Oblivion Best Birthsign

Best Birthsigns in Oblivion Remastered

'Oblivion Best Birthsign' will tell you which birthsigns are the best, and provide some advice to help you choose the best birthsign from the 13 availabl oblivion birthsigns.

Why You Need to Carefully Choose Your Oblivion Birthsign

Picking your birthsign in The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered is one of the first tough decisions you'll make. You'll select it during the tutorial, after creating your character and choosing your race. With 13 birthsigns to choose from and your character limited to just one, this choice requires careful consideration.

Although some birthsigns are generally considered superior to others within the Oblivion community, it's important to remember that the best birthsign is one that complements your playstyle and class selection. For example, there's no point picking a birthsign that boosts your Magicka if you don't plan on using spells often.

Best Birthsigns in Oblivion Remastered

The Atronach

The Atronach is perhaps the best defensive birthsign in Oblivion Remastered, especially for magic-focused builds.

Permanent Effects:
  • Fortify Magicka: Increases Magicka by 150 points
  • Spell Absorption: 50% chance of absorbing incoming spells
  • Stunted Magicka: Magicka regeneration is halted

The real stand-out power of this birthsign is its 50% spell absorption. This means that half the time, magical spells do no damage to you, instead, they regenerate your Magicka. This is incredibly helpful for defense, but also because the downside of this birthsign is that it gives you stunted Magicka – preventing normal Magicka regeneration.

What's more, Spell Absorption stacks. You could combine the Spelldrinker Amulet (26 points) and the Sorcerer's Ring (25 points) to reach 100% Spell Absorption, making you immune to magic.

The Warrior

If spellcasting and magic aren't your style, and you value health and strength more, then The Warrior is a good option.

Permanent Effects:
  • Fortify Endurance: Increases Endurance by 10 points
  • Fortify Strength: Increases Strength by 10 points

The extra Endurance provided by The Warrior birthsign helps to quickly improve your maximum health, as your Endurance level directly affects how much your maximum health increases each time you level up. Having a high Endurance level early on puts you in good stead for later in the game.

The Strength boost is great for those who want to focus on melee combat and carrying capacity.

The Thief

The Thief is a solid birthsign for those who want a well-rounded character and are more focused on the early game.

Permanent Effects:
  • Fortify Agility: Increases Agility by 10 points
  • Fortify Luck: Increases Luck by 10 points
  • Fortify Speed: Increases Speed by 10 points

This birthsign gives you 30 extra stats (compared to the 20 of other birthsigns), including 10 points to Luck, which impacts all skills and is the slowest attribute to raise normally. That equates to about four extra points to each of your stats and is helpful early in the game, especially for new players.

The +10 to Luck alone makes this birthsign valuable, as Luck affects all skills and is hard to raise through normal gameplay.

The Lord

The Lord has become increasingly valuable in Oblivion Remastered with its improved effects.

Permanent Effects:
  • Shield: Increases Armor Rating by 15
  • Resist Magic: Increases magic resistance by 15%

The 15 shield and 15% magic resistance is particularly powerful, especially when combined with a Breton character who already has natural magic resistance. This combination can give you a significant defensive advantage right from the start of the game.

The armor rating is especially valuable for unarmored builds or robe-users, while the magic resistance benefits all character types.

All Birthsigns in Oblivion Remastered

BirthsignEffects
The Apprentice
  • Fortify Magicka: Increases Magicka by 100 points
  • Weakness to Magic: Increases susceptibility to magic by 100%
The Atronach
  • Fortify Magicka: Increases Magicka by 150 points
  • Spell Absorption: 50% chance of absorbing incoming spells
  • Stunted Magicka: Magicka regeneration is halted
The Lady
  • Fortify Willpower: Increases Willpower by 10 points
  • Fortify Endurance: Increases Endurance by 10 points
The Lord
  • Shield: Increases Armor Rating by 15
  • Resist Magic: Increases magic resistance by 15%
The Lover
  • Lover's Kiss (greater power): Paralyze an opponent for 10 seconds at the cost of 120 points of Fatigue, once per day
The Mage
  • Fortify Magicka: Increases Magicka by 50 points
The Ritual
  • Mara's Gift: Restores 200 points of health, once per day
  • Blessed Word: Forces undead to flee for 30 seconds, multiple uses per day at 40 Magicka cost
The Serpent
  • Serpent spell (greater power): Deal 3 points of damage for 20 seconds, also cures Poison, dispels 90 points, and damages Fatigue 100 points to caster, once per day
The Shadow
  • Moonshadow (greater power): Grants invisibility for 60 seconds, once per day
The Steed
  • Fortify Speed: Increases Speed by 20 points
The Thief
  • Fortify Agility: Increases Agility by 10 points
  • Fortify Luck: Increases Luck by 10 points
  • Fortify Speed: Increases Speed by 10 points
The Tower
  • Tower Key: Opens locks of average difficulty, once per day
  • Tower Warden: Reflects 5% of all incoming damage for 120 seconds, once per day
The Warrior
  • Fortify Endurance: Increases Endurance by 10 points
  • Fortify Strength: Increases Strength by 10 points

Can You Change Your Birthsign?

After selecting your birthsign, Oblivion Remastered gives you one final chance to change it (and any other character customization choices) before you leave the sewers at the end of the tutorial. After that chance, your birthsign is permanent.

If you're playing Oblivion Remastered on Windows PC, however, you can use a console command to change your birthsign. Press the tilde key (~) to open the cheat console, then type in 'showbirthsignmenu' (without the quotes) to bring up the birthsign menu and change your birthsign.

Note:

Take extra care to ensure you've picked a birthsign that works with your class and playstyle, as changing it later can be difficult or impossible depending on your platform.

Birthsign Recommendations by Playstyle

For Mages

If you're planning a magic-heavy build:

  • The Atronach - Best for maximum Magicka pool and magic defense
  • The Mage - Simple boost to Magicka without drawbacks
  • The Apprentice - For risk-takers who want more Magicka but can handle the weakness

For Warriors

If you prefer melee combat:

  • The Warrior - Classic choice for strength and health
  • The Lady - Alternative with Willpower instead of Strength
  • The Lord - For defensive players who want resistance

For Stealth Characters

If you're focusing on sneaking and agility:

  • The Thief - Great all-rounder with Luck bonus
  • The Shadow - For those who value invisibility
  • The Steed - If speed is your priority