Oblivion Remastered: Should You Level Luck?

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• What Luck Does In Oblivion Remastered

• Should You Level Luck?

Luck is one of Oblivion's more enigmatic stats. It states that it makes you a little better at everything, yet it seems to do nothing when increased. Paired with its low investment limit of two points per level up, you have a stat that seems functionally useless for most builds.

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While Luck is far from a mandatory stat in Oblivion, it isn't completely worthless. There are some hidden modifiers that Luck directly influences, notably skill ranks, that can improve your build ever so slightly. In this guide, we explain how Luck works in Oblivion Remastered and answer the age-old question: Should you level Luck?

What Luck Does In Oblivion Remastered

Luck hasn't seen any changes in Oblivion Remastered, so what we'll cover applies to the 2006 and 2025 releases. Each point of Luck grants the following:

• A hidden bonus to your skill ranks, provided your Luck is over 50.
• Decreased chance of lockpicks breaking, repair hammers shattering, and catching diseases from monsters.
• A higher chance of proccing Mehrunes' Razor's insta-kill effect.
• More HP for whichever gladiator you bet on in the Arena.

The only modifier that has any meaningful impact is the first one. Once your Luck is past 50, every point you invest will add a secret +0.4 modifier to every skill, rounded down. This bonus isn't shown in-game and doesn't contribute towards perk bonuses unlocked at skill ranks 25, 50, 75, or 100. With that said, the bonus stats do have an impact on whatever that stat usually governs until you hit the skill's natural cap of 100.

For example, the Blade skill increases your damage with melee weapons by 15% of its skill value plus 20. If you increase your Luck, it will increase your Blade value, which would indirectly mean that Luck is increasing your damage output.

A character with 80 Blade will deal 32% more melee damage with that weapon archetype. If you had 100 Luck, you'd gain 20 extra points in the Blade stat, increasing it to 100. Your blades now deal 35% more damage. Getting your Blade skill any higher would not increase your damage any further.

The only skills that benefit past 100 are Athletics and Acrobatics.

Any action that is tied to random chance is also influenced by the Luck stat. The chance of your lockpicks and repair hammers breaking is directly tied to your Luck. A Luck stat of 100 won't make these items indestructible—that's what the Skeleton Key and Armorer capstone are for—but it will make these items break significantly less often. Luck also influences how often you'll catch diseases from virulent monsters, although the exact formula for this isn't known.

Beyond those two things, Luck's influence is mainly tied to roleplay flavor. Your Luck influences the HP of gladiators you bet on in the Arena, making them more likely to win. It also influences how often Mehrunes' Razor will kill someone instantly, which is determined by 5% of your Luck value. If Luck influences anything else in Oblivion, its impact is so small that it's difficult to measure.

Should You Level Luck?

No, Luck is a stat you can safely avoid leveling in Oblivion. Its only meaningful benefit requires you to invest exclusively in the skill to receive much benefit, and the only way to do so effectively is through spells or enchantments. Even then, you're only allowed to increase your Luck by two points per level up, and those stats are almost always better suited for another attribute.

With that said, The Thief birthsign is a strong option for increasing Luck. It gives you a free ten points in the attribute in addition to Agility and Speed. Fortifying your Luck attribute is the only other effective means of increasing this stat without compromising on other important stats.

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