[CG05]
~~The Elder Scrolls IV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CLASSES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OBLIVION~~
<~~~~~~ DEFAULT CLASSES ~~~~~~>
These are the pre-generated classes from which you can choose at the beginning
of the game.
-> Acrobat
Specialization: Stealth
Attributes: Agility, Endurance
Skills: Acrobatics, Blade, Block, Marksman, Security, Sneak, Speechcraft
-> Agent
Specialization: Stealth
Attributes: Personality, Agility
Skills: Acrobatics, Illusion, Marksman, Mercantile, Security, Sneak,
Speechcraft
Both of these classes are optimized for the player who prefers a very Stealthy
character. Acrobats are more combat oriented, while Agents are sort of the
Oblivion equivalent of a grave robber--just enough combat know-how to raid the
numerous ruins and tombs and then skilled in getting top dollar for the loot.
-> Archer
Specialization: Combat
Attributes: Agility, Strength
Skills: Armorer, Blade, Blunt, Hand To Hand, Light Armor, Marksman, Sneak
An archer should be a specialist in using a bow, but having all four combat
skills is a waste. For a better archer build, see the Class Templates section.
-> Assassin
Specialization: Stealth
Attributes: Speed, Intelligence
Skills: Acrobatics, Alchemy, Blade, Light Armor, Marksman, Security, Sneak
A skilled fighter if he gets to make the first blow undetected. Alchemy
provides poison for daggers and arrows. Acrobatics can help reach hiding
places, though that may not be important in Oblivion.
-> Barbarian
Specialization: Combat
Attributes: Strength, Speed
Skills: Armorer, Athletics, Blade, Block, Blunt, Hand To Hand, Light Armor
Another fighter with three combat skills...What's the point? Trying to balance
all three (or even two) will gimp your melee skills. Since you've got a light-
footed fighter, replace two combat skills with some Stealth-related skills.
-> Bard
Specialization: Stealth
Attributes: Personality, Intelligence
Skills: Alchemy, Blade, Block, Illusion, Light Armor, Mercantile,
Speechcraft
The classic "bard" doesn't translate well into Oblivion. Mercantile and
Speechcraft are not the best major skills in the world and if you're going to
go Light Armor melee, Acrobatics wouldn't hurt.
-> Battlemage
Specialization: Magic
Attributes: Strength, Intelligence
Skills: Alchemy, Alteration, Blade, Blunt, Conjuration, Destruction,
Mysticism
Once again, mixing two combat skills is a waste. Better to throw in Block or
an Armor skill. Also, since the focus is on Intelligence, having two
Willpower-modified spell schools may be a bit much. Drop Alteration and either
Blade or Blunt and put in both Block and Armor.
-> Crusader
Specialization: Combat
Attributes: Strength, Willpower
Skills: Athletics, Blade, Blunt, Destruction, Hand To Hand, Heavy Armor,
Restoration
Another gimped class because two major skill slots are wasted on duplicate
combat skills. For a better crusader build, see the paladin in the Class
Templates section.
-> Healer
Specialization: Magic
Attributes: Personality, Willpower
Skills: Alchemy, Alteration, Destruction, Illusion, Mercantile,
Restoration, Speechcraft
Well, all that really needs to be said about this class is: the focus in
Oblivion is killing, not healing. Capiche?
-> Knight
Specialization: Combat
Attributes: Strength, Personality
Skills: Blade, Block, Blunt, Hand To Hand, Heavy Armor, Illusion,
Speechcraft
See notes under "Crusader" above, and the superior Paladin build in the Class
Templates section.
-> Mage
Specialization: Magic
Attributes: Intelligence, Willpower
Skills: Alchemy, Alteration, Conjuration, Destruction, Illusion,
Mysticism, Restoration
A pure wizard character. With all major skills coming from one specialization,
you'll start stronger and reach Journeyman perks faster.
-> Monk
Specialization: Stealth
Attributes: Agility, Willpower
Skills: Acrobatics, Alteration, Athletics, Hand To Hand, Marksman,
Security, Sneak
As close as you can get to a "pure" martial artist. (That is, Eastern, unarmed
martial artist.) If you're going to fight hand-to-hand a lot, you might be
better off replacing Athletics with Light Armor.
-> Nightblade
Specialization: Magic
Attributes: Willpower, Speed
Skills: Acrobatics, Alteration, Athletics, Blade, Destruction,
Light Armor, Restoration
The point of this build is elusive. A sneak attack artist? A sneaky mage? An
assassin?
-> Pilgrim
Specialization: Stealth
Attributes: Personality, Endurance
Skills: Armorer, Block, Blunt, Light Armor, Mercantile, Security,
Speechcraft
Part melee fighter, part thief, part sweet-talker, all gimped.
-> Rogue
Specialization: Combat
Attributes: Speed, Personality
Skills: Alchemy, Athletics, Blade, Block, Illusion, Light Armor,
Mercantile
Replace Athletics with Security and you've got a better roguish character.
-> Scout
Specialization: Combat
Attributes: Speed, Endurance
Skills: Acrobatics, Alchemy, Armorer, Athletics, Blade, Block, Light Armor
One of the few default builds that's pretty decent. Acrobatics would be better
replaced with Restoration or Alteration, but as is, this is a viable class.
-> Sorcerer
Specialization: Magic
Attributes: Intelligence, Endurance
Skills: Alchemy, Alteration, Conjuration, Destruction, Heavy Armor,
Mysticism, Restoration
Heavy Armor does cut down on effectiveness of magic, so this is a strange
build. It's like they took the mage and got rid of Illusion in favor of
something that would gimp the remaining skills. Strange.
-> Spellsword
Specialization: Magic
Attributes: Willpower, Endurance
Skills: Alteration, Blade, Block, Destruction, Heavy Armor, Illusion,
Restoration
A pretty good fighter/mage combination. Illusion might be better replaced with
Mysticism or Alchemy, but not bad overall.
-> Thief
Specialization: Stealth
Attributes: Speed, Agility
Skills: Acrobatics, Light Armor, Marksman, Mercantile, Security, Sneak,
Speechcraft
A prototypical Stealth character, with all major skills coming from the same
specialization.
-> Warrior
Specialization: Combat
Attributes: Strength, Endurance
Skills: Armorer, Athletics, Blade, Block, Blunt, Hand To Hand, Heavy Armor
The pure fighter, and quite gimped with duplicate combat skills. Take this
same class and replace two combat skills with defensive magic, offensive magic
or some Stealth skills (depending on your racial bonuses) to create a more
interesting tank.
-> Witchhunter
Specialization: Magic
Attributes: Intelligence, Agility
Skills: Alchemy, Athletics, Conjuration, Destruction, Marksman,
Mysticism, Security
A pretty good build. Athletics would be better replaced with Light Armor,
since there's more of a combat focus to this class.
<~~~~~~ BUILDING A CLASS & CHARACTER ~~~~~~>
The pre-generated classes in Oblivion all leave a little to be desired. Once
you've gotten a feel for the game, you may wish to create your own class. This
is best done beforehand on paper, since the order in which you set up the
class in the game is not the most efficient.
There are essentially three philosophies for building a character:
* Role-player: this player creates a person in their imagination and builds
the in-game character to match that person's background, abilities, etc.
* Power-gamer: this player is all about the numbers and maximizing the power
of the PC. Race, gender, class & skills are all designed to squeeze as much
out of the system as possible.
* Balanced: this player is a mix of the other two types. Some attention is
given to what type of person the PC is; but, the balanced player also wants to
make sure the character isn't gimped, so will do some number crunching.
Players can be quite passionate about their preferred method of gameplay and
character building. Don't let anyone dissuade you from following your
preferred path! There's no "right" way to build a character.
-> Role-Player
Play around with the character concept. Will the class be primarily a melee
fighter? Archer? Spellcaster?
Is the character adept at magic? Picking locks? Backstabbing? Charming NPCs?
If the character is a melee fighter, is it with blades, blunts or fists?
Does the character need to run quickly? Be able to dodge attacks? Absorb
magic? Make potions? Cast defensive spells? Cast offensive spells?
Once you have the character concept firmly in mind, go through the list of
skills and pick out those seven skills that most closely resemble your
concept.
Write down the governing attributes and specialization of each skill. Now,
check to see which specialization and which two attributes are most
represented by your skills. Choose the specialization (combat, mage or
stealth) that represents the most skills in your list. Choose the two
attributes that govern the most skills in your list.
*TIP* Every character can use Endurance. Consider using Endurance as one of
your two favored Attributes for the +5 bonus.
Dig through the races and birthsigns. (The Quick Reference Tables under races
can be printed on to one page as can the entire birthsign list.) You can
either pick a race based on your visual preference; or, pick a race that is
most suited for your class. If you're having trouble deciding, understand that
races with high starting Endurance will have an easier time surviving. Races
that have a high starting Strength will have an easier time looting dungeons.
Pick a birthsign that fits your character concept. If you have a backstory for
your character, it most likely includes a sign under which they were born. If
you're having trouble choosing, then attribute bonuses (Thief, Warrior and
Lady) are safe choices. If your character is a mage, then Mage is the safest
choice. Apprentice and Atronach are more powerful, but more difficult to
play.Your character is now ready to go! Or, will be after you've spent a
couple of hours getting the cheekbones just right, the nose to the proper
length and fixing that underbite...
-> Power-gamer
Your primary goal is to increase three attributes by +5 every class level and
to only class level when you have those three +5 bonuses for your three
attributes. One of your favored attributes will be Endurance, because you
understand the importance of Health. You will likely never pick a race that
begins with an Endurance score of 30.
Since you want to control exactly when you level, you want seven major skills
that you can increase only when you want them to increase. Here is a list of
all the skills and how you can control them:
Acrobatics: rarely used in normal play, it can easily be leveled by hopping
and skipping everywhere you go.
Alchemy: raw ingredients are everywhere. You get a mortar & pestle in the
starter dungeon. Get mixing!
Armorer: buy a bunch of repair hammers and repair everything you find, even if
you're just going to drop it on the ground again.
Athletics: some players like to play with Always Run turned on; however, with
Fast Travel and horses, you don't need to do so (you can get a horse two
minutes after leaving the starter dungeon). When you're ready to level the
skill, get off the horse and run around a little; or, better, go swimming.
Combat: whatever combat skills you don't normally use can be leveled at will
if you have at least Apprentice level Conjuration skill. Summon a creature,
then attack it. Rinse and repeat until your skill levels up. Works for Blade,
Block, Blunt, Hand To Hand, Heavy Armor, Light Armor and Marksman. (Idea
submitted by Nikola.)
Mercantile: the only way to increase this skill is to Haggle with merchants,
which is not something you can do a lot or sell items one at a time. The most
difficult skill to increase.
Security: depending on your play style, this skill will either be very
difficult to increase or very easy. If you're not playing a sneak thief, then
you will have a hard time finding enough locks to pick that won't land you in
jail. If you are playing a sneak thief, you will use this skill all the time
and don't want it as a major skill.
Sneak: enter an inn, get behind the innkeeper, enter Sneak mode and sneak-run
at the wall until you've leveled up this skill as you prefer.
Speechcraft: You don't have to "win" the Persuasion mini-game to increase your
skill. Pick an NPC, open the Persuasion mini-game and just start mashing
buttons and watch your skill ranks fly.
Spells: most of the spell schools have spells you can cast on yourself, over
and over and over and over...
In addition to picking major skills you can control, you want all your major
skills to start at rank 25. Why? Well, the maximum skill rank is 100. You get
one class level every 10 major skill ranks. If all seven major skills are 25
to start, you can get 75 (per skill) ranks * 7 (number of major skills) = 525
ranks in your major skills. 525 / 10 (number of ranks to class level) = 52.5
total class levels gained. In short, starting with all major skills at 25
gives you a "level cap" of 53 (1 starting level + 52 gained levels). Start
with just one skill at 40 instead of 25 and you've cost yourself a level.
Start with two skills at 40 instead of 25 and you've cost yourself 3 levels.
So, all your major skills must come from outside your class specialization and
all of your major skills must not receive any bonus from your chosen race.
Go through the list of skills and make sure the skills you will use the most
during normal gameplay are all minor skills. Your major skills should remain
unused until you're ready to increase your class level. Make sure your minor
skills include at least one skill for each attribute. For example, you don't
want Blade, Blunt and HTH all in major skills because you would be unable to
increase your STR without also increasing your class level.
Choose a specialization that includes none of your major skills.
Choose a race that has no bonuses to your major skills and has an Endurance of
at least 40.
Favored attributes for your class should be Endurance (for Health) and Luck
(because it is the only attribute you can't increase by +5 whenever you want).
Birthsign should be Thief (mainly for the +10 Luck bonus), unless you're a
mage, then you probably want Atronach--you can find ways of restoring Magicka.
For each class level, pick three attributes you want to increase. Check the
skill rank of one or two minor skills that are governed by those attributes.
Example:
You want to increase Endurance, Willpower and Intelligence. You pick the minor
skills of Block, and Destruction and the major skill of Mysticism. Use those
skills regularly until each has increased 10 ranks. You now have locked in a
+5 bonus to END, WILL and INT and are ready to level up with exactly three
attributes increasing by +5.
-> Balanced
Basically, you're going to start with the role-playing perspective, building a
character based on your idea of who that person is. But, you don't want to
neglect your inner statistician. Choose a race with 40 or 50 starting
Endurance (for Health). Consider taking Luck as a favored attribute (for the
additional +5). If you're not a mage, you'll probably take Lady or Warrior as
your birthsign. If you are a mage, you'll take Mage or Apprentice. (Atronach
can be very difficult to play and is probably best left to the power-gamers.)
The balanced player will still work the system, leveling up minor skills so
they can get the maximum +5 modifier to attributes at each class level.
However, the balanced player is also interested in reaching Journeyman, Expert
and Master perks faster than the power-gamer. You can still play with minor
skills in town to raise attribute modifiers, then use your major skills in the
wild to clear quests and raise a class level. You'll be much more powerful in
the use of your primary skills--i.e. those skills you use in the course of
adventuring--at the cost of 5 or 6 class levels at the top end.
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