Best Daedric Shrine Quests In Oblivion

After sharing an offering with each of the Daedric shrines across Cyrodiil in The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, providing one is powerful enough, a quest will be bestowed upon the Hero of Kvatch. What is promised at the end of it is a rare reward. A total of fifteen Daedric quests can be completed in the game.

The quests themselves are often a lot more memorable in comparison to some of the rewards, funnily enough. As such, the burning question here is: which one of them is the best? Some of them are a little on the generic or underwhelming side, while others introduce varying set-pieces, intriguing twists, bleak outcomes, and more.

15 Namira

Provides Little Challenge For The Player

• Players can interact with Namira’s shrine east of Bruma (left of the ‘B’ of ‘County Bruma’ on the map) with a Personality skill of 20 or lower, at level 5 or higher.
• They will be tasked with removing the priests roaming the halls of the Ayleid ruins of Anga.
• It requires players to cast a spell on all priests, so Namira’s followers can kill them.

What a dull quest this is. It requires no skill whatsoever, only for the player to visit the ruins of Anga and get rid of the priests of Arkay there who are terrorizing Namira’s darkness-loving followers. Killing the priests or followers will fail the quest, so, an alternate solution must be taken here.

A spell called "Namira’s Shroud" must be cast upon these robed figures. This will extinguish their torches, leaving them defenseless from the followers, who will club them to death. The gruesome end to these innocent priests is befittingly morbid, but, even then, the whole thing asks very little from the player.

14 Molag Bal

The Outcome Isn't Particularly Interesting

• Players can interact with Molag Bal’s shrine west of Lake Rumare (below the ‘T’ of ‘The Great Forest’ written on the map) with a Lion Pelt at level 17 or higher.
• A widow from Brindle Home must be convinced to kill the player with a Cursed Mace.
• Though it requires a bit of detective work, there is no particularly interesting outcome.

Molag Bal bigs up his quest as “corrupting” a man of honor. In execution, it’s quite uninteresting. One can find the target in question, Melus Petilius, living in solitude and visiting his deceased wife’s gravestone daily. He won't fight back when provoked by violence.

Smacking his wife’s grave works, though. After defacing it, just drop the Cursed Mace, let him beat the Hero into submission, and… that’s it. The player is zapped to the statue and rewarded by Molag Bal. Revisiting the target will result in a new line of dialogue from him, and nothing else.

13 Nocturnal

Essentially A Fetch Quest

• Players can interact with Nocturnal’s shrine north-northeast of Leyawiin (left of ‘County Leyawiin’ written on the map) at level 10 or higher.
• The Eye of Nocturnal must be found and returned, and only an Argonian pair of thieves from Leyawiin know of its location.
• Outside of requiring some stealth and fighting Trolls, it’s a fetch quest.

If Nocturnal’s quest was just a simple item retrieval from a cave of Trolls, it would’ve been dropped at the bottom of the list. However, instead, she directs the Hero to Leyawiin. Asking one of the followers will reveal two names: Weebam-Na and Bejiim, an Argonian couple. Directly confronting them will harbor no success, so the player will need to eavesdrop when out of sight.

After that, a location will be added to the map: Tidewater Cave. Fighting through the hordes of Trolls is nothing too daunting, and the titular Eye can be found submerged in the water among the rocks. Though it has a bit more going for it than just returning an item, it’s nothing spectacular.

12 Hermaeus Mora

An Uninspired Finale

• Players can interact with Hermaeus Mora’s shrine far west of Bruma after completing all other Daedric shrine quests, reaching the ‘Blood of the Daedra’ quest in the main storyline, being level 20 or higher, and then resting.
• A soul of one of each race must be captured.
• Plenty of options are offered here as to who can be targeted.

One would think that completing all the other Daedric shrine quests would result in a big, special quest for Hermaeus Mora. Well, not quite. The entity requires souls - one of each race. A special Soul Trap spell is offered to the player to use on targets before killing them.

Again, it’s not a particularly daunting or exciting task, just a lengthy one. Bandits, marauders, civilians - they’re all fair game here. The easiest way to do it is to jump to other shrines and kill off their followers since they’re away from civilization. It’s a bloated kill-whoever-you-want sort of quest, making it a bit too broad and unspecific to make it feel impactful and memorable.

11 Malacath

Straightforward Quest With A Humorous Aftermath

• Players can interact with Malacath’s shrine northeast of Anvil (above the ‘T’ in the ‘The Gold Coast’ on the map) with Troll Fat at level 10 or higher.
• Enslaved Ogres from Bleak Mine must be broken out of their cells.
• The mine guards, oddly, won’t stop the player unless provoked first. They will potentially kill the Ogres, though.

Breaking the Ogres of Bleak Mine out from their cells isn’t too big of a task. One could speak to their “owner” at Lord Drad's Estate, which will offer a chance to grab a nearby key to open each cell. Otherwise, the guards each hold one in their possessions, so they can be pickpocketed.

Oddly, they won’t attack the player on sight, even if the Ogres are freed. While they can still kill enough to fail the mission, it’s rare, as these creatures are hardy and tough. Even then, the option to fight them is there. Otherwise, it does feel a bit too forgiving to prance around each cell, key in hand, and unleash the ugly mobs with no backlash. The aftermath is darkly humorous, however - Lord Drad and his wife are made into slaves for the Ogres, who now run the estate!

10 Peryite

A Change Of Pace From A Familiar Formula

• Players can interact with Peryite’s shrine by the Silverfish River (near the ‘R’ on the map) west of Bravil at level 10 or higher.
• Peryite’s followers’ souls are trapped in a plane of Oblivion; each needs to be saved.
• Similar to exploring a Gate to Oblivion, looking for spirits instead of finding a Sigil Stone helps it stand out in comparison.

The problem with Oblivion is that exploring the titular realm becomes a repetitive affair after clearing so many gateways. It always ends with having to climb a tower from the inside, reach the summit, and close the gate by grabbing its Sigil Stone. Rinse and repeat. However, Peryite’s mission offers enough of a deviation from the usual formula.

Instead, the spirits of his followers must be found before being zapped back to Cyrodiil. While sizable, this plane of Oblivion isn’t anything too bloated, though it still has its share of hazards: Daedric creatures, lava, etc. They’re also prone to running away in fear when enemies are around, often into the hot liquid nearby, which makes it unnecessarily difficult at times. Still, it’s a nice enough change of pace.

9 Hircine

Tasks Players With Hunting A Unicorn

• Players can interact with Hircine’s shrine north-northwest of Bravil with a Wolf or Bear Pelt at level 17 or higher.
• A Unicorn must be found and hunted for its horn at Harcane Grove.
• While technically a fetch quest, the Unicorn is much tougher and more hardy than standard horses, while nearby wildlife will offer an additional challenge.

Hircine loves hunting. What better creature to hunt than a mythical one that so happens to be lurking in Cyrodiil? The twist here is that it’s a unicorn, which resists all damage from Normal Weapons and reflects some damage back at its attacker. It also can resist damage from magic and poisons.

With nearby Minotaurs ready to pounce, this hunt is anything but a mundane one. There are quite a few solutions to it. One could trick the creature into falling off a high height in a chase, or lure it towards a nearby town to let the guards help out. Otherwise, it’s engaging enough to leave an impression. After all, it’s not every day one gets to kill and mutilate a unicorn.

8 Clavicus Vile

Players Can Acquire Umbra, A Very Powerful Sword

• Players can interact with Clavicus Vile’s shrine southwest of Lake Rumare of the Imperial City with 500 gold at level 20 or higher.
• An enchanted sword, Umbra, must be acquired. It can be exchanged for another artifact of his.
• A challenging opponent must be felled, though the option to keep the sword and turn down the offer is there.

Clavicus Vile is a sneaky sort of Daedric lord. He tells the Hero to acquire a sword, Umbra, and return it for a mask. Added to the player’s possession is a Statuette of a Dog, revealed to be Vile’s hound companion, who dissuades the player from handing the blade over. He’s not wrong when he says it’s a bad deal.

Chatting to some locals will reveal that Umbra is now wielded by an Altmer who now names herself after it. She’ll put up quite a fight, so one can expect an entertaining enough battle. After she is felled, one can go along with the deal, or refuse it. Again, it’s better kept, being the second-most powerful sword in the game. Thank goodness that there’s no need to avoid finishing the quest to keep it.

7 Meridia

Offers Players A Challenging Fight

• Players can interact with Meridia’s shrine west of Skingrad with Ectoplasm, Mort Flesh, or Bonemeal at level 10 or higher.
• Howling Cave is infested with Necromancers; they must be killed.
• The quest is straightforward but entertaining.

Meridia despises the undead and those who would raise the deceased for their nefarious deeds. She’s got a bone to pick with some Necromancers in Howling Cave, who must be defeated.

The quest is a straightforward one, requiring the player to barge in and wipe them all out, plain and simple. A fake rock will reveal their secret den, and the cramped passageways won’t offer much space to fight in. In fact, some of them may have already transformed into a Lich, making them more hardy and resilient to damage. Nevertheless, they tend to have some good loot, and their spells may deal a nasty blow, too. Overall, it’s a fun one that won’t waste players’ time.

6 Azura

Offers Interesting Lore As Well As A Battle With Vampires

• Players can interact with Azura’s shrine north of Cheydinhal (above the ‘N’ and ‘T’ of ‘County Cheydinhal’ on the map) with Glow Dust between dawn and dusk at level 2 or higher.
• Five followers who defeated a vampire contracted the disease and consequently sealed themselves away. Azura wants their suffering to stop by ending their lives.
• The backstory and threatening enemies make this quest more engaging than Meridia’s, while similar.

Meridia and Azura have similar quests: visit a location in a previously inaccessible area, and kill everyone inside. There are a few key differences, the first being that Azura sheds some interesting lore behind the targets. After slaying a vampire, five followers sealed themselves within Gutted Mine to prevent anyone from being infected with their disease. Azura, weighed heavily by their pain, requests that they be put to rest.

Vampires can be tough to fight, as they can infect the player with their dreaded disease. Plus, what’s worse are the boosts to their Strength. Pair that up with close, cramped quarters for combat, and it can make fighting them a bit tricky but enthralling nonetheless. Upon their defeat, five eternally burning candles are lit upon Azura’s statue in memory of the fallen.