Patch notes for the next major The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered update have been revealed, and they include a brand-new difficulty option for players to experiment with as well as improvements to performance.
As stated in the Steam patch notes for update 1.2, a sixth difficulty option, Journeyman, will be added to Oblivion Remastered. The difficulty option lands smack dab in the middle of Oblivion's existing ones, with the patch notes stating it is meant to "act as a better bridge between Adept and Expert for players."
That's not the only difficulty change coming in the update. It will additionally introduce specific settings for player combat damage and enemy combat damage, allowing players to further fine tune their experience.
Update 1.2 is currently only available via Steam Beta (which players can opt into), but will be rolling out to all players at a later date. No specific release date was given for when the update will arrive for other platforms. To download the Steam Beta update, follow the steps below.
Oblivion Remastered's level-scaling and difficulty have been a major discussion point following its release. Early difficulties like Novice and Apprentice feel too easy, as does the default difficulty of Adept in many cases. However, making the jump to Expert can make it so combat quickly becomes a slog, with enemies capable of withstanding dozens of hits and enemies dealing significantly more damage to players. A middle ground between the two difficulties is a welcome solution.
Some performance optimizations are also coming alongside the new difficulty options. The patch notes state the update will reduce the "frequency of hitches in the open world" and brings improvements to character animation, weather, water rendering, lighting and shadows within several lairs, and more.
There are, of course, a slew of bug fixes as well, with remedies for issues like missing textures from Daedric statues and bugged vampire sleeping animations. You can read the full patch notes below.
Oblivion Remastered's first major update released in June and largely focused on addressing bugs and various technical issues. Despite some technical issues and no official mod support (though that hasn't stopped players from making Oblivion Remastered mods anyways), Oblivion Remastered is among the best-selling games of 2025 in the US so far.
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As stated in the Steam patch notes for update 1.2, a sixth difficulty option, Journeyman, will be added to Oblivion Remastered. The difficulty option lands smack dab in the middle of Oblivion's existing ones, with the patch notes stating it is meant to "act as a better bridge between Adept and Expert for players."
That's not the only difficulty change coming in the update. It will additionally introduce specific settings for player combat damage and enemy combat damage, allowing players to further fine tune their experience.
Update 1.2 is currently only available via Steam Beta (which players can opt into), but will be rolling out to all players at a later date. No specific release date was given for when the update will arrive for other platforms. To download the Steam Beta update, follow the steps below.
- Open your Steam Library and navigate to The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
- Right click on "The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered" and select "Properties"
- In the new properties pop-up window, select "Betas"
- In the beta drop down to opt into, select "\[beta]"
- Wait for app to download new build and launch
Oblivion Remastered's level-scaling and difficulty have been a major discussion point following its release. Early difficulties like Novice and Apprentice feel too easy, as does the default difficulty of Adept in many cases. However, making the jump to Expert can make it so combat quickly becomes a slog, with enemies capable of withstanding dozens of hits and enemies dealing significantly more damage to players. A middle ground between the two difficulties is a welcome solution.
Some performance optimizations are also coming alongside the new difficulty options. The patch notes state the update will reduce the "frequency of hitches in the open world" and brings improvements to character animation, weather, water rendering, lighting and shadows within several lairs, and more.
There are, of course, a slew of bug fixes as well, with remedies for issues like missing textures from Daedric statues and bugged vampire sleeping animations. You can read the full patch notes below.
Oblivion Remastered's first major update released in June and largely focused on addressing bugs and various technical issues. Despite some technical issues and no official mod support (though that hasn't stopped players from making Oblivion Remastered mods anyways), Oblivion Remastered is among the best-selling games of 2025 in the US so far.
Oblivion Remastered Update 1.2 Patch Notes
SETTINGS CHANGES
- We’ve added additional difficulty settings to allow players to further tune their “Player Combat Damage” & “Enemy Combat Damage”. Players can now select from “Novice”, “Apprentice”, “Adept”, “Journeyman”, “Expert”, and “Master” options in the Gameplay menu. We hope the “Journeyman” setting, specifically, will act as a better bridge between “Adept” and “Expert” for players.
UI
- Fixed map markers disappearing
- Fixed missing punctuation in Simplified Chinese text
- Fixed “Toggle All” button on Map screen to work as a 'Hold'
- Various fixes to localized text
- Fixed controller issues in Spell making menu
- Fixed menus being cropped incorrectly in 1280x1024
- Fixed the incorrect player stance in the inventory menu after fast travel
- Fixed rebinding keys for Lock Picking
- Fixed keybinds not updating in AZERTY
- Fixed soft lock with controller in Enchanting menu
- Fixed stats not updating when equipping enchanted items
- Fixed a character skin glitch when closing the inventory menu
CRASHES
- Fixed crashes that could occur while fighting Jyggalag
- Fixed crashing when killing a paralyzed NPC with an arrow
- Fixed crashing when paralyzing an already-paralyzed NPC
- Fixed crashing in Spellmaking menu when rapidly removing & implementing effects
- Fixed various GPU crashes
- Fixed crashes that could occur during auto saves
AUDIO
- Fixed underwater SFX persisting after leaving exiting water
- Fixed missing ambient SFX in Shivering Isles
QUESTS
- Fixed NPCs floating after being knocked down during Priory of the Nine quest
- Fixed crashing when entering Flooded Mine during Final Justice quest
- Fixed pathing for Shaleez in Flooded Mine during Final Justice quest
- Fixed crashing when opening Gate to The Fringe during Retaking the Fringe quest
- Fixed mages loading without clothes in Fort Ontus during The Necromancer's Amulet quest
- Fixed NPC pathing issues in Gardens of Flesh and Bone during ‘Through the Fringe of Madness’ quest
- Fixed missing VFX during the closing of the Great Gate
- Fixed Ilav Dralgoner's missing facial animation during ‘Saving Time Itself’ quest
- Fixed Sir Thredet's speech during ‘Umaril the Unfeathered’ quest
- Fixed NPC pathing issues during ‘Baiting the Trap’ quest
- Fixed Obelisk Crystals spawning disconnected during ‘Baiting the Trap’ quest
- Fixed crash at end of ‘Through a Nightmare, Darkly’ quest
- Fixed wall crumbling in Malada during ‘Nothing You Can Possess' quest
- Fixed misaligned food at the Castle Leyawiin County Hall dinner party during ‘Sanguine’ quest
- Fixed an issue with visibility of ghosts during ‘Ghosts of Vitharn’
- Fixed cutscene not playing during ‘Light the Dragonfires’
- Fixed missing textures in Cropsford Campsite after finishing ‘Goblin Trouble’
PERFORMANCE
- Fixed frame rate drop in Deepscorn Hollow
- Fixed frame rate drops in Black Rock Caverns
- Fixed frame rate drop between Skingrad and Skingrad Castle
- Fixed frame rate drop south of Bravil Castle courtyard
- Reduced the frequency of hitches in the open world.
- General improvements to frame time in many locations.
- Optimize updating of character attachments.
- Optimize rendering of water volumes in the open world.
- Optimize light/shadow updates in several lairs.
- Optimize waterfall particle FX and rendering.
- Optimize the weather system.
- Optimize character animation system.
GAMEPLAY
- Fixed player character height scaling
- Fixed armor items hiding Argonian and Khajiit tails
- Fixed slow camera movement when initiating NPC dialogue
- Fixed soft lock when a player with a high bounty goes to jail
- Fixed Orrery animations
- Fixed physics bug with floating necklaces
- Fixed vampire sleeping animations
- Fixed NPC beards not following facial animation.
- Fixed ghost NPCs being completely invisible
- Fixed missing animation when talking to Shamada in Leyawiin
- Fixed occasional very long load times when fast traveling
- Fixed missing facial animation for Snak gra-Bura
- Fixed falling unconscious in water preventing player from getting up
- Fixed NPCs losing collision when swimming
- Fixed NPCs stopping combat when player is blocking
- Fixed female Dremora teeth clipping
- Fixed soft lock after choosing player class
- Fixed Amber weapons clipping in first person view
- Fixed vines clipping into columns
- Fixed helmets clipping into player character's head
- Fixed missing textures on Daedric statues
- Fixed duplicated pages between Oghma Infinium and Mysterium Xarxes
SYSTEM
- Fixed flickering shadows when using XeSS Upscaling
- Fixed title properly restarting after purchasing the Deluxe Upgrade on PC
- Fixed settings properly migrating between PC and XBOX
- Fixed water disappearing after fast travel
- Fixed cursor slowdown when enabling high frame rate V-Sync
- Fixed shaders not preloading due to cloud save replication
- Fixed long blackout during loading screens
- Fixed weather VFX flashing while outside
- Fixed motion blur artifacts while in the Oblivion Plane
- Fixed NPCs not obeying the Wait action from the player
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