In Oblivion Remastered, the stars are a powerful prophetic and protective force in the universe, guiding the dreams of emperors and commoners alike and granting boons to anyone born under a particular Birthsign.
Your Birthsign is an important part of your character build and can have a huge impact on the way you play Oblivion, so here’s how to decide which is the best for your playthrough.
However, in keeping with the theme of changing your destiny in Oblivion, anyone can also change their stars. There are 13 Birthsign Stones you can visit to gain an additional effect after your initial pick, which you can seek out in the open world, which we’ve embedded a full map of below as well.
Oblivion Remastered Best Birthsigns
| Birthsign | Birthsign Effect | Best For |
| Apprentice | Fortify Magicka 100 points, 100% Weakness to Magic | Mage builds |
| Atronach | Fortify Magicka 150 points, 50% Spell Absorption, Stunted Magicka (no natural MP regeneration) | High-level Mage builds paired with an Absorb Magicka weapon |
| Lady | Fortify Willpower 10 points, Fortify Endurance 10 points | Hybrid Melee/Mage builds |
| Lord | +15% Armor Rating, +15% Magic Damage Resistance | Sword-and-board builds |
| Lover | Lover’s Kiss Greater Power: Paralyze on Touch for 10 seconds and Damage 120 points Fatigue on Self; once per day | Not much |
| Mage | Fortify Magicka 50 points | Mage builds |
| Ritual | Mara’s Gift Greater Power: Restore Health 200 points; once per day, Blessed Word Lesser Power: Turn Undead up to Level 25 for 30 seconds | Strong, reliable healing |
| Serpent | Serpent Greater Power: Damage Health 3 points for 20 seconds on Touch, Cure Poison on Self, Dispel 90 points on Self, Damage Fatigue 100 points on Self | Reliable poison healing |
| Shadow | Moonshadow Greater Power: Invisibility for 60 seconds;once per day | Outclassed by other effects |
| Steed | Fortify Speed 20 points | Speed runs, exploring, impatient people |
| Thief | Fortify Agility 10 points, Fortify Luck 10 points, Fortify Speed 10 points | Marksman builds |
| Tower | Tower Key Greater Power: Open Average Lock; once per day, Tower Warden Greater Power: Reflect 5% Damage for 120 seconds; once per day | Quickly made obsolete |
| Warrior | Fortify Endurance 10 points, Fortify Strength 10 points | Melee builds |
To put all of this in context, most of the Birthsigns in Oblivion Remastered are viable, but some are better than others.
Three are not recommended: the Lover, Shadow and Tower. This is because they offer extremely situational advantages which aren’t as strong as the always active boosts you can get elsewhere.
For a melee character, the Warrior Birthsign is a straightforward but powerful advantage. You could also choose the Steed to make it easier to reposition yourself in battle, while it also gives a significant advantage to exploring the wide open world. Finally, if you wanted to role-play a roguish character who uses melee weapons and light armor, then you could also try out the reworked Lord Birthsign for useful buffs to all kinds of damage resistance.
For a magic character, the Atronach is technically the best but can be tricky to use effectively. While it gives you access to more Magicka, it also removes your natural ability to regenerate magic power. This means in the early game you’ll be relying on potions, before having to go out of your way to craft a weapon or spell which can absorb enemies’ Magicka or further raise your Spell Absorption. Because of this, I’d only recommend the Atronach to more advanced players.
Alternatively, mages can choose the Apprentice or Mage Birthsign for a more straightforward buff. Don’t choose the Apprentice if your Race already has a specific weakness to magic or an element. But don’t be shy about grabbing it as a Breton, or if you plan on collecting Daedric Artifacts and other magic-resistant equipment.
Finally, if you’re playing as a hybrid mage/melee character, the Lady is a great buff to your magic regeneration while also increasing your survivability for tanking some hits.
Then for a Marksman build, the Thief Birthsign is a great choice. Alternatively, you could also choose the Steed for its massive speed boost, which is particularly powerful when paired with a Wood Elf’s natural speed.
Oblivion Remastered Birth Sign Stone locations
In Cyrodiil there are also 13 Birthsign standing stones you can visit to gain an additional bonus in the form of a spell that’s similar to the effect of the original Birthsign.
You can only activate 1 of these stones at any given time, so when you interact with another, you’ll lose access to the spell you previously had equipped.
The Atronach Stone is pretty much a must-visit if you’re using that Birthsign, but others are useful too. The Ritual Stone gives you quick access to powerful healing, whereas the Mage and Warrior are strong combat boosts.
Below we’ve embedded an interactive map showing the locations of all of the Birthsign Stones in Oblivion:
For more about building your character in Oblivion Remastered, here are our picks on the best starting Race, as well as the best starting class (and why that’s a Custom Class).
Or for more on your return to Tamriel, here’s how to join the Dark Brotherhood and the Thieves Guild in the Imperial City.