Oblivion:Oblivion Gates

A doorway to the Planes of Oblivion

This article is about the Oblivion gates. For the realms of Oblivion (inside the gates), see Planes of Oblivion.

Oblivion Gates (marked on your map as A Gate to Oblivion) are portals opened throughout Cyrodiil by the forces of Oblivion, acting as bridges between the mortal plane (Mundus) and the Daedric planes. They are easily visible with their surrounding ring of fire, especially at night. Also, just in case you missed their presence, passing near one will normally make the sky turn ominously red. Nearby gates will appear on your compass; if you approach near enough to the gate, a marker will be permanently added to your map (the marker remains present even if you close the gate).

Initially, only one Oblivion Gate exists in the game, in front of the main gate of Kvatch. As you advance through the main quest, more and more gates will appear. There are a few locations where gates will always appear; in addition, there are a large number of randomly appearing gates. Completing the main quest will make all existing gates close, and no more will open.

Closing an individual gate can only be accomplished by locating and removing the Sigil Stone that powers the gate. This Sigil Stone is found in the Sigillum Sanguis at the top of the main tower within the associated Plane of Oblivion the gate leads to. Once removed, the Sigil Stone can then be used to enchant one item. Although sometimes there are many towers, the main tower is always easily distinguishable by the blood red windows on its top floor.

Details[edit]

The appearance of an Oblivion Gate generally triggers additional changes in the surrounding landscape. Bloodgrass and harrada may be found near the gate; architectural features such as spikes and bridges that are normally only found in the Planes of Oblivion may appear. Moving closer to the gate, or coming out of it, will cause the sky to become red and cloudy, a reddish fog effect to appear, thunder to occasionally be heard, and the music to change. All of these changes are exactly the same as when you are actually in Oblivion. The music will change back to normal when you leave the portal's immediate vicinity, but the other effects remain even if you begin moving away from the portal, and it will require some distance and time before they gradually begin to fade. Even after it seems as though the effects are gone, the reddish sky can still be seen from underwater.

Probably of more immediate interest to your character are the creatures that come through the gate from Oblivion. Near each gate you will find one to four leveled Daedra. If you are planning to enter the gate, it is probably worth spending the time killing off these Daedra before entering. Otherwise, you will be forced to face them after you close the gate; they will not magically disappear along with it.

Before venturing into the realm of Oblivion, make sure your armor and weapons are in top condition and you're well equipped with lots of potions, arrows, repair hammers, soul gems, and even a backup weapon if necessary (this is especially advised if you use a magic weapon and have not yet reached Journeyman level in Armorer). It is generally possible to return through the gate to resupply yourself, but this is time-consuming, and there are some Oblivion worlds where it becomes impossible to return to the gate.

After you have closed a gate, its charred wreckage will remain, permanently blighting the landscape. Any bloodgrass or harrada that took root near the gate will remain present, which can provide a useful source of ingredients after you have finished the main quest.

Two Oblivion Gates form on top of wayshrines, destroying most of the shrine. Both of these gates are gates that always open as soon as the quest Dagon Shrine has been completed. See the Wayshrines article for additional details on the affected shrines.

There are different approaches to take with the Oblivion Gates. You may wish to close each gate as you encounter it. This is particularly useful if you want to collect Sigil Stones and gain Fame. Entering a gate early will allow you to battle easier Daedra (the Daedra are all leveled, based on your level at the moment you enter the gate). This might allow you to quickly get the gate closed. If you wait, you will find increasingly harder opponents and more valuable loot until both cap at level 24.

There are some good reasons to close a gate:

Sigil Stones found after level 17 will give up to twice the power of enchantments made at an altar of enchanting.
You gain one or two points of Fame, but usually one.
Dremora found inside have a good chance of carrying powerful rings and amulets.
Many Daedra carry valuable alchemical ingredients that may be used to create powerful potions.

There are no penalties for not closing a gate, so if the above does not look tempting, you can safely ignore all of the random gates. One Master Training quest, namely Mysticism training with Dagail, requires you to close three gates, but this is possible even if you close the minimum number of gates necessary to complete the main quest.

Maximum Number of Gates and Timeline[edit]

There are 100 locations in Cyrodiil where gates may open during a playthrough. However, only a maximum of 60 gates can actually open in a single playthrough. Since no gates reopen, it is not possible to exceed this maximum number without use of the console.

The maximum number of gates that can open at any given time is determined by how much of the main quest has been completed. In order to have the maximum number of gates open in a single playthrough, you will need to explore possible gate locations after completing the quest Dagon Shrine and before completing the quest Paradise. Also note a bug that may make it impossible to remove a gate's Sigil Stone and thus close the gate; to ensure the maximum of 60 gates may be closed, it is advisable to save before discovering each gate. As detailed below, 80 "random gates" are subject to a variable chance of opening upon entering their respective cells, while 20 "fixed gates" always open at certain points in the main quest. The relevant timeline is as follows:

The gate in front of Kvatch is already open at the start of the game.
10 gates in the wilderness automatically open after you complete the quest Find the Heir. In addition, there will be a 25% chance that any of the 80 random gates will open upon entering each respective gate's cell. Finally, with the exception of the 10 fixed gates that open just outside cities as the main quest progresses, the maximum number of the remaining 90 potential gates that can open is set to 25; this allows for the 10 fixed gates that automatically opened after completion of the quest Find the Heir and up to 15 random gates to open.
7 additional gates outside cities automatically open after you complete the quest Dagon Shrine. In addition, there will now be a 50% chance that any of the 80 random gates will open upon entering each respective gate's cell. Finally, with the exception of the 10 fixed gates that open just outside cities as the main quest progresses, the maximum number of the remaining 90 potential gates that can open is increased to 50; this allows for the 10 fixed gates that automatically opened after completion of the quest Find the Heir and up to 40 random gates to open.
A gate outside Bruma automatically opens during the quest Bruma Gate.
The Great Gate outside Bruma automatically opens during the quest Great Gate.
After you complete the quest Paradise, there will now be a 25% chance that any of the 80 random gates will open upon entering each respective gate's cell. In addition, with the exception of the 10 fixed gates that open just outside cities as the main quest progresses, the maximum number of the remaining 90 potential gates that can open is reduced to 20. If more than 20 among these 90 gates have opened at this point, any gates that had previously opened but have not yet been closed will remain open, but no more will open.
When the main quest is completed at the end of the quest Light the Dragonfires, the chance that a random gate will open upon entering its cell reduces to 0%, and all previously opened gates are automatically closed (though see bugs).

Fixed Gates[edit]

The cold charred remains of a recently closed Oblivion Gate

20 gates will always open during the main quest. The 10 gates that appear after completing the quest Find the Heir each lead to one of seven randomly chosen Oblivion worlds. The other 10 gates each lead to the specific Oblivion worlds noted below.

Appear at the Start of the Game[edit]

1: The gate in front of Kvatch (see map), leads to the Kvatch Oblivion World.

Appear After Completing Find the Heir[edit]

69: East of Bruma, northwest of Sedor (map).
65: North of Bravil, slightly south of Fort Variela (map).
38: Southwest of Kvatch, slightly southeast of Garlas Agea (map).
99: North of Skingrad, slightly west of Goblin Jim's Cave (map).
55: Slightly north of the Inn of Ill Omen (map).
27: Slightly west of Talwinque (map).
14: East of Leyawiin, beyond Onyx Caverns (map).
16: Southeast of Leyawiin, north of Fort Blueblood (map).
93: Northwest of Skingrad, southeast of Talwinque (map).
54: Slightly southeast of Fort Carmala (map).

Appear After Completing Dagon Shrine[edit]

2: The gate outside Cheydinhal (see map), leads to the Cheydinhal Oblivion World.
- See The Wayward Knight for details.
3: The gate outside Fort Sutch (see map), leads to one of four random worlds (2, 3, 4, or 7).
- See Attack on Fort Sutch for details.
4: The gate outside Anvil (see map), leads to Random Oblivion World 7.
5: The gate outside Chorrol (see map), leads to Random Oblivion World 2.
6: The gate outside Leyawiin (see map), leads to Random Oblivion World 3.
7: The gate outside Skingrad (see map), leads to Random Oblivion World 4.
8: The gate outside Bravil (see map), leads to Random Oblivion World 1.

During Bruma Gate[edit]

9: The gate outside Bruma (see map), leads to the Bruma Oblivion World.

During Great Gate[edit]

The Great Gate outside Bruma, leads to the Great Gate Oblivion World.
- This world contains a Great Sigil Stone that cannot be used for enchanting, but the Siege Crawler will drop a regular, leveled Sigil Stone when it is automatically destroyed after the gate is closed.

Random Gates[edit]

Most gates may appear in one of 80 locations; as noted above, these gates are subject to a variable chance of opening upon entering their respective cells. These gates all connect to one of seven randomly chosen Oblivion worlds.

Locations of Random Gates[edit]

Map showing all 100 possible gate locations. A maximum of 60 will appear in any given game. They all have the map marker seen below. If a gate is "fixed" (i.e., automatically opens during the main quest), it will have a white border around this marker.

There are 80 possible random gate locations in all (listed below), although not all of these gates will appear in a single playthrough. To see the exact locations of these gates, use the Oblivion map.

Blackwood[edit]

10: Southwest of where the map labels the Panther River, south of Welke (map).
11: Northeast of Leyawiin, east of Fieldhouse Cave (map).
12: Slightly southeast of Arpenia (map).
13: North of Leyawiin, northwest of Blankenmarch along the Yellow Road (map).
15: Slightly north of Leyawiin (map).
17: Southeast of Leyawiin, between Darkfathom Cave and Fort Blueblood (map).
18: Southeast of Leyawiin, southwest of Fort Blueblood on the coast of Topal Bay (map).
19: Southeast of Leyawiin, east of Bogwater (map).
20: Southeast of Leyawiin, on a small peninsula in Topal Bay (map).
21: Southeast of Bravil, southwest of the Mouth of the Panther (map).
22: North of Leyawiin, along the Green Road (map).
23: South of Morahame, on the peninsula next to the bridge (map).

Colovian Highlands[edit]

24: North of Chorrol and Hrotanda Vale, slightly southeast of Lipsand Tarn (map).
25: Slightly west of Chorrol (map).
26: Southwest of Chorrol, west of Wendir (map).
28: Slightly northwest of Kvatch (map).
29: Slightly northeast of Kvatch (map).
30: Northwest of Kvatch, northeast of Trumbe (map).
31: Southwest of Varondo (map).
32: Northeast of Varondo, southwest of Fort Ontus (map).
33: Southwest of Fort Dirich (map).
34: Northwest of Fort Dirich, southeast of Nonungalo (map).
35: Northeast of Fort Ontus (map).
36: East of Fort Rayles (map).
37: Southwest of Fort Rayles, slightly north of the western end of the Black Road (map).

Gold Coast[edit]

39: Slightly northwest of Garlas Agea (map).
40: Southeast of Anvil, south of Fort Strand (map).
41: North of Anvil, east of Beldaburo (map).
42: Southeast of Anvil, south of Troll Candle Camp (map).
43: North of Fort Sutch, west of Niryastare (map).

Great Forest[edit]

44: South of Bruma, where the Silver and Orange Roads meet (map).
45: Southwest of Bruma, slightly southwest of Piukanda along the Red Ring Road (map).
46: South of Bruma, west of Sercen along the Silver Road (map).
47: Northwest of Bravil, slightly east of Wenyandawik (map).
48: Northwest of Bravil, slightly northwest of Wenyandawik (map).
49: Northwest of Bravil, southwest of Nenyond Twyll (map).
50: Slightly west of the White Rose River, northwest of Fort Roebeck (map).
51: Slightly east of the White Rose River, northeast of Fort Roebeck (map).
52: Southeast of Fort Wooden Hand, northwest of Ceyatatar (map).
53: Slightly northwest of Fort Nikel (map).
56: Northeast of Fort Chalman, northwest of Harm's Folly (map).
57: Northeast of Belda, east of Harm's Folly (map).
58: East of Chorrol, slightly northwest of Fort Ash (map).

Heartlands[edit]

59: Southeast of the Arcane University, on City Isle (map).
60: Slightly northeast of Vilverin (map).
61: Northwest of Roland Jenseric's Cabin (map).
62: East of the Imperial City, southwest of Nagastani (map).
63: Southeast of the Imperial City, slightly west of Cracked Wood Cave (map).
64: Southeast of the Imperial City, south of Culotte (map).
66: North of Bravil, slightly north of Fort Variela near the Upper Niben (map).

Jerall Mountains[edit]

67: North of Chorrol, northeast of Lipsand Tarn (map).
68: West of Bruma, slightly south of Applewatch (map).
70: North of Cheydinhal, slightly west of the Temple of the Ancestor Moths (map).
71: Southeast of Sedor, slightly west of Gutted Mine (map).
72: West of Bruma, northeast of Ninendava (map).

Nibenay Basin[edit]

73: Slightly north of Cheydinhal, slightly east of Wind Range Camp (map).
74: Southeast of Cheydinhal, near the Reed River (map).
75: Southwest of Cheydinhal, near Lake Poppad (map).
76: South of Cheydinhal, near the river fork (map).
77: South of Wenderbek Cave, between Cracked Wood Cave and Crayfish Cave (map).
78: South of Cheydinhal, east of Fort Cedrian (map).
79: South of the above gate, between Sage Glen Hollow and Bramblepoint Cave (map).
80: Southwest of Hame (map).
81: South of Fort Facian (map).
82: East of Ondo, slightly north of Lost Boy Cavern (map).
83: South of Fort Cuptor, north of Leafrot Cave (map).
84: Southeast of Malada, northeast of Abandoned Mine (map).
85: North of Fort Sejanus (map).

Nibenay Valley[edit]

86: East of Morahame (map).

Valus Mountains[edit]

87: Northeast of Cheydinhal, north of Kemen (map).

West Weald[edit]

88: Northwest of Skingrad, southwest of Bleak Flats Cave (map).
89: East of Skingrad, southwest of Fort Vlastarus (map).
90: Northeast of Skingrad, along the Gold Road (map).
91: Southeast of Skingrad, slightly east of Silorn (map).
92: West of Skingrad, slightly southwest of Cursed Mine (map).
94: South of Kvatch, near the Strid River (map).
95: Southeast of Skingrad, slightly southwest of the Priory of the Nine (map).
96: Between Skingrad and Bravil, destroying the Isolated House (map).
97: East of Nornalhorst (map).
98: West of Skingrad, slightly southwest of Fat Ramp Camp along the Gold Road (map).

Bugs[edit]

Even upon completion of the quest Light the Dragonfires, previously opened gates may remain open. Such gates will have fixed animations and Daedra may spawn, though you will be unable to enter the gates.
The Sigil Stone occasionally cannot be removed from the Sigillum Sanguis within the Oblivion world beyond a gate; placing the cursor over the stone will have no effect, and you will be unable to activate the stone.
For some quest-related gates (such as the Cheydinhal and Kvatch gates and the Great Gate), it is possible to obtain multiple Sigil Stones and Fame points when closing one gate. Repeatedly activating the stone can result in more than one being obtained.
- The Unofficial Oblivion Patch, version 3.1.0, fixes this bug.
In the German version of the game, the map markers for some gates are mislabeled:
- The gate northwest of Fort Blueblood is labeled "Mucianus Allias".
- The gate northeast of Ninendava is labeled "Lucien Lachance".
- The gates related to the quest Allies for Bruma are not translated; they read "A Gate to Oblivion" instead of the usual "Tor nach Oblivion".

Console Commands[edit]

There are several console commands that can be used to manipulate Oblivion Gates.

To close a gate while in Cyrodiil, click the gate in the console and type:

CloseOblivionGate

It is possible to do this from inside the Oblivion world as well (if you still have the gate selected in the console), but this merely results in the gate (and therefore the way back) disappearing. In this case, the only methods to leave the Oblivion world are removing the world's Sigil Stone or closing the current gate with the command below.

To close a gate while in Oblivion, type:

CloseCurrentOblivionGate

This will close the gate you entered through and teleport you back to Cyrodiil.

To change the maximum number of gates that can open, type:

set MQ00.MaxOpenGates to x

x is a number between 0 and 90. The setting affects all gates except the 10 fixed gates that open just outside cities as the main quest progresses, i.e., the setting affects all 80 random gates as well as the 10 fixed gates that open after completing the quest Find the Heir. Setting x to 0 will prevent any new gates among these 90 gates from opening (but will not close any that have already opened). Setting x to 90 makes it possible for all of these 90 gates to open (but does not guarantee the 80 random gates will open; the chance any particular random gate opens is still determined each time you enter the random gate's cell). Normally, x will range from 0 to 50, depending on your progress in the main quest. Several quests in the main quest reset this variable. To view the current value of this variable, type show MQ00.MaxOpenGates.

To change the chance that any of the 80 random gates will open, type:

set MQ00.RandomGateChance to y

y is a number between 0 and 100, and provides the percent probability that each of the 80 random gates will open when you enter its cell. Setting y to 0 will prevent any new random gates from opening. Setting y to 100 will guarantee each random gate will open when you enter its cell (though this is also subject to the current value of the setting MQ00.MaxOpenGates described immediately above). Normally, y will range from 0 to 50, depending on your progress in the main quest. Several quests in the main quest reset this variable. To view the current value of this variable, type show MQ00.RandomGateChance.

To allow gates to reopen, type:

set MQ00.AllowGatesToReopen to z

z can be 0 or 1. Normally it is set to 0 (i.e., gates will not reopen, contrary to the information in the game guide). If you set z to 1, it becomes possible for a gate to open in a location where you had previously closed the gate (including Kvatch). The chance of a random gate reopening is controlled by the MQ00.RandomGateChance variable.

To find the number of gates that have opened so far, type show MQ00.openGates.