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Hardened Bethesda fans discover Oblivion Remastered Expert difficulty is so brutal it feels "broken," and say it "needs to be patched ASAP"

News
By Anna Koselke published 24 April 2025

The jump from Adept to Expert is certainly something

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Oblivion Remastered
(Image credit: Bethesda Game Studios)
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The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered is finally here after months of speculation, but fans of Bethesda Game Studios' new remake who are opting to play it on one of its higher difficulties aren't exactly having a good time.

If you're the kind of person who plays Skyrim on Legendary difficulty and tears through any enemies thrown your way, you might feel inclined to, at the least, take on the new Oblivion's Expert mode.

Judging by fellow high difficulty stans' accounts so far, however, it's safe to say you probably shouldn't – until a patch rolls around, anyway. Players are reporting that, while the Adept difficulty is "laughably easy," Expert is "broken."

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Recent Reddit threads highlight as much, with one post seeing a fan ask for other players' own "thoughts on difficulty settings" in the remake.

"Adept is laughably easy," writes the poster. "Almost impossible to be killed and you kill everything in a hit or two. However, bumping it up one level to Expert makes every enemy an absolute bullet sponge, and it takes a full minute to kill each one." Comments echo the observation.

WTF is with the difficulty slider? from r/oblivion

"Seems like Expert quadruples their health pool and makes you take double damage," reads a response from the OP. "I wish there was something in between Adept and Expert. Goes from way too easy to just a complete slog and chore."

Another replier wishes they could set a "custom difficulty" to avoid the issue, while most conclude that the jump between difficulties "seems legit broken," with a separate thread stating it "needs to be patched ASAP."

I gave the higher difficulty a go myself when I first played, and I'm inclined to agree.

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It took me ages to kill rats in the sewer at the beginning of the game, and enemies within the first Oblivion Gate at Kvatch felt nearly impossible to overcome.

It doesn't seem like this is an issue that can be circumvented by playing the best class in Oblivion Remastered, either, and it's certainly not down to skill, so I'd recommend sticking with Adept for now.

Here's everything you need to know about The Elder Scrolls 6 after replaying Oblivion.

TOPICS
Bethesda Game Studios
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PC Gaming Xbox Series X PS5 Platforms Xbox PlayStation
Anna Koselke
Anna Koselke
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Staff Writer

After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.

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