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Discover everything you need to know about the best Mage build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered, including some valuable tips and tricks to optimize the build.
The Mage build in Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is a high-damage-dealing build using only magic. Embarking on a journey through Cyrodiil, the Imperial Province, will let you meet numerous NPCs and engage in a fight with a wide variety of enemies. As the Mage class possesses attributes of Intelligence and Willpower, it allows you to cast all sorts of spells to damage, repel, absorb, heal, and shield in the battleground. Using all the best spells from each magic school can allow you to eliminate enemies easily. The Mage can utilize both weapons and spells to dominate the battlefield. Balance your Magicka and Health, use defensive skills, and heal to keep yourself alive in battle. Use spells from all magic schools to both explore and fight in Cyrodiil.
However, it all depends on how you choose to play the Mage class, as there are a lot of systems in the background that enhance the effectiveness of a Mage. From faction and specialization to weapons and armor, everything is crucial for a Mage build. Choosing the right race for your Mage build is important to maximizing your effectiveness. Choosing the best race, attribute, and skills are crucial for the Mage build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion as your gameplay mostly depends on it. With the right combination of skills, race, and weapon choices, you can easily become a confident Mage with no fear. In this guide, we’ll discuss the best Mage build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion, including the best skills, weapons, and armor to choose from.
This Oblivion build is getting a full update for the remastered version of the game! We’ll revamp everything you need to start – how to create your character, what gear and weapons to use, the best skills to focus on, and the most useful spells.
Everything About Mage Build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion
The Mage Build is all about spamming the right spells on the battlefield for crowd control and damage to the enemies. Due to Intelligence being one of the prioritized attributes for the Mage, you can learn spells from each magic school. Leveling up the main skills will let you unlock the powerful spells that you can utilize accordingly to destroy the enemies. There is no doubt that Conjuration is probably the best magic school in Oblivion. You can summon allies and let them do the fighting for you. Moreover, the Destruction spells will be your bread and butter to cast different elemental spells on enemies. Furthermore, Alteration spells can help you reduce the incoming damage with Shield or even make you lighter to carry more stuff.
Now, playing a Mage build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered highly depends on your initial decisions of choosing the effective Race and Birthsign. The Breton stands out as the best race for the Mage class due to the bonus of magic resistance and the Dragon Skin trait. Moreover, this race grants bonuses for all the major skills, making you more effective in the core play style. For the Birthsign, the Mage stands out the best as you will be able to cast more spells right from the beginning. The Mage Birthsign grants 50 Magicka points permanently.
Last but not least, choosing the best Major Skills, Minor Skills, Specialization, and armor is crucial for this build, as picking the wrong one can negatively impact your build.
| Mage Build Pros | Mage Build Cons |
|---|---|
| High Damage Output | Resource Management |
| High Survivability | Heavy Armor Penalty on Magic |
| Crowd Control |
Build Key Aspect
Below are all the essential aspects of the Mage Build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered.
- Class: Mage
- Race: Breton
- Origin: Systres
- Birthsign: Atronach
- Specialization: Magic
- Attributes: Intelligence, Willpower, Endurance
- Major Skills
- Destruction
- Conjuration
- Illusion
- Minor Skills
- Athletics
- Security
- Mercantile
- Weapons: Apotheosis and Daedric Dagger
- Armor: Shrouded Armor or Elven Armor
- Faction: Mage Guild
- Trainer: Falion
Class
Mage is the best class for a ranged spellcasting build that specializes in several different magic schools in The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion Remastered. This is a strong magic class, but the downside is that it can take a long time to level. Because you are specializing in different schools of spellcasting, leveling each one will require casting spells from each one over and over. However, if you can overcome this obstacle, Mages can be incredibly powerful in the end-game of Oblivion.
Best Race
Breton is the best race for the best Mage build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered. This race has a touch of elven ancestry, which makes them the best mages and spellcasters. Acquiring this race will provide you bonuses for all the major skills of the Mage. Furthermore, this race provides great stats for the Intelligence, Luck, and Willpower attributes. All of these are essential for a Mage build.
The Breton comes with four special bonuses. The first one is Fortify Magicka, which lets you gain +50 points to Magicka. It also provides 50 points for Magic Resistance and a bonus to Disposition while with other Bretons. Lastly, it gives a Dragon Skin trait, which is a greater power and increases the armor rating by 50 for 60 seconds once a day. This trait specifically works as a shield, and while we will be using Light Armor with Robes, it will increase our survivability in tougher fights.
However, there are some negative effects of this race. The major negative impact is that you have lower Agility. It means you will have low Marksman, Security, and Sneak skills.
Best Origin
Systres is the best Origin selection for a powerful Mage build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered. The difference between Systres and High Rock origin stats are -10 points in either Strength or Speed. You want Systres because it debuffs -10 Speed. While this can make exploring on foot slower, you want to prioritize Strength which boosts Encumbrance and helps Fatigue.
Significantly, in ESOR, your character’s background isn’t just for roleplay. It also influences which stats can be boosted or debuffed. In the original Oblivion, choosing between male and female affected stats differently depending on your race. However, in the Remaster, gender no longer impacts your stats. Instead, you can choose either “Body Type 1” (female) or “Body Type 2” (male), and the stat differences are now handled through your Origin selection.
Best Birthsign
The Atronach Birthsign is the best choice for a Mage build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered because you gain maximum magicka and a chance to absorb spells. The Fortify Magicka boost is crucial for spellcasting, and is a huge increase. However, it comes with the downside of Stunted Magicka, which freezes your magicka regeneration. Despite this significant drawback, you can overcome it using magicka potions and from the spells you absorb. It can make the Mage a struggle to play in the early game, but an absolute powerhouse at higher levels.
If you don’t want to deal with the loss of magicka regen, however, a good alternative choice is The Mage birthsign. That will give you just a straight boost of +50 to Magicka.
Best Attributes
Intelligence, Willpower, and Endurance, are the best attributes for the Mage build because they increase your Magicka and Magicka regeneration, damage, and health.
- Intelligence: determines your maximum magicka and helps you cast high-level spells.
- Willpower: determines how quickly you regenerate magicka and increases maximum Fatigue.
- Endurance: increases your max health and how much health you gain with each level. Also, determines your health regeneration.
Major Skills
Destruction, Conjuration, and Illusion are the best major skills for the Mage build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered because they increase damage, survivability, and provide crowd control. Destruction will be your main source of damaging enemies with direct magic. You can cast different elemental spells to damage a target’s health, fatigue, or magicka. Moreover, you can apply elemental weaknesses to the targets, which can help you deal additional damage with respective elemental spells. Conjuration offers the most overpowered spells in the game, as you can just summon allies to fight for you. Illusion can help you with crowd control, or you can swap for Alteration for utility in exploration and combat.
- Destruction: Use it to deal direct damage to the enemies with various elemental spells.
- Conjuration: Allows you to summon various minions to assist you in combat.
- Illusion: Use it for crowd control and paralyze the enemies.
Minor Skills
Athletics, Mercantile, and Security are the best minor skills for the Mage build in Oblivion Remastered because they help with healing and regen, the creation of soul gems, and provides utility spells.
- Athletics: Increases your movement, sprint, and swimming speed.
- Security: Improve your skills with lockpicks.
- Mercantile: Get better prices by selling all of the stuff you steal.
Equipment
Equipment in Elder Scrolls Oblivion consists of weapons, armor, clothing, and various other items. Players can equip them to increase their character’s abilities and stats. Weapons are crafted from different items, and each has different stats and appearances. You can even enchant the weapons with magical effects like damage, debuff, or health regen. Use the soul gems to recharge the enchanted weapons. Armor is another equipment that protects you from incoming attacks from enemies. Each piece of armor has an armor rating, which determines how much damage it can absorb. You can equip up to 9 pieces at one time. Light Armor or Robe is the best option available for the Mage build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion.
Best Spells
Here are the best spells to use as a Mage in Elder Scrolls Oblivion.
- Detect Life: Reveals all visible and invisible creatures with a soft purple glow.
- Soul Trap: Trap the soul of a creature in an empty soul gem.
- Summon Skeleton: Summon a Skeleton for 40 seconds to fight beside you.
- Guard: Shield 30% for 30 seconds on self, reducing the incoming damage.
- Flash Bolt: Deals 20 Fire Damage to a target on impact.
- Lightning Bolt: Deals 35 Shock Damage to a target on impact.
- Weakness to Fire: Makes a target weaker to Fire by 25% for 30 seconds.
- Weakness to Shock: Makes a target weaker to Shock by 25% for 30 seconds.
- Debilitate: Paralyze the enemy for 3 seconds on Touch.
- Night Mother’s Caress: Restore health for 10 points for 2 seconds.
NOTE: Feel free to change the spells according to your playstyle. Moreover, enhancing the major skills will let you unlock the better version of these spells. If you have enough Magicka at your disposal, acquire the latest spells for more effectiveness.
Best Weapons
For the actual weapons, I recommend you use a staff. It will allow you to continuously cast damaging spells on targets if you run out of Magicka or your spells are on cooldown. However, you still can use melee weapons like Daggers or Shortswords. Here are the best weapons to use for the Mage Build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion.
1 Apotheosis
Apotheosis is the best staff weapon that you can use to deal damage to enemies without using Magicka. It deals 33 Fire, Shock, and Frost Damage to enemies on impact. If you run out of Magicka or your spells are on cooldown, you can switch to staff to continue dealing elemental damage. Since it is an expensive staff to get, you can use the Lesser Staff of Frost in the early/mid-game. This staff will allow you to deal 20 Frost damage on a target on impact.
2 Daedric Dagger
- Damage: 19
- Health: 532
- Base Value: 2700
- Weight: 10
The Daedric Dagger is a one-handed weapon that has the highest base damage among any other dagger in the game. Daggers are the fastest melee weapons, allowing you to deliver their enchantments faster. Use this dagger to take down enemies in melee range or for stealth take down. You can enchant the Daedric Dagger with effects like Poison, damage, or fatigue. Daggers are lightweight but deal less damage than swords or maces. Pair it with skills like Blades to enhance the effectiveness of this weapon.
Best Armor
For the Armor, use either the Robes or the Light Armor. We do not recommend using any Heavy Armor on the Mage class. The main reason for it is that wearing Heavy Armor has a negative impact on magic in Oblivion. In order to negate the negative impact on your magic, it is best to stick with the Light Armor. Moreover, you will still have high survivability as you can increase the armor rating and gain a shield with your spells.
1 Shrouded Armor
- Armor Health: 520
- Base Armor: 17.5
- Base Value: 0
- Class: Light Armor
Shrouded Armor is one of the best Armors to use while running the Mage build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion. This armor set consists of two parts, the Shrouded Armor and the Shrouded Hood. It offers several enhancements that favor stealth-oriented characters. The Ancient Shrouded Armor is relatively easy to acquire. Shrouded armor is a single piece of equipment that covers the whole body except the head. It also has unleveled stats and enchantments, meaning the effectiveness increases as you level up in the game. This armor includes the enchantment that boosts backstab damage and poison resistance.
2 Elven Armor
- Armor Health: 3520
- Class: Light Armor
- Base Value: 1740
- Weight: 35.1
Another great armor to equip for a Mage build is an Elven Armor because it can protect your player from any incoming attacks. It grants you a good balance of protection and stealth, especially the cuirass and boots. It can be looted from Azani Blackheart through the Fighters Guild questline. Elven armor is a good option for early to mid-game characters. Elven armor has a distinctive appearance, with a metallic sheen and red cloth under the armor. There are variants of Elven armor, such as the Light Elven Armor and Gilded Elven Armor.
Leveling Strategy for the Mage Build
Focus on using magic skills to level a Mage effectively in Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered. Use skills like Alteration, Conjuration, Destruction, Mysticism, and Restoration to gain +5 bonuses at each level. Use Alteration spells to buff yourself and explore the environment. You need to heal yourself and others with Restoration spells to keep your skills active. Invest in attributes that will enhance your major skills.
Leveling up is based on Skill Increases and the Attributes you assign. Every time you level up, you will get to increase three attributes. Focus on attributes that align with your playstyle. Your Birthsign gives a significant bonus to your stats. You must sleep in a bed to level up. Leveling in Oblivion can take time, so try to balance your activities between exploring, combat, and practicing skills.
Factions
Mage Guild is the best choice for the Mage build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion because it focuses on magic and skills that complement a Mage’s abilities. Mage excels with skills like Destruction for potential damage, Alteration for buffs, and Restoration for healing. This makes the Mages Guild a good fit for their playstyle, allowing you to dominate enemies.
Trainers
Falion is the best trainer for the Mage build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion. He is a redguard mage in Morthal who studies vampires and can cure vampirism. Falion is available in Morthal, a town near the north end of the map, southwest of Ustengrav. He can perform a ritual to cure vampirism, but it requires a filled black soul gem. Trainers allow you to spend gold to increase your skill levels, which can help you level up skills. Different types of trainers allow you to reach different skill level caps. These trainers can train a specific skill for a set number of times per character level.
How to Play the Mage Build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered
Level up the skills like Mysticism, Destruction, and Restoration, while also investing in skills like Alteration and Conjuration. The best combat strategy for running this Mage build is using the magic for both combat and exploration. It will allow you to level up in your major skills quite easily. If you run out of Magicka, you can switch to the Staff weapon to start casting damage spells on targets. Alternatively, you can switch to melee in close-range combat and use defensive buffs. Magicka is crucial for casting spells, so use your magic wisely. Cast any buffs that might be helpful before engaging any enemy.
Since you’ll be on the frontlines, wear a decent Light Armor and enhance it with spells to protect your character. Focus on attributes like Willpower, Intelligence, and Endurance to enhance your combat effectiveness while running this build. Use the high ground to use spells for maximum damage output. It’s best to craft the potions that buff your character and debuff the enemies. Equip Daedric Dagger to deal massive damage in close-range combat. Use a dagger to deal melee damage or stealth take down in combat. Keep your distance and use spells to eliminate enemies if you’re fighting them in ranged combat.
Best Gameplay Tips and Tricks for Mage Build
Here are the best gameplay tips and tricks for Mage build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered.
- Use magic to weaken the enemies from a distance, then switch to melee when required.
- You need to use stamina wisely, or else you can become vulnerable in most combat situations.
- Use your weapons wisely, as equipping a lower damage-dealing weapon gives room for the enemies to attack you.
- Use Speechcraft and your charisma to avoid unnecessary conflict.
- Use Alteration spells to increase the armor rating for enhanced defense.
- Choose the faction, race, and specialization that complements your playstyle and synergizes with the build.
- Use potions to heal your character from time to time in combat, so carry them in your inventory.
- Joining the Mages Guild is a great choice as a Mage in ESO, as it provides access to magical resources, training, and spells.
- Focus on leveling your Destruction, Alteration, Restoration, Conjuration, and Mysticism for casting higher level magic spells.
FAQs about Mage build in The Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered
What is a Mage build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered?
The Mage build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion is a high damage-dealing build using only magic. However, they have the ability to equip melee weapons to take out enemies effectively in close-range combat.
Which is the best weapon for a Mage build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion?
Apotheosis is the best weapon for a Mage build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion. It is the best staff weapon in the game, allowing you to deal Fire, Frost, and Shock damage to enemies without consuming Magicka. In addition to the staff weapons, use the Daedric Dagger to tackle physical combat along with magic spells.
Which is the best race for a Mage build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion?
Breton is the best race for Mage build in Elder Scrolls Oblivion due to its 50% magic resistance and the Dragon Skin trait.
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