So, is it just me or does anyone else find Oblivion a little overwhelming? It just seems that once I get one quest done, two more get added to my book! At the same time I have Oblivion Gates opening all over the place! What, if any, is the priority?

There is a lot to do.

One thing I do is avoid the Main Quest until later. By simply not delivering the Amulet. That way the Oblivion Gates are not opening. And once the Main Quest starts after delivering the Amulet, there is no real role play break.

Then with the Main Quest deferred (or never done) I focus on a few guilds. Selecting those that are right for my character. For example, if my character is Good then he or she will not do the Dark Brotherhood, and maybe not Thieves or Arena either.

If you want a game that pushes you around to do things, then just sort of use the Main Quest to focus you along.

I really like the fact that you can do what you want when you want. My current character was from Bravil, so once out of that prison she made her way home. Then she realized she was old enough to finally join her local guild of mages. Then she decided that she wanted to go to the University. Then she wanted a horse that was as fast as those majestic ones she saw racing along the roads carrying the Black Horse Couriers. Then she. . . well, you get the idea. Don't live or play by a script.

Just remember you don't have to do anything - after the tutorial dungeon, you're pretty much free to decide what to do. Forget about the quests you don't like and focus on the ones that interest you. Oblivion has a large variety of choices, but that doesn't mean you should go down every single path you come across.

Try the thieves guild, get in a guild so you have a home base!

If I were you, I would put the game down and do research. I don't care how much you think you know about the game, just do more research. I felt the same way about Daggerfall and Morrowind. I did a month of research before even playing them. I proceeded to smite each like it was my duty. The wiki and or the strat guide is your best friend. Learn the tricks of the trade and you will be well equipped to tackle anything Oblivion throws at you.

This was my approach as well, I just used the in-game books.

One of the things that I like most is that you are under no obligation to do anything at all. Take a few game days where you do nothing but walk around, sit in the taverns, or read some books. The point is to slow down, take your time. It's overwhelming to everyone when they first pick it up. After a while you will figure out what you want to do and how you want to do it.

Your last sentence suggests to me that you may like linear games (such as the ones made by Bioware) better than the kind of non-linear games Bethesda produces. There's nothing wrong with that. Neither way of approaching games is 'better' than the other.

Me, I thrive in open-ended games like this. I can't play more than a few hours of the average linear game before I begin to feel confined, claustrophobic.

When playing a game like Oblivion the priority, for me, is always my character. My character dictates what we do. I listen to my character, I make suggestions, we make decisions together. Sometimes my character runs off and does something without consulting me and I have to run after, yelling and waving my hands, "Wait up! Wait for me! You're going to get into trouble!"

Give it some more time. But don't feel you have to like Oblivion.

There is no priority. Oblivion gates popping up? That's fine. You can always avoid them. Cities won't be destroyed (other than kvatch but that's already destroyed) and the world won't end.

Anything you want to do.
Want to steal forks, or stalk someone? Want to run about Cyrodil naked? Thats th ebeauty of Oblivion, you can do all that, anytime you want. There are no time limits to 99% of the game. Go start the main Quest, 100 Ingame years later, finish it. It waits for you. So if you don;t want to do that guy a favor, go do someone else's quest. Or make up your own. Want to be the very Best like no one ever was? Well you can be. Want to be a fragile yet deadly fighter? Done. Want to be a psychopathic Necrophiliac Orc? Done.

The beauty of Oblivion is, Total freedom. Now yes this might seem overwhelming,but after you get a hang of things, it gets less and less overwhelming over time. Or as Pseron Wyrd said, this game might not be right for you, which is alright too.

Well you might want to close down a few oblivion gates, but as someone else said you might want to read up about the game do a little research. Normally I wouldn't say it for most games but a lot of the quest rewards are leveled items and you might want to wait up to get them or do it over again on another character.

Work on any quests interest you, or just go off and start exploring check out some caves or ruins. If your just starting want to work on your skills a little make some cash and find a bed I'd suggest checking out city leyawiin. The count that runs the city is a fairly good guy worth dropping in on.

I just want to add that, while I agree with the researching for preparation, try to aovid to 'spoil' your quests, even the side-quests. An example would be that, when in Oblivion, prepare for a long journey in a hostile territory, full of hard enemies and deadly traps, most of them fire-based. So, get stuff to either resist / absorb magic *in general*. Healing Potions are your friend, and do not be ashamed of using Invisibility in either way.

Spoiling would be to know

There is none..you're free to do as many or as few quests as you like. There's only like two timed quests in the entire game. There's no rush to get things done. Focus on one thing at a time.

I feel the same way right now, there are lots of books around, i took my time reading and trying to grasp the Eldar scrolls storyline and environment and everything about morrowind etc... Am taking my own sweet time for my char so no idea about oblivion gates( My Previous(first ever) character got to oblivion gate in Kwatch but i ended that game there)

As previously stated, it's pretty much up to you. I always start by picking a guild. Which of the four basic guilds is best for my current character? By the time I finish one guild or get tired of it (which ever comes first) I will likely know what I want to do next. If I don't, I can always just pick another guild. As far as sidequests go, it really depends on the quest.

I actualy like to do the thieves' guild and the mages guild at the same time. The thieves guild quests have me doing a lot of traveling between towns which is conducive to getting the mages' guild recomendations. I could just do the recomendations myself but the thieves' guild questline gives me a structure to follow rather than just randomly choosing which town I feel like visiting next.

Another thing that can help overcome the overwhelming feeling. When you make your characters, make them have specific roles, strengths and weaknesses. This way your magic build can focus on Mage Guild stuff and other wizard like activities, saving you the hassle of trying to accomplish everything with one character. Now you've effectively dissected the game to your and your builds liking. Not only that, but you've also added reasons to replay the game after you beat the Main Quest or don't. Eventually you'll pick away at the grand mystery that is Oblivion. Unless your just going for a jack-of-all trades type, with all hours focused on 100% the game with one character.

Number one priority should be to get to know the character you have created. What excites them. It might be riches, or fighting, the sheer magic of magic, exploring, doing good deeds or evil ones.

When Sarrah, my pure mage got bored around level 25, I asked her what would excite her. She said "I want to wear Daedric armor and become a warrior. I want to fight the biggest monsters and carry an enchanted Claymore." Sarrah died while closing Oblivion gate number 39. I play dead-is-dead meaning if my character dies, I will never load them again. She could have skipped the gates all together or only dealt with the few that were quest related. She died doing what she loved and after more than 500 hours of game play.

Angel, my current character is quite the opposite. She is a pure mage who, at level 40, has never worn armor or carried a shield. She has a gentle nature and loves camping in the wilderness. She considers herself to be a professional Alchemist and must travel all over to collect her ingredients. She can fight when she chooses and has left dead Daedra stacked in piles. Her current quest is to avenge Sarrahs death,

I purely roleplay... meaning I rarely even do guilds, quests or side quests.

all my story is purely using my imagination and the ingredients the world provides.

I can happily spend 20 hours hunting goblins in caves for my ranger duties. no quests at all, just me, my bow and lots of dead goblins.

When anyone initially plays a sandbox game the size of Oblivion, they can feel overwhelmed, especially if they haven't played one before. Before long, you'll probably toss all other none huge sandbox games aside. At least that's what happened to me. I can't stand playing anything else but freeform sandbox games anymore.