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The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Hints
Misc. Tips
1 of 6: When you're not in combat, it can be helpful to unequip your weapon and all of your armor (especially if you use heavy armor). That allows you to run much faster than if all that stuff was equipped, and it allows your spells to work better. Just don't forget to re-equip it really quick when you next go into combat!
2 of 6: Either after combat or in safe spots between combats, you can use the Rest key and wait one hour in order to have your health, magicka, and fatigue fully restored no matter how low they are. That means there's no need to make or buy lots of potions and spells that restore your health and magicka -- just have a few for use during combat.
3 of 6: Just as random, level-dependent monsters and treasures are set when you first enter a dungeon (and when you enter it again after it respawns), the random, level-dependent portions of shopkeepers' inventories are usually chosen when you first enter their shops (and again after a respawn period). If you're sure a shopkeeper could have a certain thing in inventory but that it's random, quicksave just outside the shop and then quickrestore and try again if he doesn't have the item. Note that some shops in some areas don't work like this, and their inventories seem to be set when you first enter the area, not the shop itself.
4 of 6: The Grab key isn't very useful for stealing stuff, but it is useful for moving things like dead bodies and logs out of the way of any treasure they may be covering up. To move something, aim at it, hold down the Grab key, and slowly move the cursor.
5 of 6: When you're wanting to get someone's permanent disposition toward you as high as possible, you can use a drawn weapon to help you out. First, get the person's disposition as high as you can using persuasion and/or bribes, then talk to him again with a weapon drawn and repeat the process. When you talk to him a third time with no weapon drawn, his disposition will be higher than you could have gotten it without using the drawn-weapon gimmick.
6 of 6: Many things in the game world won't happen unless you're within a certain distance of them (which I call the "AI radius"), but some things will always happen no matter where you are. Those things are all scripted events, such as an NPC making a journey between two cities on a certain day. That NPC will make the journey even if you're way over on the other side of the game world, or exploring the depths of some dark dungeon. The difference is that if the journeying NPC is within your AI radius, meaning you're somewhere near him (not necessarily right next to him), he'll be vulnerable to various AI-related things, such as getting stuck on obstacles and being attacked by roaming creatures. You may not even be aware of this happening, since the AI radius is fairly large. If the NPC isn't within your AI radius at any time during his journey, he'll always make it to his destination without the possibility of delay or harm. (Understanding this concept isn't usually useful, but it can explain some odd encounters you may have while traveling, and the disappearance of some non-essential NPCs.)
