The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Game of the Year Edition (2009)

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Game of the Year Edition (2009)

578 ratings
Advice that separates living warriors from brave fools...
By Draco9711
This is a small dissertation on proper combat technique, that could substantially aid gameplay.
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If you don't know what to do, stay behind your shield.
It's a book that can be found in Oblivion. A Dance in Fire, Chapter 2.

Decumus Scotti asks an Arena Champion for advice. "When Scotti was a lad, before he grew too sophisticated for such sports, he had often gone to the Imperial Arena for the competitions of war. He recalled a great veteran of the fights, when asked, telling him his secret, 'Whenever I'm in doubt of what to do, and I have a shield, I stay behind it.'" This quote stuck with me, through all my years as an adventurer and gladiator. I now present my combat techniques.

First moves, If you use a shield, now's the time to equip it. If you're a spellsword like me, this is where you chug your potions to prime for battle, and let loose a weakness spell, ideally one that works with an enchanted weapon of your choice, and any damage spell you plan to use.

Let them close the distance to you. Stay behind your shield. Let them swing first.

Follow this combination. Block. Swing, Swing, Block. Swing, Swing, Block. Never go for a third swing, unless they're staggering back. Then take only a third swing, and go back to the block. Never be too eager, let them come to you, let them swing first. Spice things up with the occasional damage spell if magically inclined.

Block. Swing, Swing, Block. Swing, Swing, Block.

This simple pattern has kept me alive for ten years of playing Oblivion. I hope it serves you well.
Focus your attention. One at a time.
If facing multiple enemies, as can be the case, focus your attention on the most problematic foe first.

Focus all of your attacks on this one foe, except for defensive swings to keep the others back. Keep these to a minimum. Focus on blocking, and siezing openings.

Prioritize which ones to deal with first. Rats and Crabs, if you can one-shot them, just to be rid of the nuisance. Then the strongest enemy of the group. Whittle their numbers down one by one.

By focusing attention, you destroy the enemies capabilities to inflict damage more substantially more quickly.

But, if you can avoid a group fight, do so. Weigh risks and rewards. Is it worth fighting 7 goblins for their silver shortsword? Or is it better to pick them off one by one?

Never be too eager for a fight.
I'm gonna WALK down there, and I'm gonna F*** them all.
My father, a marine, tells this story.

The story of the old buffalo and the young buffalo.

The old buffalo and the young buffalo are standing at the top of a hill looking at all the women buffalo in the valley.

The young buffalo says, "I'm gonna run down there and F*** me one of them buffaloes."

The old buffalo says "Yeah? Well I'm gonna walk down there, and I'm gonna F*** them all."

Never be too eager. Take your time.

Walk through dungeons, don't run. Use your eyes, too.
Better a Living Coward than a Dead Fool...
There is no shame in walking away. Or running as the case may be.

"He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day." You don't have to prove anything to anyone.

Know when the fight will be too much. Use your eyes and brain, damn it. Come back with more firepower levels later. Loot is nice, living to spend it is better. Self-preservation is key.

Ever heard the story of the guy who tried to prove he wasn't a ♥♥♥♥♥ and succeeded, and rode off into the sunset with the damsel? Neither have I. Two things. One, no matter the testicular fortitude, you will never, ever, ever prove to the prick that you're not a ♥♥♥♥♥. Two, usually, trying to prove non-♥♥♥♥♥-ness results in bodily injury or death. Ow, no thank you.

Know when to walk away, know when to run. Sometimes, it's just not worth it.
Is there such a thing as a fair fight?
Now listen, honor and chivalry is a currency worth FAR more than gold. But don't be stupid.

Sometimes, techniques and tactics called "cheating" or "dishonorable" are why you are alive, and they are dead.

Magic. Alchemy. Bows. Staffs. Stealth. Poisons. Bobbing and Weaving. Making them choke on fruggin shield.

If you decide to offer the enemy a handicap, it's squarely on your arse you died. Know this, they won't make it easy for YOU.

Use your environment. Traps and pitfalls are doing the work for you. Stay behind a shield or cover. Make the enemy work for it.

Never lower your eyes or turn your back to your enemy, until the fight is won, and you know you are beyond their harm.

As the Font of Renewal in the Imperial City Arena says, "The best techniques are passed on by the survivors."
Trained and Untrained. Literate and Illiterate.
There is no "Good". There is no "Skillz". There's trained, and there's untrained.

Interesting trivia, popping open a Blades NPC in the Construction Kit reveals that Blades Training includes NEVER USING POWER ATTACKS.

Speaking as an Oblivion combat expert, (according to Oxford, that's 10,000 hours experience...) I can tell you there are only two times I use power attacks. Two, maybe three, if I can get away with it, (Use your brain...) right at the beginning of a fight, if I can close the distance between me and them before they see me and ready themselves. This is a blitz attack. Or, one, possibly two at the very end of a fight, to finish the enemy off.

Speaking of power attacks, those are the perfect time to sidestep your opponent when your opponent does them, letting them miss, and attacking them while they're lunged out and exposed.

Otherwise, Block, Swing, Swing, Block. Stay behind your shield, damn it.

Old buffalo and young buffalo. Take your time. Never be too eager.
When in doubt, know your way out.
Said simply, don't let multiple enemies surround you. Keep your back against a wall, and know the way to the door you just came in from.

As someone who's fought three Minotaur Lords in the arena thousands of times, being surrounded and outgunned is not where you want to be.

Try to keep something behind you. A wall, a rock, anything that'll protect your entire posterior.

Speaking from IRL experience, I learned how to fight from down in a corner. From down there, you have nowhere to go but up. Don't let them put you in the corner by force, choose the corner when the time is right.

With your back in a corner, and you staying behind your shield, no one will be able to touch you in any real way. Dish out punishment from your makeshift stronghold.
Time for a summary...
1: "If you don't know what to do, and you have a shield, stay behind it."

2: Block. Swing, swing, block.

3: Focus your fire.

4: NEVER BE TOO EAGER.

5: Know when to walk away, know when to RUN.

6: "All is fair in Love and War."

7: Let the enemy be the young buffalo...

8: Keep your back against the wall.

9: "When in doubt, know your way out."

and 10: STAY BEHIND YOUR SHIELD, DAMN IT!
Advice from the Underworld
In commemoration of 5,300 unique views and almost 100 favorites, I present a bonus tip for all of you.

"You can get more with a gun and a kind word, than with just a kind word." Al Capone said that.

Stay strapped or get clapped. Walk softly and carry a big stick. If you want peace, prepare for war.

It is better to be a warrior in a garden, than a gardener in a war.

I've said all of that to say this. "Victory without conflict is the acme of skill." Diplomacy is almost always an option. Bribery and the gift of gab works wonders in this or any world. "Gold makes the world go around."

Be prepared to talk and spend some gold, but conflict should be reserved by any true warrior as a last resort only. The best warriors want to LOOK so scary, that they don't HAVE to fight.

I'm not saying flower power and kumbayah, bring your sword. But words are weapons, and the pen is mightier than the sword. Don't "kill first, ask questions later." and end up regretting it.

I acknowledge that in some instances, conflict is inevitable. In which case, may the odds be ever in your favor. But if you can win a fight without drawing a sword, why wouldn't you want to?

Of course, "Victory without conflict" said a different way could be "more bodies with less swings of a sword" and higher kill to death ratios should be your goal. Ideally infinite to nothing, actually.

So double-edged truth. If you can't talk to it, be sure you can kill it. And where killing is concerned, faster is better.

Quick side note: Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Take your time, never be too eager, WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT THE BUFFALO? Ok. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.
Addendum...
Recently, I completed the Pilgrim's Path completely naked with only my shortsword. Leaving Anvil, I was accosted by the token Highwayman, and realized something after fighting and killing him. I broke my own advice twice during the fight. Swung three times, and went for the power attack on the stagger.

I'm relaying that story to say this... Don't fall in to the trap of maneuver for maneuver's sake. Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.

Be flexible, be ready to roll with the punches. Every fight is unique, with it's own terrain, it's own weather.

This advice, while useful, may not be the best advice in the circumstances you may find yourself in.

That said, trained and untrained.

***************************************************************************************

*I wrote the first section years ago, and I realized tonight, whilst playing, that one can swing a shortsword three times in the window of opportunity of the block stun.*

I'm saying I wrote my main Block-Swing-Swing-Block thesis with the Longsword and particularly Daedric in mind. I had no idea faster swing times could be factored in. For instance, I'm using a glass shortsword in the Arena, and I can swing THREE times reliably before the stun wears off.

This bears further scrutiny and testing. However, with a longsword, especially daedric, the thesis is sound.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I've been keeping this one secret since I published.
About choosing the corner when the time is right.

If you're crafty, and assuming the fight is one on one, you can actually trade places with the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥.

I've been using this technique for 25 years. Pull him down to your level, trade places, and beat his head in.

Kept it secret, but seeing how war is exploding all over the planet, the only way to make everybody safe is to make everybody dangerous.
Shameless Self-Promotion
Seeing 250 Favorites has prompted me to lift my comment from obscurity, and make it available in the Guide.

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/52056

This is my Guide, now found as a book in Game. Some have asked, I've tried to deliver.

To rectify the karmic negative of providing legitimate real world combat training, I've decided to donate 10% of any Donation Points I earn from downloads to "Doctors Without Borders". They are currently aiding wounded civilians in Ukraine, as well as many other war-torn parts of our world.

The mod is one ESP, no bells and whistles. It adds 5 copies of my Guide, tastefully edited for lore-friendliness, to the First Edition in the Imperial City Market. One copy can be found in the Mystic Archives in the Arcane University, as well.
108 Comments
ablessabs 16 Feb @ 6:55am 
I refused to sleep when infected with vampirism, and accumulated a few level ups. While I've tried to stagger them, I didn't do too well and I'm suddenly faced with trolls everywhere I go. Thanks for the combat advice :))
MjauMix 20 Oct, 2024 @ 4:25am 
damn, these be some srsly deep kombat mechanicics
Draco9711  [author] 9 Jun, 2024 @ 5:30pm 
@Preston Thank you kindly.
Industrial Limescale Remover 5 Jun, 2024 @ 4:52pm 
sheald
lazyfatso 28 May, 2024 @ 1:53pm 
behind shield got it
I Bully Engineers 24 May, 2024 @ 3:45am 
most of this is just good objective advice for any RPG, or even real life warfare situations. Be prepared for anything, but don't just rush in. You seem like quite the gentleman.:praisesun:
Leaky Juul Pod 5 May, 2024 @ 8:43pm 
PLaying the game in a new way is always fun. To me this game is so broken that I always end up just making a stupid over powered spell build. Its disgusting how broken making your own spells is. No wonder that feature didn't come back to Skyrim.
NoobGamer1267 29 Feb, 2024 @ 12:36am 
there is one more thing i need to add, if you're stuck somewhere and can't get out without dying, slide it to the left, if you know what i mean
Choops 11 Jan, 2024 @ 6:46pm 
I've recently started playing Oblivion again for the first time since 2006. Instead of being a spell slinger, this time I wanted to try traditional longsword + board. Naturally after getting wiped a few times, I kind of developed this exact martial knowledge with careful attention to attack progression + defensive stance dancing. Learning to master combat and using terrain/obstacle advantage has felt very rewarding.
jonssu 11 Dec, 2023 @ 9:24am 
The philosophy kept me engaged.