Bonus: +50 Magicka
Drawbacks: None. Literally none.

The Mage is the clean, no-nonsense choice. It’s the “shut up and sling spells” pick.
You start with 50 extra Magicka on top of whatever your Intelligence gives you — and that’s it. No weird trade-offs, no hidden “gotchas” halfway through your playthrough.

This makes a huge difference early-game, especially when spells are pricey and your Magicka bar looks like a tiny breath meter.
With The Mage, you can actually afford to cast that fireball and throw up a shield spell without immediately gasping for potions.

Long term? Still solid. It scales cleanly, stays reliable, and won’t ever screw you because you forgot to chug a mana potion before a boss fight.

If you want to focus purely on casting without worrying about micromanaging penalties or side effects, The Mage is it for Oblivion Remastered novice or casual players.

6. The Atronach — Big Brain, Bigger Risk

Bonuses: +150 Magicka, 50% Spell Absorption
Drawbacks: No natural Magicka regen (Stunted Magicka)

This is where the real mages flex (which we can’t help but do in Oblivion Remastered).

The Atronach gives you an absolutely massive Magicka pool — enough to nuke an entire bandit camp without blinking. Plus, that sweet 50% Spell Absorption? Yeah, half the spells enemies throw at you heal your Magicka instead of hurting you.

Sounds busted, right?
It is. If you know what you’re doing.

The catch is brutal: you never naturally regen Magicka. No sleeping it off. No casual refills. If you want to cast, you have to:

• Slam potions like your life depends on it (because it does)
• Camp near Ayleid Wells
• Pick up every Welkynd Stone like you’re an obsessive crystal collector (as one becomes—Oblivion Remastered will do that to you)
• Rely on enemy casters so you can absorb their spells mid-fight

Early game, Atronach players suffer.
Mid-game and late-game, once you stack Spell Absorption gear?
You become an unkillable spell battery. It’s hilarious. It’s also chaos, pure glorious chaos!

Only pick this if you love managing resources like a survivalist prepping for a zombie apocalypse.

5. The Lady — The Sleeper In Oblivion Remastered

Bonuses: +10 Willpower, +10 Endurance
Drawbacks: None

At first glance, The Lady seems… boring. No Magicka boost? No fancy ability? Lame, right?
Wrong. Never underestimate a birthsign in Oblivion Remastered, it could cost you hours of play time!

Willpower gives you faster Magicka regeneration, which makes your spellcasting smoother. Endurance gives you more Health every time you level up, which means you don’t die when a goblin breathes near you.
Together? You’re a walking tank with a magic nuke launcher strapped to your back.

This is the pick if you want to:

• Swing a claymore in one hand
• Hurl a fireball with the other
• And look good doing it while enemies melt in confusion

The Lady rewards players who don’t want to hide behind robes — but still want their spellbook loaded for maximum destruction.

4. The Apprentice — Magicka Cannon With a Death Wish

Bonus: +100 Magicka
Drawbacks: 100% Weakness to Magic

If you like living dangerously, congratulations: The Apprentice was made for you (wait, we thought Oblivion Remastered was always that). 

You get 100 extra Magicka right off the bat, which is insanely good early on. More spells, bigger spells, faster leveling.
The problem?
You also take double magic damage. From everything.

Get sneezed on by a necromancer? Dead.
Accidentally trigger your own fire trap? Dead.
Look at a hostile mage funny? Dead.

You basically walk around as a glass cannon taped to a fuel tank.

Smart players can work around it by:

• Picking Breton for natural Magic Resist
• Hoarding enchanted gear that gives Magic Resist
• Spamming shield spells and running fast

But if you’re not paying attention? You’re one lightning bolt away from being permanent furniture in the nearest dungeon.

Fun as hell. Risky as hell.

3. The Ritual — One Clutch Button to Save You

Abilities: Mara’s Gift (Restore 200 Health once per day), Blessed Word (Turn Undead)

The Ritual is what you pick when you like to gamble — but you want a backup plan when that gamble goes sideways. And things always do in Oblivion Remastered.

Healing 200 Health instantly once per day can literally save your life in early dungeon crawls or against bosses that slap way harder than expected.

The Turn Undead power?
Perfect for when that crypt full of zombies starts swarming and you realize you brought exactly zero damage spells that work against ghosts.

It’s a defensive pick. A clutch pick.
You’re basically carrying a “Get Out of Death Free” card that refreshes every in-game day.

Not flashy, but seriously underrated — especially for players who like to explore deep into spooky places early.

2. The Serpent — Weird, Situational, and Sometimes Brilliant

Ability: Damage Health + Cure Poison/Dispel + Damage Fatigue (100 points Fatigue penalty to you)

The Serpent is the wild card of birthsigns in Oblivion Remastered.
It lets you blast an enemy’s Health instantly without using Magicka — which is sick if you’re low on mana mid-fight or want to finish someone off without wasting spells.

It also cleanses poison and dispels magic effects. Super handy if you stumble into an overpowered enemy caster or a dungeon boss stacked with debuffs.

The cost?
100 points of your own Fatigue. Which means your swings get slower, your spellcasting gets jankier, and you become a very tired wizard if you spam it.

Smart players will keep it in their back pocket for emergencies.
Dumb players will hit it every fight and collapse like a narcoleptic goat.

Still — very fun, very weird, very you if you like “risk it all” plays.

1. The Steed — Speed Mage Energy

Bonus: +20 Speed
Drawbacks: No direct Magicka boosts

You’re not picking The Steed because you want more spellpower.
You’re picking it because you want to zip across the battlefield like the mage equivalent of Sonic the Hedgehog.

Being faster in Oblivion Remastered matters more than people realize.

• Dodging arrows? Easier.
• Staying out of melee range? Way easier.
• Kiting enemies around while spamming spells? Absolute nightmare fuel for them, hilarious for you.

If you’re running an Illusion-heavy build with Invisibility, Frenzy, or Charm spells, Speed becomes downright broken.

Not for every mage, but if you like being fast, annoying, and basically untouchable? This is your golden ticket.

Final Thoughts: Pick Your Poison (Or Your Safety Net)

• Want easy mode? Pick The Mage.
• Want a real challenge and a payoff? Pick The Atronach.
• Want to wreck face but die if you sneeze wrong? Pick The Apprentice.
• Want to be a hybrid juggernaut? Pick The Lady.

Whatever you choose, just know:
In Oblivion Remastered, it’s not about surviving the tutorial dungeon.
It’s about surviving that moment 10 hours later, when a daedroth comes sprinting at you and you realize you forgot to save.