I just picked up my 360 with COD4, Dead Rising, the pack in games and the above. So far I have been most drawn to Oblivion just due to the massiveness of it all. However that is also the same reason I feel a little bit overwhelmed by as well. Do you guys have any tips for someone just starting out?

I have completed a few quests. I already closed the first Oblivion gate a little while ago. I joined the Mages Guild. I don't really know where to go to get in the Fighter's Guild. I guess I'll just list a few generic questions.

These may seem simple, but I have never played an Elder Scrolls game, and so I'm a bit confused on the play mechanics.

How do I learn new spells? I see the scrolls, but are those one time only casting things?
What's the easiest way to make money?
Is there a benefit to turning the difficulty slider up or down? I haven't adjusted it at all.
Why are there things like quills, yarn, mugs, and stuff that have no GP value? Do they serve a purpose or are they there just to flesh out the world?
I read some of those long books, and I'm guessing they are also there to flesh out the world. However some of them are 40 pages long. Is there a benefit to reading them? Do some of them have hidden clues about secret quests? I'm guessing yes, but are some of them just story?
Can you join every guild and become the head of every guild?
Can you eventually max out all your stats, or does your sign determine what can and cannot be maxed?
Is it better to walk around or warp? So far I have only been warping because I am having a really hard time getting my bearings about where to go and how to get there. The horse also seems like a pain to control, unless you go third-person view.

I'll post more as I go along in the game. Also a comment. Why is the fighting like that? It doesn't feel very tactile. It's frustrating when I'm trying to change my view and I accidentally click in the button and go third-person. I think this game blended with the Fable fighting system might have been more fun, but it's only a small complaint. The world is huge and ridiculously detailed. I am just hoping you guys can help me get the most out of the game.

-How do I learn new spells? I see the scrolls, but are those one time only casting things? - Scrolls are one-time use. You buy spells from mages guilds. The guild in each town will specialize in a certain type of magic (illusion, mysticism...)

-What's the easiest way to make money? - Loot random dungeons you find.

Is there a benefit to turning the difficulty slider up or down? I haven't adjusted it at all. - Not sure about this one. I always left it at the default.

Why are there things like quills, yarn, mugs, and stuff that have no GP value? Do they serve a purpose or are they there just to flesh out the world? - No purpose at all unless you want to sell them. Some foods can be used in alchemy I think.

I read some of those long books, and I'm guessing they are also there to flesh out the world. However some of them are 40 pages long. Is there a benefit to reading them? Do some of them have hidden clues about secret quests? I'm guessing yes, but are some of them just story? - No quests from books but some of them will boost one of your stats a point depending on what the book is.

Can you join every guild and become the head of every guild? - Yup

Can you eventually max out all your stats, or does your sign determine what can and cannot be maxed? - There's a level cap based off your character but i think you can max out all stats if you wanted to.

Is it better to walk around or warp? So far I have only been warping because I am having a really hard time getting my bearings about where to go and how to get there. The horse also seems like a pain to control, unless you go third-person view. - Depends on how you want to play. You'll find a bunch of random stuff by walking from place to place. Warping is, of course, faster though.

So basically money is very important? You learn a lot of stuff by training? I was trying to train in repairing my weapons, because they seem to take a lot of abuse. And training can get expensive the higher you go I'm assuming?

The first thing I would do is find out if the level up system has been fixed. I played on PC when it first came out and it was completely ass-backward and broken.

How would I even know?

Yes.

You might want to buy Strategy Guide book that will help you with your game.

IMO: money is only important early on (sub level 5-10), because once you advance, you'll have access to better weapons, armor, kit, etc. from looting enemies, even more so than what you generally find in chests and stores (apart from those unique items sold by individual shops).

Also, I think the level up system worked well. I played Morrowind (Xbox) before this one, and Oblivion has a much better level up system. You really don't have to mind how you level up or when, unless you want to max out your skills in the end. I did this, and it was definitely time-consuming/frustrating, but i love that sort of masochistic level grinding anyways.

Ultimately, I've become head of all guilds with maxed stats in most of the attributes and more than enough money to furnish my homes. And I still look forward to playing, even if to simply walk around, enjoy the scenery, and punch the occasional troll in the face.

I don't really like to use strategy guides. I only will look up Gamefaq's if I am absolutely stuck, and with so many different directions I doubt that will ever happen in this game.

Do you need money later in the game to continue training such as with repairing weapons? Does money simply naturally become easier to find later? There are so many aspects to the game such as alchemy, creating spells, and enchanting weapons that I don't even know what I'm doing in those areas. Do you learn it through the game, or is it more just figuring it out yourself. Maybe if the strategy guides are helpful with explaining those areas I will pick one up, but not if the game helps you.

You do not have to take any direction. Go in one town and talk with people and get some side missions that will improve your skills and money. Find any cave and old castle for looting. There is one side mission that are VERY, VERY valuable to whole your game: Infinite Lockpick.

Strategy Guide has lot of information on side missions that would be very helpful. You don't have to follow its guide on main mission (the one that you supposed to find King and close Oblivion gates).

Don't worry too much about spending money to train your skills. Your skills also get trained through use -- every time you swing a sword, you're training your swords skill. I wound up getting the overwhelming majority of my training through using skills rather than paying a trainer.

In terms of getting around the map, the easiest way to do that is to pick a quest you want to focus on, set that as your active quest, and then keep the green arrow centered in your compass.

Rather than doing that just buy a bunch of repair hammers. They will level you up quickly. Plus, you'll be repairing your stuff in the process.

Once you get to a certain point, money really won't be needed. You'll start finding everything you'll need in dungeons in terms of weapons and armor. And the stuff you don't use, you can just sell off so you'll have plenty of money when you do need it.

I didn't think of that. I thought it would be quicker to pay for training rather than buying a bunch of repair hammers. So really the training is optional? I can get to the master level in repairing just through practice? No one has to teach me? Then I have the skill of never breaking a repair hammer right?

That is correct. Training is just for skills that you don't want to level on your own. Or if you see that you're one away from hitting the next level and just want to get there quickly. I believe you can only train 5 times in each character level. So after 5 times you have to level up before you can train again. Morrowind didn't do this so, if you had the money, you could train from level 1 to 99 in one shot with a Master Trainer.

Also, pay attention to what skills you level up in each character level. When your characters reaches a new level, the skills will determine the multipliers you get.

Edit: All this talk about the game is making me want to play again. I need more downloadable content!!

I'm gonna be playing this game on my PC when I get back home, what mods would you guys recommend? I have a fairly beefy system so I wouldn't mind some mods that help it run and look better. Also, should I activate all the downloadable content right away or complete the game first? And, would it be better to complete the main quest before anything else, and then do all the side quests? Or would it be too difficult?

I played on 360 so I can help with mods at all.

All items (weapons and armor) and enemies level up with you so you can do anything in any particular order. I did most of the guilds before I even did the first mission for the story so when I got there I was fighting the hardest enemies in the game. I don't think there's any benefit to doing either the guilds or main quest first.

on the PC the mods are crazy cool...

weapons, armor, armor statues in your houses to display armor, you can put buffalo heads on the wall, too may to list and WAY cool...

with the Frostcrag Spire add on(PC only) you get that awesome house up on the spire... and a new store with 2500 gold max instead of 1200...

i may just get it on PC to get all the house, armor, weapons, mods and stuff...

but i played to a level 46 dunmer on PS3... finished the final quest after finishing every quest i could find and closing like 30 Oblivion gates... got the Dragon Armor... but my Daedric was so heavily blessed with strength and i had those boots with a constant 70 feather... so i carried 770 pounds and over 1100 with a feather spell i could repeatedly cast... or put on the head of the thieves guild cowl and was WAY over 1000 pounds with a spell cast...i didn't wear the dragon armor beacsue i still collect wepaons and armor and decorate all the tables and shelves in all the houses with all kinds of the stuff... it's everywhere...

i had a glass axe that absorbed 25 heath with each strike from a blessing with a transcendent sigil stone... so it had like 80 uses... and my health never went down in a fight as i was absorbing their health with each strike... they went down fast...

i regretting becoming the new listener of the dark brotherhood, and the head of the thieves guild, as everyone started with the "i used to think you were a holy knight and all, but you're a sleazebag" crap...

what a great game... one of the best...

to the OP...

you want to run everywhere and get those athletics up, and i know this sounds lame, but jump constantly to get your acrobatics up, and SNEAK A LOT to get that skill up... so sometimes run and jump all the way across the map only fight what you can't outrun... and sometimes sneak a long ways between cities... i even jumped around in caves on sneak mode...

without a doubt... hands down... the best info, and FAQ's, and hints, and direct answers to questions i ever got was at the official Oblivion forum on the Bethesda site... you don't have to register to read the guides and stuff...

A Link To Oblivion Forum...

Frostcrag spire (like all Bethesda-created add-ons) is available for the 360. It's only the user-created mods that are PC-exclusive.

you're positive?...

i thought i had hard info the smaller add ons were PC only is why i ask...

was it on GOTY edition or did you download separately?...

It was/is on 360. They made it available to download when it came out and is now part of the GOTY package.

Another new Oblivion player here, is there a limit to how many quests you can have at a time?

Does the game give you quests that are so far out of your league that you shouldn't even attempt them? There doesn't seem to be a suggested level for given quests.

Why should I buy a house?
Is there a preferred place to buy your house?

Should I wait for a quest to close a specific oblivion gate or can I close them as I come across them?

Alchemy is fun.

I did a melee character first go around, has anyone replayed as a caster/thief/assassin?

Nope. If you get stuck on a quest, or tired of it, view your current quests and pick one.

There are some quests that are for specific levels, the game will not let you play them if you aren't high enough. Other than those, the game changes as your level changes, so it's pretty fair.

I buy all of them. One is dirt cheap, and a quest.

You can pick or choose them.

Yep, and wait until you can see all four ingredient attributes, and even make a potion with only one ingredient

I think I tried just about everything possible, including custom classes. I'm currently running a thief-type guy and it's a blast. Just remember to try using all of the different types of spells.

~S2K

Buying a house is the only to store items. If you just kill someone and drop stuff in their house, it'll all disappear after a certain amount of game days. Items in your house will always stay there.

You can also store items in some of the DLC's that are available...Frostcrag Spire, Dunbarrow Cave, and the Vampire Hut (I forget it's name).

The Vampire cave is called Deepscorn Hollow. There's also the Dwarven Orrery and Battlehorn Castle.

Here's a list of all the official plug-ins:

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Official_Mods

All of them are downloadable on the 360. PS3 players are out of luck -- the only plug-in they have access to is the Knights of the Nine.

(Not counting Shivering Isles as a plug-in, since Bethesda differentiates between the other plug-ins and SI, which they classify as an expansion).

Since there's a bunch of experience floating through this thread, maybe I can hitch a ride?

I was stupid enough to store 30 or so of my Nirnroots in a random house chest, which of course disappeared after a couple of "weeks". Is there any way to get them back, e.g. they reappear where they were originally found/grew? Or am I now SOL in that quest for the potion...?

TIA