Worst Quests In Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion

From as far back as 2006, The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion has continued to entertain fans of the series with its compelling and memorable quests. Even if the game is a bit dated these days, not to mention pretty infamous for its unpredictable AI and limited number of voice actors, there are so many reasons to enjoy this game in 2023 and beyond.

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They can’t all be gems, however. While it’s no easy task to count down the utmost best quests since there are so many brilliant ones here, it’s not as daunting of a task to round off the most frustrating and eye-rolling quests that are better off skipped or ignored… unless it’s absolutely necessary to progress!

10 Cure For Vampirism

• ‘Cure For Vampirism’ has players seeking out a witch to rid themselves of a vampire disease.
• It requires fetching ingredients, blood, a powerful vampire’s ashes, and Grand Soul Gems.
• Finding these is more time-consuming than fun, especially when needing to avoid sunlight.

Getting rid of one’s Vampirism the proper way is one hell of a journey, and it’s not pleasant. Eventually, the player will be directed to the witch Melisande, who will ask for five empty Grand Soul Gems, which aren’t all that common. After that, it’s time to hunt for various ingredients, slash an Argonian for its blood, and fell a powerful vampire before looting his ashes.

Naturally, without a sufficient supply of blood in the system, this will become a lot more challenging. People will be less keen on speaking, and damage from sunlight will render traveling in the daytime difficult. It’s one big fetch quest with some tough complications thrown into the mix.

9 Work Is Never Done

• ‘Work Is Never Done’ requires a delivery of up to one hundred calipers and tongs to Tove The Unrestful.
• They can usually be found in single amounts in crates and barrels.
• When a hundred have been delivered, Tove won’t accept anymore.

Ah, a quest for useless clutter. Literally, in this case. Tove the Unrestful in Bliss (as part of the Shivering Isles DLC) will ask for a delivery of Calipers and Tongs for his new invention: a “Skyboat.” Though worthless to merchants and the players, five gold-a-piece for worthless junk isn’t a bad deal. However, it does become tiring to have to open random containers to hopefully find at least one.

A hundred of them are required to complete the quest. Even by raiding Tidewater Cave to collect the unusually copious amounts of Calipers and Tongs from its trolls, it remains exhausting. In the end, Tove reveals he’s scrapped his plans to work on a foldable fork instead. All that effort, all for nothing… well, except a bit of spare change.

8 Tears Of The Savior

• Frozen tears must be collected in ‘Tears of The Saviour.’
• They are very small to find, and the game offers no hints.
• The frosty area where they’re located delivers Frost damage over time.

There’s a pretty interesting story surrounding ‘Tears of The Savior.’ Legend has it that a hero called Garridan went into a dangerous grove in order to acquire a pitcher that could produce an infinite supply of clean water. Alas, he was frozen in place and shed tears as he met his demise, which were crystallized by the ice.

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After a bit of back-and-forth, the player is supplied with Frost resistance potions and sent on their merry way to find the freezing place where Garridan died. Alas, they’re left to wander around an icy area that is literally freezing them to death all the while. Garridan’s tears are tiny and very difficult to spot, and no on-screen guides will make it any easier to spot them. At least the payout is a big one.

7 Mages Guild Suspension

• Committing a crime against a Mages Guild member will trigger ‘Mages Guild Suspension.’
• Players must acquire twenty portions of two types of seeds, or twenty Daedra Hearts and portions of Vampire Dust.
• The seeds are difficult to find in large quantities, and the hearts and dust require killing a lot of specific Daedra enemies and vampires.

It’s never wise to commit a crime against a fellow Mages Guild member, one reason being this annoying quest is dumped on the player’s shoulders. Steal or harm a member, and the only way back in is to get twenty portions of two specific types of seeds (each, that is). Kill a member, and that’s twenty Daedra Hearts and Vampire Dust potions that have to be nabbed. This one at least requires killing baddies, though these items are much more cumbersome.

In short, it is just more time-wasting filler. A befitting punishment for breaking the rules, sure, yet it makes getting back in the ranks for even the smallest of crimes such a dull and aimless task since no one tells you exactly where to find these items en masse. At least the realms of Oblivion will have hearts aplenty.

6 Aid For Bruma

• Committing a crime against a Mages Guild member will trigger ‘Mages Guild Suspension.’
• Players must acquire twenty portions of two types of seeds, or twenty Daedra Hearts and portions of Vampire Dust.
• The seeds are difficult to find in large quantities, and the hearts and dust require killing a lot of specific Daedra enemies and vampires.

This quest can be skipped, though if one were to fully complete it, it would require closing each Oblivion gate outside every city (barring Kvatch and the Imperial City). By this point in the game, players will have already familiarized themselves with the varying layouts of the realm of Oblivion.

Still, having to close each and every last one just to get a few spare guards to help in the big fight against Bruma’s invaders is a lengthy task. Some of these realms have multiple towers to be purged, or confusing caverns to traverse, or even spiraling pathways full of traps and enemies to fight through. Honestly, it’s better to speedrun these in order to get to the tower holding the Sigil Stone faster, as closing these gates is enough to burn anyone out.

5 The Wayward Knight

• Partway through the main quest, ‘Aid For Bruma’ will trigger.
• Players can ask the leaders of each city for reinforcements, providing they close the Oblivion gates outside of them first.
• Five gates in total must be closed, which will likely fatigue players who have closed many others already by now.

This quest ties in with ‘Aid For Bruma,’ and it requires the Oblivion gate outside Cheydinhal to be closed. The twist here is that the count’s son is trapped in it and needs rescuing. Unfortunately, the dim-witted son is adamant about being a heroic knight and will fearlessly charge at any foe he comes across.

This becomes a crushingly difficult task of babysitting an NPC who may end up running into traps, falling into lava pools, or simply charging at enemies who are significantly more powerful than them. Considering they are only equipped with steel armor and weapons, that won’t do much good if a player is at level 20 or higher. At least the optional rewards for his safe return are quite handy.

4 Taxonomy Of Obsession

• The Wayward Knight’ requires the count’s foolish son to be escorted out of an Oblivion gate.
• Farwil will engage in combat whenever the opportunity arises.
• He may be prone to falling into lava or into traps, if not getting killed by Daedra.

Mirili Ulven is cataloging everything in the Shivering Isles. First, she’ll need a shopping list of ingredients, requiring a bit of exploring the shrubbery and fauna for ingredients. Nothing too daunting, but hardly exciting. After that, she’ll task the player with luring certain creatures to her.

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One could keep upgrading theory Illusion skill to be able to cast Command Creature spells to calm them and have them follow the protagonist peacefully to Ulven, though this will take a lot of time just to increase said stats. It’s possible to let these monsters be lured in combat to Ulven, but patrolling guards and nearby residents may end up jumping in to kill it. If a creature dies, then it’s back to square one yet again.

3 Speechcraft Training

• ‘Taxonomy Of Obsession’ starts with a lengthy shopping list of alchemical ingredients to be collected. Afterward, specific creatures must be lured to a gated area while she is awake.
• Spells can calm them, but they wear off quickly and require high skills in Illusion.
• Annoyingly, NPCs may try to fight hostile creatures being lured.

Speechcraft is a useless skill to work on. The persuasion mini-game is pointless, as bribes or Charm spells will nullify the need to sweet-talk people to get information and quests. Still, if a player happens to get seventy points or more in this field, they'll be directed to a Master trainer - Tandilwe in the Imperial City’s Temple District - to get enough training to max it out.

First, she’ll request that every beggar (yes, they're ugly) in Cyrodiil must be spoken to before being offered training. Annoyingly, the game won’t bother notifying the player how many they need to speak to, who exactly need to chat to, and when it’s time to return to the quest giver. At least those who were previously spoken to prior to the quest will count towards it. If any of them are dead, even if it’s not your fault, then the quest will instantly fail.

2 Pilgrimage

• To get Speechcraft training from a Master, players must reach seventy points in this skill first.
• Tandilwe will instruct players to arduously speak to all beggars - providing none of them have been killed.
• The game will not say who needs to be talked to or where they are, making it confusing and time-consuming.

The beginning of the fabulous Knights Of The Nine DLC is a pain, requiring the player to interact with each of the wayshrines of the Nine scattered around Cyrodiil. The Prophet will supply a map on a scrap of paper, but the in-game map itself will not feature these points as visitable locations. So, players need to keep looking at the paper and run into the wilderness in hopes of bumping into them.

Anyone wanting to build up their Infamy won’t like this task, as completing it will reduce that stat back to zero. Plus, if the player gets too many Infamy points, the Crusader’s weapons and armor will not be usable, requiring yet another trek to all the waypoints to make oneself worthy again! Why Bethesda couldn’t just include these spots as visitable locations is an enigma.

1 Seeking Your Roots

• Nirnroot plants are scattered across Cyrodiil in single quantities.
• The task is so long and arduous, with such a high number of plants required, that most players never complete it.
• The rewards for each delivery of Nirnroot are nowhere near worth the amount of effort it requires.

Never has there been a more frustrating and obnoxious fetch quest than ‘Seeking Your Roots.’ For context, Nirnroot are growing all across Cyrodiil and are even a popular houseplant for some. The master alchemist Sinderion will task players to find them for a powerful potion.

Unfortunately, the requirements gradually build up with each turn-in. First, ten must be delivered. Then twenty. And then thirty. And, to round it all off, forty. The special brews become more powerful over time, but the abilities they offer are nothing spectacular, and the arduous task of exploring every nook and cranny to hear that distinctive glow is a time-draining chore that takes far too long to beat… if one can beat it at all! At least it'll give players plenty of time to admire the sights of the game along the way.