Summary
- Oblivion Remastered's Arena encounter with three Argonians is now much harder due to changes in Hand-to-Hand combat.
- Players might resort to cheese methods like using ranged attacks or spells to beat the difficult Arena fights.
- Be prepared for increased difficulty in Oblivion Remastered's Arena, especially on Expert or Master difficulty settings.
This article contains major spoilers for Oblivion Remastered.
Even though Bethesda's intended surprise effect regarding the announcement and subsequent release of Oblivion Remastered was partly taken away by the many leaks that surrounded this project, the game has proven to be one of the strongest titles of the year. There's a lot of nostalgia surrounding past The Elder Scrolls games, and Oblivion Remastered capitalizes on this by offering what is essentially a 1:1 experience compared to the original 19-year-old game with modern graphics and some quality-of-life additions and changes. A lot of the groundwork for Oblivion Remastered to be successful lies in the original's content and memes, with one Arena fight now being much harder than ever.
Oblivion Remastered's Arena is mostly left intact from the original game, including characters, quests, and, more importantly, all the iconic fights that made the experience unique. Much like the original, not all the 22 fights in the Imperial City Arena are made the same, meaning that some will be easier or harder, and not necessarily just due to their respective rank. For example, the encounter against Agronak gro-Malog can either be a bloodbath or a sad affair, depending on the player's progress with his questline. The original game had what was considered a "meme fight" against three Argonians at the start of the Gladiator rank, but this is now one of the hardest in the game.
One Oblivion Remastered Quest Pushes Its Immersive Features to Their Limits
One fan-favorite Oblivion Remastered quest pushes the game’s immersive features to the limit in some fun and surprising ways.
Oblivion Remastered's Three Argonians Arena Fight is Harder Than Expected
Oblivion Remastered's Arena fight against three Argonians is arguably one of the most difficult encounters in the entire game, and the reason is that there were some considerable changes made to the Hand-to-Hand skill. This specific fight features three Argonian combatants, with two of them having no weapons and fighting with their bare hands, and the third using a sword. In the original game, this could easily be trivialized on most builds, even on higher difficulties, but it's no longer the case.
Hand-to-Hand now allows players and enemy combatants alike to disarm characters hit with power attacks, and even though this is not guaranteed, it makes the use of weapons in Oblivion Remastered much more inconsistent and ineffective overall. This is further complicated by the Fatigue damage that Hand-to-Hand attacks deal, as they deal 50% of the regular hit's damage to Fatigue, meaning that parrying with the shield, swinging with melee weapons, and sprinting around are all actions that may prove unfavorable.
Fatigue damage is improved upon reaching Expert and Master skill levels in Hand-to-Hand.
On top of all that, if any of the two unarmed Argonians hit the player enough times to deplete their Fatigue bar, the Hero of Kvatch will be staggered as a consequence of running out of Fatigue. All these elements combined can make this particular fight incredibly hard to beat on Expert or Master difficulty in Oblivion Remastered, with them reducing damage dealt and increasing damage taken. Even if players focus on taking out the unarmed Argonians first, the one with the sword does a fair bit of damage to boot, so keeping up with everything is no joke.
Why Oblivion Remastered Players Are Using Cheese Methods in Arena Fights
This fight is so difficult that one may need to use cheese methods in Oblivion Remastered, like climbing up the arch at the entrance of the Blue Team's side of the arena or on the pikes around the edges of the battlefield, and then defeating the Argonians with ranged attacks or spells. Alternatively, invisibility can work well with a bow, especially if one has 100% Chameleon active, whereas Conjuration spells in Oblivion Remastered have a good success rate thanks to their ability to bypass damage reductions and increases dictated by difficulty settings. These methods work for most Arena fights, too, so they are a common way to deal with the increased difficulty of some matches.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 82 /100 Critics Rec: 87%
- Released
- April 22, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Sexual Themes, Violence
- Publisher(s)
- Bethesda
WHERE TO PLAY
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion™ Remastered modernizes the 2006 Game of the Year with all new stunning visuals and refined gameplay. Explore the vast landscape of Cyrodiil like never before and stop the forces of Oblivion from overtaking the land in one of the greatest RPGs ever from the award-winning Bethesda Game Studios.
Rediscover Cyrodiil
Journey through the rich world of Tamriel and battle across the planes of Oblivion where handcrafted details have been meticulously recreated to ensure each moment of exploration is awe-inspiring.
Navigate Your Own Story
From the noble warrior to the sinister assassin, wizened sorcerer, or scrappy blacksmith, forge your path and play the way you want.
Experience an Epic Adventure
Step inside a universe bursting with captivating stories and encounter an unforgettable cast of characters. Master swordcraft and wield powerful magic as you fight to save Tamriel from the Daedric invasion.
The Complete Story
Experience everything Oblivion has to offer with previously released story expansions Shivering Isles, Knights of the Nine, and additional downloadable content included in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered.
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Genre(s)
- Action, RPG, Open-World, Adventure
