Oblivion mods

Nic Miller · 26 Apr 2007 at 09:34

Hi there guys

Just after some advice re mods for Oblivion - bought it recently and want to get the best mods from the start to make it fun and good looking rather than realise after 200 hours that I should have installed x and y ! Not interested in any'cheats' etc ie saddle bags. I have patch 1.2.

Currently have the following:

Things to make it look good:

Natural weather
Red nebula at night
Qarls TP3
Flora and doors upgrade
No tiling grass
Better looking soul gems
Better looking enchanted items

Gameplay mods

MMM - love it !
The beheading/cutting in half mod
no psychic guards
More life in cities
Street gangs - not installed yet - should I ? Looks a bit hard!
No infrared seek
key chain
Frans or OOO - not sure have downloaded both but think I may go down the route of Frans as OOO seems a bit hard and changes just a bit too much. Frans seems a halfway house - what do you think?
Colour map

So my questions are - Frans or OOO and also what I don't have are any quest mods, armour and weapons. What do people recommend here? I will get the official ones but are there any others worth getting?

I've checked out Mooseys excellent guide and got a few bits off here, but it doesn't really help with quests - and people tend to put huge lists of their mods without any descriptions!

Any other great things to make it pretty or things you wouldn't live without?

Thanks

Nic

Cartho · 26 Apr 2007 at 09:43

I use Natural environments, natural weather, Oscar's nicer grass and all the LOD mods to make it look nice.

Gameplay wise I dont like Frans or OOO, they change it too much. I use No Psychic Guards, Arena loot (so you can take stuff from beaten opponents in the Arena - makes it very worth doing), all of the official mods (Wizard's tower is INCREDIBLE), keychain, and several others which I cant remember...

That beheading mod sounds good! Never heard of that one!

MooSey-UK · 26 Apr 2007 at 09:57

scrub natural weather and nebula sky and use "Natural Enviroments" (linked in my big post)

it is astonishingly lovely. summer is much more colourful and vibrant and winter is much more washed out.

regarding Frans or OOO. I can't comment on Frans as i've not used it. I know for OOO though it can get messy if you want to implement it with a saved game.
these gameplay changing mods typically like a fresh clean install and new character.

As far as quest mods go i've not got any yet as a lot seem to miss voice acting etc which i feel is essential.
i've got my eye on "Imperial Legion Faction" which is still in progress.
check it so far here: ILF
Another Quest which has great acclaim is Damarask which has you working for the Dremora and creates a Dremora city (complete with arena!). this is supposedly a good mod but does'nt have voice acting

gets 10/10 though in the feedback at TESS.

You'll have to read through Beth's Oblivin Mod forums and bookmark the quest mods you like. Also look at TESS quest mods and read the reviews accompanying the mod then enquire about it at Beths forum. (most of the big modders hang out there and are good at responses)

As for armour you've probably seen the list and screenies i've listed.
Again, if you look at TESS the mods I've listed are the most popular and profesional.
If you want proper medieval style armour i've requested a set thru Beth's mod forum. A modder "Phitt" is already doing a mod of the existing ingame steel set but adding chainmail and polishing it up. check it out here: Polished Steel Armour Set
Just put "Phitt" in the search string at TESS's mod section to check out when its done.

Ah forgot! regarding official mods. You need to get Knights of The Nine. this is a great quest and the armour looks superb (although the enchants are questionable). Also you'll want Mehrunes Razor. this is a giant dungeon quest and is by all accounts excellent. I've not tryed it yet as my last character got corrupted with S.I and im busy power levelling my new char to get into the big quests.

MooSey-UK · 26 Apr 2007 at 10:08

Cartho said:
I use Natural environments, natural weather, Oscar's nicer grass and all the LOD mods to make it look nice.

Gameplay wise I dont like Frans or OOO, they change it too much. I use No Psychic Guards, Arena loot (so you can take stuff from beaten opponents in the Arena - makes it very worth doing), all of the official mods (Wizard's tower is INCREDIBLE), keychain, and several others which I cant remember...

That beheading mod sounds good! Never heard of that one!

Deadly Reflex 3.

there is a big post about it in here

Nic Miller · 26 Apr 2007 at 17:33

Thanks guys. Unsure about Fran or OOO now - don't want the game changed too much but don't want the game impossible later on!

The game is awesome though and just want the best experience from the start!

Keep the comments coming!

Cheers

Nic

Ps MooSey - your great big thread is awesome and a good place to start! How would you recommend chosing your main skill set - ones you use or ones you don't ? I like a big of slash and bash so have a warrior - but want to use magic ie destruction and restoration and alchemy. At the moment I have mainly all the skills I always use - is this the best thing to do? I have levelled up quite quickly and am now struggling to beat oponents - especially with MMM in the wilderness !!!!

Thanks

Nic

MooSey-UK · 26 Apr 2007 at 19:45

Bethesda intended that skill sets and attributes be chosen to match play style. this way levelling comes naturally due to the chosen skills always being used.
the trouble is as you level a skill all the other npc's also gain in that skill. the trick is to choose your race - birthsign - attributes - skills to maximize your start values so you can stay one step ahead.
things get tricky though when you want to level efficiently and gain maximum bonus points for your attributes when you level up.
this is why some people choose skills they never use. this way they control levelling and attribute bonuses by training what they want when they want.

i find though that worrying too much about levelling spoils the game.
choose the skill sets that you like and want to use.
as i've said in my big post, all though all races and classes start off with different handicaps, ultimately they all end up with the same maximum attributes and skills.
it just may take longer.

check out my class templates near the end of the last page.

remember if you want to use high level spells choose a birthsign and race that can support this.
even the weakest wood elf can raise his strength to 100.
so think what character type you want and how you'll play in the 20's + and base around that.
i chose my current character for role playing reasons. whilst some of his skills don't get benefits from his race im "training" him. he'll be at level 25 + soon without doing many quests at all.
train your character up then release him unto the hordes! trust me. when you can clear a dungeon room of bandits with one destructive spell or kill a dremora with a few swipes of your enchanted blade the game gets fun!
by the way. MMM always makes for fun and challenges!

(i've included tips on how to train your character near the end of main post)