There is plenty to do across the world. I reference the major questlines rather often. By “major” I denote the ones you gain achievements for, and typically have some form of progression. There are many other quests to do, with rewards ranging from gold to weapons and a small variety of other knick knacks. As I go about the game (again) I’ll point out those that I find most useful, and those I think you should keep an eye out for. Before getting started there are a few things I feel I should share that one should be mindful of.
Leveled Foes, Loot, and Enchantments
Ones of my drivers to originally grinding the levels was discovery of the world leveling with me. I had not run into this since Final Fantasy VIII. The idea is that the world scales up its difficulty all the way around as your level increases. A dive into a demon dimension for a Level 1 character will have you come up against demonic creatures of minor measure, while at upper levels you’ll face hordes of humanoid soldiers fully armed and armored. This will always change how a game is played, no matter the overarching archetype.
Coupled with tougher enemies you will find better treasure. Most obvious will be weapons and armor found from humanoid enemies. Bandits tend to hold to Light Armor, though the bosses tend to use Heavy Armor. You’ll see, at later levels, Glass armor rather than Hide, Daedric above Steel. While the later armors weigh more making it more difficult to loot foes successfully, they are also worth more. This will bank roll all other endeavors.
Lastly, the enchantments that you receive are scaled to your level. What may be a five point bump in health at Level 1 can become a fifty point boon after Level 25. This is why I like to level up a bit before I actually play this game.
Money Making Tips
Unless the duplication trick works doesn’t work for you (seen in Spoilers) you’ll be hurting for gold at the beginning of the game. That is if you choose to use the trick at all. Pick up whatever you can in the training section. Stop in at the Imperial Market District and sell what you don’t need. Keep an encumbrance/gold ratio in mind. How much do you get for each point you’re carrying? Try to adhere to at least a 1/1 ratio. A scroll or potion can weigh .1 and be worth 50-120+ gold. Rolls of cloth are worth 4 encumbrance, and about 4 gold. Some maces weigh 30, but are worth 15 gold. What would you rather load up on? After the prison break, the world is your oyster. Speaking of, underwater you will find clam and oyster clusters which may hold pearls. There are two questlines that, right off the bat, will get you gold.
The Arena is straightforward. Go, fight, survive, get paid. In addition, they require you to wear one piece, full body suit of enchanted heavy or light armor. Good for a little while to level up the corresponding skill and to get free armor. Once you get good at lockpicking and perhaps Sneaking, the chest at the Arena holds 500 gold. This counts as a guild and has achievements. Winning earns you some special battles once a week, as well as the ability to have a lackey. I think he, unlike most of the others, is nigh immortal. I don’t know as I don’t keep them around.
The second is the Thieves’ Guild. It takes some work to get into, but then you have a fence to buy stolen goods. You’ll have to find a Gray Fox wanted poster (fast travel to the Imperial City Waterfront district, about face, and one is on your right on the archway) and then get a beggar to like you. Puny Ancus stays on the Waterfront if he doesn’t happen to be in sight, he is someplace between the guard tower straight ahead of where you would appear and his sleeping space on the other side of the wall. This mat is to the right of the Gray Fox poster, through the archway through the left of the pirate galleon, and another left after descending the steps. After bumping his disposition up to about 70 or 80 (the level most anyone will have to be at to tell you anything worthwhile) inquire about the Gray Fox, and say you want to work with him. The quest line is rather self explanatory beyond that. You can chat up Puny again for the first quest to get the location you need quickly. Speed is key in that mission, but you will have another opportunity to get in if you can’t manage it. Hitting up the Imperial City Jewelry Store, magic, and alchemy shops can earn you a lot of gold in a hurry, and fills out a 1,000 gold fenced goods requirement to gain more quests, and puts that money in your pocket.
Housing
One of the first things I mention is obtaining a house. In the Imperial City Waterfront District, there is an Abandoned Shack place where you can sleep for free, but I am unsure how long items remain. Areas tend to refresh after about three in game days. Some areas follow this rule exactly. Others not so much. Some houses outside the ones you can buy will hold things for a time. Having your own place, in my opinion, works out better. Also, be HIGHLY advised, try not to horde too much stuff, both in quantity and number of different items. The game is glitchy, and I’ve seen times where I KNOW I stored something, backout out, went back in and the item I wanted was just GONE. One of a kind stuff. If something is important to you keep it on your person. If you absolutely have to set it down, find which button you use to drop it, and do so in your house. This allows it to be seen graphically. You can pick it up and move the item around, and it is unlikely the item will go missing. I like to horde trinkets. In real life I’d have a Batcave-like museum full of such things, but in game it is best not to get too attached. After you’ve played the game once you should know what you’ll keep. You also have plenty of places to put things… eventually.
Imperial City: Shack on the Waterfront District. 2000 gold to purchase. I like this one because it is small. Walk in, single room, bed by the door, in reach of possibly two storage cabinents, with two more further in. I find the fact that it is small a plus, as there isn’t a lot of wandering around trying to remember where you stashed things. Of these four I have them broken up as such:
Spare Weapons: I’m either going to use these or sell these, more than likely the latter.
Spare Armor/Clothing: Again, use or sell. There are some times where fancy dress is called for. Divine Elegance in the Market District has such clothes, and rather cheaply (although I suppose that, realistically 15 gold pieces should be a lot of money). Still, I like to keep a full outfit and some shoes handy. One rarely knows.
Skingrad: At the opposite end of the price spectrum, this house cost 25,000 gold just to purchase. However, outside of the DLC castle (see below) this is the only place where you can have display cases. You can set jewelry, clothes, weapons, and the like in these. It is all just for show, but this three tiered mansion is a far cry from the humble hovel found outside the Imperial City. You can even get a live in maid. She’ll serve up food and drink at your request. There are even some quests inside the house, which I’ll let you find on your own. One of the most gold-heavy shops in the game is nearby, making it a prime place to sell your legitmate loot.
For me, these are the houses worth note. One is available in every city but Kvatch. Having at least one is very worthwhile.
Functional Invisibility
I like to look at enemies and landscapes and go about my journey without worries, especially since I’ve done all this before. Invisibility makes that possible. There are invisibility spells which are next to useless. The first time you do ANYTHING outside of sneaking or walking it wears off. Chameleon stacks and allows you to take actions outside of attacking I believe before wearing off. Full invisibility comes when you have enchantments that equal 100%+ chameleon, viewable on the magic status screen. On your own (and depending upon your level in the Illusion skill I think) you can enchant apparel up to 20% Chameleon. This requires (potentially) a full suit of armor. However your choices for worn items are:
One necklace, a ring, another ring, hood/helmet, shirt, cuirass, gloves/gauntlets, pants/greaves, shoes/boots
Any combination of five will suit your needs. You may keep a set of light, Fur armor enchanted for this purpose, or stylish clothing. I’m a miser when it comes to my encumbrance and I’m wholly willing to enchant my main set of gear. It’s something I prefer to have anyway. I’ve come to appreciate the work that went into each monster and many environs and rendered creatures because I got to see them at peace, rather than attacking me or merely dead. This also lets you fly through quests since you won’t be fighting all the time. Attackers can’t see you. You will by and large be unnoticed by the populace, but still able to interact with them. Makes stealing and leveling up Sneak a breeze. Walk into someone’s house at any time day or night and rob them blind, then go fence the loot. This being said, there are alternate solutions.
In the main game, there is a Ring awarded to you for completing Meridia’s (Deadric lord) quest. It comes with a 35% enchantment. In The Shivering Isles there is a complementary ring with another 35% enchantment for gaining a Ring of Office for Dementia. This bumps it up to 70% on two accessories. Putting a 20% on a necklace nets you 90%. Pick a piece of armor to enchant and you’re set. I’d recommend a shield. I’ve been known to fight with two handed weapons and bows. Even when not actively used you gain a passive defensive bonus with a shield equipped, as well as whatever it is enchanted with. If your skill level for the armor type is high enough (75 for light armor and 100 for heavy) for the shield type, you won’t even be bothered with having it equipped. With enchantments that come on some Deadric loot (Boots of the Thrall grant 105 Feather bonus) and the Perfect Madness Armor (Additions to each stat) this works out beautifully. Want to be visible to level something or to fight fairly toe-to-toe? Slip off your necklace. Since they’re so light, you can have two sets of jewelry, one for invisibility, and one for fighting.
Quest Line Notes
The Oblivion Crisis (Main questline)
If you’re concerned with enchantments, save this for level 23. You grab items called Sigil Stones that act like portable enchantment alters. The enchantments on these run better than anything you can do, although it is only one per armor piece. If you save right at a stone before picking it up, you can save and reload to get an enchantment you prefer more. Sigil Stones can be duped, so you can make as many as you want to enchant a full set of armor. Plus they have these little pulsing, resonance sounds that I like to have in my houses.
Fighter’s Guild
No magic items attained directly as rewards for this quest line. I think it is mostly gold for completing segments. At the end you get an “earning perk”. Basically once every so often you’ll be able to check a chest in Chorrol to remove gold and items with leveled enchantments. If you don’t want to use any of them it’s more gold in your pocket.
Mages’ Guild
Surprisingly, there isn’t much at stake in regards to magic items you attain. The robes typically hold one enchantment. You can MAKE better armor as far as I’m concerned. But if you want 100% effective magic and robes are your thing, go with this. Personally I prefer something… darker. Heh heh heh. You also get an earning perk of a sort here: There is a chest that will allow you to duplicate some Alchemy items. Outside of the duplication trick this is probably the swiftest way to get rarer ingredients. But this can be done once an in game WEEK. Even with waiting it still take a long while to get enough to level the skill completely. This is also the only place in game to get access to Spell Making and Enchantment alters.
Thieves’ Guild
All you earn is money, and whatever you can loot. I strongly recommend getting the Arrow of Extrication quest completed BEFORE joining the Mages’ Guild. This quest has you stealing from (and potentially killing) a member of the Mages’ Guild. This will get you booted out, and you’ll have to buy your way back in. At later levels this involves 40 items, 2 sets of 20 that are REALLY hard to come by fairly. In addition, you only have two of those before the Mages’ Guild will not let you back in, even if you have completed The Mages’ Guild questline.
There is piece of equipment worn on the head you get for finishing this quest. It grants 200 Feather, Detect Life for… 200 ft I think, and boosts your Sneak skill 25 levels (effectively making a Master out of an Expert without the skill perk). I believe this enchantment holds steady at all levels, so this can be completed at any time without worry. This item comes with an odd bonus… it makes you two people. While worn anything good or bad that you do is counted to the second character. Progression wise you get the credit, but if you’re trying to do all the good you can, do so without this on. Likewise… if you go on a killing spree with this on, taking it off reverts you to yourself, keeping you free from blame. This said, this second persona is not welcome in the world. Don’t go around as this character at all times. Oddly, there is no earning perk in the Thieves’ Guild.
Dark Brotherhood
This is a group of assassins. To get in, you must kill someone in cold blood. Ensuring that they are low impact is essential. Low impact means that they have little if no effect on completing quests in the future. This can be hard, but I of course have a solution (see Umbra). You get a set of Light Armor, a full body set and a separate hood, which boost assassin related skills. This is leveled. However, you can attain more armor mid quest line, and will receive a better set at the end of the questline, so as long as you’ve hit level 23 by then you’ll get the best enchantments you can on each. Also, the Dark Brotherhood has “bonuses” for completing assassinations in a particular fashion. These fall under the line of enchanted weapons, skill boosts, and some clothing. The further developed you are, the more you’ll get out of these bonuses. One… unusual and not obvious perk is the ability to get more housing. This is due to the fact that some people have homes and once they’re dead, they aren’t used anymore. This allows you to go in to them and leave items there. Depending upon how ownership goes, you may have to Sneak in cautiously to not be considered as trespassing. Also, I recommend the Scroll test. As I have said, game areas tend to reset after three in game days. Leave a scroll, arrow, potion, or other small item in the house. Leave for three or four days, then come back. If its still there it is (relatively) safe to store items in this place. This is a REALLY cheap way to have little hideaways. A small bit of running around from Bruma (you’ll know where by questlines’ end) to Chedinhal(sp) will earn you a small bit of extra gold on a weekly basis.
Umbra
While involved in the Deadric quest for Clavicus Vile, I regard Umbra separately. Umbra is a sword of terrible power, pre-equipped with a Soul Trap enchantment. This allows you to take the souls of your enemies if they die in the spells’ time of effect and you have a soul gem large enough to hold them. Player character races require Black Soul Gems found in the Mages Guild questline, and createable after that point. Anyhow, Umbra (the sword) has the advantage of being a quest item. Quest items weigh nothing on the whole, which is a good convention to ensure you always have what you need to finish a quest. Umbra is also one of the most powerful single handed swords in the game, topping out at about a 31 damage rating fully restored. So… the most powerful sword, weighs nothing (unless you opt to get the Oghma Infinium)… what’s the catch? Umbra (the person) is a heinous foe to pry it away from. I cited a duped weapon glitch. Find the Akaviri Sunderblade at Three Brothers Trade Goods in the Imperial City. It has a Disintegrate Weapon and Armor enchantment. Dupe another one as you would a scroll, and set the sword to a hotkey. Use this to equip the sword. As you attack, the charge on the Sunderblade will be spent. If you hotkey to unequip, and again to re-equip (do not do so by going into the menu), you will trade out the spent one for the new one. For some odd reason this puts a fresh one in your inventory. Using this in battle with Umbra (the person) and soon Umbra (the sword) won’t be an issue and Umbra (the person) is much less vicious without her teeth and shell. Also, and I can’t recommend this enough, take out Umbra WITHOUT getting the quest from the Clavicus Vile shrine. This way when you kill her, it will count as a cold blood death (since you’ve been given no reason to slay her), and this will get you started on the Dark Brotherhood questline. Umbra was only meant to die, so it’s okay. I assure you. I have seen a lot of glitches around this quest, so it is a good idea to just get the sword first anyhow.
Also, Umbra (the person) wears a full set of Ebony armor, the second best Heavy Armor class in the game outside of the DLC. It’s… uh… heavy. At low levels (of Strength or Heavy Armor) you may not be able to lug it out. I know that I have dropped my lesser armor if I haven’t leveled strength by this point. If your Heavy Armor skill is high enough it will encumber you less or not at all while you wear it. Since Ebony armor is not READILY available until about level 19, getting it before then will give you a discernible advantage over most.
Section 1-2: DLC
There are a number of downloadable add ons to this game, some more useful than others. Here they are, in descending order of importance.
The Shivering Isles: This ties for first. It is at the top of the list because it is a full scenario. You can play the primary storyline taking place in Cyrodil first, or you can go through here, or both at the same time. The open ended nature of this game lets you do whatever you want. I’ll not spoil it for you, but this is fun. Honestly, I would recommend buying this as a game before I would Oblivion. I mention elsewhere that there are two armor sets found within this DLC. I said they are always a tier better than what you “SHOULD have”. If you were to go in at level 1 and got a full set of Madness (Heavy Armor) gear it would be better than the Iron Armor you could have, but not as good next tier of armor, the Steel Armor. However, if you retrieved a NEW set of Madness armor after your level opened the next tier, it would be better than the Steel. My recommendation? As with enchanted items this will top out eventually. However, this level is higher than 23, which is why I tend to wait past 25 to set out into the big wide world. Many DLC items have named modifiers. For instance, Fine Steel Armor, or something like that. It is slightly better than regular Steel armor. If you set out for Heavy Armor, you will want to go after the Perfect Madness variety. In addition, if you find a proper Matrix you can have a piece of enchanted gear made instead of the regular variety. Madness Ore and Amber (for the Light Armor) dupe, so finding one is all you need. A number of the questlines allow you to have an “attendant” from the organization tag along behind you and assist you in battle. I never have because they tend to be rather weak, and I’d spend more time caring for them than anything else. However, while in The Shivering Isles you can have some guards follow you. I do so love The Shivering Isles.
The Wizard’s Tower: One of many purchaseable “homes” Frostcrag Spire lay far to the north. What do you get for spending real life money for this? First, you will always have this home whenever you start the game. It is far flung, but you are allowed to fast travel here so it shouldn’t be any issue to you. The largest in-game boon I feel is you’ll get to circumvent the Mages’ Guild for spell making and enchanting items. There are some small issues in joining the Guild, and this is the perfect way to not even bother with it. Other benefits include: a large treasure room (a number of chests for storage), a garden with some VERY hard to come by ingredients, teleportation pads that lead to each of the Mages’ Guild buildings in EVERY city (handy if you’re like me and adhere to the in-game time frame realistically), and lastly the ability to make an Atronach that will follow you. These are just like the Atronachs you can summon through Conjuration, except they don’t go away. If they die, or you would like another, bring the appropriate item to the Alter and make a new one. You can only have one at a time.
Deepscorn Hollow– This place keeps the assassin in mind. Another house, you can buy a garden with alchemy ingredients for poisons, some exclusive to this DLC. There is a unique dagger, a dark alter from which you can be “blessed” if you are more evil than good. If you level high enough (23-25) there is a special and unique assassin garb to be had that rivals (if not trumps) the Dark Brotherhood gear. This place is… GREAT if you choose to run a vampire. One of the things you can buy is an actual person to feed off of. They never awake, and you may feed off them to your hearts’ content. This will allow you to pass more as human, but weaken your vampyric powers. Plus, there is a Vampire servant you can buy. He can be sent of to “perform the will of Sithis”. He will disappear for a time. From what I imagine, he kills someone, loots the body, brings back the haul for you to take, and you get a point of Infamy for it. In addition, there is also a pool for ridding yourself of the vampyric curse if you so choose. Whether or not you can command the Servant to turn you again I cannot recall.
Thieves’ Den– Mages, Assassins and Vampires, now Rouges. This area is suited for those who wish to master more shadowy arts (and aren’t blatently evil). After a small quest you will be able to populate it with a number of unusual characters. Namely, there are SEVERAL Expert level (up to 75) Trainers to be brought in. If you bring the Security Trainer into the fold he will come with a chest that never opens. If you duplicate several thousand lockpicks you can swiftly and easily raise your Security skill to 100. Many rouge related wares are to be had here. Lastly, akin to the Vampire Servant above, you can send the pirates out to loot and plunder, and they’ll bring you back a haul to be found in the chest in your quarters. For the sheer number of trainers and the unopenable chest alone this place is worth it.
Figther’s Castle– Oh yes… an actual castle can be yours. The last of the DLC houses, this one comes with perks too. The BIGGEST one is a training dummy. Not a dummy… it is an Orc who, once you agree to train, can’t hurt you. Similar to Shadowmare he will pop back up after a short time, raring to go again. Come here, crank up the difficulty, and this is a great and safe place to level up your melee weapon skills. There are other boons, but your Orc trainer is by far the biggest and best in my book.
Knights of the Nine– This would be in last place, but it is an actual story. Without giving a lot away, you seek armor of a Divine Crusader. Be forewarned: As aligned with the powers of righteousness you must be of such moral fiber yourself. There is a way rid yourself of Infamy (negative reputation) to wear the armor, but if you commit two acts of wrong doing (assault then continued assault) the armor can’t be moved. In fact, if you are wearing the armor when you do this it will merely fall off your body and reject you. After the quest is over you can ask the Knights to follow you. However, be forewarned that when they’re dead, they’re dead.
Mehrune’s Razor– This is a short story enclosed inside a single dungeon. The reward is a dagger with the chance of automatically killing who it cuts. It is a magical enchantment, so I would avoid using it on Atronachs or anything with any type of reflect magic on it. I do like to get it as it is a unique dagger in name and design. In fact, it is even mentioned outside the presence of the DLC as something the Dark Brotherhood has sought for a long while. It is funny to walk into the organization with it in hand.
Spell Tomes– This will add some new spells effects to the world, and can be found in books found on enemies and setting up in some places. Honestly, this is not an aspect of the game I have made frequent use of. There may be some fun effects. The reason why I did not buy this myself was because I had ill fortune with a random Conjurer coming after me, which usually resulted in their death. Sadly, they had a tendency to take another with them. Normally it is Puny Ancus, a beggar in the Imperial City Waterfront district. I LIKE Puny, and the fact that I tend to return to town and he’s just dead ticks me off.
Orrery– This quest has you do some running around to get parts to repair a planetarium. Depending upon the alignment of celestial bodies you get either a Greater Power or stat boost. If it is the later it is strong an nigh permanent… I still find it to be next to useless. Even though I have it I don’t use it.
Deadric Questline and the Oghma Infinium
Azura, Level 2, Glow Dust (Alchemy Shops, Will-o-the-Wisps) Reward: Azura’s Star, re-useable Grand Soul Gem
Sheogorath, Level 2, Need 1 Lesser Soul Gem (magic stores), 1 Yarn (crates, barrels, random places, try Jensine’s in the Imperial City Market district if your really having trouble and other general stores) and 1 head of Lettuce (food suppliers, inns, taverns, and Alchmy shops) Reward: Wabbajack, turns NPC into another entity (human to horse, bear to mudcrab… mudcrab into Dramora Lord…)
Vaermina, Level 5, Need 1 Black Soul Gem (requires participation in Mages’ Guild… I think… checking…) Reward: Skull of Corruption, Makes an evil copy of the target and copy engages original.
Sanguine, Level 8, Need 1 Cyrodilic Brandy (The Main Ingredient in the Imperial City Market District and other preset locations) Reward: Sanguine Rose, Summons Random Deadra. Will most oft attack target, has been known to turn on you.
Namira, Level 8 or 10, Need Personality BELOW 30, perhaps 20. Use Cheap Wine to lessen personality up to 40. Spells, diseases curses may be necessary depending upon when you accept this quest. Reward: Ring of Namira
Meridia, Level 10, Need 1 remains of undead (bonemeal, vampire dust, ectoplasm, from alchemy shops, skeletons, vampires, and ghosts. A portion of ectoplasm is supposed to sit near this place. I’ve never found it) Reward: Ring of Khajiti, Fortify Speed 10 points, Chameleon, Fortify Athletics
Nocturnal, Level 10, Approach at night (between 6 pm and am, or perhaps midnight to dawn…. gah) Reward: Skeleton Key, +40 to Security, unbreakable Lockpick
Malacath, Level 10, Need 1 Troll Fat (Alchemy shops, varied trolls, Unfredyte Matron) Reward: Volendrung, Two Handed Hammer (Blunt), uh…
Peryite, Level 10, Approach Shrine, Reward: Spell Breaker, Reflect Spell
Mephala, Level 15, Need 1 Nightshade (Alchemy shops, growing wild) Reward: Ebony Blade, uh….
Hircine, Level 17, Either Wolf or Bear Pelt (General Stores and from specified animals) Reward: Savior’s Hide, Light Armor, Reflect Spell Enchantment
Molag Bal, Level 17, Lion Pelt (General Store or Lions) Reward: Mace of Molag Bal, uh….
Clavicus Vile, Level 20, Need 500 gold Reward: Masque of Clavicus Vile, 15 defense +30(?) personality OR the Umbra Sword
Boethia, Level 20, Need 1 Deadra Heart (Alchemy shops, Xivalai, or Dramora soldiers) Reward: Goldbrand, Single handed sword, high level fire enchantment
Hermaeus Mora, Level 20+, Must have completed all other Deadric Quests and reached gained the “Blood of a Deadric Prince” quest in the main story. Either sleep to get the location, or find the shrine yourself. It’s a happy little hike either way. Enjoy. Reward: Oghma Infinum, Boost one stat 10 points, and 2-3 skills ten levels apiece.
Path of…
Steel: Strength, Speed, Blade, Blunt, Heavy Armor
Strength 100 to 110
Speed 100 to 110
Blade 96 to 106
Blunt 40 to 50
Heavy Armor 100 to 110
Uses: 10 extra Strength will give you +50 to your encumbrance count. The Speed boost may be nigh unnoticeable, but you’ll still use it I’m sure. Blade and Blunt can boost the effectiveness of the respective weapons, however slight from just ten levels. And Heavy Armor will make that more effective still, again, however slight.
Shadow: Agility, Speed, Acrobatics, Sneak, Security, Light Armor
Agility 100 to 110
Speed 100 to 110
Acro 95 at 95
Sneak 99 to 109
Security 32/72 to 42/82
Light Armor 91 to 101
Uses: I’ve rarely noticed actually using Agility. I think it is more passive. A stronger Sneak can make it tougher to find you. Security. Useless, but its there. And Light Armor makes it work more for you.
Spirit: Intelligence, Alteration, Destruction, Conjuration, Restoration
Intelligence 100 to 110
Alteration 100 at 100
Destruction 20 to 30
Conjuration 100 to 110
Restoration 76 to 86
Uses: The boost in Intelligence gives you 20 more magicka to your total. It may be significant, it may be negligible, depending upon how you throw your magic. My spells are usually for fun or out-of-battle usage, so I’ve rarely needed as much as possible. Higher Destruction, Conjuration, and Restoration skills will mainly make spells of that nature cost less. You may be able to squeeze a bit more power into your favorite spells (by making newer versions of them).
So that’s it. There may be some variation, but based upon the Path you choose, whatever skills and stats aren’t crossed out will probably increase.
Section 4: Spoilers
Glitches, tricks, and limited walkthroughs on some in game scenarios. This section contains info on some quick and dirty methods to gain advantages VERY quickly. On PC you can input codes in a kind of debug screen to materialize what you want. Gold, items, whatever. As long as you have the technical name to input you’re set. If that isn’t what you’re playing on here are a few tricks for you. On console:
Duplication Trick
I play in such a way that I will play the game as the designers intended first time through. I have also included methods in this walkthrough that consider that you are playing the game this way as well. If that really doesn’t matter to you, you can shave time off your leveling process, and probably gameplay in general. You need at least three scrolls to begin, two of one type and one of the other. A shop in the Imperial City can provide this. It works like this.
- In the item screen find a scroll you have two of. Select/equip it.
- Select/equip it again.
- Move to the item you wish to duplicate. Drop this item.
- Exit the menu. If this glitch holds on other systems from nowhere will materialize the item you dropped in the number of scrolls you equipped.
Said otherwise: Double tap scroll, drop wanted item. Translation? If you have 1000 fireball scrolls and you equip it twice and drop an appropriate item, you will be flooded with 1000 of that item. Doing this with scrolls at the beginning of the game gives you a large capital to ride on, enough to buy a house, armor, and other trinkets right off the bat. If I’m mindful I can be at Level 3 inside an hour with the items I described. I recommend first and foremost to do this in incrimates. I have 1000 repair hammers with Bai Lee, more than I should ever need. With items you have more than three of you can select just how many to drop. With 1 repair hammer keep ten scrolls, dupe, pick up ten hammers. Hang onto 100 scrolls, dupe, pick up ten hammers worth ten each (100 hammers). Keep all your scrolls, dupe, pick up ten hammers worth 1000 hammers in total. For the price of one hammer and perhaps three scrolls you have what it takes to max out Armorer, even from Skill level five in theory. I suggest selling scrolls since many are lightweight (.1 encumbrance) and can sell for 25-200 gold. This will limit how much bartering you do, keeping the lid on leveling up Mercantile, while getting you gold you may need for purchases and bribing. Lots of bribing (at first). And training. Remember to enter into Haggling to up how much you get per scroll. That should save you some barters too. Dupable items include: Repair hammers and like items (if you get The Shivering Isles hang on to some tongs and calipers), jewels (for TSI dupe flawless pearls), pelts, lockpicks, soul gems (kind of sketchy. Drop all other soul gems except the variety you are currently duping. Can be used on filled Gems too, making it great for enchantments), scrolls, ingredients (except Nirnroot, quest related), potions and poisons and beverages (except Shadowbanish Wine, quest related) some weapons and armor (handy for arrows and a glitch discussed below). If an item has a red hand on it, that means it is considered stolen. These items have a significant rate of not working. Sell and re-buy from a fence to make it kosher. Sadly, more unusual items (I have a propensity towards collection) such as bottles of human blood have no value and will just be given away and gone forever. *sigh*
Duped weapon glitch
Dupe a weapon, set to hotkey, and hit the hotkey thrice to equip, un-equip, and re-equip. Uses? If it works properly you have two weapons for the price of one (you still have to carry both of them, so be mindful of your encumbrance), and by equipping it/them this way it will fully repair the weapon and recharge it on enchanted weapons. Very useful. Bear this in mind when taking on Umbra with the Akaviri Sunderblade, and if you happen to find the weapon Chillrend, as it is a very potent weapon when combined with this.
Vampirism
Yes… you can be a Vampire. How? Get infected with Poryphyric Hemophagia (Vampire’s Disease) and wait three days, then go to sleep. Congrats, you’re a vamp. Getting infected is simple. Find a vampire, get attacked, and there is a chance you’ll be infected. Easy, right? You will get an official offer in the Dark Brotherhood questline as well. Going against standard lore, feeding on blood weakens you. The balance is socially acceptable/physically enhanced. If you have not fed recently you won’t be at the pinnacle of the Vampire eschelon, but you’ll be able to meander about with people without too much effort. At worse you’ll get some odd remarks about looking a little pale. As time goes on without feeding you will get stronger (as seen below) but people will refuse to deal with you. Plus fast travelling can spell death REALLY quick if done during the day. Below “Day 1” is either when you first become a full vampire or if you have just fed on someone. You can only feed on people who are sleeping.
Vampirism 25/50/75/100 (percentage of vampyric infection, increases daily upon sleeping or waiting)
Sun Damage 1/4/8 (points per second, starting on second day. No damage if recently fed.)
Weakness to Fire 20/30/40/50 (be careful if you’re a High Elf or an Apprentice birthsign of magic fire)
Fortify Statistics by 5/10/15/20- Speed, Strength, Willpower
Fortify Skills by 5/10/15/20- Acrobatics, Athletics, Destruction, Hand to Hand, Illusion, Mysticism, Sneak
Resist Normal Weapons 5/10/15/20 (Starting on Day 1)
Resist Disease 100 (Day 1)
Resist Paralysis 100 (Day 1)
Porphyric Hemophilia- Drain Fatigue 5 points (Day 2, not a substantial loss near as I can tell)
Hunter’s Sight Lesser Power (Day 1)
Night Eye 30 sec on Self, Detect Life 10 feet for 30 sec on Self
Vampire’s Seduction Lesser Power (Day 2)
-Charm 50 pts for 20 sec on Touch (this can really help in getting people to suffer your presence for gathering information or just buying and selling items)
Reign of Terror Greater Power (Day 3)
-Silence in 20 feet for 60 sec on touch
-Demoralize up to level 6 for 60 seconds on touch
Embrace of Shadows Greater Power (Day 4)
Night Eye for 90 Sec, Invisibility for 180 sec
Cure for Vampirism
You have to be a full vampire for this quest. (You can tell if you are by looking at yourself on the the equipment screen. You’ll be pale, your cheeks sunken in) Seek out Raminus Polus at the Arcane University, just southwest of the Imperial City. He will direct you to Count Hassildor of Skingrad. Speak with him to begin a large hunt and collection quest. If the duplication glitch works, this can cut down on your time once you find a sample of each item (if you don’t have it already). At the end he will reward you with 10,000 gold.
6 Garlic
2 Bloodgrass
5 Nightshade
Argonian Blood- You will be given a special dagger. Cut any Argonian with it to get a bit of their blood. Ideally, you want to find an enemy Argonian. There are a few in the middle of the Dark Brotherhood questline, some in the Fighter’s Guild towards the end, the Arena for certain. Otherwise, just go out and explore some dungeons and hope for the best. You CAN get it from any Argonian. Just be careful that you don’t get caught.
Ashes of Hirindia- You will be told to find a particularly old and powerful vampire. Kill him, take his ashes, and you’ll be set. If you have happened across him previously his ashes will be available if you collected them.
After collecting everything you will be given a portion of potion. I think that you may be able to collect about three more in total, so be VERY careful if you don’t want to be a vampire permanently. I’m not sure if there’s a limit on the timing… but I spoke with Count Hassildor again sometime later (for another quest) and the conversation heading of “Reward” was still present. I inquired, and got another 10,000 gold. I did this for about a minute. Ended up with more than 1,000,000 gold. Haven’t hurt for the stuff since. The primary necessity of this quest takes a backseat if you have the Deepscorn Hollow DLC. It also lets you become a vampire as often as you like. However, this will probably require seeking out a Vampire to infect you.
Unorthodox 