ShadowPaladin V1.0

It's just like a MMO.

A lot of them already own slaves.

A new game of Oblivion.

Tell me about it. After my latest rant I followed Musopticons advise and played another game. However, since I beated that one I got back into Oblivion. What appears, behind my

Well in a normal CRPG sidequests help you complete the main plot rather than hinder you :D It is silly though when somethings about to happen and you tell them you will be back later (and show up in a couple of weeks) Well the main quest isnt very long and consists of go here kill this and collect that. Kind of repetative too since you have been doing that most of the time anyway. It's got to be one of the the least engaging plots I've played. My difficulty breaker came when I had. just a case of summoning and tapping your own creatures to refil the charge counter and anyone can get 25 conjuration

I'd rather those than a wisp.

Making excuses for a broken design isnt going to lead to improvement. A level is supposed to represent an advancement. Thats why it goes up not down. In Oblivion it dosnt work that way. It works the same as EQ where as you leve, you get comparitively weaker compared to a monster of your level. Thats why everyone can solo a level 1 creature, but not every class can solo a level 50 creature. And much like EQ , Oblivion is all about what equipment your carrying and has little to do with the character. The difference with EQ is there are still lots of lower level and higher level creatures running around the place. In Oblivion if you need to get money say for new gear. Or just new gear(which you need in order to fight effectively at your never levle). That will lead to leveling, which in turn will lead to everything going up in level. And thats what makes it very,very broken. If it wasnt, then you wouldnt need to hold levels back to just to balance things up.Or avoid 10 minute hackfests with everything you come across. The idea that a character who minors in fighting skills, will end up a better fighter than one who majors in fighting skills. Is quite simply stupid. But this is indeed how Oblivion works. I've already given my solution. Which is to get rid of the levels.The system dosnt need levels anyway. They add nothing which could not be done by expanding learn by doing. This would lead both to more fluid game play and get rid of most of the reasons for complaint at a stroke.

That one depends on your block skill. The higher it is, the more they will recoil. It can really hurt when you have one with a shield and one with a 2 handed weapon. Weapon damage is also based on your weapon skill (plus the weapon) and it does seem given the fancy tricks that most can pull off, like knocking you halfway across a room they have a skill in relation to their level.

Slightly spoilerish..

Well I finished the main quest and just one word really. Dull. As an RPG nothing to write home about. However as an offline MMO (theres a contradiction) with a series of instanced dungeons it's rather good fun. I was level 28 at the end. Breezed through thanks to three items. None of the memorable bits were plot related. The ending was rather predictable too. My character has now retired to Skingrad wearing his shiny new armour. Nice house too, shame 25k is like pocket change at that level. Got another week till Dragon Quest VIII arrives so I'm going to make a cute female Dark Elf and pattern her after an EQ Shadow Knight. Ignore the plot competely and just go exploring.

You would be better off ditching the concept of levels completely and going the FFII route where casting spells and hitting things increase your associated stat and using lots of mana or getting hit a lot increase your mana and health pools. Stats would raise as you use the skills, but as play rather than having to find a bed to level. I dont find the levels particularly useful or complimentry to the learn by doing system either.

Imagine everything is backwards. Minor in skills you use all the time and major in skills you hardly ever use. :D That way you level up really slowly , but maximise your levels. Another way is to do what I am doing which is to level up when you feel things are getting easy. Although breaking a couple of gates and making yourself a couple of vampiric weapons will have the same effect.

If the intent is for your character to actually matter, rather than the gear they wear, then yep it's seriously broken. I just did the gate with two specfic items and it was a cake walk. :D

Well a character who cant fight isnt really viable anyway. It's not that sort of game. If you want to play stealth you need to hit and run with chameleon or invis. I'm level 20 at the moment and I've maxed str and almost maxed end. I don't recall ever getting a +5 in str anywhere along the way. If the stats didnt cap at 100 it might be more relevent. But since they do once your stat and your skill are maxed the only way your going to improve your chances is through your gear. This is where I became unstuck in Kvatch. I was still using the starting 3 damage sword even though I was level 12. Up until then It worked out fine. Summons are a great way to even the odds. A decent summon is worth more than +5 per level any day. Even Spanky (scamp) who is a really low level summon will make a one on one fight easy since you just make sure one of you is always at their back. It's a lot like being an EQ Shadow Knight again Gear is definately where it's at. The way I play is a little odd I guess. But I normally use my least powerful weapon and only switch up when it's required (like 2 on one or more) or I want something dead fast (usually a caster). If you want good weapons. Raiding Oblivion gates is the way to go

That is what I feel as well. It sucks having to manage your skills just to get those +5s at level up. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Well you dont really need those +5 skill ups. But I agree that having to manage your levels is not a good thing.

How fast you level depends a lot on your skillset. Unfortunately I picked skills which make you prone to leveling. I'm on about the same play time as you. But I've been holding back levels since 20. She may only show up at a certain time of day.

I think I'll stay at 20 till the end of the main quest :D Spanky (my summon) helps a lot when it comes to being outnumbered. With it's help I was able to kill 2 skeleton champions and pets plus a zombie. Normally they would be instant death in those numbers even with my best weapon. The difficulty although odd has definately kept my interest in the game where as Morrowind bored me to tears after a while because it lacked challenge.

I remeber that one. Wondered what was going on till I found that book. Still think you could cut the world size in half and add some more interest without losing anything though.

Is this going to be another collect four things quest ? I have to get a big rock and do something in Burma. So am I close to the end ?

Well the deadra lord quests have a minimum level requirement. I'm doing one for Clavicus Vile that has a min level 20 requirement. I'm not sure if these are the same weapons spoken of in the book though. The rewards thus far have been very good.

I've never come close to finishing one before. Looks like I might just this time.

I've been running errands for the Deadra Lords :D

Well I'd prefer if it was scaled by dungeon rather than by individual. It would add some variety. You could start off with easier things at the top and progress to harder things as you get to the bottom. As I've said the problem I'm personally having with scaling is when you are outnumbered. And I've taken steps to sort that out :D Otherwise it's not so bad although the ammount of damage you have to inflict now is getting a bit silly.

Thats handy I wont have to avoid the plot now. Thanks.

How can some humans have souls and others not ?