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Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remasteredintro gives players a large variety of classes to choose from. However, there are 3 main archetypes. You get Combat for players that wish to be a tanky frontliner, Magic for players that wish to have an arsenal of spells, and Stealth for players that wish to be a character that strikes from the shadows.
By mixing equal parts Magic and Combat, you will end upwith a Spellsword build. However, players that choose to have every one of their Major Skills associated with Stealth will end up with the Thief class.
How to Build a Thief in Oblivion Remastered
There are 3 Specializations, 8 Attributes, and21 Skills in the game. Each of these will play a part in both the creation and development of a character.
Specialization
The specialization for this build will be Stealth. While most classes have skills from different specializations, all 7 of this build’s Major Skills will come from Stealth. This allows for a build that can level up far easier than others, as it will receive bonuses in almost all of its primary focused areas.
Major Skills
The Major Skills for the Thief class are as follows:
This means players will want a character that uses a bow for pretty much every combat encounter, both close and ranged alike. They will also be getting a lot of sneak attacks. There are ways players can take things to the next level by dipping into some areas outside these Major Skills. Here is how players can get the most out of each of these major skills.
Using the Skill
Acrobatics
Players canincrease this skill by jumping and taking fall damage. Because it will be so easy to level up, players are encouraged to walk over any ledge that won’t kill them — excluding while they are in combat.
Light Armor
While nowhere near as tanky as a warrior, players will want to take some hits to level up this skill tomake wearing light armor more effective. Players can let weaker enemies knock them about early in the game while also fighting back. However,
Mercantile
Taking hits from these enemies will lead to armor breaking frequently. Players should constantly be selling damaged armor and putting on replacement light armor. This will help improve their Mercantile skill even faster instead of using repair hammers to maintain gear. Players can save these hammers for when they find some truly precious pieces of armor.
Security
Players will find lockpicks on the regular. However, they can still run out of these precious items — unless theyuse the duplication glitch. Players should make a quicksave whenever they find a locked object and then load it if they break too many of their picks.
Sneak
Players should always be crouching while they make their way through areas where enemies may be lurking. This will let them continuously build levels in Sneak. They can use this to get closer to their targets and get sneak attack bonuses to clear a room of enemies with a single arrow for each of them. Then they can just reclaim the arrows.
Marksman
A bow is all a Thief needs to dispatch enemies. They can use it to take out a large portion of health with a sneak attack, follow-up attacks before an enemy can get close, and even run circles around enemies while they finish them off. The only question they need to ask iswhere to get a good one early.
Speechcraft
Speechcraft can let players gain information they would otherwise be locked out of obtaining. Players can use this with almost any NPC in the game, and the more NPCs they use it on, the more they will level it up.
Some other skills are worth investing some time in, while others can be ignored entirely.
Favored Attributes
The Thief class will get Agility and Speed as its two Favored Attributes. Agility will contribute to determining damage from bows, determine one’s maximum Fatigue, and prevent players from being staggered. This is ideal for a character that wants to stay mobile while attacking enemies at a distance.
Speaking of being mobile, Speed will determine how fast a player can move. While some players might be quick to dismiss this Attribute, it allows the Thief to constantly alternate between dealing damage and outrunning anything that would wish it harm.
Don’t Ignore Alchemy as a Thief
Since players will have no magic at their disposal, it may be in their best interest to still try out the Alchemy mechanics featured inOblivion Remastered. Players can gather all sorts of ingredients while traveling, as well as barter with NPCs for cheap ingredients. They can thenuse Alchemy to brew up potionsfor some extra skill levels and can then sell these potions after jacking up the price.
Players will also be able to brew up some deadly poisons to use against their enemies. While they could just buy potions and poisons, making them using Alchemy saves money early and makes money later on.
Players can usepotions to cure one of the many diseasesthey may face in the game.
Tips & Tricks for Playing a Thief
Playing a Thief means turning your back on Magic and direct confrontation, as neither of these will be of any benefit. Players can utterly trivialize combat by exploiting stacking sneak attacks, ranged attacks, using poisons on arrows, and staying out of enemies' range to deny them any of their melee attacks.
There are some enemies that will be immune to physical attacks, so players will want toget a good enchanted weaponto use against enemies such as ghosts.
Best Race for the Thief Builds in Oblivion Remastered
Out ofthe many races to choose from, the top three candidates for the best race are the Argonians, Khajiit, and Wood Elves (also known as Bosmer). Both Argonians and Wood Elves have high starting values in Agility and Speed, with Khajiit only having a focus on the former. However, each of them has unique racial abilities.
Agonians can breathe underwater indefinitely, and while this may be fun and seem great, players can always use quicksave to scout routes and potions to replicate this power. Khajiit can see in the dark and make enemies fear them, perfect for shooting them in the back. However, Wood Elves seem to be the best race for the job.
Wood elves can make beasts fight alongside them for 60 seconds, allowing them to have something to tank for them while they pour on the damage. They also start with +10 to their Sneak, Marksman, and Alchemy skills. All of which will be beneficial for a great start to the game.
Best Birthsign for Thief Builds in Oblivion Remastered
Choosing your Birthsignis an important element of character creation. While Shadow sounds good at first, being limited to once a day can make choosing this a little annoying for some players. On the other hand,choosing the Birthsign of the ThiefwillFortify Agility, Speed, and Luck — each by 10 points. This is a constant benefit that will persist the entire game and make players just so much better from the early game to its final moments. This is what makes it thebest birthsign for Stealth players.
