Skill Leveling Tips (Oblivion)

Skill Leveling Tips for .
==General skill level tips==
They will want to fortify the governing attribute of the skill they are training in, especially with magic skills. (e.g. To fortify Alchemy, Conjuration, and Mysticism, they will need to fortify Intelligence. This will increase the amount of Magicka the Hero has at their disposal). One way to help level-up in this area is to cast a Drain "skill" spell (such as Drain: Block), because armor exp is determined by how many times the armor/shield is hit, therefore lower level with stronger armor (Daedric is best) they get more experience, but costs loads of hammers to fix the armor. With Heavy/Light Armor/Block skills experience is determined on the amount of damage The Hero takes and endures, just make sure to have a decent heal spell that can be cast almost constantly. One option is to head into a goblin cave and find a pen of rats and let them attack you. If they are wearing half Heavy Armor and half Light Armor they will gain good experience from both. Also, if they can be hit by multiple enemies at the same time, more experience will be gained from each group of hits. 
*This is best done with lower leveled animals and not human or goblin NPCs since the animals bite or claw, for instance, whereas human type NPCs use weapons, don't attack as frequently, and their weapons will deteriorate and break.
*For best results with Drain Spells, be at least an Apprentice in the Mages Guild.
Alteration and Security are both also better if they use a Drain: Skill spell. For security it is better to get the Skeleton Key as it never breaks, drain Security to 0 and it will take many attempts to open the lock. They will raise experience quicker for illusion by finding a high leveled lock, (such as a very hard lock), use a Drain: Alteration spell then cast Open Very Easy Lock' spell on it. The bigger the difference in the spell and lock, the more experience that will be received and the lock will never open. This process can be repeated constantly until level 100.
To quickly boost skills train with a trainer for 5 levels in a skill, (granted you have the money), sleep and repeat. After waking up, fortify the Attribute that governs the skill(s) that need to be boosted, and try leveling a few more times in another major skill with the tips below. When the Hero reaches the maximum amount that can be trained at the current level (e.g. Bosmer level 5), simply fall asleep and repeat. This can be easier when leveling with magic skills by without a trainer while having lots of Potions of Sorcery or Welkynd Stone.
==Combat Arts==
===Armorer===
*Repair as much equipment as possible with Repair Hammers. This may also include defeated enemies' weapons and armor. Spells such as Disintegrate Weapon or Disintegrate Armor will increase the total damage done to their equipment.
*Creating a spell that Disintegrates Armor on self may quicken the rate at which the Hero's armor is damaged when cast. Another way can be by equipping and re-equipping the Amulet of Disintegration from the quest "The Coming Storm."
*The Ayleid Crown of Lindai cannot be repaired, but using a Repair Hammer on the item still raises the Armorer skill.
*Placing any or all of the Relics of the Crusader from the questline onto the armor stand in the Priory of the Nine returns the items back to full condition. At Expert level Armorer, continuously placing the armor pieces on the armor stand, retrieving them, then repairing them past 100% condition can raise the level of the Armorer skill.
*Use the Disintegrate Armor spell on a Daedric Cuirass until it is broken. Cast a Drain Armorer spell on self, then repair the cuirass with a Repair Hammer. With a low Armorer skill, it will take a large amount of tries to fully repair the cuirass.
*At Expert level Armorer, armor and weapons can be bought from merchants and repaired past 100%. With a high level Mercantile skill, gold spent will be made back.
*Go to any location inhabited by Bandits and allow them to hit the Hero until their weapon breaks and they drop it. Take the broken weapon and hide out of enemy sight. This can be done more easily with an Invisibility spell or Chameleon enchantment. Once completely hidden, the repairing action should be able to be activated as the Hero will be out of combat. Dropping these repaired items and initiating combat once again should prompt the bandits to pick them up, and this process can be repeated. This method can also be done with Skeleton Guardians summoned by the Hero with the Summon Skeleton Guardian spell, so long as it is done in the Hero's own house otherwise dropped equipment will be considered stolen.
===Athletics===
*If on PC, find a body of water with a suitable wall and use auto-run to keep swimming into the wall. Running into a corner may also work, though the skill will level slower. If on console, a rubber band or something of similar effect can be used to hold the controller’s left stick in place.
*Looking upwards and swimming in that direction can level the Athletics skill, even though the Hero is not moving.
===Blade===
*Complete "Origin of the Gray Prince" and then challenge the Gray Prince. During the battle, attack him until his health is low. Use a Heal Other spell and repeat. This can level up other melee skills as well as Restoration.
*Around the end of the Tutorial, instead of staying with the Emperor during the ambush, follow after Baurus and help him kill the Mythic Dawn Agents. More will arrive and can be used to level combat skills.
*The frozen worshipers at Peryite's Shrine can be attacked. They will not fight back or die. They may slide or fall down so they may be needed to be pushed against a rock. The sheer number of unreported assaults may freeze or slow down the game. To fix this, commit a crime that will be sure to be seen and reported, then pay the fine; this will clear all unreported crimes.
*Use a Conjuration spell that will summon a skeleton. Cast, attack two or three times and then recast, dispelling the first skeleton. This will prevent them from fighting back. A similar method is to conjure a ghosts and hit it with a normal, low-level weapon. Since ghosts are not affected by unenchanted weapons, it may take up to twenty hits before the ghost is unsummoned.
*With the Vile Lair plug-in, the prisoner in Deepscorn Hollow can be continuously hit. He will not wake up and is essential.
*Another way to increase any skill that derives experience from attacking is to obtain 100% Chameleon and set the difficulty to the highest level. This way, enemies can be hit multiple times over. Since difficulty does not affect experience gain, skills can be easily leveled up.
*Wear the Gray Cowl of Nocturnal in a major city and then attack the guards. If the Hero is low on health, take the Cowl off and yield to them.
*Obtain a horse, set the difficulty to the highest difficulty, travel away from civilization and hit the horse with a dagger. When the health of the horse becomes low, wait one hour and repeat. The Armorer skill may also be leveled up by repairing the dagger.
*With the Fighter's Stronghold plug-in, if the Battlehorn Training Room is purchased, there will be a trainer. Pickpocket the Sparring Dagger from him and initiate a sparring session. Equip the dagger and hit him with it. The dagger does no damage and he can be hit repeatedly.
*During the quest "Whom Gods Annoy", the scamps can be attacked repeatedly.
*During the "Leyawiin Recommendation" quest, after recovering Manduin's Amulet, hit Kalthar with a Destruction spell just before he tries to speak to the Hero. He will become stuck in his essential state and he will no longer try to speak or attack. He can be attacked using any skill. 
*In the beginning, when The Emperor and his blades split off from you, attack The Emperor five times as he is about to go through the doorway and he will go though but come back without his blades and he will attack you. At first run away from him and collect all the weapons and equipment in the room, and then just stand there and let him hit you till his sword breaks, at which point he most often cowers in the corner, allowing you to attack him freely, greatly increasing your skill faster than normal, because your class is not assigned yet.
*If you have the Fighter's Stronghold plug-in, pickpocket the sparring weapons from your partner. Then, find a weak enemy such as a rat or mud crab. The weapons cause no damage, so you can hack away at them indefinitely. In the process, you can level an armor skill as well! (Works for Blade, Blunt, Light Armor, and Heavy Armor.)
*Note: On the PS3 version, your skills revert back to 30 when you assign your class, so this is for Xbox 360 and PC only.
*Note: While leveling any of the offensive skills (Blade, Blunt, or Hand to Hand), you may not receive the skill increase message if you attack back-to-back very quickly until you stop attacking. This does not stop the skill from increasing, however.
*Note: In response to the note two floors above mine, on my PS3 version the skills do not revert to thirty, instead I gain more experience points than one normally would by training their skills after their classes have been assigned.
===Block===
*See Heavy Armor, below.
*Often use block whenever attacking.
*In the Fighter's Stronghold expansion you can hire Shagrol gro-Uzug as a combat partner. Then when sparring with him, tell him to use a dagger as it is very light and can be used very quickly, simply hold block whilst he is attacking you. Shagrol's weapons have no attack power, so evidently his attacks cannot damage you or kill you. If you have a Reflect Damage enchantment on one of your items or if you have a Reflect Damage spell on you, unequip the items with the enchantment and use Dispel to rid the Reflect Damage spell of you.
*Go in the sewers in the Imperial City, find a mud crab, put up your shield and let it attack. Every now and then do a Heal Minor Wounds spell between rat attacks. This improves Restoration skills as well.
*Go to Hackdirt Caverns, and turn the difficulty to the far left (easiest mode). Block as the four or more Hackdirt Brethren attack.
*Rosentia Gallenus's House is located near the center of Leyawiin. Rosentia Gallenus starts the miscellaneous quest "Whom Gods Annoy." The Everscamps are weak and easy to fend off if needed. Simply attack, then block and heal. If you kill them, they respawn. Do this before completing the quest. You can exploit this to level up many skills.
*Set difficulty to the lowest, and have a decent heal and shield spell. Unequip your shield and just use your fists to block, this way it will not trigger an opponent to stagger back for two seconds that often. Find a cave or area with multiple bandits or monsters that melee 100% of the time, and do not have magical weapons. Use shield spell and back yourself into corner and hold up your wrists to block. This will level both your block and whatever light or heavy armor you're wearing.
*Simply arm yourself with a shield, the armor you with to train in, and a healing spell. Run around jumping, this raises Athletic and Acrobatics. Block and Restoration along with your armor can be trained by exploiting the fact that the attacks they do have little damage
===Blunt===
*See Blade.
===Hand-to-Hand===
*See Blade.
*Can also be trained 5 points by watching Sallith and Branwen behind the arena.
===Heavy Armor===
*The best way to level Heavy Armor is at the very start of the game, in the Imperial City sewers. If you collected all the Heavy armor possible in the very beginning of the game (Helm, Cuirass, and Greaves) there is a pen within the Goblin caves with three rats inside. Within the same cave, there are many Repair Hammers that you can use on your armor before and after. If you turn the difficulty slider all the way down and let them attack you (casting the healing spell every once in a while), you can get your skill to 40+ before your armor breaks. Then after you choose a class, you can get to Journeyman and almost halfway to Expert before you even exit the sewers. You can do the same with light armor at the same time, but it breaks down faster and you will not get as many skill points.
*One way to level Heavy Armor is to start the first Fighters Guild quest in Anvil. Do the rat quest up until the point where you have killed all 6 mountain lions and make sure all four rats in the basement survived. Then go to the Fighters Guild and sleep for an hour which makes the rats regenerate all hp they lost by the mountain lions. You can always sleep in the west wing of the Fighters Guild since you are a member there after starting the quest. Return to the basement and attack each rat once causing them to attack you. Four rats attacking you at the same time will make you level Heavy Armor really fast. When you get low on hp, just return to the Fighters Guild, sleep for an hour and repair your armor.
*Once you've gained some semi-decent armor, find a rat and let it hit you over and over again. Optionally level Restoration at the same time by using a tiny healing spell to counter the damage.
*After you've beaten the Arena and can fight the Minotaur Lords, turn the difficulty to very easy and just let them hit you until your skill raises as much as you'd like. You can also use restoration spells to increase restoration while doing this.
*Once you get the Gray Cowl of Nocturnal, you can put it on and the guards will come after you. You can just let them hit you over and over, and improve your heavy armor. This also works well with light armor (although you take heavier damage). When you get low on health or want to repair your armor, just take off the mask and yield to them. Be careful if you have a reflect damage effect on, since the guards will get damage when hitting you, making them think it was an assault.
*Once you've achieved level 2 or higher, go to the Arena District and join as a combatant. When in fight, let your opponent attack you and your heavy armor skill will increase quite a bit.
*If you have the Staff of the Everscamp from the "Whom Gods Annoy" quest then take the Everscamps into a house or into the Arena Bloodworks and turn the difficulty slider to the right. Then hit all four scamps and turn the difficulty back to the left. Doing so will have all four Everscamps attack you all at once increasing your heavy armor skill really quick. And then when you need to rest/sleep/repair then just hit them and afterwards repeat.
*When you have any type of armor on, equip a sword and a shield of the opposite type (e.g. heavy armor, light armor shield). Let an opponent hit you repeatedly, but don't use the shield to block.; You'll level up both armor skills and the shield won't receive any damage.
*In Cracked Wood Cave, there is a pen with five rats in it. Turn the difficulty slider to easiest and let the rats attack you repeatedly. Have a spell or potion to cure disease, though- if the rats give you a disease that lowers strength, you may get over-encumbered and stuck.
*Once you obtain the Gray Cowl, go to the Bruma Guard Barracks with full heavy armor on. Once there, turn the difficulty all the way down, and equip the gray Cowl. The guards will start attacking in numbers of nine or ten. If your health gets too low or your armor becomes broken, you can always unequip the Cowl to heal and repair. Once you're ready, just re-equip the Cowl. This method could also be used for Light Armor or Block.
*Note: If your health gets too low, then you DO NOT have to sleep, you can just rest for 1 hour and your health will come back
*See post above under Block for tip to level both Heavy Armor/Light Armor and Block simultaneously, and quick.
==Magic Arts==
As experience is not based on the level or cost of the spell cast, one should cast the cheapest spell in the school possible as rapidly as possible if they want to level the skill as quickly as possible. Holding block increases casting speed considerably. Access to the Arcane University or having the spellmaking altar activated at the Wizard's Tower will allow you to create the cheapest possible spells, reducing or eliminating your need to cease casting to regenerate magicka.
===Alchemy===
*Alchemy is easy to level up if you collect all the ingredients you see as you're doing other things. Occasionally visit the nearest Mages Guild to "borrow" a Mortar and Pestle, and just start making potions. Since it's only the number of potions that is important rather than their usefulness, buying food from tavern owners is also an option for getting ingredients.
*If you want quick, simple leveling, go outside Skingrad and gather grapes. Also gather all the vegetables from the multiple farms in Cyrodiil, such as Odiil Farm east of Weynon Priory and Gweden Farm east of Anvil, or even go through barrels and crates in any town. Then go crazy creating restore fatigue potions. Selling these potions is also a good source of earning money. (Note: This is a good way to get your Mercantile skill up but be sure to sell each potion alone, if you sell in a bunch your mercantile will only go up for each sale not each item sold.)
*Another way to level Alchemy is to go to the Market District and buy all the food at the Feed Bag and all of the cheap 'Restore Fatigue' foods in the other nearby shops. There is also lots of food in the barrels and sacks located in the middle of the shop area. If you have a Mortar and Pestle (Mages Guild has many) then make all the food into potions and sell it for profit. You can do this every time the store's stock updates.
*Eat stuff. Ingredients are available for free almost everywhere outdoors, weigh very little, and eating alchemical ingredients ("wortcraft") will increase your Alchemy skill. Getting into the habit of picking up ingredients as you go, and eating them every once in a while when you have a good-sized load, will steadily raise your Alchemy skill. The Shivering Isles are a particularly easy place to gather a lot of ingredients in a short time.
**Keep in mind that each ingredient eaten gives exactly one-fifth as much experience as making a single potion.
*To get more money for your potions you can go to Frostcrag Spire (if you have it) and use the Frostcrag Alchemy Lab to get + 15 [Alchemy] with Alchemical Brilliance. If you are at 85 and use this to get to 100 your skill in alchemy will not go up while making potions. But being at 100 with Alchemical Brilliance will give you the ability to make single-ingredient potions and poisons (very profitable).
*The all around best way is to use the arrow cloning glitch and clone two ingredients that makes a potion (like blood grass and watermelons).
**Use ingredients that weigh the least or you will have issues picking them all up.
===Alteration===
*Cast the smallest Shield spell you have over and over again on yourself. Spell level does not affect gains, so cast as cheap a spell as possible. Even faster is casting Open Very Easy Lock on any lock of a harder grade (i.e. at least an Easy lock) - the lock won't open, but the skill will increase quickly. This also works on some doors that don't lock like the large ones in Imperial City. (You can do this to any lock with any "Open lock..." spell)
*The easiest way to build any magic skill up, is to gain access to the Arcane University and create your own spells (or just use Frostcrag Spire). You just have to make sure they are the minimum and are targeted at self. This works with all types of magic. You can just tape down the cast button on the controller or balance a roll of pennies on the C button on the keyboard and go get some food. For the 360 or PS3 you can switch your television set to regular TV and just keep hitting right bumper. Check on your skill advancement during commercials. (This works for the other non-Alchemy magic skills as well)
*A good way of leveling in Alteration is to find a container/door with a lock, and continually use the spell "open very easy lock" on it. This will not unlock the container so you can keep casting for as long as you want and it will barely deplete your magicka. It counts towards your Alteration even though the container is not being unlocked. (Try using willpower at the start of the game - it makes this a lot quicker)
===Conjuration===
*The fastest and most efficient way to level in Conjuration is to summon a Bound Dagger. If you have access to the Arcane University, you can create a spell for Bound Dagger that lasts for 1 second. The dagger will disappear so fast that you can simply hold down the cast button and not be interrupted.
*If you don't have access to the Arcane University, a fast way to level Conjuration is to summon a skeleton and continuously cast a Turn Undead spell on him. With this method, it is a good idea to get your skeleton stuck somewhere or trap him, because he runs in fear after 3 successful casts.
*A quick way to increase your level (also good for overall level) is to find a really low Magicka summon and just run around aimlessly in capital cities casting it over and over again. When you run out of Magicka, you can use a Welkynd Stone or you can just simply "wait" for an hour and your Magicka will be filled.
===Destruction===
*After gaining access to the Arcane University, create a damage fatigue, 3-point for 1-second damage-on-self spell and cast it over and over again. An efficient way to do this automatically is to stack a bunch of coins onto the cast-button.
*Once you reach apprentice level, create a new spell of Weakness to Fire with the same parameters. This way you don't have to worry about dying and you can go take a break.
*A simple way to raise this is with the Vile Lair prisoner. Simply cast Destruction spells on him, as he won't wake up or die.
*Following The Purification you can use Shadowmere for target practice as it is an NPC that won't die or attract the guards.
*Another way is to buy a bunch of repair hammers and cast a disintegrate armor 3 pts. for 1 second on self. This not only levels destruction, but you can level armorer rather quickly as well, which is a major help throughout the game.
*At Chestnut Handy Stables, have at least 50 paint brushes (using the scroll duplication glitch, or by merely finding them) and block up the gates of the stables completely (make sure the paint brushes are bunched up in a spot). Now, commit a crime of any kind (stealing, attacking someone, etc.) and have the Imperial Legion Guard that is posted at the gate the Talos Plaza District come chasing after you, so they are running against the paint brushes after you without moving. But before any of this, using Frostcrag Spire or the Arcane University Altar of Spellmaking to make a shock spell (must be shock) that does 3 damage in 100 feet for 1 second. The spell should be cast on the paintbrushes (the paintbrushes that are placed close together) then the shock spell will ricochet off all the paintbrushes and hit the guards. The shock spell sound should be doubled over or be multiplied over a lot. Then all these ricocheted shock spells will hit the guard(s) and rank you up very fast, especially if you use the block-casting method.
*During the "Whom Gods Annoy" quest, cast fire, frost or lightning spells on the ever respawning everscamps.
*Gaius Prentus can be used for target practice, as he never dies, can not arrest the player character, and it will not rack up a bounty.
===Illusion===
*Cast a tiny Light spell over and over.
*After gaining access to the Arcane University, create a Charm spell with a magnitude of 3 which is active for 1 second, make it so it is activated by touching. Go to the nearest NPC and keep using the spell on the NPC. As the spell is not in any way harmful to the NPC, the person will not attack you. Also, as the spell is so weak, it barely uses any Magicka.
*For non-magical characters not intending to join the Mages Guild, the Novice-level spell Starlight (if Illusion is a main skill you will have this spell already) is an effective spell to cast, as at even apprentice level the spell only costs a meager 14 magicka to cast.
===Mysticism===
*Cast any Mysticism-class spell repeatedly. Obviously, the best spells for this are spells that have low Magicka costs (usually self-made).
*Be careful when using Mysticism spells on friendly/non-aggressive NPCs: Some (such as Soul Trap) may or may not cause the NPC to attack you. It should be recommended to use Life Detect (on Self or on Touch) as it does not cause any unwanted hostility.
===Restoration===
*See Destruction or Heavy Armor, above.
*If you want to focus on Restoration alone, all you need to do is cast a Restoration spell repeatedly.
*The cheapest spell for Restoration is a restore fatigue spell found at most chapels.
*Make a spell that restores Restoration on touch. Create a spell with Dispel 3 pts for 1 sec, fortify Willpower whatever degree your skill is at, Fortify Magicka whatever degree your skill is at, Disintegrate Weapon or Armor (x) points, and Weakness to Magic. This combination of effects ensures that you always have magicka because it will never fall below the spell's magicka cost. The key word is touch here because you can cast spells faster on touch than if you cast spells on your self. To increase your casting speed, hold down block while you cast this. Holding block and casting a touch Restoration spell (or other schools of magic spells) is three times faster than any self or target spell.
*Make a Fortify Magicka 3 Points for 1 Second on self spell. Since it only costs 1 Point to cast and you gain 3 points each cast you will not run out of magicka casting this spell continuously. Cast it until you reach your desired level.
*Find the cheapest Restore Health spell you can find; the Heal Minor Wounds spell that players receive at the start of the game will work fine, as well. Travel to a place with an open flame to stand over (Bruma's Mage's Guild after the "A Plot Revealed" quest has been completed, or any of the town's fires located near the gates and around shops are good places to use), have your hero stand over the flame and continuously cast your restore health spell. When out of magic, move off the flame and wait an hour for it to return, or if you have a higher Willpower attribute: allow your hero to further burn, jump off the flame when low on health, and start casting again when magicka returns. This works best to level the skill as the skill gain is greater when the spell is actually useful (i.e. healing you when you're injured or restoring fatigue when you're jumping/fighting). This method also doesn't require the player to be advanced in any of the storylines to level the skill.
Note: using multiple colleges in one spell will only level the dominant effect. E.g., if your spell has a Turn Undead icon, the school that will level up will be Conjuration.
==Stealth Arts==
===Acrobatics===
*The two fastest ways to increase Acrobatics are to either spam-jump upward a slope (hill or stairway) or to fall from high enough to take damage. Cloud Ruler Temple stairway is the perfect place. You can spam-jump upward the temple's stairway and downward jump between upper and lower parts of stairway is just enough to take fall damage. Make sure Hero doesn't step on the steps when jumping down or they will not take fall damage.
*You can increase Acrobatics quickly by finding a ledge or something that is just slightly taller than your character, running underneath it, and jamming on the jump button. The goal is to find a spot where your jumps are as small as possible. Be sure to keep moving forward or use auto run as well, as that seems to be required for this rapid-improvement technique. The Fo'c's'le is the best place for this method.
*Jump from high places that cause damage to yourself. You gain more experience from taking fall damage. Remember that you will receive the same amount of experience from taking 1 point of fall damage as from taking 100, so you don't need to damage yourself very much. Just don't kill yourself doing it; use restoration spells after each jump. Saving repeatedly is tedious, but also an option.
*Find a steep mountain or a little steep hill where it is possible to just walk up it. Jump up the mountain until you're at the top, then jump off bit by bit, but enough to take damage each time (you can heal yourself while doing this). Repeat as needed.
*Simply jump everywhere you go. Slow method but adds up over time.
*An easy way to level Acrobatics is to go to Benirus Manor (Anvil) and there will be this box/crate on the right of the door. Jump on top of it, and keep pressing the jump button as fast as you can. You barely jump at all, but it still counts as Acrobatic exp. It is possible to get stuck on the crate but then just use fast travel to get free. This box is replaced by a bench after the curse is lifted.
*Also in Benirus Manor, in your bedroom you can jump on the headboard and keep pressing the jump button for raising Acrobatics.
*In the Master Security Trainer's tent outside the Imperial Prison, jumping on top of the barrel and pressing the jump button repeatedly accomplishes the same thing.
*The Bruma's Mage's Guild is also an excellent place to train acrobatics. When you enter the guild, go through the large doorway to the left and go up the stairs. When you reach the top, and are looking into the head of the guild's room, there should be a railing to your right. Run up to it and try to jump down to the floor below. The space between the top of the rail and the ceiling is too small, and you land immediately as you press the jump button. You can also train Sneak and any magic school skill by doing this. Go into Sneak mode and mash the jump and cast buttons.
*Using a Paint Brush, you can place it anywhere there is a flat ceiling and the corner of a room, and preferably near a bed, such as in a fighter's guild, if you are using it to level. Using the paint brush can give you the smallest distance possible between the character's head and the ceiling. Have something hold a movement button towards the corner and simply press the jump button. You will hit the ceiling and almost immediately land, allowing very quick leveling. Note: Paint brushes will not float in the Game of the Year edition on the PS3, rendering this trick unavailable.
===Light Armor===
*See Heavy Armor, above.
*Making sure you have at least 5 gold for stealing an item or 40 gold for attacking a guard or other NPC simply pick grab an item that isn't yours while someone is watching you (the best place to do this is in a shop) put on whatever type of armor you wish to improve the skill of, and make sure you have nothing on that will reflect damage. Then wait for a guard to come along and when they do just simply resist arrest, or simply find a city guard and cast a very weak destruction spell, such as flare. Let them attack you until your skill is to the desired level; this is also a good way to improve your block, restoration, and armorer skills, as long as you can repair that type of armor (you must be at least journeyman to repair enchanted armor).
*If you haven't finished the arena and you are still at a low level you can enter an arena match with the light raiment, but don't attack the other combatant. If you have enough Magicka to cast multiple healing spells, you can get your light armor to 100 in a few matches (However, fighting after a long time on a single combatant will cause the opponent's weapon will break and you will level up much slower.) Another benefit to this is gaining arrows that archers will launch at you.
===Marksman===
*Get a weak bow and roughly twenty arrows. Then, buy a Summon Skeleton spell, cast it and fire away until it dies and repeat. To make the skeleton to last longer, do not charge any of the shots; simply tap the fire button. The reason the skeleton is the best for target practice is because arrows will always bounce off the bones and land nearby, allowing them to never run out. This can be useful for training Conjuration as well.
*Buy an Iron Bow and quite a few Iron Arrows. Go to the Weynon Priory and find any of the three sheep in the corral, preferably one of the female. Set the difficulty all the way up and make sure you have a decent restore health on touch/target set. Shoot as many arrows into one of the sheep as you like. They won't fight back, and as long as you keep the gates closed, they can only run so far away unless you corner them. Heal as needed and you have free Restoration and Marksman training.
*Buy 200+ Iron Arrows and two or three Iron Bows. Find Umbra in Vindasel. Jump on top of the pillar in the middle of the room using the table. Make sure Umbra can't hit you from your spot. If you can, make a higher step with a paint brush. Shoot Umbra as much as possible (having the difficulty slider all the way up helps). After she is dead, you can also get her sword, Umbra, and her full Umbra's Ebony Armor set.
*Use an Iron Bow and as many Iron Arrows as you can carry. Find a troll, then climb up onto a steep cliff or rock, where it is unable to follow, and start shooting. The Painted Trolls seem to be especially tough, with plenty of rocks in the environment. Between the low damage of Iron Bows and Arrows and the trolls' natural regeneration, the only limit is the number of arrows you can carry.
*Just keep killing the featured scamp in the Whom Gods Annoy quest. As a mage at the Mages Guild tells you, new ones will keep on appearing to replace the ones you kill, plus cheap arrows will do the trick with little chance of harm in return.
*Take your horse to the wilderness where no one is around and use a weak bow and arrow to shoot your horse. Your horse is very strong and can take a lot of hits (100+ arrows). When your horse is about to die use a Restore Health on Target to bring its health back to 100%. Your horse will not attack you, nor will he move or call for help. If you do not have a Restore Health spell, simply wait one hour.
*After becoming the Grand Champion of the Arena and reaching level 18, arrange a fight against Minotaur Lords. Sit in the tunnel area leading up to the Arena and shoot at them; they will, for the most part, be unable to enter. On occasion they will be able to squeeze in; when this happens, simply run for the opposite tunnel and repeat.
*If you have the Vile Lair plug-in, you can just keep shooting at your prisoner. He won't wake up and because he won't die you can shoot him as much you want.
===Mercantile===
*Find an item that both buys and sells for 1 gold (such as the Rusty Iron Dagger gained in the tutorial). Buy and sell said item over and over and over again. Barring that, sell all items one at a time, even arrows and other large stacks. Remember to move the haggle bar high enough to get your bargaining through the merchant.
*Sell items for the highest price possible. Increase the haggle percentile by 1 after you've sold three or four items. When the offer is refused go back by 2%.
===Security===
*Note: The Skeleton Key is extremely helpful.
*Continuously fail to pick a lock (quick double clicks do it). This is expensive, however, as you keep breaking your lockpicks and need to purchase new ones. You can also use the skeleton key acquired from Nocturnal's quest for this method.
*Find a lock and pick all of the tumblers except one, then stop picking the lock and start again. This allows you to train without losing lockpicks.
*First obtain the Skeleton Key. After obtaining the key, go to a very hard lock and continuously auto-pick the lock. The key will never break and it will level up your skill extremely fast. In addition, the Skeleton Key raises your Security Skill by 40 for just having it in your inventory.
*The Training chest in The Thieves Den plug-in also allows lockpicking practice. Especially if you have access to a few fences, one method is to buy as many lockpicks as you can ( from the two fences in The Thieves Den, and any others you have access to) and simply press X and break as many as you want. For reference, it takes about 1600 lockpicks to get from level 75 to level 100.
*In reference to the above method, If you have access to Frostcrag Spire or the Arcane University you can create a spell to reduce your Security skill for a few seconds, cast it before using the training chest and it will help you level up a little quicker as you can repeatedly auto attempt and your character will likely not succeed in picking the lock, therefore speeding up the process.
*If you have access to Frostcrag Spire you can do this method here. Otherwise, you could simply join The Mages Guild. Either way, you will need access to a Spell Making Alter. Go to Skingrad Mages Guild and talk to Sulinus Vassinus and acquire one of his spells; Drain Skill: Illusion or Drain Skill: Marksman. Now head to either the Spell Making Alter at Frostcraf Spire, or The Mages Guild in The Imperial City. Make a spell to cast upon yourself of Drain Skill: Security - Self - 100 Points - 2 Second Duration. This will require at least a Level 25 in Destruction and cost about 43 Magicka, assuming you are about Level 25 in Destruction. Now, fast travel over to Bruma with about 3,000 (Use Duplication Trick if needed) lockpicks and walk up to the display cases next to where Countess Narina Carvain sits. Make sure she is away (Asleep) when you try this. This way, she is not there to spot you, nor is her guard. The only one there is Tolgan, of whom walks around. Stand aside the left concrete alter with the fire on it. That is, when you enter the room from the main archway, it is to your left. If sitting in her chair, it is to your right. It is the one with the three Akaviri Katanas in it. Crouch into sneak-mode and cast the spell. Now before the spell wears off, attempt to pick it. This location is best because unlike doors to locked houses, you don't have to run the fear of entering and being caught. Also, there is a lack of people of whom could accidentally find you. Thirdly, this has a Very Hard lock on it from Level 1, making it ideal when you lower your Security all the way down to zero, effectively giving you 0% chance to open it. Simply continue to open it and every ten levels or so, recast the spell so you don't accidentally open it by some misguided chance. In the event you do open it on mistake, you have two more Display Cases; which reside behind her throne. It took me about 800 Lockpicks using the Auto-Attempt to reach from Security Level 23 to Security Level 51, to give you an idea of what you are looking at. Just keep using Auto-Attempt and you should be at Level 100 in no time.
===Sneak===
*Before you do anything when you first start the game, jump up on your prison bed and crouch. Put a rubber band on your control stick to keep walking into the wall. The guards won't come and this will go on for as long as you wish.
*One place you can sneak indefinitely is in the beginning where the game first teaches you to sneak up on a goblin, just tape your controller and aim for a corner. Remember that at each of the skill benchmarks (apprentice, journeyman, etc.) you will have to acknowledge your skill level increase. ('a' for Xbox 360) in order to continue, so some supervision is suggested.
*Another great place to raise your sneak skill up, is at the very first of the game after character and name creation. Before heading over to the jail door, go over to the wall that opens later for the main quest and sneak into it. It will level quickly because of the dark elf across the cell from you.
*Crouch in a corner where you are near someone that doesn't pay attention and sneak at the wall - the door guards at Imperial City, behind the fans in the Arena or in the shady corner.
*Buy or otherwise acquire a Horse and ride it to the outside of one of the city walls, preferably somewhere that is relatively safe from random enemies or "scripted" enemies. Position your horse so that it is facing against one part of the wall(away from you) and crouch and sneak against another part of the wall. Be careful in certain cities however as some enemies spawn really close, also be careful not to do so on any "trails" around the city walls.
*In Bravil, pickpocket the Skooma Den residents (apart from Roxanne Brigette). They will not report you for stealing and will not attack you even though their disposition is lowered down. Pickpocketing can be a faster method of raising Sneak skill compared to sneaking by people.
*Also, keep in mind that if you are leveling sneak in a corner behind a guard in the Imperial City; you can hold block and level up a magical skill at the same time. This gives you a two-for-one on your time.
===Speechcraft===
*Keep playing the persuasion mini-game with the random townsfolk, including guards and beggars. After some Speechcraft level increases, you can play the game against the same people again (but usually only one or two rounds). In practice, use the small wedge for the hated reaction (it will rotate clockwise as you make choices) and one of the larger wedges for the best reaction. See Persuasion for more information.
*When you first talk to somebody, make sure that your weapon is sheathed (the x button toggles this on the 360). If you reach the character's maximum disposition and you don't want to find another person, let them see your drawn weapon (or raised fists). This will slightly reduce their disposition and let you play the minigame. Just lose a few times before restarting the technique above.
*A slightly less graceful way to level up is to continually spin the wedge around in a circle while repeatedly tapping the A button. Rounds will go by in seconds and you will level up very quickly. The NPC's disposition will rise and fall, but the skill is increased by the number of times the Speechcraft mini-game is played, not successful increases of disposition.
*One thing of note: it appears that when you "randomize" what selections you pick instead of going clockwise or counter-clockwise, the game seems to give you more experience than otherwise.
==See also==
*Leveling
Category:Game Mechanics
Category:Oblivion: Gameplay