The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Weapons

There are three classifications for weapons in Oblivion: Blade weapons, Blunt weapons and Ranged weapons. The Blade classification encompasses daggers, short swords, long swords, claymores, etc. The Blunt encompasses anything from maces and hammers to one-handed and two-handed axes. Weapons are also further classed as either one-handed or two-handed. With two-handed weapons, while you have the benefit of a slightly more powerful weapon, you lose the extra defense of a shield used in conjunction with a one-handed weapon. Ranged, of course, refers to bows. The damage that a certain weapon deals is dependant on several different factors. The strength of a melee weapon is dependant on your characters weapon classification skill level, the quality of the weapon and the weapon itself. For example, if your character uses blades as their primary weapon type, the damage that the deal while using a blade type weapon will be much higher than the damage they would deal while using a blunt weapon. A bow's damage is dependant on your character's marksmen skill level, the bow itself and your character's agility attribute. There are two different types of melee attacks, basic attacks and power attacks. You can perform power attacks by holding down on the right trigger and push the right thumbstick in a certain direction. As you gain levels in your skills, you will reach new mastery levels. Each time you reach a new mastery level, you will gain a new power attack. A novice can perform a basic power attack with a blade or blunt weapon by holding down on RT and pushing the right thumbstick in any direction. As an Apprentice, one can perform a more powerful power attack, by simply holding down on RT. Journeyman gain the left and right power attacks. Experts gain a backwards power attack with a chance of knocking their opponent back. Finally, Master gains a forward power attack with a chance of paralyzing the target. For ranged weapons, hold down the right trigger to pull the bowstring to its full extension, then release the right trigger to fire the arrow. Of course, as with a real bow, aim the arrow up higher to adjust the distance. As soon as you hit Journeymen, you will be able to zoom in by holding down on the left trigger. To see the other perks associated with the marksmen mastery levels, check out the skills section. Blocking of course goes hand in hand with combat. You can block with weapons, but a shield is much more effective in absorbing a hit than a weapon is. A shield can only be used while you are wielding a one- handed weapon. Bow or two-handed weapon users must block with their weapon. As you use your weapons, their quality will eventually drop. When it drops completely, it will become unusable. A weapon of lesser quality will be dealing less damage than it would be at its full potential, as armor would be less effective at absorbing damage while it is damaged. You can repair your damaged equipment by using a repair hammer. As you gain skills in Armorer, there will be less of a chance of a hammer breaking while you are using it. If your mastery level in Armorer is below Journeyman, you will not be able to repair enchanted equipment. You can, however, bring your damaged equipment to just about any weapon/armor store and have the shopkeeper fix it for a price.