Perhaps the most interesting aspect of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered‘s magic system is the opportunity to craft your own spells. This system allows players to create powerful, weird, or just plain fun combinations of magical effects once they’ve reached a certain point in the Mages Guild faction sidequest. Although a trend throughout much of the Elder Scrolls series, the customizable magic system was removed from Skyrim. However, it’s been revived by the Oblivion remaster, and many players are diving into it again.

Crafting magic isn’t difficult once you get the hang of it; however, you’ll have to satisfy its unique unlock conditions before you can even begin using the Altar of Spellmaking. And once you’re in, you’ll have to learn the ins and outs of its system, along with the various spell conditions, to make the most of custom spellcrafting. Here’s how to unlock and use the Altar of Spellmaking in Oblivion Remastered, along with a guide to some halfway-decent spell and effects you may want to try.

How To Unlock The Altar Of Spellmaking

Unlocking Custom Spells

Before you can begin crafting spells, you’ll need to unlock the Altar of Spellmaking. You can do so by gaining a recommendation from all seven regional Mages Guilds throughout Cyrodiil, each of which requires you to speak with its local leader and complete a quest. Some are easy, some are hard, some are in between, but each one has unique requirements you’ll have to satisfy in order to get a recommendation.

The Mages Guild questline still continues after you gain access to the Arcane University.

So, in other words, you’ll first have to join the Mages Guild by traveling to any one of the cities listed below:

Anvil
Bravil
Bruma
Cheydinhal
Chorrol
Leyawiin
Skingrad

Complete that Mages Guild quest, then move onto the next one, and rinse and repeat until you’ve got all seven under your belt. With that, you’ll unlock the Arcane University, which you can access in the Imperial City district of the same name. Once inside, head to the Praxographical Center, where you’ll find two Altars of Spellmaking (pictured above).

In addition, you’ll also find an Altar of Spellmaking in the Arch-Mage’s quarters, which, of course, you can access once you complete the entirety of the Mages Guild questline and become Arch-Mage. There’s one in your free magic mansion, Frostcrag Spire, too, but you’ll need to buy two Magetallow Candles (2,000 gold each) from Aurelinwae in order to unlock it.

How Custom Spells Work

Using The Altar Of Spellmaking

 

Custom Image by Katarina Cimbaljevic Custom Image by Katarina Cimbaljevic

When you approach the Altar of Spellmaking, you’ll see a fairly simple crafting menu. On the left is a list of all the effects you can use, which you can add to the window on the right to create a custom spell. You may only use effects from spells that you know and are able to cast; you must have satisfied three conditions in order to do so. First, you must have learned the spell. Then, you must have reached the appropriate rank in the associated skill in order to cast it. And finally, you’ll need to have enough Magicka to cast it.

For example, if you want to apply the 120-second Invisibility effect from Spectral Form, you must have bought it from Ita Rienus, achieved Master rank in Illusion, and reached at least 507 maximum Magicka with which to cast it. If you’ve done all of the above, then you can add Invisibility for 120 seconds to your custom spells. Do note that magical effects that come from racial bonuses and Greater or Lesser Powers can also be used in spellmaking.

Next, for each spell effect you select, you may choose the target and range. “Self” refers tp spells that can only affect your character, “touch” can be cast on anything within melee range, and “target” can be cast long-distance. Some spells may also allow you to choose an area of effect.

Calculating Skill, Level, Cost, & Magicka

Custom Image by Katarina Cimbaljevic

Based on the effects you’ve added, the Altar of Spellmaking will calculate four stats for your spell: the skill it’ll use, the rank in that skill you’ll need, the gold cost to craft it, and the Magicka cost to cast it. These will be based on the number of effects you’ve added, their intensity, their duration, and the spells they’re sourced from. You must have the appropriate skill level, in addition to the gold required, in order to craft your new spell – but you don’t need to have enough maximum Magicka.

It is worth noting that spells will cost less to craft when you have a higher skill level Either way, though, click “Create,” and the spell will be created and added to your spellbook instantly. You can then equip and cast it as normal.

Best Custom Spells To Craft First

Damage + Debuff

Custom image by Katarina Cimbaljevic

Ultimately, the most useful spells will vary based on your character; a Battlemage build, for example, will find more use in Destruction spells than Illusion. These are recommended combinations aimed at getting you thinking about spell effect synergies and how best to use them.

For a Destruction-focused character, for example, you may choose to combine a debuff with a damaging spell to maximize the pain inflicted. Consider blending, say, Corrode Armor or Damage/Drain Endurance with a damage-over-time effect to weaken your enemy.

Do note, however, that Weakness effects don’t work as intended when combined with other effects in custom spells; they only take effect after all the other spell effects have been applied.

The Ultimate Stealth Spell

Stealth-based builds may use a variety of different spells to their benefit: Invisibility and Fortify Sneak spells to stay unseen, Detect Life spells to locate their enemies, and Fortify Speed to move more quickly. Consider combining all of the above into a single spell, then activating it to immediately enter a fairly impenetrable stealth mode.

Summon A Full Set Of Gear

If you enjoy using Conjuration, you can combine any number of Bound Blade/Armor/Helmet/Boots spells to summon a full set of gear at a moment’s notice.

Fortifying Attributes

One of the most powerful benefits of crafting your own spells, though, is the ability to create spells that boost your attributes by 100 points at a time. You can use these to do just about anything: increase your Speed to zip around the map, your Strength to carry an unnaturally heavy load, your Charm to get the best possible prices, et cetera. They’re not the most creative spells, but they can be very useful in The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered.