Summary
AnElder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remasteredscreenshot shows the city of Skingrad surrounded by 18 Oblivion gates, out of a grand total of 60 that can spawn in a single playthrough. A defining aspect ofSkyrim’s gameplay loop concerned its dragons – players could find one in the wild, defend a village from a dragon attack, and collect its soul to become stronger. ForOblivion, this used to be its Oblivion gates, which entailed besieging the strongholds of Mehrunes Dagon and collecting powerful Sigil Stones to enhance a player’s equipment. The same gameplay loop was left untouched forOblivion Remastered, for better or worse.
While players aren’t forced to clear Oblivion gates, there are many benefits to doing so. It increases the Hero of Kvatch’s fame by one point, provides them with a leveled Sigil Stone, and tends to be a good source of enchanted items. However, due to all Oblivion gates sharing the same tileset, players often get burned out when attempting to clear the entirety of Cyrodiil. Staggering them out while completing themajor factions ofOblivionis usually the recommended method.
However, it would seem that Mehrunes Dagon has a special vendetta against the city of Skingrad, as images taken by Ink_zorath show the Colovian castle surrounded by Oblivion gates. While Ink_zorath initially counted 18, the number has apparently since gone up to 22. Dagon’s invasion of Cyrodiil seems concentrated around Skingrad in particular, as over a third of all eligibleOblivion gates inOblivion Remasteredhave spawned in the city during Ink_zorath’s playthrough.
Oblivion Remastered Spawns a Third of Its Oblivion Gates in Skingrad
There are many factors that affect the spawning of Oblivion gates. A major one tracks the player’s progress through themain quest ofOblivion Remastered, preventing any gates from spawning before the events of Kvatch take place. 10 Oblivion gates are always guaranteed to spawn after completing “Find the Heir” (even before making it to Weynon Priory). Furthermore, each time a player enters a cell in the overworld, they have a 25% chance to trigger the opening of an Oblivion gate. The odds get raised to 50% after completing the “Dagon Shrine” quest.
Due to the nature of fast travel inOblivion, there is no special advantage to having Oblivion gates spawn next to each other. That being said, the visuals are still impressive to behold. Sigil Stones continue to provide some of thebest enchantments inOblivion Remastered, and having them all concentrated around a single city is potentially convenient. Ultimately, regardless of what Ink_zorath chooses to do about their situation, having a single city in Cyrodiil surrounded by Oblivion gates isn’t an everyday occurrence.
