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The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion Remastered

Best Barbarian Build

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★ Best Birthsigns Tier List | Best Race
★ Best Weapons | Best Armor
★ Weapon IDs | Armor IDs
★ How to Cure Vampirism
★ Leveling System Explained

Barbarian Build Guide

This is a guide on the best Barbarian build in The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion Remastered. Find out the best build for the Barbarian class, the best identity and birthsign for the Barbarian, and how to play as a Barbarian!

List of Contents

Best Barbarian Build

Jump to a section!
Skill Priority Attribute Priority
Best Weapon Types Best Identity Best Birthsign

Skill Priority for Barbarian

Blade SkillBlade
(Priority)		 Armorer SkillArmorer
(Priority)		 Athletics SkillAthletics
Acrobatics SkillAcrobatics Light Armor SkillLight Armor
(Passive)		 Blunt SkillBlunt

The Barbarian has a similar build philosophy to the Warrior in that your focus will be leveling Blade (to improve your combat ability) and Armorer (to make repairs more effective). It's always best to level these skills early to alleviate any growing pains later on in the playthrough.

However, if you plan to roleplay as a typical fantasy Barbarian, then it may be prudent to switch out Blade in favor of leveling Blunt since, in Oblivion, War Axes and Battle-Axes are classified as Blunt weapons.

The remaining skill priorities will be a spread between Athletics, Acrobatics, and Light Armor (in no particular order) so that you can sprint more often, gain access to a Dodge, and improve damage negation, respectively.

List of All Skills

Attribute Priority for Barbarian

Attributes

Similar to the Warrior, you'll want to improve your Strength early so that you deal more damage and be carry more items. Your remaining 7 Virtues per level up can be allocated to any of the following depending on what your build currently needs:

  • Endurance: If you want more HP and better health regen outside of combat, then pump a few points into this.
  • Willpower: If you feel like your Fatigue meter drops too fast after a few swings, then some points in this will prevent you from bottoming out during a fight.
  • Agility: Helps with Fatigue regeneration.
  • Speed: Since Barbarians are adept with Light Armor and Athletics, investing in this as you level up both of those major skills will have you zooming in no time without the Fatigue penalties.

Stats Explained

Best Weapon Types for Barbarian

Primary Claymore
Longsword + Shield
Alternative War Axe or Battle-Axe

For best weapon type, Barbarians can choose between a Claymore (two-handed) or a Longsword and Shield combo. Both setups are meta-friendly due to a high amount of "best" weapons being one or two-handed swords.

However, if you want to roleplay as a "real" Barbarian, you can equip a War Axe or Battle-Axe. Just remember that if you go this route, you'll be leveling Blunt instead of Blade since axes are considered blunt weapons, in-game.

Best Weapons to Get Early

Best Identity for Barbarian

Best Race Best Origin
Orc Orc Stronghold Orc

The best race and origin to use as a Barbarian will be the Stronghold Orc identity due to its high starting Strength, Endurnace, and Willpower. The +25% Magic Resistance you get by being an Orc is an added bonus.

Best Races to Play

Best Birthsign for Barbarian

Best Birthsign Description
The Lord The Lord Those born under the sign of The Lord are more resistant to physical and magic damage.
・ Shield: Increases Armor Rating by 15.
・ Resist Magic: Increases magic resistance by 15%.

Since you'll be rocking Light Armor as a Barbarian, extra survivability in the form of The Lord birthsign will do wonders for your build. However, similar to other combat classes, alternatives like The Warrior or The Thief also fit the build quite nicely.

Best Birthsigns Tier List

Barbarian Class Info

Attributes and Specialization

Specialization Favored Attributes
Combat Strength
Speed

All Classes Explained

Barbarian Major Skills

Skill Unlocks
Armorer Image Armorer Base: You cannot repair magic items.
Lv. 25: You can now repair magic items.
Lv. 50: Your Repair Hammers last twice as long.
Lv. 75: You can repair items beyond their maximum durability. Improved weapons deal more damage, improved armors protects more.
Lv. 100: Your Repair Hammers never break. One hammer lasts a lifetime.
Athletics Image Athletics Base: Your Fatigue regenerates more slowly when running.
Lv. 25: Your Fatigue regenerates at a normal rate when running.
Lv. 50: Sprinting consumes slightly less Fatigue.
Lv. 75: Sprinting consumes a lot less Fatigue.
Lv. 100: Sprinting no longer consumes Fatigue.
Blade Image Blade Base: You have no particular perk.
Lv. 25: Your Power Attacks deal more damage, and Blade weapons are more durable.
Lv. 50: Your Power Attacks apply Weakness to Normal Weapon to your opponent.
Lv. 75: Your Regular Attacks have a slight chance to make your opponents bleed, dealing damage over time.
Lv. 100: The Weakness to Normal Weapon applied by your Power Attack is even stronger.
Block Image Block Base: Your shield or weapon loses durability when you block an attack.
Lv. 25: Your shield or weapon no longer loses durability when you block an attack.
Lv. 50: Blocking an attack consumes slightly less Fatigue.
Lv. 75: Blocking an attack consumes even less Fatigue. You can perform a Shield Bash while blocking with a shield.
Lv. 100: Blocking an attack consumes almost no Fatigue. Your Shield Bash deals much more damage.
Blunt Image Blunt Base: You have no particular perk.
Lv. 25: Your Power Attacks deal more damage, and Blunt weapons are more durable.
Lv. 50: Your Power Attacks temporarily grant you Shield.
Lv. 75: Your Regular Attacks have a slight chance to silence your opponents.
Lv. 100: The Shield granted by your Power Attacks is even stronger.
Hand-to-Hand Image Hand-to-Hand Base: Your attacks additionally deal Fatigue damage. You do not recoil armed opponents when blocking their attacks.
Lv. 25: Your Power Attacks deal more damage and you recoil armed opponents when blocking.
Lv. 50: Your Power Attacks have a chance to disarm your opponents. Your attacks can hit creatures immune to physical damage.
Lv. 75: Your attacks deal more Fatigue damage.
Lv. 100: Your attacks deal even more Fatigue damage.
Light Armor Image Light Armor Base: Light Armor you wear degrades much faster.
Lv. 25: Light Armor you wear degrades at a normal rate.
Lv. 50: Light Armor you wear degrades much more slowly.
Lv. 75: Light Armor you wear no longer encumbers you at all.
Lv. 100: While wearing exclusively Light Armor, your protection is greatly increased.

Major skills receive a starting bonus of an initial +20 levels and they increase more rapidly.

List of All Skills

Oblivion Remastered Related Guides

Oblivion Classes

List of All Classes

All Classes

Combat Classes
Warrior Class IconWarrior Barbarian Class IconBarbarian Crusader Class IconCrusader
Knight Class IconKnight Archer Class IconArcher Scout Class IconScout
Rogue Class IconRogue - -
Magic Classes
Battlemage Class IconMage Sorcerer Class IconSorcerer Battlemage Class IconBattlemage
Healer Class IconHealer Spellsword Class IconSpellsword Witchhunter Class IconWitchhunter
Nightblade Class IconNightblade - -
Stealth Classes
Thief Class IconThief Agent Class IconAgent Acrobat Class IconAcrobat
Assassin Class IconAssassin Monk Class IconMonk Pilgrim Class IconPilgrim
Bard Class IconBard - -

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