Bugs (Oblivion)


 * First, be sure to install the latest patch (currently v1.2). People can get more information at the patches page.
 * Important Note: Many of these bugs, glitches, and exploits have been fixed as of the patch v1.2.
 * Ensure that a bug is widespread among other users (and not just a problem with one person's system setup), or has been confirmed as a real bug.
 * Feel free to discuss any problems, glitches, or bugs in the talk page. This page is continuously undergoing cleanup to remove non-bugs or individual gaming issues.

Using the console

 * For more information on using the console and its commands, see Console Commands.

For PC users, some of the bugs on this page can be circumvented using the console, specifically the bugs where Item X is needed but doesn't show up. To open the console, simply press the tilde key (~), which is the key to the left of the '1' key and below the 'Esc' key. Some have stated that the at (@) key (the '2' key) can also open the console.

Cannot Use Container Interface Correctly

 * Because the loot/sell interface does not work correctly, players cannot interact with containers or shopkeepers correctly. Upon clicking anywhere, the interface exits. This bug has been found in after patch v.1.2.0416

Shopkeepers: Cannot sell or haggle items.

Containers: Cannot loot items using 'activate' button and cannot use 'take all' button. Also, cannot put items in containers. A partial solution for looting is to use the standard arrow-keys and 'Enter'/'Return' button to individually select and take loot.

Full Solution: Change the left-mouse button in the 'Controls' section to anything but 'Activate' and the regular mouse functions will work. (assuming any other function works. If not,  use  'Attack'

Game Freezes

 * Upon loading a save game, Oblivion runs fine. Freezing occurs three to four minutes into playing (ex; talking to townspeople, etc.). Another instance is a frozen black screen after entering or exiting buildings and fast traveling. During the freeze, on Xbox 360; the dashboard doesn't show up and the player cannot interact with the console at all, the only solution being to turn it off. Unconfirmed on PC and PS3 versions.

Solution: Holding down the Y button on the loading screen will clear the loading cache, making the game playable again, but may delete the save.

Pc Crash: Here is a bug toggle a npcs collision then using "tcl" while they are selected in  the console talk to them open the console while the talk menu is loaded then kill them with the command "kill" Oblivion will crash.

Disk read errors
These seem to occur on the Xbox 360 and PS3 version from time to time even with a clean, unscratched copy of the game. This bug may very well have to do with the console itself rather than the disk, but is notable, as it occurs on many consoles.

Solution: Save fairly often (this should be done anyway in case of death). It helps to make sure that the game itself is set to auto-save frequently. If a disk read error happens, restart the game, and it should play fine. If it continues, the problem seems to go away if the player removes, cleans, and re-inserts the disk. On Xbox 360, going into the memory, having the selection over "Hard Drive", push Y for options, and then clear system cache. This will make the game readable. However, some of the downloadable content might not work, in which case the player will have to re-download them, and some save games might not work.

Other Solution: The player can also try cleaning their lens, even with Oblivion's many Disk Read Errors it is most often caused by a dusty lens(as are a few other Xbox titles excessively prone. They can try doing a "thorough" cleaning with a can of air(YouTube has a few methods geared for the 360). At the least this should lessen the frequency. Even just "blowing" inside the disk tray can help.

Seemingly endless "enemy nearby" or "guards pursuing you" messages
If when the player tries to wait, they get either of the aforementioned messages, commit a crime and pay the fine (a petty crime, obviously) and they should be able to wait and fast travel again, or they could just use save/load. Use the console~, and type "swdp". This should list a group of people currently detecting them. Whoever isn't physically present (i.e. Imperial Watch), is who the player will want to find, and talk to. Often they will run up to the player, as if to confront them, but the result will be the same as if the player started a conversation. For this reason, if they commit a crime in, say; the Imperial City, its often a good idea to get rid of the bounty while still there, and talk to a guard afterwards. To test if they still have the issue, try to wait. Usually this fix works. See this thread for more details, including how to extract from the proprietary Installshield .cab files: here. However, this may not work due to the issue with the console involving Windows Vista or Windows 7.

Mages Guild - Cheydinhal Recommendation
This has been found on several forums for both PC and Xbox 360 versions.

If this quest is not completed within three game days of starting the quest, the item the player is looking for will disappear (probably as part of the normal three-day cell reset routine) from the place where they are supposed to search, and therefore makes the Mages Guild quest impossible to complete.

Another bug which has been confirmed happens when the player takes the Ring of Burden off Vidkun's body and drop it before the journal update appears. This results in the quest not being able to be finished. The only way to fix this is to reload from a previous save game.

Solution: The player can use the cheat player.additem 0002E5AC 1 to fix this (it gives them the ring - then just walk into the building and talk to Deetsan).

Mages Guild - Arcane University - A Mage's Staff
By falling off the island (near the staff) instead of fighting the necromancers, the player will be forced to return to Wellspring Cave again to regain access to the island. When they return, the necromancers will be gone and they will be unable to finish the quest. More information can be found on the discussion page for this quest. If the Hero has a high Acrobatics skill and a lot of patience,they can jump their way up the side of the island and continue the quest as normal.

Solution: Either re-load a previous save or use "setstage 000e4e14 30" in the console.

Thieves Guild - May the Best Thief Win
On the PC version there is a bug in this quest. Methredhel gets to the diary almost immediately, and although the map indicates that the book is in her chest in her house, it does not appear in the chest when it is opened. It is not possible to pickpocket Methredhel for it since she is not carrying it. Even after thirty days Methredhel never takes the diary to Armand, and the secondary method of entering the Guild is never triggered. It is therefore impossible to join the Thieves Guild should this bug happen. An interesting version of this bug is when Methredhel doesn't get the diary immediately. This could happen if she gets interrupted by another NPC, or when she gets stuck on a "glitch spot" - a spot where an NPC will be stuck and unable to move. Another solution is to have a high Athletics skill, and as long as the player knows where they are going, they can beat Methredhel there. It doesn't actually matter if she beats them there or not. Methredhel is always in sneak mode in the house, so all they have to do is run to the desk that the diary is in and take it (no sneaking is needed).

Solutions:

Use the cheat "player.additem 000355ED 1" or use "movetoqt 1" to get the diary and give it to Armand to complete the quest and join the guild.

Another way to complete this is for the player to talk to the beggar and get the location, then fast-travel there. Run full-tilt for the door, though she will likely beat them there. Go in after her (having the Tower Stone active helps open the door, though it is not necessary as long as they have enough lockpicks or the Skeleton Key) and she will still be in sneak mode, in an empty floor of the house. Just leave sneak mode and dash past her to the desk, where the diary is. She never breaks sneak, the house owner is never downstairs to see the player un-sneaking, and Methredhel doesn't care if they are visible to her when they get it. The invisibility is not required.

One of the easier ways to do this, is to pickpocket Methredhel or her "partner" before getting the quest. Steal the house key, start the quest, let her take the book, then just go back to her place and take it. Or, simply pick the lock on the door with lockpicks, magic, or the Tower Stone birthsign.

Another solution is to attack her. She is marked as an essential character and therefore cannot die. When she overtakes the player, attack her and take the diary.

A simpler solution is to lay an immobilization spell on her and get a good ten second head start.

The last solution to solve this is the paintbrush glitch. All the player has to do is gather thirty or so paintbrushes and drop them in a circle around her. Make sure to do this before speaking to Armand. Generally, the player will find that the brushes hover over the ground by three feet or so, they will also notice she won't be able to run through or jump, thus allowing them to take their time to go steal the book.

Character Stuck in Place
I entered the Shimmering caves as part of an early Fighters Guild quest and after realizing I needed to level up I left the cave. When the screen loaded back up my character wouldn't move, he would only run in place. I tried to auto travel back to the stables at Whiterun and the same thing happened. As of now I have yet to find a solution, and I am extremely frustrated. I just reached level 4 and as you all know it takes a while to get things done in any Elder Scrolls game.

Quick Solution (NO IDEA IF THIS EFFECTS ACHIEVEMENTS OR NOT, USE AT OWN RISK!):

pop open the console (` key, left of 1 and under esc on standard keyboard setups)

Type TCL

move a bit

Reopen the console and type TCL again to disable no collision.

Are you on Xbox?

I have had the same problem, and it makes no difference if you start again or if you use a different profile, if you try to start another game as soon as it comes to the bit where you are able to move, you cant !!!!, phoned tech support who assure me that the game needs to be installed to the hard disk, something to do with the way the game streams data?? Haven't had a chance to try this yet but we will see. Also i have heard that clearing the system cache on the Xbox may stop this glitch.

I have been playing console games for a long time and i have never known of a glitch that stayes there when you load a new game or reboot the console, mind boggling.

Installing the game on to your HD and clearing the system cache does solve this problem, mine is now working fine, im now level 13 and have had no problems (Apart from the low res texture thing that happens when you install to HD!!!) i can live with that tho!

Duplicating Items with a Bow
Note: Does not work on PS3. To clone Items with a bow, ready an arrow with the bow, and while holding down the button, open the inventory and let go of the fire button. When in the inventory, drop the desired item to duplicate and exit the inventory. Once the player exits, their arrow will fire directly at the item and clone the item to how many arrows are in their quiver, this glitch will work with all types of items except for the glowing root, there is no crash caused by the glitch unless they create a very copious amount, though it can be done multiple times.

An extremely rare glitch may occur when duplicating to many items at once inside of a house, this will result in the game freezing. What sets this apart from other glitches is that if the player removes the disc while the console is frozen and place it inside again, they may get lucky and the game will start again quite some time later. If they can succeed in reproducing the glitch, they will find that there is a small bag not jammed through the floor and every item that is in that house is not inside of that bag as well as anything that an npc may have been carrying at the time that the glitch occured and taking from the bag is not considered stealing.

Copying Daggers and Staves
This glitch requires the player having the Staff of Worms acquired from Mannimarco, and the Skull of Corruption from the daedric prince Vaermina. To start this glitch off the player will need to kill someone or find someone that is already dead. Once they have found a dead body, put the desired weapon to copy on the dead person's body. After that use the Staff of Worms to reanimate the dead person. Once they are up off the ground shoot the Skull of Corruption at the person they reanimated. When the clone appears of that person, the player will notice that they have the weapon that they wanted to copy. Once the clone gets the weapon out as if they are going to attack something, kill them before the originally reanimated person "dies." The desired weapon to clone should be on the floor somewhere after the player kill the clone. Collect the cloned weapon off the floor and then go to the dead body they cloned, then search their body and take the weapon they cloned. After all of this is done the player should have a duplicate of the weapon they wanted to duplicate.

To duplicate the Staff of Worms, find a dead body, then remove any weapon it may have. Stand close so the player can still search the corpse. Begin to shoot the body with the Staff, but quickly (before the animation completes and the bolt fires) open the corpse and place the staff in it. The bolt will still fire, resurrecting it; proceed to clone and kill or disarm the clone.

Be sure that the corpse does not have any other weapons on its body. It is not possible to clone the Skull of Corruption using this method.

Crash on exit leading to crash on running/loading
Some players find that Oblivion crashes sometimes on exit. They also find that Oblivion will crash on startup after one of these crashes. While the cause of the crash on exit is unkown, a cause of the crash on startup has been found.

Solution:

Apparently corrupts the Oblivion - meshes.bsa file when it crashes on exit, and this causes it to crash on startup. To fix the problem, replace the current meshes.bsa with an original copy from the DVD by copying it out of the Installshield .cab files on the DVD, or by reinstalling the game.

Stretching People
When people or creatures are killed, sometimes their body turns to 'jelly' and they ball up on the floor. When this happens, it continually happens to that person or creature until the game is reset. This can be quite fun as now the player can stretch the body as long as they want and it just keeps stretching. This might also happen when the player shoots them with a paralyze spell.

This can also be done to the player if using a custom paralyze self spell.

Easy inside buildings
Note: in order to do this glitch the player must be able to become the "Jelly" that is stated in the above glitch
 * 1) Make a self Paralyze spell. (Or just buy one)
 * 2) Go inside any building (Mainly houses) in the game
 * 3) Look at the door and ready the self paralyze spell
 * 4) The split second the player goes third person from being paralyzed open the door to outside
 * 5) If timed right (and it requires EXTREME timing) then they will see inside the building's game model (of course empty) and as soon as they return from their paralysis then they will be inside the building.

Make sure that the player presses A the second they go into third person. Most of the time if they are too slow, they will just collapse to the "Jelly" form and will have to try again.

Sometimes the player will just be shot to another door in the town and still be inside the map. This might be caused by running point blank at the door when performing the glitch.

If the player does this and does NOT turn to jelly, they will be teleported to some unknown destination either in the town or somewhere in the map. This has been done twice and so far, the player has ended up inside a temple wall, and flung at least two thousand feet into the air and flown across Tamriel.

Shifting Staves
When a staff is placed somewhere by a player it will shift a foot or two towards the direction the head of the staff is facing. This happens when a player reloads into the area after saving in another area. (Has been fixed in patched versions)

Paintbrushes
A miscellaneous item that can be found in many areas in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. While seeming ordinary, Paintbrushes are not under the effects of the physics engine in Oblivion; that is, you can drop one from your inventory and it will float in the air in front of you. This is very useful for creating a "bridge" of paintbrushes to reach areas more easily. Unless you hate cheating, it's a good idea to carry several paintbrushes, and pick up any you might find.

Paintbrushes can usually be found in many chests, barrels, and sacks in cities, which prove to be the easiest places to find them.

This also seems to work with bricks and bones.

Note: On the PS3 and 360 version if you have the Shivering Isles Expansion the Paintbrushes will be added under the effects of the physics engine. This does not apply for the Game of The Year version.

Jumping the Bruma wall
On the southeast wall of Bruma there are several houses that allow you to jump onto the wall with high enough skill. While there are multiple areas that allow you to jump onto the wall, there is no invisible wall guarding the southeast wall, allowing you to jump over.

With high enough Agility, Athletics, and Acrobatics, you can jump from the ledge around the chapel onto J'Ghasta's House, and then jumping to Helvius Cecia's House. After doing so, stand on top of the roof as high as possible and jump onto the ledge on the wall. Simply jump over the wall in order to enter an unbound map with no detail. If you cannot reach the top of the roof, try quickly running downwards for a step or two and then switching directions and running back up (as long as you continue running you can walk up a roof without problem).

You may un-glitch yourself by entering the main gate of Bruma (which will be to The Jerall Mountains) or by using map-travel.

This is actually a brilliant way to find map locations without having to worry about enemies. You can go all over Cyrodiil with everything unloaded and you can find any map location. The only danger is that you cannot see the ground you are walking on, only the grass (every so often) so you have no idea if you are going to drop off a mountain. Remember to save often.

If you travel to the edge of the map you will fall for a short period of time and then instantaneously die.(I, however, did this with my high-level character and went far past the edge of the map, yet I did not die. It seems to just me a "mountain" drop.)

Note: This is possible to do on every major city in Cyrodiil. There is even a way to exit the Arena in this manner.

Bodyless Horseman
When riding a horse switch to the third person view and look at your shadow to see a man riding a horse, then switch back to first person and watch as a horse's shadow is riding solo.

Longer Chain in the Arena
When you go into a fight at the arena, use the flare spell, (or something similar) at the chain holding the lamp (that you see when you walk in). The chain should grow longer but leave gaps between the rings. This also works with almost any ranged destruction spell it doesn't have to be fire.

The walk-throughable wall
Inside the Cheydinhal Bridge Inn there is a wall you can walk through. It is located where the 3 barrels stand on the first floor. There is also a chest floating about 10 meters underneath it, with enough time you can click on the chest but it needs a key. It is quite possible that the key was never put into the game and that this chest was moved out of sight to save time. If you miss the chest you will appear back up on the first floor. Note: these chests are under many stores, and often hold most of the store owner's inventory. They must be unlocked with the "unlock" cheat, and are an easy source of items. The only way to get to them is to go into fly mode and look under the store (while inside it).

For example, there is a chest under Red Diamond Jewelry in the Imperial City. Underneath it is a chest with a powerful magic ring. It can be found via toggling clipping. (tcl)

There is another wall that you can walk through. You know the Dorian guy that you can get infinite money from? Go to his basement door, face the wall that is across from it and walk towards it. You should immediately go through. If you can time it right and go fast enough, you can be teleported upstairs to his bedroom door. I have done that about five times.

Bloodworks Wall Glitch
Once inside the Bloodworks, go down the stairs. Where you see the Blue Team Arena Gladiator infinitely shooting arrows, turn facing the way you came in. You should be looking upstairs. If you can manage to jump on top of the stone Archway at the end of the stairway, you can walk on top of the Bloodworks. To get back to the mapped part of the Bloodworks, just fall off the edge into the black abyss and you will be teleported back.

Bloodworks Corner Glitch
Once inside the Bloodworks, go down the stairs but not actually into the Bloodworks. You'll notice an archway door on the stairs side; if you sneak and walk into the left corner you can climb the wall and be sitting in midair. This glitch is really just an easter egg. It is possible to use this glitch on most of the corners in the game but this corner works exceptionally well.

This glitch is only confirmed on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 version.

Swimming in the mid-air
Go somewhere where is a guard and water nearby. Shoot the guard and run to water. When the guard talks to you choose pay gold. You can now swim in the mid-air until you touch the ground or open a door.

Infinite Enchantment - Ring Of Desiccation
During the Coming Storm quest in Crucible, you are told to find the Ring of Desiccation (You can find it in the "Museum Of Oddities". Opt to take the tour and steal the ring when Una Armina is not looking.) You can receive both enchantments from the Ring Of Desiccation (Water walking and Water Breathing) permanently on your character. If you get arrested (In Cyrodill, but not the Shivering Isles), and you opt to go to jail, you can serve your term; when you get out, you will find that you cannot equip the Ring of Desiccation ("You cannot equip this enchanted item right now"). However, if you check your Active Enchantments, you will find out that you have both effects active. The glitch stays active even after you turn in the ring during the quest. This bug works in similar ways on other rings as well e.g. Ring of the Vipereye (though it is done vice versa with this particular ring since you obtain it in Cyrodill, meaning you must receive the sentence at the Shivering Isles); also you won`t be able to remove the ring from your inventory as it becomes a "quest item" permanently. The ring must be a quest item that you cannot normally drop out of your inventory once acquired, and it must be stolen. Another such way to permanently enchant the item onto yourself is to have it - or a similar object on when you do the Sanguine Shrine Quest. The spell he gives you to cast will affect you as well, removing all your items.

Infinite Money – Dorian Glitch

 * Note: This bug may not always work. This bug works even with the latest patch (v1.2.0416) release. * Does not work with Xbox 360's latest patch.(Clear 360 cache for bug to work)

This bug reportedly works for both the PC and Xbox 360 version. In order to achieve infinite money, murder Dorian located in Imperial City Talos Plaza District. Loot him, and take his money. Instead of being removed from his inventory, the money remains and can be taken as many times as you want. When the guards come, simply pay the fine. You should still have the money, minus the fine, in your inventory. You can also simply use a paralyze spell on him and pickpocket the money without having to kill him.

If you cannot kill Dorian before he runs out the door, then either come back when you can, use the difficulty slider, or use a spell to paralyze him. You could also use the Yield exploit to drain a lot of health before he actually starts to run away.

Note: This bug is somewhat inconsistent. Oftentimes Dorian will only have 10 gold on him (or another very low amount) This happens because you have just recently begun the game. If you have played the game for at least 30 days or so then he will have somewhere near 200 gold or higher. The NPCs seem to gain money the more days you have played the game. In this scenario you will not be able to grab infinite money. Use the sneak ability to pickpocket him and it should show how much money he has (you don't want to actually take his gold at this point). If he does not have a reasonable amount, specifically at least 35 gold, use the speechcraft (disposition) system and bribe him. This will put money in his pocket and make the glitch viable. If you keep using the Yield exploit, you'll be draining his disposition, making it possible to keep bribing him over and over - we managed to shove over 2000g into him before he ran out of health - that's 2000g every single time you try to grab the money!

His body should stay there for several game days (allowing you to continue stealing infinite money from his corpse), but it will disappear once the cell resets.

Be warned: If you hit the "Take All" command when looting his body after the glitch has been activated your system will freeze.

Example movie: see here

Notes:
 * With the new patch, you can simply paralyze him to accomplish the goal (360, PS3). Doing it this way will count as pickpocketing every time you do it as there was technically a witness, and raise your bounty every time as a result. So I suggest using this only if you're in the Thieves Guild and/or are the Gray Fox.
 * Essentially, If you have enough septims you can get them back in an outrageous amount. A good strategy is to bring 5 to 10,000 septims with you and simply hit him and quickly use the yield exploit. If he starts to run low on health, you can either turn up the difficulty or use a heal-on-target spell. This is a great way to make money especially if you paralyze him as you can come back whenever you want to and he will still have the same amount of septims!
 * Do NOT press 'Take all' for it will freeze your game because of the money never going out of his pockets.

Infinite Money – Vampire Cure Reward Glitch

 * Note: This bug may not always work. This bug does not work with the Xbox 360's patch (v1.2.0416).

After completing the Vampire Cure quest and getting the potion to the count's wife, come back the next day and ask him for a reward. He'll give you level dependent gold (A level 20 should get about 3000). You can keep asking and clicking 'reward' and he'll give you the reward each time. If you are over level 30, the cash reward will be 10,000 septims.

This glitch assumes that you can give the woman bloodgrass. Many forums are talking about this bug. It is only for PS3 Game of the Year North American versions. It is activated by completing the Main Quest before you give her bloodgrass. It is easily bypassed by completing the quest before finishing the Main Quest. She might not recognize that your inventory has bloodgrass, therefore making you unable to complete the Vampire Cure quest (If you have the PS3 version, you can bypass this glitch by changing the PS3's system language to German, as this will change the in-game language). Think twice about becoming a vampire unless you have the The Vile Lair official plug-in.

Infinite Money – Cheydinhal Mages Guild

 * Note: This bug was discovered in the unpatched version of Oblivion for the Xbox 360, test on current xbox 360 patch confirms it working, though is inconsistent.

The counter that Eilonwy stands behind to sell her goods is capable of respawning two Novice Apparatus (every 24 hours or so) after the originals have been removed from inside it and resold to her (and only her). It is a constant source of 75-100 depending on your current level of Haggling selected for her, and as long as you continue to sell them to her they will continue to respawn in the counter.

Infinite Gold– Female Orc in Kvatch

 * Note: This bug may not always work. The effectiveness has not been checked since the latest patch (v1.2.0416) has been released. *Does not work with Xbox 360's latest patch.

There is an exploit if you can find a person that will buy items that is outside a city while on a horse. The best NPC is an orc woman who buys and sells weapons in the camp just outside the main gate to Kvatch. Obtain a very high-valued weapon and equip it, go to the camp and while on your horse with the weapon equipped, sell this item to her and you will receive the gold for the weapon, however as you are on your horse the game will not allow you to unequip weapons. The result is that you sell the item however it will not leave your inventory so you can sell it again and again until you have the amount of gold you feel happy with. The upside to this exploit is that it is faster than above and you can raise your mercantile skills as you are trading to receive the gold.

Notes:
 * This will only net you 200g per sale, as she only has 200g on her (unless you are an expert or master of mercantile, which will allow you to add up to 1,000 gold to her inventory permanently).
 * This bug does not work on the PlayStation 3 version.

Permanent Bound Items
For this, you may need a Disintegrate armor/weapon spell or just somewhere to wear down your bound armor/weapon and some repair hammers depending on how good at armorer you are. First of all, summon your bound armor/weapon, then use your Disintegrate Armor/Weapon spell or damage it in some way so that when you return to the inventory its rating is not 100. Then use your repair hammers to repair it WITHOUT unequipping it, it should let you drop them. Now your bound armor/weapon should be on the floor in front of you. All you have to do now is wait. Once the spell has worn off you'll see the familiar yellow mist around you as your weapon/armor supposedly evaporates but it won't disappear off the floor. Pick it up again and you now have weightless bound item!

Cloning Items
At one point, duping was easy. There used to be four or five ways to do so, but all of them involving arrows have been patched. Even still, we've found new ways to cheat the game, but if you did not get the 2009 edition it would be patched. Confirmed

Scrolls Cloning

You need two or more of any one kind of scroll, e.g. Flare, whatever. Double click on that particular scroll and drop any other single item. The key is that you must be dropping more items than you have: Two scrolls will drop two items. If you have three of the item you are trying to drop with two scrolls, nothing will be duplicated, you will just drop two items. Also, you cannot duplicate damaged equipment. The equipment being duplicated must be in perfect quality. It must be only at 100 condition.

Should you wish to duplicate items at a larger rate, you must ensure you have at least 2 scrolls, of the same type, as well as at least one scroll of a different type. (You must have less of these than the first one) Then begin to duplicate scrolls, until you have as many scrolls as you need (Lets say 100) Then you may duplicate as normal, 100 items coming out each time you duplicate.

If you are trying to clone arrows you can take a little shortcut. Start with them unequiped, select your scrolls, then instead of dropping them equip them and it should give you as many arrows as you have scrolls.

Be careful when duplicating large numbers of items, as it can lag excessively. It is a good idea to pick up previously cloned objects before making more. Using stacks rather than singular items reduces the lag (if you're duping an item with 100 scrolls, 100 objects will be rendered and calculated on the screen, if you use a stack of 5, it only needs to render 20 objects).

No character-specific items, quest items, or rewards will duplicate: the game includes only a certain number of these, period. This includes Nirnroot, Buma's armor, the Staff of Worms, and all other quest-related items or character-specific items: anything carried by one specific NPC and one only (Buma, Mainnimarco, anyone with a real name). Though if you buy a 2010 version of Game of the Year or 5'th anniversary eddition you will be able to "scroll clone" almost every item as long as it has full charge and repair .Also, most items the player must create will not dupe: Black Soul Gems, player-enchanted armor, etc. (Enchanted armor found on enemies will dupe, so long as the item is common.) A few common items may not be duplicated:
 * Boar Meat
 * Glass War Axe
 * Daedric items - Confirmed
 * Ayleid Statues

How to Scroll Clone 1. Acquire two of any scroll 2. Double click tap/click on scroll 3. Quickly, drop desired item

Enchanted items (An Axe of Soul Trap, a Bow of Magicka, etc.), items with unique names (Sir Amiel's Ring), damaged items, and of course quest items can not be duplicated in the 5th anniversary edition.

How to Scroll Clone Huge Amounts 1. Scroll clone any other scroll (A). 2. Leave only one scroll (A) in the inventory. (when starting, repeat 2 more times.) 3. Pick up all cloned scrolls (A) 4. Drop one of the original scrolls (B). 5. Double tap/click on the inventory scroll (A). 6. Drop the remaining scroll (B) 7. When starting out, there should be four of the scroll A's and five of the scroll B's

A few lessons that I learned the hard way. 1. Cloning in the 40 to 60 range is perfectly fine to prevent lag. When you get to 100 it begins to lag. When you approach 1000 (confirmed on Xbox360) the screen may flicker, shake, or jitter around. If there is enough of the cloned item or if the item has enough polygons, the "loading area" notification will appear. After approximately 10 seconds, the game reloads at the exact moment from when it crashes. All cloned items are conveniently placed in a loot bag directly underneath you.

Alternate Cloning Methods
Dawnfang/Duskfang

One interesting bit about the fangs is that if your mounted at the time that the swords do their switch (6:00 A.M./P.M.) and you have it equipped, you still retain the original fang but you also get the other fang (i.e. You're mounted at dusk with Dawnfang, you still have Dawnfang but Duskfang is still added to your inventory - this glitch only allows you to obtain an indefinite amount of swords)

Has been confirmed for PS3 and Xbox360, as well as PC GOTY edition.

It is important to note that the latest patch for PS3 has eliminated this glitch. It has not been fixed on the latest patch for Xbox360.

Permanent Enchantment Glitch
This is an interesting way to send your attributes skyrocketing, if you have the time. You will need:


 * Sigil Stones or Soul Gem with a level of Grand
 * Two of the Same Scroll
 * Optional: Already Enchanted Item


 * 1) Use either a Sigil Stone or Grand Soul Gem to make an item at the altar of Enchanting
 * 2) Enchant an easy item (for example: A Copper Ring or Gold Necklace) with the desired effect (only works with rings on the Xbox and PC [needs confirmation]). PS3 version you can do this for any item that you wear.
 * 3) After making the item of choice, duplicate the item. Remember, only use two scrolls to duplicate it with.
 * 4) Retrieve the items, and then equip one.
 * 5) Duplicate the item that you are not wearing, that one plus the one you are wearing should be dropped.
 * 6) You will notice that if you attempt to put back on the dropped items, you will not be allowed to and will get some sort of message. Congrats, you now have the effect of the item permanently bound to you. Be warned though, all effects are one-hundred percent permanent and in no way can be removed. So be warned when using effects such as Chameleon or Night-Eye. Can be useful if one uses this glitch to give oneself Water Breathing.

Notes: Duplicate Sigil Stones/Grand Soul Gems and Copper Rings (or other item you are enchanting) so you do not have to re-purchase the items over and over.

It is recommended that you use Sigil Stones, as they come with useful Enchantments such as Feather or Fortify Magicka. Imagine, if you duplicate a Sigil Stone that uses feather over one hundred times and then duplicate a copper ring one-hundred times, you can use this permanent enchantment glitch to make your character to be able to carry well over ten-thousand pounds!

It is possible in-game to clone yourself with the reward you get from the Vaermina Daedric Quest The Skull of Corruption. There are two methods to do this.

Method 1 is easier than Method 2 but you need a mysticism of at least 75. This is for a reflect spell 100% on target spell for at least 2 seconds. You also need a follower to do this trick or someone who doesn't move.


 * 1) First, create the reflect spell using the Spellmaking altar in the Arcane University or Frostcrag Spire if downloaded
 * 2) Make sure it's 100%, is a target spell and lasts for at least 2 seconds
 * 3) Find a long room and tell your follower to wait on one side of the room and you go down to the other side
 * 4) Cast the reflect spell at them then use the Skull of Corruption on them quickly
 * 5) Drop the Skull of Corruption before the spell from the staff hits the target
 * 6) If done correctly you should now have a clone of yourself
 * 7) If you kill your clone within the 30 second time limit you can loot it by saving just as it's dying with you next to its body, then loading it back up and press to loot the body and all your equipment will be on the clone (Excluding Umbra, Skull of Corruption and Wabbajack)
 * 8) If you kill your follower then leave the area without the Skull of Corruption the clone will be permanent
 * 9) It will be hostile originally but if you have the Staff of Worms you can kill it and bring it back to life
 * 10) You will have to keep bringing back to life though every 30 seconds and you will lose the Skull of Corruption if you want to keep the clone.
 * 11) To get rid of the clone just pick up the Skull of Corruption

Method 2 is harder as it requires an NPC to pick it up and fire it at you which can be tricky without a Disintergrate Weapon spell. On the plus side though, no need for a high level mysticism spell.


 * 1) Find a cave somewhere with NPCs that use weapons.
 * 2) Kill everyone in the cave except for one person at the entrance (if you want a permanent clone. If not, anywhere in the cave)
 * 3) 100% chameleon helps here as well or invisibility potions
 * 4) Drop the Skull of Corruption next to the NPC and use a Spell that Disintergrates weapons
 * 5) The NPC will eventually drop their weapon and pick up the Skull of Corruption as long as no weapons are on the ground nearby
 * 6) Step away form the NPC and let him fire it at you
 * 7) Kill the NPC after you have the clone pick up the Skull of Corruption and then drop it (So it's not reset when the cave resets)
 * 8) Leave the cave before the spell wears off
 * 9) And you should now have a permanent clone of yourself. It will be hostile at first but follow the steps above
 * 10) You can also get items from it using the steps above as well
 * 11) Also you can use a command humanoid spell on it (high level) if you don't have the Staff of Worms. (Also works for Method 1)

Cloning items with the Skull of Corruption and Staff of Worms
If you don't want to clone yourself to clone items you can also do this:


 * 1) Find a suitable NPC
 * 2) Save then kill them and place on their corpse the items you want cloned
 * 3) Now reanimate the corpse with the Staff of Worms ( or Risen Flesh)
 * 4) Zap the reanimated NPC with the Skull of Corruption
 * 5) Quickly kill the double (you only have 30 seconds)
 * 6) Once the double is dead save immediately before the double hits the ground and disappears (try to have the cursor on the corpse so there is a "loot" icon)
 * 7) Re-load and repeatedly tap the action key (A-Xbox 360, X-PS3, etc.)
 * 8) Once it has loaded it should open up to the doubles inventory, take the loot and wait until the reanimated corpse dies (30 seconds later) loot it, and you should have double the amount of what you had before.
 * 9) You can do this in the Arena to loot their armor and weapons (like the Grey Aegis)

Permanent 50% Resistance to Poison and Disease
You must have Lifting the Vale active, and have recovered the Draconian Madstone, but not returned it to the Countess.


 * 1) Put on the Draconian Madstone
 * 2) Take the Shrine of Sanguine quest
 * 3) Complete the quest, still wearing the Madstone
 * 4) All items will be removed from your inventory, including the quest items and normally the irremovable Draconian Madstone. When you get it back, you will not be able to wear it again, and the effects are now permanent.
 * 5) You can now get the reward for Lifting the Vale, the Ring of Vipereye.

Thieves Guild: The Stationary Fox
Verified on the Xbox 360

This is an odd bug that is triggered by adding the Boots of Springheel Jak (Item) to your inventory via the console prior to completion of Taking Care of Lex. Upon adding the boots to your inventory, you will get a quest pop-up from the Boots of Springheel Jak quest, saying that you must return the boots to the Gray Fox in Ganredhel's house in Cheydinhal. However, if you try to talk to him there, his greeting will be, "I assume you have the boots" as if you have completed the quest, yet the standard yes/no dialogue options will not appear. You will instead be presented with the regular dialogue options presented when talking to any other guild member, and you will have to complete Taking Care of Lex to ride out the bug.

Here is basically what happens: When you get the quest Turning a Blind Eye from Methredhel, the Gray Fox will not be in Helvius Cecia's house like he is supposed to be. He will remain in Ganredhel's house, saying, "I assume you have the boots" only now you can talk to him about your next assignment. This will keep happening until you complete Boots of Springheel Jak quest. Note this also happens on the two consoles, if you loot his corpse or pickpocket him.

Where Spirits Have Lease
Issue: After finding Velwyn Benirus in Imperial City, he says to meet him back at The Count's Arms in Anvil. However, you may find that he's not there.

Solution: He says to meet in a couple of hours, so wait around two hours and he should show.

Also, try looking in the staircase of the inn, I found his head in a corner and after talking to him he moved to our meeting place and was unbugged.

Another problem that occurs is Velwyn getting himself loaded inside a wall or staircase in the Count's Arms. This is related to the bug description just above, and it also happens in the Imperial City. The only solution I could come up with was to leave the quest sit for a game-week or so while I did other things. When you return to the inn you should hopefully see a reloaded Velwyn standing out in the open where you can talk to him. The only way I ever discovered where he was while loaded in the wall was by using my Vampire's Hunter Sight. Otherwise I might never have found him.

Note: This wall glitch occasionally happens to other quest characters. Glarthir has been found inside the cathedral wall when you go to talk to him about those he thinks are spying on him.

The Siren's Deception
Issue: In Anvil, for the quest The Siren's Deception, it is possible that you won't be able to enter the farmhouse. Signy Home-Wrecker and Faustina Cartia may attack you at the Flowing Bowl. If you kill them, you do get the basement key but are locked out of the farm to finish the mission. This bug can be fixed by removing all your infamy before meeting them at the Flowing Bowl the first time. Also, the door may be locked from the INSIDE, meaning that you cannot get out and that the game is over.

This bug can be reproduced by getting caught by the pair while stealing at the inn. You can either finish the quest by murdering the pair or trigger a script update by finishing/progressing in another quest. (unverified)

Solution: Be sure to meet them at the farmhouse at the appropriate time: after 11 pm.

If you are locked out, use the cheat code "player.coc GwedenFarmInterior" without quotes and kill the woman in there and then the mission should finish automatically.

Also it is possible that after killing the gang that the quest is not updated. In that case type this into console "player.setstage MS04 60" this will then bring the two guards into the farm house.

Bruma - Lifting the Vale
Issue: When you go north to find the Akaviri artifact for the Countess of Bruma, and complete the quest and come back, you may still have "enemies nearby", even in towns and inns, no matter where you go.

Solution: To fix this, you must go back to Serpent Trail, to the ruin you found the artifact in, and search it extensively. There are many skeletons in there, and you have to find the one or many that are giving you the message and kill them.

Mages Guild - Chorrol Recommendation
If you opt to go with the "Guild Way" and return the item to the guild, the guildmaster will tell you that you get his recommendation, BUT the green arrow still points to him although you actually have in effect received the recommendation, the quest pointer is incorrect and can be ignored. Note: If you read you diary it says you must talk to Earana and tell her you gave the book to the guildmaster. Once you have spoken to her again the marker arrow will not show in Chorrol.

Go Fish: Slaughterfish
Issue: During the quest that involves you killing twelve slaughterfish for their scales, the quest markers may be off at times (in locations with no fish).

Solution: This is a large pain, but if you swim around the lake using Detect Life, you should eventually find the slaughterfish. It will be perfectly still, making no movement at all; once you attack it, the map marker will update and it will start to move and attack as normal.

Issue #2: During the quest you may not find any fish, even at the green marker.

Solution: This comes from a clipping problem where the fish spawned directly in a rock under the water. You can use the console command to turn off the clipping and walk under/through the rock. The fish will usually follow you out. After that, turn clipping back on and complete the quest.

Issue #3: A slaughterfish is found at the arrow, but it doesn't have a scale.

Solution: To fix this issue without the console (for Xbox360 and PS3 users, mainly), simply abandon the quest for around three days, this will allow the slaughterfish to respawn, giving it the scale needed to complete the quest.

Unfriendly Competition
In Unfriendly Competition, sometimes it is difficult to find the required evidence shovel in the Mausoleum. It is NOT the shovel that is at Agarmir's house. Look around the mausoleum carefully, as things can fly around during battle. Especially check dark corners.

It is also possible that if you go into the mausoleum and attack Agarmir or his partner, then a guard will give you the normal "Jail, Resist, Fine" options. If you choose Jail/Fine, the mausoleum will require a key. If you choose to resist, you must defeat all three enemies.

Lost Histories
Issue: When clicking "map," it shows no arrow for Shum gro-Yarug. This may apply to both the Lost Histories quest, and the quest to buy the house in Skingrad. The quest arrow just points you to a road, and upon arriving at the arrow, you find nothing. Therefore you can't finish either quest.

He actually falls off of the bridge and dies, and where his body landed is where the arrow is pointing for the house quest.

Solution: The best way to fix this is to either: 1) use the console to summon him with his NPC ID, or 2) find his NPC HEX ID, point to it, and use the resurrect command. After some time he showed up walking on the road. Enter the console, and type the following:


 * prid 00028FB6
 * resurrect

Another way to bypass this bug (for Lost Histories only) is to ignore the chance to fake the job, and instead, go to the Skingrad prison and pickpocket the dungeon key from the jailor, then carry on as if Shum gro-Yarug never died. The reason this works is because the game only recognizes opening a locked door (like the door to the cells) as a crime if a lockpick/the Skeleton Key is used, because the appropriate key is used, unlocking the door isn't seen as a crime. (This is useful for Xbox 360 and PS3 users)

Mankar Camoran's Paradise
Issue: Mankar Camoran does not appear in the building at the end of the Paradise mission. Instead, he seems to be wandering around the inside of Cloud Ruler Temple, and you're unable to attack or pickpocket him. He just asks you, without voice acting, to "enter the hall" to challenge him. You cannot complete the Paradise mission because of this.

Solution: If you are experiencing this glitch it is because Mankar Camoran is stuck either in Lake Arrius Caverns...at the Dagon Shrine, or from what I have heard he sometimes gets stuck at Cloud Ruler Temple. First you need to find him either at the Cloud Ruler Temple or at the Dagon Shrine inside Lake Arrius Caverns. I found him in the far right corner (Just off of the platform) of the Dagon Shrine. If he is at Cloud Ruler Temple he should be in the main room where Martin is. A word of caution, save before you enter Lake Arrius Caverns, and do not attack anyone but Mankar. My system crashed everytime I tried to attack anyone else. You have to run straight to Mankar without attacking anyone else. Speak to Mankar, and then start hacking away, loot his body and grab the Amulet of Kings. After you have the Amulet of Kings start running, because by now you probably have a whole herd of cultists after you. After a few seconds the loading window will show up and you will be back at Cloud Ruler Temple with a message saying the you defeated Mankar and that the portal to paradise has closed.

Shrine of Clavicus Vile quest bug
Issue: When attempting to return the Umbra Sword to Clavicus Vile's shrine for his quest, both PC and Xbox 360 versions of the game crash. The crash has something to do with the statue that Clavicus Vile will give you to carry with while you do his quest. The crash occurs when this statue has to be placed back onto the shrine pedestal from your inventory. At the end of the quest when you go back and talk to the shrine again, whether you give the sword, or keep it, when the statue gets removed from your inventory, the game crashes. This is confirmed on the PC version as well.

Solution: The latest patch fixes this quest. If it does not fix it for you, keep reading:

Before ever talking to the Shrine of Clavicus Vile, go to Vindasel, here you can find Umbra with her sword. Defeat her and take the sword, then go talk to the Khajiit worshiper by the shrine. This will add the Clavicus Vile quest to your journal. You can then speak with the shrine, and he will immediately say, "You've found the sword!". He will take the sword and you won't have to do his quest. Do this and you won't have the glitch with the statue having to get removed from your inventory.

It may also be possible to get around the bug by making sure that the sword Umbra is not currently equipped. This seems to have worked for at least a few on the PC version of the game. It is recommended that you try this method first, as another lucrative quest may hinge on the completion of this line.

For those who do not want to have to reach level 20 this is a good alternative. One simply has to receive the quest and activate the shrine without the loss of gold.

Another possibility is to use wait. Immediately after returning the sword to Clavicus but just prior to the Baucus's parting remarks, simply "wait" for an hour. This has the effect of "time-warping" the character past the final remarks, so they are never given. The game may still lock up later if you ever return to the shrine again, however.

Additionally, for the path of keeping the sword, you can try and warp to the Waterfront District. The seller's words should interrupt those of Baucus (the dog) and allow you to continue (tested only on 360). This doesn't seem to work when you accept the Masque.

Another solution is to simply have the Umbra sword in your inventory before going to the Shrine of Clavicus Vile. When you travel to the shrine with the Umbra sword, do NOT talk to the shrine. Instead, talk to the Khajiit nearby and tell him you have the sword. He will tell you to approach the shrine. You have the choice to keep the Umbra, or exchange it for the Masque of Clavicus Vile, this mask somewhat resembles a samurai faceplate and is the only mask in the game. (Note: This solution has been confirmed and is guaranteed to work).

A final option, if any of the above does not work is to travel to the East gate of Cheydinhal. As soon you give/don't give the blade to Clavicus immediately pause the game to the Journal and travel to the East gate. As soon you spawn to Cheydinhal the Dog Statuette will start talking and will head back to the shrine and will leave your inventory without freezing the game. (This has been confirmed.) Fast traveling to the Market District can also stop this glitch from happening (Player note: just confirmed on Xbox 360 pre-patch).

Wabbajack glitch
Issue: For some reason, when you use the Wabbajack to transmute your own horse, you are simultaneously kicked out of every guild you have joined. Each message claims that you have stolen from another guild member, except the one for the Dark Brotherhood, which only says you have broken one of the tenets. The suspected reason for this is that since it's your horse, it belongs to all the factions you are in.


 * The reason for this is that the horse belongs to you, and if you attack your horse you are somehow stealing from yourself, a guild member.

Issue: If you use the Wabbajack on something you have summoned then kill it (before it changes back) it may sometimes return to its original form but the corpse will remain and be loot-able. I do not yet know what causes this.

See the Gray Fox's Face before completing The Ultimate Heist
You can take the Gray Fox Cowl off of The Gray Fox before you receive it for completing the Thieves Guild.

First, you need a mage's hood. Any will do as long as it is zero-weight (you can buy one from Rindir's Staffs).

Secondly, pick-pocket him and give him the Mages Hood (reverse-pickpocketing).

Leave the house he is in, fast travel anywhere; go into a building or cave and wait 24 hours.

Go back to him and he should be wearing the hood letting you see his face.

If you have an incredibly high sneak skill you can also pick-pocket it off of him.

If you don't have a high sneak skill you can knock him unconscious (causing a blood price of 500 septims) and pickpocket it off him as he's getting up.

Before he is supposed to give the gray cowl drop your stolen one and he will give you a new one netting you 2 gray cowls, each with separate bounties, so you can have 3 personas.

Anvil Recommendation

Sometimes, when you are battling Caminalda, the rogue mage in the "Anvil Recommendation" quest, an Imperial Legion Soldier will walk by on patrol. Due to the fact that, even if Caminalda is attacking, she is considered a civilian (community faction), and the guard will kill anyone attacking her. This includes the two battle mages assisting you on your quest. If you attack her, the guard will tell you you have violated the law and will give you the arrest prompt.

Solution: If you see a guard near the place where Caminalda attacks you, wait until he leaves the area, and resume your mission like normal.

Cannot Select a Target While in Console
Issue: When the console is open you are unable to click-on an object or character, the background is the only thing that is selected. It shows up as ""  instead of "[name of object/character]" . This problem with selecting a target in console means that certain console commands cannot be used, such as the 'kill' command.



Stretchy Pull Rope
When you embark upon the Daedric Prince, Azura's quest, you will be required to travel to Gutted Mine, southwest of the Shrine of Azura, and it can only be unlocked by starting Azura's quest. once you go inside, you will have to fight 3 vampires all dubbed Afflicted Brethren. After you defeat them, you will encounter a rock wall and a pull rope, which appears as a rock attached to a rope. When you activate it, the wall moves out of the way and you are free to enter. If you examine the pull rope at this point, it will start slowly spinning, and if you touch it, it violently stretches and flies around the room, bouncing off the walls endlessly.

This has only been confirmed on the XBOX version, and there is no way to fix it.

Permanent Familiar
If the player is able to summon a Flesh Atronach, Golden Saint or Dark Seducer, then immediately after they summon it and walk through a door, then wait for one hour twice. If the player then returns to where they summoned the being, then it will not say"-name-'s atronach" and so on.
 * Note - the creature will not fight for you, attack you or move after you leave it.
 * The price of the item(s) dropped will increase significantly, e.g. a Golden Saint Shield increased price from 210 septim's to 1000 septims.