Where To Go First In Oblivion Remastered

The real journey in Oblivion Remastered begins after you step out of the grimy Imperial City sewers and emerge in the world of Cyrodiil. Right from the start of the game, there are zero restrictions on where you can go, who you can meet, and what you can do. You can choose to follow the main story quest, which requires you to hand over the amulet the emperor entrusted to you before he died, or completely ignore the story and explore the new world before you.

If you're a veteran of Oblivion, then you likely have a solid idea of the best places to go first. However, if you're hopping into the game for the first time with the remaster, you might need some guidance. After all, the map is huge and offers some free fast travel destinations thousands of meters away right from the get-go.

So, what should you do first in Oblivion Remastered? Below, we'll offer a few specific directives on the best places to visit after emerging from the sewers. For so much more on the "new" game, use our full Oblivion Remastered guide.

Follow the Black Road

There are several different roads that branch out from the Imperial City in Cyrodiil. The northwestern road is called the Black Road, and it leads to a major city called Chorrol. Along the Black Road, you'll be able to discover a plethora of different locations, such as caves to explore, small towns to see, and quests to start. The Black Road starts with a town called Weye, which is where you can begin the Go Fish side quest in Oblivion Remastered that rewards you with a particularly useful ring.

If you continue on the Black Road, you'll eventually run into Weynon Priory, which is where the first main story quest tells you to go. Here, you can speak to Jauffre and learn about why the emperor gave you the amulet in the first place.

However, you don't have to stop in Weynon Priory if you don't want to. Instead, you can head right past it and make your way into the city of Chorrol. This city is home to a number of interesting characters and several engaging side quests. It's also where you can join both the Fighters Guild and the Mages Guild.

Unlike in Skyrim, there's not much of an initiation process to join either guild, so you can enter both of them in the northern part of Chorrol and join straight away. This allows you to accept new quests, meet new characters, and receive some new weapons, spells, and gear. Chorrol isn't the sole city where you can join these guilds, but it's one of the best places to start.

The Black Road culminates with a location called Battlehorn Castle. Battlehorn Castle is nothing particularly special from the outside, but when you approach it, there will be a small war going on in front of its gates. If you manage to defeat all of the enemies trying to break down the gate, you'll actually receive the deed to Battlehorn Castle. This entitles you to full ownership of the castle and everything that it holds.

At the very least, Battlehorn Castle offers you free access to a blacksmith to repair your gear, a plethora of beds to sleep in so you can level up, and the possibility to design your own castle. You can talk to a merchant in Imperial City to buy blueprints for various upgrades around the castle to truly make it yours.

Head inside the North Sewers

Just because you emerged from the sewers doesn't mean you can't head right back inside them. From the main sewer entrance in Oblivion Remastered, you can travel west to enter the North Exit of the sewers. Along the way, you might also find a Nirnroot Plant by the nearby lake, which triggers the Seeking Your Roots quest.

If you try to enter the North Sewers, you'll need to pick a Hard lock, which can certainly take a few attempts. Once you're inside, make your way through the tight corridors and caverns until you reach a ladder that allows you to head up to "The Main Ingredient" basement. You'll need to pick this lock as well as a lock that allows you to head into The Main Ingredient shop itself from the basement.

After getting through, though, you can speak to the proprietor of the shop, who's name is Oegir Goerick, and start the Unfriendly Competition quest. This quest is quite the tangled web, but it winds up with you securing two of the best early-game melee weapons in Oblivion Remastered. You also receive some other gear as well as a general understanding of how the Imperial City is laid out.

Emerging from the North Sewers allows you an easy way to get inside the heart of the Imperial City and start to explore it a little more. From there, you can go any way you please, explore the city until your heart is content, and head back down to the sewers and start from the way you came.

One of the best ways to spend your time in the Imperial City is to speak with NPCs and ask them about "Rumors." This lets you know of some major side quests and who to speak to next.

Join one or all of the Guilds

We've already talked about the Fighters and Mages Guilds in Oblivion Remastered, but those aren't the only two guilds you can join in Cyrodiil. You can also join the Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood, both of which require you to perform a specific action instead of visiting a location.

For the Thieves Guild, you can either commit a crime and choose the option to go to jail, become friends with a beggar by giving them coin and asking about the guild, or find the guild on your own through The Grey Fox. Regardless of how you do it, the Thieves Guild offers some great quests and rewards in Oblivion Remastered.

You could also join the Dark Brotherhood, which is only doable after you murder an innocent person and then go to sleep in a bed. During your rest, an NPC named Lucien Lachance will approach you about joining.

In addition to all of the guilds in Oblivion Remastered, you can also join the Imperial Arena. This location is found within Imperial City and by speaking with Owyn, you can take part in Arena battles as a participant. The Arena allows you to fight enemies and soar through different ranks as you keep winning, which earns you new rewards in the process.

Go east towards Vilverin

The final direction we'll offer is to go east from the sewer entrance. Directly across the lake, you'll find an Aeylid Ruin by the name of Vilverin. If you travel inside Vilverin, you'll be able to loot a slew of interesting items. One of the more notable pieces of loot are Welkynd Stones, which allow you to instantly regain magicka points. They're also used as a conduit for shock spells, which come in handy if you join the Mages Guild in Chorrol.

Also inside Vilverin you'll find a number of chests with plenty of gold, some bandits to kill and loot, and a number of different areas to explore. After you're done with the Aeylid Ruin, you can exit and keep heading east along the Blue Road towards the city of Cheydinhal. There are branches of the Mages and Fighters Guild here as well and plenty of other quests to embark on.

You could also head slightly north from Vilverin and take the Silver Road to the city of Bruma. While Bruma isn't too exciting, it's certainly not a bad city to visit and explore either.