[Oblivion Remastered] Use Lower Tier Gear For Longer

[bensp12]

The levelling speed in the game feels ok to me, but I found that I used Iron Armour and Weapons for about 2 or 3 hours of game time before I found some Steel Armour. I never used Fine Steel Weapons because I found silver weapons instead, and used those for barely an hour before moving onto dwarven Weapons. I'm already starting to use Orcish and Elven items whilst questing through my first faction and so I'll probably be using Daedric for half the game if I do everything on one character.

Better Weapons and Armor appear too early on in the game. Steel Armor Appears at level 3 and Weapons at level 2. I feel this should be much later, perhaps level 5 or 7, so that I make good use of Iron Armour before upgrading, and it feels like I've earned it. I feel this would also help balance the game slightly, which seems to get easier the higher level you get (compared to original oblivion when this definitely wasn't the case). It's also worth noting that weapons appear at different times to their armours, so you're less likely to get a full set. It would be better if they appeared at the same (or similar) levels. 

I've proposed two different systems below, based on weapons.  Armour matches or fits in around it. I prefer the bigger gap but some won't. 

Current level of appearance:

Weapons – Appearance by Player Level

Material	Level It Appears
Iron	1
Steel	2
Fine Steel Silver	4 4
Dwarven	6
Elven	9
Glass	14
Ebony	17
Daedric	20

Armor – Appearance by Player Level

Material	Level It Appears
Fur / Leather	1
Iron	1
Steel	3
Chainmail	4
Dwarven	6
Mithril	10
Orcish Elven	10 15
Ebony	15
Glass	18
Daedric	20
Madness (Shivering Isles)	25
Amber (Shivering Isles)	23

 

Proposed with edited levelled list:

Weapons
Iron    1
Steel    5 OR 7

Fine Steel 8 or 11
Silver    11 OR 15
Dwarven  14 OR 19
Elven    18 OR 25
Glass    22 OR 31
Ebony   26 OR 37
Daedric 30 OR 43

Armor
Fur / Leather    1
Iron    1
Steel    5 OR 7
Chainmail    5 OR 7
Dwarven    14 OR 19
Mithril    14 OR 19

Elven 18 OR 25
Orcish    18 OR 25
Glass    22 OR 31

Ebony    26 OR 37
Daedric  30 OR 43

 

There's quite a big gap between Steel/Chainmail Armour and Dwarven/Mithril, but I feel like this makes sense lore wise as few people in cyrodiil would be wielding anything better than fine steel (or silver for the elite) weapons, or steel armour. It pushes Dwarven/Mithril and higher into a more elite armour and weapon class. 

Edited June 1 by bensp12