The Skyrim Fansite would like to thank Nathaniel for today’s excellent article on building a strong Skyrim character. Nathaniel’s proven ideas will benefit both new and veteran players alike. He originally posted his tips in the comment section of an earlier Skyrim Fansite article, Create The Perfect Skyrim Character, but we felt that his great advice should be featured in its own post.
Building A Strong Skyrim Character
This is for anyone who wants to build a strong Skyrim character. It’s VERY long. However it contains the summary of 21 days of my knowledge of power assistance.
Tip #1: Race
Personally I picked the Breton and raised him in the ways of the Warrior. The Bretons have a good resistance to magic. I really don’t see the point of picking an Orc just because he starts off with good Warrior stats,or a Dark Elf just because he begins with good stealth skills. I mean you can get ANY race to be just as good as weapons as an Orc or as stealthy as a Dark Elf as the skill levels are 100 no matter what.
I used to use Destruction magic as my main weapon, but the limitations eventually made me switch to weapons. Magic is limited in number of times used and needs to be recharged. On the other hand, you have an unlimited amount of swings with a weapon (although not power swings). Destruction magic gets more complicated to use and you have to be careful around companions or worse yet… guards. Even the Master destruction spells aren’t as powerful as a good weapon in the hands of a strong Skyrim character.
Restoration magic is good to have around. I know I’m stating the obvious, but I got myself into countless pinches where Restoration saved me. I used a Perk to increase Healing by 50% and another Perk to reduce adept healing by half, so basically I can heal as much as I need. There’s also a Perk that gives Stamina when healing ( I use it for unlimited sprint). This goes well with Vampires as they don’t regenerate Stamina in sunlight.
Conjuration magic is also quite good. With master conjuration spells you can have two summonings following you almost forever (until they are killed or you wait a year in game time) AND have a companion to follow you as well. A fighting force of FOUR! Sadly Dremora lords will not follow you forever — only the Atronachs will with the spells Flame Thrall, Frost Thrall, or Storm Thrall. So beef up those Atronachs with the Elemental Potency perk if you want to build a strong Skyrim character.
Build a strong Skyrim character with Conjuration magic.
Tip #5: Other Magic
Sorry for the lack of advice here. I never really got into the other magics. I don’t really care about Illusion because I don’t need it for weak enemies and can’t use it against the strong ones (Dragons, Dragon Priests, High level enemies.) Alteration is OK, but I’m too lazy to use it. However, Alteration does deserve this mention: Master level Alteration will allow you to use a spell that temporarily blocks 80% of damage.
With Master Smithing, Alchemy, and Enchantment you are able to wield two swords — each of them capable of 500+ damage per hit! You also are able to put powerful enchantments on the weapons. My choice enchantments were fire damage (as enemies on fire take more damage), and absorb health on strike( to heal me while focusing on attack). However, if you’re only going for power and not style, then you’ll want dual maces. The idea of a guy running around with two maces looks stupid to me, and personally I much prefer swords. That being said, I can’t ignore the fact that maces can ignore a good deal of the opponents armor if you equip the Mace Perk.
Use heavy armor — preferably Daedric armor. “But Nathaniel — heavy armor quickly drains stamina when sprinting and slows you down!” Well yeah it does — until you get the Conditioning Perk. With Conditioning the armor doesn’t weigh anything, slow you down, or even appear as carried weight. Heavy Armor is an excellent choice for a strong Skyrim character — the armor can take more of a beating, and with Conditioning you can sprint for a good while.
Wear Heavy Armor for your strong Skyrim character.
Tip #8: Companions
Treat your companions well, and don’t forget to give them the best equipment like Daedric armor or weapons. I’m not really sure who is the best companion in Skyrim (I chose Aela the Huntress pretty much because she seemed likable enough), but anyway it’s up to you.
Personally, I didn’t really get into Alchemy until I was at a higher level ( mostly so I could grow some levels). But let me tell you, Alchemy really helps out health, magic, invisibility etc. My favorite mixture and personal brew was the Deathbell, the Saltpile, and the Falmer ear. This little number poisons enemies AND slows them to half speed! Combine with Slow Time Shout, and your opponent is in for a world of hurt!!!
Tip #10: Powerful Creatures
Powerful creatures include Vampires and Werewolves.
Want to be a Werewolf…don’t! Werewolves (though fast) aren’t that great. Their attacks are…meh, they wear no armor, they can’t use potions, and turning into one leaves you open to attack for like 5 seconds. Eating someone doesn’t restore that much health and leaves you open to attack.
Vampires aren’t that bad, but it’s a shame vampires powered down since Morrowind. They offer Perks, but I don’t think they’re great except for the last one. Embrace of Shadows it is a good Perk but it’s only available when you reach the last stage of vampirism (if you progress to the last stage though, every guard will attack you on sight so I don’t bother with it). Vampires have reduced Health, Magic, and Stamina when in the sun, and the attributes don’t recover when in the sun. My advice for a strong Skyrim character: don’t pick a Vampire unless you really like them, because you have to continue feeding unless you want every guard after your head.
A strong Skyrim character needs to fight Dragons, and these winged beasts can offer a heck of a fight. Dragons don’t really have weaknesses. Use Dragonrend to ground them, and hit ’em hard. Never let your Health drop below 50% if you’re right next to a Dragon — they can finish you with a single attack (just like in the video below).
Nathaniel Marsaw is a fan of Skyrim and the Elder Scroll series. He's invested hundreds of hours into the game. His favorite character build is the Breton Warrior.
