Cheats (Oblivion)

The first prominent cheat to emerge involves taking advantage of Bugs, specifically the infinite money bug.

Console Commands

 * For a full list of console commands, see Console commands. For a list of IDs, see Item IDs and NPC IDs.

PC users can use the console to add money to their character if they wish.

For more gold, press the tilde/back-quote key (~/`) to bring up the console player.additem 0000000F 'gold amount'

PC users can also change attributes and skills in console. The values rollbacks to 0 once you pass 255. And all names are without spaces, like for 'hand to hand' use 'handtohand'. You can also use negative numbers for modpca, but dropping a skill below the requirement for your current skill level, ie below 25 if you're at Apprentice, 50 if at Journeyman, 75 if at Expert, or below 100 if at Master, may crash your game. modpca attribute howmuchtoadd   Ex. 'modpca strength 50' will add 50 to your current strength value modpcs skillname howmuchtoadd   Ex. 'modpcs marksman 50' will add 50 to your current marksman skill

Type the letters in  in the console, excluding the .
 * God Mode: 'tgm'
 * Add all spells to player: 'PSB'
 * Reveal all map locations: 'TMM'
 * Toggle collision(allows you to walk/run/ride through the air!) on and off: 'TCL'
 * Toggle AI processing on and off(Everything except you freezes): 'TAI'
 * Save Game: 'SaveGame [filename]'
 * Quits without going through menus: 'QuitGame' or 'qqq'

Opening console troubles
Some users may have trouble bringing up the console. It is said that in such cases the ' or @ key may work, or the key directly left of the 1 (~ or `).

Also: If you have the Microsoft Media Center Addition Software on your PC. You need to unplug your infrared unit from the USB port before starting up the computer. For some reason having it plugged in will not allow you to access the ~ key.

Exploits
Exploits are degenerate strategies that tend to emerge out of complex systems. Whether or not a strategy can be considered an exploit can be a bit of a judgement call, since exploits are not, strictly speaking, cheats: they are part and parcel of the rules of the game.

Some strategies will seem "unrealistic" when compared to the theme of the game, but still be balanced within the abstract scope of the game mechanics. Other exploits will make total percievable sense, but undermine the balance of the game.


 * For a list of exploits as a result of bugs, see the Exploits section of Bugs.

Leveling

 * For general skill leveling tips, see skill leveling tips.

How to increase a skill without doing any real work
 * Sneak: Find a guard... such as one in the imperial city by a door. Face a wall behind the npc, do it in such a way that the npc isn't looking at you. Switch to sneak mode (make sure the little eye is grayed out, not bright, such that they don't actually see you - you may need to remove your boots or switch to walking mode). Press the "auto-run" button in Oblivion, so that you continue walking forward without holding the key down. If you just keep "sneaking" against the wall, you will level up your sneak skill for as long as you let it. Just be careful doing this in excess, because your attribute modifiers will max out and you'll essentially be wasting level up points- making you lose attribute points in the long run. This procedure will also work in rooms with sleeping people.
 * Athletics: Same technique as sneaking, but without the sneak or NPC requirements, just let your character run, or better swim, next to a wall.
 * Alteration: Simply use a low cost unlocking spell repeatedly on any container, or a low-cost self-targeting shield spell repeatedly, and the skill will level very quickly.
 * Restoration: Repeatedly cast your lowest cost Restoration line spell while traveling on foot. You do not have to be injured to gain Restoration credit from healing.  Note: Restoration levels very slowly compared to other spellcasting skills.
 * Mysticism: Repeatedly cast Minor Detect Life while traveling on foot.
 * Mercantile: Whenever selling items to any vendor, simply sell them one at a time, giving you a chance to gain a level with each of the transactions. You can get a lot more money from your items if you sell them from cheapest to most expensive.
 * Illusion: Repeatedly cast a charm person spell on NPCs, or a light spell on yourself.
 * Multiple Spell Schools: If you have access to the spell creator, you can create a one second spell that causes elemental (Destruction) damage to yourself, heals (Restoration) yourself, casts detect life (Mysticism), etc. If you set them up at the lowest settings possible, it won't take much mana - and well chosen effects will counteract each other.
 * Infinite Casting: (requires access to the spell creator) Make a spell that does "Fortify Magicka" (x) points, then add an effect you want, making sure that the total cost of the spell is half of (x) or less. Select the spell and then just keep "c" pressed down.
 * Sell Cheat: First, find a merchant with a very low mercantile skill (something like novice or apprentice). Then, try to gain a good standing through persuasion, letting you haggle with the merchant to get better prices. Lastly, start selling your items one piece at a time from cheapest to most expensive, allowing you to level in Mercantile VERY QUICKLY. This can then be used to get even better prices etc.
 * Alchemy, Mercantile and Big Money: This is done simply by buying the ingridients from vendors in the major cities, making potions with these ingridients and then selling back those potions to those same vendors, often making a sizeable profit and leveling your alchemy and mercantile skill to their maximum very quickly.
 * Alchemy and Big Money: A less costly option involves raiding farm areas thick with ingredients, such as the Tamika and Surlie grape vineyards, or Odiil Farm, and creating basic Restore Fatigue potions.

Killing Neutrals/Friends
If you have a high disposition with someone that you would like to attack, you can Yield to them immediately after attacking them (hold "Block", and press (A) or "Activate" while facing the character).

The character will say something like "I accept your yield" and go back to passive behaviour. Both their health and disposition will have been lowered due to your attack, so make sure you persuade or bribe them to stay in their good books.

If you attack them at under a certain disposition, they will refuse your yield. The yield was introduced so that accidental attacks on friends could be "un-done", rather than having to reload due to a simple mistake.

It's a nice feature to have, but unfortunately it introduces an exploit: You can keep attacking and then yeilding to a friendly/neutral NPC until they are dead! Couple this with sneak attacks to drain their health faster. Note that if you do this in cities, the city guard will inevitably try to find you as it counts as an assault. You should have enough time to kill most people within their houses with this method, though.

This exploit certainly won't work on guards, who are tenacious bulldogs once they're set off. The easiest way to kill a guard without getting yourself killed or bounty is to summon a 'bad' daedra. For example, if you summon a Dremora near a guard, hit it 3 times. When you are near a guard, the guard will then fight the daedra and then the daedra will pay attention to the guard and then fight the guard instead of you. Take note that some daedra don't count as a 'bad' daedra, for example, Flame Atronach.

Item Duping
See Also: Cloning Items

Infinite Money

 * See Also: Dorian Glitch
 * See Also: Vampire Cure Glitch
 * See Also: Orc Merchant Glitch
 * Note: Some of these exploits may not work as of the V1.1.511. This needs to be verified.

One of the Best Cheats
Free, Weightless, Unlimited Daedric Weapons (Not Armor).

First buy spells for Bound Mace, Dagger, Sword, Axe, Hammer, ect... Then go to the Arcane University and create Bound Dagger on self for 3 sec. with bound Mace for 3 sec.(same spell)  Then go to game world cast this spell, go to inventory, find the equiped bound dagger and then the bound mace, drop the bound mace, return to game world and your free, weightless, Daedric mace will be in front of you. You can do this with most weapons, you can increase your conjration skill too. Also if you are an expert in armory and want to easly increase skill, conjure several bound dederic weapons and fix them from 100% to 125% being that Daedric weapons have more points than any other.

Tainted Magic
Unlimited power, Tainted Magic can be incredible if used correctly. This was tested using an "as good as it gets" character  - meaning that I am level 53, with all master skills, have bought all the spells in the game - so to use tainted magic as I explain here might not work for you or just not as well until you would max out your player. First, get access to the Arcane University, then buy several spells because the more you have the more spell effects you can use. Next for this to work the best get your restoration to Master level. Once this is done go to the University and you are going to make several spells. For me I wanted spells that were easy to remember the order they were in both effects and names.

I started with the first spell being Burden 3 pts for 1 sec. On touch, to Taint you add to this spell. For this to work, make Burden 3 pts for 1 sec on touch and then add Fortify Attribute 100 pts for 30 sec on self having the Attribute being Intelligence then also add Weakness to Magic on self 100 pts for 30 sec. This is your first Tainted spell that should cost you about 250 Magica, Name this Spell something like G1.

Next tainted spell, do the same as the first only you will have to use something other than Burden as your starter spell so use Charm 3 pts for 1 sec on touch add Fortify Intelligence 100 pts for 60 sec on self, then add Fortify Magica 100 pts for 60 sec on self, and Weakness to Magica 100 pts for 60 sec on self. Name it G2. This will cost much more however if you cast the first spell before this and add (like a Welkend stone or a Potion) to regain magica you can cast it.

Now my charater is a Breton who naturaly regains magica based on Willpower so my third spell would be Chameleon 3 pts for 1 sec on touch then add Fortify Willpower 100 pts for 120 sec on self, Fortify Magica 100 pts for 120 sec on self, and Weakness to Magica 100 pts for 120 sec on self. Name this G3.

Next, chain yet another spell on to these spells of something other that Charm, Burden and Chameleon, just go right down the list of your known spells and pick a spell that is either on touch or target like Light 3 pts for 1 sec on touch then fortify Intelligence 100 pts for 120 sec on self, Fortify Magica 100 pts for 120 sec on self and Weakness to Magica 100 pts for 120 sec on self.

The next 2-3-4-5-100 spells you create like this does something unbelievable, the trick is first the taint of the undesirable 3 pts for 1 sec that starts up your chain. Second is the Weakness to Magic because each time you cast these spells in a chain it multiplies and not by 2 it is more on the lines of 2x, 4x, 8x, 16x, 32x, 64x, 128x, 256x, 512x and so on. For example I made ten spells, on the tenth spell my Magica was at 695,324/695,324 also my Intelligence was at 11,278 for 120 sec. I then tainted more magic spells that fortified my attributes say strength, or sheild, or health, only after these ten spells with the multiplier (weakness to magic added to end) the Fortify Strength 100 pts for 120 sec on self turned out to be 12,749 pts for 120 sec, being even more than my Intelligence of 11,278. This is because it was the 11th spell adding another multiplier making it beond the 10th spell.

Enough said on this except that you need to be very carefull casting these magnitudes of spells; for one, say you increased atribute Athletics for instance as your 11th spell giving you a skill level of 12,749 (for example) and you moved one inch you would be on the other side of Tamriel in a second, only it would have to load and possibly lock up, or even worse you would move so fast that if you hit just the littlest bump, hill, what ever or jumped you will be looking down on the (Playable) lands of oblivion only they will be the size of a dime. This will also take you a long time to land and if the game doesn't freeze up due to the multiple load zones you just went through, you will die on landing (unless you added a fortify Acrobatics or Health to withstand the landing).

Trust me, I have tried all this. And no, if you raise your Blade skill to 10,000 you will not send someone flying into the next country. Increased Blade points only determine the types of moves/skills your player has. And no, Strength doesn't either, at least it doesn't work for me. Point being is once this is all done correctly you can cast some wicked fire, shock, frost, summoning, shield, restore health, fatigue, fortify health, fatigue, Light, feather and so on spells in one spell that last for 120 sec each time.

100% Chameleon
Join the Archane University. Enchant 5 clothing/armor items with 20% Chameleon. Wear them all at once. Because of effect stacking you now have 100% Chameleon. Now you can attack monsters all day and they will never see you or counter attack. You can also steal anything you want. If the guards do catch you, you can just "Resist arrest" and walk away. Another way of doing this, is enter a Plane of Oblivion, get to the Sigil Stone, save, then keep getting the stone. if you get silence for x secs on target/Chameleon 30% on self, then all you have to do is ue the item duping cheat. Then use the sigil stones on four un-enchanted items that are wearable, and you will be fully invisible.

Cheap, Instant Kills
This can work for Enchanting weapons, or for spell making. You must have access to the arcane university to do this. Go to the spellmaking area and create a spell with 100 drain health for 1 second. You only have to have a destruction skill of 25 for it to work. If you are under lvl 30, this will kill anything. after that lvl, you can just add some more damaging effects. you can add the same effect to a weapon, and it will still work, without taking many charges.