longest time - I had to play "in character" to survive and win. Thats what I like about this game over MW - you have to roleplay. Now my char is maxed out on level ups and I can let bears and wolves maul and chew on me so I can get my armor ratings up. I just killed the Grey Prince in the Arena with a single arrow (heavily poisoned of couse) because that was one of my char's strong points.
[/QUOTE]
Precisely so. Left to myself, I tend to go the mage route (in VTMB I'm always Tremere), but this time, I chose a Wood Elf Acrobat (not knowing the implications of that). It didn't take very long to learn that Wood Elf Acrobats do much better as thieves and assassins than mages. My blade skill is less than 10. My sneak is 110. It's the sneak that gets ya. My alchemy (to my eternal chagrin) is still less than 25, though I'm trying to jack that up. It all works, though, as long as I play myself into my PCs strength. That means that some talents I would rather have high (like magic skills) are slow in coming.
[/QUOTE]
Precisely so. Left to myself, I tend to go the mage route (in VTMB I'm always Tremere), but this time, I chose a Wood Elf Acrobat (not knowing the implications of that). It didn't take very long to learn that Wood Elf Acrobats do much better as thieves and assassins than mages. My blade skill is less than 10. My sneak is 110. It's the sneak that gets ya. My alchemy (to my eternal chagrin) is still less than 25, though I'm trying to jack that up. It all works, though, as long as I play myself into my PCs strength. That means that some talents I would rather have high (like magic skills) are slow in coming.
Sic gorgiamos allos subjectatos nunc
(The Addams family motto: Gladly we feast on those who would subdue us)
Do not meddle in the affairs of Dragons, for you are crunchy, and good with Ketchup.
(The Addams family motto: Gladly we feast on those who would subdue us)
Do not meddle in the affairs of Dragons, for you are crunchy, and good with Ketchup.
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Fljotsdale
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[QUOTE=LiftedNevermore]I absolutely hate playing games on the "easy" setting, but I think that's what I'm about to be forced to do with Oblivion.
Somehow I managed the whole of Morrowind without any difficulty. I played as a thief, a mage, an archer - none of which were problems. But now I'm finding Oblivion near impossible. I'm just a pure mage, and all my main skills are level 50ish. (Can't remember my character level, but it's about 14.) Anyway, all enemies I encounter can kill me in about two hits. The only way for me to destroy anything is to run in circles around it whilst I hit it with a fireball, and then wait for my magicka to recharge. Is there something I'm not getting here? -_-[/QUOTE]
I think we have probably all started off finding the game 'too difficult' by the time we reached level 5! But you get the hang of it after a bit, and you no longer have real problems at the default setting. Even so, you don't need to go all the way down to EASY to get the benefit of a reduced Difficulty level. The Difficulty slider is centred above a vertical row of 'OFF', right above the first 'F'. Place the slider above the 'O', and you should be fine.
A pure Mage is arguably the hardest to play, because you are probably only using spells in your Major Skills. And even the best Mage will benefit from some armour and a weapon skill.
If you have Conjuration (I'm sure you do), make sure to buy some Conjuration spells for Bound items of armour, if you don't want to use regular Light Armour; and a Bound Weapon spell will be handy as well, in case you run out of Mana.
Also - practice SNEAKING: if you get in a hit before an enemy sees you, you stand a good chance of killing it with one strike, so it never gets the opportunity to attack you. It is an excellent skill for a Mage. You don't need it as a major skill, either. If you use it a lot it will build up quickly to Apprentice level, where it starts to be really useful.
A regular weapon - like your Mage's Staff - can be poisoned with Alchemical poisons, which will also be beneficial. Burden is a great poison, as is Damage Fatigue and Damage Health. Get all 3 effects into one potion, poison your weapon, and you're laughing.
Somehow I managed the whole of Morrowind without any difficulty. I played as a thief, a mage, an archer - none of which were problems. But now I'm finding Oblivion near impossible. I'm just a pure mage, and all my main skills are level 50ish. (Can't remember my character level, but it's about 14.) Anyway, all enemies I encounter can kill me in about two hits. The only way for me to destroy anything is to run in circles around it whilst I hit it with a fireball, and then wait for my magicka to recharge. Is there something I'm not getting here? -_-[/QUOTE]
I think we have probably all started off finding the game 'too difficult' by the time we reached level 5! But you get the hang of it after a bit, and you no longer have real problems at the default setting. Even so, you don't need to go all the way down to EASY to get the benefit of a reduced Difficulty level. The Difficulty slider is centred above a vertical row of 'OFF', right above the first 'F'. Place the slider above the 'O', and you should be fine.
A pure Mage is arguably the hardest to play, because you are probably only using spells in your Major Skills. And even the best Mage will benefit from some armour and a weapon skill.
If you have Conjuration (I'm sure you do), make sure to buy some Conjuration spells for Bound items of armour, if you don't want to use regular Light Armour; and a Bound Weapon spell will be handy as well, in case you run out of Mana.
Also - practice SNEAKING: if you get in a hit before an enemy sees you, you stand a good chance of killing it with one strike, so it never gets the opportunity to attack you. It is an excellent skill for a Mage. You don't need it as a major skill, either. If you use it a lot it will build up quickly to Apprentice level, where it starts to be really useful.
A regular weapon - like your Mage's Staff - can be poisoned with Alchemical poisons, which will also be beneficial. Burden is a great poison, as is Damage Fatigue and Damage Health. Get all 3 effects into one potion, poison your weapon, and you're laughing.
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time for a change
"Dogs come when they're called. Cats take a message and get back to you."
time for a change
"Dogs come when they're called. Cats take a message and get back to you."
Depends on the character
Just finished the game as a pure warrior character. After level 10 I had to push the difficulty slider to the max to make battles interesting. As a warrior you basically have one option: charge.
The next time I play the game, i will probably opt for a pure mage or some kind of stealth character. Simply because its more entertaining and the strategies, out of bare necessity, are numerous compared to the sword fight approach.
Jan, Norway
Just finished the game as a pure warrior character. After level 10 I had to push the difficulty slider to the max to make battles interesting. As a warrior you basically have one option: charge.
The next time I play the game, i will probably opt for a pure mage or some kind of stealth character. Simply because its more entertaining and the strategies, out of bare necessity, are numerous compared to the sword fight approach.
Jan, Norway