I bought Oblivion on Steam recently (DLCs included) after hearing from so many people that it's an awesome game. I'm a huge Fallout fan so I kinda know my way around Bethesda games

Would just like to know if you veterans have any (spoiler-free, if possible) handy tips to make gameplay better; important things to look out for, handy tricks, etc. Anything helps!

For the record, my character is an Orc Warrior, Steed birthsign

My only tip is to experience the game on your own, without any tips or tricks and without reading too much about it on UESP and similar pages. Nothing beats the enjoyment when you find out facts about the game on your own, or when you learn from your own mistakes.

Sorry if I'm not helpful but that's how I approach games that I haven't played (yet). Nothing brings me greater joy than starting a game that I know almost nothing about.

Assuming you'll be focusing on melee combat, at least to start. I'd recommend turning down the difficulty a notch just while you get used to controls, combat tactics, etc. You can adjust difficulty at any time, even in the middle of a fight, but it only really affects melee combat.

You'll want to keep your weapons and armor repaired and don't let your fatigue get too low during combat. Potions/alchemy are the great balancer if you find yourself outmatched.

Even if you don't plan on playing a mage there are some nice perks for joining the guild and at least getting access to the Arcane University, but it's not for everyone.

Keep fast-travel to a minimum or don't use it at all. Most of the game's enjoyment factor, especially for those of us who are still playing after all these years, comes from walking around and exploring what's out there. You'll miss 90% of what the game has to offer if you just run quests and fast travel to and from your destinations.

Lopov has the right answer and dreamed1 has some good suggestions to add. Just play the game and forget about getting help. I played the game for years before the internet reached my swamp and I was surprised to find out all the things I wasn’t supposed to be doing when I found this forum. My character is the head of the FG, MG, KotN, Arena, 60 Oblivion gates, and Champion of Cyrodiil, and all of that was done before I read anything other than the booklet that came in the box.

And yes, I use fast travel, and always have, but I also know when not to use it. Slow down and explore the place when you’re supposed to, but fast travel to cut out the BS, or else you’ll get bored.

After 5,668+ hours in the game, 3,372 of which belong to Baa and Mooch’s one continuous game, I still think it’s fun to play the game about every day.

I have lots of tips but there is something to be said for the journey of discovery on your own. So I'll give these general guidelines: Don't try to do everything with a single character. Your Orc Warrior is optimized for melee combat, so focus primarily on that. Pick a type of melee weapon (blunt or blade, but not both) to focus on as your major attack type. There is plenty of variety within the weapon types to keep you interested.

The main reason is to preserve some replayability for later playthroughs. I do usually end up doing the first set of Mage's Guild quests even on non-mages to gain access to the use of the Arcane University, but not always. And in fact, the one and only character of mine so far who has completed the main quest didn't join any of the guilds.

There is no set of "must do" quests, other than those required to complete quest chains that you choose to undertake.

You can choose to completely skip the main quest, or dive right into it, or pace yourself with it while fitting in other quests and exploration. Completely up to you.

I suggest traveling by foot and doing some sightseeing early. It's good to get some map markers on your map and get the feel for the landscape. Plus it's a pretty world to run around in. if you do it early, the wildlife is a bit more manageable. Explore things or don't as you encounter them, that's up to you. Random dungeon diving is a good way to make some cash early on and pick up some equipment.

Keep a decent number of saved games and save often. Don't just depend on autosaves and quicksaves (they overwrite the previous one)

Be careful with what you grab. This isn't Skyrim, if you grab anything that doesn't belong to you, even if you're just trying to straighten it up or put it back on the shelf, the owners will cry theft. I'm assuming you're on PC, so you can resolve this by opening the console, clicking the item and typing setownership. That way, you can move it around at your leisure.

Thanks for all the replies. i'm trying not to think too hard on doing a "perfect" playthrough or missing out on some stuff along the journey; this is kind of an OCD in my case, happens with almost all games I play.

It seems this game has a smooth learning curve, I'm somehow familiar with the basics already. Until I face a tougher enemy

I intend on exploring a lot and refrain from using fast travel as much as possible.

And...HORSES!!! <3

Horses are fun, but as you are riding along and notice a wolf snapping at your steed's heels, you have to dismount and draw your weapon, making sure not to hit the horse as you are fighting the wolf (or bandit, or random monster). When you are on foot, you tend to spot them sooner and can react more quickly. You just end up getting on and off your horse a lot.

And no matter what the NPCs say about "keeping to the roads", I have found that various bandits and highwaymen have also heard that advice so they camp out by the roads to waylay passersby. I often find that going cross-country is safer, though you still have to deal with wildlife and monsters.

Once you have legally acquired a horse, it will always be yours, and will show up wherever you end up when you fast travel. The only way to "turn off" the horse is to briefly steal another horse. Then your current horse will slowly wander back to wherever you bought it. All it takes is to sneak up behind the horse (make sure the sneak icon shows you are undetected - even the horse itself will report your crime if it sees you), hop on, and hop off. If you ever want to ride your horse again, go to where he was originally stabled and he will still be there, and still belonging to you.

When you mount an owned horse (you can own several), it will become your designated horse and will be the one that you ride automatically when fast traveling.

Some people complain that combat is not fun because you just mash attack to win. But . . . When you attack into a blocking opponent it will stagger you for a second. Same thing happens when they attack you when you are blocking. A high damage attack like a power attack can also cause stagger. When an opponent is staggered you can get a couple quick blows in while they recover. A power attack can power right through a block but it can leave you exposed if you miss. Melee combat can become much more fun if you time attacks and blocks to take advantage of stagger, use a combination of regular attacks and power attacks, etc.

!!!!! This point can't be made strongly enough.

I agree, plus it is a good idea to disable autosaves since they can lead to corruption.

I always manual save indoors [less moving parts for the game to remember], never overwrite. I never alter/change mods during a game. I like to use a race/mod that has ears as it gives away the emotional state of the PC. Personality counts, Luck fortifies Personality. Positive Personality gets more results than the sword.

I've heard quick saving can sometimes break saves so I suggest just manually saving and rotate with four save files. If you want to make a new character back-up your current playthrough and put the saves there as to not bloat the game's save folder which could also cause problems.

Also if you're looking for mods I suggest unique landscapes, better cities, either deadly reflexes or unnecessary combat as they both make the NPCs a bit more of a threat later on.

My numbered saves are up to 457.

I've never had a quick-save become corrupted, but I have had auto-saves do so.