Oblivion Remastered Best Skills Tier List and Major Picks for Gameplay

Unlock the true potential of your hero in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered by mastering the best skills tailored to your playstyle. Whether you wield magic, blades, or stealth, knowing which skills to prioritize can transform your journey through Cyrodiil from a struggle into a legend. Dive into our guide to discover the top major skills that will elevate your character on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox, and learn how to level them effectively through action and strategy in this timeless RPG classic.

Leveling up in Oblivion doesn’t work the same way it does in many RPGs. Rather than a typical skill tree with points, you level up skills by using them. And skills level up more quickly depending on what class you choose in the tutorial (after picking your race and birthsign).

Below, we’ll briefly explain how skills work in Oblivion Remastered, before getting into the best skills in Oblivion Remastered.

How skills work in Oblivion Remastered

Skills in Oblivion Remastered improve primarily through use, reflecting a “practice makes perfect” system where performing actions related to a skill increases its level. There are 21 skills divided into three specializations: Combat, Magic, and Stealth, each linked to one of eight attributes. Players choose seven major skills during character creation, which start with a +20 bonus and level up faster than minor skills, though all skills contribute to overall character leveling. Skill progression unlocks new abilities and perks at specific milestones. Besides using skills in gameplay, players can also increase skills through training, reading skill books, and completing quests. Major skills are crucial for faster leveling and shaping your character’s strengths, while minor skills advance more slowly but still add to experience.

As mentioned, you level up skills in Oblivion Remastered by using them.

Take the Acrobatics skill, for example. This skill impacts your ability to jump higher and withstand falls. In order to level it up, you simply have to perform an action that’s tied with the skill, such as jumping. For the Armorer skill, one way to level it up is to repair weapons and armor. Destruction levels up the more you cast offensive magic, while Heavy Armor levels up the more damage you take while wearing heavy armor.

Skills in Oblivion Remastered are split into major skills and minor skills. There are 21 skills in the game, and your character can have up to seven major skills. The remaining 14 automatically become minor skills. Major skills receive an initial 20 level bonus when selected and level up much more quickly than minor ones.

After completing the tutorial, you’ll be given the option to pick your character class. There are 21 classes, and each one comes with a predetermined allocation of major skills and favored attributes. Each class is associated with a specialization (Magic, Combat, or Stealth), which gives a bonus to all of the skills in that specialization. Or you can create your own custom class and pick out all of those parameters yourself.

If you’d like to go with a predetermined class, see our guide to the best classes in Oblivion Remastered. But if you’re planning on making a custom class, read on to see the best skills in Oblivion Remastered.

The best skills in Oblivion Remastered

The best skills in Oblivion Remastered are those that significantly enhance your character’s effectiveness in combat, magic, and stealth, reflecting the classic strengths from the original game. Key combat skills include Blade and Heavy Armor, which improve your melee damage and survivability. In magic, Destruction and Restoration stand out for their offensive and healing capabilities, respectively. Alchemy is highly valuable for crafting potent potions and poisons, boosting both combat and economic advantages. Stealth skills like Sneak and Security enable silent movement and lockpicking, essential for exploration and avoiding detection. These skills level up through use, and selecting them as major skills accelerates their progression, making them the cornerstone of a powerful custom class in Oblivion Remastered.

When picking skills, select those that fit your class. If you’re going for a pure magic build, obviously don’t take the Blunt skill, as that only impacts how much damage you deal with blunt weapons. On the other hand, if you’re not planning on using magic, don’t bother with the Destruction skill.

That said, if you’re going for a custom class, these are 10 of the best skills to pick as your major skills in Oblivion Remastered, regardless of your class build.

Acrobatics (Stealth)
Sneak (Stealth)
Athletics (Combat)
Security (Stealth)
Heavy Armor/Light Armor (Combat/Stealth)
Armorer (Combat)
Alchemy (Magic)
Restoration (Magic)
Destruction/Blade/Blunt/Marksman (various)
Illusion (Magic)

Read on for more details about why all of these skills are the best in Oblivion Remastered, or use the table of contents above to navigate directly to the skill you’re curious about.

1. Acrobatics (Stealth)

Acrobatics is a key Stealth skill in Oblivion Remastered that enhances your character’s ability to jump higher, dodge attacks, and reduce fall damage. As you increase Acrobatics by jumping and dodging, you unlock perks such as the ability to dodge at level 25, reduced fatigue consumption when jumping at level 50, the ability to jump over water at level 75, and significantly less fall damage at level 100. This skill is essential for nimble, stealthy builds like Scouts, Nightblades, and Assassins, allowing players to navigate environments more freely, evade detection, and perform agile combat maneuvers. To level it efficiently, players often combine jumping with Athletics training, using locations like mountain paths or shallow water to maximize skill gains while maintaining high mobility.

The higher your Acrobatics skill, the farther you’ll jump and the less damage you’ll sustain from jumping off of high points. Your fatigue while jumping will decrease, and you eventually earn the Dodge ability, which will let you outmaneuver enemies by rolling. At its max level, you will be able to jump on surfaces of water. This skill is the easiest to level and, in turn, can increase your character’s overall level very quickly.

2. Sneak (Stealth)

The Sneak skill in Oblivion Remastered is essential for players who want to move undetected and deliver powerful sneak attacks. Governed by Agility, Sneak improves your ability to avoid detection, making it easier to pick pockets, infiltrate areas, and deal extra damage when attacking from stealth. As you level up Sneak, you gain significant perks: from increased damage with sneak attacks at Novice and Apprentice levels, to making less noise while moving at Journeyman, becoming harder to detect in bright environments at Expert, and finally, at Master level, your sneak attacks ignore enemy armor entirely. This skill is particularly valuable for stealth-based builds such as assassins or thieves, and can be efficiently leveled by moving undetected near NPCs, especially at night. Using light armor and avoiding light sources further enhances your stealth effectiveness.

Sneak is vital to getting the drop on enemies. Not only do you deal a damage bonus, but you can also avoid being spotted when pickpocketing as your footsteps will be quieter. Eventually, undetected attacks ignore targets’ armor rating, and that becomes incredibly useful when it comes with dealing with certain enemies.

3. Athletics (Combat)

Athletics is a vital Combat skill in Oblivion Remastered that directly affects how quickly your character can run, swim, and sprint, making it essential for efficient travel and combat mobility. As you level up Athletics, your fatigue consumption while sprinting decreases, eventually reaching a point where sprinting no longer drains fatigue at all, greatly enhancing stamina management during battles and exploration. This skill is especially beneficial early in the game before acquiring mounts or relying on fast travel. Athletics levels up through running and swimming, with swimming granting slightly more experience, and it is easier to advance if chosen as a Major Skill within a Combat specialization class. Key classes that start with Athletics as a major skill include Warrior, Barbarian, and Scout, among others, highlighting its importance for combat-oriented builds focused on speed and endurance.

This skill impacts how quickly you can run, swim, and sprint. If you need to retreat in a hurry, Athletics is invaluable. Plus, it’ll get you across the overworld map quicker when you’re not in battle. The higher this skill, the higher fatigue regeneration while running. Athletics is just an all-round great general skill to have for non-combat purposes.

4. Security (Stealth)

Security is a crucial Stealth skill in Oblivion Remastered that governs your ability to pick locks and disarm traps. As you improve Security by attempting or successfully completing lockpicking mini-games, the difficulty decreases, and fewer lockpicks break on failure. At higher levels, you can pick locks more efficiently, with the skill unlocking fewer tumblers falling when you fail, eventually reaching a point where no tumblers fall at all. Choosing a class with Stealth specialization makes leveling Security easier, making it an essential skill for stealthy characters who want to access locked areas and treasure without confrontation.

This skill lets you pick locks easier, as the act itself can be a bit tricky to master. A higher Security level gives you more leeway when picking locks. Some rare loot is locked behind chests, so being able to pick the locks can give you access to some powerful items early on. At the highest level, lockpicks won’t break, which will bring you peace of mind of never running out of lockpicks again.

5. Heavy Armor/Light Armor (Combat/Stealth)

Heavy Armor and Light Armor skills in Oblivion Remastered serve distinct roles aligned with combat and stealth playstyles, respectively. Heavy Armor is ideal for combat-focused characters, providing superior physical damage resistance and becoming less encumbering as the skill levels up, ultimately offering the best defense in the game. Light Armor, favored by stealth-oriented builds, becomes increasingly effective and weightless at higher levels, allowing for greater mobility and protection comparable to heavy armor at skill level 100. Both skills improve simply by wearing the respective armor during combat, with experience gained each time the player is hit. Efficient leveling methods include controlled enemy attacks in specific locations like sewers or the Fighters Guild rat basement, where players can safely gain skill points by letting enemies hit them while healing as needed. This makes mastering either armor skill essential for maximizing survivability and effectiveness in their respective playstyles.

Depending on your build, you’ll want to either choose Heavy Armor or Light Armor in the Combat or Stealth specialization, respectively. The higher the level, the slower your armor degrades. Encumbrance (slow movement speed as a penalty of carrying too much) will be reduced, with the max level getting rid of encumbrance completely when wearing the respective armor type. Plus, these skills are easy to level up, as you just have to wear the armor while fighting.

6. Armorer (Combat)

The Armorer skill in Oblivion Remastered is essential for maintaining and enhancing your weapons and armor using Repair Hammers. As you increase this Combat skill, you gain the ability to repair magic items starting at level 25, extend the durability of your Repair Hammers at level 50, and eventually repair equipment beyond its original maximum condition up to 125%, boosting both damage dealt and protection offered. At the highest mastery level, your Repair Hammers never break, making this skill invaluable for keeping your gear in peak condition and saving on repair costs throughout your adventure.

This skill lets you repair your equipment with hammers. At higher levels, you can actually repair equipment past its highest condition, which is 125%. This means that repaired equipment can absorb more damage and deal more. At its max level, repair hammers will never break, which is very useful as you won’t have to buy any more hammers.

7. Alchemy (Magic)

Alchemy in Oblivion Remastered is a vital magic skill that enables players to craft potions and poisons by combining various ingredients, each with unique effects. Mastery of Alchemy improves the potency and duration of these concoctions, enhancing their usefulness in combat and exploration. The skill is governed by Intelligence but only the Alchemy skill level itself determines potion strength, not the attribute. Players gain experience by creating potions with multiple ingredients, and higher mastery levels allow identification of more ingredient properties, unlocking more powerful recipes. Additionally, special Alchemy Tools such as the Mortar & Pestle and Retort can further enhance potion quality. Alchemy not only supports magical and stealth builds by providing versatile buffs and poisons but also offers a lucrative way to earn gold through selling crafted potions.

This skill lets you create potions and poisons from various ingredients. Ingredients typically have four effects, and the higher the Alchemy level, the more effects will be added to the final product. Alchemy also synergizes well with archers, as the poison through alchemy can be laced onto the arrows. The potions made can be sold for extra gold too.

8. Restoration (Magic)

Restoration in Oblivion Remastered is a vital magic skill focused on healing and survival. It allows players to cast spells that restore health, cure diseases, and remove harmful status effects like paralysis, which are essential for enduring tough battles and harsh environments. Beyond basic healing, Restoration also offers spells that temporarily boost attributes such as strength and speed, giving players a significant edge in combat. Although leveling Restoration can be slow due to magicka constraints, players can efficiently power-level it by creating and repeatedly casting custom high-magicka Restore Health spells. This makes Restoration not only crucial for survival but also a versatile skill that enhances overall gameplay effectiveness.

Besides healing potions, being able to use magic spells to restore your health is invaluable to surviving out in the wild. During battle, you can also fortify your different attributes like strength and speed to give you a boost in battle. Additionally, being able to cure yourself of status effects like paralysis and disease is really handy so you don’t, you know, die.

9. Destruction/Blade/Blunt/Marksman (various)

Destruction, Blade, Blunt, and Marksman are key offensive skills in Oblivion Remastered, each catering to different combat styles. Destruction focuses on magical attacks, allowing mages to unleash powerful elemental spells that scale with skill level. Blade and Blunt cover melee combat, with Blade specializing in swords and daggers, offering increased damage and effects like causing bleeding, while Blunt governs weapons like hammers and maces, providing strong close-range damage. Marksman is essential for archers, enhancing bow damage and granting abilities such as aiming down sights and paralyzing targets at higher levels. Choosing and leveling one of these skills is crucial to maintain offensive power as enemies scale with the player’s level.

Depending on your build, these skills will be your primary source of damage. Destruction (Magic) is for magic attacks, while Blade and Blunt (Combat) are for close combat weapons like swords and hammers. Marksman (Stealth) is for archers. Due to Oblivion Remastered’s level scaling, it’s vital to have one of these offensive skills so that your enemies don’t deal extra damage to you as you get stronger.

10. Illusion (Magic)

Illusion in Oblivion Remastered is a versatile magic skill that excels in crowd control and stealth support. It offers powerful spells such as Invisibility and Paralyze, which are invaluable for sneaking past enemies or immobilizing them to gain a tactical advantage. Illusion also includes Charm spells that can boost NPC disposition, making it easier to extract information without relying heavily on Speechcraft. Additionally, spells like Silence can neutralize enemy mages, while effects like Chameleon provide partial invisibility that allows interaction without breaking stealth. This skill complements various playstyles, from mages to thieves and warriors, by enhancing combat options and offering alternative ways to avoid or control fights.

This skill provides a bunch of different useful spells like Invisibility and Paralyze. The former lets you sneak around in the dark and synergizes well with the Sneak skill. Even if you’re invisible, enemies can still hear your footsteps, and a high Sneak skill mitigates that. Casting Paralyze can completely stop an enemy in its tracks, letting you unleash more damage or make a getaway. The Charm spell is helpful in getting information out of characters if your Speechcraft skill isn’t as high.

Which skills in Oblivion Remastered offer the biggest combat advantage

The skills in Oblivion Remastered that offer the biggest combat advantage are primarily Mysticism, Conjuration, Destruction, and Blade.

Mysticism is highly powerful due to abilities like Reflect Spell and Spell Absorption, allowing players to manipulate and negate enemy magic effectively.
Conjuration lets you summon powerful Daedra and bound weapons that do not scale with enemy difficulty, giving you a consistent advantage regardless of challenge level.
Destruction provides raw offensive power through elemental spells, making it the go-to for mages to deal massive damage and exploit elemental weaknesses.
Blade governs effectiveness with swords and daggers, increasing damage output and adding effects like bleeding and weapon durability, making it essential for close-quarters combat.

Other notable combat skills include Hand-to-Hand for unarmed combat with fatigue damage and disarming opponents, and Heavy Armor for improved protection in melee fights. Overall, the combination of these skills depends on your build, but focusing on Mysticism, Conjuration, Destruction, and Blade will provide the strongest combat edge in Oblivion Remastered.

Which overpowered skills like Mysticism and Conjuration give the biggest combat edge

The overpowered skills in Oblivion Remastered that provide the biggest combat edge, similar to Mysticism and Conjuration, are primarily Destruction and Mysticism alongside Conjuration.

Mysticism offers unique defensive and utility spells like Reflect Spell and Spell Absorption, which can turn enemy magic against them, making it extremely powerful in combat.
Conjuration allows summoning powerful Daedra and bound weapons that do not scale with enemy level, giving consistent combat advantage early and late game.
Destruction is the main offensive magic school, dealing elemental damage that exploits enemy weaknesses and can quickly dispatch foes, especially with spells like Disintegrate.

These three magic schools combined give a versatile and potent combat toolkit, enabling players to both protect themselves and deal massive damage efficiently. Builds focusing on these skills, especially with enhancements like spell focus and metamagic, are widely regarded as the most effective for dominating combat in Oblivion Remastered.