When to start Main Quest and Shivering Isles?

[urbex]

Well, I'm currently level 26 (stealth based). I've completed the Mage's Guild, Brotherhood, Thief's Guild, & arena questlines, along with about 30% of standalone/drudic quests. Should I finally jump into the main quest, do shivering isles, or just keep exploring?

 

Thanks

[LordWushin]

Notice that it is your decision at the end!

 

I myself play in this order:

 

1. Main quest only! Start game 2

 

2. All guilds only! Start game 3

 

3. Explore map and close oblivion gates! Start game 4

 

4. Do all side quest I find while doing all the guilds along with closing oblivion gates, then main quest! Start game 5

 

5. MOD my butt off and console cheat everything! Start game 6

 

6. Mods and expansions with dlc and cheats when necessary! Start game 7

 

7. Do all the above! Start new game Starting at 1

 

 

That may help but I say you should finish at least Fighter's Guild and main quest before really getting mixed up with other stuff.

 

Have fun!!!

[Megatarius]

At level 25, harder monsters start appearing all over the map where easier ones were before. The leveled lists themselves max out at level 30.

[David Brasher]

The Battle of Kvatch is easiest at level 1. There are problems with the vanilla leveling that can be exploited. You may decide to never sleep until after the Battle of Kvatch.

 

There have been two times that I have sent my level 1 characters directly to the Shivering Isles and not had them leave until they were like level 20. That is a really tough option, only to be done if you want a big challenge. There are no good spells, weapons, light sources, armor, training, etc. to buy in the Shivering Isles. Torches are very very rare and you can't buy light spells and nighteye spells. I was exploring dungeons by the light of repeatedly cast restoration spells. So you might want to wait until you are well-equipped before going to the Shivering Isles.

 

But it really doesn't matter. You could have fun with the main quest or Shivering Isles at any level.

[Netwit2008]

I'm a level 40. I haven't completed the main quest yet, beyond dealing with Martin. Just never interested me. I haven't even entered Shivering Isles yet, just collected flora outside the gate. I got way too involved in completing the guild quests and modded quests, adding items to the world through mods etc. I still am. I've completed all the guild quests, with the exception of the Mages. I think I have one stage left for them.

 

I've only closed 5 Oblivion gates. I don't like them, so I don't do them unless the mood strikes me. Finding and using mods is just way more fun for me.

 

I'd say you do you. The harder monsters don't phase me. I've already turned up the difficulty slider and probably need to do it again. So just do what you want to do, whatever makes you smile and have fun. IMHO, there is no right or wrong way to play or when to start what, unless you have a specific strategy in mind. I just like to play, so that's what I do :tongue:

[Lindy]

I'm a level 40. I haven't completed the main quest yet, beyond dealing with Martin. Just never interested me. I haven't even entered Shivering Isles yet, just collected flora outside the gate. I got way too involved in completing the guild quests and modded quests, adding items to the world through mods etc. I still am. I've completed all the guild quests, with the exception of the Mages. I think I have one stage left for them.

 

I've only closed 5 Oblivion gates. I don't like them, so I don't do them unless the mood strikes me. Finding and using mods is just way more fun for me.

 

I'd say you do you. The harder monsters don't phase me. I've already turned up the difficulty slider and probably need to do it again. So just do what you want to do, whatever makes you smile and have fun. IMHO, there is no right or wrong way to play or when to start what, unless you have a specific strategy in mind. I just like to play, so that's what I do :tongue:

 

I would recommend trying the Shivering Isles eventually, the quests in that expansion are a lot more interesting than most of the ones in regular Oblivion. Also, I agree that the oblivion gates are annoying, I never start the main quest that gets them to start spawning in my games, I've only ever done it one game out of like maybe 10 :P

[zeralesaar]

I would personally recommend waiting until at least around level 15 to begin the Main Quest, and start Shivering Isles immediately on the heels of the MQ's completion. Here is my reasoning...

 

Difficulty and Loot

At the lowest levels, the Main Quest is absurdly easy, especially if you're a non-sleeper and thus level up skills without increasing character level. Around level 15, you have a good supply of decently powerful enemies that can-- in some cases-- pose a danger to you. Additionally, the loot gained by starting the Main Quest around this level is far superior to the rubbish you'll find below level 10, and rather more "filled-out" than the loot between 10-15. If you progress naturally through the MQ from 15, you should get to around level 22-25 by its end, enough to go into the full force of the Shivering Isles.

 

Side-quests and Free-forming

By disregarding the main quest for a while, you give yourself a chance to grow and develop a character by taking on low-leveled side quests, guild quests, and any free-form dungeoneering in which you wish to engage. This lets you develop a feel for the character, which can be important (especially in max-difficulty/FCOM/both settings) if you are creating a character whose abilities are not those you conventionally make use of. For example, I typically do the (usually inevitable in Vanilla, done by choice in my case) WarriorThiefMage sort of character that has the ability to adapt to any situation. In the past, I've tried to make very narrowly focused characters (i.e. pure Mage, Thief, Spellsword, Assassin, etc.) and found it incredibly hard to play them in the same environment as my normal super-character due to their inability to adapt effectively to all situations. Therefore, tackling the main quest (or any major mod quests) was utterly out of the question until I better understood how to utilize my character's abilities to their fullest.

 

 

I hope it helps.

[Netwit2008]

I'm a level 40. I haven't completed the main quest yet, beyond dealing with Martin. Just never interested me. I haven't even entered Shivering Isles yet, just collected flora outside the gate. I got way too involved in completing the guild quests and modded quests, adding items to the world through mods etc. I still am. I've completed all the guild quests, with the exception of the Mages. I think I have one stage left for them.

 

I've only closed 5 Oblivion gates. I don't like them, so I don't do them unless the mood strikes me. Finding and using mods is just way more fun for me.

 

I'd say you do you. The harder monsters don't phase me. I've already turned up the difficulty slider and probably need to do it again. So just do what you want to do, whatever makes you smile and have fun. IMHO, there is no right or wrong way to play or when to start what, unless you have a specific strategy in mind. I just like to play, so that's what I do :tongue:

 

I would recommend trying the Shivering Isles eventually, the quests in that expansion are a lot more interesting than most of the ones in regular Oblivion. Also, I agree that the oblivion gates are annoying, I never start the main quest that gets them to start spawning in my games, I've only ever done it one game out of like maybe 10 :P

 

I want to play SI, I just never seemed to have the time yet, lol I gotta quit shooting videos, taking FRAPS shots and adding mods :P I am excited to play SI though. I guess I may never finish the main quest. I remember doing so in MW, then everything else seemed anti climactic. What a joy to have a game that offers so many possibilities though, eh? :yes:

[Alkser]

I started the main quest at the beginning of the game, and shivering isles when I fully completed Oblivion + knights of the nine.