I've released a custom rebalance using these modules as a base. I will finally start playing the game.
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While I do my best to respond to as many comments as possible, I might miss some. If you think your comment requires a reply and I haven't replied in ~24 hours, feel free to bump it by replying to your own comment yourself with "bump".
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What do
This mod aims to make combats deadlier by increasing the damage of:

• Weapons & Ammo
• Damaging Spells (including Powers)
• Enchantments
• Poisons and poisonous ingredients
• Creatures that do not use weapons (e. g. Trolls, Mudcrabs, Rats, and hopefully also summoned creatures - untested)
  

I've also decreased the mana cost of damaging spells proportionally. There is a known bug/feature with absorb health spells: They deal the increased damage, but only heal for the original damage. I think this bug balances those spells quite nicely, so I didn't try to fix it.

This mod is supposed to be just a band-aid fix for spongy enemies until a veteran modder comes along and fixes that through a comprehensive overhaul.
I have become modder, creator of overhauls.

Hot news
Courtesy of avarros (give him kudos!):

Yo! I'm back - I wanted to make something more user friendly than the spreadsheet I shared last time so I put together a site for the damage calculations.

I added in a spot for custom damage calculations on each mod - that way if anything ever changes in the future on the vanilla difficulty then it could be easier to see possible values.

Probably total overkill but oh well, it was fun to make.

I'd be he happy to hear any suggestions for improvements or anything like that.

Happy Daedra hunting.

Oblivion Difficulty Calculator Site

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Thanks to BiteMat  - we have a fix for the "blocking drains too much fatigue" issue. See the "Known Bugs"-section a bit further down. My old proposed values were wrong, please update them (updated 29/04/2025).

Mod Recommendations
Difficulty Remastered - for those that find that enemies, followers, or summons die too quickly (likely if you're playing a pure mage, or an archer) this mod might alleviate the problem.
Lower Player Health - for those that find themselves to be too tanky.
Less Player Carry Weight - for those who don't want to be as strong as an ox. I recommend the 3.5 version.

A combination of the above mods is also possible to be used. They are extremely compatible with other mods, since they only change game settings.
I tried it - I also tried Lower Player Health without MoreDamage, but I felt too tanky. I then tried setting my own health down from 66% to ~50%, and while it wasn't perfect, it felt a lot better than vanilla, and quite comparable to the experience MoreDamage_2x offers. But I think I've grown attached to the big numbers my mod allows for, so I didn't make the switch.

Configurable Item Degradation - use this if you dislike the increased armor degradation. I've found that 0.3-0.5 is a good range for the 2x version.

Faster combat skill leveling - use this if you dislike the fact your combat skills level slower (due to you hitting less and getting hit less)

While I don't necessarily recommend them (I haven't tried them), there are some patches made specifically to tune down Will O Wisps and Timber Wolves in my 3x version. There is another patch for Lighter Weapons More Damage for the 3x version.

Known Bugs

 

• Thanks to wipeout188 - Fatigue Damage when blocking and armor degradation are sped up due to the increased damage. Use Configurable Item Degradation to fix this if it annoys you.
• Blocking takes more fatigue than intended - to fix this you can get this mod: Deadlier Combat - Game Settings Loader. Download whatever version you want - it makes no difference, since we will be replacing the contents of the file anyways. Important: You can not use the .ini-file as is. Replace the entirety of the contents with what I have below. The old values were wrong, thanks to HymenBane and FlamingFuzz for the information. Below are the correct values (still a bit of a nerf compared to vanilla - if you want the correct values then simply divide the default value by your modifier.). Thanks to BiteMat for the idea of using this mod!
  

NoviceBlockPerkFatigueDamageMod = 1.2
;default 2.0
JourneymanBlockPerkFatigueDamageMod = 0.9
;default 1.5
ExpertBlockPerkFatigueDamageMod = 0.6
;default 1.0
MasterBlockPerkFatigueDamageMod = 0.3
;default 0.5


• Heavy Armor (tested), Blade, Blunt (tested - thanks marshkils!), as well as Light Armor, Destruction, ... (untested) will probably level slower since they are hit-based instead of damage-based. This is alright for me, since I am of the opinion that they level far too fast anyways.
  

Compatibility & Patches
Incompatible...

• This is incompatible with any other mod that touches weapons, ammunition, creatures, damaging enchantments, poisons, damaging ingredients, or damaging spells.
• This is incompatible with Oblivion Remastered Decompressed Records, and causes the game to freeze on start-up without an error message (thanks to ZeroRemorse for finding that one!). I am sadly unable to determine the cause of the error.
  

Compatible...

• I have made a patch for the following mod: Balanced Unleveled Rewards - Remastered Version 1.0.0.
• Balanced NPC Level Cap - Remastered is also compatible, as it does not change any creatures (from what I've seen).
• Leveled Creature and Item Diversity is also compatible, as it only changes settings.
• Unleved Item Rewards seems to work as-is - tested.
• Auto Upgrade Leveled Items should work as-is - untested.
• Disable Health Regen (or Tweak) should work as is - untested.
• This is compatible with both the NL-Tag Remover and the Ultimate ASI Loader. While using that mod, if you experience a freeze on start-up without an error message (thanks to OneHappyMeal for bringing that to my attention), then you should remove Baka Achievement Enabler version 1. You can do this by navigating to Oblivion Remastered\OblivionRemastered\Binaries\Win64 and removing xinput1_3.dll and xinput1_3.pdb.
• Alchemy Overhaul - compatible with the patch for version 1.0.0/1.0.1 I've provided.
• With any weightless mods using my provided patches. Keep in mind that only the ammunition patch can be used as a standalone, the others require other mods, since I've only set the weight to 0 for any items I've buffed. Simply load your desired weightless mod AFTER my mod, and then my patches AFTER the weightless mod. Important: My weightless patches are incompatible with the Alchemy Overhaul.
• Ascension Remastered: A patch exists.
  

The following is a load order which seems to work:

Oblivion.esm
DLCBattlehornCastle.esp
DLCFrostcrag.esp
DLCHorseArmor.esp
DLCMehrunesRazor.esp
DLCOrrery.esp
DLCShiveringIsles.esp
DLCSpellTomes.esp
DLCThievesDen.esp
DLCVileLair.esp
Knights.esp
AltarESPMain.esp
AltarDeluxe.esp
AltarESPLocal.esp
Difficulty Slider Fixed.esp
Ascension.esp
Ascension - Rarer Loot.esp
Balanced NPC Level Cap.esp
Ascension - Balanced NPC Level Cap Patch.esp
MoreDamage_1.5x_Deluxe.esp
MoreDamage_1.5x_Settings.esp
MoreDamage_1.5x_Patch_Ascension.esp
Balanced Unleveled Rewards.esp
Ascension - Balanced Unleveled Rewards Patch.esp
MoreDamage_1.5x_Patch_BalancedUnleveledRewards.esp
AlchemyOverhaul.esp
MoreDamage_1.5x_Patch_AlchemyOverhaul.esp
AlchemyOverhaul_Ascension_Patch.esp

If you don't have the deluxe version, exchange MoreDamage_1.5x_Deluxe.esp for MoreDamage_1.5x.esp

If you have another mod you'd like a patch for check out the Article I've published for guidance on how to patch it yourself. It's quite simple. If you do decide to make a patch and want to share it, feel free to either create your own mod page or send it to me so I can add it to the patches on this page.

Testing & my recommendation for a difficult, but fun experience
I playtested it for about two hours - the tutorial, the bandits infront of the sewer, and a goblin cave on my level 11 melee-only character in heavy armor seemed fine.
Vanilla Expert was a good enough experience. When you outlevel stuff like trolls you are able to kill them in one combo, while stuff way above your level like minotaurs are able to one-shot you even in heavy armor.
I've found that using Difficulty Slider Fixed (x2.0 version) on Expert/Master is also nice.

By far the best experience, and my current recommendation, was using the above Difficulty Slider mod (100 Version) on Master with 2x damage.

On spellmaking
- The magnitude is still maxed out at 100
- Custom made spells scale correctly (meaning, they cost less and they require a lower destruction skill than in vanilla)

Sadly you are currently unable to create a 300-magnitude-damaging spell. Instead you could simply create a 100 magnitude spell with a duration of 3 seconds, which equates to the same damage.

What is in the files?

(Nx is a stand in for whatever version you decide to chose - currently existing versions: 2x, 3x)

MoreDamage_Nx_Ammunition.esp: Contains changes to ammunition.
MoreDamage_Nx_Creatures.esp: Contains changes to base game creatures (including hopefully summons).
MoreDamage_Nx_Creatures_Deluxe.esp: Contains changes to the ~7 new creatures added by the deluxe version.
MoreDamage_Nx_Enchantments.esp: Contains changes to enchantments.
MoreDamage_Nx_Ingredients.esp: Contains changes to ingredients (needed to be able to craft better poisons)
MoreDamage_Nx_Potions.esp: Contains changes to (existing!) poisons and poisons sold by vendors.
MoreDamage_Nx_SpellCostReduction.esp: Contains the downscaling of spell costs. If you do not use this the starting flare will cost more (due to it dealing more damage)
MoreDamage_Nx_Spells.esp: Contains changes to base game spells.
MoreDamage_Nx_Spells_Deluxe.esp: Contains changes to exactly one spell added by the deluxe edition.
MoreDamage_Nx_Weapons.esp: Contains changes to the base game weapons.
MoreDamage_Nx_Weapons_Deluxe.esp: Contains changes to the weapons added by the deluxe edition.

MoreDamage_Nx.esp: Contains...

• MoreDamage_Nx_Ammunition.esp
• MoreDamage_Nx_Creatures.esp
• MoreDamage_Nx_Enchantments.esp
• MoreDamage_Nx_Ingredients.esp
• MoreDamage_Nx_Potions.esp
• MoreDamage_Nx_SpellCostReduction.esp
• MoreDamage_Nx_Spells.esp
• MoreDamage_Nx_Weapons.esp
  

MoreDamage_Nx_Deluxe.esp: Contains...

• Everything that MoreDamage_Nx.esp contains
• MoreDamage_Nx_Creatures_Deluxe.esp
• MoreDamage_Nx_Spells_Deluxe.esp
• MoreDamage_Nx_Weapons_Deluxe.esp
  

MoreDamage_Nx_Patch_BalancedUnleveledRewardsRemastered.esp: Uses the decided upon level variant for all damage values. If you do not have this, but you do have the Balanced Unleveled Rewards - Remastered mod, then the unique items will have vanilla damage values.

If (and only if!) you decide to go for a module-by-module basis instead of using MoreDamage_Nx.esp or MoreDamage_Nx_Deluxe.esp during the installation: Be warned that the patch assumes you've got my MoreDamage_Nx_Ammunition.esp and MoreDamage_Nx_Weapons.esp installed. If you have neither installed, then you do not need the patch. If you only have one or the other installed, you might experience some inconsistencies (the leveled items will always have the increased damage values).

Installation
Use MoreDamage_Nx.esp if you do not have the deluxe edition.
Use MoreDamage_Nx_Deluxe.esp if you do have the deluxe edition.
Use MoreDamage_Nx_Patch_BalancedUnleveledRewardsRemastered.esp if you have the corresponding mod.

The other files are simply the changes of the two bigger files, but in modules, for anyone who might need them for some reason. If you chose to go the module-route you can mix and match the different Nx's as you want, as they are inter-compatible.

Take your files and put them into your oblivion data directory: SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Oblivion Remastered\OblivionRemastered\Content\Dev\ObvData\Data
In the same directory: Open Plugins.txt and add them to your load order.

How to add to the load order:
Your load order should look like this if you have not installed any other mods:

Oblivion.esm
DLCBattlehornCastle.esp
DLCFrostcrag.esp
DLCHorseArmor.esp
DLCMehrunesRazor.esp
DLCOrrery.esp
DLCShiveringIsles.esp
DLCSpellTomes.esp
DLCThievesDen.esp
DLCVileLair.esp
Knights.esp
AltarESPMain.esp
AltarDeluxe.esp
AltarESPLocal.esp

At the very end, add either MoreDamage_Nx_Deluxe.esp or MoreDamage_Nx.esp, depending on which one you chose.
If you have decided to also use Balanced Unleveled Rewards, then add Balanced Unleveled Rewards.esp and MoreDamage_Nx_Patch_BalancedUnleveledRewardsRemastered.esp after the first line you added. Your final load order should then look something like this:

Oblivion.esm
DLCBattlehornCastle.esp
DLCFrostcrag.esp
DLCHorseArmor.esp
DLCMehrunesRazor.esp
DLCOrrery.esp
DLCShiveringIsles.esp
DLCSpellTomes.esp
DLCThievesDen.esp
DLCVileLair.esp
Knights.esp
AltarESPMain.esp
AltarDeluxe.esp
AltarESPLocal.esp
MoreDamage_Nx_Deluxe.esp
Balanced Unleveled Rewards.esp
MoreDamage_Nx_Patch_BalancedUnleveledRewardsRemastered.esp

The above is the same for every mod that requires a patch that I've provided. Currently: Balanced Unleveled Rewards and Alchemy Overhaul.

If you have installed other mods, make sure that the new lines you've just added (one if you only use this mod, three if you also use Balanced Unleveled Rewards) are at the very end of your load order. Make exceptions when other mod authors demand their mods to be at the end.

It no work
Something must have gone wrong while you were installing it. Make sure you followed all instructions correctly, make sure you added the .esps to the data folder, make sure you added the .esp-names to the plugins file, and make sure you didnt accidentally add "N" instead of the correct number to the plugins file.

It do work
If everything works to your liking I'd appreciate an endorsement :)


FAQ

"My game crashes on start-up!"
Stop using OBSE. With this comes the loss of the reduced armor degradation.
I'll soon look into an equipment-breakage fix that doesn't use that.

"My game has an infinite black screen on start-up!"
If you use MO2:
(Thanks to v1ld and Silarn for this info):

Heyo. After running into bizarre load issues with this over on the MO2
discord, we discovered there's a specific load order incompatibility
that will result in an infinite black screen.

To avoid this please ensure 'DLCFrostcrag.esp' loads before 'DLCHorseArmor.esp'.

"I don't seem to deal increased damage!"
Check, once with, and once without the mod the damage values of your weapons
and your magic. If they change, you do deal more damage.
"It is too hard! Enemies don't die fast enough! I die in far fewer hits!"
Turn down the difficulty, or do not use the Less Player Health mod.

---
If you truly think something is wrong with your installation of this mod,
and you've checked the recommended load order, try the following:
(!this might break some other mods installed through UE4SS or OBSE!)

• backup your .esp-files
• backup your plugins.txt file
• delete your .esp files and your plugins.txt file
• run "Verify game files" on steam (google it if you're unsure how to do that - not sure how to do that on gamepass)
• Start vanilla oblivion and check weapon/magic damage numbers
• re-add the .esp files
• open the newly created plugins.txt file and re-add only my mod.
• Start oblivion again and re-check the weapon/magic damage numbers. they should have increased
• add the rest of the missing plugins.txt file
• Check it once more. If something broke now, then there is an incompatibility.
  

If that still doesn't fix it, then leave a post for me to try and troubleshoot with you!