Tuesday, April 22, 2008

OOO: Fort Nikel, Fort Roebeck

Still working my way through the dungeons surrounding the Imperial City.

Fort Nikel - This is somewhat of a pushover at level 17 with good potions and a moderately enchanted bow. The bandits and the marauders still mostly slaughter each other off in the last section, but you'll still end up with 3-4 left overs that you'll have to snipe from above. So bring lots of poisons and arrows.

Fort Roebeck - This was a good bit more difficult at level 17. I packed along 100 silencing poisons, 150 arrows, health potions and there were still some rough spots. With OOO, you're going to find low-mid level daedra outside, along with conjurers. Inside, you'll likely find Frost Atronachs, Flame Antronachs, various types of metallic golems, conjurers, and at least 1 plane summoner. Fortunately, you can snipe most of the conjurers from walkways above their areas. The best loot that I got out of here (in addition to 3-4 enchanted pieces of clothing for selling) was a journeyman level piece of alchemy equipment.

I also want to take a look at Fort Black Boot, Sage Glen Hollow and any other goblin / bandit dungeons around the Imperial City. Basically working my way around the Red Ring Road as a starting point.

By running the two dungeons, I earned enough gold (and gathered a few more greater souls) to enchant a new pair of weapons. One is a Fine Steel Bow that I've enchanted to do +8 damage with fire / frost / shock (compared to +5 with the old bow). And I enchanted a shortsword with +11 damage for each of the three damage types. Both weapons also inflict a light spell on the opponent (magnitude 10 for about 20-30 seconds), which makes it easier to see my opponents after I hit them.

The most useful piece of dungeon gear that I have at the moment is a simple enchanted headpiece with Detect Life on it. Its range is 115 ft, which is quite good and a lot more then I can create at the enchanting altar. Since it is additive, I may equip a 2nd piece for more range (150-200 ft is what I prefer). It's extremely handy to have a permanent item with that enchant because I get tired of casting it all the time in dungeons.

Labels: 2008, ES4Oblivion, OscurosOblivionOverhaul

posted by Wuphon's at 5:33 AM (0 comments)

Sunday, April 20, 2008

OOO: Sideways Cave - Lost Abagarlas, Ayleid Reliquary

So I went back to Sideways Cave at level 17 to get some revenge and finally clear out the last room with the gargoyles. Most of my kills were made using a single shot with the enchanted bow (+5 damage for each of the 3 damage types: fire / frost / shock). The regular imps die immediately due to the 3x sneak damage multiplier (10 pt arrows, 8 pt bow, 5 pts for each of the three enchants).

Only the mystical imps, trolls, or gargoyles required a bit more finesse. But because I have a sneaky mod installed (Attack and Hide), if I shoot from absolute darkness I can often get off 2-3 shots before they locate me.

The trick to the gargoyles is that you can't stay hidden. Otherwise after each time they take damage, they'll shield (reflect spell damage), fall over, and then regenerate. So you have to get their attention and let them shoot their drain spells at you. At which point, it's just a matter of shooting 5-6 arrows at them, each one with poison (I was using 4 pt over 17 seconds).

My last mystery is trying to figure out what the ayleid reliquary in the last room of Sideways Cave - Lost Abagarlas is for. It's a locked reliquary off to the right side in the caved in corridor in the last room.

(The answer is found on the OOO FAQ page. Basically if you have OOO 1.31 or later, you'll come across the key as part of the last mission of the Thieve's Guild.)

Labels: 2008, ES4Oblivion, OscurosOblivionOverhaul

posted by Wuphon's at 11:04 PM (0 comments)

Saturday, April 19, 2008

OOO: Sardavar Leed, Yellow Tick Cave, Belda

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Sardavar_Leed - Tried this at level 15 as a sneaky type character with moderate skills. A "guardian of oblivion" toasted me inside the entrance way. Apparently it has been beefed up by OOO. I suspect I'll need to be level 25-30 before coming back and tackling this dungeon.

Yellow Tick Cave - Another attempt at tackling a conjurer cave at level 15. Now, either my level is too low, my sneak is too low, or conjurers are exceptionally aggressive - because my second pull resulted in a train of 6 or 8 conjurers along with pets. So I probably won't be able to tackle this until I have potions capable of silencing and killing conjurers.

Belda - This one is doable at level 16 if you pack the right potions and equipment. You'll need about 50-75 silence poisons (Motherwort Sprig, Nightshade, White Seed Pod, and Sacred Lotus Seeds), another 50-100 regular poisons, lots of health potions, and some cure disease / poison / restore attribute potions. If you're a bow user, you'll need an enchanted bow that you create in the Arcane University. My first bow is typically a silver bow enchanted to do 5 points over 1 second of three damage types (fire, frost, shock). With a greater soul gem (1200 points), you'll be able to get about 80 shots from the bow before you need to recharge it. Lastly, you'll need a few soul gems and at least 100 arrows (200 would be better). I also carry a sword enchanted in a similar manner to the bow (4 points of damage over 2 seconds for fire, frost, and shock). There was still one "very hard" chest deep within the dungeon that I couldn't open yet (so I'll have to come back). And some of the traps on the chests can kill you instantly if you only have ~150 health. So save frequently.

One of the hardest areas is towards the end (but not the last room) where you may face a Plane Summoner, who is a tougher then normal conjurer. Not to mention all of the iron / gold / mithril / other golems that take 5-10 shots from the bow (silence poison is useful, otherwise don't bother) to put down. Make sure you have lots of room to back up when fighting those, because they hit hard.

Labels: 2008, ES4Oblivion, OscurosOblivionOverhaul

posted by Wuphon's at 2:45 AM (0 comments)

Friday, April 18, 2008

ES4 Next steps with Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul

This is a follow-up post for Getting started with Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul. After all, once you've done the things in that post, what next?

1) If you have Shivering Isles - go ahead and start the main quest. You'll obtain Dawnfang/Duskfang, which is a good low-level 1H sword that will work for you until you can get into the mage's guild to enchant one of your own. At lower levels, it only weighs 19-23 lbs, so it's reasonable to carry for something that will never run out of charges (it refreshes twice per day). The higher level versions are a lot heavier.

2) Your 2nd goal is to get the Ruin's Edge bow. This is an outstanding bow for a young character who likes to sneak around and open combat with a ranged attack. Your enemies will often attack their cohorts (Frenzy effect), or they'll be stuck standing in place (Burden), or they'll fall down (Paralyze), or simply run away (Demoralize). The bow is not leveled, so you'll want to obtain it sooner rather then later.

3) Your 3rd goal in Shivering Isles should be to obtain lots and lots of potion making ingredients. Especially Black Tar from the Dementia side of the isles.

4) You can do some of the Mage's Guild recommendation quests prior to level 10. Specifically Skingrad, Chorrol, Cheydinhal, Bravil and Bruma. The Leyawin quest will be difficult at level 12 (drink health potions early and use poisons freely). The Anvil quest tends to be another difficult one as well with a high-level opponent (but you do have allies in that quest). In order to get the Bravil recommendation quest, you may have to do the nightmare quest first where you fight two minotaurs. You'll probably have to turn the difficulty slider down a bit in order to pull it off.

5) Some of the fighter's guild quests are reported to be easy at the start. Later ones are much more difficult.

6) Start collecting souls (Lesser / Common / Greater). This will allow you (once you gain access to the Arcane University) the ability to create magical equipment.

7) Train your armorer skill. One way is to create a self-only "damage armor" spell in the Arcane University. Then you put on an old suit of junk armor and cast it on yourself. When the armor breaks, you repair it. The other way is to use armor damaging spells on your opponents, then loot and repair their armor. Once you get to level 50 in Armorer, you'll be able to repair magic gear.

8) One poster suggested Fort Ash, Fort Virtue or Fanacasecul. The goblin mine east of Skingrad along the road is rumored to be a good low-level dungeon as well.

9) One random note - having Mysticism as a starting skill is not a good idea if you use Gather Ye Rosebuds.

10) Another suggests starting with dungeons: Fort Urasek, Fort Ash, Fort Virtue, or Fanacasecul, Fatback Cave, Dzonot Cave (has amazons - so I disagree that you should go there much before L25),

11) Find the Winged Bow.

12) Loot the clams in the waters around the Imperial City. (Personally, I save the drops from those clams for use with Geomancy.)

13) Work on getting your security skill up to 60+ in order to pick the hardest chests (41+ for Hard Locks). Alternately, train up Alteration to 75 to cast the "open hard lock" skill and 100 for the "very hard" lock spell.

14) Buy at least (1) spell of every type so that you can create enchants with it later. Key spells are touch spells that do fire / frost / shock damage. Don't forget telekenisis, heal self, heal other, or resist / shield spells.

15) Beginner dungeons are scattered near Imperial City, with the ones on the west side of the city/lake probably easier then the ones on the east side. (The one exception that I know of is southwest of Chestnut Handy Stables - it contains amazons.)

Labels: 2008, ES4Oblivion, OscurosOblivionOverhaul

posted by Wuphon's at 9:26 AM (0 comments)

Sunday, April 13, 2008

ES4O: Gargoyles!

I think I posted about Sideways Cave before and how it's a good place to come when you're a wee little adventurer? I think I also mentioned that in the "Lost Abagarlas" zone that there are a set of 3-4 iron gates that keep you away from the last area which contains (3) gargoyles and (1) mystical imp?

Well, I went back there at level 8, with a bit more power under my belt. Poisons that do 4 points of damage per second for 15 seconds, steel arrows, better marksmanship skills, etc.

Apparently, I haven't found what they're weak to, because the poison barely moves their health bar. Plus, when a gargoyle gets damaged, they shield themselves (becoming stone) fall over and regenerate. I'll come back after preparing a fire / cold poison and after getting a few more levels.

(Tested with Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul 1.33. Rumors indicate that they may be roughly level 20. I dragged an outdoor gargoyle through a pair of guards on the road outside of Skingrad and the gargoyle wiped them out. Hopefully it will despawn before I have to travel back through there.)

...

The other low-level dungeon near the Imperial City is Vilverin. It is guarded by a trio of bandits outside and a bunch of bandits in the first section. After that it switches over to skeletons and other undead.

Once again, the first 2-3 areas are doable at levels below 10 (I did well at level 8). But the final area contains a boss and spectral warriors / wolves that will give you trouble without the proper equipment. I figure I'll come back at around 12-15 when I have weapons that are enchanted with shock.

Labels: 2008, ES4Oblivion, OscurosOblivionOverhaul

posted by Wuphon's at 5:57 PM (0 comments)

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Getting started with Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul

It can be difficult to get started with Oblivion once you have Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul (OOO) installed. In the default Oblivion, all of the creatures in the game are leveled with you. So at low levels, there are very few creatures out there who can kick your tail (and conversely, things don't get much more difficult at higher levels either).

Personally, I prefer a game world where there are areas that are simply too dangerous for a young, unskilled adventurer. It provides a bit of excitement as well as things to look forward to because there are dungeons that you won't be able to get near until your late 20s or early 30s. But that still leaves the question, what can I do at level 1?

1) Unlike vanilla Oblivion, the "Major is Minor" trick with attributes is a bad idea. You'll need at least most of your primarily used skills to be starting at skill level 20-30 instead of starting at zero if you want to have a chance of survival. Also, since a lot of things in Oblivion don't auto-level with you, getting +5 bonuses every time you level up isn't as important.

(The exception here is the Shivering Isles add-in, which OOO does not muck with. You may also have trouble with the interiors of Oblivion gates later on if you don't manage to get at least +3 bonuses when you level up.)

So design your character with a bit of care, or else you'll have to move the difficulty slider from the middle (normal) all the way down (so enemies do 1/6th damage and you do 6x more damage).

2) Go to the market as soon as you exit the tutorial sewers. Odds are high that your bags will be nearly overweight anyway when you exit, and you'll need to go sell before you can go adventuring. Getting up the hill to the area around the prison and getting into the market district should not be too difficult. Make sure that the first time you deal with a shopkeeper that you adjust the "barter" scale to get better prices.

I usually guestimate the initial value. If it's too low, I go up 10 percent. If it's too high, I go down 10% until something inexpensive sells (or I buy something inexpensive). Once you figure out where it should be, you can adjust up/down about 3% at a time. Upwards if the merchant is still willing to do business with you, or back off if the merchant refuses your offer.

3) Once your bags are empty, go back down to the sewer tunnel exit on the NE side of City Isle. To your south along the eastern shoreline will be a cave called "Sideways Cave". It's mostly filled with imps and is fairly easy for a young character in OOO. Always save before tackling an instance. Both on the off-chance that Oblivion will crash and because the denizens of the cave / dungeon / ruin may be too difficult for your character. The hardest mobs in here that you can tackle will be the Mystical Imps, who are partially invisible and a good bit tougher then the regular imps.

Once inside, pay close attention for Ayleid Casks in the 2nd "Hidden Lake" section of the instance. They're off to the sides and you'll need to look for them. There's also a Ayleid Reliquary here that contains 1-2 extremely nice pieces. (If you want to save-scum, this is a good place to do it. But you'll have to re-load all the way back to the save point outside the cave if you don't like the loot inside the 2nd zone.)

The third section, "Lost Abagarlas", is much more dangerous. There are shadow wolves along with mystical imps. Use your detect life spell, turn the difficulty down, or whatever you need to do to defeat them. You're not really here for a fight, and you should NOT go past the 4 iron gates that open up. Instead, you should search high and low for a hidden meteoric shortsword weapon that is hidden in this section. I won't say exactly where it is. It's only partially hidden and in fairly plain sight, just don't stare at the floor to find it.

Once you've retrieved the sword and gotten your loot from the 2nd chamber, you should have a decent starting point. You can either save the items for emergencies, or wear them, or sell them to let you buy other goods early on. Sometimes I get two 1500-3000gp items from the 2nd chamber, other times I only get one item.

You may even have enough to buy your shack outside of the Imperial City so you can store goods. (Personally, I prefer the Waldnir's Woods add-on, which creates a small shack near Shadeleaf Copse.)

4) Go to Cheydinhal and do the "Brush with Death" quest. This is a very easy quest to do at low levels. This will give you yet another item that you can sell for 1200-1800 gold.

5) Kill mudcrabs and deer. They're easy kills, and you can walk the shorelines around Wye or the Imperial City without (usually) getting killed.

6) Do the "Go Fish" quest in Wye (west of Imperial City, across the bridge). It's a hassle of a quest, and you'll need to swim around a bit, but the reward is a very nice ring that can be worn or sold.

7) Use the "Gather Ye Rosebuds" addon to make gathering herbs easier. You'll need about 350 gold to purchase the spell in the market district. You'll also need to install and use OBSE to launch Oblivion.

8) Stick close to the cities and roads. Always know where a guard is when traveling. I've done some more difficult traveling by walking along side a guard as they patrol the road. Guards are also useful help if you get attacked. If they can kill the beastie, you may be able to loot the beastie afterwards.

9) Read every document you can find in-game. Notices posted by the gates, parchments lying around in the inns, etc.

10) Go to Vilverin, directly across the lake from the prison sewer exit. You won't be able to do the boss area, but you may find some decent loot in the first section(s). (Just like Sideways cave, you'll need to come back later.)

Labels: 2007, ES4Oblivion

posted by Wuphon's at 10:00 PM (0 comments)

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

ESO4:Oblivion - Useful Potions (Expert)

Note: Obscuro's Oblivion Overhaul (OOO) or one of the other mods that I have installed plays with ingredient weights. So the un-modified version of Oblivion will result in higher potion weights. Note that the first potion of a particular name and strength sets the weight for all other potions created under that particular name and strength. So use the lightest weight ingredients first (make a single potion) then use heavier ingredients until you see the potion effects change (when your Alchemy skill increases).

Any listed effects were calculated at Alchemy level 83 (with Luck of 85). I try not to list any rare or hard to obtain ingredients in my lists. I'm using Expert level Alchemy equipment (except for a Master level Retort)

Poison (Caster, Fire) (0.075 best weight)
- Combine Harrada (0.1), Spiddal Stick (0.1), Steel-Blue Entoloma Cap (0.1) and Bergamot Seeds (0.0)
- Damage Health: 7 pts for 28 sec, Damage Magicka 13 pts for 52 sec, Fire Damage: 8 pts for 34 sec, Silence for 23 sec
- A nice lightweight potion that can be used to great effect against casters.

Poison (Caster, Frost)
- Combine Black Tar (0.1), Harrada (0.1),

Poison (Caster, Shock) (0.1 weight)
- Combine Black Tar (0.1), Harrada (0.1), Ectoplasm (0.1), and Rot Scale (0.1)
- Damage Health: 7 pts for 28 sec, Shock Damage: 8 pts for 33 sec, Silence: 24 sec, Paralyze: 3 sec
- Although it's a small pain to obtain the ingredients, it's useful in cases where you want to knock down (paralyze) an opponent.

Restore Magicka (0.0 weight)
- Combine Blackberry (0.0) with Water Hyacinth Nectar (0.0)
- Restore Magicka: 19 pts for 67 sec

Restoration (Feather & Shield) (0.075 best weight)
- Combine Aloe Vera Leaves (0.1), Flax Seeds (0.0), Lady's Mantle Leaves (0.1) and Withering Moon (0.1)
- Feather: 233 pts for 829 sec, Shield: 45% for 159 sec, Restore Health: 11 pts for 40 sec, Restore Magicka: 19 pts for 67 sec
- A very powerful potion of restoration.

Restoration (Dispel) (0.1 weight)
- Combine Fly Amanita Cap (0.1), Grapes (0.1), Lady's Mantle Leaves (0.1) and Tobacco (0.1)
- Restore Health: 11 pts for 40 sec, Restore Fatigue: 25 pts for 87 sec, Dispel: 103 pts on self

Fortification (Magic + Endurance)

Labels: 2007, ES4Oblivion

posted by Wuphon's at 5:38 PM (0 comments)

ES4 Oblivion, Getting Started (potions)

When you first start out, potions are the key. However, because you can only identify the first attribute of any ingredients, there's not many potions that are useful. Carrying capacity (weight concerns) are also very important early on. So this list concentrates solely on potions that are very lightweight with easy to obtain ingredients. I'm assuming that you have a full set of Novice level Alchemy equipment. Any listed effects were calculated at Alchemy level 20 (with Luck of 65).

Note: Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul (OOO) or one of the other mods that I have installed plays with ingredient weights. So the un-modified version of Oblivion will result in higher potion weights. Note that the first potion of a particular name and strength sets the weight for all other potions created under that particular name and strength. So use the lightest weight ingredients first (make a single potion) then use heavier ingredients until you see the potion effects change (when your Alchemy skill increases).

Poison (Health) (0.1 weight)
- Combine (2) of Nightshade (0.1), Stinkhorn Cap (0.1), or Wisp Stalk Caps (0.1)
- Damage Health: 3 pts for 10 sec (30 total)

Restore Health (0.05 best weight)
- Combine Cairn Bolete Cap (0.1) with Lady's Mantle Leaves (0.0)
- You can also use Venison (2.0)
- Restore Health: 3 pts for 11 sec (33 total)

Restore Magicka (0.05 best weight)
- Combine Flax Seeds (0.0) with either Bog Beacon Asco Cap (0.1) or Steel-Blue Entoloma Cap (0.1)
- Restore Magicka: 5 pts for 18 sec (90 total)

At early levels, those are the major (3) potions/poisons that you should be carrying. I'd also suggest carrying a few of the stronger store-bought (or looted) Restore Health potions (which can restore 60-120 points very quickly). Other potions are either too heavy, too limited in duration, or are better off used as merchant fodder.

Labels: 2007, ES4Oblivion

posted by Wuphon's at 5:36 PM (0 comments)

Monday, June 18, 2007

Oblivion Videos on YouTube

I've been playing a bit of Oblivion the past few weeks. While it's a real bear to get running at anything approaching decent resolution (1280x720 is still a bit choppy, even on a SLI GeForce 7950 rig), it's very involving.

Oblivion Domino Day - Hopefully someone did this with the CE (Construction Editor) and not in-game, because it's nigh impossible to place books accurately in-game. The NPC that they're killing is the "Adoring Fan". Reportedly one of the most annoying NPCs in the game.

Oblivion Domino Day II - Same thing, different setup.

Oblivion Fun - First a dive off of "Dive Rock". Followed by lots of jumping and getting outside the walls of Imperial City.

Oblivion Fun - A continuation of the above. More fun with "Dive Rock". Followed on by fun with spells.

Oblivion Fun - More fun with Havoc physics. Features Cloud Ruler Temple.

A Brush With Death - Shows the entirety of the "A Brush With Death" quest, which is one of the wildest landscapes (even though it's imaginary).

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Gameplay Footage

Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Review

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Review

Elder Scrolls IV: Knights of the Nine - Review

On the whole, Oblivion scores about a 80/100. Once you heavily mod it, it makes a lot more sense and plays better. But you'll still have to deal with semi-frequent crashes, video glitches, and a AI that isn't always the smartest. Once the GeForce 8800/8900 cards get down around $100, plan on setting up a SLI rig and giving this a play. Until then, you're going to have issues with framerates.

Specifically, you should install Obsuro's Overhaul for a better gameplay.

Labels: 2007, ES4Oblivion

posted by Wuphon's at 11:39 AM (0 comments)

Friday, May 25, 2007

ESO4:Oblivion - Useful Potions (Novice)

When you first start out, potions are the key. However, because you can only identify the first attribute of any ingredients, there's not many potions that are useful. Carrying capacity (weight concerns) are also very important early on. So this list concentrates solely on potions that are very lightweight with easy to obtain ingredients. I'm assuming that you have a full set of Novice level Alchemy equipment. Any listed effects were calculated at Alchemy level 20 (with Luck of 65).

Note: Obscuro's Oblivion Overhaul (OOO) or one of the other mods that I have installed plays with ingredient weights. So the un-modified version of Oblivion will result in higher potion weights. Note that the first potion of a particular name and strength sets the weight for all other potions created under that particular name and strength. So use the lightest weight ingredients first (make a single potion) then use heavier ingredients until you see the potion effects change (when your Alchemy skill increases).

Poison (Health) (0.1 weight)
- Combine (2) of Nightshade (0.1), Stinkhorn Cap (0.1), or Wisp Stalk Caps (0.1)
- Damage Health: 3 pts for 10 sec (30 total)

Restore Health (0.05 best weight)
- Combine Cairn Bolete Cap (0.1) with Lady's Mantle Leaves (0.0)
- You can also use Venison (2.0)
- Restore Health: 3 pts for 11 sec (33 total)

Restore Magicka (0.05 best weight)
- Combine Flax Seeds (0.0) with either Bog Beacon Asco Cap (0.1) or Steel-Blue Entoloma Cap (0.1)
- Restore Magicka: 5 pts for 18 sec (90 total)

At early levels, those are the major (3) potions/poisons that you should be carrying. I'd also suggest carrying a few of the stronger store-bought (or looted) Restore Health potions (which can restore 60-120 points very quickly). Other potions are either too heavy, too limited in duration, or are better off used as merchant fodder.

Labels: 2007, ES4Oblivion

posted by Wuphon's at 5:04 PM (0 comments)

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

ES4: Oblivion

A few screenies from vanilla Oblivion. These are from the City Isle area surrounding the Imperial City.







A pair of shots showing the outside of Bravil (south of the Imperial City).

Labels: 2007, ES4Oblivion

posted by Wuphon's at 4:37 PM (0 comments)