Oblivion Playthrough Length : IV

» Mon Aug 08, 2011 6:13 am

I'm very interested to know what is typical for the longest time for single character playthroughs.

It seems to me that there is something very special about the world of TES games that allows for much longer playthroughs than other games.

Please share your experiences and thoughts below. I'm particularly interested to know, how did you decide when to retire that character? After finishing the main quest? Or did the character simply become too powerful?

Did you explore all the locations?

IIRC there are over 200 dungeons, hundreds of POIs and Oblivion gates - did you explore everything? Did you complete all the major questlines?

Or are you still discovering new things from time to time?

» Mon Aug 08, 2011 7:54 am

Loved quest mods. Some of them included Verona House Bloodlines, The Lost Spires, Glenvar Castle, Heart of the Dead, Ruined Tails Tale, Dungeons of Ivellon, The Ayleid Steps, Frostcrag Reborn, The Elder Council and Kvatch Aftermath. There were quite a few others, but those are the ones I can think of writing this post.

As to retiring my character, that usually happens when I set Oblivion aside for a while, perhaps to play something else. I always came back to it though, and when I did I would always start fresh.

Can't say I explored all the locations ... for some reason I never liked caves or dungeons with monsters like imps and trolls. Liked humanoid opponents.

» Mon Aug 08, 2011 7:02 am

Loved quest mods. Some of them included Verona House Bloodlines, The Lost Spires, Glenvar Castle, Heart of the Dead, Ruined Tails Tale, Dungeons of Ivellon, The Ayleid Steps, Frostcrag Reborn, The Elder Council and Kvatch Aftermath. There were quite a few others, but those are the ones I can think of writing this post.

Great to hear - secretly I'm going to use this poll as an excuse to get everyone's recommendations for good quest mods :evil:

» Mon Aug 08, 2011 7:53 am

Around 700 for me. The game was modded heavily - 300 + mods, all of it - quests, faction , role playing mods, vampire mods, additional armor and clothing, lands, character upgrades, level scaling removal and so on

» Mon Aug 08, 2011 6:34 pm

Great to hear - secretly I'm going to use this poll as an excuse to get everyone's recommendations for good quest mods :evil:

In that case, while all of those were good (or even great), my favorite was probably Verona House Bloodlines, but in order to go on it you have to have finished the main quest. So ...

» Mon Aug 08, 2011 5:53 am

its been forever but im guessing around 90 for my first playthrough. i used all 34,000 mods on tesnexus at one point or another on tons of different games. the only mods that i i used consistently were UI mods and graphics mods like obge and texture packs and TIE and WAC which i had replaced FCOM with. other than that i used everything from gates to aasgard, tamreil rebuilt, dungeons of ivellon, and pretty much every other quest mod i could grab. i used star wars mods and a disco mod that made everyone start dancing and adding disco lights everywhere.

@ morchai........thats not even a problem. one of my favorite mods was called space cheese and it completed the main quest line for you. its a bit buggy though and was improved upon by another mod but i cant remember what it was called. probably something boring like main quest finishing mod or something.

for longest playthrough i had a test character who i used specifically for doing test drives of mods.........im assuming he would be my longest running character but even with him i would be surprised if i broke 200 hours at most.

» Mon Aug 08, 2011 1:02 pm

My current play-through is well over one-thousand hours. My previous play-through was just shy of one-thousand hours when I terminated it earlier than planned, due to technical issues rather than dissatisfaction. That earlier play-through consisted almost solely of quest mods (added once I had completed all vanilla content my avatar wished to pursue), a few cosmetic mods (Darker Regal IC, ImpeREAL series, AWLS, Beaming Sunglare, OC_darker_nights, a few ULs, etc.) and several misc. (DropLitTorchesOBSE, etc.) My current play-through kept most of that (minus a few quest mods) and added a bunch of mesh/texture replacers. Only recent (past the 1k mark) have I taken my first tentative stabs at gameplay-altering mods, adding Duke Patrick's Combat Archery and Enhanced Economy. I want to go further down that patch, but prolly won't do anything drastic until NEXT play-through, whenever that is.

As to the secret of my longevity, much is due to me simply being the sort of person of prefers long-term commitments. When I like something, I tend to stick with it a LONG time. Modded Oblivion allows this.

Also, I have several mods that give my avatar a purposeful reason to exist. First and foremost is The Elder Council, with its constantly repeatable Road Patrol assignments and Tax Gathering commissions. I also have Gold Horse Courier which provided repeatable package deliveries to cities, inns and so forth. CUO Merchant Guild provided more repeatable delivery commissions. Fighters Guild Contracts offers repeatable minor quests, mostly gathering pelts and the like. I've recently added Mages Guild Quests which supposedly offers repeatable tasks, but haven't checked it out in-game yet.

My avatar could not exist solely on the assignments provided by the above mods. But they, used in conjunction with vanilla and mod-provided quests, can really stretch out a play-through.

For this thread I'll do something I rarely do in this sub-forum, list my load-order and a partial install-order:

LOAD-ORDER:

Spoiler

00  Oblivion.esm [CRC: 2FF840C5]01  Cybiades.esm  [Version 2.0] [CRC: C3AA2A28]02  Cobl Main.esm  [Version 1.72] [CRC: 8284D0E6]03  TamRes.esm [CRC: 6DAE1370]04  CyrodiilUpgradeResourcePack.esm [CRC: CC95816A]05  CURP_Controller.esm [CRC: 842FAED0]06  Unofficial Oblivion Patch.esp  [Version 3.3.7] [CRC: 6AB8F177]07  Oblivion Citadel Door Fix.esp [CRC: 01B694D9]08  DLCShiveringIsles.esp [CRC: 2BB84977]09  Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch.esp  [Version 1.4.4] [CRC: F6C1D21D]0A  TamRes.esp [CRC: 87A08844]++  oc_darker_nights.esp [CRC: 93760D9C]++  realWaters.esp [CRC: 145EC965]0B  Atmospheric Loading Screens - No Text.esp [CRC: 2745BE37]0C  Idle Dialogue.esp [CRC: 1B03D90A]0D  Distant Chapel Bells.esp [CRC: 1771E78C]0E  Sounds of Cyrodiil.esp  [Version 1.0] [CRC: A2EFBDE2]0F  Rainbows.esp [CRC: EF47B543]10  WindowLightingSystem.esp [CRC: BD91FE6C]11  1em_GiveAGift.esp  [Version 1.2] [CRC: A221AB66]12  CityLights - ImperialCity.esp [CRC: BE2AD370]13  PTFallingStars.esp [CRC: 14F23954]14  Enhanced Economy.esp  [Version 5.4.2] [CRC: D72B3C40]15  PTRoamingNPCs.esp [CRC: A3878A6E]16  Duke Patricks - Friendship Ring For Companion Detection.esp  [Version 1.8] [CRC: 1C9D14CD]17  Purge Cell Buffers - Loading.esp  [Version 1.0.0] [CRC: 22289CFF]18  Dynamic Map.esp  [Version 2.0] [CRC: C4DB169D]19  Map Marker Overhaul.esp  [Version 3.9] [CRC: 8F9FE685]1A  Map Marker Overhaul - SI additions.esp  [Version 3.5] [CRC: 2B08755B]1B  BlackLuster.esp [CRC: 19E811EF]1C  Weapon Expansion Pack for Oblivion Nthusiasts.esp  [Version 1.03] [CRC: 13F4CF76]1D  Cobl Glue.esp  [Version 1.72] [CRC: 055AFC51]1E  Cobl Si.esp  [Version 1.63] [CRC: F7ADF908]1F  OBSE-Storms & Sound SI.esp [CRC: FED72BD5]20  300 Regal Imperial City 2.esp [CRC: 8CF790E4]21  Trade and Commerce.esp [CRC: C0E12302]22  delivery_job.esp  [Version 1.2] [CRC: DC9B4548]23  EM_Packdonkeys.esp  [Version 1.1] [CRC: 6842AB6D]24  exhSIPalacelodge.esp [CRC: 4E5B0C6F]25  ImpeREAL City Unique Districts - All the Districts - Merged.esp [CRC: 6476A4FA]26  ImpeREAL Empire - Unique Castles - All The Castles - Merged.esp [CRC: 1E92096B]27  JDNT_Brina Cross.esp [CRC: E536F745]28  (DC) Kvatch Watch Towers.esp [CRC: 7BC729B6]29  Kragenir's Death Quest.esp  [Version 2.11] [CRC: 7674AFF2]2A  KDQ - Rural Line Additions.esp [CRC: 015C85FD]2B  KvatchRising.esp [CRC: 59AF892D]2C  EiAmod.esp  [Version 1.1] [CRC: 44CC0BDD]++  EiAmod_ShiveringIsles.esp [CRC: FABFF10A]2D  LostSwordOfTheAylied.esp [CRC: A6D339B6]2E  LostSwordOfTheAylied - OBSE Add-On.esp [CRC: BC33D955]2F  Mages Guild Quests.esp [CRC: F45A1EC1]30  Order of the Virtuous Blood Expanded v0.3.esp [CRC: 9D9BEE92]31  Region Revive - Lake Rumare.esp [CRC: 1480CFE0]32  Skingrad Market 1.0.esp  [Version 1.00] [CRC: DC055652]33  The Ayleid Steps.esp  [Version 3.4] [CRC: 5BF74798]34  TheElderCouncil.esp [CRC: BC7FB278]35  TheElderCouncil_TempleOfTheOne.esp [CRC: 0328D782]36  TEC_4ERA_Dialog_Filter.esp [CRC: 47D9796B]37  (DC) The Pride of Wolfs Gate.esp [CRC: 820D1BC0]38  VHBloodlines 1.2.esp  [Version 1.5.4] [CRC: 86DACD20]39  Villages1.1.esp  [Version 1.1c] [CRC: A2D555E6]3A  VOILA.esp [CRC: 8F056257]3B  VOILA - Soldiers of Empire.esp [CRC: 505163BC]3C  za_bankmod.esp [CRC: 769D3F9E]3D  BrumaGuildReconstructed.esp  [Version 1.0.1] [CRC: BB9D8AAE]3E  Knights.esp [CRC: 4CB1DF3D]3F  Knights - Unofficial Patch.esp  [Version 1.1.2] [CRC: 2F15B12C]40  The Lost Spires.esp [CRC: 8F8965FC]41  AFK_Weye.esp  [Version 2.2.COBL] [CRC: 1FAC2B9A]42  Rumare-AFK_Weye Patch.esp  [Version 2.0] [CRC: 34332FFF]43  ElsweyrAnequina.esp [CRC: 752EC0B7]44  road+bridges.esp  [Version 4.6.2] [CRC: ED074704]45  Feldscar.esp  [Version 1.0.12] [CRC: 97E9C949]46  Vergayun.esp  [Version 1.0.7] [CRC: 64CE823F]47  Faregyl.esp  [Version 2.0.5] [CRC: C958FFB6]48  Faregyl+Anequina Patch.esp  [Version 2.0] [CRC: 11634CD3]49  xulChorrolHinterland.esp  [Version 1.2.2] [CRC: E70A54FC]4A  xulBeachesOfCyrodiilLostCoast.esp  [Version 1.6.4] [CRC: 64B503C9]4B  SkingradMarket-LostCoast patch.esp [CRC: B3D232C2]4C  Cybiades.esp  [Version 2.1] [CRC: A8970D81]4D  CybiadesDungeon.esp  [Version 2.1] [CRC: DBCA88C9]4E  Castle_Seaview.esp [CRC: EA02435F]4F  CastleSeaview+LostCoast Patch.esp  [Version 1.0] [CRC: E9135632]50  xulBravilBarrowfields.esp  [Version 1.3.3] [CRC: 750D0226]51  EtInArkay-BravilBarrowfields patch.esp [CRC: 027647E6]52  xulImperialIsle.esp  [Version 1.6.7] [CRC: 17BE191B]53  RegionReviveLakeRumare-ImperialIsle patch.esp  [Version 1.3.4] [CRC: 6194E067]54  KragenirsDeathQuest-LostCoast patch.esp  [Version 1.1] [CRC: 4FAB5731]55  xulSkingradOutskirts.esp  [Version 1.0.1] [CRC: DABED778]56  xulCliffsOfAnvil.esp [CRC: 9D88A5A9]57  KragenirsDeathQuest-CliffsOfAnvil patch.esp  [Version 1.0] [CRC: 4C18DADB]58  NRB4+UL-II Patch.esp  [Version 5.0.1] [CRC: BAA65806]59  ImpeREAL Empire - Unique Forts.esp [CRC: A45B0FCF]5A  ImpeREALForts+BrinaCross Patch.esp  [Version 1.0] [CRC: 50EEA681]5B  ImpeREALForts+LostSpires Patch.esp  [Version 1.0.1] [CRC: AF68BEFA]5C  West Roads.esp [CRC: 5E58CFEA]5D  WR Villages Addon.esp [CRC: 917116BE]5E  bartholm.esp [CRC: 4BC5CA46]5F  bartholm - EE patch.esp  [Version 4.2] [CRC: E7163D19]60  Fort Akatosh Redux.esp [CRC: 986EFD79]61  FortAkatoshRedux-NewRoads&Bridges patch.esp [CRC: 117496BD]62  Millstone_Farm_COBL.esp [CRC: A67E4087]63  NRB4+RR Patch.esp  [Version 2.1] [CRC: 745396C1]64  FightersGuildContracts.esp [CRC: 27447B16]65  CUO_MerchantsGuild_SAFE.esp [CRC: 1736C68A]66  CUO_MerchantUpdate_SAFE.esp [CRC: 7B45A4BE]67  CUO_NewFactionDialog_SAFE.esp [CRC: 0A8ACE15]68  HUD Status Bars.esp  [Version 4.2.1] [CRC: 3DE3A704]69  BlackScreenSneakFix.esp [CRC: BA4A70FF]6A  DecoratorAssistant with OBSE v1.1.esp [CRC: 68666EA4]6B  DropLitTorchOBSE.esp  [Version 2.4] [CRC: 20E88EC2]6C  RefScope.esp  [Version 2.1.2] [CRC: 09E4EE27]6D  Duplicate_Item_Spell.esp [CRC: D2D6864F]6E  Panzer_Kleidung_03.esp [CRC: BF7AC1B9]6F  talkwithyourhands2.esp [CRC: 535D43B9]70  Quest Award Leveller.esp  [Version 2.0.1] [CRC: 521FA592]71  Quest Award Leveller - Knights of the Nine.esp  [Version 2.1.0] [CRC: A80CD1A4]72  Duke Patricks - Combat Archery.esp  [Version 5.5.2] [CRC: 20339D26]**  Cava Obscura - Cyrodiil.esp [CRC: 7802C17C]**  Cava Obscura - SI.esp [CRC: 726FB5EF]**  Cava Obscura - Filter Patch For Mods.esp [CRC: 355550B2]73  1em_Vilja.esp  [Version 3.02] [CRC: 16B11C6E]**  NRB4 Standard Road Record.esp [CRC: 7366D355]74  Bashed Patch, 0.esp [CRC: D5C02077]

PARTIAL INSTALL-ORDER:

Spoiler

++ 001 - MenuQue_OBSE-dll_v9a-32200-1.7z (18445829) (Installed)++ 029 - Xerus_Landscape_LOD_v1_BAIN-17300.7z (FA9F7F4C) (Installed)++ 030 - Landscape_LOD_textures_Blade9722-18497.7z (8DA241E6) (Installed)++ 031 - Bomrets_Detailed_Vanilla_Normals_v1.1-18430.7z (93950EE6) (Installed)++ 032 - Cooked_Steaks_v1-1_BAIN-17360.7z (F49C3448) (Installed)++ 033 - Kvatch_barricade-spikes_meshes_FIX_v1.1.7z (87AEB41E) (Installed)++ 036 - Skingrad_Improved_v10-10381.7z (29CA4B38) (Installed)++ 037 - Bruma_Improved_v11-8954.7z (0192A527) (Installed)++ 038 - Anvil Exterior & Ship Textures v1.1.7z (542ADD85) (Installed)++ 039 - Unofficial_Patch_Supplementals-27710-3-3-7.7z (7807463F) (Installed)++ 040 - Bomrets_SI_Textures_v1_BAIN-28378.7z (8A2A16EC) (Installed)++ 041 - RAEVWD_v1_9-20053.7z (4DFF0231) (Installed)++ 042 - RAEVWD_Brumbek_Update_191-20053-1-9-1.7z (CC1C7B21) (Installed)++ 043 - RAEVWD_SI_Edition-20053-1-6-1.7z (71ECCC10) (Installed)++ 044 - RAEVWD_SI_Bomret_Textures-20053.7z (ABBE189F) (Installed)++ 045 - RAEVWD_Elsweyr_Anequina_v2_OCT2010-20053.7z (840D2A43) (Installed)++ 046 - BYFFI Meshes Preview.7z (060057BD) (Installed)++ 053 - ImpCity_Reloaded-sidewalks_cobblestones_v1.7z (2D0A6602) (Installed)++ 054 - ImpCity_-_wall_insets_-_brown.7z (10A5FC20) (Installed)++ 055 - RAEVWD_Darker_Regal_IC_2010_08_09-20053.7z (911475E6) (Installed)++ 056 - RAEVWD_ImpCityReloadSidewalksStreets_V1-36779.7z (023606B1) (Installed)++ 057 - RAEVWD_-_ImpCity_-_wall_insets_-_brown.7z (E4E66A1B) (Installed)++ 058 - RAEVWD_Anvil-Lighthouse_v190.7z (DD573771) (Installed)++ 059 - RAEVWD_NRB_Halfway_Inn.7z (C03CE29F) (Installed)++ 060 - RAEVWD_Extra_Rocks_BAIN-33635.7z (7F3720EC) (Installed)++ 079 - RAEVWD_FAR_add-on_PyFFI-219b6.7z (2C5416BF) (Installed)++ 105 - Decrepit_LandscapeLOD_meshes_v002.7z (B8E41006) (Installed)++ 106 - Decrepit_LandscapeLOD_normals_v004.7z (CBE2495D) (Installed)++ 107 - Decrepit_LandscapeLOD_normals_v005.7z (755A45F6) (Installed)++ 108 - Decrepit_LandscapeLOD_color-maps_v005.7z (F9BE63DB) (Installed)++ 109 - Decrepit_GoldCoast_landscapeLOD_v001.7z (FFB24EAD) (Installed)++ 110 - Decrepit_Leyawiin-Elsweyr_color-map_2048.7z (68066281) (Installed)++ 111 - Decrepit_color_map_Bruma-Jeralls.7z (A7BE1147) (Installed)++ 127 - ATP_Blackwood v2.7z (5F34B9C1) (Installed)++ 128 - ATP_Colovia Highlands v2.7z (E278A85D) (Installed)++ 129 - ATP_Gold Coast v2_BAIN complex.7z (FEDADA25) (Installed)++ 130 - AmpolX_TextureMakeover_BAIN_complex.7z (893EFB10) (Installed)++ 131 - AyleidRuins_Retexture_v211_BAIN-12003.7z (E1A5435C) (Installed)++ 132 - Improved_Cave_Normal_Maps_BAIN-26472.7z (8F72DB27) (Installed)++ 133 - Improved Signs Complete v1.2_BAIN-9498.7z (7B1F6919) (Installed)++ 134 - RealWoodRoadSigns_v11-25429.7z (620ACD94) (Installed)++ 135 - Lush_n_Gaudy__Landscape_Tree_Mod_v1_2__BAIN-37336.7z (86C17992) (Installed)++ 136 - Lush-n-Gaudy_SecondMostCommonAll_v002.7z (B90D9D87) (Installed)++ 137 - ReallyBetterTilingGrass_v1-1_BAIN-14342.7z (48270911) (Installed)++ 138 - Low_TriPoly_Grass_v1_BAIN-33403.7z (C9E8AB03) (Installed)++ 139 - VibrantGrainFilter_BAIN-18677.7z (A5754A9C) (Installed)++ 141 - GloryOfCyrodiil_IntroVideo-15914.7z (A379D751) (Installed)++ 147 - Give_A_Gift_ver_1_2-36618-1.7z (E13EDE5C) (Installed)++ 163 - Exnem Female Body Replacer - nvde.7z (E8C5DE20) (Installed)++ 166 - ImprovedFacialTextures_v2-1.7z (7E98DEC4) (Installed)172 - ==Last==(Not shown here....several OBSE-based utilites installed as OMODs back when Wrye Bash couldn't handle those.)

Not fast-traveling (I don't) will also add hours of rewarding play.

-Decrepit-

» Mon Aug 08, 2011 10:48 am

So far mine's in the 101-120 area and still in progress.

I use Fran's

Quest mods:
I have Lost Spires installed along with Vampire Hunting.

Other mods:
lots of graphical updates and several mods to enhance role playing.

» Mon Aug 08, 2011 2:46 pm

I played several characters to 200 or so hours, generally retiring them via boredom or a desire to make a better character. One character I retired as a result of completing the MQ. Among those characters, I have done all the quests / questline in the game and DLCs & SI.

Since April 2009 however, I have been playing the same character with no end in sight. She is currently at 700 hours. She has discovered every marker on her map (and many points of interest that are marked) so she is an avid explorer. She loves clearing dungeons, traveling with her horse and visiting friends. Note that none of those things can ever 'run out' as the wilderness, roads and dungeons continually respawn.

Because of the length of her game, there are other steps we take as well. We have a long list of NPCs that we have made essential to prevent NPC attrition over hundreds of hours. We also approach quests with a great deal of thought and, with imagination, make big elaborate deals of them. Her only guild is the one of mages and she is barely a Jouneyman (I don't see her ever rising to Arch Mage). She is gathering courage to help close the gate at Kvatch, but that is only because she is smitten by Savlian Matius and I'm pretty sure it will be someone else who rises in her world to become the Champion of Cyrodiil.

Mods. We don't really use any mods that add the following: quests, graphics, overhauls, change the leveling system. Rather, our mods focus on some cosmetics for my character, several horse mods, portable campsite and a few mods to tweak minor things. Her world appears fairly vanilla. I would say that writing her journal and using loads of imagination trump mods as far as explaining her longevity.

» Mon Aug 08, 2011 7:43 am

As I made a thread about this subject a while ago, you′ll find my answer http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1183763-how-many-hours-on-a-single-character/page__view__findpost__p__17563479__fromsearch__1

» Mon Aug 08, 2011 10:19 am

My current playthough just passed 60 hours, and that is my longest playthrough. That seems like a drop in the bucket compared to some of these playthroughs people have, lol.

My Elder Scrolls gaming usually consists of playing one main character that I do my main quest and main gaming with. I'll build little secondary characters, just to try some different things, but I usually stick to one character.

I've gotten relatively deep into the main quest a couple times before, but each time, I had computer troubles and ended up losing my saves. So this current playthrough is on my X-Box 360, where I don't have to worry about such things. This is definitely though the deepest I've gotten into the game. I'm hoping I don't have too terribly much longer to go on the main quest.

I am actually debating whether or not after I finish the main quest if I want to continue on with Shivering Isles with this character (never done Shivering Isles with any character before), or if I want to build another character to do Shivering Isles, and skip the main quest with.

» Mon Aug 08, 2011 6:09 pm

I think my longest playthrough have been about 50-60 hours long. I then realised I'd rather play a different character and started over. And I never return to previous characters, for a number of reasons. All in all I think I've clocked about 150-200 hours in Cyrodiil in the year I've played Oblivion. Not too shabby, if you ask me. I have been playing Fallout 3 for about the same amount in the same time period, and New Vegas also, though without comparable overall playtimes. Perhaps 80-100 hours, I don't know. I never overwrite saves, so I have to delete some occasionally.

As for mods, I play on Xbox, so mods for me. There are some things I'd like to change, Oblivions levelling is one, but I've no problem with the games as they are. The three I mentioned are by far my favourite games of all time, and I've never ever touched them on PC. If I had the space and the cash I definitely would, but I have neither. One upside is that most of my friends play on Xbox as well. Had I not an Xbox but a PS3 I wouldn't be able to chat with them while playing, something I really enjoy. Especially when playing a single player game like Oblivion or Fallout. Wandering across Mehrunes Dagon's Deadlands can be a solitary journey some times, and it's good with some company, even if only in your ears.

» Mon Aug 08, 2011 12:50 pm

longest duration i dont remeber
mod: shivering iles, nights of 9, and the 4 new places (frostcrag spire, vile lair, battle thorn castle, thieves denn)
and a MASSIVE potion re-skin

» Mon Aug 08, 2011 8:29 am

Can't say for sure... more than a hundred, I think.