First off I played Oblivion back when it came out but Ive always had a hard time with it, especially at higher levels. I see that alot of people say that Oblivion is a easy game.
Are there special items that make the game easy or something?

Due to level scaling Oblivion can be really hard if you're not optimising your character. That's just the way Oblivion is.

Simplest way to get a strong character is to use only 3 (or less) of your major skills for the first 20 levels and make sure that those 3 are useful in a fight.

"Oblivion" is an experience.

The beauty of the game is that you can create different characters with vastly different skills and attributes and still succeed in the game and the Main Quest.

I think the default difficulty is pretty good and will be challenging at times.

I've even had occaissions where I've actually dropped it a couple of notches just to get past a particularly different spot.

Then I put it back to normal after that.

Follow the advice of the game. It tells you which attributes will compliment which skills and what to train to get better.

Enjoy the experience. There's a lot to see and do.

Az

When I first started the game I thought it was really difficult as well. Now I've played it on and off since it was released I'm familiar with how things work in the game and it's pretty easy now. I leave the difficulty in the middle.

I know some people simply cap their character level at a certain point and refuse to level up beyond that level. That keeps the enemies from growing harder.

The game will never grow too hard.

Certain enemies won't appear until you hit a certain level but that doesn't mean you no longer bump into weak enemies.

Stronger enemies are simply introduced, so you don't have to worry about bumping into a level 50 rat with Daedric Fur.

Certain goblins and trolls may be difficult when you reach the highest levels but shouldn't do more than force you to pay close attention.

Most other creatures are easily smitten with a strike from your sword.

Az

My first playthrough got very tough the further I leveled. I then figured out the leveling process. Now, the strategy I use is to select only 1 or 2 skills from each attribute, as my Majors. Those major skills are ones that I will use the LEAST or NEVER. That way you can use and train your Minor skills as you play, to stay ahead of the enemy. You will be able to control the leveling a lot better.

EDIT: The absolute easiest way, though rather boring after a while, is to make a 100% Chameleon suit. You are invisible to the game, and can do anything. Steal and what not. Even battle becomes nothing, as the enemy never sees you.

There is no law against using a lower difficulty, especially if you're using OOO or other mods that increase it. Even in vanilla, I found parts of the main quest to be brutally hard at normal difficulty.
Try starting a new character with the difficulty at 30 to 40 percent, and don't tinker with it. Adjusting the slider mid-game always cheapens the experience for me, so I don't do it anymore. (I play at 33 percent now, always.)

Take what the game gives you and don't be afraid to come back to a difficult area later on with better gear or higher skills. The benefit to me is that I can play naturally, without giving a thought to efficient levelling. I set my major skills as the ones I will use the most, and use minor skills very little. To me this is vastly preferable to a backwards character that ignores half of their major skills and emphasizes the minor ones, but gets to leave the difficulty at 50 percent. I've never seen the point in that approach, although I certainly don't begrudge the many people who do it that way.

EDIT: Oh, and OP, yes there are many "certain items" that make the game easier. Many items are essentially exploits, like the 100 percent chameleon effect or crafting a weapon with weakness to magic plus high frost/fire over 1 second.

There are loads of small tactical tips that you gain through experience, trial and error. I started, like many, by struggling to make strong characters. Then I figured it out and got bored by overly powerful characters. Now I intentionally 'gimp' or limit my characters. It took about 1000 hours of play before I made what I now consider to be the true statement: 'Oblivion is an easy game'.

Some rules of thumb that you may find helpful:
- Make sure your primary killing skill goes up by at least 3 skill ups for each time your character levels up.
- If you want lots of hitpoints, increase endurance by pushing it fast and hard.
- Everything goes better with magic - regardless of your character type, consider augmenting what they do with magic.
- Get into the Arcane University so you can make your own spells and enchanted gear.
- Use the best basic gear for your level. Once you can repair it and recharge weapons, make your own enchanted gear.

Selection of major skills mechanically does two things: It controls how fast you level by how much you use them. It controls how high you level by IF you use them. These are the only considerations I apply when selecting major skills. There are as many schools of thought on leveling as there are players.

Slow with slow leveling if you want to be a good player.
Slow leveling will make you highly skilled and make the game much better for your AV.

shadow hide you

Jenn

Well the game is meant to be played however you want to play it. In multiplayer games there is ussually a terms of service clause that you should report exploits instead of using them for personal gain but in a single player game just go at it however you want pretty much.
Special items your asking about might be reflect damage or magic type stuff. You can get enchantment effects up high and become nigh invulnerable. I use a bit of both with my character because he is high level and I only ever run into the same stuff all the time and it takes forever to kill it otherwise.

This
My strategy of of play is due to being anol about getting the most bonuses ( 5-5-5 ) from each level-up. I'm a glutton for punishment, anyway. I play at 100% diff, from the start. This is not to say, this is the way the game should be played, nor is it to say, that it is the way the devs intended it to be played. But it is a viable strategy for a very powerful character. The problem one could get into, is that you could find yourself training all the time and not playing the game. You should find the balance that works for you. I like to play for a while and then train a Major ( or two ) to level. I have also grinded for a week to max out my char and then play the game.

There is no right or wrong way to play, when it comes down to it. The game is so flexible and vast, your only limited to your playstyle and imagination. There are some people that finish the game with a lvl 1 char. Either by not using any Major skills, or by never sleeping. A low level char with high to maxed out skills, can slaughter ANYTHING in the game.

In my opinion the main problem is not combat growing too hard, but combat growing incredibely tedious. For a level 50 character Ogres will have around 2000 Health, but the player's damage output has already maxed at around 25 (+enchantment) some 20-30 levels ago when the Ogre had only half as much health. It's easy enough to just keep paralayzing that Ogre while you whack him, but it takes way too long and isn't much fun.

I like the Daggerfall aproach to high level enemies much better. The Ancient Liches, Ancient Vampires, and Daedra Lords from that game can be killed reasonably fast, but if you don't have the proper protection they will completely destroy you in just a few seconds.

Post me your major skills / Attributes.