There is no proven universal winner among the guilds in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered. Choose the Dark Brotherhood for an assassin story, the Thieves Guild for theft and secretive recruitment, the Mages Guild for a magic-focused character, or the Fighters Guild for a combat-focused one. Those last two are play-style matches, not a ranking supported by player polling. If you want combat competition rather than a guild, the Arena is a separate option.
How to choose the best guild for your playthrough
The four core guild questlines are the Fighters Guild, Mages Guild, Thieves Guild, and Dark Brotherhood. The best fit depends on what kind of character and quest experience you want, rather than an established score for story quality, quest variety, or rewards. Available coverage documents the questlines and some joining routes, but does not provide a representative player poll or a consistent basis for ranking them.
- Choose by preferred activity: magic, combat, theft and stealth, or assassination.
- Consider the role-play cost of joining: the Dark Brotherhood’s documented entry trigger involves killing a non-hostile character.
- Do not choose based on an assumed reward ranking: the available sources do not compare guild rewards consistently.
GameSpot lists completion achievements for all four guilds and lists the Arena separately, supporting the distinction between the four guild questlines and that additional combat path: GameSpot’s Oblivion Remastered walkthrough.
Guilds at a glance
| Path | Best fit | Distinctive consideration |
|---|---|---|
| Dark Brotherhood | Players drawn to an assassin premise | Its documented invitation trigger follows murdering a non-hostile character, then sleeping. |
| Thieves Guild | Players drawn to theft, stealth, and secretive recruitment | Joining can begin through a theft and jail time, or by asking a beggar about the Gray Fox after seeing a wanted poster. |
| Mages Guild | Players building around magic | A practical play-style match; the available sources do not establish a comparative reward or quest-quality ranking. |
| Fighters Guild | Players building around combat | A practical play-style match; the available sources do not establish a comparative reward or quest-quality ranking. |
| Arena (not a guild) | Players seeking a separate combat competition | GameSpot treats it as distinct from the guild questlines. |
Dark Brotherhood: best for an assassin role-play
The Dark Brotherhood is the clearest match if you want to take on an assassin identity. Its entry requirement is also the most important caveat for role-play: GameSpot says to murder a non-hostile character who is outside an evil faction, then sleep. Lucien Lachance appears afterward with an invitation. If your character avoids killing innocents, this trigger may make the guild a poor fit, even if its premise sounds appealing.
#1 Best Overall
- The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered brings the game of the year 2006 up to date with all-new stunning graphics and enhanced gameplay.
- Explore the vast landscape of Cyrodiil like never before in one of the greatest RPGs of all time from award-winning Bethesda Game Studios, preventing the powers from the realm of forgetting from conquering the land.
- The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered - Physical Deluxe Edition includes the main game, unique digital Akatosh and Mehrunes Dagon armor, weapons and horse armor sets, Shivering Isles and Knights of the Nine story expansions, access to the digital artbook and soundtrack app, plus additional content to download. en: Fighter's Stronghold, Spell Tomes, Vile Lair, Mehrune's Razor, The Thieves Den, Wizard's Tower, Orrery and Horse Armor Pack.
- Travels through the magnificent world of Tamriel and struggles on the plains of the realm of oblivion. The hand-crafted details have been meticulously recreated so that your exploration becomes an unforgettable experience.
- Create your own way from the noble warrior to the sinister assassin to the wrinkled wizard or funny blacksmith and play in your way.
That joining condition is documented in GameSpot’s walkthrough. The preference recommendation is a play-style judgment, not evidence that the Dark Brotherhood is objectively the best-written or most rewarding questline.
Thieves Guild: best for theft and secretive recruitment
Choose the Thieves Guild if the appeal is stealing, staying out of sight, and finding a hidden organization through clues and contacts. GameSpot describes two ways to reach its invitation: get caught stealing, serve jail time, and sleep; or read a Gray Fox wanted poster and ask a beggar about the guild. Both routes lead toward a midnight meeting with Armand Christophe in the Imperial City Waterfront District.
Rank #2
- The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered modernizes the 2006 Game of the Year with all new stunning visuals and refined gameplay.
- Explore the vast landscape of Cyrodiil like never before and stop the forces of Oblivion from overtaking the land in one of the greatest RPGs ever from the award-winning Bethesda Game Studios.
- Rediscover Cyrodiil Journey through the rich world of Tamriel and battle across the planes of Oblivion where handcrafted details have been meticulously recreated to ensure each moment of exploration is awe-inspiring.
- Navigate Your Own Story. From the noble warrior to the sinister assassin, wizened sorcerer, or scrappy blacksmith, forge your path and play the way you want.
- An Epic Adventure. Step inside a universe bursting with captivating stories and encounter an unforgettable cast of characters. Master swordcraft and wield powerful magic as you fight to save Tamriel from the Daedric invasion.
The routes and meeting details are in GameSpot’s walkthrough. The distinction from the Dark Brotherhood is useful for role-play: the documented entry route centers on theft or investigation rather than murder.
Mages Guild: best for a magic-focused character
The Mages Guild is the natural recommendation if magic is central to your character concept. That is a straightforward play-style match, not a claim that its quests or rewards outrank the other guilds. The sources establish the Mages Guild as one of the core questlines and provide guide coverage, but do not support a detailed, consistent comparison of its joining requirements, quest variety, or rewards against the other three.
PC Slower Than It Used to Be?
A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Outdated Drivers Are Slowing You Down
One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchRank #3
- The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered modernizes the 2006 Game of the Year with all new stunning visuals and refined gameplay.
- Explore the vast landscape of Cyrodiil like never before and stop the forces of Oblivion from overtaking the land in one of the greatest RPGs ever from the award-winning Bethesda Game Studios.
- Rediscover Cyrodiil Journey through the rich world of Tamriel and battle across the planes of Oblivion where handcrafted details have been meticulously recreated to ensure each moment of exploration is awe-inspiring.
- Navigate Your Own Story. From the noble warrior to the sinister assassin, wizened sorcerer, or scrappy blacksmith, forge your path and play the way you want.
- An Epic Adventure. Step inside a universe bursting with captivating stories and encounter an unforgettable cast of characters. Master swordcraft and wield powerful magic as you fight to save Tamriel from the Daedric invasion.
PC Gamer’s Remastered guide directory includes guild guides, while GameSpot’s walkthrough lists the guild completion achievement: PC Gamer’s Oblivion Remastered guide and GameSpot’s walkthrough.
Fighters Guild: best for a combat-focused character
The Fighters Guild is the practical fit if your character is built around combat. As with the Mages Guild, the recommendation follows the character concept; the available sources do not provide a shared scorecard that would justify calling it the strongest questline or comparing its rewards on equal terms with the others.
Rank #4
- Includes Shivering Isles and Knights of the Nine expansions
Gamer Guides has Remastered coverage for Fighters Guild quests and locations, with the page listing a release date of May 1, 2025 and a last update of May 6, 2025. Those dates describe the guide page, not the game’s quest content: Gamer Guides’ Fighters Guild quests and locations guide. GameSpot also lists the Fighters Guild among the four guild completion achievements in its walkthrough.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Where the Arena fits
The Arena is worth considering if what you want is a combat-focused questline, but it is not one of the four guilds. GameSpot lists Arena completion separately from the four guild achievements. Treat it as an additional path rather than a fifth guild.
Best Value
- Live another life in another world, create and play any character you can imagine
- An all-new combat and magic system brings first person role-playing to a new level of intensity
- Groundbreaking AI system gives characters full 24/7 schedules
- New lands to explore in the Shivering Isles expansion
- Challenging new foes, hideous insects, Flesh Atronachs, skeletal Shambles, amphibeous Grummites and more
What Remastered includes
Bethesda’s April 22, 2025 beginner guide says Remastered includes the Shivering Isles and Knights of the Nine story expansions, along with additional downloadable content: Fighter’s Stronghold, Spell Tomes, Vile Lair, Mehrune’s Razor, The Thieves Den, Wizard’s Tower, The Orrery, and Horse Pack Armor. These are additions to the game, not additional guild questlines or evidence that one guild is better.
Bethesda Support’s edition listing says the Standard edition includes the digital base game, both story expansions, and the listed additional DLC. Deluxe also includes quests for unique Akatosh and Mehrunes Dagon armor, weapons, and horse armor sets, plus a digital artbook and soundtrack app. These edition extras do not establish a guild ranking. See Bethesda Support’s edition-content listing and Bethesda’s Remastered beginner guide.
Make the choice part of your playthrough
There is no need to decide that one questline is best for every character. Pick the guild whose activity and entry premise suit the character you are playing, and treat the Arena as a separate option if you want competition. Bethesda Game Studios design director Al Nanes put the spirit of exploring the game this way: “Take your time. Don’t be afraid to stray off the path. There’s so much to explore and so much to find. Dig into all the nooks and crannies. Stop and talk to people. You’ll probably find something that will carry your story in a new direction.” The quotation appears in Bethesda’s April 22, 2025 beginner guide.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
