Oblivion Remastered is chock-full of powerful weapons that can easily last you dozens of hours while remaining effective against high-level enemies. Some of these weapons can even be found very early into the game, as early as Level 1, in fact. To find them, you’ll need to get off the beaten path and explore the many dungeons of Cyrodiil, but we assure you, it’s more than worth it. Without further ado, here are our picks for the best early game weapons in Oblivion Remastered.
8. Akaviri Katana
If you’re looking for a starter blade that can hold up against Oblivion Remastered‘s early game enemies, then the Akaviri Katana is a formidable pick. It’s also incredibly easy to obtain and will take an hour of gameplay at most. To get it, continue along the main quest until you find Martin, the deceased Emperor’s secret heir. This will involve clearing a horde of Stunted Scamps around Kvatch, before returning to Weynon Priory with the heir.
With the Blades’ Grandmaster Jauffre in tow, you’ll now head to Cloud Ruler Temple. Jauffre will offer to induct you into the Blades following a scripted sequence. Accept his invitation, and you’ll be handed the katana. Thanks to its solid base damage and decent durability, the Akaviri Katana is a more than capable weapon. That said, you’ll come across an even more powerful version, named the Ancient Akaviri Katana, later on in the main story.
7. Brusef Amelion’s Sword
Brusef Amelion’s Sword is actually tied to the Fighters Guild questline, but you can enter the Amelion Tomb and grab it without ever starting the mission. To do so, head north of the Leyawiin-North East Gate fast travel point, and you’ll find the entrance to an unassuming cave. Its layout can make it dizzying to traverse, but eventually, you’ll reach the Sarcophagus Chamber. A surefire way of knowing that you’re in the right place is the green-colored ghost enemy that patrols the area.
Slay the ghost, and you’ll find the sword sitting alongside Brusef Amelion’s Cuirass, which happens to be one of the best pieces of armor in the game. The sword itself is enchanted and can stack frost damage with continued hits. It also comes with a base damage of 14, which is far better than your standard longsword.
6. Redwave
Fancy a pirate sword for your Jack Sparrow build? Look no further than the unique Redwave. To collect it, head to the city of Anvil and take the gate leading out to the Gold Coast. After a short jog, you’ll find a ship docked on the waters. Hop on board and talk to Varulae to trigger the side quest attached to the weapon. The High Elf will ask you to head into the deck and retrieve a Crystal Ball. Once you do that, she’ll reward you with Redwave.
The weapon itself is a stylish cutlass that pairs solid base damage with a health drain effect. While the Redwave will begin to lose its potency as you progress to the middle half of the main story, it remains a great sword for the early game.
5. Blackwater Blade
The Blackwater Blade is tied to one of the most surprising quests in Oblivion. To activate it, all you need to do is fast travel to the Imperial City Waterfront and rent a bed at the Bloated Float Inn. Stationed within the ship, a room at the inn costs 10 gold, a measly price for a great weapon and an enjoyable quest. After completing the transaction, head to your room and sleep. Once you wake up, see the side quest through to the end, and you’ll be able to obtain the Blackwater Blade from an enemy NPC.
The longsword comes with the unique ability of absorbing fatigue, meaning enemies with low Endurance will crumble after taking two hits of the weapon. This special effect alone makes it worth getting.
4. Chillrend
Chillrend is a special one-handed sword that literally looks like an icy blade frozen onto a hilt. Naturally, it dishes out frost damage, which is an excellent ability to have early in the game. To get it, travel to the city of Chorrol, located in the northwestern part of Cyrodiil, and head to The Gray Mare inn.
Once inside, speak to Valus Odiil, who will ask you to accompany his sons into battle. Accept his request and make sure that both his sons survive the oncoming onslaught. In return, he’ll reward you with Chillrend.
3. Goblin Totem Staff
The Goblin Totem Staff is linked to one of Oblivion’s quirkiest hidden mechanics. These weapons are essentially the prized possessions of the many goblin tribes in the game, and can be found after infiltrating their dungeons. You’ll have to face off against a Goblin Shaman before laying claim to the staff, but these can be dealt with easily enough.
While the real purpose of these staffs is to manipulate goblin tribes into fighting each other, we recommend claiming them for their impressive shock damage. As for where to find one in the early game, head east from Bruma until you find a cave named Plundered Mine. Venture inside and scour the dungeon to find a Goblin Totem Staff.
2. Frostwyrm Bow
Frostwyrm Bow is your best bet for a strong early-game ranged weapon. It inflicts 15 points of frost damage, coupled with 15 points of base damage, making it an excellent bow. However, getting the weapon can be notoriously tricky, but not for the reasons you’re thinking of. The bow is tough to get to since you’ll have to scale a mountain, which can be a nightmare because of Oblivion Remastered’s janky controls.
With that being said, the task isn’t impossible by any means and just requires a bit of hard work. The mountain you’re looking for is near Dive Rock, a location north of Cheydinhal. Approach the marked location in the image below carefully, and you’ll be able to spot the Uderfrykte Matron.
This powerful enemy uses a permanent chameleon effect to mask her appearance, but you can easily spot her outline. Avoid getting close to her and try to take her out using a ranged weapon. This can be time-consuming, but the reward is certainly worth it.
To speed things up, bring along a flame-based destruction spell since the creature has a 75% weakness to fire. Once the matron is down, you can collect the Frostwyrm Bow from her body.
1. Umbra
There’s no debating that Umbra is the best early-game weapon in the RPG. How can you even argue against the one-handed sword with the highest base damage in the game? On top of this, it comes with the excellent Soul Trap enchantment and a complete set of armor, which ranks high among the very best in Oblivion.
Finding it is incredibly easy since you need to venture just a few miles away from Imperial City, and into the Vindasel ruins. Once inside, you’ll be greeted by fodder enemies such as rats that can be swatted away quickly. However, to get the weapon, you’ll need to take out a powerful NPC named Umbra, who can one-shot you at difficulties higher than Adept, while wrecking your armor at even the Novice setting.
Dealing with the character requires a bit of finesse and a ton of elbow grease. But we’re here to help you out. For starters, set aside your pride and lower the difficulty to the lowest. Now, approach Umbra and attack her before running towards the entrance. Thanks to Oblivion’s insane enemy aggro, she’ll follow you to every corner of Cyrodiil, but we’re not going outside the ruins. Instead, you’re going to lead her into the spike trap you leaped across while entering the main chamber.
This method makes killing her simple, as she will almost certainly jump into the trap and plummet to her death. Umbra might shake off the damage the first few times, but keep leading her into the spike, and eventually, you’ll be able to loot the special sword and armor set from her corpse.
That wraps up our picks for the best early game weapons in Oblivion Remastered. Which is your favorite weapon on the list? Be sure to let us know in the comments.
