Humans love to tinker. We look at something and immediately think to ourselves: “Yeah, this is pretty good. But it could be even better if…” It’s that constant need to modify our surroundings that spills over into every aspect of our lives – from scientific progress, all the way to our hobbies. Gaming, of course, is no exception.
For many gamers, mods (short for “modifications”) are a huge part of their gaming experience. So much so, that some games have become synonymous with their modding capabilities. Oblivion, the fourth entry in the award-winning Elder Scrolls series, is definitely one such game.
There are thousands of Oblivion mods out there. The modding scene is very much still active – thriving, in fact – so new mods are continuously being released and older ones are routinely updated with new and better content. The sheer amount of mods in existence can make it difficult to know which ones are actually worth a download. But not to worry, we’re here to help out with this list of the best Oblivion mods.
One more thing that (some of us) love about Oblivion is that you can run it on high-settings with a high-quality $500 gaming PC. Yay for old games!
You Might Also Like: Star Wars: Battlefront II Best Class
First Things First
For the purposes of this guide, I’m going to assume you’re using the Game of the Year Edition Deluxe. This version comes with all the downloadable content (DLC) that was released for the game – from the highly-acclaimed Shivering Isles expansion to the much-derided Horse Armor Pack. Also, it would be awesome if you knew something about Elder Scrolls timeline as well.
If you haven’t purchased Oblivion yet, you can get it on Steam, or on GOG if you prefer your games DRM-free. It often goes on sale and is one of those games that can be played and replayed for dozens of hours, so it’s definitely worth the 20 bucks.
As previously mentioned, there are more Oblivion mods than there are stars in the sky. No, seriously, that isn’t some corny metaphor – Nexus Mods, the site hosting these mods, has over 29.000 modifications of all types listed for Oblivion. I recommend you make an account there to track which mods have gotten an update and to install the Oblivion Mod Manager if you are planning to have a lot of mods running at once.
Some mods are practically necessary, some are simply fun little additions, some are plain awful, and some are… well… straight-up porn. Still, a select few are so well-made, so expertly and organically integrated into the game, that you’ll be hard-pressed to go back to playing the vanilla (unmodded) version of Oblivion after trying them out.
Several base types of mods exist – unofficial patches, total conversions, overhauls, art/sound asset replacers, mods that add or change quests, NPCs, shops, factions, etc. We’ll be covering only the very best ones; the ones that are bug-free, with high production values, and of all-around exemplary quality.
#1 Unofficial Oblivion Patch
- Mod Type: Unofficial Patch
- File Size: 149.7 MB
If you could install just one mod – this would be the one you’d want. Even gamers who otherwise like to play their games without any mods agree that bug fixes are a good thing. Bethesda has a less-than-stellar record when it comes to squishing bugs in their games – they’re firm believers in the “It’s not a bug, it’s a feature!” software design philosophy.
After a few patches that address most of the major, crash-to-desktop, and main-quest-bugs-out-so-you-can’t-finish-the-game issues, they leave the rest of the problems for enthusiastic fans to take care of. Unfortunately for us, modders have gotten pretty adept at identifying problems in Bethesda’s code, so the Unofficial Oblivion Patch solves over 2.500 bugs both big and small leftover after the final (official) patch – v1.2.416.
This patch covers just the base game. For a completely bug-free experience, you will also need to download the Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch (which, naturally, takes care of the bugs in the Shivering Isles expansion) and the Unofficial Oblivion DLC Patches (the rest of the DLCs). All of these were developed by the same bug-fixin’ team, so the quality – and compatibility – is consistent throughout.
#2 DarNified UI
- Mod Type: User Interface
- File Size: 10.8 MB
One of the bigger problems of post-Morrowind Bethesda’s games – at least from a PC gamer’s perspective – is their unwieldy User Interface (UI). Because Oblivion was developed for both the PC and the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles, the interface had to be streamlined in such a way that all three gaming systems could play it equally. But what – by necessity – works well enough on a gamepad, isn’t as functional on a mouse + keyboard combo.
Upon release, PC gamers felt frustrated with the poor design of Oblivion’s interface – it took a lot of superfluous clicks to navigate your inventory and character screens, and the design was generally lacking in elegance and utility. This mod takes a holistic approach to UI design – the font is replaced with a nicer, more legible one, the menus can be scaled, and the HUD (heads-up display) is noticeably more informative and user-friendly.
The effect is immediately noticeable – everything feels smoother, the gameplay cleaner, not as cumbersome. Like the Unofficial Patch, this is another mod that just about any player, even if they are purists who dislike modding their games, can – and should – use. The difference in convenience between this and the vanilla design is simply astonishing, and making use of a practical user interface such as this one will save you a lot of hassle.
#3 Alternative Start Arrive by Ship
- Mod Type: Gameplay Change
- File Size: 39 KB
Every TES player will agree – the start of these games is by far the weakest and most repetitive part, especially if you often replay from the beginning. Oblivion is no different, the opening sequence is drawn out and by the nth time you’ve played through the entire tutorial dungeon, you’ll wish to clobber the Emperor yourself.
Luckily, there exists a mod that replaces this monotonous introduction with some much-needed variety. Instead of starting the game from inside a prison cell, you will arrive at Cyrodiil aboard a ship.
Though this does somewhat break the tradition of having post-Daggerfall TES games feature a protagonist who has been accused (maybe unjustly) of an unspecified crime, it provides the player with a greatly expanded range of role-playing options to really define their character and make them unique. This is also an excellent choice for players who don’t want to play as a criminal.
The Alternative Start Arrive by Ship mod presents your choices in a sort of immigration form that serves as character creation, where you will be able to specify your background (down on his luck noble, wealthy merchant, warrior, academic, etc.), your financial situation (how much gold and with what items do you start the game with), and in which harbor you will begin the game in earnest.
Some of these options are overpowered and can seriously unbalance the game, but it is all up to you – do you want to roleplay, or be rich and powerful right from the start. The choice is yours.
#4 Better Cities
- Mod Type: Mod Compilation
- File Size: 24 MB
Compared to the settlements in Morrowind, the towns in Oblivion can sometimes appear too alike and non-distinct. This ultimately boils down to the scope of artistic design between the two. Morrowind was visually tailored to evoke feelings of unease and danger, with its outlandish landscapes and alien flora and fauna.
On the other hand, Oblivion was crafted to appeal to a wider range of gamers, with a somewhat generic “stock medieval Europe-inspired” look. Better Cities is a compilation of several mods that aims to rectify this – by expanding Oblivion’s towns, giving them a redesigned look, placing more buildings, and even new NPCs with their own questlines. All of these have been made to be as lore-friendly as possible.
Since this is a modular compilation, you can mix and match which cities you would like to include and which ones you like just the way they are. In production for over a decade, this is one of those mods that is still being continuously worked on by modders, with new content still being added.
#5 Oblivion Character Overhaul
- Mod Type: Art Replacer
- File Size: 172 MB
When Oblivion was first released, the gaming industry was in an interesting place, graphics-wise. 3D graphics had evolved and finally reached a point where practically anything could be made, but this was still bogged down with hardware limitations (especially on consoles), and an overabundance of bloom effects and drab colors. The (even then) aging Gamebryo engine that powers Oblivion certainly did little to help matters.
Out of all the aspects of Oblivion’s graphics that could stand to be improved, faces are the most glaringly obvious choice. NPCs have an unnerving plasticity to them, a real Uncanny Valley look that, even at the time, was considered aesthetically off. The Oblivion Character Overhaul (OCO) offers a unified and consistent design that’s applied to all the characters in the game – from PC character creation to NPCs alike.
Characters – of all races – now have facial features which are symmetrical and pleasant to look at, while still being easily identifiable as denizens of the fantastical world of The Elder Scrolls. The effect is very close to how characters look in Skyrim, with the same expressive eyes and detailed skin (or scales and fur).
#6 Kvatch Rebuilt
- Mod Type: Quest Mod
- File Size: 126.3 MB
The Battle of Kvatch was, without a doubt, one of the most memorable parts of Oblivion. After the near-disastrous battle with the forces of Mehrunes Dagon, the city was left in flames and ruin. Many players were left with a deep desire to somehow help the city restore its former glory.
Kvatch Rebuilt is a mod that lets you do just that – rebuild the city from the ground up, bigger and better than ever before. It’s divided into phases that span the course of several weeks, with numerous added quests, new dungeons, and even a companion.
The mod feels very natural, like something that could have easily been in the game from the very beginning. There are a lot of things to do and discover in Kvatch now, from the catacombs beneath the city, to the Arena, all the way to becoming the Count of the city, or finding and reinstating the rightful heir to the throne. If you like mods that add lengthy quests with well-thought-out content that’s naturally integrated into the game, give Kvatch Rebuilt a try.
#7 Nehrim
- Mod Type: Total Conversion
- File Size: 1.62 GB
A Total Conversion is a type of mod that uses the base game as the foundation in order to make something completely different. Total Conversions can sometimes even be entirely new genres than the game they’re based on. Nehrim is an award-winning TC that completely overhauls almost everything about Oblivion. It takes place on an entirely new, original world in an area that’s roughly the size of Cyrodiil.
But because everything in Nehrim was custom-built and placed by hand instead of procedurally generated, the world of Nehrim is much more tightly designed, teeming with content and secrets to discover at every turn. But the biggest difference between the two is how the skill system works. In Oblivion, you advance skills by using them – swing that sword enough times at an enemy and your blade skill goes up.
Nehrim does away with this and instead uses a system where you gain skill points by defeating enemies and solving quests. Just like in the Gothic series of video games, you can then use these points to train with a teacher who will help you improve your skills. If Nehrim had one flaw, it would be that it will expose all the shortcomings of Oblivion’s world and quest design and showcase how drastically they can be improved upon with effort and forethought.
#8 Companion Vilja
- Mod Type: Companion Mod
- File Size: 354.3 MB
Even though Oblivion is mostly a single-character game, you can have other characters that will follow you around and aid you in combat. This system was greatly expanded on in Skyrim. Adventuring is a lonely business, so some of the most popular mods out there are companion ones.
These mods feature fully fleshed-out characters that will join you, help you carry stuff, occasionally chime in with their comments, have their own quests and agendas. Vilja elevates the concept of the companion mod to a whole new level. A favorite mod of the late great Discworld architect Terry Pratchett, Vilja even has some of her lines written and features suggested by the author himself.
A young Nord alchemist on a quest of her own, Vilja will tag along and offer you her insights – whether you asked for them or not – on a variety of different topics, events, people, places, and quests. Besides forming a bond of friendship with the PC, she is also a potential romance option. The romance itself is very tame, so don’t expect any R-rated content.
#9 Sounds of Cyrodiil
- Mod Type: Sound Replacer
- File Size: 113.4 MB
After playing Oblivion for a long time, you will have literally heard it all – every sound effect, background banter, over and over and over again. The game does have a lot of sound effects, but they lack in variety.
What the Sounds of Cyrodiil does to tackle this problem is to add more than 250 different sound effects all across the game. No longer will the game be silent and repetitive, every part, from cities to dungeons and the wilderness, have their own particular sounds.
You will be able to identify the monsters that are prowling an area just by hearing their far off wailing and growling, NPCs will chat, laugh, and bicker, and different sounds will emit depending on the type of region you are in – a beach sounds different than the top of a mountain.
If sounds are an important part of your gaming experience, the Sounds of Cyrodiil mod is a must-have – play it with a quality pair of headphones and marvel at the diversity and impact audio can have on a game.
#10 Midas Magic Spells of Aurum
- Mod Type: Gameplay Change
- File Size: 67.7 MB
A mod for those of us who prefer playing a mage instead of going the default route and eventually becoming a stealth archer. A mage in TES games is always starved of two things: Magicka and new spells. This mod brings out the true power and versatility that magic-users have, expanding upon the base system by including over 290 brand-new spells with different spell effects and types, such as magical beams and projectiles.
It all starts with the Vendor Midas, whose shop is in the Arcane University Court Yard. There, you will be able to obtain these spells, which, similarly to magic systems found in some other games, initially require you to fulfill certain criteria before you can cast them – such as gathering raw spell components that power them.
This turns the game into a fun scavenger hunt – the prerequisite to being a wizard of great and terrible power is no longer just a matter of available coin, now you will have to earn those abilities by setting off into the world and exploring it. Of course, many of these spells are extremely overpowered, but Oblivion – in typical TES fashion – never was the most balanced game, to begin with, so this can easily be excused.
Conclusion
Oblivion is a game that is still fondly played today, a full thirteen years after it was first released. A big part of that enduring appeal is the modding scene which was built around it. There is quite literally a mod for everyone – you can mod Oblivion to be virtually unrecognizable, or you can include just a few low-key additions.
No matter where your tastes may lie, these best oblivion mods are ranked as high as they are for a good reason – they take an already great RPG and transform it into a truly fantastic one.
If you’re drawn to modding here are some other well-known mods to try:
- Rimworld mods
- Morrowind mods
- Skyrim mods
- Sims 4 mods
- Terraria mods
- EU4 Mods
- XCOM 2 mods
- Hearts of Iron 4 Mods