[Intrepid Homoludens]

I'm doing another red eye with this damn thing.

Okay, so has anyone else selected the Mages Guild and climbed their way up in the Arcane University, where they're able to create their own spells, concoct custom potions, and enchant their own items, apparel, and weapons? If so, list them here, will ya? That includes what you've named them. Here's mine...

Weapons

Fang Of The Vampire Pervert - Daedra dagger (10 damage), drain health 50 points on strike or 1 second, chargeable to 1600, up to 123 uses; amazing when used immediately after I paralyze an enemy on touch, kills with only a few slashes, excellent for wraiths/ghosts because it's a Daedra blade.
Daedra's Delight - Daedra dagger (10 damage), drain health 50 points on strike or 1 second, chargeable to 1600, up to 123 uses (I was so impressed with Fang that I created a second one as back up).
Sword Of Silence - Silver longsword (7 damage), silences enemy's magic for 10 seconds on strike; perfect for both rendering mages or wraiths powerless and hurting them.

Apparel

Brocade Of Fierceness - Fortifies magicka 24 points.
Skirt Of Fierceness - Fortifies magicka 9 points.
Greaves Of Sympathy - 10% Shield.
Hands Of Courage - Fortifies magicka 20 points.
Skinny Pants Of Enhancement - Fortifies magicka 24 points.
Slippers Of Ascension - Fortifies magicka 16 points.
Slippers Of Luna - Night vision.

Armour

Greaves Of Sympathy - 10% shield.
Hands Of Courage - Fortifies magicka 20 points.
Shield Of The White Stallion - 10% shield.
Glass Of Augmentation - Glass cuirass (8 shield), fortify magicka 24 points.

Spells

Atronach's Marathon - Summons a Storm Atronach for 70 seconds; my most powerful summoned critter.
Betrayal Of The Dead - Turns undead critter up to level 25 against enemy for 60 on touch; touch a decomposing zombie? eiw.
Spell Of The Flaccid Warrior - Disintegrate weapon 70 points on touch; excellent for very powerful nasties wielding very powerful nasty weapons, and even better when used alternately with a Corrode Armour spell.
STFU Luxe - Paralyze 20 seconds on touch; the ultimate long lasting spell for preparing them for my onslaught with my Fang Of The Vampire Pervert or Daedra's Delight....unless they're Vampires or another nasty who's resistant to paralysis.



Failed spells - made when I was still learning to use the damn altar

Burning Stillness - Summons a Flame Atronach for 30 seconds, paralyze for 7 seconds on touch; I mistakenly thought the Atronach would touch the enemy first to still them then burn them. Wrong.
Haunt Of STFU - Summon Faded Wraith for 25 seconds, paralyze in 10 feet for 10 seconds on enemy, silence in 10 feet for 10 seconds on enemy; not only was this far too ambitious of me, the Wraith only did Wraith stuff, not paralyze nor silence; bad combination.
Spell Of Draining Stillness - Drain magicka 10 points for 10 seconds, paralyze for 10 seconds on touch; I thought this would be awesome against Necromancers, but it ends sucking 3/4 of my magicka per use and 10 seconds ain't enough time to re-juve.
Storm Of STFU - Summon a Storm Atronach for 60 seconds, Silence in 15 feet for 30 seconds on enemy; again these two didn't work together, and it practically sucked up 90% of my magicka with each use. Never mind.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Latest custom enchanted weapon...

Soooo Transparently Dead - Glass dagger (8 damage), drain health 55 points on strike, up to 106 uses.

[The Seed]

I'm thinking of getting an XBox 360 pretty soon so I'll probably be giving this a try because I think the world looks amazing...only thing is I tend not to have much of a clue when it comes to RPG's.

Morrowind: Played for a while but somehow my character’s level seemed to advance slower than the monsters hardness.

Knights of the Old Republic: Got fairly far but then realised I couldn't get past one of the bosses because I had like no decent force powers.

Fable: Not sure quite what went wrong here, I think that I didn't like the save system and the battles just seemed like relentless hack and slash.

So anyway I was just wondering...would I have any chance in this game?

[Putrid Moldyman]

Well, the main quest is pretty short, and the entire world levels as you do, so things should never be too easy or too difficult, though I did find that the main quest branch was very unkind to stealth characters.

As for my overall thoughts on Oblivion... Eh.

I thought the main quest was TERRIBLE. It was very short, and you had to deal with the Oblivion gates, which were so bad. Thankfully, you're able to just run through to the big tower at the center of every single one of these boring, generic wastes of time and grab the gem to get it all over with. If I'm to ever play Oblivion again, I'm simply avoiding this part of the game.

The thieves guild quest branch, on the other hand, kicked butt. I loved every minute of it, and to me it's the best the game has to offer. It's compelling, and it's even more satisfying than the main story, which had me going, "Oh, it's over? Thank goodness."

The Assassin's guild branch started off strong, but completely fizzled out.

After tackling these three areas of the game, I became the arena champion, and when I decided that exploring the overworld felt like a waste of time, because at best you only seem to find stuff that's marginally better than what you've already got, and the dungeons all felt the same, I stopped playing.

Honestly, the game didn't last me very long at all. I'd spent much more time with Morrowind, which I suppose I prefer.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Originally Posted by The Seed

I'm thinking of getting an XBox 360 pretty soon so I'll probably be giving this a try because I think the world looks amazing...only thing is I tend not to have much of a clue when it comes to RPG's.

If you have an HDTV it looks positively jawdropping from the comfort of your sofa. But be sure to view it as a regular person with a life, not as one of these moronic nerds who think they've seen it all when all they do is sit for days on end in front of their PC and think of nothing but all the erotically envisioned features their graphics cards in their custom built systems can support. I swear, most of the time it's that devotion to their obsessed hobby that kills the taste of wonder for them.

Morrowind: Played for a while but somehow my character’s level seemed to advance slower than the monsters hardness.

I used to have that for the first Xbox but I never did get into it somehow and I ended up selling the game in part to get Psychonauts.

Knights of the Old Republic: Got fairly far but then realised I couldn't get past one of the bosses because I had like no decent force powers.

Beautiful, beautiful game, not so much in terms of graphics, but in terms of memorable story and characters.

Fable: Not sure quite what went wrong here, I think that I didn't like the save system and the battles just seemed like relentless hack and slash.

Fable was visually stunning for me and filled to death with a ton of things to do. Unfortunately it was too easy to defeat enemies and the game let you level up too quickly. It plays like a hack & slash only so far as you let it. Looking forward to playing Fable 2 .

So anyway I was just wondering...would I have any chance in this game?

In addition to the game I highly recommend getting the Prima Strategy Guide. It's in paperback, fully illustrated with colour pics and maps, and is about as thick as you local phone book. It'll give you the low-down on how to best craft your character, how to join and advance in each guild, all the major, minor, miscellaneous, and freeform quests. It's so in-depth that it even features region maps pointing out every single cave, fort, and Ayleid ruin in Cyrodiil, and what goodies are in them and who/what are guarding those goodies.

When you set out to play it, plan to have a little bit of all the various types of skills and talents necessary to tackle every enemy. You'll find yourself dealing with different types that use different fighting tactics. Get training from whomever offers it to get ahead faster, and pay them using gold from all the sale of all the goodies you find on your quests and in caves.

[jacog]

I came across this wee clip on YouTube... quite darn funny. Grandma Hardcore plays Oblivion.

http://www.youtube.com/?v=i-dfKEAtOzI

[The Seed]

Originally Posted by Intrepid Homoludens

I used to have that for the first Xbox but I never did get into it somehow and I ended up selling the game in part to get Psychonauts.

In addition to the game I highly recommend getting the Prima Strategy Guide. It's in paperback, fully illustrated with colour pics and maps, and is about as thick as you local phone book. It'll give you the low-down on how to best craft your character, how to join and advance in each guild, all the major, minor, miscellaneous, and freeform quests. It's so in-depth that it even features region maps pointing out every single cave, fort, and Ayleid ruin in Cyrodiil, and what goodies are in them and who/what are guarding those goodies.

When you set out to play it, plan to have a little bit of all the various types of skills and talents necessary to tackle every enemy. You'll find yourself dealing with different types that use different fighting tactics. Get training from whomever offers it to get ahead faster, and pay them using gold from all the sale of all the goodies you find on your quests and in caves.

Thanks for the pointers Trep, I feel I bit more reassured about getting the game. Also good to here you don't need to have been a fan of Morrowind to enjoy the this one.

Off topic: Psychonauts bloody rules! It was actually the only XBox game I ever bought on release at full price (I got my XBox very late, just a year and half ago, when the games were generally really cheap.)

[Intrepid Homoludens]

New, Free Oblivion Content Hits PC, 360 | Kotaku, 10/10/07

Starting Monday, Oct. 15, gamers will be able to download the PC and 360 versions of Oblivion downloadable content Fighter's Stronghold for free. Bethesda will be giving away this latest and last DLC pack for Oblivion for just one week.

The new pack includes :

* A fully detailed castle for you to explore
* Knights of the True Horn patrol the castle and do your bidding
* Secret treasure vault
* Upgrade the furnishings in every area of the castle
* Hire a vintner to create special wines to enhance your fighting abilities
* Hire a combat trainer to spar with
* Hire a taxidermist to craft lifelike trophies for your great hall
* Purchase an ancient Dwemer Forge that buffs your Armorer skill

The pack contents take place in the Colovian Highlands west of Chorrol and are built around Battlehorn Castle, which you can become lord of if you defeat a group of attacking marauders. Hit the [link above] for the official backstory, in the form of a Will.

[jacog]

Free DLC, I'm there! Although, of all the lairs we added on to the game, the only one we seem to use much is Frostcrag Spire, the mage tower. The Priory of the Nine from Knights of The Nine is also a nice lair. Especially nice since there are always people there, although they don't like us much anymroe since we're joined the Dark Brotherhood.

Anyhoo, I agree with Trep... don't bother with Oblivion unless you are prepared to immerse yourself in it.

I am eagerly awaiting the next installment in the series. I hope it will have a co-op option though. It'd be nice to play along with others. It should not be a MMO game though, but having a party of two or three close friends would add to the enjoyment.

[MasterLoo]

Originally Posted by jacog

I am eagerly awaiting the next installment in the series. I hope it will have a co-op option though. It'd be nice to play along with others. It should not be a MMO game though, but having a party of two or three close friends would add to the enjoyment.

me too, but I hope the next game won't be released for at least 3 or 4 years, so the next game will be really unique and special. It's hard renewing oneself, so I hope they take the time to make a really great sequel.

[Fop]

I think we can be sure it won't be, with Fallout 3 and all.

[jacog]

WTF does Fallout 3 have to do with this?

[Fop]

Ehm, most of their staff is tied up in developing Fallout 3.

[jacog]

Oh, you were referrring to the 3-4 yrs dev time.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

"Baby, I'll put you on a pedestal."


I downloaded the Fighters Stronghold pack yesterday and one of the things to do is fetch stuff for my taxidermist Melisi Daren to fill the grand hall.

My Battlehorn Castle stuffed critter menagerie is now complete:

Black Bear
Brown Bear
Troll
Clannfaer
Ogre (the a-hole one that killed LilMike, my white horse)
Mountain Lion
Wolf
Daedroth
Minotaur

The great hall that holds these needs better lighting to show them off.

[Dasilva]

eek! This old thread has been revived, just in time as i've gotten my new Elite 360 & Oblivion GOTY. Im only 10-hours-in at the moment.

[Lucien21]

Originally Posted by Dasilva

eek! This old thread has been revived, just in time as i've gotten my new Elite 360 & Oblivion GOTY. Im only 10-hours-in at the moment.

eek! Dasilva has posted on AG again.

Where have you been?

[Dasilva]

Originally Posted by Lucien21

eek! Dasilva has posted on AG again.

Where have you been?

Just busy, I dont even use any forums anymore these days, I was subscribed to this thread and it poped in my email, thought i'd just drop by. But yeah doing my diploma in journalism, radio broadcasting and film making. So no time for internet these days, I limit myself to xbox 360 whenever im not sleeping, eating or doing work, which is rarely enough. Anyway, stay well.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

I'm confused. You were originally set to earn a degree in carpentry but did you instead switch majors, or did you get your degree and decide to go for a post baccalaureate?

You have a lot to catch up on. Make sure you d/l the Fighters Stronghold pack by Sunday, it's free only for this week. There are a bunch of demos on Live, including PGR4, The Simpsons, and Jericho. In a few weeks Assassin's Creed is released (if you're into that), and then a couple weeks after that, Mass Effect.

[Dasilva]

Originally Posted by Intrepid Homoludens

I'm confused. You were originally set to earn a degree in carpentry but did you instead switch majors, or did you get your degree and decide to go for a post baccalaureate?

You have a lot to catch up on. Make sure you d/l the Fighters Stronghold pack by Sunday, it's free only for this week. There are a bunch of demos on Live, including PGR4, The Simpsons, and Jericho. In a few weeks Assassin's Creed is released (if you're into that), and then a couple weeks after that, Mass Effect.

I did switch, im in media now, and enjoying it alot more, theres a lot more creativity. I did a ICT course to replace my carpentry, now im on media.

Yep! I got lal the demos & add ons, and I probably wont be getting any more games this year, having money issues at the moment, so Oblivion will have to do until 2008, then maybe I'll get Orange Box. Loves u x