In thisOblivion RemasteredGuide, we will be taking a look at ways to set up a build that is a powerful melee fighter utilizing a variety of supportive spells, thePaladin Class.
Oblivion Remastered Guide — Paladin BuildIntroduction
Paladin buildis designed to help make your character feel like the chosen, favoured champion of the gods, without the need to fear failure in your endeavors or defeat in the fight against the demonic invasion of Oblivion.
If you’re looking for a build that helps you charge headfirst into danger without fear against the forces of Oblivion, this build will enable you to become the stalwart defender of Cyrodiil.
Character Creation
When creating a character for thePaladin build, you can choose from a few options amongst the 10 races available in Oblivion.
The first option is theBretonrace. Although the Bretons are generally favoured toward spellcasting classes due to the+10 in Intelligence and Willpower,the+50 extra Magickaalso comes in very handy when building a Paladin class, as this will allow you to cast more spells during combat encounters.
From the two origins available, theSystres Bretonsare a better option for the build because theydo not have a -10 reduction in Strength.Even though Bretons have lower starting combat skill levels, the higher starting levels of magic skills will help unlock more spell options earlier in your playthrough.
Another advantage of this race is that they have an innate50% resistance to magic, which will help a lot when dealing with spellcasting enemies.
If you are looking for a more combat-oriented approach and want to be less reliant on spells, theNordrace is a good option.The NordsofWestern originhave a+10 bonus to Endurance and Strength,which helps with melee damage, but they suffer a-10 reduction to Intelligence and Willpower, negatively affecting their spellcasting abilities, in addition to a-10 reduction to Personality.
TheEastern origin Nordshave only a+10 bonus to Strength, but also fewer reductions—only-10 to Intelligence and Personality.
Nordsstart with15 skill levelsin bothBlade and Blunt,and also inHeavy Armor,allowing you to perform better in physical combat early on. Nords also havenatural resistance to cold, higher stamina, and increased maximum health, making them one of the tankiest races in the game.
Another good option for a combat-oriented build is theRedguardrace, offering similar attribute bonuses to Nords but differ in starting skill levels.
Those from theDragontail Mountainsgain a +10 Strength bonus, while those from theAlik’r Desertdo not.
Although both start with 15 skill levels inBlade and Blunt, Redguards have10 in Heavy Armorand15 in Athletics, allowing you to sprint for longer durations.
The differences in starting skills are minimal in terms of overall build effectiveness, butRedguardsalso havehigher resistance to disease and poison.
Birthsigns
When choosing aBirthsign, there are several good options depending on which aspect of the build you want to focus on. For aPaladin buildbalanced between combat and spellcasting,The Ladyis a solid choice as it offers+10 to Willpower and Endurance, improving bothMagickaandHealth regeneration.
If you want to lean more toward spellcasting, you can chooseThe Mage, which increases your Magicka by 50 points with no downsides.
AlthoughThe Apprenticegrants+100 Magicka,it also makes you 100% more vulnerable to magic. This tradeoff is generally not worth it for a close-rangePaladin build.
If you’re looking for a melee-oriented approach,The Warrioris a solid choice as it grants +10 to Endurance and Strength, increasing your health and melee damage with no penalties.
Lastly, if you want a more defensive, tanky build,The Lordis a strong pick. It boosts your armor rating by 15 and provides15% magic resistance—helpful defensive buffs that let you outlast enemies.
Starting Class
In Oblivion, you can choose one of the predefined classes or create acustom classwith up to 7 Major Skills.For the Paladin build, I recommend creating a custom class with theCombat Specialization, and choosingStrength and Intelligenceas your Favored Attributes for effective combat and spellcasting.If you want more survivability, you can replace Intelligence withEndurance.
Suggested Major Skills:
you’re able to choose either Blade or Blunt depending on your preference.
Leveling Up
Attributes
For the Paladin build, focus on maxing outStrengthearly for maximum damage output. For the remaining points, alternate between increasingIntelligenceandEndurance, which boost spellcasting and survivability.Since you can’t add more than 5 points to one attribute per level, I recommend spending+5 on Strengtheach level, and alternating+5 on Intelligence and Endurance, with+2 on Willpower.This approach ensures your power and resilience stay strong as you adventure across Cyrodiil.
When leveling up the skills, Oblivion uses the system of gaining experience for a particular skill when you use it. What this means is, some skills are easier to level up compared to others and you can easily become quite powerful early on if you level up some of the skills quite easily.
By havingAthleticsas one of the Major skills for the build, you will be constantly gaining towards leveling up as you will gain experience for the skill just by spriting along the way on your adventure without needing to do any extra actions.
If you are looking for a way to easily level up your combat skills, you may head to the Arena district and start participating in the arena as soon as you leave the sewers. You can start leveling up yourBlockandHeavy Armorskills by blocking the opponent’s attacks and as long as you can manage your magicka, you can potentially level up these skills to the max skill level at your first opponent although it will take a considerable amount of time.
TheArmorerskill can be leveled up semi-naturally as you repair your equipment as they get broken along the way on your adventure. Although you may visit the trainer for the skill, this is not necessary to level up the skill quickly as you can reliably level up the skill by repairing all the equipment you find before selling them.
The rest of the major skills,Blade,AlterationandRestoration, do not have an easy way to level them up but they also do not need extra steps as they will naturally level up as you fight enemies and use your spells along the way.
Equipment and Item Progression
Weapon and Armor
For this build, I prefer asword and shieldsetup. You can reliably use theIron Longswordand Iron Shieldfound in the sewers at the start.As you progress, upgrade your gear when possible—but for a major early boost, go after theUmbra sword.
To get it, head to theVindasel ruinssouthwest of the Imperial City.
There, you’ll encounter the NPCUmbra, who is not initially hostile. She’s a powerful, high-level warrior, and challenging to defeat early on.
However, if you lure her into thespike trap roomand aggro her, she can be killed by the trap after a few falls. Once she’s defeated, you can safely loot theUmbra LongswordandUmbra’s Ebony Heavy Armor—a perfect fit for this build.
The Umbra Longswordis one of the most powerful in the game and comes enchanted withSoul Trap, allowing you to recharge magical items easily using Soul Gems.
The Paladin build relies heavily onAlterationandRestorationschools of magic, which provide essential buffs and healing.
The key Alteration spell isProtect, which grants bonus damage reduction. You can buy the basic version atEdgar’s Discount Spellsin the Imperial City Market District, and find stronger versions at variousMages Guilds.
In addition to theProtect spell, you can also cast spells that provide magic resistance against elemental magic such asFrost ShellorFlame Shellfor extra magic resistance when facing against spell casting enemies.
The Restoration magics also play a huge part in this build as you will be usingHeal Woundsa lot as you will be taking damage in close range combat.
In the Restoration school, the core spell isHeal Wounds, which you’ll use frequently in close-range combat.You start the game withHeal Minor Wounds, and you’re able to purchase stronger versions at theLeyawiin Mages Guild.
Restoration also includes stat-buffing spells likeFortify FatigueandFortify Magicka, greatly enhancing your survivability.
Final Thoughts
The Paladin buildis designed to let you confront enemies head-on at close range while supporting yourself with spells that boost survivability. You’ll feel like an unstoppableDivine Champion, tearing through foes with confidence.
However, this build can struggle againstmultiple ranged enemies, whereAlteration and Restorationalone may not be enough. Always assess your surroundings before rushing in.
While gold can be hard to come by early on, this build lacks skills that aid in trading. However, this becomes a non-issue as you progress through the game and access better loot and income sources.
So, this wraps up the guide forthe Paladin Build for Oblivion :Remastered. Whether you are a new player experiencing Oblivion for the first time or revisiting Cyrodil, I hope you found this guide helpful and if you have any tips or any questions, please leave them in the comments below!!
