I am very excited about Skyrim, so I deleted my character in Oblivion and created a Nord, but soon found that I can't find any reason to play it.

First of all, with a Nord warrior and warrior birthsign, and only a steel shortsword, I am killing almost every human in about two hits at level 1. This seems ridiculous. In Morrowind I would have my @zz handed to me. Shouldn't you feel weak at level one so leveling actually has a point?

Then I realized that exploration is useless because of random items, and the fact that if I DO find anything good, it is levelled loot and I would have been better off waiting until level 30 anyway. Add to that the fact that the stupid compass not only shows me a quest marker (which I turn off by selecting another quest than the one I am on) but it also shows me when I am coming up to something of interest, like a ruin, or a cave. It really takes you out of the world, and is a HUGE disappointment. I'm playing on the 360 unfortunately so I cannot use mods to fix any of this.

Anyway, I don't really know exactly why I am posting this, but I don't mean to start an argument or anything. I am simply pointing out why this game is disappointing to ME. If anyone disagrees and would like to say why, I would like to hear it.

Here's hoping TES5 will be more Morrowind-esque in terms of exploration.

Fallout 3 was more Morrowind-esque so I'm sure TES 5 will be, tbh if I were you I'd go play Morrowind or Daggerfall if you've already beaten Oblivion like I have. You can get Daggerfall free as well

Also being a Layman you are http://www.mwmythicmods.com/fishystick.jpg

Hear, hear! :thumbsup:

Yeah, I hear where you are coming from. Morrowind was a pretty epic game, but I also get a huge amount of love and enjoyment from Oblivion.

These days I only use a roleplay style, and would never dream of simply 'playing the game.'
It is way better to be the character, and Oblivion grants you limitless freedom to do that. http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Roleplaying

Don’t understand, because of the random items you have to explore, In Morrowind it was simple to get top gear. Go to Gostgate and get glass armor, and then go to Dren plantation for the daeric twohand sword. You now have the best light armor and sword in the game; however I fail to see that this has to do with exploring. Naturally to farm rockmilk cave every 3 day has nothing to do with exploring either, reminds me I have to do Mazora’s quests
In oblivion you have to search for items, yes 3 level later elven armor is far too common but that is a separate problem.

Fallout had some of the same problems however less balance problems than Morrowind because even if you held Lincoln’s repeater and Vengeance at level 3 you would have problems with ammo and repair, still I got bored of doing the checklist every Fallout game.

When I got bored of the playstyle in Oblivion I just modded it within an inch of its life. Much more Morrowind-ish in the sense of open exploration, loot is much more stable (and rare!) and I'm not bogged down with a few hundred enchanted swords by level six. Once you've beaten the game- it comes down to how many roleplay mods you can find :celebration:

I suppose the moral of the story here (which I know you don't want to hear) is that you should play TES on the PC for maximum enjoyment. All the problems you describe could easily be modded. Maybe they could develop a construction set for consoles at some point - I'm sure it is technically possible but I doubt they want to because Microsoft/Sony are so intent on protecting the sanctity of their software.

Been there, done that. These issues have been debated to death on these forums along the last four years. Yes, Oblivion is different from Morrowind, and yes, if you want to solve these issues you have to mod them, and yes, I personally hope that Skyrim is closer to Morrowind than to Oblivion.

It′s why I never enjoy a game second time around (with one or two exceptions). If I already know about the places and how to do stuff it′s really pointless, as you say.
My trick with Oblivion is simply never stop playing to maintain the fun that is RP:ng

On note: A mix of Morrowind and Oblivion is my wish with TES V, although I have a feeling that talking about it here will get a lock or move :wink_smile:

There seems to be a melee assumption regarding best loot in Morrowind (i.e., if you are playing a pure spellcaster or archer, you cannot get the best equipment right away). Of course, TES is supposed to be a "role playing game" so the player is assumed to be role playing the character (more difficult in Oblivion than Morrowind, but possible, at least up to certain points).

I found role playing in Oblivion to be impossible since here isn't really any difference in spell function and melee combat from from skill 1-100. Only magicka cost and the monetary cost to make them. When drowned in options I could want with no barriers to any skill I can do I imagine all the possibilities and realize there is no way to challenge myself unless I cripple my character on purpose and that is just kind of..... lazy for a game developer. I am not really creating a character at the start of the game, I am slowly finding ways to limit what I can do so that my character is unique as I level. Sort of counter intuitive.... the object of the game is to set limits on your abilities instead of using your abilities to overcome your limits. The whole "but I want to do anything I want at any time!" argument just means the player has no idea what the meaning of "role-playing" is. I guess you could call Oblivion "The RPG answer for those suffering from ADHD".

For some players exploring is tied to finding new gear. I guess it comes down to whether a player is a roleplayer or a powergamer. A powergamer is more likely to do the things you describe. A roleplayer won't. As a roleplayer, knowing where certain items are does not affect my enjoyment of exploring at all. If anything, it increases my enjoyment.

I think what Skooma Addict is trying to say is that, when exploring, there are few surprises in Oblivion. I know personally I loved just knowing that there were hand-placed items all over Vvardenfell. It made each dungeon and building interior feel a little more unique. After all these years I still don't know where a lot of this stuff is hidden (I don't read Wikis or visit the Spoilers forums) - and I love that. If I started a new game of Morrowind tonight I might very well stumble across a piece of gear I've never seen before.

For me, the thrill of discovering a unique, hand-placed object is largely missing in Oblivion. I actually stopped playing the game a few weeks after it was released, partly because I knew that wherever I went and whatever I did I would never, ever, ever see even one single piece of (to take your example) usable glass armor anywhere in the game until my character reached some magic number decided upon by the developers. Once that magic number was reached glass armor was everywhere. That's just poor game design. The 'bandits-In-Daedric-Armor' syndrome has become emblematic of everything that went wrong with Oblivion. Hopefully they will not make that mistake again in Skyrim.

I agree with you about difference between power gamers who first question is "where can I get the best gear" and roleplayers. However on second play trough you know many of the locations and have heard about other, yes you can ignore that location on next play trough but numbers of suitable locations will be limited. Fallout 3 is bad here as you had set of unique items and the bobleheads, Morrowind had multiple sources for most tings.
However Bethesda has to take in account all the fools who go by list of finding the best items and then complains that the game is to easy.
Oblivion's largest problem in my opinion is that every enemy is to close to you in level, Daggerfall was even more random and level scaled, but had a larger variation in enemy level, you had a small risk of running into daedra lords at level 8 your only option would be to run for your life. And yes a lack of hard areas, who had been easy to add to the game, levelled list start at 20.

Much general container loot in Morrowind was actually random level scaled, notable is Ald'ruhn manor district who is nice to loot, however if you wait to higher levels you get lots of exquisite rings and amulets for enchanting.

I like discovering things for myself, without the aid of a wiki, but it is very hard not to consult it to check on the many bugs her and there. And sometimes you end up knowing that at some place you will get some cool stuff, so the experience may be ruined by a simple bug-checking.

If you want the game to be more challenging as soon as you start a new character throw the difficulty slider all the way to the right, I think you'll be flat out lucky to make it through the prison sewer if you have the antronach sign.
I've found a new appreciation for Oblivion on my latest playthrough. My new character is almost level 30 now I spent the first 5 levels training my destruction magic up to expert but the enchanted stuff I found along the way is still actually still useful for him gauntlets of vigor, lightfoot boots, a ring of fortify intelligence and one of nighteye.
Spent most of my time betting in the arena while training magic (I hope there is some gambling in Skyrim, I think Bethesda just gave me a new bad habit). I've only completed around 20 quests and have an enchanted elven shortsword (vampyric soul fang, weakness to magicka 75% for 10 seconds absorb health 8 points) can't wait to see how fast I can tear through some quests I might actually finish the game before Skyrim comes out.

Its when you get to a stage that your character is virtually god you realise you've played the game a bit too much.

You don't have to make your character godlike, I've got 3 peices of armor (forgot the highrock helm) and I don't use potions at all.
Alchemy makes the game very very easy if you use it often.

I agree with the OP's point about being too powerful at low levels (because of level scaling).

Mods like OOO fix this.

But....



I agree with the above and don't understand the OP's point about exploring.

Morrowind and Fallout 3 seem "pointless" in replays as far as exploring goes. Yes there are lot's of hand placed items and interesting locations (lots of unique locations in Oblivion too by the way). (OOO adds some additional hand placed items too, by the way)

But once you've found them you know were to look. So what's the point? Nothing new to discover. At least with Oblivion with the random loot you need to explore to get items. A Master Alchemy set one great example. There is no specific place to go to. You need to explore bunches of dungeons to get a full set.

So exploring wise, Oblivion seems to have a big edge over FO3 and Morrowind. I'm hoping Skyrim won't be as static and boring as FO3 and Morrowind from an exploration standpoint.

I understand what you are saying, and sorry that you feel that way. Perhaps I am lucky, for it just doesn't work that way for me. It never gets old or pointless. The fact that my character lives in Tamriel is all the justification I need to visit there every day.

We have sat on the docks at Anvil and watched the sun set into the Abecean Sea many times - that doesn't mean it ever gets old or pointless. We have worked our way into the bowels of Rockmilk Cave many times, just to pet Pumpkin. Never gets old. Traveling the roads of Cyrodiil? Watching the sun filter through the swaying trees? Playing in a waterfall? Nope, never gets old.

I think there are a few other things that help my character and I:
- We don't care a bit about loot, and honestly not that much about quests.
- There are so many dungeons, that when you come back to one of them later, it seems almost new again.
- We quite adore the openness of the game in terms of what you can do (or not do) and the ability to truly make a custom class character that does not fit into a typical D&D box.
- My character also has many weaknesses and vulnerabilities - so combat never gets uber or boring. Two or three hits from a brown bear can kill her.
:wavey:

Well, once again I second with Acadian :foodndrink:

What I meant earlier was that it would be pointless to me start a whole new character, since I already know (almost) everything. Even though my new character doesn′t, I still do and it′s me who′s behind the keyboard :thumbsup:

Sometimes it's nice to try out the different races and birth signs. I found I hated argonians in Morrowind (while some of my friends swore by them) but think they are totally awesome in Oblivion, khajits on the other hand I don't like their nighteye ability always wore off right when I was aiming my bow at something.
I been trying to ignore my urge to start an orc under the sign of the apprentice.

Anyway about the game being pointless, all games are. Why do football players get paid millions of dollars for running back and forth on a field, or NASCAR racers driving around in a circle, some people find it entertaining. Don't know what else to tell you not everyone picks what hobbies they like they just often like them despite of stuff.