Why do people hate Oblivion so much?

[whydoibother]

In all seriousness, I have played and modded each TES extensively and with the right mods, Oblivion is the best of the lot. The sad thing is, when you dig into Oblivion construction set, the code for an excellent RPG is in there. For example, there are settings that forbid potion consumption depending on alchemy skill, there are settings to reduce stamina while running, making it more of a intrinsic mechanic as in Morrowind, there is a dialogue tweak to turn enemies hostile if you taunt them enough. Wolfs and other predators don't hunt deer in the base game, but with a single tweak, deer become prey as they're supposed to, making a more dynamic world. There's a ton more stuff right there in the CS, but Bethesda decided to nuke all this potential nuance for no reason whatsoever.

You can do all of that, and it will still be the kind of game that you can pause while a sword is being swung at you, eat 50 chicken pies, and absorb the incoming hit.

 

[janior]

In all seriousness, I have played and modded each TES extensively and with the right mods, Oblivion is the best of the lot.

This is a sentiment several people have expressed on here, and every time I have to ask which mods. I've played around with a lot of rebalance and tweak mods and while it is possible to get the combat half-decent, nothing ever seems to overcome the problem of the empty samey dungeons, which is the biggest problem for me.

this helps a bit supposedly https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/40392
BUT it adds some new/unbalanced items so it's all a wasted effort

 

[Butter]

They keep removing mechanics that would make the dungeon-crawling experience more rewarding (e.g. climbing and levitation). They barely use swimming, even though the game has waterbreathing mechanics from gear, spells, and Argonian passive. It's just awful.

 

[Lemming42]

this helps a bit supposedly https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/40392
BUT it adds some new/unbalanced items so it's all a wasted effort

I think I've tried that one before, definitely helped to a degree. Honestly the best bet might be to wait for Skyblivion since it seems like they're redoing all the dungeons from scratch.

 

[Losus4]

(e.g. climbing and levitation).

For climbing get this - https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/52562?tab=description

As for levitation... there is not one single instance in any dungeon, town or overworld location in the base game or DLC in which levitation would ever be required.

 

[KörangarTheMighty]

quest markers save some time so you can get to the cool content faster!

This is yet another issue that was modded out over a decade ago. You can even toggle markers on and off at will in case you're actually lost.
https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/26389

 

[janior]

quest markers save some time so you can get to the cool content faster!

This is yet another issue that was modded out over a decade ago. You can even toggle markers on and off at will in case you're actually lost.
https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/26389

yes you can do it ofc but there's not much point since there's that much to find in the wilderness other than random dungeons and a rare deadric shrine, the game was designed from the ground up with fast travel in mind.

 

[Butter]

As for levitation... there is not one single instance in any dungeon, town or overworld location in the base game or DLC in which levitation would ever be required.

No kidding. They weren't going to design dungeons that require a mechanic that they had just cut.

 

[KörangarTheMighty]

yes you can do it ofc but there's not much point since there's that much to find in the wilderness other than random dungeons and a rare deadric shrine, the game was designed from the ground up with fast travel in mind.

Yeah but who the fuck is playing vanilla Oblivion in 2024, or any vanilla TES game for that matter? Better cities, unique landscapes and either of the overhauls fill the game out immensely. I don't get why people dwell on these non-issues. Don't like fast travel? Don't use it. Don't like eating a million pies for health? Then don't? Or in lieu of discipline, apply yourself and get rid of them.

 

[Old Hans]

I liked what oblivion was TRYING to do with the radiant AI, which was a big step up from Morrwinds static NPCs. as an actual good RPG its way down on the bottom of my list

 

[rubinstein]

I liked what oblivion was TRYING to do with the radiant AI, which was a big step up from Morrwinds static NPCs. as an actual good RPG its way down on the bottom of my list

i agree. oblivions radiant ai, despite being the undisputed king of unintentional comedy in video games to this day, was actually ambitious and it is the soul of the game. as nasty as oblivion is i wouldnt call it a soulless game, unlike something like skyrim or starfield. and thats something.

 

[Fenris 2.0]

It is fucking Patient Zero.

Edit:
The ultimate Source of Decline.

 

[Harthwain]

Yeah but who the fuck is playing vanilla Oblivion in 2024, or any vanilla TES game for that matter? Better cities, unique landscapes and either of the overhauls fill the game out immensely. I don't get why people dwell on these non-issues.

If the question is "Why do people hate Oblivion so much when it was released", then it is reasonable to give an answer that doesn't involve the mods. I played Morrowind without any mods and I had great time with it. Would I mod it now? Probably. But it doesn't change the fact that the core of the game didn't have to be "fixed by mods" back in the day.

Don't like fast travel? Don't use it. Don't like eating a million pies for health? Then don't? Or in lieu of discipline, apply yourself and get rid of them.

"Don't like it? Don't use it" argument (if you can even call it that) doesn't make it any less of a bad design though.

 

[Ravielsk]

In all seriousness, I have played and modded each TES extensively and with the right mods, Oblivion is the best of the lot. The sad thing is, when you dig into Oblivion construction set, the code for an excellent RPG is in there. For example, there are settings that forbid potion consumption depending on alchemy skill, there are settings to reduce stamina while running, making it more of a intrinsic mechanic as in Morrowind, there is a dialogue tweak to turn enemies hostile if you taunt them enough. Wolfs and other predators don't hunt deer in the base game, but with a single tweak, deer become prey as they're supposed to, making a more dynamic world. There's a ton more stuff right there in the CS, but Bethesda decided to nuke all this potential nuance for no reason whatsoever.

This is what I would actually point to as the main reason why people dislike Oblivion(even if they are not consciously aware of it). Underneath all the trash people can feel there is still a solid core of game that Bethesda simply refused to make.

 

[Ravielsk]

Don't like fast travel? Don't use it. Don't like eating a million pies for health? Then don't? Or in lieu of discipline, apply yourself and get rid of them.

"Don't like it? Don't use it" argument (if you can even call it that) doesn't make it any less of a bad design though.

It a retarded way of thinking. The game is entirely built around you fast traveling all around the place. Pretty much every major questline expects you to zigzag across a map that does not feature any other transportation options besides on foot. Saying that you do not have to use fast travel in Oblivion is like me saying that you do not have to shoot guns in Halo because you can melee guys.

Suuure, its technically a choice but practically you would have to be retarded(or have unlimited amount of time) to make it.

 

[KörangarTheMighty]

If the question is "Why do people hate Oblivion so much when it was released", then it is reasonable to give an answer that doesn't involve the mods. I played Morrowind without any mods and I had great time with it. Would I mod it now? Probably. But it doesn't change the fact that the core of the game didn't have to be "fixed by mods" back in the day.

I didn't play Oblivion at launch and since I am the sort that would be spending hours prior picking through mods for any of these games regardless, I'd rather do it for the one that benefits from it most. I'm also not a guy who would gamble his enjoyment on any vanilla TES game this far out from launch and I reckon I'm not alone. I happen to like Oblivion's generic fantasy aesthetic and many of its quests, the cities etc. I like the gloominess of Cyrodiil when its raining combined with some of the music. None of the other games give me that same forlorn feeling. Knowing that such a feeling can be found there, I don't recommend newcomers disregard the game in current year when the lion's share of issues have been fixed and most of the features Morrowind fans bemoan the lack of can be in Oblivion if you really want them to be.

Pretty much every major questline expects you to zigzag across a map that does not feature any other transportation options besides on foot

This is only an issue if you're doing every major questline. I start any given Oblivion character by getting off a boat in either Leyawin, Anvil or the Imperial City. From there, I wander around, explore, dungeon dive and do whatever sidequests that strike me as something my character would do and end when I get bored or run out of such things. If I cross the map, by foot or by horse, three or four times, that's no big deal. There's plenty of ways to go that aren't just the main roads and plenty to see along them. If I get tired of manual travel, I go to a port and buy passage to some other city that's nearer to the goal.

 

[Harthwain]

I didn't play Oblivion at launch and since I am the sort that would be spending hours prior picking through mods for any of these games regardless, I'd rather do it for the one that benefits from it most.

I guess that explains it. Most people who hate Oblivion hate it, because they compare it to Morrowind. If Oblivion would be your first game (even on the release day), then without any frame of reference it is probably not that bad of an experience. And if you play it modded... Well, it would probably come to you as a surprise that some people may "hate Oblivion so much".

 

[KörangarTheMighty]

I guess that explains it. Most people who hate Oblivion hate it, because they compare it to Morrowind. If Oblivion would be your first game (even on the release day), then without any frame of reference it is probably not that bad of an experience. And if you play it modded... Well, it would probably come to you as a surprise that some people may "hate Oblivion so much".

Oblivion was not my first TES game, I just don't have any deep attachment to the other games. The mega dungeons of Daggerfall are gone from Morrowind.... free shrugs. No more cart! Oh no... The only thing that comes as a surprise is that people are still holding the game as anathema nearly 20 years later when most of the issues that they complained about are irrelevant now. If the argument is "don't play this game because you have to mod it for it to be playable in 2024", that's every TES to some degree in a nutshell.

 

[Harthwain]

If the argument is "don't play this game because you have to mod it for it to be playable in 2024", that's every TES to some degree in a nutshell.

It is not though. As I said before - I was able to play Morrowind without any mods. My brother recently replayed Morrowind, also without any mods. I am able to play Diablo 1 without mods, too. If game is good enough, then modding is a possibility, not a necessity.

 

[KörangarTheMighty]

It is not though. As I said before - I was able to play Morrowind without any mods. My brother recently replayed Morrowind, also without any mods. I am able to play Diablo 1 without mods, too. If game is good enough, then modding is a possibility, not a necessity.

For you two sure, you're more enamored by it than I am. Minimally, I would have to find a bunch of visual mods to fix resolution, terrain distance pop-in, search for essential general bugfixes and so on. It would take me just as long to get the list together as it would Oblivion or Skyrim. Vanilla Diablo I can agree, but not TES in 2024.

I thought the scaling was stupid was the main complaint? A rat would scale, a bug would scale etc. I can see humanoids and classes scaling but a stupid mob like a regular skeleton or animal seems dumb. I'm only going by hearsay though since the reputation made me avoid it.

This and another comment with similar sentiment are what my posts were aimed at. No attachment to the game, avoidance because of issues that are now irrelevant. There's no point fretting over the ghosts of '06 when you're going to be assembling mod lists to play any of these games regardless.

 

[Maxie]

Oblivion starts with a dungeon, Morrowind with bureaucracy

 

[Beastro]

I liked what oblivion was TRYING to do with the radiant AI, which was a big step up from Morrwinds static NPCs. as an actual good RPG its way down on the bottom of my list

i agree. oblivions radiant ai, despite being the undisputed king of unintentional comedy in video games to this day, was actually ambitious and it is the soul of the game. as nasty as oblivion is i wouldnt call it a soulless game, unlike something like skyrim or starfield. and thats something.

The problem with the was that they dialed it back too much from how it originally was.

The result was ot being too bland. They shoulda went all the way with it and what npcs would have done with it.

 

[NaturallyCarnivorousSheep]

It's almost as old as KOTOR and since KOTOR GOOD BECAUSE OLD by modern codexer standards, Oblivion is actually good.

Not my rules.

 

[ds]

Don't like fast travel? Don't use it. Don't like eating a million pies for health? Then don't? Or in lieu of discipline, apply yourself and get rid of them.

"Don't like it? Don't use it" argument (if you can even call it that) doesn't make it any less of a bad design though.

It a retarded way of thinking. The game is entirely built around you fast traveling all around the place. Pretty much every major questline expects you to zigzag across a map that does not feature any other transportation options besides on foot. Saying that you do not have to use fast travel in Oblivion is like me saying that you do not have to shoot guns in Halo because you can melee guys.

Suuure, its technically a choice but practically you would have to be retarded(or have unlimited amount of time) to make it.

This is only a problem if you do one quest at a time.. Instead try doing multiple quests in parallel and plan ahead where you need to go to complete them most efficiently. Think of planning your route as another gameplay element, same as Morrowind's multi-modal travel network also adds gameplay because you need to think at least a little bit compared to just clicking your destination.

 

[janior]

It's almost as old as KOTOR and since KOTOR GOOD BECAUSE OLD by modern codexer standards, Oblivion is actually good.

Not my rules.

It's definitely better than KOTOR.