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About this mod
The comprehensive solution to Oblivion's NPC scaling problem: adds consistent level caps to 1,400+ NPCs from the base game and all DLCs.
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Balanced NPC Level Cap
Requirements:
The Shivering Isles
Unofficial Oblivion Patch
Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch
Requirements:
The Shivering Isles
Unofficial Oblivion Patch
Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch
Description
Balanced NPC Level Cap adds consistent and balanced level caps to all NPCs in Oblivion, Shivering Isles, and (optionally) all other DLCs. This is sister mod to my Balanced Creature Stats, and together, you'll no longer need to worry about the interminable leveling of enemies.
For those that aren't aware, most NPCs in Oblivion have no maximum level and will always match the player's level, with an occasional small plus/minus offset. The intention of this feature was that all locations and enemy types would provide a constant challenge level to the player, However, in practice, it usually strips away much of the sense of variety and progression. To make things worse, non-optimum leveling choices can mean that enemies eventually begin to outpace the player in power level, and this makes the game less fun overall.
The fix? Simply add maximum levels for NPCs. Easier said than done.
Oblivion has several thousand NPCs, so a meticulous manual approach such as I used in Balanced Creature Stats wasn't possible. Instead, NPC level caps have been determined using an algorithm applied to all NPCs in the game using TESIVEdit, and then the results were manually checked for consistency.
There are two flavours to the new level cap:
Version 2
(Current Version, Recommended)
This sets all NPC level caps to the equivalent level of the NPC when the player is level 30, with a few minor alterations to some NPCs. For example, Bandits have level offsets ranging from -4 to +0, so their maximum levels will range from 26 to 30. In general, NPC level caps range from 20-50.
Azani Blackheart is now the highest level NPC in the game, with a cap of 55 and offset of +25. This is fairly logical, as he's an end-game boss of the Fighter's Guild questline. For some reason, Vilena Donton has a HUGE offset of +40 in the vanilla game, meaning that this old warrior is actually the toughest NPC in vanilla Oblivion. She has now been capped at 50, placing her just below Azani. Dremora Valkynaz have an offset of +0, meaning they should normally have been capped at level 30; however, I have instead capped them at 40 as I believe they should provide more challenge considering they're the toughest Dremora.
I consider this version to be the more "vanilla" and better balanced than the previous. This is based on my review of NPC leveling. I found that the previous version capped NPCs too low, and prevented most generic NPCs from ever coming close to maxing out their major skills, and therefore made them too easy at higher levels. Now the higher level NPCs will max out their combat skills and provide a more reasonable challenge.
I have also expanded the DLC support to cover ALL the new NPCs in every official DLC, as I for some reason forgot to do everything but Knights of the Nine and Thieves Den in the previous version (oops).
Version 1
This is based on a more nuanced algorithm which takes into account minimum levels caps and some other features of NPCs. Generally the cap is between level 10-30, which I now consider to be too low. However, I am still leaving this file available in case some people prefer it, but bear in mind that I recommend Version 2 for a more balanced experience.
TL;DR: This mod applies consistent, logical level caps to over 1,400 NPCs with no gaps in coverage whatsoever.
The downside? This mod makes edits to a very large number of NPCs, and so will conflict with any other mods which edit the same records. However, this is easily resolved using automatic patching utilities like Wrye Bash or TESIVEdit. The alternative is that myself or other mod authors make patches for conflicting mods, which is super-straightforward for anyone with basic xEdit knowledge and can be automated.
If anyone is interested in the leveled NPC stat formulas, they can be found at the UESP Oblivion:NPCs page.
Installation
This mod requires:
- The Shivering Isles Official DLC;
- Unofficial Oblivion Patch;
- Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch;
- All other official DLC and Unofficial DLC Patches (optional).
Standard installation procedure: add the file to your data folder and check in the game launcher or your mod manager of choice. Load as low down as possible and after the Unofficial Patches.
The main file supports the base game and Shivering Isles. The optional DLC patch covers all relevant NPCs from Knights of the Nine and Thieves Den DLCs. This is intended to be used with the Unofficial Oblivion DLC Patches, but it is not strictly required.
There is also a patch for users of my Hooded Outlaws mod. This covers both the base mod and the optional file for Necromancers and Conjurers.
The Version 1 file includes the main file and patches in a single download.
Uninstallation
This mod can be uninstalled at any time and will have no permanent effects on your game.
Compatibility
This mod edits a huge number of NPC records, and so will conflict with any other mods that edit the same records. All relevant changes from the Unofficial Patches are already included, which is why they are both required as master files. I recommend loading this mod as low down as possible and checking for conflicts with TESIVEdit. The relevant Bash tags have also been included. Personally I prefer manually-created patches, but I understand the convenience of Wrye Bash.
If you're a mod author and want to manually make a patch for this mod, all you need to do is carry forward the maximum level entries from this mod using TESIVEdit, i.e. the record ACBS\Calc max. This can easily be automated using the QuickChange script from Mator's Skyrim Automation Tools, which also works for TESIVEdit. Also remember to check against the Unofficial patches and include any additional fixes from there too.
Feedback
As I said, I've been playing with this mod for some time now and I am relatively happy with its current state. However, if you have any suggestions or notice and irregularities, please feel free to let me know in the comments. I can easily make refinements to the TESIVEdit script and create a new version if needed.
My Mods
I spend a lot of time creating and supporting my mods, so any donations are gratefully received.