My main characer, Maia, is a custom class: Silver Knight.

Blade
Heavy Armor
Alteration
Illusion
Restoration
Light Armor
Marksmanship

Maia is currently level 15, about 46 hours into the game.

Blade is 100, Heavy Armor is close to 90, Restoration is close to 70, all other majors are at 25, untouched. She will hit 19 when Heavy Armor and Restoration max out.

This is by design, as I subscribed to the "some majors as minors" school of thought when I created Maia last spring. Overall, works out great for me. She doesn't always get all +5's when she levels, often there's +2's and +3's in there that she goes with too, but she's becoming formidable in the way I imagined she might. Her Strength and Endurance are 100, and her Speed is 76. Now she focuses on Intelligence, Willpower and more Speed as she levels. As a Silver Knight she will never wear Light Armor or use Marksmanship. However, she would consider using Alteration or Illusion later on, possibly.

I RP this as pretending she showed aptitude for the bow and for being a light armor user before she heard the call of Talos and pursed the road to knighthood -- thus they are majors, but majors destined never to be leveled. Alteration and Illusion would be considered, and since she has barely started the road to membership in the Mages Guild, a later focus on these skills would fit in with the timing of that endeavor.

My question is: What is a good level to stop leveling at altogether? And to be more specific, at what level is at at least possible to see every major item and every major enemy type? Is it 21?

I don't want to level Maia up to her max potential of 50+. I'd prefer to stop somewhere in the early 20's, but I'm just not sure at what specific level to stop at.

Your input would be appreciated. Thank you.

If it helps, I plan to play Maia for a long time post-leveling. I simply want as many options as possible, and ideally I'd like Maia to be in a world where not every single bandit was in full glass/ebony. Right now I like how I see a nice blend of fur/leather/mithril/chain/elven as well as iron/steel/dwarvish/orcish. I don't want it to get too much beyond this, but I would like it to be possible to see glass/ebony/daedric now and then, just not on every bandit!

Most people would say to cap your level at about 25. That is the where most if not all of the leveled artifacts reach their most powerful versions. After that, the only difference your level makes is that your enemies have more hit points. Dawnfang/Duskfang, Nevershatter, and other gear from SI tops out at level 30. So if you want to go there, keep that in mind.

Level 26 seems to be the point where the last enemy appears - the Lich.

For me, I never really think about what level to cap a character at. I just play them for as long as they are interesting - for as long as they have a story to tell me. When they get stale, then I move on. Usually that is somewhere in the teen levels. My longest running character was Aerin, a Dark Seducer whom I played until about level 27 or so. I use a mod that automatically updates all leveled equipment as I go up in levels, so I do not care about waiting to do quests to get the most powerful version of their rewards. It will always be the right level for me.

I know Acadian capped Buffy at level 20 and I think that′s a good level to do so. Other than a few pieces of loot there′s really no reason to level any further as you will only give foes more hitpoints.

Unfortunately I maxed my character at level 50 because that′s when his major skills were maxed out. If I had known better I would have done like Acadian and capped him at level 20-ish. I made up for it eventually by moving the slider to the left so his life wouldn′t become a hack-fest. This is the only thing I wish I had known about when I started to play Oblivion.

Good luck

I too, will end up maxing at level 19, with three used majors, the rest not. I will push it to 20 (by increasing one of the other non-used majors) so that I will qualify for all Daedric Quests. Currently level 18, however it's mostly Dwarven and Orcish that I'm seeing a lot of right now on enemies, with the occasional rare glass and daedric. So level 20 feels good to me right now. If you use only four majors, you will max out at level 30; gaining the best items, at least in the SI, 25 in Cyrodiil, yet for five levels the enemies are getting stronger. Though this might be a build-breaker if you hadn't thought about it when setting up.

If you stop at any level in the twenties, there are aspects of the game you will never see.

It's unlikely you will ever meet melee fighters that can disarm you with a blow. You won't encounter archers that can draw a bow so hard you are paralyzed and the arrows are too fast to dodge. Few (if any) opponents will have enchanted weapons that can destroy your own weapon or armor. You will never fight an epic battle against a hoard of boss level monsters.

Severus saw and did all of these things and more. He still died at level 50 with over 700 hours of game-play. Sarrah saw and did all of these things and still died at level 45 with over 500 hours of game-play. All characters are glass cannons and can die at any time. What is important is how they lived.

Interesting points no doubt, but I still fail to see the point of leveling beyond the early twenties because I agree fully with your last sentence; what′s important is how they live. To me high level is of no importance regarding lifestyle. You can still have epic boss battles if you like. It won′t be on the same scale but still, in its own way it can be epic.

But to each their own I say

Great responses. This is such a thoughtful board.

So, about 20 or 21 for most aspects of the game open (but not all).

26 to face liches (the final "unlockable" standard foe).

25 for max leveled Cyrodiilic items.

30 for max leveled Shivery items.

Thanks!

Open to more comments, but already you've been very helpful.

Yes, I believe 30 is the last level to get everything and beyond that level only lies more hitpoints for foes.

Your game, your decision. Let us know!

I totally agree. It's just that I go one further. I won't start a character by first thinking about game mechanics. I've tried that and it breaks the magic from square one. For me, the character is everything.

When I rolled Angel, she spent the first terrified week skulking around the Market District, pilfering from the crates and barrels and trying to find someone to help her. All she got was people who wanted her to help them. With over 300 hours, she is level 40 and admittedly, a lot has change. She has grown in the depth of her personality. There is nothing she fears now and yet she seldom resorts to violence. She is very meditative and has spent an entire night contemplating the beauty of an Oblivion Gate. She sees beauty in even the most mundane situations. I didn't know she would turn out like this but I believe her character is what it is because she is not a creature of the game mechanics.

I agree, in large part I think, with your overall point of view, bobg. A few years ago I was playing Oblivion with a pad of paper by my side, purely to note skill levels at level-up time, so that I could carefully plan my characters' growth patterns from 1 to 51. Needless to say, I burned out.

I subsequently tried playing with no thought at all to my characters' leveling up but that didn't quite jell with me as a gamer. On the RP side, I always assumed my characters would take some interest in their future (and how they were going to get there), even if only in a vague way.

When I discovered "some majors as minors" that was, for me, the winning compromise. I chose for Maia 3 majors that are true majors in every sense of the word: skills that are her bread-and-butter (blade, heavy armor, restoration). Skills key to the Silver Knight (paladin) ideal I have. Two other majors (alteration and illusion) fit with my concept that at some point in her life she might branch out and explore her nascent interest in magic. And two others (light armor and marksmanship) were chosen because I have no intention to pursue those activities with Maia, ever. That's a nod to gameplay balance, though it works from an RP standpoint too, as those skills represent skills she had at her coming-of-age/imprisoment.

With this system I have never tracked Maia's stats on paper as I've played. Since she's a paladin she tends to block and repair a lot, so on top of heavy armor, never had to worry about Endurance. Because of her use of 1-handed swords, it was easy to imagine her training in blunt as she leveled up early on (keeping her 1H skills somewhat balanced), so that made Strength organic to raise. Everything else has simply happened as events unfolded.

And that brings me to chosing a time at which her statistical leveling will come to an end -- or, at least, come to a long pause. Once all, or most, of the game's options are open to Maia I see no reason to continue leveling. The only things that could possibly happen would be she would grow even stronger in comparison to her foes, or weaker. Neither option is particularly interesting to me. I much prefer to pick the best point I can pick to stop that process, and then fully focus on the adventures and the stories. I'm pretty much there now, I'll be 100% there when leveling is complete!

And just to amplify (and to fully get away from "stat talk") I'll give an example, somewhat similar to Angel's pondering and admiration of the beauty of an Oblivion Gate.

The other morning I was playing, or should I say following, the adventure of Maia.

Maia woke up in the Fighter's Guild of Bravil, having rested from a long trek the day before. She put on her armor (she sleeps in robes), girded her sword and scabbard to her belt, and strapped on her pouch and grabbed hold of her shield. Then, she set out. As she left the town, she could not help but notice the beauty of the sunrise on the Niben Bay. Ah! That rock over there would surely give a better view! Atop it she lept, simply soaking in the view, a wonderful music playing through her tranquil mind. Hmm, as she came back from the thought to the moment: what is that old fort over there. It seems full of earth, almost buried. She lept in that direction and picked amongst the structure, wondering what had happened on that site in years gone by. Up, to the north, she recognized the familiar circle of a divine shrine, and in the growing light of a new day, felt it would be good to pay her respects to the divines, so off she went. Later, jogging lightly to the south, she passed a friend from town, and further up the road came upon a mountain lion. A friend to all woodland animals, she was content to merely admire its sleek form. However, she began to think of her friend coming up the road. What would happen? When he arrived he immediately drew his weapon, before the lion even made a move, and moved in to kill the lion. Maia judged this to be his fight, as he iniated it, so she watched, ready to heal him with a merciful touch should he need it. He prevailed, but she decided to heal him nonetheless, and so her morning was underway...

A later day saw her spending a long time simply soaking in the beauty of Topal Bay, wondering might lie beyond the horizon of the sea to the south.

As mirocu said, the sweet spot me is level 20. I like weapon damage to really count and hit hard. My character can max her bow and agility by then and access a strong bow, but foes' hitpoints are limited; that means when she strikes, it hurts them - alot. To make sure the enemy has the same advantage, my character sports a single digit armor rating and endurance permanently stuck at 30 - that means one to three hits and she's dead.

As far as access to things at certain levels, here are some data points that I consider based upon level:
17: Top alchemy gear and sigils
19: Top leveled Hatred's Soul
20: Daedric weapons, Daedric/Glass armor, Mundane Ring, all quests, almost all monsters
22: Xivilai
23: Perfect amber/madness (SI), gloom wraiths
25: Lots of top-leveled quest rewards.
26: Liches
30: Everything, including all remaining top-leveled quest rewards.
I don't advertise the list as complete or exhaustive, but it suits my purpose fine.

Good luck with Maia!

Liches actually spawn at level 23 as Bosses, so you dont need to get to 26 to encounter all types of enemies.

And Xivalii though rare, spawn as bosses in conjurer lairs, at my current level of 18.

There are indeed plenty of quirky exceptions to monster spawn rules. For example any critter can appear 2 levels before their scheduled level along the roads or as bosses. So a level 18 character can indeed see a minotaur lord along the road. As I said, the generalizations I made suit my purpose just fine.

In my case gearwise, I wanted top level alchemy gear and a Daedric bow so 20 worked fine.

Thanks again. You've all been incredibly helpful.

20 sounds perfect for Maia. That means her 3 primary majors will all be 100 and that leaves 10 pts to consider for use across one or more of her other majors.

I also have a new character named Zack. Zack is a young archer. I liked what you said, Acadian, about the balance between hitting hard with bows and not ever adding to endurance (classic "glass cannon" as some might say). I was actually pondering that very approach for young Zack. I suspect it would make the early levels particularly exciting, since stealth will be low at that point, but losing stealth will mean a dangerous run for one's life! I like the idea of leveling ending at 20 for Zack, too, given the balance you described between hitting hard and also being dead after 1 to 3 hits. Sounds very, very fun.

Not to draw comparisons between games, but the concept of stopping at certain levels in rpg's has often been a part of my play pattern, hence the reason I made this topic about my Oblivion characters and their leveling "stop-point." When I used to play World of Warcraft I quickly grew tired of the competitive need to constantly strive for the latest gear and the new level cap. Actually, the level caps are easy to reach, but the time and coordination required to acquire the very latest and best gear could become work-like. So, after a while, I decided to make new characters, characters that would never reach level cap. One of my favorites, a rogue, reached level 60 and then never leveled again (at a time when the game's level cap was 80). He purely existed to have fun in battlegrounds with. I had similar characters (a priest and a hunter) capped at 70. Looking back, the most fun I had in that game was, of course, the early days of late 2004 and early 2005 (when it was new to everyone) and then later on the great fun I had with my non-cap characters. I was able to simply play and do the things I found fun and interesting without the stress/drive associated with raiding or pvp at the level cap.

Now, it's not that I think Oblivion is stressful, but removing thoughts about leveling up and what that may bring (or what it might take back, relatively speaking) is a good thing in my book. So I really do appreciate all your input.

Hey, I found a http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/8333/zackfaireg3.png. Are you sure he does not carry the Buster Sword though?

Haha! Good old Zack Fair. I'm actually a huge FFvii fan. I still remember waiting and waiting (and waiting) for September 1997 to finally arive, so i could get that for my PlayStation. I played that game non-stop all fall and winter that year, right into '98!

"That guy are sick."

But, no, my Zack is a different Zack altogether, not based on any other character, Zack or otherwise. =)

Download a Mod, like OOO, and I usually cap at around 20. With quest reward leveller, I don't have to worry about doing quests at certain periods and with OOO, I get all the evil, dangerous and strong mobs at a very low level. Epic battles are gaurenteed from level 1. Makes it much better when roleplaying a 'starting' hero. Also I like the fact that you can get powerful enchanted loot at level 1, but its incredibly rare

Without mods, Hunter (R.I.P), stopped at level 25. No reason, just thought it'd be a good place to stop.

I'm still tinkering with my archer character. Trying out looks, races, builds, etc. I've made several Zack's over the last few days, plus a few female characters too (Kira). Again, testing out looks and builds and such.

I've found that the race/gender combo that gives me the ability to most easily control a character that completes the journey at level 20 (based on 3 used majors) is a female wood elf. That's if I set security/sneak/marksman as the three majors that are used (since they start at 30/40/40 respectively). The never-used majors would be the 3 melee skills and heavy armor. This also gives 30 strength and 30 endurance, which I like, since I'm leaning towards the glass cannon approach. Combat-wise, this character is trending towards the exact opposite of Maia!

However, I'm tending towards female Breton. I've created one whose appearance I really like (saved at the sewer exit). I like the idea of an inherently "magical" race for this character. I also get the 30 str/30 end combo I find so tempting. This character would cap out at level 22. Pretty close to my goal, plus I'm guessing the last several levels will all require security, and I'm guessing that will be slow plowing past 70 or 80 since I'm not one for repeating actions just to force skill ups.

If anyone can speak from experience to the speed that security levels after 50 or so, I'd like to hear it btw. Thanks.

In any event, I like the idea of this build. Since I have a vision for this character, I like using the "some majors as minors" approach so that I can play as I like. Specifically, by picking all three agility-governed skills as majors, I am guaranteed +5 agility at level up time (since the other four skills will never be leveled). Since I never Fast Travel and I'm fond of jumping on and off things, speed will do fine. Maybe not all +5's, but it'll all be good. Intelligence and willpower start high as a Breton (50 each) and I enjoy alchemy and want to dabble liberally in magic use with this character, so those will take care of themselves. And if I get to a point where I have to pick a fifth attribute to throw points in, then I'll throw them in personality. Strength, endurance, and luck will be ignored.

I'm open to suggestions and comments, plus I'd love ideas for a custom class name for this build.

It's a stealth archer that never melees. It's a character I foresee rarely wearing light armor, never wearing heavy armor, and mostly will wear light weight clothes (dark shirt, wide black pants, etc.). The clothes will likely be enchanted, down the road. It's a character that, over time, will use more and more magic to control, influence, and deal damage, but the heart of gameplay will be about archery and stealth. On the RP-side, I am starting to see Kira as a sort of chaotic good character -- something of a Robin Hood -- so the TG is a definite possibility. The interest in magic will likely lead towards the MG as well. Arena is also a possibility. DB is out. FG is a possibility. Amulet will be ignored.

I've tried thinking of a custom class name that somehow combines the idea of an archer with the idea of a magic-user. I know Buffy, for example, is a Mystic Archer. That's a great name, btw, but I want a name for this custom class that does not copy another's. On the other hand, it's definitely easy to overthink this, so I may just go with Sniper.

Open to suggestions, across the board.

Seems to me you′re going for a Buffy-like character and you even mention her, so maybe you should PM Acadian directly about this?

I personally like this build very much but I don′t think I can contribute that much to it other than a class name; Warlock′s Arrow perhaps?

Good suggestions! I'll PM Acadian.

And on the name suggestion, while I'm not sure about the Warlock part, the idea of blending something "magical" with the word "Arrow" is very interesting. I was focusing so much on something that uses the word "archer" or "marksman" that I didn't even think of that. Thanks. Something to ponder.

If your character is going to focus on a particular school of magic, maybe something from that school together with "Arrow"?

Can't help with the security. We open by spell.

Another way to cap at 20 if you are struggling to not bust it is to just max 2 majors. Then grind a 3d and/or 4th as needed only to finish your leveling. Speechcraft makes a lovely 'never touch' major that is easy to level if ever desired.

If you are going to use illusion, then speed becomes simply a luxury or convenience. After all, invisibility means never having to run.

A well-built no-melee mystic archer can be deadly if you use plenty of magic. Because of that, I pretty much avoid offensive fire, ice, lightning and strong summons. Illusion + bow can deal handily with about anything.

In the long run, a Breton with mage birthsign is a great choice. Their magic resistance does take some of the glass out them however. Apprentice could me more vulnerable if you want.

Names besides Mystic Archer? Hmm. . . Feathered Phantom. Arcane Archer. Sniper. Bowgirl -

Best wishes!

Edit: Oops, I was posting as you were PMing me. Using the term Mystic Archer is awesomesauce by me!

Speechcraft! Brilliant! I like that much better than security as a major for this build.

Very interesting thought on birth sign. You also make a good point about a Breton's magic resistance taking some of the "glass" out of the "cannon". However, I have to say, the character appearance that took shape last night really "speaks" to me, and something about the Breton magical background just fits the vision that's forming in my head for this character. So, in this way at least, Kira is likely to be different from Buffy. Of course, I'm sure they'll be different in a myriad of other ways, too.

Thanks for the thoughts on a class name too (plus your PM). I'll give this some thought.