Summary
- Enchanting altars in Oblivion Remastered require joining the mages' guild or obtaining Frostcrag Spire.
- Useful weapon enchantments like Damage Magicka, Absorb Magicka, and Damage Health are effective against different opponents.
- Paralysis is a powerful enchantment in Oblivion Remastered that renders foes immobile for easy attacks.
Oblivion Remastered released this week, amid a flurry of speculation and with a surprise announcement that may not have been quite as surprising as Bethesda meant it to be. Fans of the classic Elder Scrolls game have flocked to the remaster regardless. Nostalgic fans and new players alike are in for a treat with the remaster's incredible new look, and some revamped design in terms of leveling, combat, and movement.
There's a lot of loot in Oblivion Remastered, and one of the best ways to get the most out of the various weapons is Enchanting. This skill lets players add any magical properties they already know to their weapons and armor. However, players can't access the enchanting altars right away though. First, they will need to join the mages' guild and complete a number of quests, or acquire the player home, Frostcrag Spire, and use the Magetallow Candle Box to activate the altars within. Alternatively, players can close the Oblivion gates and obtain Sigil Stones to use in enchanting. Either way, it's best to know what enchantments players want to streamline the process.
Oblivion Remastered: Best Armor Enchantments, Ranked
Players in Oblivion Remastered can enchant their gear with all sorts of useful effects. These are some of the best ones to have on hand.
8 Damage Magicka
Mage Killer
Damage Magicka can be a useful effect for players who are having trouble with caster enemies, or foes that use magic to heal themselves. Using this enchantment on a weapon damages an enemy's magicka bar as well as their health when hit, so magic-based opponents won't be able to get off their spells while players hack them down. Players can do the same with Damage Fatigue against melee opponents, but it's less effective as fatigue regenerates faster than magicka in combat.
7 Absorb Magicka
Mana Thief
For casters, getting back magicka in the heat of a fight can be tricky. Magicka regenerates slower while in combat, so potions are often the go-to option for mages. With the Absorb Magicka enchantment, players can steal magicka from their opponents on hit, giving them another way to regain their spellcasting power in battle. The magicka regained is based on the strength of the enchantment, and not tied to weapon damage. Mages can keep a cheap, light, fast attacking weapon like a dagger with a high-level Absorb Magicka enchantment to restore their magicka at a significant rate when it starts running low.
6 Damage Health
Non-Elemental Magic Damage
As well as the three elements, fire, ice, and lightning, the Destruction school of magic in Oblivion Remastered also includes non-elemental magic damage in the form of spells like 
Entropic Bolt. This effect, called Damage Health, can be a useful weapon enchantment. It won't be affected by elemental resistances, making it useful against specific foes, though it can be reduced by general magic resistance. The effect can be enchanted as either instant additional damage on hit, or as a damage-over-time effect.
Oblivion Remastered: 7 Best Items To Get Early
Each of these items that players pick up in the early stages of Oblivion Remastered will help make their first steps in the campaign go more smoothly.
5 Disintegrate Weapon/Armor
Leave Them Defenseless
Disintegrate is an often overlooked effect in Oblivion, but it can render previously tough foes highly susceptible in the right scenarios. Used against a heavily armored opponent, or against a high-damage, two-handed weapon, Disintegrate Weapon and Disintegrate Armor can dramatically reduce foes' attack and defense. This is especially useful for one-handed blade users, who might find their damage lacking against foes in heavy armor.
4 Silence
Spell Stopper
Silence is a strong spell effect in Oblivion Remastered, preventing any magic being cast by the target for the duration of the spell. Enchanting this effect onto a weapon is costly, and will require some decent skill in the Illusion school of magic, but it can give players a big advantage against magic-using enemies. It's useful in a number of circumstances, as there are plenty of magic users in Oblivion. Beyond mages using ranged attacks, there are plenty of enemies that will buff themselves, heal themselves, or try and debuff the player. Silencing the opponent fast can prevent all these debilitating effects.
3 Elemental Damage
Spell Slinger
The elemental damage types from the Destruction school of magic are the obvious choice for weapon enchantments. Players can enchant fire, ice, or lightning damage onto their weapons as long as they know a spell of the corresponding element. When enchanting weapons, players can mix two enchantments, so it's possible to have a two-element weapon. The relative damage of each is still capped by the quality of the soul gem used, though, so it's usually more damage-efficient to go for a single, stronger elemental enchantment.
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Some spells in Oblivion Remastered allow you to alter the world around you to your benefit. Here is where to obtain alteration spells.
2 Absorb Health
Life Leech
The Absorb Health effect can make players very durable when enchanted onto a weapon, and it's one of the better choices of weapon enchantment for melee warriors. This effect damages the enemy and returns that HP to the player as health recovery. The damage and recovery amount is flat, based on the strength of the enchantment, and will always trigger on hit as long as the weapon is charged. This makes it a reliable healing method for players who want to jump into the thick of combat with weapons swinging.
1 Paralysis
Easy Targets
Paralysis is one of the strongest spell effects in Oblivion Remastered, as it renders opponents completely immobile for the duration of the effect. That means players are free to hack away at defenseless opponents, and the effect can be re-applied as soon as it wears off, if players want to make life incredibly easy for themselves. It's very expensive to enchant a paralysis effect with any decent duration onto a weapon, but there's an easy way to get a fairly strong one for free.
If players follow the Mage's Guild quest line until they get to the arcane university, their first quest there is to build a mage's staff. Once the staff is assembled, players can choose the paralysis effect from a few options, and the finished staff will be created for them. Players can paralyze opponents with the staff, equip a main weapon or spell, and freely melt their enemy's health.
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
- Genre(s)
- Action, RPG, Open-World, Adventure
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
