Bethesda, I know you want Oblivion Remastered feedback, so please help me not have the same old problems sneakily fingering this countess’ ring

Warning: Spoilers for Oblivion’s Thieves Guild questline lie ahead.

Hold on, let me explain before you haul me back to that cell opposite Valen Dreth. Bethesda’s asking Oblivion Remastered players for input on stuff they’d like to see improved about the game, with a whole Discord channel dedicated to this useful moaning.

Forget 99% of it, though, there’s one bug I’ve encountered so far that I reckon needs fixing before anything else, because if I hadn’t been able to get a classic trick from the original to work, it might have locked me out of finishing one of the game’s best faction questlines.

So, you listening – or reading, to be lingustically precise – Bethesda? Right, here we go. I’m playing Oblivion Remastered and working my way through the Thieves Guild questline, you know, cos I’m cool so I’ve prioritised that and the Dark Brotherhood over those nerds at the Mages and Fighters Guilds.

I get midway through a quest in Leyawiin called ‘Ahdarji’s Heirloom’, which tasks me with stealing a ring from Countess Alessia Caro. She puts it in a jewelry box in her quarters when she goes to sleep, so all I’ve gotta do is sneak in there through a secret passage, easy peasy. Except, when I get there, the ring isn’t in the box.

The ring hasn’t spawned, even though the Countess is very much asleep in the bed I’ve had to shuffle around to get to it. It’s a classic Oblivion bug from 2006 repeating in the remaster, and one of the ones that might have some consequences beyond giving you a laugh, unless you can find a way around it.

Luckily, a quick google reveals I’m not the first person to run into this in the remaster – plenty of people have, and they’ve handily tested some of the classic tricks people used to pull to solve this issue in the OG Oblivion. Naturally, because it’s just a fresh paintjob for a janky old car that seems pretty similar under the hood, the main ones work just fine in the remaster.

So, after depositing some beer in the box, shifting camera views, making a manual save, reloading it, and waiting in-game 24 hours (not necessarily in that order), I manage to get the ring to spawn. I’m glad, because the other option was the can of worms that would be trying to physically block a Count who’ll call the guards if he spots me from sleeping on the right hand side of the bed.

Please, Bethesda. I’m begging you, fix this. Leave all the funny stuff, and get rid of the problems that cause you a minor heart attack cos you might not get to wear the sexy Gray Cowl of Nocturnal.

Have you had trouble fingering Countess Caro’s ring in Oblivion Remastered? Let us know below!