Luck stat in Oblivion Remastered, explained

The official description of the Luck stat in Oblivion Remastered says it “affects all your skills, having an effect on everything you do.” This wonderfully vague sentence doesn’t explain much about a stat that’s difficult to increase, so what is it all about?

As one of the main attributes that you can add virtue points to upon leveling up in Oblivion Remastered, Luck is deceptively powerful, yet incredibly restricted. We’ll explain all you need to know about the Luck stat, including everything it influences, and which equipment and enchantments raise it.

How does Luck work in Oblivion Remastered?

With the exception of Acrobatics, Athletics, and Speechcraft, the Luck attribute adds points behind the scenes to every other skill roll.

Luck, by default for all races and genders, is set to 50, which adds no additional points to your skill check. For every point you add to this attribute, roughly 40 percent of it, rounded down, will be added to your total, meaning that you may not see the initial benefit until you add at least three points to it. However, as you add more points, the benefits will increase, so characters with a Luck stat of 60 will see an increase of their skills by four points. It’s worth noting that these additional skill points don’t add any perks if this bonus puts you over most skills’ milestones. The sole exception is Armorer pushing your proficiency to Master rank or above, which ensures repair hammers don’t break.

With the calculations in the background, 100 Luck adds a maximum of 20 points to most skill checks. It doesn’t add any more beyond this threshold.

Arena Gambling and Mehrunes Razor

Luck also influences betting at the Arena in the Imperial City. Whenever you gamble in the Arena, your Luck stat increases the initial health of your gladiators that you put money on, thus improving your chances of winning the bet.

It also influences the chance to trigger the instant-kill effect of the Mehrunes Razor dagger. This is a quest reward for completing a nine-level dungeon that begins either at the Sundercliff Watch or Sundercliff Village. This was originally an expansion quest for Oblivion, so it may be tricky to complete without being prepared.

How to increase Luck in Oblivion Remastered

So, how do you get as much Luck as possible in Oblivion Remastered? You can do two things to boost your Luck during character creation. First, assign yourself the Thief Birthsign. This adds 10 points off the bat. You can also create a custom class rather than choose the premade classes, and select Luck as your main attribute to increase, which gives you an additional five points. This means the maximum starting Luck any character can have is 65, which adds six to any skill check. Not a bad start.

Every level you increase gives you the chance to add a point to your Luck, but there are items you can equip and other effects that boost this stat further. One of the easier-to-obtain ways is to buy the Ring of Wortcraft from All Things Alchemical in Skingrad. It drains your Intelligence by 10 points, but adds five to Endurance, Alchemy, and Luck. You need at least 50 points in Mercantile to buy the ring of the merchant Falaanu Hlaalu.

During the Umaril the Unfeathered, one of the Knights of the Nine expansion quests bundled with Oblivion Remastered, you’ll eventually activate one of the Tombs of the Knights in the Undercroft. Doing so will grant you a blessing of your choosing, so make sure that you pick Sir Ralvas and Zenithar’s Blessing to add five Luck until deactivated.

As for other enchanted items, here is a list of equipment to look out for that adds Luck while you are wearing it:

• Gauntlets of Blindind Speed – fortifies Luck, Agility, and Speed by eight points each.
• Greaves of Well-Being – fortifies Luck, Endurance, and Strength by eight points each.
• Helmet of the Mind – fortifies Luck, Intelligence, and Willpower by eight points each.
• Base Amulet of Luck – fortify Luck by six points.
• Amulet of Luck – fortify Luck by eight points.
• Grand Amulet of Luck – fortify Luck by 10points.