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The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Hints
Exactly how does the difficulty setting affect gameplay?
1 of 12: It only affects the damage multipliers used during combat.
2 of 12: Whenever you attack someone or someone attacks you, the damage multipliers are used to determine exactly how much damage is done.
3 of 12: That includes damage from melee weapons, arrows, spells, weapon enchantments, and reflected damage.
4 of 12: If you're playing on the default difficulty setting, both of the damage multipliers are 1x. That means both you and your enemies will do regular damage to each other.
5 of 12: For instance, if you cast the Flare spell on an enemy who didn't have any magic or fire resistance, the spell would do about 6 points of damage. If an enemy cast the same spell on you, you'd take about 6 points of damage. (This is assuming a spell effectiveness of 100%.)
6 of 12: As the difficulty setting goes down, the multipliers change to make the game easier for you.
7 of 12: On the easiest setting, you do about 6x damage to enemies, and they do about 1/6x damage to you. That means your Flare spell would hit them for about 36 points of damage, and theirs would hit you for about 1 point of damage.
8 of 12: Conversely, on the highest difficulty setting, you do about 1/6x damage to enemies, and they do 6x damage to you. That means *you'd* be the one taking 36 points of damage from a 6-point damage spell cast on you by an enemy. Just imagine how badly a 25-point damage spell would hurt you!
9 of 12: Thankfully, the damage multipliers only apply to the damage that you personally dish out and take. Any companions or summoned creatures you have with you would be doing and taking normal 1x damage. Therefore, it's important to practice up your Conjuration skill as soon as possible (see the Magic Skills Practice Tips) so you can summon creatures to fight for you.
10 of 12: Poisons are also unaffected by the difficulty setting, so practice up your Alchemy skill fast so you can make some good, strong poisons to use against enemies. (See the Potion-Making Tips.)
11 of 12: And while you're fairly low-level, a good Frenzy spell could be used to great effect in getting potential enemies to fight among themselves. (See the Spellmaking Tips.)
12 of 12: As for defense, a full set of Chameleon Clothing (see the Enchanting Tips) would be very helpful in avoiding combat, and high Resist Magic and Reflect Damage percentages (see the Constant Effect Item Lists) would make you nearly immune to enemy attacks.
