faithfully includes the original game's two story DLCs: Knights of the Nine and The Shivering Isles. Both are excellent, but I greatly prefer The Shivering Isles - it transports you to the realm of Sheogorath, the Daedric Prince of Madness, where you must defeat the encroaching Greymarch to save the Isles from the rule of order. It's weird, silly, chaotic, and a lot of fun, and even though it's not vital to the Oblivion experience, I wouldn't recommend skipping it.

However, the Oblivion remaster does a poor job at letting you know The Shivering Isles exists, at least in its early hours. Here's everything you need to know to start The Shivering Isles, and what to expect out of Oblivion's best DLC.

Where To Find The Shivering Isles

Niben Bay Door Location

In order to start The Shivering Isles, you'll want to head to the spot marked on the map above; it's a small island in the middle of Niben Bay. That puts it closest to Bravil, southeast of the Imperial City.

The nearest fast travel point to The Shivering Isles is Bay Roan Stables, located just north of Bravil. Since you can fast travel to major locations like cities without discovering them on Oblivion's map, I'd recommend starting there as soon as you're ready to tackle the DLC. Head east from the stables until you hit water, and you should see a small island with what looks like a giant, two-faced statue sitting on top of it. Dive in and swim over; there's a ramp on the side you should be approaching from.

How To Start The Shivering Isles

Entering The Portal

Contrary to popular belief, there are no level or time requirements to start The Shivering Isles DLC. You can take on the DLC from the moment you finish the tutorial. Oblivion will sometimes give you a quest popup instructing you to check out the strange door in Niben Bay after 24 in-game hours have ed. But even if it doesn't, you can activate the quest for yourself by simply swimming up to the island above - that's what I did on my most recent playthrough.

Once you're on the island, you should notice two things: the head statue actually appears to be some sort of portal, and there's a guard standing in front of it. Speak to the guard, and he'll warn you about the door. Immediately afterward, a dark elf NPC will pop out, ranting and raving until he eventually becomes hostile. Either help the guard fight him or just wait until he's dead, then talk to the guard again and tell him you're going in.

You'll hear a disembodied voice monologuing from the other side of the door about how the dark elf was unworthy, and how he needs a new champion. Let him talk; you can't enter the portal until the voice lines are over. Once he says, "Really, do come in. It's lovely in the Isles right now. Perfect time for a visit," you should be able to interact with the portal and enter just like any other door.

Inside, take a seat and talk to Haskill, eventually agreeing to come inside when prompted. From there, the walls will melt away, and you'll find yourself in The Fringe, the first area of The Shivering Isles.

You can return to Cyrodiil from the Shivering Isles at any time by fast traveling to the Gates of Madness (at the northwest corner of The Fringe) and stepping back through to Niben Bay.

And just like that, you've made it to the Shivering Isles. Take your time to explore, search, and interact like anywhere else in The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered - the DLC has a lot of great sidequests and secrets, and is well worth exploring.