Summary
OneThe Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remasteredplayer recently decided to ignore the game’s main quest in order to explore Cyrodiil at their own pace, but ended up regretting that decision as soon as they finally reached Kvatch. Their experience highlights one of the most polarizing aspects of bothOblivionand its recently released remaster—aggressive enemy scaling.
The ability to get lost in a massive open world is one of the most widely celebrated aspects ofBethesda’s RPGs. That’s why fans often advise newcomers to take their time exploring rather than rushing through the main quest of any given Bethesda game.The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivionis no exception to this trend, much like its widely popular remaster, which launched on April 22.
Looking to put this advice into practice, Reddit user MaximumCashew0 recently spent a long time exploring Cyrodiil before they went back to the game’s main quest, leveling all the way up to 15. However, they regretted that decision as soon as they finally got around to doing theKvatch quest inOblivion Remastered. Due to the way enemy scaling works, MaximumCashew0 found themselves facing a litany of enemies, including half a dozen Atronachs and about as many Daedroths, among other monstrosities.
Oblivion Remastered’s Kvatch Quest Should Be Done ASAP
The gameplay footage of this early main quest that MaximumCashew0 shared on Reddit shows them dying within 10 seconds of approaching the Kvatch gate. Reflecting on the experience, the player regretted following the common advice to delay the main quest, calling the moment an “insane difficulty jump” compared to nearly everything else they had encountered in the game up to that point. Dozens of fans chimed in to share similar struggles, acknowledging the challenge of what MaximumCashew0 attempted and urging other players totackleOblivion Remastered’s Kvatch quest as early as possible.
Back in 2005, enemy scaling was central to Bethesda’s attempt to make every part ofOblivionaccessible at any level. But that approach also caused problems that still linger today—most notably, sudden difficulty spikes during key story moments. Rushing through the main quest is one way to ensure this issue never materializes, but that’s hardly the optimal way to experience a massive open-world RPG in the vein ofOblivion.
Alternatively,Oblivion Remasteredalready has some modsthat help sidestep this issue by introducing enemy level caps or rebalancing quests in some other manner. Since the game doesn’t officially support modding, these community-made solutions are currently only available on PC—and only compatible with the Steam version of the game.
