Ah, here we go again. Like many of you, I’ve been spending a lot of time with the nostalgic, but excellent Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remaster. Yes, it can be buggy, but it’s back and better than ever, in my opinion. Regardless, once you escape the Imperial sewers and get your first taste of the open world, you may be inclined to jump into the main story or go explore the world. Those are good choices, and there’s no wrong path here.
However, I also wanted to point out some worthy places to visit or useful gear to unlock as soon as you can. I actually forgot about many of these experiences and rediscovered them in this much-needed refresh — besides the new Deluxe Edition gear.
Here’s what I came up with.
Ask everyone you can about local “rumors”
One of the ways to collect radiant quests, or learn about new ones, is to ask the locals about “rumors,” which will prompt some variable responses. Sometimes, they won’t tell you diddly squat, but every so often, you’ll get a clue, hint, or update on a particular quest.
This isn’t necessarily something you have to do immediately. Just remember to ask everyone you encounter or speak to and eventually you’ll pad out that quest journal.
Get a horse
Moving around with a low-level horse isn’t much faster than moving around on foot, but it’s enough to conserve time. So, you’ll want to grab a horse as soon as you can.
Since the base game comes with the horse armor, you can talk to Snak gra-Bura at the Chestnut Handy Stables outside of the Imperial City. She’ll give you the armor and a horse for free, called Old Nag.
If you finish the Deliver the Amulet quest as part of the main questline, you’ll get Prior Maborel’s Paint Horse for free. First, talk to Jauffre about “assistance,” and then go talk to Prior Maborel.
Unlock the DLC player homes
Back in the original release, there were a few DLC packs that added unique player homes to the game. They’re back, but this time they’re included in every copy of the game — yes, even the base game.
They are:
- Fighter’s Stronghold which adds Battlehorn Castle
- Thieves Den which adds Dunbarrow Cove
- Vile Lair which adds Deepscorn Hollow
- Wizard’s Tower which adds Frostcrag Spire
Because you can fast travel to any of the major cities from the start, that also means it’s fairly easy to find these locations and unlock a player home right away. I highly advise you do that. You’ll have somewhere to sleep, store your gear, and upgrade as you collect more loot and gold.
You can also check out the Abandoned Shack in the Imperial City’s Waterfront District, or Aleswell and the Zero Visibility quest for a free room to stay in. The Knights of the White Stallion quest can also net you a free player home — the White Stallion Lodge.
Join a guild
This one is a no-brainer, but there are several guilds in the game, all with lengthy questlines. The sooner you start, the sooner you finish, and the stronger your character will be!
For options you have The Fighters Guild, The Mages Guild, The Thieves Guild and The Dark Brotherhood. You can also consider The Arena another guild, although everything you’ll do for that questline is in the arena — except for a single, memorable quest towards the end.
I recommend starting with Fighters or Mages and saving Thieves and Brotherhood for later. The initial questline for the Knights of the Nine is a great way to earn redemption for everything naughty you’ll be doing in the Brotherhood quests. Pilgrimage of the Nine Divines helps reset your Infamy level to 0.
Get the skeleton key
Lockpicking is still a pain in the ass. In fact, I’d argue it’s the biggest pain in the ass in the Remaster, outside of the completely unbalanced difficulty settings. But there’s an in-game, lore-based way to cheat, if you will. It’s called the Skeleton Key, and it’s an unbreakable lockpick you can use to auto-pick every godamn annoying lock in the game without losing 20,948,595,894 lockpicks in the process.
The quest to collect it is pretty darn easy, too. After reaching level 10, head to the Shrine of Nocturnal, interact with it, and you’ll receive the quest. Finish it and bang, the skeleton key is yours.
