my favorite thing about Oblivion (compared to Skyrim)

[Felicia]

Well, maybe not my absolute favorite - I think they're both good games - but it's right up there. This is going to sound so minor, but it drove me nuts how difficult it was in Skyrim to switch between a bow and magic. I love to play a stealth character, and I also love to use the type of magic that comes with that playstyle, particularly Illusion and Conjuration. But I found that in Skyrim I just wasn't playing that way, because the 3-second lag to switch my bow out for my spells was so annoying that I just never did it - not to mention sometimes causing me a problem in combat situations. I played Skyrim before Oblivion, and when I came to Oblivion I was so excited to see that I could cast a spell while holding my bow. I took a few months off from both games and came back to Oblivion the other night, and was delighted about it all over again.

That said, my least favorite thing about Oblivion compared to Skyrim is how cluttered the magic menu is. And I'm on Xbox, so I can't mod it.

How about you?

[deathm00n]

I hate this too. The other problem I have is how hard it is to avoid creating a jack of all trades character. Without fixed classes I always have to be careful not to overpower a character and make the game easy.

[Felicia]

I hate this too. The other problem I have is how hard it is to avoid creating a jack of all trades character. Without fixed classes I always have to be careful not to overpower a character and make the game easy.

I watched my boyfriend have this problem - he built a pure mage character, but by level 60 or so she was walking around in ebony armor with a huge warhammer. I avoided this problem through a stubborn unwillingness to do anything I didn't want to do, so as soon as a character maxed out its playstyle I got bored and abandoned it, lol.

[umber hulk]

acrobatics. but since i went back to oblivion, man oh man i wish i had that become ethereal shout to go with it, save myself from all that fall damage.

[PrinceJonathan]

acrobatics. but since i went back to oblivion, man oh man i wish i had that become ethereal shout to go with it, save myself from all that fall damage.

Try the mod "Supreme Magicka". It changes how a bunch of spells function.

With Supreme Magicka, Feather will prevent fall damage provided your current encumbrance is at least 100 below your maximum encumbrance. I.e if your encumbrance is 400/500, you won't take damage from any fall while under the effects of Feather.

It also adds a bunch of other spell effects, like Mark/Recall, Levitate, Swift Swim, and Fortify Jump, but most are special Script Effects you cannot make custom spells of. Levitate is the only one you can make customs of.

[Aranel]

Ahhh there is a lot of things I really loved in Oblivion Skyrim doesn't have. I love Skyrim too, but it made me sad it didn't have some of them.

I have to second your whole weapon/magic thing. I mean Skyrim has dual wielding, but it doesn't help much with bows ect. XD
I also really miss athletics and acrobatics - it added a lot to the game, imo. Of course, I loved speeding right past things. |D I also miss all the different horse breeds, too. I was really disappointed when I bought a black horse in Skyrim. I also miss the relationship values, and how you could bribe people. I recently got Morrowind, and I love how you can taunt people in it to attack you so you don't have to worry about witnesses, lol. I also wish Skyrim PCs would blink - I don't think they really do, but your character in Oblivion does.

I also miss the mix-and-match with armor too though. I mean I was really kind of... bothered, I guess, when in Skyrim once you get the armor that's pretty much it? I mean you only need to get the boots, gloves, and helm. One thing I loved about Oblivion was how you could mix and match the cuirass and greaves. I'm sorry, but I will (usually) where crappy armor for the sake of fashion! xD (which is, again, one thing I love about Morrowind - plus you can wear clothing, armor, and robes over the armor)

There is probably a lot more I miss, though I can't remember them since it's super late where I live (and the fact that I haven't actually played Oblivion in quite some time, since I don't have an xbox 360 to use right now)

[Crusader's Amour]

Oblivion > Skyrim: Hand-to-hand being a skill in its own right.

Skyrim > Oblivion: General smoothness of the controls, and the fact that the conversations NPCs have with each other are specific to those NPCs rather than just "I saw a mudcrab the other day" being delivered through the mouths of fifty different people.

[DZforTHREE]

Well, maybe not my absolute favorite - I think they're both good games - but it's right up there. This is going to sound so minor, but it drove me nuts how difficult it was in Skyrim to switch between a bow and magic. I love to play a stealth character, and I also love to use the type of magic that comes with that playstyle, particularly Illusion and Conjuration. But I found that in Skyrim I just wasn't playing that way, because the 3-second lag to switch my bow out for my spells was so annoying that I just never did it - not to mention sometimes causing me a problem in combat situations. I played Skyrim before Oblivion, and when I came to Oblivion I was so excited to see that I could cast a spell while holding my bow. I took a few months off from both games and came back to Oblivion the other night, and was delighted about it all over again.

That said, my least favorite thing about Oblivion compared to Skyrim is how cluttered the magic menu is. And I'm on Xbox, so I can't mod it.

How about you?

Wait... You could be a mage in Skyrim?

[philfredobob]

Skyrim > Oblivion: General smoothness of the controls,

Sorry, i have to say something here. I cannot see how Skyrim's controls could possibly be smoother than Oblivion's. I can't tell you how many times i have had my guy shield bash an enemy with no effect, or pressed the shout button with a fully recharged shout and had my character do nothing. The combat is most definitely clunkier on Skyrim in my experience. Aside from combat, the menu buttons fail continuously, and so the do the dialogue choice buttons. I've never noticed any smoothness, and i have to say that i think Oblivion is vastly superior in this regard.

[Felicia]

Oh, I have another Skyrim > Oblivion. I like how in Skyrim the keys are in their own section, so you don't have to scroll through 50 keys when looking for something else. Actually, I think the Oblivion menu interface is pretty lousy in general. I hate the nested tabs.

[PrinceJonathan]

Oh, I have another Skyrim > Oblivion. I like how in Skyrim the keys are in their own section, so you don't have to scroll through 50 keys when looking for something else. Actually, I think the Oblivion menu interface is pretty lousy in general. I hate the nested tabs.

Everyone complains about having a bazillion keys in their inventory. STOP PICKING THEM UP THEN!!!

I find a lot of keys go to doors you can simply pick the lock on anyway. And since I use Oblivon XP and get EXP from picking locks, it's actually better for me to ignore the keys and just pick the locks.

As for the few keys you actually need, I just put them in non-respawning containers and forget about them after they've served their purpose. Once they've been used to open the one door they go to, they're pretty useless, so why bother keeping them?

[Dark Heart]

I like the way effects on the character are shown in the magic menu. Just one item that says for example "Resist Magic" and then the percentage. You can see where the magic resistance comes from when you move the cursor over the item. In Skyrim you have like, 3 different entries regarding "Resist Magic" and you have to add the numbers to find out how high your character's total magical resistance is.

I also like the game map in Oblivion better. While Skyrim's map does look great, I find Oblivion's map more immersive roleplay-wise. It's like my character has an empty parchment map of Cyrodiil on which she marks all the places she comes across.

[Felicia]

Oh, I have another Skyrim > Oblivion. I like how in Skyrim the keys are in their own section, so you don't have to scroll through 50 keys when looking for something else. Actually, I think the Oblivion menu interface is pretty lousy in general. I hate the nested tabs.

Everyone complains about having a bazillion keys in their inventory. STOP PICKING THEM UP THEN!!!

I find a lot of keys go to doors you can simply pick the lock on anyway. And since I use Oblivon XP and get EXP from picking locks, it's actually better for me to ignore the keys and just pick the locks.

As for the few keys you actually need, I just put them in non-respawning containers and forget about them after they've served their purpose. Once they've been used to open the one door they go to, they're pretty useless, so why bother keeping them?

Yeah, at the beginning of this game I was really deliberately dropping keys I knew I'd never need again (i.e. quest-related and the quest is over). But then I think I must have stopped doing that for a little bit and then I took a several-month hiatus from the game and now I can't remember what they all are for.

[philfredobob]

I like the way effects on the character are shown in the magic menu. Just one item that says for example "Resist Magic" and then the percentage. You can see where the magic resistance comes from when you move the cursor over the item. In Skyrim you have like, 3 different entries regarding "Resist Magic" and you have to add the numbers to find out how high your character's total magical resistance is.

I also like the game map in Oblivion better. While Skyrim's map does look great, I find Oblivion's map more immersive roleplay-wise. It's like my character has an empty parchment map of Cyrodiil on which she marks all the places she comes across.

I prefer all the menus of Oblivion. Skyrim's feel messy and jumbled, but Oblivion's always felt a lot more organized.

[Mattbott]

the only think i prefer about Oblivion is it's generosity

Skyrim feels 1 dlc short to me

[BelatedGamer]

Things that annoyed me in Skyrim:

1) No Open spell. Lockpicking a chest as a mage is so undignified.
2) Menus lack immersion. They're all black, I greatly preferred Oblivion's burnt paper look.
3) No acrobatics. Everyone has already beat this topic like a dead horse.

That being said, I actually preferred Skyrim's magic system. Spells felt like they had weight behind them this time, even if some effects were missing.

[philfredobob]

That being said, I actually preferred Skyrim's magic system. Spells felt like they had weight behind them this time, even if some effects were missing.

This is another thing i hear a lot from people. I have to disagree with this as well.

In my opinion, the magic spells in Skyrim felt more like you were flicking elastic bands at the tougher bad guys. Yes, the spells looked all flashy, but when they actually hit the small amount of damage broke the illusion. In Oblivion, you can make spells which might look harmless, but destroy the enemy.


Not trying to start a fight, just an opinion.

One thing i miss from Oblivion is the faster weapon swings and movement speed. In Skyrim, many weapons simply felt too slow to be enjoyable, and the movement speed of our characters cut down on the usefulness of footwork to dodge attacks, which i enjoyed using in Oblivion. There's really nothing like quickly stepping back to dodge a Dremora Valkynaz's warhammer strike, and then quickly bring down a power attack on his exposed head.

[BelatedGamer]

To each their own. Just the fact that ice spikes stuck out of enemies, fires burned, and lightning crackled gloriously was enough for me, I never really noticed if the damage was underpowered because I play on normal difficulty.. Oh, and enemies would stagger, that helped too.

But still, the best part was the illusion magic, messing with that NEVER gets old. Blasting everyone in Markarth with lightning, and then having the guards flee in fear as I casually strolled out of town made me feel like a force of nature.

[K Candyman]

The different speed of horses I really liked that you could get a faster horse.
In Skyrim every horse goes at the same speed a real shame.

And one thing I really really miss is that you can't see your char. in the apparel/weapons menu.
I loved that so much just a simple view of what you look like in Skyrim i mostly see the back of my char.

[Jeelius-Tei]

Oblivion's world just seems to match the series more. Skyrim has less colors than Fallout 3, and Fallout 3 is supposed to be after a nuclear war... Last time I checked, the freezing cold does not effect colors.

Yes, it is the world, Cyrodiil, and the color palette, that makes me like Oblivion more. I also like the combat better in Oblivion, but that is another story.

[K Candyman]

I think that the use of colours in Skyrim gives it really that Harsh feeling in the mountains I think it really fits the game, indeed Oblivion has a more beautiful landscape but that also fits.

as for the combat system in Oblivion was good. but for me as an heavy armour warrior it was not that good. espcially that you get staggerd when you get hit is really killing me most of the times. In Skyrim you can do something back when they are hacking on your head.

[Linkuya]

Skyrim has less colors than Fallout 3

Are you joking? Fallout 3 was mostly tan, everywhere. That's it.

Hidden:

[Jeelius-Tei]

What I mean is, Skyrim looks desaturated. I know, I know, some people say that's because Skyrim is supposed to be cold, but since when does coldness desaturate everything? When people say that, it reminds me of the people who said Battlefield 3 had the most boring, unrealistic colors because "It is a war zone". When will developers realize that colorful graphics make the game look more realistic? Hell, at least you can mod Skyrim to look better.

[Sam]

The music, somehow i like it way more than Skyrim's soundtrack.
I also liked shortswords, diffrent armor pieces(iron greaves, iron cuiras. Not 1 piece like Skyrim.

[Jeelius-Tei]

Not sure if this is true, but I read somewhere that they removed the ability to make custom outfits (i.e. pants and shirt) because it had "the possibility to create graphical bugs." Funny thing is, I have never seen one of these "graphical bugs."