Though Skyrim did away with the previous games’ major and minor skill systems, it did so in favor of a meaningful skill tree for each talent. This increased construction diversity over prior installments while also providing unparalleled amounts of customization.
Here is the finest Skyrim builds to try, from utilizing magic to burn down towns to hitting opponents in the shadows with your trusty bow. These entries are in no particular order due to Skyrim’s difficulty, or lack thereof. Choose the one that sounds the most enjoyable to you.
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Powerful Skyrim Character Builds
1. Elemental Fury
Dual-wielding items were added in Skyrim, enabling players to equip two swords or cast two distinct spells at the same time. Dual-wielding swords are one of Skyrim’s greatest features, and it also provides for a highly strong build.
Scale your one-handed damage by progressing through the talent tree. After that, use the Elemental Fury yell to cut through enemies twice as quickly. The racial benefits that Redguards and Orcs have to make this playstyle even more powerful. It’s never boring to slash foes with two swords at the same time.
1. Paladin
The Paladin is a traditional RPG type that is simple to recreate in Skyrim. Paladins strike the wicked with a melee-spellcasting hybrid playstyle that includes Restoration and sword.
It’s best suited for Bretons, who make excellent half-mages because of their inherent racial benefit of +5 in a number of abilities. Focus on Heavy Armor, One-Handed, and Restoration abilities to create a character who can take a lot of damage while still keeping themselves and any friends alive in a fight. It’s also an excellent construct for those who enjoy roleplaying.
3. Illusion Assassin
Illusion Assassins are stealth characters who are more focused on utilizing spells and daggers than bows, taking much of what makes Stealth Archers flawed.
Rapid dagger attacks can benefit from the stealth damage multiplier, making them far more powerful than bows. You can frenzy every opponent in a room into fighting each other if you also invest in Illusion, allowing you to defeat dungeons without ever lifting a weapon. You may utilize Marked for Death in dragon fights to quickly hit the adversary from behind and destroy them in seconds.
4. Dual Dagger Assassin
Dual-wielding is underrated but one of the most powerful Skyrim character builds, owing to the fact that it limits the versatility of other builds that use shields or one-handed spells. It is, nevertheless, a very unique game concept that allows for some fascinating builds, such as the twin dagger assassin build.
Orcs are a fantastic race to test out this twin dagger build with because they have a special ability called Berserker Rage, which allows them to do twice as much damage for a minute while only absorbing half of the damage they take. It’s a high-damage, up-close-and-personal build that relies on Light Armor and Sneaks to get the upper hand on your opponents. Use Illusion spells to influence opponent AI if fighting becomes too hard to bear.
5. Pure Mage
A pure mage build is the best option for players seeking a true challenge. This construct has a steep learning curve since it necessitates a thorough understanding of how bonuses and enchants operate. As a consequence, you’ll have a character who can reduce any foe into dust. That’s now the only reason for it to be the powerful Skyrim character builds; there is more.
Those who want to get the most out of this construct should start with a High Elf as their beginning race. The Pure Mage demands the player to specialize in either one or many schools of magic. Destruction is wonderful for doing damage, while Conjuration is ideal for dealing with many adversaries.
Weapons aren’t necessary if you’ve established a strong Magicka base. Because this build might be difficult to pull off, you might want to check out our mage build guide. It includes suggested spells, the finest equipment, and fighting strategies.
6. Necromancer
Even though Skyrim lacks a formal necromancy school, there are still methods to play as a Necromancer wizard. In terms of idea, this is the polar opposite of a Paladin, specializing in more heretical applications of the Conjuration, Destruction, and Alteration schools of magic.
Heavy Armor and Two-Handed are two options for making the character even more cruel and durable, thereby turning them into black knight of death. With the Daedric armor unlocked and enchanted, any character will appear menacing and crush their opponents with the help of an undead army. If you’re comfortable modifying Skyrim, installing Ordinator or Vokrii makes this setup considerably more powerful.
7. Spellsword
The spellsword is a more traditional variant of the Paladin construct, with a greater emphasis on versatility. Because of the various schools of magic and weapon types, you may combine, the spellsword is one of the most flexible and adaptable builds.
In essence, Spellswords is based on One-Handed talent and a few spells from various magical schools. Destruction magic, especially Flames, is one of the greatest to use early on in the game. More protective versions, employing Wards and Alteration magic to reduce incoming damage, can also be developed. This is the build for you if you enjoy utilizing spells and swords.
8. Stealth Archer
To scale their damage, Stealth Archers extensively invest in the Sneak and Archery branches. This build, unlike most others, provides incredible damage that is compounded by huge Stealth damage multipliers. Even better, having a high Stealth rating allows you to remain hidden during the most difficult of battles, preventing opponents from assaulting you since they can’t see you.
The biggest problem with this build is how long it takes to get rolling, which makes leveling a little tedious in the beginning. This build can one-shot almost every adversary in the game if you improve your sneak multipliers and bows.
9. Windshear Stun Master
This scimitar is so strong that it can be used to create an entire construct. It has the unique ability to stun-lock opponents as it hits them, allowing you to stun-lock enemies with quick attacks. When Windshear can’t be utilized to attack opponents, you can stun them from distance with a Chain Lightning staff, allowing you to bridge the gap and stun-lock them.
Equip a non-enchanted dagger in your left hand and use the Elemental Fury Shout to attack even quicker. You’ll be able to attack at breakneck rates, reducing even the most formidable foes into ragdolls.
10. Werewolf
Those who complete the Companions questline will be given the option of becoming a werewolf. When properly invested in, this talent may be quite strong.
Werewolves may invest in a talent tree in the Dawnguard DLC, which grants them tremendous benefits when they feast on corpses. When you play as a devoted Werewolf, you get unparalleled passive Stamina restoration, powerful melee attacks, and continuous wolves fighting with you.
You may turn into a Werewolf as much as you want with the Ring of Hircine, giving this a real playstyle rather than a momentary boost.