What is the Effect of Luck in Oblivion?

[David Brasher]

My character was born under the sign of the Atronach which was very unlucky. So he enchanted each of the five pieces of his suit of glass armor with fortify luck 10. Now that his luck rating is 100, he is wondering why he wasted all that time, money, and effort and is thinking of getting a new suit of armor to enchant.

 

He noticed one cool thing though. In a mod where the enemies he killed were each supposed to carry about 50 septims, he discovered they were carrying 200 to 400! I guess that could cover the cost of his enchanted armor pretty quickly.

 

My character still gets beat up pretty badly in battle though, I guess luck is not so effective in that department.

 

What advantages should my character expect now that his luck rating is 100?

[Yamcakes]

Well luck in combination with mercantile skill can also mean big monies when selling most items.

It also means he's more likely to find great treasures when exploring! Also has other bonuses, that I don't quite remember right now. :P

[Adamalmighty]

'Luck' is the key to the door marked "possibility", behind which infinity resides! My own little philosophy on luck there for yous. Arent you special!?!

 

As far as Oblivion is concerned, I think, 'luck' defines the probabilities and likelyhoods in the game, like whether there will be an enchanted weapon in that Ayleid chest or a piece of crap. Common sence suggests that 'luck' controls everything that 'could' and does happen to you!

 

I'm not usually critical, but it seem a bit of a daft question.

Perhaps you would get a more accurate answer from one of the programmers who worked on the game.

[Funnysword]

I know that your luck affects the chance that your combatant will win when betting at the arena. Not sure for what else, but the game says that "Luck affects everything you do"

[AzirAphale001]

Luck governs no skills directly, nor does it boost your skills over 100. However, it affects just about everything in the game. A luck value of 50 means that nothing goes for you or against you. Luck above 50 influences events in your favor. Luck below 50 influences events against you.

 

Luck modifies all your skills (except Athletics and Acrobatics) behind the scenes as follows:

 

SkillModifiedByLuck = SkillInQuestion + ( ( fActorLuckSkillMult * Luck ) + iActorLuckSkillBase )

 

With default settings the formula goes as follows:

 

SkillModifiedByLuck = SkillInQuestion + ( 0.4 * (Luck - 50 ) )

 

In other words, a skill is increased by 40% of however many points of Luck you have over 50; e.g., for a Luck of 60, influenced skills are increased by 4 (40% of 10) skill levels (skill points). These luck boosts do not grant the skill perks if the hidden bonus pushes you to the journeyman, expert etc. ranks.

[Oruboris]

Succinctly put, Azir: a very good case can be made that if you are looking to create an Uber character, you start with the Thief birthsign and put one point into Luck every level, period: that single point will do more for you than 5 in any other category.

 

Mind, it's not how I play because I find you get 'uber' quickly enough without.

 

But if you have less than 50 luck [early on, or if it's been damaged] you notice a BIG difference in how hard things are to kill, etc.

[theLeeHarvey]

If you bet on fights in the Arena and you have a Luck attribute of 100, you will always win the bet. Everything your character does has a greater chance of success or is more powerful the higher your luck is. Examples include picking locks getting easier, there's less chance you'll get caught stealing/picking pockets. The enemies you face will be easier to defeat and like you said, loot increases.

[Birrii]

Think of it yourself:

You just found 100 dollars on the ground.

Your friend says: "Omg, you're so lucky!"

 

 

 

Hope it helps, Birrii

[NightStik]

Succinctly put, Azir: a very good case can be made that if you are looking to create an Uber character, you start with the Thief birthsign and put one point into Luck every level, period: that single point will do more for you than 5 in any other category.

 

Mind, it's not how I play because I find you get 'uber' quickly enough without.

 

But if you have less than 50 luck [early on, or if it's been damaged] you notice a BIG difference in how hard things are to kill, etc.

 

You are correct, but only to an extent. Luck does three things in the game: it positively effects the health of Arena fighters in matches you are betting on, it governs the likelihood of the Deadric Banishing effect of Mehrune's Razor, and it modifies every skill except Athletics and Acrobatics by 40% of your Luck points above 50. Sadly, all skills except Athletics and Acrobatics effectively max out at 100 -- there is no effect of increasing any of those skills above 100 -- so the effect of luck on a completed character is purely the chance of Daedric Banishing with Mehrune's Razor and the chance of winning an Arena bet. Luck is ultimately virtually useless.

 

Luck also has no effect on loot and treasure. It's a bummer.

[LordEmm]

What if you use Elys' Uncapper? That allows you to max skills at 200 i think... So luck would be worth even more, no?

 

And since it gives a bonus on EVERY skill, except for Athletics and Acrobatics, i would hardly call it useless to begin with. In fact i would call it very overpowered.