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As amazing as some of the games created by Bethesda are, there are always going to be ways that players can manipulate in order to tip the balance in their favor exponentially with all sorts of exploits and glitches. It’s no well-kept secret that The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is certainly no exception to this fact.
In fact, as great of a game as it is, there are some peculiar quirks with its coding and mechanics that leave it ripe for manipulation in order to become the most overpowered hero of all. Such exploits range from becoming completely and totally invisible, to recruiting a small squad of people to help participate in fights.
1 Recruit Followers
Reaching the top rank in the Assassins and Mages Guilds will offer followers who can follow the player on command.
- The game’s DLC will offer other characters that can be recruited.
- There is no cap as to how many people can tag along.
It’s possible to recruit a small army to fight alongside with no cap on how many one can bring. Martin Septim from Kvatch will follow the player (providing one does not progress with the main quest and head to Weynon Priory) and is a formidable fighter. Then there are the low-level mages and assassins one can recruit when reaching the highest rank of the Dark Brotherhood and Mages Guild, not to mention the Adoring Fan upon becoming the Grand Champion of the Imperial City Arena.
Beyond that, the Battlehorn Castle DLC offers troops who will follow on command, while the Frostcrag Spire plug-in gives the ability to summon an elemental Atronach who will tag along. Most of these will respawn after a few days upon death, and Martin is marked as an essential character. Having a small army to fight alongside is always fun!
2 Never Sleep
Leveling up to specific points will introduce new, stronger enemies and monsters, as well as loot.
- Sleeping when the level progress bar is filled will level-up the player, offering stats to increase.
- Avoding this entirely will allow players to increase their skills while the rest of the world stays the same.
This one is a bit of a cheeky move, and perhaps not the most fun option, but it works nonetheless. When the player fills their level progress bar, they can rest to level-up. Reaching certain levels introduces more powerful enemies and items to compensate for this. However, one doesn’t necessarily have to sleep when it happens.
In fact, players could level up their stats hundreds of times when the progress bar is maximized, but resting will only raise one level regardless of this or not. Sticking to this route will surely make the player more skilled in certain fields while enemies and monsters remain capped.
3 Paralysis Staff
At level 15 or higher, a Paralysis staff freezes a target for 8 seconds.
- ‘A Mage’s Staff’ will reward the player with a staff featuring an ability of their choosing.
- Paralysis spells are expensive and require high skills and a lot of Magicka.
After completing ‘A Mage’s Staff’ for the Mages Guild, players will be given an enchanted staff with an ability. The best choice is easily a Paralysis staff. No other spell will leave a target hapless for as long as eight seconds (providing the Hero is level 15 or higher), and it not only requires a very high Illusion spell to cast, but also a lot of Magicka.
A staff completely bypasses these restrictions, and will only need recharging when low on power. Leaving a target (it will work on most enemies, but not all) defenseless for eight whole seconds will offer an excellent opportunity to beat down upon them. If they get up, they can be zapped with it again.
4 Drink Skooma
Skooma increases Strength and Speed exponentially, albeit briefly, while temporarily draining Agility and delivering damage to one’s Intelligence.
- A handful can be drunk at a time.
- It will make the player incredibly strong, fast, and able to jump to impressive heights for 20 seconds.
Skooma is very much like a jolt of adrenaline, fortifying one’s Strength and Speed by a whopping 60 points for 20 seconds, while draining Willpower by that amount and delivering a few points of damage to one’s Intelligence. About four can be consumed in rapid succession, and the stats stack upon one another.
It’s excellent for reaching ludicrous heights, running incredibly quickly, or becoming stupidly powerful in a flash. The effects are short, but it can result in some hilarious outcomes when in a fight or being chased by guards. Of course, potions to restore one’s Intelligence would be best carried alongside.
5 100-Point Spells
Custom spells can be created at maximum power for one second.
- With some spells, they can require little Magicka.
- When speaking or interacting with things, time will stop in-game.
As a member of the Mages Guild, or with the Frostcrag Spire DLC, custom-made spells can be created. Some of the most useful spells are ones that fortify skills like Security for lockpicking, Sneak for pickpocketing, Mercantile for getting the best deals from vendors, and Armorer for repairing equipment.
The great thing is that all of these tasks will freeze time around the player while they are doing these things, leaving them with almost-zero chances of failure. Meanwhile, a 100-point Charm spell will allow NPCs to reveal information that would normally require the Persuasion mini-game or bribery to increase to a specific digit or higher, thereby saving time and money.
6 Clothing With Shield Enchantments
Enchanted clothing found as loot, or created by the player, can offer Shield spell enchantments.
- These clothes weigh a fraction of the weight of armor, and the numbers it provides will stack.
- Shoes, shirts and jewelry can all be worn with such an effect for maximum damage protection.
Why wear armor when enchanted clothing weights significantly less? With fully-charged Grand Soul Gems, one can make their own enchanted equipment. Shield enchantments increase its users armor rating per-point (its elemental variants offer the same protection, plus an additional boost to resisting Fire, Frost and Shock effects). Such an ability can be applied to shoes, trousers, and more.
So, two rings enchanted by the player can offer up to 20 points of damage protection, which is a significantly high number. Even better, Fire Shield, Frost Shield and Shock Shield effects can be applied instead, offering the same effect along with protection from the elements. It won’t help level up one’s armor skills, but players will be too overly hardy to care.
7 Reflect Damage & Reflect Spell
Reflect Damage and Reflect Spell are two different effects but are very powerful.
- These effects reflect a portion of damage from a physical attack or spell back at the user, based on a percentage.
- Getting 100% on either of these will render a player immune to said attacks.
Reflect Damage and Reflect Spell are very powerful but expensive spells. They can be attached to equipment as enchantments, with the ability to reflect a portion of damage from regular attacks or cast spells from an enemy based on a specific percentage. So, 10% Reflect Damage from a punch that deals 10 damage would deliver only 9 points of damage to the player, and 1 back to the attacker.
Items like the Ring of Namira and Spellbreaker can deflect some of this damage back with considerable force when used in tandem; enchanted loot with such effects can be found along one’s travels. The higher the level, the better the effect. It’s difficult, if at all possible, to get 100% on both at once, but having them as passive effects will make a Hero nigh undefeatable in combat.
8 100% Chameleon
Chameleon renders the user partially invisible and won’t wear off when performing actions.
- Spells, potions and enchanted equipment can stack points put into Chameleon.
- 100% Chameleon and beyond renders a player totally undetectable.
Invisibility may render users totally hidden from sight, but it wears off under specific circumstances (attacking, interacting, etc.). Chameleon, on the other hand, won’t dissipate upon doing such things, though its effectiveness depends on a percentage.
Casting spells and drinking potions with a Chameleon effect can increase the stat, albeit temporarily. Alternatively, the best way to keep it up is to use enchanted equipment. The Ring of Khajiit offers 35% Chameleon effect, so this is an excellent pick. Any enchanted jewelry or clothing that one either finds or enchants themselves can be attached to the body to increase the number. When it surpasses 100%, players can steal, kill and trespass without ever being caught.
