Lenny is rabidly awaiting Oblivion for PS3

That would be a great build, in fact I have a guy with only one magic skill and that is destruction the rest of his major skills are blade armor block ect. ect. whatever you want, but i would suggest always taking some kind of big boom magic.

I agree with wetwired though the enemy leveling is the same as you leveling. You only get like what? 10 hitpoints? if that a level and the enemies get to be in groups too. So in essence its like fighting four or five of yourself at the same level with the same level of skills.

Makes it more of a challenge, that way, though. And, therefore, more fun.

Oh yeah i almost forgot if you gonna be a warrior you need to decide straight off if your going to use shields or not because the claymore is far surperior to any weapon in terms of dmg and speed balance and also there is the Chronicle Blade which is a claymore that does 30 attack blocks dmg resistances and has a speed increase. That is the best blade in terms of swordfighters who fight with a big blade.

Haha. This means nothing to me. I suppose I've got 6 days to learn, though.

Is the Claymore two-handed? And is the Chronicle Blade two-handed?

Can one block with each blade, too, to save having to use a shield?

Yes, yes, and yes but block skill only helps with the shield so dont get it unless you want a one hander. Almost forgot if you like axes and hammers and maces OH MY! Then you want blunt weapons in which case you will need to Go for some of the Deadric Quests offered in the game because there is a mace a hammer and an axe OH MY! as rewards i think.

Haha. You're really trying to drown me, here.

I haven't a clue what I like and dislike yet. Even if I don't get the PS3 on Fridya (God forbid) I should at least get the HMV order with Oblivion, which means I'll have time to read the manual and see what's what.

I'm definitely going for something fiery, though. That's the way I like to play RPGs - throwing forth fire at everything. And since it's single player, I see it as a good idea to be able to destroy things that are in your face - no point being an uber mage and being able to smite enemies from 100 paces if they're counting your nostril hairs.

And of course I'm going to do the sidequests! Where a lot of my friends go off on the story mission and finish the game at Level 3, I'm nearly at the highest level before I'm a quarter of the way through, simply because I quest and explore.

Lol sounds like my level 50 Soldier at the end of the main quest. But yeah those sidequests are LUCRATIVE! even if its in item form you find some awesome shit. I found a book that just let me make some rigged ass armor, but youll learn about enchanting after reading the book. I personally have a thing for electricity, but yeah fire is my second favorite spell damage and it's easy to aim.

That interested me when I first heard about it - being able to learn how to do different things, like steal, alchemy, blacksmithery or what have you.

What's the system like for doing the different 'jobs'?

Locpicking is fun especially when you get the unbreakable lockpick from yet another sidequest and its completly necesscary to do most jobs so its another of my suggested skills. Security also helps Sneak in terms of pickpocketing I think.

Skills that you may want.

Security (this lets you own locks)
Sneak (this lets you steal or strike from the shadows and get a good
position for ranged combat)
Destruction (this covers all magic that damages enemies)
Athletics (this helps you move faster which means no one escapes)
Acrobatics ( this lets you jump higher)
those 5 are great skills for a Warrior-Mage if you really want defense then take an armor skill but i wouildnt take more than one type (ie light, heavy, or medium armor skill) and you can still have one left over for a weapon preference as a major skill then you can still use the other skills buit they dont let you level up when you raise them. BUT THEY ARE STILL USABLE AND UPGRADEABLE SKILLS! Bows are pretty nice too especially for someone who wants a lot of magic or likes blowing stuff up.

So how many different spells/skills/weapons can someone equip at any one time?

They are all constantly affecting everythging you may do but some have synergetic effects for certain actions. You can only get 7 Major Skills these are skills that increase more often, level you up, and are most likely your highest skills throughout the entire game and the first to max out at 100. Skills can only go as high as their governing attribute.

Ah, I see.

So if I want to be a stealthy magician who can rain fire down on your from 500 paces, run like the wind, and steal coins from everyone, I need to set that up at the start of the game? Or can the 7 major skills be changed?

Yup set that up at the beginning like take Sneak and Destruction then you cna go through them all steal their shit and when you get far, far away bring out the Immolation Blast spell and start firing and if you REALLY like the sneaky mage type i wouild go with a bow because when you get like Journeyman level you can scope in on the enemy from very far away and at master or something you can knock down opponents some of the time and paralyze plus if you take Alchemy you could make a poison that hurts them while they are paralyzed and then start nuking them for some serious ownage at far range.

Bows fall under Marksman skill and Alchemy is its own skill.

I see.

Talking about weapons... how many can you carry on your person? For example, I could have an axe equiped, and a staff and a bow in my backpack or something, or can I only have one weapon on my person at a time?

You have a weight limit (at least if you plan on moving), based on your strength. You can carry everything your heart desires, as long as it doesn't add up to your maximum encumberance or more.

Speaking of encumberance, it only prevents you from moving, and only while you're in control. So, when you're cleaning out that dungeon, take a feather spell or pots with you. As you clear it, take all the loot to the top and dump it just inside, carrying as much as you can and keeping only your gear on you. When you're done, give yourself feather for an encumberance boost, grab all you can carry, step outside, and fast travel to someplace you can sell your loot. Your feather effect will allow you to get there, no matter how far, as long as you fast travel there while it's still active. Be prepared to repeat at the other end, however, since it usually will have worn off. You still have to make several trips, but this way, you make fewer.

Man alive... Bethesda have thought of everything, it seems!

I have to say, I've never heard of a game where you actually slow down with the more you carry. That's pretty clever.

Are there places to store loot that you want to keep, but don't want to carry around with you all the time?

In Morrowind, you could just leave it whereever you like, except in containers (because some containers change content when you level up). In Oblivion, I don't know. I use the saddle bag mod, myself.

Hmmm... well if it turns out that I can just leave it anywhere then I'll leave it lying around houses or something. Not as if there are other players waiting to nick it.

I should note that you'll want to place it where there won't be NPCs wandering through, since Oblivion has a physics engine and your stuff may very well end up someplace other than where you left it. You'll also note that you want to jump over your rings of loot so as to avoid scattering them.

So much for getting it on Friday. It's been delayed... AGAIN!

So I've got until 20th April to learn more about it. Bah...