Which Origin Is Better For Each Race In Oblivion Remastered’s Character Creator

Of the many new additions to Oblivion Remastered that the developers at Virtuos implemented, one of the coolest is the new Origins option at the character creation screen. Similar to Dungeons and Dragons 5e’s Background system, the Origins system lets players add a bit more flavor to their character’s history by choosing which region of their home province they’re from.

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But not only does this impact lore, it impacts your character’s starting stats. So, which Origin is going to help you with your build the most? This is the question we’ll be answering in this guide to Origins.

Argonians: Arnesia Or Thornmarsh?

Argonian players are given the choice between Arnesian or Thornmarsh origins, either spending a lifetime avoiding slavers from Morrowind or studying magic along the eastern coast. Choosing Arnesia will give you better agility and speed, while Thornmarsh will give you ten points to intelligence for higher base magika.

Argonians tend to excel with stealth-focused builds that dabble in magic, so either pick could be good. However, getting ten points to both Agility and Speed instead of just Intelligence will make a much larger difference in the early game, so for that reason, Arnesia is the better origin for Argonians.

Breton: Systres or Highrock?

Veteran players of The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall will be more than a bit familiar with the Breton homeland of High Rock. However, the Systres Archipelago may be an unfamiliar region of Breton origin. Both options will create a potent spellcaster but offer slight variations.

The key difference between these two choices is whether to take a debuff to Strength or Speed. You might be thinking that Strength isn’t a valuable stat for a spellcaster and is fair to dump. However, in Oblivion, your spellcasting is separate from your weapon, meaning you will still need to have a primary weapon equipped. Because of this, Strength is a valuable stat for any build to make sure you dish out enough damage, making Systres the best origin for Bretons.

Dark Elf: Vvardenfel Or Mainland?

Dark Elves, or Dunmer, have always been a versatile race across all entries in the Elder Scrolls series. They tend to lean towards the Spellsword class, which combines magic with martial combat. The two origin options available are whether your character hails from the volcanic island of Vvardenfell or the Mainland of Morrowind.

The question here is whether to get a debuff in Personality or Endurance. Neither stat is going to make or break a Spellsword build, so these choices aren’t significantly different. Because Endurance has an influence on your base health, and having a bit more success with persuasion won’t offset a debuff like that, the Vvardenfell option is definitely better.

High Elf: Auridon Or Summerset Isles?

High Elves are interesting to play as a sort of glass cannon mage build, boasting a significant magika bonus but offset by a weakness to elemental magic. The two origins available determine whether you grew up swimming in the waters of Auridon or living on the streets of the Summerset Isle.

Once again, the difference between these two origins is mainly which stat to start at 30 and which to start at 40. This time, the two attributes on the chopping block are Endurance and Speed. Because High Elves are already glass cannons, vulnerable to those elemental attacks, sacrificing even a bit of Endurance will create an overly flimsy build. Auridon is definitely the better Origin.

Imperial: Nibenay Or Colovia?

Imperials seem to have been designed with the Knight class in mind, having excellent personality and secondary skill bonuses with Blunt, Blade, and Heavy Armor skills. They are also able to absorb fatigue from a target once per day, allowing them to stay in the fight even longer. Because they’re built with such a specific archetype in mind, do Nibenay or Colovia origins benefit them more?

Between the two, Colovia seems to be the better pick. The reasoning being that Colovia offers higher Willpower, which influences your maximum fatigue, something you need to keep as high as possible with heavy hitter builds that the Imperial race tend to do the best with. The lower Speed is also not a terrible cost as long as you can deal enough damage as soon as your target is within swinging range.

Khajiit: Anequina Or Pellitine?

The Khajiit of Elsyweyr remain the best possible race for dedicated stealth builds. In addition to having skill bonuses to stealth and security, they’re also given Night Eye as a racial feature, making the darkness their ally. Whether they hail from the canyons of Anequina or the jungles of Palletine, they’ll always make excellent Rogues.

Strength or Endurance is the key question when picking an Origin for your Khajiit. For a Rogue or other stealth-focused build, Strength is actually going to be the more important attribute, making Anequina the better Origin. This may be surprising as it bears no impact on the damage dealt with shortswords or daggers, but having a higher strength stat increases the amount of loot you can hold as well as your movement speed when carrying it.

Nord: Western Or Eastern?

Fans looking for a throwback to 2011 may be inclined to choose the Nord race this time around. When choosing the Nord, you’ll be prompted to choose between hailing from Eastern or Western Skyrim and the stat variation that comes with this choice.

Same as in Skyrim, the Nords of Oblivion benefit from being big and tanky. Between the Western and Eastern Origins, the Nords from the West see higher Endurance with a lowered Willpower, while Nords from the East tend to offer middle-of-the-road stats. As the saying goes: Jack of All Trades, Master of None. The Western Origin is superior due to its Endurance boost and the debuff to Willpower not being severe enough to negate those benefits.

Orc: Stronghold Or Orsinium?

It may surprise fans of the series to know that Orcs were not a playable race until Morrowind. Prior to then, they were hostile NPCs local to the mountains of Daggerfall in Strongholds and the region of Orsinium, both of which are selectable Origins for Orc characters. So, how does the background of your Orc impact their playability?

The Orc race is strange for being the only one to have Attribute changes in increments of five instead of just ten. Orcs, similar to Nords, are designed to be beefy heavy-hitters. The Stronghold Origin is the clear winner between the two, sacrificing Willpower and Personality for a bit of Intelligence won’t benefit a martial build in any meaningful way.

Redguard: Dragontail Mountains Or Alik’r Desert?

Neighbors to the Orcs and the Bretons, the Redguard hail from the region of Hammerfell. Of the regions your Redguard might originate from, there are the Dragontail Mountains and the Alik’r Desert. Unique from other melee builds, the Redguard is talented at most combat skills.

To maximize the effectiveness of the Redguard’s strengths, the Dragontail Mountains Origin is definitely superior, as it boosts your Strength. The trade-off is a lowered Personality, which doesn’t benefit the Redguard much to begin with anyway.

Wood Elf: Grahtwood Or Reaper’s March?

Apart from the other two elven races, the Wood Elf is not known for spellcasting abilities. Instead, they’re stealth archers, equally as infamous in Oblivion as they were in Skyrim. The region of Grahtwood (devastated by Molag Bal) or Reaper’s March are the two possible locations of origin for a Wood Elf character.

Between Grahtwood and Reaper’s March origins, the only trade-off is between Personality and Endurance. Neither skill is particularly crucial for the Wood Elf, so it could go either way. However, between the general usefulness of Personality and Endurance, Endurance is the more beneficial Attribute to raise, making Grahtwood the better Origin.

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