Two gladiators in Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Best Mods for Elder Scrolls: Oblivion

Brad Lang

Published: Nov 19, 2023 11:45 am

While Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is regarded as one of the best games ever, there’s no denying it hasn’t aged well. If you want to head to the lands of Tamriel, then you might want to consider installing some mods. Here are the best mods for Elder Scrolls: Oblivion.

Unofficial Oblivion Patch

Straight off the bat, let’s install what many consider the most essential mod for Oblivion. The Unofficial Oblivion Patch is exactly what it sounds like – an update to the game that fixes thousands of issues. Everything from graphical bugs, wonky animations, and potential game-breaking glitches are all addressed with the UOP. The creators of the mod have dedicated an extraordinary amount of time to fixing many of Oblivion‘s issues, even requesting that players report any bug not addressed by the UOP so that they can fix it.

It’s rare to see this kind of dedication to a game nearly two decades after its release, but bless QuarnAndKivan for their hard work. Not only will UOP ensure that Oblivion runs smoothly on modern machines, something that can be frustratingly difficult, but it allows players to experience the version of the game as it should have been released all those years. There’s also an Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch to fix up the problems with the expansions, and it’s just as effective!

Better Cities

Back in 2006, many players were enamored by Oblivion‘s cityscapes. Bustling with NPCs and idle chatter, they were the star of the whole game. Nowadays, they’re quaint at best and downright ugly at worst. That’s where the Better Cities mod comes in handy, as it adds new buildings, dialogue, quests, and characters that populate the built-up areas of Cyrodiil. You can also pick and choose which cities you’d like to upgrade by installing mods for each individual location. Or just go the whole hog and enhance them all!

It’s arguable that the Better Cities mod is an essential tweak to the game, but frankly, after installing it, you’re unlikely to ever go back. Walking around the Waterfront without the graveyard, church, and piles of litter scattered about the places somehow doesn’t feel right. Why go back to the old when the new is just so damn good? Seriously, the pond and waterfall in Bruma are more than enough to justify installing this mod whenever you boot up a fresh game.

Alternative Start: Arrive By Ship

It may be fun to kick off your first Oblivion playthrough by listening to the dulcet sound of Patrick Stewart’s Emperor, but having to do that every time you begin a new game is old. The tutorial is long-winded and unnecessary, so if you’d prefer to simply skip over it and get to the actual game, you should download the Alternative Start: Arrive By Ship mod. This changes the beginning of Oblivion to have players, well, arrive in Cyrodiil by ship. Character generation is conducted through immigration forms as you specify what kind of person you’ll be in your new homeland.

All the various character customization options are present, as well as a few additional extras to make things a little more thematic. You’ll be able to select Social Status, Financial Status, and even specify at which port you’d like to arrive. Not only does it skip the tutorial, but it also provides an intro that’s incredibly reminiscent of Morrowind, which is always a plus for Elder Scrolls fans.

DarNified UI

Elder Scrolls: Oblivion‘s textures aren’t just ugly – the issue of looks also extends to the game’s user interface. Designed with consoles in mind, given that it was a major title for the Xbox 360 at launch, many of the menus are poorly optimized for PC or downright frustrating. The DarNified UI mod overhauls every menu in the game, allowing players with a monitor to actually scroll through the list effectively and browse the map with ease.

DarNified UI is also just a godsend in terms of accessibility, as it allows players to customize the user interface to best suit their needs. The ability to change the size of subtitles and the archaic font helps make the game playable for those who may battle to read some of the denser diary entries. It may not be the most intense overhaul, like Better Cities, but frankly, it’s just as essential to getting the most out of Oblivion‘s PC build.

Maskar’s Oblivion Overhaul

Speaking about intense improvements, Maskar’s Oblivion Overhaul is one of the most comprehensive mods you could possibly install for Elder Scrolls: Oblivion. It introduces a wealth of new options to bring the classic RPG up to the standard of modern games. Additions include an in-depth crafting system to help with all the random loot you’ve no doubt acquired, random encounters to add extra challenge to exploration, and even notice boards with dynamic quests.

You think I’m done listing some of the fantastic additions in Maskar’s Oblivion Overhaul? How about an animal-taming mechanic, a configurable leveling system, the ability to break open locks that you can’t pick, and several major visual enhancements for loot, creatures, and NPCs? The amount of content housed within this mod is genuinely outlandish, and once you’ve got the MOO installed, I doubt you’ll ever uninstall it.

Oblivion Character Overhaul

Even back in 2006, the character models of Oblivion were considered to be ROUGH. They all look like melted plastic dolls or awkward animatronics, and while you’ll likely not be spending too much time looking at your hero, it’s still a shock to see their ugly mug when you open your inventory. Enter the Oblivion Character Overhaul, which has a fairly obvious function based on its name. It’ll make every character in the game significantly more appealing to look at.

A slew of new textures and feature shapes take the character creator to the next level. Again, it’s less of an essential mod, but it’s an excellent way to take your Elder Scrolls: Oblivion experience to the next level. It’s worth having just for the fact that you’ll need to deal with the crash-zoom on NPCs’ faces all the time. Let me tell you, those dudes are hideous.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

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Author

Brad Lang

Brad Lang has spent so much of his life playing video games that at some point, it almost became a given that he would eventually turn all those hours into a job. He has a Masters degree in Creative Writing, an adorable black cat named Nemesis (Yes, from Resident Evil) and was once attacked by a fruit bat for no apparent reason.