7 Shocking Changes To Oblivion Remastered Character Creation: Goodbye Potato Faces, Hello Next-Gen Sliders
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered has finally arrived, and as of the current date in December 2025, the most talked-about feature isn't the Unreal Engine 5 graphics or the seamless integration of the Shivering Isles DLC, but the completely overhauled character creation system. The original 2006 title was legendary for its deep, yet notoriously difficult, facial customization sliders that often resulted in unintentionally grotesque "potato faces." This modern remaster, co-developed by Virtuos and Bethesda Game Studios, has fundamentally addressed this issue, delivering an experience that is both intuitive for new players and deeply satisfying for veteran fans.
The core philosophy of the Oblivion Remastered character creator is a successful blend of retaining the classic RPG depth—the complex interplay of Race, Class, and Birthsign—while applying modern, high-fidelity visual tools. The result is a character creation process that is no longer a hurdle to be overcome, but a genuine pleasure, allowing players to sculpt heroes and villains that look as good as the world of Cyrodiil itself. This deep dive explores the seven most significant changes to the character creation process in the highly anticipated remaster.
The 7 Biggest Upgrades to the Remastered Character Creator
The character creation process in the original game was a three-stage process: choosing your race and appearance in the Imperial Prison, selecting your class when you meet Baurus, and finally choosing your birthsign after exiting the prison. The remaster streamlines the visual process while retaining the mechanical depth.
1. The End of the "Potato Face" Era
The most crucial change is the complete overhaul of the character models and the facial geometry sliders. The original game’s complex, interconnected sliders often led to bizarre, distorted features, making it incredibly difficult to create an attractive or even normal-looking character. In the remaster, the new models are built on a modern framework, ensuring that even extreme slider movements produce a character that is visually consistent and high-fidelity.
While the infamous "potato faces" are largely gone, the developers have stated that the NPCs still retain a "charming ugliness," ensuring the unique, slightly eccentric aesthetic of the original game's denizens is not lost entirely. This means your custom character will look great, but the citizens of Chorrol and Bravil will still have that familiar, slightly unsettling charm.
2. Intuitive, Starfield-Inspired Slider Controls
The new character creator interface is significantly more intuitive, taking cues from Bethesda’s more recent titles like Skyrim and Starfield. While the deep customization remains, the UI is cleaner, allowing players to easily browse presets and then fine-tune specific facial features. The system is no longer a chore; it's a modern toolset designed for precision.
The new sliders allow for meticulous control over parameters such as jaw width, chin protrusion, eye depth, and cheekbone structure. Players can now spend hours perfecting their character's look without accidentally turning them into a horrifying monstrosity, a welcome relief for players attempting to make a beautiful Female Breton or a rugged Male Nord.
3. Expanded Cosmetic Options for All Races
The cosmetic options have been dramatically expanded across all ten playable races. The original game was quite limited, but the remaster introduces a much wider range of choices for key visual elements.
- Hair: A much larger selection of hairstyles, colors, and textures.
- Eyes: New, vibrant eye colors and better-looking eye geometry.
- Skin: A wider gradient of skin tones, allowing for more subtle variations.
- Beards & Tattoos: New options for facial hair and potentially the addition of cosmetic tattoos or war paint, a feature absent in the original.
The showcase of the Argonian race, in particular, has generated excitement, with "scaly sliders" and new visual options allowing for incredibly detailed reptilian characters that truly shine under the new graphical engine.
The Pillars of Power: Race, Class, and Birthsign
Despite the visual overhaul, the mechanical depth of character creation—the very heart of The Elder Scrolls IV—remains intact. This three-pronged system ensures that your initial choices have a profound and lasting impact on your entire playthrough, from the opening moments in the Imperial Prison to the final confrontation in the Oblivion Gates.
4. Retained Racial Bonuses and Abilities
Your choice of race remains the foundational element of your character. The ten classic races of Tamriel—Imperial, Redguard, Breton, Nord, High Elf, Wood Elf, Dark Elf, Khajiit, Argonian, and Orc—all retain their unique starting Attributes, racial skills bonuses, and powerful special abilities.
For example, a Wood Elf (Bosmer) still gets bonuses to Archery and Sneak, making them ideal for an Assassin build, while a High Elf (Altmer) still receives a massive Magicka boost but carries a weakness to magic. The choice directly influences your starting Strength, Intelligence, Willpower, Agility, Speed, Endurance, Personality, and Luck.
5. The 21 Classes: Major Skills and Specialization
The 21 base classes of Oblivion are all present, allowing for incredible build diversity. Each class defines your character's primary specialization by selecting seven Major Skills. The remaster emphasizes that your class choice dictates your favored Attributes (e.g., Intelligence and Willpower for a Sorcerer), which are critical for leveling efficiency.
Popular classes like the versatile Battlemage, the stealthy Assassin, the tanky Knight, and the pure Sorcerer are all available. The remaster’s more accessible interface helps new players understand the importance of selecting a Specialization (Combat, Magic, or Stealth) that aligns with their chosen Major Skills, preventing the dreaded "leveling mistake" of the original.
6. The 13 Birthsigns: Game-Changing Powers
The final, and perhaps most impactful, choice is your Birthsign. The 13 birthsigns each grant a unique, often game-changing, power or permanent attribute bonus. This mechanic is a cornerstone of the Oblivion experience and is fully preserved in the remaster.
Iconic signs like The Atronach (massive Magicka boost but inability to regenerate it), The Apprentice (Magicka boost with a weakness to magic), and The Warrior (bonuses to Endurance and Strength) force players to commit to a specific playstyle. The remaster's guides and in-game tooltips are much clearer in explaining the pros and cons of signs like The Lady or The Shadow, making the decision less of a gamble.
7. Seamless Integration of Origins (Gender/Attributes)
One minor but significant mechanical change is how the game handles starting attributes. In the original, a character's gender had a direct, small impact on their starting attributes. The Oblivion Remastered wiki suggests that this is now tied to a new "Origins" selection, a more lore-friendly and customizable approach. While the exact details are still emerging, this change suggests a move towards making attribute distribution more flexible and less dependent on a binary gender choice, aligning with modern RPG design standards.
The overall experience of the oblivion remastered character creation is a resounding success. It honors the deep, complex RPG mechanics that fans love while completely modernizing the visual tools to finally eliminate the visual frustrations of the original. Whether you’re crafting a powerful Crusader, a cunning Thief, or a destructive Battlemage, your character will look ready to face the Daedric hordes pouring out of the Oblivion Gates and save the whole of Cyrodiil.
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