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In Oblivion Remastered, light armor offers a unique set of mobility, defensive capacity, and powerful enchantments that can be employed to enhance any character build from quick spellcasters to stealthy assassins. Heavy armor may bring pure damage resistance, but the light armor items covered below not only offer defense against damage but also give useful bonuses that can tip the scales of combat.

This Oblivion Remastered guide combines the best light armor pieces available in every equipment slot, with their best enchantments and how to get them to allow you to maximize your build. Whether you are an old pro infiltrating the Shivering Isles or a recruit venturing into Cyrodiil, these high-level items will keep you alive and on top of your foes.

Why Play Light Armor in Oblivion Remastered?

Oblivion Remastered light armor is based on skill, meaning the more you wear and train in it, the better it performs relative to weight and enchantments. They save less Encumbrance than heavy armor and reserve your Agility and Speed, which is ideal for avoiding enemy attacks and sprinting toward spellcasters or archers.

Aside from raw Armor Rating, enchantments on most light armor items provide utility that heavy sets lack, like providing Magicka, Resistance, or niche skills like Sneak and Blade. By selecting equipment that suits your playstyle, you can build strong and niche builds!

What Is Considered The “Best Light Armor” In Oblivion Remastered?

When determining the best light armor items, we looked at:

  • Enchantment power (size and utility)
  • Base Armor Rating compared to weight
  • Accessibility, e.g., quest rewards and merchant presence
  • Synergy with popular builds (mages, stealth, melee)

With that said, let’s get right into it!

Best Cuirass: Birthright of Astalon

Image from Oblivion Remastered. Courtesy of Bethesda Softworks and Virtuos Games.
  • Enchantments: Fortify Magicka +50, Fortify Agility +5
  • Armor/Weight: 5/13
  • Why It’s Great: A +50 Magicka bonus is equal to Breton racial bonuses, so it is an absolute necessity for mages in Oblivion Remastered, while the agility bonus affects casting speed.
  • How to Obtain: Purchased from Claudette Perrick at the Gilded Carafe (Mercantile 50 required).

Best Resistance Cuirass: Saviour’s Hide

Image from Oblivion Remastered. Courtesy of Bethesda Softworks and Virtuos Games.
  • Enchantments: Magic Resistance +25%
  • Armor/Weight: 5/3
  • Why It’s Great: Quarter damage reduction from magic, rivaling Orc racial powers. Conjurers or necromancers can be unforgiving in Oblivion Remastered, so this is quite effective against them!.
  • How to Acquire: Reward for completing Hircine’s Daedric Quest successfully.

Best Helmet: Ayleid Crown of Nenalata

Image from Oblivion Remastered. Courtesy of Bethesda Softworks and Virtuos Games.
  • Enchantments: Fortify Alteration +13, Fortify Conjuration +13, Reflect Spell +20%
  • Armor/Weight: 1/0
  • Why It’s Great: 20% spell reflect chance reflects enemy spells back onto themselves, and the two schools buff enhances your magical flexibility.
  • How to Get: Reward of a secret of Secrets of the Ayleids.

Best Stealth Headgear: Shrouded Hood

Image from Oblivion Remastered. Courtesy of Bethesda Softworks and Virtuos Games.
  • Enchantments: +8 Sneak, +8 Illusion, +8 Marksman, +8 Blade, +8 Acrobatics
  • Armor/Weight: 1/0.5
  • Why It’s Great: Holistic buff to all basic assassin stats. Perfect for Dark Brotherhood beginners!
  • How to Get: Awarded upon joining the Dark Brotherhood.

Best Gauntlets: Bands of Kwang Lao

Image from Oblivion Remastered. Courtesy of Bethesda Softworks and Virtuos Games.
  • Enchantments: Fortify Hand-to-Hand +20
  • Armor/Weight: 1/1
  • Why It’s Great: A +20 boost to unarmed damage turns monks into front-line juggernauts.
  • How to Get: Located in a locked chest in the Arena District of Imperial City.

Best Greaves for Resistances: Greaves of Resilient Flesh

Image from Oblivion Remastered. Courtesy of Bethesda Softworks and Virtuos Games.
  • Enchantments: Disease Resist +50%, Poison Resist +50%, Normal Weapon Resist +11%
  • Armor/Weight: 1/3
  • Why It’s Great: Excellent defense against normal dungeon threats and physical attacks.
  • How to Acquire: Random loot drop; highly sought after for their unique resistance set.

Best Greaves for Mobility: Monkeypants

Image from Oblivion Remastered. Courtesy of Bethesda Softworks and Virtuos Games.
  • Enchantments: Fortify Acrobatics +10, Fortify Athletics +10, Drain Willpower –5
  • Armor/Weight: 2/7
  • Why It’s Awesome: Dramatic boosts to movement skills make exploration and evading trivial; slight willpower drain is negligible for most characters.
  • How to Acquire: Bought from Suurootan in Novaroma, Bruma.

Best Boots: Boots of Bloody Bounding

Image from Oblivion Remastered. Courtesy of Bethesda Softworks and Virtuos Games.
  • Enchantments: Fortify Acrobatics +18, Fortify Blade +18
  • Armor/Weight: 1/7
  • Why It’s Great: Incredible agility and melee improvements render any acrobatic warrior deadly in a duel.
  • How to Get: Reward for The Renegade Shadowscale Dark Brotherhood quest.

Best Shield: Glass Shield (Mirror & Hardened Forms)

Image from Oblivion Remastered. Courtesy of Bethesda Softworks and Virtuos Games.
Variants & Enchantments:
  • Mirror Shield: +8% Damage Reflect, +14% Chance to Reflect Spell
  • Hardened Shield: +18% Shield Rating
  • Armor/Weight: 7/6
  • Why It’s Great: Lightest base Armor Rating in the game for shields; enchantment versions provide reflect or added protection for specialized defense.
  • How to Get: Random drops or purchase from high-level weapons/armors vendors.

Honorable Mentions

  • Apron of Adroitness: +10 Agility, +10 Intelligence, ideal for Spellswords.
  • Amber Armor: Lightest set with solid base stats, highly regarded on community tier lists.
  • Crusader’s Armor Set: One set of Oblivion Remastered Knights of the Nine DLC with a balance of stats and lore significance.

Final Thoughts

Mastering light armor in Oblivion Remastered isn’t just about wearing the lightest available equipment; it’s about leveraging enchanted bonuses to enhance your build’s strengths. Whether casting annihilating spells, attacking from the shadows, or unleashing a flurry of unarmed strikes, the carefully selected pieces below will keep you agile, protected, and ruthlessly effective.

With almost too many pieces of armor, light and heavy, to count, you can wear the best light armor pieces that were listed, and shape your legend throughout Cyrodiil with unmatched style and skill!

This article first appeared on Total Apex Gaming and was syndicated with permission.

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