Oblivion Remastered: Character Creation Guide | Best Races, Birthsign & Classes

Whether you’re new to Cyrodiil or wish to revisit it, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered has a very in-depth character creation process.

You can define a lot about who your character is from the get-go. It’s not just their appearances, either. There are a bunch of different races, birthsigns, and classes to pick from. Yes, all of these affect gameplay, too!

In this guide, we’ll give you a full rundown.

Best Races, Birthsign & Classes | Oblivion Remastered: Character Creation Guide

Races | Oblivion Remastered Character Creation

Argonian

Have an innate ability to breathe underwater and a 75% natural Resistance to Disease and Poison. These are both very situational, but they can help during exploration! All Argonians also have pretty nice Agility and Speed, making them ideal for Stealth-focused classes. Arnesia origin gives extra Speed, while Thornmash origin gives extra Intelligence.

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Best race for: any classes and playstyles focused around stealth. Plus, you get to be a cool lizardperson!

Breton

Bretons have an innate +50 Magicka and 50% Resistance to Magic, making them ideal for playing as a spellcaster or hybrid playstyles. They also have the Dragon Skin ability, which grants them 50% Shield for 60 seconds. While they have low Endurance, they possess high Intelligence and Willpower. High Rock origin gives extra Speed, while Systres gives extra Strength.

Best race for: anyone who wishes to use both swords and spells together.

Dark Elf

A highly versatile race, they excel at mixing spellcasting with swords and bows. They have solid bonuses in Blade and Destruction skills, as well as a minor bonus to Marksman. Innately, they also have a 75% Resistance to Fire. Additionally, they can use their special Ancestor Guardian ability to summon an allied ghost for 60 seconds. Vvanderfell origin gives extra Endurance, which is ideal. Mainland origin grants extra Personality.

Best race for:  anyone seeking a versatile playstyle that mixes archery, swordfighting, and spellcasting.

High Elf

The de-facto spellcasting race, they have +100 Magicka which gives them the highest Magicka pool from the start. They boast bonuses to arcane skills such as Destruction, Mysticism, and Alteration. However, they have -25% Resistance to Fire, Frost, and Shock. Summerset Isle origin gives extra Speed, while the Auridon origin gives extra Endurance.

Best race for: being a pure spellcaster, though you have to be careful due to lower elemental resistances.

Imperial

A race of diplomats, they have high Personality and bonuses to Speechcraft and Mercantile skills. They have two abilities: Voice of the Emperor which charms NPCs and Star of the West which absorbs 100 Fatigue from a target. However, they have unremarkable combat stats and particularly low Agility. Nibenay origin boosts Speed, Colovia origin boosts Willpower.

Best race for: someone who wishes to focus more on dialogue and roleplaying than pure combat.

Khajiit

The most agile race, they boast high Agility and Speed. To fit with that, they also have large bonuses to the Acrobatics, Sneak, and Security skills. However, they do have lacking Strength and Endurance. Their Eye of Night ability gives them temporary night vision while their Eye of Fear can scare low-level enemies away. Pellitine origin grants extra Endurance while the Anequina origin grants Strength.

Best race for: stealth-focused playstyles, but also pure fighters who focus on small weapons such as daggers.

Nord

The go-to tanky melee race, Nords have high Strength and Endurance. They have bonuses to Blade, Blunt, and Heavy Armor skills. Great for using larger weapons in melee combat, but they make mediocre spellcasters and rogues. Their Woad ability grants them 30 Shield for 60 seconds. They also have Nordic Frost, which deals 50 Frost damage to any enemy they touch. Western origin grants Endurance while Eastern origin increases Willpower.

Best race for: strong and resilient melee fighters without sacrificing diplomacy-related abilities.

Orc

Even bulkier and tankier than Nords, the Orcs boast the highest Strength, Endurance, and Willpower of all races. What’s more, they have a native 25% Resistance to all Magic damage. However, they have low Personality and minimal Agility, which limits their options. Their Berserk ability reduces Agility by 100 but gives them +50 Strength, +20 Health, and +200 Fatigue. Orsinium origin grants extra Intelligence while Stronghold origin boosts Willpower.

Best race for: anyone who wishes to brute force through the game and doesn’t care much for diplomacy. Also great for shutting down enemy spellcasters.

Redguard

A versatile and strong melee fighter, the Redguards have the highest starting Strength and pretty good Endurance. They have initial skill bonuses for Athletics, Blade, Blunt, Light Armor, Heavy Armor, and Mercantile. Plus, they have an innate 75% Resistance to Poison and Disease. Their powerful Adrenaline Rush gives them +50 Strength, Endurance, Agility, and Speed as well as +25 Health. Dragontail Mountain origin gives extra Strength, Alik’r Desert grants more Personality.

Best race for: anyone who wants to focus on raw damage in melee combat without sacrificing diplomacy or mobility.

Wood Elf

These sneaky elves are ideal for stealth and archery, as they have high Agility and Speed. On top of that, they have natural bonuses to many skills, primarily Marksman, Sneak, Alchemy, and Acrobatics. Their Beast Tongue ability lets them command any creature, though it only works on creatures Level 5 and below. Reaper’s March origin grants Personality while the Grahtwood origin grants Endurance.

Best race for: archery-focused playstyles that also dabble in a bit of sneaking around.

Birthsigns | Oblivion Remastered Character Creation

Birthsigns are another important aspect of character creation in Oblivion Remastered. They are permanent perks which mostly serve to aid you in making the most of your preferred playstyle. Similar to classes, there’s a lot of variety and your choice is largely up to personal preference.

Nonetheless, here’s a quick rundown of all Birthsigns:

• The Warrior – +10 Strength, +10 Endurance. Essentially gives you more melee damage and carry weight.
• The Mage – +50 Magicka. Allows you to cast more often, ideal for spellcasters.
• The Thief – +10 Agility, +10 Speed, +10 Luck. Makes you more mobile, boosting Fatigue and stealth-related stats. Worth noting that Luck is a fully functional stat in Oblivion Remastered!
• The Steed – +20 Speed. If you love staying on the move, this is your best bet!
• The Apprentice – +100 Magicka, but also gives -100% Resistance to Magic. You can be slinging spells all day with that much Magicka, but you’ll be a glass cannon when dealing with any enemy that deals Magic damage. Only pick this if you are adept at avoiding damage.
• The Shadow – Gives you the Moonshadow ability. When cast, you become invisible for 60 seconds. It’s a nice safety net for sneaky playstyles.
• The Ritual – This gives you two different Greater Power abilities. First is Mara’s Gift, which heals you for 200 HP once a day. Second is Blessed Word, which makes undead enemies flee. This effect applies to undead that are under level 25 and within 100 feet.

Birthsigns Continued

• The Atronach – Gives you +150 Magicka and 50% Spell Absorption, but you’ll also be unable to regenerate Magicka over time. You’ll need to rely on your innate Spell Absorption, equipment, and potions to recover Magicka. Great for burst casting, though!
• The Tower – Grants two abilities that can be used once a day. Tower Key, which forcefully opens any Average lock. Tower Warden which grants 120 seconds of 5% damage reflection.
• The Lord – +15 Armor Rating and +15% Magic Resistance. Good for being tanky!
• The Lady – +10 Willpower, +10 Endurance. Boosts both your health and Magicka, so it’s good for hybrid builds.
• The Lover – Gives you the Lover’s Kiss ability, which can be cast once a day. Paralyzes your target for 10 seconds but reduces your Fatigue by 120. Very situational and items can provide similar effects, so it’s… not great.
• The Serpent – Gives you the Serpent Spell ability, which you can cast once a day. Damages your target for 3 HP per second for 20 seconds. Also cures Poison on yourself and dispels 90 points of Magic Effects, but reduces Fatigue by 100. Very useful for spellcasters, but the Fatigue drain can make it tricky to use.

If you want our recommendation, the straight-up best Birthsigns are: The Lord, The Warrior, The Mage, The Thief, The Lady, and The Ritual. Which one you pick will largely depend on what kind of playstyle you’re going for, however, as we’ve said before. Nonetheless, these are the strongest overall.

Classes | Oblivion Remastered Character Creation

When it comes to picking classes during character creation, Oblivion Remastered works somewhat uniquely. While the game does have 21 preset classes for you to pick from, you can also make a custom class to fully fit your playstyle. This is, generally speaking, ideal for most players who truly want to make their own character!

Now, whether you make a custom class or choose one of the presets available, there are three key components for each class.

Specialization

First of all is the Class Specialization. These come in three flavors: Combat, Magic, and Stealth. Picking a specialization will grant a bonus of +5 to any skill matching the specialization, as well as allowing it to level up 10% faster.

For example, picking the Blunt skill with a Combat Specialization will give you +5 Blunt and make it level up faster. Conversely, picking Alchemy would yield no benefits. Choose your specialization wisely based on your preferred playstyle!

Attributes and Stats

Next up is the Favored Attributes. You get to pick two Attributes to focus on, which are your stats. Both Attributes will just get a bonus of +5 when you pick the class, which is mostly important for the early game. As a general idea, it’s a good idea to pick Endurance and ignore Luck.

That said, here’s all the Attributes and what they do so you know what to pick:

• Strength – Increases Fatigue, Encumberance, and melee damage. Ideal for melee fighters, but most players will want to level it up to increase the carry weight limit.
• Intelligence – Increases Magicka. Ideal for spellcasters.
• Willpower – Increases Fatigue and Magicka regeneration rate. Good for everyone, but very important for spellcasters.
• Agility – Increases Fatigue, resistance to stagger, and damage from ranged damage. Good for everyone, but mandatory for bow users.
• Speed – Increases your movement speed and jump distance. Key for rogue-type players.
• Endurance – Increases your Fatigue, initial Health, and how much Health you get on level up. Let’s just say right here that this is a key stat to focus on at all times if you want high Health later in the game.
• Personality – Increases NPCs’ Disposition toward you, which is good for dialogue.
• Luck – Increases the values of all skills besides Acrobatics, Athletics, and Speechcraft. Useful for everyone, but falls off in the late game.

Major Skills

Lastly, each class has 7 Major Skills. As we mentioned before, these Major Skills are bolstered if they match the class’s Specialization. This is the most defining part of your character’s class, as any skills you select to be Major Skills. Major Skills will start at Level 25 or 30 if they match your Specialization. The rest will be marked as Minor Skills and will start at Level 5 instead.

Additionally, Major Skills will also give you more XP to your character’s level. Unlike in the original release, all Skills contribute toward your character’s level in Remastered. However, Major Skills give more XP than Minor Skills. As for what’s best to pick? Honestly, it depends purely on your ideal playstyle and role fantasy!

With that said, here’s a quick list of all skills and which Specialization they belong to:

Combat

• Armorer – Governs your usage of hammers to repair equipment. Higher skill will prevent breaking hammers.
• Athletics – Determines your running and swimming speed, as well as Fatigue regeneration.
• Blade – How strong your character is with all bladed weapons. Note that axes count as Blunt.
• Block – Determines your ability to reduce damage and retaliate when blocking.
• Blunt – How strong your character is with all blunt weapons. This includes axes.
• Hand-to-Hand – Determines your strength when using your bare hands.
• Heavy Armor – Increases the damage reduction from heavy armor and reduces its encumbrance.

Magic

• Alchemy – Governs your ability to identify ingredients and create potions.
• Alteration – Your ability to cast utility spells, such as ones to open locks or walk on water.
• Conjuration – Defines your ability to cast summoning spells and repel undead.
• Destruction – Determines your ability to cast straightforward offensive spells.
• Illusion – Used to cast spells that can put status effects on foes.
• Mysticism – Used to cast spells that cancel out other spells, sense nearby life, move objects, and more.
• Restoration – Determines your ability to cast healing and defensive spells.

Stealth

• Acrobatics – Improves your ability to jump, allowing higher jumps and midair maneuvers. Also reduces fall damage.
• Light Armor – Determines how efficient light armor is and how much damage it reduces.
• Marksman – Greatly determines the damage you deal with bows.
• Mercantile – Allows you to haggle better. This lets you sell items for more and buy them for less.
• Security – Determines your ability to pick locks-
• Sneak – Determines your ability to remain undetected when attempting stealth. Also increases damage dealt to unaware foes.
• Speechcraft – Allows you to more effectively affect NPCs’ Disposition, primarily meant to make them like you.

So, there you have it! That’s the end of our character creation guide for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered. You should now know everything you need to know to make a character that properly fits your ideal playstyle and fantasy!