i'm at level 18 now, i'm a custom class but specialize in Blade, Block, Destruction, Restoration, its pretty close to a spell blade. anyhow it's getting really tough - i've made a couple stabs at getting Tiber Septim's armor for Martin and it's just too much, short of going totally nuts with enchanted items (which i have few of). i was wondering, do any of you guys typically scale the difficulty down as you level up? or do you tough it out? i've kept it right in the middle the whole time but its really getting hard to stick with it, i just wanna know what you guys (the pros) tend to do!

thanks

Doesn't really matter what anyone else does, IMO. If it's getting a little too tough and lowering the difficulty will make the game more enjoyable for you, then that's what you should do.

This.

I move the slider all over the place, if I'm wandering I'll usually have it maxed but depending on quests I may lower it down.

It sounds like you didn't get the +5 bonuses for your attributes very often and the monsters have outpaced you. I've played games at 25% before, there's nothing wrong with that and it doesn't penalize you. In fact, for certain battles when you have NPC's helping you, you'll have to turn down the difficulty slider to keep them alive, if you care about that. I usually turn it down to zero in those cases

However, if you want to keep pace with your enemies throughout the game, you will need to get the higher bonuses when you level. Here's a http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Leveling with an explanation. There's probably a link on that page to something called efficient levelling if you really want to go for it. I normally aim for efficient levelling, but it does take a lot of the fun out of the game and now I use a mod called Oblivion XP instead

I end up scaling the difficulty up as far as I can the more I level up, because the more I level up, the more the mobs became a joke to me and combat was pretty stupid easy.

There are so many different ways to play this game and so many differing levels of study and experience among players that I'm sure you will find answers that slide all over the scale.

It sounds like you are enjoying your character, but things are just getting a tad hard. The difficulty slider is the perfect solution and you should certainly consider using it to 'fine tune' the challenge you want to the peculiarities of your character. That's what it is there for. There are many ways to adjust your challenge in the game, and the difficulty slider is one of those ways.

if you don't have access to spellmaking I would try to get that asap. then you can make weakness spells to precede your Destruction spells. read up on spellmaking tips on uesp.net to see how to make good spells. then you should be all right at medium difficulty. if you aren't going to get to spellmaking anytime soon, then at least make sure you get the 25 or 50 point fire/frost/shock spells. fortify magic and absorb health/magicka spells are really good too.

I always keep the slider at the midway point except for occasionally fooling around with hardest but I also use enchanted gear, powerful spells, minor as well as major skills and either use efficient levelling or make other strong builds. But the point is to enjoy the game so live by your own rules.

Mara

yeah, I think everyone else has already answered the question so I'll just say this. If you're having fun, that is the difficulty for you.

I play 0% to keep an ally alive. With warrior types I'll usually lower the slider as I level, to keep the difficulty constant. But with mages and archerds, I keep it right in the middle or higher at all times. In my experience, no amount of skill can keep a melee range character alive if the difficulty is too high, and I only keep it very high on characters where my dodging skillz get useful.

On my first few characters, I had to turn the difficulty down just to survive. As I figured out more about how to build a character effectively, I stopped having to move it at all, and it's been a year or more at least since I've even touched it.

At this point though, I'm considering turning it up, just because i've gotten the game down so well that it gets boringly easy, ironically enough, by about level 18.

Myself I now keep it on normal for over 90% of the game. but sometimes I get frustrated with it, or just cranky in general and to relax lower it down.
The thing about the game to me is that it allows you to do whatever you wish, whether a serious tactical challange, or just some fast fun depending on how you feel.

The teen levels seem to be the worst. By about level 25, you will likely have worked out your weaknesses or be ready to roll a new character. My characters sail right through because I always develop Alchemy very early on and by level 18, four potions (with multiple effects) and several poisons is enough to confer godlike power on a naked mage. No, they don't run around naked; I'm just saying about Alchemy.

Also, you need to exploit your enemy's weak points. That means knowing what they are vulnerable to. For the undead, it's usually fire. If you happen to have a fire damage weapon, that's the one to use and multiply the damage by first casting a 'Weakness-To-Magicka' spell. If you're good at spell casting you can also follow up with a 'Weakness-to-Fire' spell before rendering the undead into toast.

Depending on how you feel about your character, the slider may be the only solution. I once considered a Conan-like character that would always wear fur armor and carry an Iron Claymore. That would have required a slider all the way to the left.

i didnt get +5 and just played the game. For me the game became easier the higher lvl i got. Once you get 85def and good magic resist/reflect (mundane ring is good for that) it becomes alot easier. I didnt mess with the difficulty yet, wanted to get to know the game first.

I′ve never moved the slider, other than to try out what happens when I do. Started in the middle and have it in the middle. However I think moving it a bit to the left is a good thing when leveling up. With this scaling-problem it reflects that your character is actually getting stronger.