Can any of you guys give some advice?

Also is the dupe glitch really a glitch? ..

Because i was thinking of using it again, but would it be considered cheating. Because i don't want to cheat.

I don't care about difficulty at all. I always play on default difficulty so I have no advice on that. I've never done this 'dupe glitch' so I can't say anything about that either.

But I can say: only you can determine what is 'cheating' and what is not. There is nothing in this game written in stone that is considered cheating for everybody.

I imagine the best advice would be - keep a healthy stock of health potions at all times. I play roughly in the middle of very easy and default difficulty and I find myself needing potions after a few fights, or one big fight if it's me vs a bunch of enemies. Back in the xbox days a mountain lion screwed me over in the low levels on default difficulty...I was a mage though but even so. So at low levels these will be essential.

Probably protection potions/spells/enchantments too (shield, resist normal weapons, resist fire/frost/shock, spell absorption etc) to boost your vulnerability. Fortifying skills or attributes probably will help too to aid in survival.

It's very broad advice but without knowing what class you plan to play then I can't give anything more specific.

I've no idea what the 'dupe glitch' is either so I can't advise on that. However as Pseron Wyrd said... cheating in this game is objective. If you consider it cheating then don't do it. But if you don't think it is then use it. Just take care that the glitch doesn't end up affect your game play too much and cause you to restart.

Using a gimped build (one that purposely has weaknesses) is almost a sure-fire way to die on Hard. As for the dupe glitch, like has been said, it all depends on what you think. Personally, I used it in my time of need, or if I was looking to have fun. Other than that, I didn't.

I've experimented with the "difficulty slider" a lot. I've never played a character to high level with the difficulty pushed far right, just because I found that fights were unreasonably long and dragged out, and it became a potion-chugging fest. I find that kind of game-play boring, but it's like anything else (including that glitch): It's a single-player game, so there's no wrong way to play it.

One observation I'd make about the slider is that it really doesn't change the "difficulty" at all. It just adjusts the relative combat damage dealt and received. It has no affect on followers, companions, summons, or illusion magic, so some types of mages are not affected by the slider at all.

Pretty much, I tried it once, and it was "Stabstabstabstabstabstabstabstabstabstabstabstab" for around half a hour, oh and chug those potions.

I still don't get why they made the diffculty so hard. I can't even defeat a Bandit. 2 hits and i am dead.

When you say "difficulty so hard" are you referring to playing the game at the hardest difficulty? If so, isn't that the whole point of moving the difficulty slider to the right? To make it more difficult? And if you're getting 2-shotted on default difficulty I'm not sure why you would want to play 'Oblivion on Hard.'

I feel like I'm not understanding something here.

There's nothing wrong with playing at an easier "difficulty", though as someone's already said it doesn't actually change the difficulty at all. Around here we don't care who plays on what difficulty; it's a single player game, play it however suits you best.

We play Oblivion to enjoy it, not to punish ourselves on difficult settings and "beet teh game lolz".

I play characters with weaknesses, a lot of them. I tend to upgrade the difficulty to about 75 percent difficulty if they are melee warriors after about level 7. I like my battles to be more.... substantial. That's just me though.

My problem with the diff slider is that, although it makes it harder for you to survive, it nerfs your weapons and, as said above, leads to long fights that approach silly/boring. I want all weapons to be deadly. It should only take a small number of hits to kill you or your foe – the diff slider does not do this.

I make foes more vulnerable to my character by capping my character (and therefore her foes) around level 20 – that way their number of hitpoints does not become ridiculous. I also ensure my character is well-skilled/equipped and that her bow strikes very hard. That ensures foes go down quickly if she can shoot them.

On the other side of the equation, my character boasts base endurance (small number of hitpoints) and an armor rating that normally is in the single digits. That allows enemies to inflict massive damage if they can get steel to her.

Just some alternative thoughts on adjusting one's challenge to taste.

I don't think the long fights are silly or boring. I think the short fights that last ten seconds or less are silly and unrealistic. Especially if you are just starting out. Life should be tough out of the gates.

Exactly,. I don't mind longer battles myself (sometimes) but the one time I pushed the slider to the right, I was trying to make for some more challenging bandit fights, but was disappointed to find that the slider makes the game tougher, but it also makes your character weaker.

So yea. I'm a default dame.
.

Maybe this guild will be of some help?
http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:The_Hardest_Difficulty_Strategy_Guide

I used to play on default but got tired of hacking the same foe for what felt like hrs when it should only take 10-15 secs. I justify lowering the slider with the fact that my character has gotten stronger, thus more efficient in combat. Scaling that after lvl 30 only gives foes more hitpoints makes no sense in Lothran′s Cyrodiil. A sword can penetrate a soft body just as well, no muscles can prevent that.

I found if i want a harder game experience is to leave the difficulty at default. when setting up my character i generally use a bow and magic, but when i set my major skills i pick thing i wont use often meaning i level slower i don't touch the main story or dlc's until i am at least level 8 i just explore. but by setting a slow level i seem to get more out of it. rather than focusing on my strengths. I have tried the hardest difficulty but found it all but impossible to not die over and over.

If you're playing on PC you can install Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul. This will make the game much more challenging without moving the dial. Early on you will have a heck of a time trying to get through Ayleid Ruins and forts. Although caves may be more manageable. But be careful of lower levels they are much more difficult. And in Mort's Monster Mod (MMM) to add a lot more variety of NPC enemies and also the amount that attack you at once. You may find you won't need to be changing your difficulty bar anytime soon.

Tried the far right setting the other day. It’s not a game any longer, it’s stupid. See post 16 on Character Updates #2.

Yup. If I were to use that setting I think I would have to give Lothran a Fatman and an endless supply of Mini Nukes.

Ok thanks guys. I just found a way. To not feel i am cheating.

Just by investing in Willpower and using conjuration to summon powerful monsters. That's it.

To bad in that setting the Fatman will be nerfed to the ground

Play an FCOM game......

I usually start out the difficulty at about 45, and pump it up every few levels.

I've never played the game on hard.Only default.I personally love one hit kills with my bow.When I get into a battle that makes me shoot more,it becomes tedious after a while.I adopted the clannfear to help with that.
I'm always an archer.I rarely have any characters with a sword because of the repetitious hack and slash after while.Its worse when you have drawn out battles.Its just not fun for me.

I'd certainly tend to agree. I've got better things to do than wave my index finger on a mouse button three hundred times; you could get a cramp, and wind up in the hospital, or worse...

I'd love to see a difficulty slider in TES games that actually did something to make the game challenging, other than just requiring my muscular warrior to hit a rat seventy-five times with a claymore before it finally goes down. Little things like making the locks harder, and making people not want to trust you with information, and you're more likely to catch diseases. Oh, and maybe putting some puzzles and challenges into the game, instead of leading you with a big bright arrow... Oh, and consequences for saying the wrong thing to people...

The amusing thing, to me, is that if you suggest to somebody the way to make a really challenging game, they think you're crazy.

Really, just build an Altmer with the Apprentice Birthsign, and use the vanilla Barbarian or Pilgrim class. Play the character straight, with no effort to efficiently level. Try that on default difficulty, with no cheats or exploits. It's a heck of a lot more genuinely challenging than building a "perfect" character and then turning up the silly slider.

It′s not better if you have to
either

Very good ideas. Well I have to think so, because I thought if that myself!

Don′t suggest that to a teenager then

Seriously, we are offered games with simple tasks more and more and eventually most people get used to it. Those games from the past that made you think are no more, and we have to either accept the golden arrow that practically says "Look [censored], go that way" or stop playing new games.

But if you want a game you can′t win unless you use your head, go back to the NES and pop in Shadowgate