Best Birthsigns in Oblivion Remastered
Birthsigns in Elder Scrolls 4 Oblivion Remastered grant permanent buffs or powers

Picking the best Birthsign in Elder Scrolls 4 Oblivion Remastered is basically a way to pick out an additional buff or power for your character, but the Birthsigns themselves vary significantly in a way that makes them difficult to compare. Is temporary invisibility better than a stat boost? Is a lockpicking power in Oblivion Remastered greater than The Lover's Kiss?
Well, it depends on your playstyle to some degree, especially when you'll have to pick out the best class in Oblivion Remastered after this point to keep in mind. Birthsigns aren't the be-all-and-end-all, but it's an important choice that might make the difference in more than a few fights and challenges once you're out in the world. Let's talk about the best Birthsign to choose, and what they have to offer.
The best Birthsigns in Oblivion Remastered listed
The best Birthsign will depend on your playstyle in Elder Scrolls 4 Oblivion Remastered – it goes without saying that The Shadow will work well for stealthy characters or The Mage for spellcasters – but there are certain Birthsigns that are great across the board for all kinds of characters in Oblivion. Those would be:
- The Thief: Increases Agility, Luck and Speed by 10 points. Luck in Oblivion is incredibly powerful on its own terms, so while this does help stealthy characters more, the Luck bonus alone is arguably worth it.
- The Lady: Increases Willpower and Endurance by 10 points. A simple survival buff helps all characters, and the Lady does it better than the similar Lord birthsign.
- The Ritual: Turn undead by spending Magicka, and heal 200 health once per day. The ability to immediately get a major heal is powerful, and the infinite use of Turn Undead makes it far more potent.
- The Atronach: Increases Magicka by 150 and 50% chance to absorb spells. However, magicka regen is prevented. A big playstyle change, but one that really suits frontline spellcasters like the Spellsword.
- The Shadow: Grants temporary invisibility once per day. While rogues and thieves will get a lot from this, it also allows combat classes to more easily retreat, or to help them sneak with bad stats in quests that call for stealth.
All Birthsigns in Oblivion Remastered
Below we've listed all the Birthsigns in Elder Scrolls 4 Oblivion Remastered that you can pick from in the Tutorial, as well as indicate what playstyles, builds and classes are best suited to them.
- THE WARRIOR
- Effects: Increases Endurance and Strength by 10 points.
- Best for: Melee fighters, heavy armor users, tanks of all sorts.
- THE MAGE
- Effects: Increases Magicka by 50 points.
- Best for: Any kind of frequent spellcaster.
- THE THIEF
- Effects: Increases Agility, Luck and Speed by 10 points.
- Best for: Stealthy characters, but can work for anybody.
- THE STEED
- Effects: Increases movement speed by 20 points.
- Best for: Stealthy characters and non-ranged characters.
- THE APPRENTICE
- Effects: Increases Magicka by 100 points, but increases susceptibility to magic by 100%.
- Best for: Ranged spellcasters or those who know how to defend against magic successfully.
- THE SHADOW
- Effects: Can use "Moonshadow" once per day, turning invisible for 60 seconds.
- Best for: Rogues, thieves, stealthy characters, but also those who want a quick escape.
- THE RITUAL
- Effects: Can use "Blessed Word" for 40 Magicka to cause undead to flee in horror for 30 seconds. You can also use "Mara's Gift" once per day to restore 200 health.
- Best for: Tanky fighters who want to hold off hordes and keep themselves alive.
- THE ATRONACH
- Effects: Increases Magicka by 150 points. 50% chance of absorbing spells. However, you cannot regenerate Magicka naturally.
- Best for: Melee, tanky spellcasters like the Spellsword or Crusader.
- THE TOWER
- Effects: Can use "Tower Key" to unlock one average lock once per day. Can also use "Tower Warden" once per day to reflect 5% of all damage for 120 seconds.
- Best for: Tanks and those who need help breaking security.
- THE LORD
- Effects: Increase Armor Rating by 15 and Magic Resistance by 15%.
- Best for: Tanks, barbarians and those who want to survive damage rather than avoid it.
- THE LADY
- Effects: Increases Willpower and Endurance by 10 points.
- Best for: Spellcasters and ranged fighters.
- THE LOVER
- Effects: Can use "Lover's Kiss" once per day to paralyze a target for 10 seconds and reduce your own fatigue by 120.
- Best for: Melee fighters or stealth characters who want to be able to pause combat with a single foe.
- THE SERPENT
- Effects: Can use "Serpent Spell" once per day. This deals damage to the target over 20 seconds, as well as curing poison on the caster. However, it damages your fatigue by 100 points.
- Best for: Ranged fighters and evasive warriors who want to drain opponents with a single strike.
Changing Birthsigns
After choosing your birthsign in Oblivion Remastered, the only chance you'll have to change it is when leaving the Sewers and tutorial zone, where you also get the chance to change your race, class and other elements (if you're making tweaks, we have a guide on the best races in Oblivion Remastered). Once that's done, there's no other way to edit your Birthsign without mods. You're locked in for good.
Want to know more about thriving in this recreated classic fantasy? For those who are inclined to sneakiness, check out how to start the Thieves Guild questline in Oblivion Remastered. Or for those who are a little more inclined to bloody means, here's how to start the Dark Brotherhood questline in Oblivion Remastered…
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Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and raconteur with a Masters from Sussex University, none of which has actually equipped him for anything in real life. As a result he chooses to spend most of his time playing video games, reading old books and ingesting chemically-risky levels of caffeine. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at USgamer, Gfinity, Eurogamer and more besides.
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