Ive been playing unmodded xbox 360 oblivion since release, I am JUST now getting a pc and morrowind, oblivion, and skyrim for it.

OT, cyrodiil alone is worth getting this for, the different landscapes, the different flora and fauna around the country its a much more colorful, diverse, fantasy world, like TES is supposed to be. Ill just sit on a bridge sometimes and stare at the imperial city because the wilderness looks THAT good.

eh its fun, its also 20 bucks, and if you beat the main quest you'll probably get at least 1 dollar per hour of entertainment value.

also might add some to the elder scrolls universe if you've only played skyrim

Although if you can wait it regularly goes on sale on steam for cheap, might be worth waiting for the summer sale or something

Hmm, I wonder what I′m down to then? I think I may be at the point where I actually make money out of playing Oblivion!

If you figure the opportunity cost of what you would have spent for that entertainment if you had spent that time doing something else you may very well have "made" money (or at least saved money) playing Oblivion.

Wow, Thanks for all the input everyone! I'm definitely going to buy it now!

Sorry, but this just isn't true. Almost every enemy in Oblivion is scaled exactly to your level. The main quest is actually easier at level 1 than at level 30. If you pick a build that doesn't focus on combat you will get destroyed by overleveled enemies. Honestly the leveling in Oblivion is flat out broken.

This isn't true either. Most enemies aren't scaled at all. Up to about level 25, creatures are spawned to approximately your level, but most of them don't get any stronger. You just see different (stronger) creatures.

Those enemies that do get stronger (generally "boss" creatures and bandits/marauders) just basically get more health as you level up.

As for the "build," you certainly need to develop combat skills, but they do not have to start as Major skills; the important thing is to keep improving them as you level up, and to keep upgrading your gear.

Leveling in Oblivion is not "broken," but it's designed to make the game get increasingly difficult as you level up, rather than easier. This was probably a response to all the complaints about Morrowind's leveling, where you were basically "godlike" at level 20.

The leveling is most certainly "broken" for a game that calls itself an RPG. The game shouldn't get more difficult as you level up, that completely defeats the purpose of leveling. If you actually want to get a leg up on the enemies in Oblivion, you have to abuse the leveling system to get +5s on all of your skills and boost up your endurance.

Also, while enemies will level up and get more powerful at a ridiculous pace, your allies level at a much slower pace. The Battle of Kvatch is piss easy at level one, but at level 30 your allies will get stomped by swarms of overleveled enemies. It's a horrible system. A level one character can enter any dungeon in the game and clear it with ease. It definitely shouldn't work like that in an RPG.

My take:

The leveling is broken for those who like to power level. And for those who need to be a god of war. And for those who need to be powerful at all points in their character's life. Even at the beginning. OMG I'm not superpowerful can't kill anything with one shot cuz I"m so cool. This game svcks. You all svck. It's a game design flaw. Can't possibly be me. I am perfect. I am always right, even when I am wrong. Everyone else is wrong and stupid.

blah blah blah waa waaa waaaa.

Where the heck is Pseron Wyrd during this discussion? Miss you, buddy.

My take on it: whether or not leveling is 'broken', I personally did not enjoy the way the game levels up into the teens (when the glass bandits start showing up). It wasn't so much that the game felt more difficult as it totally broke immersion for me to see every single enemy out there become more and more advanced. I've already told the forums this story dozens of times, though, so I'm not repeating the entire thing now. Suffice it to say: if Major and Minor skills could not be arranged to slow leveling down in Oblivion, I literally would not be with you all now. I'd be playing the latest Tomb Raider or whatever.

I like how Skyrim handles leveling much better. Lesser enemies aren't 'replaced' by stronger ones. I never feel like I have to micro-manage TES: V. I can just geek out and roll with my toon.

I don't agree. I've played a lot of RPGs, and there's no rule that they get easier as you level up. Some of them get a lot harder. Ideally, I'd say that it would be good if the challenge remained somewhat constant. I'm not really a fan of leveling in the first place, but that's a topic for a different discussion.

In any case, there's no reason to "get a leg up" on enemies in a game.

That's a different complaint. The problem there is that NPCs' equipment is not leveled. And again, it's not a matter of enemies leveling up. It's a matter of the spawn types of enemies being tied to your level.

What you're really saying is that the game is too easy at the start, and gets harder. I agree with that, and tend to agree that it's annoying. I don't think it's "broken," though. I think the game was intentionally created to work this way. Oblivion is a difficult game at high level.

There are several solutions to the "problem," though; the simplest is "Don't level up so fast."

I'm going to have to disagree with this. I do not know why you believe creatures scale with you, but they do not. Only a few scale with the player, most are fixed.

Oblivion's leveling system introduces stronger foes every time a player ranks up. At level 1, you're going to see goblins, but at level 10, you'll see goblin berserkers, and very few (if any) goblins.

Even these are capped, though. At level 25, everything the game has to throw at you is now there, and you will continue to get stronger.

If every creature actually scaled with the player, mudcrabs would take longer to defeat. I can now punch them, once, and they drop.

I also don't agree the leveling system is broken. While the game can be difficult at times, smart play wins over brute force every time. If I can't beat that mountain lion, I'm running, not standing there trying to take it out with 25+ arrows (like I did in my first game). Now, when I see one, 4 shots and they're down. No way is this possible if they scaled with me.

It's like the troll in Skyrim on the way to HH for the first time. Ask how many people tried to kill it, and watch the number of "Y" replies. Me, when I noticed it didn't drop as easy as the bear in Helgen, I ran!

I ain't no fool.