Of the six different schools of Magic in Oblivion Remastered, Alteration spells tend to fall to the wayside. It can't hurl fireballs at enemies like Destruction, it can't summon allies like Conjuration, it can't restore your health or stats like Restoration, and it won't confuse or trick enemies like Illusion.
Don't discredit Alteration, though, as if you become an Alteration aficionado, you'll get access to some of the game's best spells, such as Aegis, which reduces incoming damage by a whopping 50%.
Oblivion Remastered: Best Early-Game Spells, Ranked
Even before entering the Arcane University in Oblivion Remastered, players have plenty of great and useful spells to choose from.
This guide to the best Alteration spells in Oblivion Remastered offers six of the most useful and powerful options within the school, as well as information on where you can purchase each of these recommended Alteration spells.
6 Sea Stride
Requires: Apprentice of Alteration
- Sea Stride effect: Water Walking for 30 seconds on self
- Base Magicka cost: 52
- Sea Stride spell ID: 000AA071
Aside from Shield spells, most Alteration spells in Oblivion Remastered don't offer much for combat. Instead, they are more useful for exploring and adventuring. Sea Stride is one of these spells, one that grants the Water Walking effect for 30 seconds when cast.
There aren't a lot of places in Oblivion Remastered where Water Walking is required, but it can make traversing large areas of open water much faster. And because it only requires you to be an Apprentice of Alteration, it won't take long before you can run across any body of water or lava with this spell.
How To Get Sea Stride
To learn the Sea Stride spell, Oblivion Remastered players must purchase it from Trayvond the Redguard at the Cheydinhal Mage's Guild.
5 Buoyancy
Requires: Apprentice of Alteration
- Buoyancy effect: Feather 5 points and Water Breathing for 30 seconds on self
- Base Magicka cost: 45
- Buoyancy spell ID: 0001FBB4
One of the few best spells in Oblivion that you can't get from a spell vendor, Buoyancy grants two useful effects: Feather and Water Breathing. This spell is tailor-made to help players gain the Cheydinhal Mage's Guild recommendation, but its usefulness extends well beyond this quest.
Oblivion Remastered: Best Defensive Spells, Ranked
Surviving in Oblivion Remastered will be impossible without a good defense. These spells will come in handy for most builds.
There are a number of flooded dungeons that require players to swim underwater in Oblivion Remastered, and some secrets and side areas that can only be accessed via diving. But unless you start as an Argonian or have lots of Water Breathing potions, and without a spell like Buoyancy, you may find it hard not to drown as you explore underwater.
How To Get Buoyancy
To learn the Buoyancy spell, Oblivion Remastered players start the Cheydinhal Recommendation Mage's Guild quest, then progress until you are tasked to speak with Deetsan for the key to the well. Deetsan will teach you Buoyancy for free.
4 Open Hard Lock
Requires: Expert of Alteration
- Open Hard Lock effect: Open Hard Lock on target
- Base Magicka cost: 235
- Open Hard Lock spell ID: 000A9837
It's no secret that the Oblivion lockpicking minigame is... Frustrating, to say the least. Instead of rushing to Level 10 to get the Skeleton Key, though, you could instead level Alteration and pick up Open Lock skills along the way. When you reach Expert, you will be able to cast the Open Hard Lock spell, which will also unlock any lock of a lower tier.
This spell will instantly open almost any lock in the game, except doors that require a key and locks of the very hard difficulty. It costs quite a bit of Magicka, but as long as you are in a safe location after opening your target lock, you can always Rest to recoup spent Magicka instantly.
How To Get Open Hard Lock
To learn the Open Hard Lock spell, Oblivion Remastered players must purchase it from Orintur at the Cheydinhal Mage's Guild, or either Gaspar Stegine or the Arcane University guildmaster himself. To access Gaspar Stegine and Raminus Polus' spells, though, you must first gain access to the Arcane University.
3 Pack Mule
Requires: Expert of Alteration
- Pack Mule effect: Feather 150 points for 6 minutes on self
- Base Magicka cost: 245
- Pack Mule spell ID: 000A9802
Mage builds in Oblivion are very good at a lot of things, but the one thing they suffer at compared to other playstyles (particularly Strength-based builds) is storage. Mages tend to have very low equip load, and thus are prone to becoming Overencumbered after picking up just a handful of high-value armor pieces.
Oblivion Remastered: How To Get 100% Reflect Damage
To reach 100% Reflect Damage, Oblivion Remastered players must find Reflect Damage gear and other sources of this effect.
With Pack Mule, you will be able to carry 150 more Weight for six minutes, which is usually enough time to grab what you want, escape a dungeon, and Fast Travel somewhere to sell your goods.
There are some lower-tier spells that also grant the Feather effect, but if you can get to Expert of Alteration, Pack Mule offers the best Feather effect for the longest amount of time.
How To Get Pack Mule
To learn the Pack Mule spell, Oblivion Remastered players must purchase it from either Orintur at the Cheydinhal Mage's Guild or the guildmaster of the Arcane University, Raminus Polus. You must gain entry to the Arcane University before you can purchase spells from the Master-Wizard.
2 Fire Shield, Glacial Wall, & Lightning Wall
Requires: Expert of Alteration
- Effects: Grants Fire Shield, Frost Shield, or Shock Shield (respectively) 30% for 30 seconds on self
- Base Magicka cost: 296
- Fire Shield spell ID: 000A9808
- Glacial Wall spell ID: 000A981F
- Lightning Wall spell ID: 000A982C
There are three types of elemental damage in Oblivion: Fire, Frost, and Shock. These spell damage types can be mitigated in a variety of ways but most effectively by raising your various elemental resistance stats. The best spells for elemental resistance are the triplicate of Fire Shield, Glacial Wall, and Lightning Wall.
These Expert-level spells grant a huge 30% resistance to their associated elemental damage type, effectively reducing the amount of damage you take from these elements by a third.
Combined with other elemental resistance effects and effects like Spell Absorb, these three elemental shield spells can help make you practically immune to specific damage types.
How To Get Fire Shield, Glacial Wall, & Lightning Wall
To learn all three of these powerful elemental shield spells, Oblivion Remastered players must go to the Cheydinhal Mage's Guild and speak to Orintur. Orintur sells all three of these elemental shield spells.
Oblivion Remastered: Best Spellsword Build
The Spellsword offers the best of both worlds for players torn between warrior and mage in Oblivion Remastered.
1 Aegis
Requires: Master of Alteration
- Aegis effect: Shield 50% for 1 minute on self
- Base Magicka cost: 540
- Aegis spell ID: 000A97AB
There are a lot of different Shield spells in the Alteration spell list, starting with Protect which grants a barely noticeable 5% damage reduction. As you level up and gain access to the best Alteration spells, Oblivion Remastered players will notice that Shield spells become rapidly stronger at higher tiers.
The best Shield spell in the game is Aegis, which costs an enormous 540 Magicka but grants an enormous 50% Shield effect for a full minute. Cast this before entering combat against any enemy that deals physical damage, and you'll turn their deadly blows into minor scratches.
With the Mundane Ring equipped, or stacked with other Shield and Damage Resistance effects, casting Aegis is often enough to put you over the edge and become completely invulnerable to physical damage.
It does require you to become a Master of Alteration, but you can speed up this process by repeatedly casting the lower-tier Shield spells at each rank. Swap to the next tier of Shield spell when you reach each milestone to quickly level up and gain access to this massive defensive boon.
How To Get Aegis
To learn the Aegis spell, Oblivion Remastered players must purchase it from either Orintur at the Cheydinhal Mage's Guild or Gaspar Stegine at the Arcane University. You must gain entry to the Arcane University before you can purchase spells from Gaspar Stegine, though.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
- Released
- April 22, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Sexual Themes, Violence
- Publisher(s)
- Bethesda
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Franchise
- The Elder Scrolls
- Genre(s)
- Action, RPG, Open-World, Adventure
- Platform(s)
- Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PlayStation 5, PC
