Feb 23, 2008. Our guide to Oblivion.

This is our guide for those looking to play Oblivion on hard with the more difficult monsters before you even begin the main quest.

The first thing to do in Oblivion is join the Dark Brotherhood. Why so early? Because they have great rewards. Just by joining, you get shrouded armor which is extremely light and increases alot of your attributes by seven! Finish all the Dark Brotherhood quests and you get will get better equipment and a horse that fights for you. And everyone you kill, you can rob their houses for gold.

The Oblivion Thieves Guild is very important to you. They buy stolen goods from you and sell lockpicks. You should join them right after the Dark Brotherhood so you can buy plenty of lockpicks for the dungeons. Don't run out of lockpicks in this game. But you should finish the Mages guild first before the Thieves Guild so you can enchant your own weapons.

The Arcane University is part of the Mages Guild quests. After completing the Dark Brotherhood, the Mages Guild quests are what you should do next. They unlock the Arcane University where you can enchant your own weapons. If you become Archmage by completing all the Mages guild's quests, you get a chest that will duplicate any ingredient you want. It's a great way to make money and you won't have to search for ingredients so much that are needed in other quests.

Once you have your own custom enchanted weapons, finish the Gladiator games at the Arena. You need to do this to increase your fame quickly because when you finished the Dark Brotherhood, your infamy is pretty high so you might have trouble talking to people for quests.

The Fighters Guild should be last because they don't really have anything other than money for you. By this time, your level should be so high that selling stuff you find in dungeons is more than enough income for you to buy or train anything you want.

After finishing all the guild quests, you will have the best weapons, armor, and money needed for the main quest. More importantly, you'll also have allies that will go anywhere you go, which is important because where you're going, it's going to get ugly.