Anyone who's played Skyrim knows that it's not a game that you can sit down and play for a half hour, or even an hour at a time. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a true test of time and a real investment for fans of the series. Much like its predecessors, players can spend hundreds upon hundreds of hours in the massive high-fantasy open world, and will still look forward to finding a new quest or having a new experience the next day should they choose to do so (and most probably do). Hundreds of quests to complete, people to interact with, clans to join, monsters to kill. What CAN'T you do in Skyrim?

With the excessive amount of content from developer Bethesda Softworks, there are a number of times where the appearance of a certain quest, or the size of a particular enemy doesn't justify the challenge. Sometimes, you can exploit the game's mechanics to turn the tides unfairly in your favor. Other times, the odds are ALREADY in your favor, even though at first glance it may not seem that way. With that, these are fifteen notable enemies in Skyrim whose actual skills and abilities fail to match up with their in-game representation.

15 It's Pretty Easy To Melt Their Hearts

At first glance, Frozen Trolls in Skyrim look like something like the snow monster from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back on the winter planet Hoth. The concept of Man (or whichever race you choose) vs. Monster is one that you'd probably try and avoid. Not to mention that third eye isn't very appealing to look at either. Especially in Skyrim with the Frozen Troll's long reach and ability to regenerate health. Where the troll excels in strength however, it lacks in speed.

Should you find yourself wandering around the snow driven areas of Winterhold or Eastmarch, odds are you'll run into one of these creepy and demonic bad boys. As long as you keep your distance from the behemoth and stock up on fire spells before you go into battle, then there isn't too much that can keep you from taking them out with minimal damage. Just make sure you've leveled up enough beforehand though; trying to make these guys your first priority will leave you character a definite six feet under.

14 I Mean, They're Just Regular People, Really

Strength comes in many forms, and numbers is certainly one of them. The same goes for the Hired Thugs that you may (or may not) run into while completing quests in Skyrim. These encounters are fairly consistent should they happen to you multiple times throughout the game. One minute you're by yourself, the next there's a group of three heavily armed guards who are under contract to "Teach you a lesson" (surprise, they're really trying to kill you), and the three-on-one fight will then ensue.

What makes this groups of guys-for-hire so simple to take down is their predictability. They'll always approach you as the group of three heavily armed guards, making your combat strategy easy to pick up on. Not only that, it's disappointing to think that a group of guys that have a monetary incentive to take you out doesn't have a better game plan than to get your attention before they start to attack you.

13 She Can Be A Real Witch

The history behind Skyrim's Hagraven creatures are extremely eerie and unsettling. As witches who sacrifice their humanity for the sake of becoming Hagravens, coming into contact with these half-witch, half-scarecrow monstrosities can infect your player with brain rot, decreasing your magicka. On top of the potential disease contraction, Hagraven's also wield a 10% resistance to all spells inflicted upon them. If you're like most players who invest hundreds of hours into Skyrim, you'll find that a number of quests in the game lead you to encounter these once-witches on numerous occasions.

Luck for players, Hagraven's character appearances and abilities can turn the tides in your favor fairly quickly. Although Hagraven appear to have wings attached to them, the possess no flying abilities which eliminates one potential threat that they could present. Hagraven also have a low ability stat, which makes it both easy to avoid contracting their aforementioned brain rot disease and dodge melee attacks. Lastly, the frequency at which that you can run into Hagravens does eventually make them predictable and easier to encounter from either your long ranged style of play or hit and run approach.

12 Just A Little Prick

The creation of a Forsworn Briarheart is down right disgusting. By replacing a warrior's own heart with that of a Briar heart (hence the name of course), this partially undead enemy is split into two different categories, magic caster and melee fighters. Being that they are partially undead, the effects of silver weapons have no effect on the enemy, which can leave players scrambling to find another method of attack.

But sometimes, the best attacks aren't as direct as others. Being that the Forsworn Briarheart's transplanted heart is exposing, you can potentially sneak behind them and pickpocket the heart. If successful, the Briarheart will instantly die. Despite the troubles of chasing the magic casters that will run away when chased, or the melee fighters that constantly dual-wield axes and swords, a quick snatch and grab can leave you reaping the rewards again Skyrim's version of Frankenstein.

11 They Just Can't Take The Heat

If being a hulking oversized stack of tree limbs isn't enough, you'll rarely run into a Spriggan Matron in a one-on-one battle but rather have to face either fellow Spriggans or wildlife companions. Their hulking frame, combined with the ability to heal themselves multiple times makes melee combat with Spriggan Matrons a certain death wish to players.

But fear not! If you find yourself in one of the common caves or heavily forested areas that they occupy, just remember that Spriggan Matron are extremely weak to fire. Common sense should kick in here, considering you're basically fighting a possess pile of wood that's just waiting to be burned to bites. Unleashed any sort of fire attack almost always leads to victor against the hostile forestry. Just remember to take out its friends as well once you chop down your first Matron.

10 As Useless As A Twilight Vampire

Admittandly, Master Vampires in Skyrim can be a daunting task to overcome. Their destruction and vampire drain abilites can leave players with a huge chuck of their health depleted, and having to potentially flip through different spells to sway away from their high frost resistance. Being the most difficult vampires to encounter in Skyrim level-wise, what options do players really have to take on the Master Vampires.

Apparently, it's not a hard as it may seem, for the Master Vampire specifically in the Shriekwind Bastion. You can simply pull the enemy and trap him outside of his cave and begin wailing away, while still getting the vampire damage from sunlight doesn't hurt either. If you take the time to improve your sneak and archery skills however, the work is practically done for you. The Master Vampires can be taken out quickly with arrows, and along with a high sneak skill level, players can take the chance to land copious amounts of arrows before the vampires even notice them.

9 He Just Needs His Beauty Sleep

First off, don't even try to sneak up on these bad boys. Draugr Scourge have a high level for stealth detection, so even high skilled players will have trouble remaining quiet around these undead warriors. The ancient weapons that they wield potentially are magically enhanced, of course leading to more player damage. Topping that off, the Scourge has completely resistant to poison and only take half damage from frost attacks.

The methods may be a little tricky, but catching these weapon wielding skeletons while they're sleeping, which is common with these creatures. Catching them while sleeping gives players a chance to get in as many shots as possible to take down this race of armored undead.

8 Steady And Slow Moving

Mammoths are some of the biggest monsters you can fight in Skyrim. More often than not, you'll find this prehistoric creatures roaming the lands along with their companion Giants, making them even more difficult to take on. From a statistical standpoint, they also cut any frost damage thrown at them by one-third, and are more than likely immune to paralysis.

If you happen to find a lone Mammoth strolling the lands, there is a solid game plan you can imply to take them down. Keep in mind while fighting Mammoths that they won't enter water, cross streams, or climb. They also aren't very fast to begin with. With a simple light armor/bow and arrow combination, you can shoot away at the Mammoth until he gets close enough. From there, start to back away and with the light armor, you'll already outpace the Mammoth. You can also run up to a high vantage point that Mammoths can't get to. Once the Mammoth starts to turn around and leave, simply begin firing away again. You can repeat this until you've taken them out.

7 Any Silver Will Do...

Werewolves in Skyrim can be a tough task to overcome. Unless the user is their own beast form, Werewolves (and Werebears as well) will attack players on sight. On top of that, their melee attack damage is pretty high, so you had better make sure you're suited up for the tough fight ahead. For stubborn players that would prefer to avoid succumbing to Skyrim lycantrophy, you're already putting yourself behind the eight ball.

But fear not, as there are a couple to strategies that can see you coming out on top against the army of Lycans. One approach to killing Werewolves in the game is to prevent them from ever becoming Werewolves in the first place. Every so often, you can catch them in their much weaker human form, so try and sneak up and get them jump on them. Another somewhat obvious option is to arm yourself with a silver weapon, extensively increasing the damage you inflict.

6 Relying A Little Too Heavily On Armor, I See

Skeleton and Undead enemies in any game can given off a creepy vibe. Variations in skeletal appearances, however, only amplify the sensation. Corrupted Shades in Skyrim hit those notes in nearly every area. From the eerie red glow from the skulls eyes and mouth, to the fact that they're missing the entire lower half of their bodies and float in the air towards you.

Well depending on where you encounter a Corrupted Shade, you may not have much to worry about. Run into them in the Kilkreath Ruins, and odds are you'll find an army of these undead soliders decked out in heavy armor and armed to the teeth. Find a few of them in an area such as Vahlok's Tomb, and there's a good chance the Corrupted Shades in the area won't have anything equipped on their (dead) person, making them an easy target.

5 He's Probably Friends With Quasimodo

It doesn't help when a monster decides to catch you off guard, and Gargoyles in Skyrim are no exception to the rule. Usually disguised as statues, Gargoyle's best offense is its deception, along with the ability to regenerate its health through melee attacks. Their health absorption makes sense, seeing as Gargoyles in Skyrim are allied with the game's vampire race. Oh, and don't even think about trying to paralyze or poison them either, they're totally immune.

The Gargoyle's achilles heel however is its lack of a natural health regeneration ability. So seeing as their only method of recovery is to get in close and attack the player head on, using either a ranged attack approach or hit-and-run method will pay dividends to you. Despite their imposing appearance, Gargoyles are basically a one-trick pony that can be easily manipulated.

4 They Should Switch To Automatic Firing

As if their hulking stature isn't enough, Dwarven Ballistas are essentially giant mobile crossbows, launch massive metal projectiles that can penetrate even heavy army and deal a large blow of damage to players. Think that's rough, even if the Ballista misses the mark, their metal spears can't be picked up and used, meaning all trust must be put into your own wares whilst going head to head with this walking death trap.

Despite its large damage ability and exclusive use of its own ammunition, Dwarven Ballistas take a fairly long time to reload once they've fired. It during that time that players can take it upon themselves and hack away at the Ballista's health. Even if your style isn't a full-on approach, the extra time between reload makes anticipating and dodging upcoming attacks very easy. It won't be too long before these metal monstrosities succumb to your tactics.

3 You'd Expect Better From A Dragon

While you're going around and completing quests and defeating enemies in Skyrim, you should know that your "reward" for reaching level 18 in the game is the increased chance in encountering the game's Blood Dragon. If a Blood Dragon is to spot you, good luck trying to lose it, even if you enter a nearby city area. They'll still be there when you depart for your next quest. They'll tend to circle around you in the air, waiting to strike.

The good news though if a Blood Dragon does attempt to kill you is that they're susceptible to both frost and shock spells that can slow them down and stagger them, respectively. If you're worried about the Blood Dragon's Dragon Shouts, and you have the Staff of Magnus equipped, you have nothing to fear. The staff can be used to deplete their magikca, thus preventing any chance for the dragon to shout.

Of course, you still have to option to hide away in a cave somewhere if fighting just isn't quite your style.

2 They're Easily Melted

The combination of the Ice Wraiths appearance and the icy, snowy areas that they're located throughout Skyrim make them extremely difficult to fight at times. Given their almost snake-like appearance, their slithering aerial movements are parallel to that, making ranged attacks difficult for players. With their ghostly figure as well, melee attacks are rendered nearly useless once players are close enough to them, severely limiting the options you have.

Don't fret though. As you can imagine, Ice Wraiths are fully immune to ice damage, but have a heavy weakness against fire attacks, so laying of the flames will give you the upper hand almost instantly. The only problem after that would be that Ice Wraiths have the ability to hide within their icy surrounding, which can be exposed easily with a detect life or even aura whisper spellcast.

1 Wounded Is Even In His Name, So

There are a lot of people out there that dislike spiders, myself included. So to try and take on a spider that is literally double the size of your Dragonborn character? Yeah, I'll pass. There are a lot of obvious tropes with taking on spiders in Skyrim: venom, long ranged melee attacks, bite abilities at close range, you get the idea. So taking on a Wounded Frostbite Spider in the Bleaks Fall Barrow should spell total disaster, right?

Well, maybe not. When you first engage the behemoth sized insect, he's got himself parked in the back of his nest, which can give players a chance to hit him with a few arrows before he gets in too close. Once he does, simply run outside the nested area while continuing to impale him with even more arrows. Since the spider cannot leave the nest area, he'll eventually turn around and proceed back to his starting spot. Reenter and start firing off arrows again, and you can repeat this until you've taken him down. Sure, this is more a game-breaking tactic than a true deception of an enemy's strength in Skryim, but who really wants to deal with this oversized insect longer than they need to???