Hey guys i haven't played Oblivion since it's GOTY edition was released. But i've played Skyrim alot. I want to go back to Oblivion but I don't really remember anything. I know in Skyrim being a mage isn't really viable, and I THINK I remember in Oblivion being an archer kind of svcked. What are the simple differences I should probably know when trying to make a near perfect character? Say a mage. Race/deity/whatever

That question's too broad to really be able to answer effectively, particularly since if you add mods onto Oblivion, virtually any class is viable. For example, a pure Mage build is perfectly feasible with LAME (Less Annoying Magic Experience), and I'd even daresay a pure Mage would be overpowered if you also added on Supreme Magicka. If you add on some of Duke Patrick's mods, a pure Archer becomes viable. Sneaking Detection Recalibrated makes being a Rogue or Thief easier. And there are options for Druids, necromancers, murderers, vampires and werewolves...

In short, if you're playing vanilla Oblivion, then a heavy hitter/tank or battlemage/paladin build probably is the best. But start adding some mods, and you can do whatever you want.

Sorry, I probably should have said i'd be playing the Xbox 360 GOTY version. I remember when I first played I picked a knight deity or something and did whatever came at me and used everything so my character was horribly built in a perfectionist point of view.

For a first Oblivion mage character, I recommend a Breton, because their magic-resistance makes them very durable. The Mage birthsign will give you some extra Magicka without adding any weaknesses. As for class skills, it's up to how you want to play, but I recommend that a mage should start with at least Illusion and Restoration as Major Skills (the starting Restoration spell "Absorb Health" will give you a powerful offensive weapon, so you won't need to use a physical weapon, and Illusion, when trained up, is the most powerful skill in the game.)

Edit: I disagree about needing mods. Mages are by far the most powerful fighting types in the game, and vanilla Illusion is so powerful that it's almost game-breaking.

Thank you very much. People say the sneak type is game breaking in Skyrim, is it in Oblivion and what should I shoot for if I go that route?

Max sneak is game-breaking in ANY Bethesda game. That said, I definitely bring my archers to 100 in Sneak. I gimp my character in other ways, so that he is not so overpowered.
Fallout 3 on the other hand, I keep my sneak lower than 75.

I suppose it depends on how you play. A well-built mage (with 100%+ Chameleon, Resist Magic, etc. and/or some potent destruction, illusion or conjuration spells) can be quite devastating--hence your "almost game-breaking" comment). But many of the defensive abilities are available to fighters too, since all it takes is some well-placed armor/clothing enchantments complements of Transcedent Sigil Stones, or some fancy jewelry. I once had a fighter that had >100% Resist Magic, >100% Reflect Damage and 85 armor...

Bows in Oblivion i remember being somewhat crappy though, right?

No, skyrim's sneak can *actually* be game-breaking - it sometimes doesn't work properly once you get too high. Not sure if this has been fixed yet.

Oblivion's is just overpowered, especially once you start using chameleon effects. I found archery to be highly effective if you sneak attack everything. Eventually, you can one-shot any enemy in the game with a half-way decent bow, and carry a few poisons in case someone spots you before you get them. If you don't sneak much, then archery is much, much tougher. That's where people complain about having to run backwards and turn enemies into pincushions.

The thing is any build can be viable, once you get past the first 10 levels or so and have sufficient health to pad your battles. Warrior types just have an easier go in the beginning because they build health faster. You can focus on building endurance even with a mage, though and get higher health if you like. Or just play, eventually mages become more powerful and don't need the extra health really. I always thought Bretons were the best all-around fighters by the time you max them out, because of their magic-resistance and bonuses, even for non-mage characters.

It's not just Chameleon, although high chameleon certainly is a game-breaker. You have Invisibility, which means you can cheaply run away and hide. You have Paralyze, which completely disables an opponent. You have Command, which turns enemies into allies. Illusion has several ways to make your character into an unstoppable force.

And you can still put all of those same enchantments on your mage, that you mentioned above for the fighter type.

True...provided you remember to dispel the enemy's Reflect Magic first
And on the second point - I merely meant that, at least when it came to defensive capabilities, I don't see a huge difference between mages and fighters, since they can use the same uber-enchantments. But offensive capabilities...well, that's a different story.

Yes, I think we agree. The mage obviously has the offensive advantage. You can make a whole group of enemies kill each other, and only have to face the one weakened survivor. That's Power!

Oddly enough, my character has never used the Command, Rally or Frenzy powers. Too busy focusing on the school of Destruction and Alchemy. Lothran does have a couple of AoE spells though which come in handy when dealing with more than one foe.

That would be the "down side" of playing only a single character.

I wouldn′t say that. It′s never too late to change your focus

I didn't say that you couldn't.

What I was feebly trying to say is that playing multiple characters allows one to experience different character development. It's one thing to change focus when one already has a powerful character, and quite another to struggle to the point of success.

Illusion is a good example. It's really hard to survive as an Illusionist in the early game. You have to rely on Charm, low-level Command, etc, because you have limited access to the powerful stuff until your skill hits 50. But on the other hand, there's a tremendous sense of accomplishment when you do succeed. Any lopsided mage build (one which is missing particular skills, but strong in others) is always living by one's wits, assessing the situation, improvising, until one's skills are well established.

If you can always fall back on a well-practiced Destruction spell, or strong weapons and armor, you don't have that same sense of urgency and danger.

NO SIR!
I love archery in Oblivion. I can take long-ass shots, I can lead targets on the fly while having a running battle. I can engage three enemies with just a bow and still win. It's very satisfying to clear out an entire dungeon with just a bow. And no one knew I was there. One hit kills all day long. Now if he got discovered, that was a different story, that was scary, I chose to make him very powerful as an archer, but he needs to run away from anything that gets close.
Using non-enchanted and non-poisoned bows is just as satisfying. My archers do a lot of hunting. A lot. Chasing deer and trying to get close is great fun.
The expert knockdown perk is so sweet.... Just... I'm crying, please forgive me. *sniffles*
No, bows in Oblivion are a thing of beauty. The best is making a kill in 3rd person mode. Epic. No, really it is. It's just like a 10% chance for me usually lol.

Nah, bows can actually be pretty good. My character is running around with a Perfect Durable Chaos Bow (part of a beta version of WEPON) that is making killing stuff a lot of fun

I've played this game for four years, and all of my characters have been stealth archers. You don't know what you will be missing unless you try it. Knocking off a bandit at your comps max draw distance makes you feel like you really did something - rather than just splattering a lot of blood around with your longsword or frying some dude with a spell.

I'm probably the worst user of the Bow in Oblivion by far, the opposite of Skyrim where I'm actually decent. That being said, Bow are still decent if you can adjust to the arrow dropping in flight mechanic.

Mages can be incredibly overpowering in Oblivion, especially if you go the Illusion route.

In all fairness When I played Skyrim, I doubted the daggers and bows because I thought they were weak and I did in Oblivion also, However after I made a character in Skyrim strictly for sneak, Daggers are now my best friend so I do want to make a character in oblivion now, (slightly off topic I think)

But anything is doable if you can adjust to measuring distances and adjusting your power to the enemy (if that makes any sense) then bows are deadly

So bows are mainly for the sneaking type in Oblivion? and not so much for the fighting in the open?

You could use a Bow as a main weapon although I would go the Illusion route with Paralyze and Invisiblity as a backup weapon in case you get overhandled. Sneaking is a lot easier in Oblivion due to the low AI intelligence.

As "Terror" said, they work fine as a main weapon, but you need something else for close fighting, because enemies will charge you. One effective close fighting weapon is Restoration's "Absorb Health." It's a touch spell that takes the enemy's health away and heals you at the same time. It's also effective underwater (bows and targeted spells don't work there.)

I kinda figured you meant that but decided to pretend I didn′t