The Elder Scrolls mainline entries are well known for their sprawling worlds, faction quests, open-ended sandbox, and a plethora of bugs. Most players were introduced to the franchise with Oblivion, The Elder Scrolls' fourth mainline entry that takes players to the heartland of Tamriel itself: Cyrodiil.

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Before venturing past the sewers of the Imperial City, your character will need to pick a class. Unlike Skyrim, Oblivion requires that you choose a specific class, birthsign, and race before venturing out into the world. And also unlike Skyrim, your build matters much more in this game due to Oblivion's absurd scaling mechanics (which we cover below). Today, we'll be ranking all 22 of the game's classes from best to worst, ranking them based on their effectiveness without major metagaming. Custom classes are excluded from this list.

How Leveling Works

If you've never played Oblivion before, you need to understand how leveling works, as Oblivion has arguably one of the strangest and most punishing leveling systems in an RPG. Basics of leveling, including what each Attribute and birth sign does, can be found in our Oblivion Leveling guide.

In essence, your character will level up after you've increased a Major Skill ten times and rest at any bed, allowing you to increase your character's Attributes. However, leveling any skill before your tenth Major Skill increase will raise the Attribute bonus you'll receive when leveling up, which means you'll want to level both Major and Minor Skills to receive optimal Attribute bonuses. If you fail to do this, Oblivion's enemies will scale so quickly that leveling will paradoxically make you weaker, making the game much harder.

You have two ways of addressing this issue:

1. Lower the difficulty slider slightly whenever you level up.
2. Metagame to get +5 bonuses in three Attributes every time you level up.

For this guide, we're going to assume you're playing with a lower difficulty setting to avoid Oblivion's scaling issues. Classes will be rated based on how easy it is to gain Attribute bonuses without having to metagame. If you are more interested in metagaming, consult the Unofficial Elder Scrolls Wiki's guide on optimal leveling.

22 Healer

Healers only have Destruction for outputting damage, although Illusion can be used as a form of crowd control. You aren't proficient with any armor, weapons, and your Major Skills demand that you metagame to increase your Endurance and other important stats. It doesn't even have a Major Skill in Conjuration, the one school of magic where healing others makes sense thematically and mechanically. Don't play a Healer.

21 Rogue

The Rogue lacks a ranged Major Skill, preventing it from being a top-tier class. A lack of Sneak proficiency means you'll be playing this class as a lightweight fighter, dodging attacks and blocking on occasion. If that playstyle interests you, a Scout is a better class option. If you want to use Illusion and Blade together, play a Bard instead. The Rogue's defining features are done better with other premade classes.

20 Battlemage

The Battlemage is an objectively worse Spellsword, both for melee combat and for casting spells. Your lower Willpower stat will make spellcasting somewhat tougher in the early game, and this class doubles up on melee Major Skills with no skill that increases your Endurance—a core Attribute for a gish. Play a Spellsword instead.

19 Thief

For a class that wants to get up-close to steal, it's strange that the Thief isn't proficient with Blade. Since Illusion isn't a Major Skill, you might also have a harder time sneaking in the early game when compared to an Agent. If you want to play a dedicated stealth character, the Agent is arguably a better choice.

18 Pilgrim

Pilgrims have a strange combination of Attributes and Major Skills that make this class not desirable. A lack of Strength hurts their damage output with Blunt Weapons, most of their Major Skills increase Attributes that aren't enhanced at the start, they lack a ranged Major Skill, and their only means of increasing Endurance quickly is through Block. It's not the worst class in Oblivion, but it's far from the best.

17 Monk

Hand To Hand has the lowest damage output out of every skill in Oblivion, although unarmed builds don't have to worry about getting stunned by attacking a blocking opponent. Your enhanced mobility does make you significantly harder to hit, although this playstyle discourages the use of Endurance skills entirely—meaning the Monk is a glass cannon at higher levels. Considering your subpar damage output, this tradeoff isn't worth it.

16 Acrobat

If you read our speel on leveling earlier, then ranking the Acrobat this low shouldn't come as a surprise. This class is made up entirely of Major Skills that you'll use in gameplay, which means you'll level quickly. This wouldn't be a negative if it wasn't for your Major Skills.

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Almost all of your Major Skills focus on Agility, with your main damage skill requiring Strength. Your only Endurance-related Major Skill is Block, and you have no ranged Major Skills. It's hard to justify playing an Acrobat when classes like Bard and Spellsword exist.

15 Warrior

From a roleplaying perspective, the Warrior is your traditional fighter that is an expert with all martial weapons. The issue is that using multiple weapons isn't necessary in Oblivion, making skills like Hand To Hand practically useless. It also lacks a Major Skill in a ranged archetype like Marksman or Destruction.

The good news is that the Warrior is a fairly easy class to play as, having a boost to its Endurance stat and two Endurance-related Major Skills. So long as you increase your Endurance every time you level up, you should be able to survive most of the monsters Oblivion throws your way. If you want to weave spells or stealth in general gameplay, you're better off with another class.

14 Barbarian

Barbarians are meant to trade survivability for damage in most RPGs, Oblivion being no exception. The issue is that they don't output more damage than any class that has higher Strength or Blade as a Major Skill. You can make Barbarians tougher if you focus on using the Armorer and Block skills to level your Endurance, but you'll always be behind what a Knight or Spellsword can achieve. It's not a bad class by any means. There are just better alternatives.

13 Scout

Scouts in Oblivion are speedy duelists that focus on movement more than tankiness or utility. They lack a Major Skill in a range archetype, although they do have Athletics and Acrobatics to make up for this.

In practice, this class requires Attribute min-maxing to really get going, as you'll want to increase your Endurance, Speed, and Strength stats. And since you are using Light Armor, it can be tricky to get your Endurance up without relying on the Block stat—a skill that's less useful due to your inherent speed. While by no means a terrible class, the Scout's Major Skill selection makes it difficult to get optimal Attributes unless you metagame.

12 Knight

If you want to roleplay as a noble knight, Oblivion's Knight class might be for you. While it lacks a ranged Major Skill, the Knight's skills are fairly solid. Illusion and Speechcraft allow you to increase your Personality Attribute, which you can raise high enough to have Bandits and even wildlife become non-hostile. Blade, Heavy Armor, and Block also make for an effective melee character.

Its only con is how Attribute reliant the class is, as you'll want to increase Strength, Personality, and Endurance Attributes at every level to stay effective. Without metagaming, this is fairly hard to accomplish.

11 Archer

Archer is a solid class for players that want to use a mix of ranged and melee attacks in combat without relying on magic. They have solid Major Skills, good Attributes, and have the ability to gain high Attribute bonuses from leveling Minor Skills.

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With that said, Archers aren't as good as Witchhunters for pure combat. That class can summon minions to fight alongside you, giving the Witchhunter breathing room that the Archer can't afford. If you are going to play as an Archer, be sure to level the Armorer skill to gain larger Endurance Attribute bonuses whenever you level up.

10 Agent

Agents are a fairly unique class in Oblivion. This class focuses on manipulating people to win engagements, both in combat and for swaying NPCs in dialogue. Illusion will be your main skill, applying powerful crowd control in battle and allowing you to sneak past certain foes. Marksman pairs well with this, allowing you to keep your distance if played well. It isn't the most beginner-friendly, but the Agent's overall kit is better than you might expect.

9 Assassin

Assassins strike from the shadows, utilizing Sneak and Alchemy to enhance the capabilities of their Blades and Marksman bows. If you want to play a stealth character, this is a fairly good choice.

You have ranged and melee combat options, good Major Skills, and have a good roster of Minor Skills that allow you to get solid Attribute bonuses when you level up. Just be sure to increase your Agility whenever possible, as this stat plays a large role in how stealthy your character is.

8 Mage

Mage is arguably one of Oblivion's better premade classes. Magic is incredibly powerful in this installment, and you'll be proficient with every school of magic. So long as you make full use of each school of magic, you'll have a solid time with this class. Be sure to take full advantage of Conjuration or use Endurance skills, as the Mage's lack of Endurance can become problematic at higher levels.

7 Nightblade

If you want a melee/caster hybrid that relies on speed more than armor, the Nightblade is for you. This class is all about weaving Destruction and Blade to kill enemies all while using your enhanced mobility to avoid hits. Its lack of Endurance Major Skills does make you a glass cannon when compared to the Spellsword, although leveling the Heavy Armor or Armorer skills can mitigate this issue.

6 Sorcerer

Oblivion's Sorcerer is a tankier alternative to the Mage class, sacrificing proficiency with Illusion for Heavy Armor. This is a great trade, as this allows you to increase the Endurance Attribute much more quickly.

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A stat bump in Endurance at the start of the game also makes the Sorcerer much better with melee/caster hybrid setups, should you choose to switch your playstyle midway in your playthrough. If you want to play a caster that isn't afraid to get their hands dirty on occasion, the Sorcerer is a good choice.

5 Crusader

Crusaders are Oblivion's version of Paladins, utilizing Restoration magic and Blunt weapons to destroy the opposition. Willpower, the Attribute tied to Restoration, will be somewhat tough to level with this class unless you use Alteration or Destruction in conjunction with Restoration.

Beyond that, this class is a fairly strong option for newer players that should provide solid Attribute bonuses every time you level up, which should be fairly often thanks to your Major Skills.

4 Witchhunter

If you want to weave spells and archery, you can't go wrong with a Witchhunter. Its Major Skills are fairly good, although it lacks a skill that bolsters your Endurance Attribute. Consider wearing Heavy Armor or leveling Armorer to address this, or your character will become a glass cannon at higher levels.

Beyond that, the Witchhunter is solid as a medium-range blaster, using conjured allies to keep enemies at a distance while your bow and Destruction spells annihilate the enemy.

3 Bard

The Bard class isn't what you think. You don't play instruments to charm or eliminate your foes in Oblivion. Instead, this spec uses clever use of Illusion spells and Alchemy to achieve a similar effect.

Playing as a Bard involves using Illusion spells to apply crowd control effects to enemies, fearing or calming them whenever you see fit. Blade and Block allow you to be proficient as a melee character as well. It does lack a ranged Major Skill, although Illusion makes the need for Marksman or Destruction less severe. Overall, if you're willing to get a little crafty in combat and love roleplaying, you'll have a blast playing as a Bard.