The 10 BEST Quests in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

10 Best Quests in Oblivion

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we’re counting down our picks for the greatest quests one can indulge in while traversing through Cyrodiil.

The Siren’s Deception

You know how it is. You’re wandering around town, thinking you’re a big-shot fantasy hero, only to be enticed by a group of beautiful women…who turn out to be a group of thieves preying on married men. This quest is all about wrecking the home-wreckers, as prior to meeting these deceptive beauties, a married couple will ask you to act as bait in order to take down the murderous maidens and retrieve the heirlooms they had taken. Whether you pose as a mark or pretend to join their gang depends on your character’s gender, either way you’re in for a scrap!

Where Spirits Have Lease

Considering Cyrodiil’s economic turmoil, having the chance to get your own mansion for only a handful of gold sounds like an absolute win. Too bad it’s haunted. After buying and spending a night in Benirus Manor, you’ll come under attack from some rather angry spirits – something that the sketchy former owner failed to mention. From there, you’ve got to undertake some major ectoplasmic extermination, culminating in a battle against a Lich. Phantasmic lodgers aside, at the very least you end up keeping the manor for yourself!

Mazoga the Orc

Who says an Orc can’t become a knight? A simple yet earnest quest, you’ll have to assist Mazoga, a self-appointed knight, as she follows various leads on a path of vengeance. While the complete story won’t be revealed until after you end up bashing in the skulls of a gang of cutthroats, Mazoga herself makes the whole thing worth it. She’s as brutal as an orc can get and yet strives to be a chivalrous soul for the sake of her fallen friend. It’s a shame she didn’t get a full questline where we could serve as her faithful squire.

An Unexpected Voyage

Don’t you just hate it when you wake up to find that the inn you were staying at has suddenly been hijacked…and taken out to sea. Turns out a band of brigands have commandeered the inn, and the only way off is to cut through them all to secure safe passage back to shore. The unexpectedness of this mission is its greatest strength. You have no idea it's coming, and it’s down to you to fend for yourself with no room to escape. There are no sea shanties or rum to be found, but this slaughter on the high seas is about as close as you’ll get to being a pirate in Oblivion.

Paranoia

A Wood Elf is being spied upon. Strangers watching his every move. Potential threats lurking around every corner. At least, that’s what he thinks. The truth is far murkier. Whether you choose to believe or deny the ramblings of this shifty character is entirely up to you. After investigating the individuals he accuses of being spies, you can either assassinate them on his behalf, warn them of the danger they’re in, report the Wood Elf to the guards, or do nothing and simply let the paranoia continue to fester. Plenty of options, with the outcome mired in ambiguity. Just how we like our side quests!

A Brush With Death

The Elder Scrolls certainly aren’t afraid to get trippy. Case and point, when you enter a painting in order to save a missing artist. Thanks to the power of an enchanted brush, you’re able to enter a fluorescent forest bursting with a wild palette. Escaping, however, is another matter entirely. Turns out that a thief has also entered the painting, stolen the brush, and summoned some colourful trolls to guard him. Which means you’ve got to go full Bob Ross and beat the devil out of the exceptionally strong beasts before you can high tail it out!

Sheogorath

The Daedric Princes may be monstrous entities that influence and inspire the worst of humanity, but there’s no denying how exciting their personal quests are, as well as the rewards they reap. Among the wicked pantheon, none are more adored than the God of Madness, Sheogorath. Pray at his alter, and he’ll demand you liven up a nearby village…by unleashing a series of plagues, including raining down burning dogs from the heavens. What’s so unique about this mission is that, depending on your progress with the Shivering Isles DLC, your dialogue with Sheogorath will vary immensely, to the extent you may end up communicating with his butler Haskill, assuming you have already taken over his throne by this point.

The Ultimate Heist

The Thieves Guild, as the name suggests, are all about taking scores across Cyrodiil, pulling off capers of increasing extravagance and danger, and it doesn’t get more dangerous than trying to steal an Elder Scroll. The theft itself is no easy feat, requiring immense preparation, including but not limited to hunting down Spring Heel Jack just to steal his boots, all before you’re tasked with snatching the scroll from within its stronghold. Exhilarating from start to finish, if you successfully pull off the heist, you’ll find yourself granted the mantle of Tamriel’s greatest thief – the Gray Fox.

Through a Nightmare, Darkly

This quest didn’t have to go this hard, but it did, and will demand your very best in order to escape from a dream-world gone awry. After a magical mishap, it falls to you to save a sorcerer who has been trapped within his own mind, and the only way out is passing four tests conjured up by the nightmare realm you now inhabit. The Test of Perception involves navigating a path littered with traps. The Test of Resolve pits you against two minotaurs at once. The Test of Courage has you swim your way through a flooded tunnel that goes on for way too long, while the Test of Patience tasks you with finding the only safe path through a room with even more traps. Good luck getting a good night’s rest after this!

Whodunit?

Arguably the most iconic faction across the Elder Scrolls franchise, the Dark Brotherhood are a cult of assassins who worship a god who thrives on bloodshed. And their quests are some of the most enjoyable you’ll find during your time in Tamriel. Unlike previous assignments where you’d be tasked to employ stealth to eliminate a target, Whodunit is a murder mystery…where you’re the murderer. Sure, you could just go into the house and slice up every target in sight…but it’s so much more fun to have them turn on each other. Manipulation, deceit and death – that’s how the Dark Brotherhood rolls!

What’s your favourite questline in all of Elder Scroll’s history? Let us know in the comments.