Which game is better Morrowind or Oblivion?

I'm afraid you've just opened up the most climactic can of worms this forum has ever let loose into its arenas of debate. There is no answer to your question, whether you prefer Morrowind or Oblivion is dependent entirely on what features you like in a game. I've found that most people who played Morrowind first prefer that, and the same with Oblivion. Here is a nice feature list to help you out

Morrowind
*More quests and factions
*Less 'epic' but more though-provoking main quest
*Greater variety in equipment and special artifacts
*Text-based dialogue
*Dice-roll combat system
*Much much MUCH slower-paced
*Not level-scaled, the world does not shape to fit your level

Oblivion
*Fewer factions, but with more dynamic factional storylines
*A very exciting and epic--while slightly unoriginal-- main quest
*More complete sets of armor with less variety
*Voiced dialogue(while somewhat lacking in dynamics)
*Hit-every-time style combat, easier but cheapens weapon skill
*Fast-paced
*Level-scaled, enemies and quests match your level at all times

If you're new, I would recommend starting Morrowind first, as it can be more difficult to get into. Though if you lose patience, Oblivion is also a fantastic game.

If this can be a discussion about the pluses and minuses of each game, I'll let it run. If it turns into an Oblivion bash-fest or flaming between fans of either game, it gets locked. Let's see how it goes.

Personally, I have never, not once, felt a need to pick one over the other. I don't think of the MW while playing OB and I don't think of OB while playing MW. Both have their strengths, I have played both for hundreds upon hundreds of hours and both are still installed and still played to the present day.

Wow, two of these in one day.

Anyway, I like them both but prefer Morrowind.
Oh, and I've decided to take the hint from Leydenne and put down why the above is my opinion.

Morrowind:
+More factions
+More equipement
+Better (IMO) atmosphere
+Great houses FTW
+/-Text based dialogue (slightly less immersive, easier to mod, more information from each NPC)
+Alien world, very unique feeling
- Spotty AI
-CTDs :brokencomputer:
+ All hand placed, feels hand placed
-Hard to get into at the start (not much of a problem for me, but apparantly it is for others)
+Small towns to huge cities, none of this "one house counts as a hamlet" business

Oblivion:
+Epic feel
+/- More story, less minutiae guild questlines (doesn't feel right when everything they give a new recruit somehow ends up being all the guild does)
-Compass thingy that shows everything nearby
+/- Voiced Dialogue (see what I put in the MW list)
+/- hit every time combat ( less frustrating, less realistic, doesn't really matter as over 100 hits you'll still have dealt about the same damage.)
+/- leveled world
- Bandits in daedric armor
+/- "Better" AI (nicer to see people walk and eat and talk, annoying to hear people talk)

I didn't include graphics in either list as they both had advanced graphics for their times and comparing games 4 years apart on graphics is kinda useless.

I prefer Morrowind for many reasons.
I can also name some things I'm not to happy with.

+More factions
+More equipement
+Better (IMO) atmosphere
+/-Text based dialogue (slightly less immersive, easier to mod, more information from each NPC)
+Alien world, very unique feeling
-CTD
+Rather lore-correct
-My wife got dyslexia so she cant really get into the game without getting annoyed to death.

And more.

Oblivion:

+Interesting story about the DB and Sheo
--Compass thingy that shows everything nearby
-/+Voiced Dialogue (gets very generic) but my wife loves it
+ hit every time combat ( less frustrating, less realistic, doesn't really matter as over 100 hits you'll still have dealt about the same damage.) IT's NOT a FPS!
--- leveled world (that was one of the biggest turn offs for me I mean NO epic fights what so ever.
- Bandits in daedric armor (failure.com)
-Lore-[censored] is NOT ok!

It's not Morrowind vs / or Oblivion to me.
It's more like Morrowind / Oblivion vs / or other games to me.

i'm always torn between both mostly because of atmosphere rather than gameplay adjustments.

i actually like the 'mundane' real-world appearance of Cyrodiil as portrayed in oblivion...i know a lot of people don't...but i really can't decide if i like it more than Morrowind's crazy out-there worlds and beings. they're both such memorable game worlds that are vastly different in terms of atmosphere, i can't choose...i'm just satisfied that they're both part of the same series.

They are both very much worth playing, I don't know why we need to decide which one is best.

There are many (in my opinion, stupid)reasons. Wait until TES V is released. We will have to deal with protests about how TES V isn't an exact copy of Oblivion, Morrowind, or Daggerfall. The Arena fans(Where are you?) seem pretty quiet, though.

Morrowind is my favorite game of all time. Oblivion was well done, and improved upon TES:III in many ways, but it fell short in areas that really took away from the experience and the standard that MW set in my mind. I think that without the severe level scaling Oblivion would have rivaled MW, but I just couldn't stand how bland it made the game when all of your enemies level with you. It really took away from the satisfaction of building up your character.

I feel it's important to discuss the merits of one game over the other because it allows us to both understand what features were would all like most and what we wish TES V to resemble. The complaints about Oblivion surely shaped Fallout 3, and the complaints about both will positively shape how TES V ends up.

As for right now, I must say Morrowind was my favorite, and that Oblivion, while a good game, was a disappointment as a TES title. It's not so much the game mechanics (which were a huge complaint, because I never, not once, felt like I was making progress as a character, due to the level scaling), but rather the presentation of the game world. No religious factions, no army factions, the downsizing, and the player coddling. It just really messed up the feeling of the world for me.

Luckily Todd Howard recognized the problems himself, such as when he mentioned how he wanted their next TES game to be much more rich in the lore and culture.

Morrowind doesn't CTD often. I've probably only played Oblivion 50 hours or so? I always try to play it, and get bored. But In that time I've CTD'ed countless times, whereas in Morrowind, with all the thousands of hours, I've CTD'ed at least a quarter of what I've CTD'ed in Oblivion. Get a good computer, and don't mess up mods.

Oblivion's good side? Umm... A working Arena? :shrug:

I love the entire Elder Scrolls series so its more a matter what i like that isnt of Bethesda origin which makes me wonder.

Things i like about Morrowind-
Huge world with a vast network of above ground and underground activity. I was almost expecting a bird city in the skies and a daedra plane in outer space due to the immense detail of what already existed. Maybe we'll be able to travel to other planets in TES V but they'll be thought of as other planes of reality where certain environmental influenced passions will rule each sphere.

The consistent art style of the world. Everything felt complete and when i think of Morrowind its a clear sharp image in my mind with no blurred questioning.

The vastness and detail of the Dwemer ruins. Who would of thought so much attention would have gone into a place where nobody but monsters live. Of course it did make the city of Vivec and the city in a giant turtle shell seem too empty when you had this huge daggerfallian hallways to walk in with no citizens or merchants in sight. I was expecting something supernatural or Morag Tang criminal to occur in areas so oddly empty.

The totally different beastiary never seen in any rpg before.

The books and lore with plenty of inspiring writing which at times even made my day a bit more positive at annoying moments.

The huge selection of clothing from the robes ordorned with all sorts of designs and patterns to the stylish everyday clothes complimented by the cheaper grungy poor attire one starts Morrowind in etc.

The music.


Things i like about Oblivion-
The RAI ai. Does what its supposed to without feeling complicated or cluttered. Npcs feel very natural and full of individuality.

The incredible at times photorealistic creatures in the world. The modeling and animation really give these scary monstrosities plenty of life. The deer are also amazing especially when swimming in water.

The variety of dungeons while keeping to a certain few styles of architecture to give everything a cohesive reality.

The moons, the thick wooded forests which feel so different at night compared to the less spooky daylight hours.

The buetiful grim and gorey graphics which really surprised me and i was shocked the censorship band wagon didnt jump on right away. Thank goodness for nudity and hot coffee being so distracting ha ha.

More wonderful books to read and Npcs talking lore related topics like the White Gold Tower etc.

The music.

For me, Morrowind had more interesting concepts in it, but Oblivion was just plain more fun, so I give Oblivion the edge.

Basically, when they made Oblivion, it seems they managed to go through and greatly improve all the base systems compared to Morrowind (combat, magic mechanics, stealth, AI, etc), but to do that they had to go through and cut out anything that could be deemed cool-but-unessential (levitation, polearms, etc).

In an ideal world, we'd get both, but it I had to choose, I'd go with better base mechanics over extra little features. Hopefully, TES V will be able to just build on Oblivion's mechanics, rather than starting from scratch, so we will actually get both.

personally i like morrowind more. oblivion was fun but it didn't require much thinking.

That annoys the snot out of me. Especially if you need a quest item such as a wolf skin and you'll never get a wolf to spawn because your level is too hard. It even more rediclous when you see every enemy in Daedric armour and never get in over your feet or run into some little brat who doesn't realize you can squash him like a bug, There are mods to deal with this problem a little bit but really you can only go so far with how the system is done. I much prefer how Morrowind did it. Well apart from those annoying flying creatures. They can all get stabbed to death by Sunder a few thousand times.

I'd go with Morrowind over Oblivion any day. I loved the uniqueness that Morrowind offered. All manner of flora and fauna were original, the lore is exceptional, and the main story is unique and engaging. Not only that, but the world was really beautifully crafted. The amount of attention and detail incorporated into the game world was so well done that I felt a visceral connection with my character and the world around me. That is more than I can say for Oblivion. I"ll admit that the first time I played Oblivion I was awe-struck. However, once the charm of the beautiful scenery and the excitement of learning what Oblivion had to offer waned, it got a bit boring and repetitive for me. I think Oblivion is a great game and loads of fun when judged on its own merit. When stacked against Morrowind, however, I feel like Oblivion is the child that forever walks beneath his father's shadow.

Simply put, Oblivion is a great game. Morrowind, on the other hand, is a whole other life.

I disagree, if you hate something and I like it, it's not good. Doing this will cause people to get pissed off.

Discussion over the merits of distinctly separate opinions can be done civilly. It's done all over the world every day with all sorts of subjects. If people get pissed and/or provide the materials for a fire, it's of their own volition. :shrug:

If there's no discussion, how can there be understanding?And if there's no understanding, how can there be aggregate improvement and closing of gaps?

You are correct a discussion is fine but it always turns bad. There is a certain discussion that really bothers me. I will not bring it up, sorry.

There are things Oblivion does better then Morrowind, and things Morrowind does better then Oblivion. It's really hard to say which one is better, because both have admirable qualities and hair-pulling aggravations.

Oblivion improved many aspects of Morrowind on the "tactical" level, but was a step backwards on the "strategic" level.

Morrowind pros:
- More interesting gameworld.
- Consistent gameworld.
- More factions to choose from.
- MQ has a more interesting story.
- The MQ also doesn't have that annoying fake sense of urgency that Oblivion has.
- Factions quests are more down to earth, everyday work instead of a grand struggle for survival.
- Factions interact with each other. You sometimes get quest which involve directly working against another faction.
- There's politics.
- More diverersity in both landscape and culture of the people that populate it.
- More spell effects, more complex enchanting.
- Armor rating workes so that high damage attacked penetrated armor more effectively. This means that a slow but powerful weapon is more effective against enemies with high AR, while a weak but fast weapon is more effective against enemies with low AR.
- Humanoid enemies have static equipment. They don't upgrade their equipment to Glass and Daedric armor just because the player reached level 20.
- Speaking of which, Daedric is rare. There are only two completes sets in the game and one is owned by a powerful sorcerer while the other is scattered over Vvardenfell and Mournhold. That makes it so much more satisfying when you finally complete your set.
- Each race has a different voice they use for greetings and passing comments.
- Male Dunmer have a cool raspy voice that makes them sound badass.
- Because dialogue isn't voiced, it's easier to integrate quest mods into the game.
- If you run around in the nvde, NPCs will comment.
- Dungeons have hand placed loot, which includes artifacts. This makes exploration more worthwile.

Oblivion pros:
- Much better animations.
- Improved graphics.
- Cast spell button.
- Elemental damage spells have more interesting effect. If you blow up a skeleton, you really blow it up.
- NPCs have scheduals.
- NPCs and creatures also have disposition against each other and if they don't like eachother they might get into a fight.
- Each race has specific disposition bonuses and penalties against other races.
- Sneaking is better done.
- It introduced poisons.
- You don't enter the local taver and immediately get asked if you want to join the super secret Thieves' Guild. Also, independat thievery is an excellent method for advancing through the TG.
- The early Dark Brotherhood quest really feel much more like being a proper assassin than the "find NPC, kill him, show your licencse to kill to the guards" quests that the Morag Tong gave you.
- Dungeons are bigger.
- I suppose fully voiced dialogue is more immersive, at least as long as the NPC speaks all his lines with the same voice.


To sum up I consider Morrowind to be the better game, because I find it's pros to be more important than Oblivion's are. Oblivion is a fun way to spend 2 hours of free time while Morrowind is a game that you live instead of simply playing it.

Morrowind - More to do
Oblivion - Doing stuff is more fun

Much as I like Morrowind, Oblivion was the game that introduced me to TES, and flawed as it is, I do love it. That said I can't choose over any game; They've both given me the same amount of fun and adventure. But I do enjoy the amount of detail/lore in Morrowind, and I greatly miss the variety of dungeons (Yawn forts and caves), along with the hidden artifacts you could just accidentally find while exploring a non-descript dungeon in the wilderness.

Well put! Morrowind was a "truer" RPG in the sense that there was a real feeling of conflict between different factions, and you had to choose a side.