You're wandering through the Great Forest, or maybe you're just bored in Cheydinhal, and you hear a rumor about a shrine. Not a nice shrine. We’re talking about Molag Bal, the Daedric Prince of Domination, basically the guy who invented being a jerk in the Elder Scrolls universe. If you’ve played The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for more than five minutes, you know that Daedric artifacts are the gold standard for gear, but the Mace of Molag Bal in Oblivion occupies a weird, dark corner of the meta. It isn't just a heavy stick. It’s a tool of psychological and mechanical warfare that’s surprisingly easy to miss if you aren't looking for a fight.
Most players gravitate toward Goldbrand or Umbra because they’re flashy. I get it. Swords are cool. But the Mace? It’s brutal.
The quest to get it is arguably one of the most messed up things you can do in the game. You don't just go into a dungeon and kill a boss. No, Molag Bal wants you to corrupt a soul. Specifically, the soul of Melus Petilius, a man who has sworn off violence after the death of his wife. You have to go to his house, drop a cursed mace at his feet, and goad him into beating you to death with it. It’s uncomfortable. It’s grim. But the payoff? It’s a mace that makes every fight feel like you’re cheating.
What Makes the Mace of Molag Bal in Oblivion Actually Useful?
Let's look at the numbers, because honestly, that's where the magic happens. The Mace of Molag Bal isn't just about raw physical damage, though at a base weight of 45, it definitely hits like a freight train. The real kicker is the enchantment: Absorb Strength and Absorb Magicka.
In Oblivion, Strength isn't just a stat for how hard you hit; it dictates your encumbrance.
Imagine you're fighting a high-level Marauder Warlord. He’s got heavy armor and a claymore. You start swinging the Mace of Molag Bal. Every time you connect, you are literally siphoning his physical power into your own body. If you hit him enough times, his Strength drops so low that his own armor becomes too heavy for him to move. He just stands there. He's overencumbered by his own equipment. You've essentially turned his high-end Orcish plate into a prison. Meanwhile, your own Strength is skyrocketing, meaning your subsequent swings are doing significantly more damage. It’s a feedback loop of pure misery for the NPC.
Then there’s the Magicka drain.
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Against a Mages Guild traitor or a Xivilai, this is a godsend. You’re hitting them for 5 points of Magicka absorption per strike. It doesn’t sound like much, but in a long fight, you are keeping your own blue bar full while ensuring they can’t even cast a basic flare. It turns every encounter into a war of attrition where you have all the resources and they have nothing.
The Problem With Weight and Speed
Look, I’m not going to lie to you and say this is the perfect weapon for every build. It’s slow. Like, really slow. If you’re used to the whip-fast speed of a daggers-only assassin build, using the Mace of Molag Bal in Oblivion is going to feel like trying to swing a tree trunk. It’s a blunt weapon, and in the Oblivion engine, weight directly impacts how much fatigue you drain when you swing.
If your fatigue drops to zero, you fall over.
There is a genuine risk that if you just spam the attack button without looking at your green bar, you’ll knock yourself out before the enemy does. You have to be deliberate. You have to time your power attacks. It’s a rhythm. Step in, swing, absorb, step back.
Why the Quest "Molag Bal" Still Upsets People
We need to talk about Melus Petilius.
In most RPGs, quests are about being the hero or, at the very least, a cool anti-hero. Molag Bal’s quest forces you to be a genuine villain. Melus is grieving. He spends his days standing by his wife’s grave. To get the Mace, you have to find his wife’s grave, wait for him to arrive, and then start punching him. You don't kill him; you let him kill you. Well, almost. Molag Bal teleports you away at the last second.
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It’s one of the few moments in Oblivion where the game’s writing actually feels dangerous. It’s not just "go fetch 20 bear pelts." It’s "go ruin this man’s life and oath of pacifism for a shiny toy." Honestly, that adds to the "flavor" of the weapon. When you pull it out in a fight, you remember how you got it. It feels heavy in more ways than one.
Comparing the Mace to Other Artifacts
People always ask: is it better than Volendrung?
Well, Volendrung has Paralyze, which is objectively one of the most broken status effects in the game. But Volendrung is a two-handed hammer. You can’t use a shield. With the Mace of Molag Bal in Oblivion, you get to keep your Spellbreaker or your Escutcheon of Chorrol. You get the defensive benefits of the Block skill while still dealing massive Strength-draining damage.
- Umbra: Faster, higher base damage, but its only enchantment is Soul Trap. Great for filling gems, boring for combat.
- Goldbrand: Fire damage is cool, but lots of things in the Shivering Isles or the planes of Oblivion are resistant to it.
- Mace of Molag Bal: Strength and Magicka absorption work on almost everything. A ghost? Sure. A Daedroth? Absolutely.
The only things that don't care about the Mace are high-level undead that have weird resistances, but even then, the physical blunt damage usually gets the job done.
Technical Quirks and Maintenance
One thing players often forget is that Daedric artifacts have a huge "charge" capacity but expensive "per use" costs. The Mace of Molag Bal has about 3000 charge units. Each hit costs a chunk of that. You’re going to be carrying a lot of filled soul gems or making frequent trips to the mages who can recharge your gear.
Since the Mace absorbs Magicka, you can actually use that stolen Magicka to cast a "Soul Trap" spell on the enemy you're currently hitting. It’s a self-sustaining system. You hit them, take their Magicka, use that Magicka to trap their soul, kill them, and then use their soul to refill the Mace. It’s poetic, in a dark, twisted way.
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Also, remember that your Blunt skill level changes everything. If you're coming from a Blade build, don't just switch to the Mace and expect it to perform. Your reach will be shorter. You'll miss swings you think should have connected. Practice on some mudcrabs first.
Getting the Mace Early (Leveling Tips)
You can start this quest at Level 15. That’s the sweet spot. If you try to do it too early, you aren't strong enough to take the beating from Melus. If you wait too long, the enemies you're fighting have so much HP that the 5-point absorption feels like a drop in the bucket.
At Level 15, the Mace is a god-tier weapon. It can carry you through the mid-game and well into the late-game content of the Knights of the Nine or Shivering Isles expansions. Just make sure you have a decent set of heavy armor before you go talk to the statue; Molag Bal doesn't have a lot of patience for weaklings.
The Verdict on the Mace of Molag Bal in Oblivion
Is it the "best" weapon in the game? Probably not if you’re a pure min-maxer who just wants the highest DPS possible. But if you want a weapon that changes how the game feels—a weapon that makes you feel like a dominating force on the battlefield—it’s top tier. It’s about control. You aren't just lowering their health; you’re taking away their ability to fight back.
You’re making them weak. You’re making them empty.
It’s exactly what Molag Bal would want.
To make the most of this weapon, focus your character progression on the Armorer and Blunt skills immediately. Being able to repair your own gear to 125% durability (at Master level) makes the Mace’s physical damage output skyrocket. Additionally, pair it with a "Damage Agility" spell or poison. If you drain their Strength with the Mace and damage their Agility with a secondary effect, you can literally lock an enemy in place, unable to move or even stand up properly, while you finish them off at your leisure.
Head over to the shrine—it’s west of the Imperial City, tucked away in the woods. Bring a Lion Pelt, as that's the offering Molag Bal demands before he'll even speak to you. Once you have the Mace, don't just use it as a club; use it as a siphon. Drain them dry. That’s the true power of this artifact.