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The people there started whining about Oblivion before it even came out, and haven't stopped yet. The big complaint (because they had to look damned hard to find one) right now seems to be about Oblivion's level scaling arrangement.
Here's how it works. Monsters get stronger as you do. Not all of them, and not all at the same rate, but they do improve (in both competence and equipment), and stronger monsters show up as you grow higher in levels. The complaint here seems to be that this takes all the 'freedom' out of the game, because there aren't clearly marked zones of danger and safety for you to wander through...any place has a chance to be dangerous.
The unfortunate thing is, however, that this simply isn't true. Areas of relative safety are pretty much anywhere above ground. Yes, you may run into some animals or the occasional bandit, but they don't scale much, and you should be able to one or two hit kill all of them as you go up in levels. Also, the roads are often travelled by Imperial soldiers, who /will/ come to your aid if you're attacked in their sight. The next safest places tend to be caves. Just keep an eye out for what kinds of enemies are in a given cave, and prepare accordingly. Then there are forts, with typically tougher enemies with better loot, and then there are elven ruins, with traps of UTTER DOOM, strong enemies, and very nice loot. Finally, Oblivion gates are where you go when you want some serious doom and destruction.
Yes, quests continuously scale, so they will /always/ be a challenge. You'll never be able to waltz through the whole main quest the way you could in Morrowind. This is a feature, not a bug.
Bah.
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From: (Anonymous)
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And yeah I love the way it scales, It means you can get -good- equipment from random encounters and that when you find a quest later on it is not a boring walkthrough :)
Also I have a mansion now, so all is good :)
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...it is tiny, rundown, and HAUNTED, and I have to find the guy who sold this lemon to me and drag his sorry butt back to the basement, but it's a mansion.
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Heh it really is a great game.
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Heh I thought of that too :) there is something weirdly satisfying about owning your own place...
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What's really fun is sneaking. You can one-hit-kill just about /anything/ with a decent sneak attack. What's great is going through a whole line of enemies, killing each one before they can shout for help...
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He sucked up a sneak attack arrow, four flame balls, and then a few more frantic arrows and sword cuts before he backed me into a corner and ate my brains. I think I need to work on my power attack options or something, because so far combat has been a bit of an awkward clickfest.
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Also, be warned. It still has the Morrowind problem of, if you hit an ally in combat, they will do their best to kill you and cannot be calmed down. This makes me SAD. But, y'know.
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There are a few things I didn't like about Morrowind that I have a feeling I won't like in this game, too:
- guards & shopkeepers somehow automatically detect stolen goods
- being barred from entering a shop because of something I have in my pack
Small things, however.
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I have not had any problems with the guards and my stolen merchandise, so far, and I've been carrying one piece around for several towns and levels. Nor have I been barred for any stores (unlike that silly stuff that would happen with skooma and moon sugar) for something I'm carrying. It's just that you can /only/ sell stolen goods with a Thieves' Guild fence. Largely, I don't steal something unless I can use it...alchemical supplies, gold, or Really Cool items are fair game. Everything else, I leave alone.
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I'm not playing a very thiefly character this time, so I don't think I'll be stealing much anyway. I'm trying a bows 'n 'blades 'n things-that-go-boom character. The custom class options are fun. :D
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Heehee, yes! I love making things go BOOM.
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I really ought to drop the difficulty a touch, cause I put off going up 4! levels last night trying to finish clearing Kvatch. Not that it mattered, I had to level those up anyway to beat the mini-boss in the back of the castle. >_<
I hate boars. Actually, I hate just about everything but wolves and humans. Everything else sucks. :P :D
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Hee! I find that it's best to just go ahead and level up as soon as you can...I'd /swear/ that the monsters actually increase according to skill levels rather than actual levels.
Boars suck. I just got to the point where I could deal with those annoying little beasties. I'd rather face a friggin' bear.
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Actually, the numbers make a difference in the types of monsters. Like, 5 scamps and 1 fire atronach to 3 scamps and 3 full clanfears and maybe another atronach thrown in. I just know that if I went to 12 while clearing Kvatch it was a lot harder. Didn't matter cause the last thing you fight is a Daedroth (lvl 14 according to the hint book) so I had to go to 15 anyway to win. :)
The skills do change as you level too, possibly with your own skill level. I know I ran into a bandit who was able to parry after every sucessful block. I decided then that fireball was best to throw in his face if he was just gonna bash me with the shield again.
Bears, wolves soooooooo much better. Boars...gods I hate boars. XP