How exactly does OOO change the overall difficulty?

[Deleted2783630User]

I keep reading about how much OOO is recommended because it does away with Vanilla Oblivion's implementation of level scaling.

 

It makes sense that the game's overall difficulty would be affected because areas have a set difficulty and you aren't prevented from entering areas that are too difficult for your level. But I also keep hearing OOO's increased difficulty advertised separately from how the difficulty levels are more static.

 

I have a fear that the progression from low-tier regions/quests to high-tier regions/quests is obscure. That the only content survivable by a character of level 5 or lower is grinding mudcrabs along the Imperial City shoreline for several days. :unsure:

 

How does one with OOO (or FCOM) generally tell whether or not they will be able to survive a new area or quest? Or do they only learn after the fact when they get killed?

 

Edit

I should probably add that I'll be using Oblivion XP with this, which will certainly affect how I'll train.

 

I also don't use Fast Travel until I've reached a location on foot. Please tell me that there aren't Level 10 baddies on the roads between regions with level 3 content.

Edited July 2, 2011 by Guest

[d4em]

How does one with OOO (or FCOM) generally tell whether or not they will be able to survive a new area or quest? Or do they only learn after the fact when they get killed?

 

One can tell that they won't survive an area or quest when they find themselves running from said area while shouting "crap" and/or "****" while desperatly trying to cast some spells on the horde of monsters running after them.

Edited July 2, 2011 by FakePersonality

[orctor]

I'm a knight/barbarian/warrior so I can take a lot of hits. So I mostly run in and see how it is then if i can't take it I beat it anyway with loads of potions + poison :D

[crudius]

Cant speak for OOO, but im using MMM with OBXP,supreme magika and MMO (to nerf fast travel)

 

My new char is only lvl 12 and have found it a lot of fun so far....not running into too much higher level aggro....but the odd bit can be a pleasant challenge.

[Deleted2783630User]

One can tell that they won't survive an area or quest when they find themselves running from said area while shouting "crap" and/or "****" while desperatly trying to cast some spells on the horde of monsters running after them.

I'm just wondering how spiky the difficulty is.

Does the difficulty smoothly increase the farther you are from Imperial City and from civilization in general or can you find Level 20 dungeons right next to the roads?

 

And does OOO have any noob dungeons or equivalent for when you start out?

 

I'm a knight/barbarian/warrior so I can take a lot of hits. So I mostly run in and see how it is then if i can't take it I beat it anyway with loads of potions + poison :D

I tend to play a lot of hybrid characters (next character will be an agile fighter/mage) so I won't exactly afford to take a lot of hits. I'm also worried that OOO will force me to min/max specialize in order to survive. Which Vanilla Oblivion also does. So yeah. :mellow:

 

Cant speak for OOO, but im using MMM with OBXP,supreme magika and MMO (to nerf fast travel)

 

My new char is only lvl 12 and have found it a lot of fun so far....not running into too much higher level aggro....but the odd bit can be a pleasant challenge.

OBXP, Supreme Magika, and MMO are part of my default mods. I've also been thinking about using MMM along with Dynamic Leveled Lists as my overhaul as an alternative to OOO.

[schijnn]

Unfortunately, there is not a smooth increase in difficulty as you move away from civilization. There is a level 15-20 dungeon right outside the main entrance to the Imperial City, and the difficulty in dungeons with multiple levels ramps up quickly as you go from one level to the next. However, aside from the occasional high-level dungeon, OOO doesn't make the game *too* much more difficul. If you add Francesco's on top of it, however, even rats and mudcrabs become a challenge, since you can often find a dozen of them at once.

I use a heavily-added-onto FCOM setup (currently 323 .esp files loaded, with 70 of them merged in the bashed patch in Wrye Bash), and can't get anywhere at low levels without dialing the difficulty *way* down.

[crudius]

Hard is definately my preferred play style...

 

Thought any serious player of OB would want to earn their stripes soaked in blood.

I usually play with difficulty at around 45 going upward and never start the storyline till im a lvl 10

 

I played it on the xbox a while back and found it way too pedestrian.

 

sorry for going OT, having a forum break after getting my arse handed to me by a gang a Beeschers :P

[Deleted2783630User]

Hard is definately my preferred play style...

 

Thought any serious player of OB would want to earn their stripes soaked in blood.

I'm not looking for increased difficulty. I'm looking for something that makes gaining levels have a point.

 

If I want my assed kicked I already have Gothic 2 installed.

Edited July 2, 2011 by Guest

[crudius]

Hard is definately my preferred play style...

 

Thought any serious player of OB would want to earn their stripes soaked in blood.

I'm not looking for increased difficulty. I'm looking for something that makes gaining levels have a point.

 

If I want my assed kicked I already have Gothic 2 installed.

 

 

Well anything like OOO or MMM you are going to find it more difficult.

With OBXP unless you tweak the xp scale you will be level 5 just walking from one end of the map to the other discovering forts and picking flowers....if thats the point.

[Deleted2783630User]

Well anything like OOO or MMM you are going to find it more difficult.

That's what DLL would be for. Make the weak mooks stay around longer. :geek:

 

Edit

Scratch that. Just tried DLL today and got some crashes, which happened the first time I tried it. I thought I just had an outdated version of Pluggy, but now I'm not sure about DLL anymore.

 

I suppose there's always plain Francesco.

Edited July 2, 2011 by Guest