{"id":2498,"date":"2025-05-10T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-10T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/?p=2498"},"modified":"2025-05-12T02:55:19","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T02:55:19","slug":"why-i-tried-to-beat-oblivion-remastered-without-ever-using-fast-travel-readers-feature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/10\/why-i-tried-to-beat-oblivion-remastered-without-ever-using-fast-travel-readers-feature\/","title":{"rendered":"Why I tried to beat Oblivion Remastered without ever using fast travel \u2013 Reader\u2019s Feature"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"364\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"article-image wp-image-22953797 lazyload\" alt=\"The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion screenshot\" loading=\"lazy\" data-src=\"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/SEI_248434015-d678.jpg\">\t<\/div><figcaption>The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered \u2013 a nice walk is good for you (Bethesda Softworks)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A reader enjoys a return trip to the world of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion and explains why ignoring one of its key features made it even more fun.<\/p>\n<p>I sit here with a sense of accomplishment, pride, and somewhat of a headache.<\/p>\n<p>I have earned all 50 of Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered\u2019s base game achievements\/trophies (not Shivering Isles\u2026 yet). I know, this is not much of an achievement in itself.<\/p>\n<p>The original Oblivion game came out just under two decades ago, on the <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/xbox\/\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\">Xbox<\/a> 360, setting the world up for its younger prot\u00e9g\u00e9 <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/skyrim\/\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\">Skyrim<\/a> to take over some six years later.<\/p>\n<p>Completing the main story quests, the four job guilds (fighter, mage, thief, and assassin) and the gladiatorial arena is pretty straightforward in the region of Tamriel known as Cyrodill. If anything, Oblivion is little more than a long checklist of fetch quests, battles, some mild stalking, and a not insignificant amount of murder.<\/p>\n<p>The expansive world with hundreds of dungeons, caves, and various points of interest has never looked better with the recent (not much of a) surprise release, but you\u2019d be forgiven if you never actually <em>see<\/em> any of it.<\/p>\n<p>I chose, in this shiny new version, to roleplay as a Necromancer\/Assassin Hunter (yes\u2026 I was Jinwoo from Solo Leveling, don\u2019t judge me). I could summon monsters from the planes of hell itself to fight for me, pull powerful daggers out of the air, and blink out of existence to swiftly dispatch my foes with stealth attacks. Speed, agility, and intelligence were key to my success, so I figured I\u2019d make the most of one aspect I\u2019d really ignored back in 2006: travel.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered \u2013 Official Launch Trailer\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mZKRIqccMvA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The remaster retains one of the original version\u2019s overpowered methods of travel. Simply click on a point of the map that you have previously visited, or one of the major town\/city hubs, and you are whisked away to you chosen destination in the time of a mere loading screen.<\/p>\n<p>If the target is within a stone\u2019s throw of a selectable point on the map you don\u2019t even have to walk for more than a couple of minutes to reach your destination. You travel the world by just warping door to door like some sort of Grim Reaper delivery service employee (Uber Reaps? Just Reap? DeReaperoo? OK, I\u2019ll stop).<\/p>\n<p>That is why I decided <em>not<\/em> to use fast travel via the world map, ever.<\/p>\n<p>I can spoil the story here by saying categorically it was a bad idea. A very bad idea.<\/p>\n<p>The game has zero, and I mean not a jot of, forethought to pathing and logical world exploration.<\/p>\n<p>At the start\u2026 oh at the start! Sure! Everyone has something to say, a cave to investigate, a missing family member to inevitably bring back a remnant of. By the time you\u2019ve met everyone and monopolised the entire adventuring trade for yourself, you start to notice patterns in quests that, with the luxury of fast travel, are little more than an extra couple of loading screens and a quick chat.<\/p>\n<p>Without fast travel it\u2019s an hour long round trip for something that could\u2019ve been an e-scroll Modyrn Oreyn! Eh hem\u2026 excuse me.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"363\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"article-image wp-image-22953798 lazyload\" alt=\"The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered screenshot\" loading=\"lazy\" data-src=\"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/SEI_248434016-a2a4.jpg\">\t<\/div><figcaption>There\u2019s a reason they invented horse armour (Bethesda)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Don\u2019t get me wrong, I got the absolute most out of my playthrough. The joy I got replaying old quests again, seeing old friends\u2026 and enemies. Rediscovering things I\u2019d forgotten, like running along and finding an invisible sheep in the road before the \u2018Oh this is a quest not a bug!\u2019 penny dropped, was a wonderful dopamine drip directly into my rose-tinted veins.<\/p>\n<p>I hit the credits with:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>125 in-game days passed<\/li>\n<li>140 quests completed<\/li>\n<li>Level 100 in all major skills (without really trying)<\/li>\n<li>336 places visited<\/li>\n<li>1,500 potions made<\/li>\n<li>59 Oblivion gates shut<\/li>\n<li>121 nirnroot found<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The game unfortunately doesn\u2019t track distance travelled, nor does it specify the units of distance on the compass. To work it out roughly I had to reconcile this with the fact that the world map seems to be scaled down compared to maps and accounts in books of how large certain areas <em>should<\/em> be. So it\u2019s complicated to try to work out how far anything actually is relative to the next.<\/p>\n<p>The official lore says Tamriel (as in the entire continent) is roughly 80% the size of Australia. This could explain why <em>everything<\/em> is trying to kill me constantly but it doesn\u2019t help with my calculations.<\/p>\n<p>The little waypoint markers have a real-time counter of how far your goal is. This is measured with a \u2018footprints\u2019 symbol, which could be as simple as literal \u2018feet\u2019 or even just \u2018steps\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>For the sake of staying somewhat true to the world I\u2019ve gone with yards. If nothing else, it does feel more appropriate for somewhere with the \u2018Imperial\u2019 City at its centre.<\/p>\n<p>(Note: After some quick googling the majority of Elder Scrolls lore does indeed seem to reference inches\/feet\/yards\/miles\/leagues as the default, but the scale of the world size is vague at best.)<\/p>\n<p>Using the bridge between Imperial City and the settlement of Weye as my marker, my maxed out speed and athletics stats took me 100 \u2018units\u2019 in just under nine seconds.<\/p>\n<p>If I translate that to yards it would put me close to Olympic athlete pace (around 23 miles per hour); not quite Usain Bolt, however I can keep that pace up <em>indefinitely<\/em>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered \u2013 Official Reveal\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JEmvYnQJw3I?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>At this point I effectively gave up trying to go any deeper into my potential travel time. Between speaking, sneaking, and spelunking I wouldn\u2019t even venture a guess as to how much of my time was spent standing around or moving at a snail\u2019s pace. That doesn\u2019t even begin to mention the pace increase as I levelled up my stats. (Oh\u2026 my headache is back again.)<\/p>\n<p>I did give myself one caveat. One beautifully, cruel moment of respite. I had Frostcrag Spire as my homebase. Settled way up north, at the top of Gnoll Mountain, was my little beacon of safety. Visible from miles away, I could see it towering above the world. Inside, my vault filled with millions of gold worth of loot, my flame atronach standing to attention inside the entrance and, most importantly, my mage guild warp points.<\/p>\n<p>Every time I was nearly over-encumbered with magical tat I began the trek up that mountain path. Over and over. Dodging bears, bandits and yet more bears I tipped my swag bag out into various chests and then I could make that wonderful choice: \u2018Which city\u2019s Mage Guild should I portal over to?\u2019<\/p>\n<p>It was a rare treat to simply be able to skip the next 4,000+ yard sprint <em>back<\/em> to Leyawiin for the 18th time.<\/p>\n<p>One thing I can confidently say is that, by the end, a little part of me died every time I stepped out of a city and saw \u20183,721\u2019 units next to my next quest marker.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"410\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"article-image wp-image-22956995 lazyload\" alt=\"Screenshot of Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered\" loading=\"lazy\" data-src=\"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/SEI_248508407-328f.jpg\">\t<\/div><figcaption>At least the scenery is nice (Bethesda Softworks)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The game has a horrible habit, during its faction quests, of the following:<\/p>\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Meet your local contract vendor in City A.<\/li>\n<li>Meet the client in City B (3,000 yards away).<\/li>\n<li>Complete the quest in a nearby cave (if you are lucky).<\/li>\n<li>Return to the client.<\/li>\n<li>Return to City A (another 3,000 yards).<\/li>\n<li>Get told there\u2019s a new contract vendor with work for me in City C.<\/li>\n<li>Travel 2,000 yards to City C.<\/li>\n<li>Meet the client in City A (<em>I just came from there<\/em>)<\/li>\n<li>Complete quest\u2026 in City B?! for the client (that\u2019s another 3,000 yards).<\/li>\n<li>Return to City A (sure, OK pal).<\/li>\n<li>Return to the vendor in City C.<\/li>\n<li>Realise I\u2019m over-encumbered, so travel to Frostcrag Spire.<\/li>\n<li>Teleport to City C (thank goodness my thumb is actually starting to hurt from holding forward).<\/li>\n<li>Get promoted!<\/li>\n<li>\u2018You should talk to the first vendor again in City A for more work\u2019 (\u2026you\u2019re joking).<\/li>\n<li>Return to step 1.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>For a perfectly sane player, with the use of fast travel, this is a 15 minute burst of action-packed questing. For me, it was nearly two hours of swimming, sprinting, jumping back and forth\u2026 and back\u2026 and forth.<\/p>\n<p>This wasn\u2019t an isolated incident either, it happened again and again. I travelled hundreds of unnecessary miles (yes, I know almost <em>all<\/em> of the miles I travelled were unnecessary) for what could have just been a message left for me at the guild hall I\u2019d just been to.<\/p>\n<p>It was rewarding, frustrating and easily the best way to experience Oblivion again after all these years. Catching details I\u2019d missed way back when, meeting people I\u2019d never met before, becoming an overpowered monster in my own right.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019d recommend that absolutely no one plays without ever using fast travel. It\u2019s really not worth it.<\/p>\n<p>Do it. You\u2019ll love it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>By reader Jay Parry<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"410\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"article-image wp-image-22956990 lazyload\" alt=\"Wizard character in Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered\" loading=\"lazy\" data-src=\"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/SEI_248508355-52f7.jpg\">\t<\/div><figcaption>Next stop: the Shivering Isles (Bethesda Softworks)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><em>The reader\u2019s features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><em>You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. Just contact us at <a href=\"mailto:gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk\">gamecentral@metro.co.uk<\/a> or use our <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/submit-stuff\/\">Submit Stuff page<\/a> and you won\u2019t need to send an email.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><title>Arrow<\/title><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/05\/04\/gta-6-price-rises-going-destroy-gaming-forever-readers-feature-23020522\/?ico=more_text_links\" class=\"\">GTA 6 and price rises are going to destroy gaming forever \u2013 Reader\u2019s Feature<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><title>Arrow<\/title><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/05\/03\/game-pass-led-abandon-ps5-readers-feature-23019105\/?ico=more_text_links\" class=\"\">How Game Pass led me to abandon my PS5 \u2013 Reader\u2019s Feature<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><title>Arrow<\/title><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/04\/27\/5-memorable-gaming-moments-no-one-ever-talks-readers-feature-22974929\/?ico=more_text_links\" class=\"\">5 memorable gaming moments that no one ever talks about \u2013 Reader\u2019s Feature<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered \u2013 a nice walk is good for you (Bethesda Softworks) A reader enjoys a return trip to the world of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion and explains why ignoring one of its key features made it even more fun. I sit here with a sense of accomplishment, pride, and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":522,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[14],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2498"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2498"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2498\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2500,"href":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2498\/revisions\/2500"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}