Summary

  • Potions are essential on Master difficulty, offering a lifeline in intense combat.
  • Multiclassing improves survivability by allowing players to adapt to different situations.
  • Utilizing terrain strategically can turn the tide of battle, providing safety and advantages.

Oblivion: Remastered took the gaming world by surprise last month when it released suddenly amidst rumors and leaks of its production. Few could have predicted it would release so soon after it was revealed, yet here it is. Oblivion: Remastered offers players the chance to explore the lush lands of Cyrodiil and the volcanic depths of Oblivion with massive visual overhauls that breathe life and beauty back into this old game.

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Oblivion Remastered's Difficulty Has a Problem

Oblivion Remastered has a slew of strengths, but the way that it approaches difficulty settings and balancing leaves a lot to be desired.

5

Not everything has changed, though. Like its predecessor, Oblivion: Remastered sports some truly punishing difficulty settings; with Master difficulty being the hardest of all. Players will need all the tips, tricks, and skills they can find to survive the wildly dangerous adventures this difficulty has to offer.

8 Craft And Use Potions

There's No Such Thing As A Useless Potion

  • A vital and scarce resource.
  • Potion crafting is practically mandatory in Master difficulty.
  • One of the few ways for players to buff their character safely.

Players on Adept or even Expert difficulty might be able to get away with wasting potions and alchemy ingredients, but the same can't be said for those on Master difficulty. Here, players are forced to craft a variety of potions to boost their limited health and damage. A single potion can be the difference between life and death.

In a difficulty where at any second an enemy can land a killing blow, potions are also one of the few means by which players can buff themselves and debuff enemies in total safety. Using scrolls and casting spells consumes precious seconds, but drinking a potion or applying it to a weapon is instantaneous.

7 Multiclassing

Maximize Damage, Minimize Danger

  • It's important to always carry a melee and ranged weapon.
  • Vastly improves the player's adaptability.
  • Ranged attacks help reduce the damage players take.

Players in Master difficulty should always have a ranged and melee weapon. Multiclassing like this is a fantastic way for players to gain the upper hand in a fight, ensuring they can get in some hits as the enemy approaches them. The player might even get some bonus sneak attack damage if they're lucky.

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Being skilled in different combat forms gives players some much-needed adaptability. Enemies that are dangerous to get up close and personal with can be softened up and even killed from a distance with enough agility and spatial awareness. Ranged attacks also allow players to position themselves on terrain that is difficult or even impossible for enemies to reach, from where they can pick off their foe in relative safety.

6 Make Clever Use Of Terrain

Find Safety In Otherwise Deadly Encounters

  • Players need to learn quickly how to take advantage of terrain.
  • Great way to even the odds in a tough battle.
  • Can help players avoid taking damage.

Whether in the depths of dungeons or on lush hilltops, players must learn how to use the terrain to their advantage. Narrow doorways, awkward boulders, and ledges can all make the difference between life and death, buying players precious seconds to heal themselves and recover their stamina and magicka. Natural obstacles can also help even the odds by splitting enemy groups.

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Terrain that requires jumping to reach is particularly advantageous, allowing players to take on opponents much stronger than themselves so long as they have enough ranged attacks. When running fails or players want to take a stand, terrain can be a game-changer.

5 Prioritize Endurance

More Health Means More Survivability

  • Useful for all players, no matter their class.
  • Increasing the player's health pool improves survivability.
  • Defeating stronger enemies means getting more powerful loot.

Whether players want to tackle Master difficulty as a warrior, mage, or marksman, health is as vital as it is scarce. Potions and magic can help, but they're costly and in oh-so-limited supply. Long-term survivability comes from upgrading the endurance attribute, as it increases the size of the character's health pool and rate of health regeneration outside combat. The latter is crucial in dungeons where danger can strike again mere moments after combat ends.

Improving their health is vital if a player wants to thrive in Master difficulty. More health means their character can stay in fights longer, defeat stronger foes, and gain even more powerful loot, not to mention actually complete quests.

4 Quicksave Often

Avoid Boredom And Frustration

  • Failure to save frequently will strip the joy from a Master playthrough.
  • Deadly enemies could be lurking around every corner.
  • Save frequently, especially while in dungeons.

Few things kill the joy of this challenge quite like dying to a boss only to reload at the beginning of the dungeon. All that time, all that looting, and all those difficult enemies killed for nothing! This is why it's so important to make frequent manual and quicksaves on Master difficulty. Death can strike in an instant, even in the game's most peaceful moments, potentially destroying one or more hours of hard-fought progress.

In dungeons, players should be quicksaving frequently; the more, the better. Ideally, players should at least save after every fight. Who knows what deadly monster is lurking just around the next corner? Players don't need to be quite so strict when roaming the wilds, as most enemies can be outrun. Even there, regular saving is still recommended, especially for longer trips.

3 Sneak

Know Exactly What Dangers Await

  • Sneaking is a great way to boost survival.
  • Allows players to scout out locations and enemies.
  • Important for escaping enemy aggro.

Regardless of their class, sneaking through dungeons is a surefire way for players to stay alive. Among its many benefits, sneaking helps players avoid drawing unwanted attention, allows them to scout out the number and strength of nearby foes, and lets them get a few extra hits on enemies as they draw their weapons. If players are skillful enough, they can even bag themselves some bonus stealth damage.

Players who are more inclined to run from or avoid the harrowing combat of Master difficulty will find sneaking particularly useful. Not only can it be used to prevent some encounters entirely, but it's also vital for losing aggro from the more persistent enemies of Cyrodiil.

2 Running From Combat

There's No Shame In Surviving To Live Another Day

  • Some enemies are simply too powerful to be killed at a given level.
  • There's no shame in running from a battle.
  • Running gives players an opportunity to heal and cast spells.

In Master difficulty, players will often come across an enemy that is simply too powerful to kill, and for new characters, even rats, mud crabs, and wolves can prove too strong. In other difficulties, a few potions, tactical skirmishing, and patience are enough to overcome a stronger enemy, but that will not cut it here. Running is the only option, and there's no shame in it.

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Fleeing combat does not always need to end in a loss. Tactical, temporary retreats are, in fact, a precious tool in the player's arsenal that should be used whenever space allows it. Gaining distance from the enemy allows players to regenerate health, stamina, and magicka. In the wilderness, dangerous enemies can also be lured to other hostile creatures to be weakened or killed.

1 Companions And Summons

Even The Odds With Friends

  • Companions and conjurations can tank lots of damage.
  • Both deal a decent amount of damage.
  • Conjuration is particularly powerful early game.

Recruiting companions and investing some levels in Conjuration are undoubtedly the best ways to survive in Master difficulty, especially during earlier levels. Companions and summons do wonders to draw the attention of enemies, tanking dozens of hits that would all but instantly kill the player. Their damage isn't anything to sniff at either. Even weaker summons and companions deal significantly more damage than low-level players.

Starting with skill points in Conjuration cannot be recommended enough. Doing so will give players the ability to summon a skeleton. It may be the weakest of the summons, but this bony companion is a god compared to the player in the early game.

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The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion Remastered Tag Page Cover Art
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
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Released
April 22, 2025
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WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

ESRB
Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Sexual Themes, Violence
Developer(s)
Virtuos, Bethesda
OpenCritic Rating
Strong
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