Oblivion:Gripes/Quests

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This article provides Quests gripes, as part of the Game Balance section of the Gripes article.

Most of quests are scripted in extremely linear way and there's no way to progress further without going through each step which often feel very optional. For example, physical clues in Chorrol castle are completely inactive until you finished talking with the last suspect. Guards won't acknowledge that you killed the fake vampire hunter until you talk with the wife of the hunter's victim.

Sometimes the journal reveals information you never gathered (say, because you silently assassinated an NPC who would give it to you before attacking you)

If it didn't you wouldn't be able to finish the quest.

The compass is almost equivalent to giving you godlike powers of knowledge. You somehow know exactly where the person you have to talk to next is, exactly where that lost dungeon is located, etc.... This is particularly absurd in the case of the Guild quests involving beggars: your compass simply tells you where every single one of them in the city is at all times. Information like this should show up only if you're given the location of a desired object by a NPC or physical clue. Ideally the rest of the game world should be structured to make some of the compass' information available through other means, like asking people where a dungeon or person might be found.

Mods are available that turn it off or remove the markers. Getting lost in Morrowind wasn't always fun; some of us prefer to get a certain quest done and then enjoy the game.

Beyond mods, there are actual, default file settings that turn them off-- The game comes with toggle-able data files that disable compass markers. Bethesda thought ahead on this one.

Then you have not played Morrowind. During a quest, you can get lost very easy getting an artifact or an item you want on a place. And you don't HAVE to use the compass to find a place, it's just there to help you. Just because it's there doesn't mean you HAVE to use it.

Okay, I'll just ignore the big bar that takes up the bottom of my screen. Bethseda should have made it toggle, or had NPCs describe where you had to go, rather than just marking its exact location on your map

You can avoid the arrows by selecting a different quest as your main quest. See other traveling tips here: [1]

A good one for this purpose is the infamous "I've got everything" arena quest. It's quest arrow never points anywhere meaningful and it never turns off (of course, you need to turn it on first).

Linear nature of quests can result in some very dumb scenarios. A Mages Guild quest asked me to visit Skingrad to get a book from the Count. I had recently completed another quest for him and was "friends" but I couldn't ask him about the quest directly. To progress the quest, I needed to arrange an appointment via an underling. Said appointment was scheduled for an odd place and time, but didn't seem unreasonable because I understood something of the Count's nature. When the Count did eventually turn up, he treated it like our first meeting and I was offered the helpful conversation topic of "Who are you?!", despite being well acquainted already and having just played a very important part in his life. Another example is a conflict between the Mages Guild quests, which eventually turn you into the Arch Mage, and a specific Thieves Guild quest that has you steal from the Arch Mage.

I think it should be mentioned that, concerning the conflict between the Mages Guild and Thieves Guild quests, it is very likely that the Thieves Guild is unaware that you are in fact the Arch Mage, and very obviously vice versa.

The freestyle "Sandbox" gameplay of Oblivion makes for some very surreal scenes in the game. For the majority of all quests in the game, there are no real time limits to complete them. For example; in one significant quest sequence while fighting in a burning city, you can conceivably walk out of the whole place, go to other cities and do other quest and come back several weeks/month (in game time) later and continue where you left off. All this time, your allies, the enemy and the burning city will be waiting patiently for your return. Dinner parties can last for several days on end, quest NPCs will ignore corpses in front of them, Bandits will wait dutifully in a cave with half of their numbers wiped out while you go to town to recharge your weapons or buy more lockpicks (no hurry - they will still be there forever).

Sure. It's not quite as realistic. But this is why Radiant AI is highly limited compared to earlier stages of development of the game. Simply because consistency is important. Sure, it might be nice to have people go off and do their own thing, react more to the environment and all that, but if that happened, what's to stop some random person from killing Ocato? Certainly there are some people who would kill people in the Imperial City. If they're strong enough, they could do it, and then where would we be? The game needs to be dynamic enough that it's somewhat realistic, without being so dynamic that it interferes with gameplay. You seem to be complaining that this game is a Sandbox. That's like complaining that you have to kill things in Doom, Halo, Quake, Half-life. If it weren't a sandbox, it wouldn't be Oblivion.

Maybe some of us enjoy playing God. The people a Bethesda convincingly created a world in which there should actually be few gripes. I mean come on! It's a video game dude. Show me a game with more freedom and structure[meaning the world does happen mildly without you] and then gripe about Oblivion.... geez.

While some of us enjoy playing God, there is no reason to not have a timer.

I can think of one: it would make the game much less fun if you had to complete each quest in a given time limit. It would mean that you could only realistically have one quest open at each given time; any more and you wouldn't be able to complete them all. Besides, what would happen if you didn't complete the quest inside the time limit? Would you be unable to ever redo it? If so, you could lose out on lots of valuable equipment, and entire quest lines could be uncompletable. I can understand that some things, like the eternally burning flames of Kvatch, or the oblivion gates that never quite stop burning, could get annoying, and yes, perhaps bethesda could have done something about that, but a timer would certainly not be the answer.

Ever play Dead Rising? Having to be places on time is never any fun. Yes, it's less realistic, but many aspects of reality aren't much fun.

There ARE Quests with a somewhat timelimit; e.g. "A Brotherhood Betrayed" in the city of Bruma sets you a counter of one day ingame time (after you've collected the evidence and the murder has fled) to get the bad guy.

Lots of quest items get permanently stuck in your inventory - items such as the Ring of Vipereye, the Filled Colossal Black Soul Gem, and many keys that lost their purpose once the quest has ended. All you have to do is attempt to drop these items and they will be forever lodged into your inventory creating a list of useless items to go through when looking for an item you have picked up or want to use/drop. We should be deemed responsible for losing quest items rather than being cursed with them forever. Alternatively, perhaps a dialog box might warn that the player is attempting to drop or use a quest item and confirm the action.

There is a mod available that is supposed to remedy the quest item issue. It can be found here: No Quest Items

I'm not even sure when, but I lost the Skeletal Hand (one of the only 'non-quest' essential items) required for the House in Anvil, and can never do that quest now. Quest items during quests is good, just not after.

You can use the console (unless you are using a non-pc version) setquestobject <id> 0 to make the item droppable.

Some quests may cause your characters facial features to change unwillingly. In the Quest "Cure for Vampirism" The potion itself causes your character to look dumbed with wide eyes a pudgy face and look obviously different from your own lovable creation. This only happens if you were a vampire and drank the potion. (But if you go to the stone in your estate from one of the updates that removes vampirism your character goes back to the way they were.) In this quest you help a man cure his wife of vampirism, but then she just dies regardless of what spells you use on her after she takes the potion. The real eye-sore is the fact that she was dieing of some sickness, even though becoming a vampire CURES any diseases you may have. The plot is ultimately flawed. The final part of the quest requires you to wait either a few hours or more then talk to the mans servant, she tells you she will go get him but then if you wait 1 hour she ends up back in the tomb were the woman is still at. You talk to her and she tells you to wait while she gets him. She doesn't, she just stands there and leaving you unable to finish the quest. (On a side note: Why does the cure for vampirism restore Heath, Fatigue and Magicka by 500? To me, that seems pointless. I have come to think that is why it messes with your character's appearance. Also, this is not the same quest that you do to cure your own vampirism.)

It seems that the Countess of Skingrad was dying because she refused to feed, and that she and her husband had been vampires for 50 years. When she was cured, she died of old age and physical weakness from being in a 50-year coma. Also, maybe you should leave the chamber. Don't complain because you came into a glitch that was your own fault. Also, it is the same quest as curing your own vampirism. Also, the need to feed on blood and being shrouded in eternal darkness would change your appearance too.

• • You can cure yourself of vampirism and get your original face back if you are wearing the Cowl of Nocturnal when you drink the potion

My character's face returned to normal after a while of playing (I'm using the PS3 version, if that makes any difference).

You can monopolize the entire power structure of Tamriel in Oblivion. You can become Fighters Guild Guildmaster, who can summon an army to rival every city watch in Cyrodiil combined. You can become Archmage, with authority over every wizard on the continent, not to mention the battlemages. By being the Gray Fox, the criminal underworld is your playground. Listener for the Dark Brotherhood? How about adding a few people on the weekly list who happen to dislike your policies? Grand Champion of the Arena? The people love you! Champion of Cyrodiil? The people will adore you! And with Intelligence, Personality, and Willpower at 100 or more, who says you don't have what it takes to make it big? With all those conditions met, certain people still treat you as an underling. notably when you have saved the world and everyone in it, and still you need to prove yourself in the Fighters Guild.

Oblivion reacts to what faction/guild you're in. So no matter what you do during the game, if you sell your soul to all factions most people will probably hate you. So if you join the Dark Brotherhood, usually most NPCs dislike you even if you save their town.

Welcome to real life, friend.

In real life, people get things for being awesome; honorary degrees from universities just for doing smart/good things, for example. It doesn't seem too far-fetched for the Fighters Guild to say, "Hey, you're the guy that saved the world from destruction, here's an honorary position in the Guild. If you ever want to work for us, we'd be glad to have you." And if and when you do go to work for them, they should treat you like you know what you're doing, which you do, because you're the guy that killed a lot of daedra to save the world.

You can't expect the game developers to anticipate EVERY possible scenario.

They don't have to anticipate every scenario; they just should have put little checks in the dialogue to make sure that Modryn Oreyn, Burz gro-Kash and Azzan don't treat the player like dirt if he's the Champion of Cyrodiil. They did it for the Prophet in the Knights of the Nine, so it's obviously not impossible.

Or the fact that, even though you are the Archmage, the battlemages in the Arcane University still say "You must be the newest addition to the guild".

You may be the Archmage, but you ARE still likely the newest addition to the guild. Who else has gone around collecting recommendations?

"Guild." Not "University." You don't have to go around collecting recommendations to get in the guild, rather in the University; therefore the battlemages' quote is very likely wrong.

Actually, the original griper got the quote wrong. They actually say, "You must be the Arcane University's newest addition. This humble battlemage bids you welcome."

Well, not really, actually. Membership in the university IS membership in the guild. Sure, you're a member of the faction as soon as you talk to the right people, but you're still liminal. Not yet in the guild, but no longer just a random person to them. You'll notice that the "Join the Mages Guild" quest ends when you get all your recommendations, not when you talk to the person in the guild hall.

Despite being at the top of the Fighter's Guild and Dark Brotherhood, I was unable to mobilize troops to help fight the daedra. I didn't want much, maybe five assassins, or a little deployment of orcs with claymores.

This is why you need a second-in-command to babysit you. These are guilds, not armies. Particularly in your example of the dark brotherhood, these are cold and calculating assassins, not particularly inclined to fight fairly in open battle; making gathering in force pointless. Not to mention that they might be opposed to the idea of dying in the defense of a government which has outlawed their organization. You might have a valid argument in the Fighter's Guild, but they would still want money for their services. They are, after all, soldiers for hire.

The dark brotherhood, could wear Chameleon enchanted stuff, or use bows from the nearby hills(at least I'm pretty sure there were nearby hills), and I'm pretty sure most would understand that Dagon would do far worse than the empire, also, they were not all cold, calculating assasins, witness Gogron.

The Fighters' Guild would want payment for saving their own skins, as they probably would have been enslaved had Dagon succeeded in his conquering of Tamriel? What about the Mages' Guild? There's well over a batallion of experienced Mages and Apprentices in the Arcane University, not to mention the Guild halls scattered all over Cyrodiil. Better yet, where's the Knights of the Nine? Wouldn't they mobilize at the command of the Divine Crusader, leader of their Order?

They do. Just not all at once. There needs to be people to guard the home front, even in times of war. The entire army of the U.S. never gets sent to another country at once. This is just on a much smaller scale.

The mod Companion Recruit And Share lets you hire fellow guild members to act as companions, it needs OBSE, though.

Regarding: "Not to mention that they might be opposed to the idea of dying in the defense of a government which has outlawed their organization." Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think they where the ones who helped some king to get crowned in the first place (Uriel Septim I) so I think they're actually the king/prince so they're not really helping the ones that has outlawed them.

The Dark Brotherhood are not an officially sanctioned organization, no matter what they did in the past. They aren't a part of the government; if they were, they'd get official contracts to execute people, rather than slinking around in the dark, hoping to not get caught, and living under an abandoned house in Cheydinhal.

The Devil is in the Details Usually, I don't care about the linear nature of some parts the game, but the third Dark Brotherhood quest you receive from Vicente Valtieri is ridiculous. In the quest, you must return to the prison to kill Valen Dreth, the prisoner who taunted you in the start of the game. Vicente gives you a key to the sewer grating so you may enter the same way you left. "That's stupid" I thought, "I might as well just pick the door (although it requires a key) to the prison and walk on in. Easy peasy." Yeah, except NONE OF THAT WORKS. See, if you walk into the Imperial Bastion, you can easily pickpocket the Prison Keeper for the key, walk over to the door and open it, but ONLY if you do not have this quest. I attempted this method, and when I had the prison key in hand, I tried opening the door, only to receive a "This lock requires a key." I tried dropping the key and picking it back up, but to no avail. The best part of the Dark Brotherhood/Thieves Guild quests, are that you have the freedom to go about them however you want. Want to go covert and not alert any guards? Go for it. Want to walk in there bows blazing and murder every single soul until you get to your target? Why not. So, why the hell can I not just open the friggin' door, walk in, blast him, and be done with it? Why make me wade through miles of arbitrary sewer tunnels and avoid guards (that ended up glitching and never leaving Dreth's side) when I could do it so much easier my way? It just don't make no sense I tells ya!

Actually, you can tell the warden(?) that you wish to visit a prisoner, then sneak past him when he opens the door. At which point Dreth can be eliminated with little to no fuss. Creativity is important in these kinds of games.

If I remember, the prison has 2 different sides, and you can only 'visit' the side that you are not in. This allows you to have a 'conversation' with the guy who commissioned Valen Dreth's death in the first place.

In the Fighters' Guild storyline, you have to engage in combat in order to finish most quests. In the Thieves' Guild, you have to sneak and steal in order to progress. In the Dark Brotherhood, you have to end peoples' lives in order to advance the story. But in the Mages Guild, the only moment you are ever required to actually cast a magic spell is at the Pillar of Vahtacen. Every other quest in the Mages Guild can be accomplished without the use of any magic whatsoever. You do not need to use magic to complete any of the Recommendation quests, which defeats the purpose of a program designed to keep the magically inept out of the University.

I don't really think the Mage's Guild is lookig for arcane ability (which can come with time) as much as a certain psyche. Any idiot can stand around casting Flare until he became a Master of Destruction, but that wouldn't mean he had the capacity to function in the guild proper. Instead, people like the flame-shooting master idiot remains a respected Associate, but will not threaten the integrity of the greater part of the guild. Those that join up but are neither magically nor intellectually up to par just become local guild managers, where they do the least damage. On a similar note, it is possible to use magic alone to complete the Fighters Guild quest line. The mage guild quests, like almost all guild quests, are for the advancement of the guild, not the character. (if anyone can condense this, please do so)

There were too few factions to join. In Morrowind you had, Fighter's guild, Mage's guild, Thieves guild, Imperial Legion, Imperial Cult, House Hlaalu, House Redoran, House Telvanni, Tribunal Temple, Morag Tong, Blades, and the three Vampire cults. It needed a lot more faction quests. Also interaction between the factions is needed, so you can't become the head of everything in the game. Power struggles between guilds, assassinations of High ranking faction members, that sort of thing.

There are alot of factions to join, theres the Fighters guild, Mages guild, Dark Brotherhood, Arena, Thieves guild, Blackwood company, The blades, Knights of the nine, Knights of the thorn, Knights of the white stallion, Mythic Dawn, Nine Divines, Order of the dragons,and The Order of the Virtuous Blood. Theres a whole life out there waiting for you to explore, Im sure most of the guilds i listed are minor, but the Other Morrowind guilds were also a little to minor in the quests, And to remind you Oblivion is Single-Player Fantasy game you were meant to roleplay.

on the other hand, the only guilds you can actually do anything in are the Dark Brotherhood, Knights of the nine, Theives Guild, Mages guild, The Arena, and the Fighter's Guild, Joining The Mythic Dawn and Blackwood Company was pure Espionage, you had no real option of being loyal to them, I don't know where you could join the Nine Divines, As I don't recall ever being worshipped as a god, unless you count becoming Sheogorath, but he isn't one of the Nine, he's a Daedra, and therefore far more awesome, and the rest are just honorary memberships that don't actually give you anything fun to do.

Nine Divines was the faction that you join for making the pilgrimage. With KOTN installed, it shows up on the list immediately before "Knights of the Nine" and says "Nine Divines" with the rank of "Pilgrim".

The point remains though, no faction aside from the 5 main ones added much of anything to the game, you didn't have the option of becoming grandmaster of the blades or anything... By the way the Blades could have been a wonderful alternative to the Dark Brotherhood for Non-evil PCs, I mean they are spies, after all, but no, I can't advance in the blades at all...

The Dark Brotherhood questline forces players to go about their macabre business in a sneaky manner. Sure, quests can be finished in a way Gogron would like, but some of the most interesting things (the unique items specifically) require you to sneak around to get to and kill your targets. This play style should not be forced upon players. But then maybe Gogron was close to right by stating that the freedom to slaughter people is to be valued more than some magical trinkets. Nonetheless, bonuses for using a developer-imposed style of playing a game like this one is a bad idea.

Join the Fighters' Guild if you want rewards for overt slaughter. The Dark Brotherhood is, very explicitly, a brotherhood of assassins, and the best assassins tend to do their work covertly. The game actually rewards you for utilizing stealth, it does not punish you.

I think that the quest, A Plot Revealed is pretty stupid. How could an army of necromancers, the king of worms and half a dozen wraiths walk through the gates of bruma and into the mages guild? The guards would have done something to stop them. Even if the necromancers teleported then the guards would have reacted to the state of the guild. Much like Kvatch should have been, the guild should get repaired at the end of the Mages Guild questline (without having to use any mods). Anyone else think the same?

*ahem* I would think there would be more like 4 Necromancers, and they wouldn't have summoned the Wraiths until they entered the guild, and they may have cast some sort of spell to prevent everyone outside from hearing what's in the Guildhall. But I do agree that the Guildhall, and Kvatch should have been restored.

When Caught in the Hunt sent me to Fort Grief, I had absolutely no idea that I would actually get locked inside, resulting in an extremely inconvenient series of dreadful events. I managed to make it out of the fort barely alive with only nine points of strength left, my potion supply completely exhausted, and the massive amount of loot (including over 20 nirnroots) I was carrying scattered due to my decreasing carrying capacity, which went from 320 down to 45. Of course, I do enjoy wiggling my way out of tight spots such as this, but I'd like a forewarning before a quest like Caught in the Hunt traps me inside a certain area for a while.

There was a very similar thing going on with the chalice of reversal quest. Its intended to be a surprise that it would happen in such a way. A forewarning would ruin the entire thing. A better idea would be a chest to store things into but there technically was one if i remember correctly.

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