RPGs are known for granting players dozens of ways of solving problems, whether those come from quests or simply making your character. Many options exist for players to experiment with to create unique builds.
While Skyrim removed the major and minor skill system from previous games, it replaced it with an impactful skill tree for each skill. This made build variety better than in previous entries in the series while allowing unprecedented levels of flexibility. From using magic to burn down cities to striking enemies from the shadows with your trusty bow, here are the best builds you need to try for Skyrim. Due to Skyrim's difficulty, or lack thereof, these entries are in no particular order. Pick what sounds most fun to you.
Updated on August 6th, 2021, by Charles Burgar: Skyrim might be nearly a decade old, but the community's passion for this game has continued to burn bright. Many fans still explore Skyrim's monster-filled mountaintops and Dwemer ruins to this day. A large contributor to the game's replayability is how open-ended builds are.
We already have 15 powerful builds in this guide, yet they were somewhat hard to replicate for newcomers due to Skyrim's lack of classes. To remedy this, we've updated the guide with more in-depth breakdowns of each class. It should be much easier to replicate a certain build.
15 Elemental Fury
Elemental Fury Overview
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Skyrim introduced the ability to dual wield items, allowing players to equip two swords simultaneously or use two different spells at once.
Dual wielding swords is one of the coolest things you can do in Skyrim, and it makes for a very powerful build as well. Scale your one-handed damage through the respective skill tree. From there, use the Elemental Fury shout to slash through opponents twice as fast. Redguards and Orcs have racial bonuses that make this playstyle even stronger. Rapidly striking enemies with two swords never gets old.
14 Paladin
Paladin Overview
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The paladin is a classic archetype from any RPG game and is easy to replicate in Skyrim. Utilizing Restoration and blade, paladins smite the unholy with a melee-spellcasting hybrid playstyle.
It's best adjusted for Bretons, who make great half-mages due to their innate racial bonus that provides them with +5 in a variety of skills. Focus on Heavy Armor, One-Handed, and Restoration skills, which will make for a character who can sustain a lot of damage in a fight while also keeping themselves and any allies up. It's also a fantastic build for players that love roleplaying.
If you want to take this build to its limit, check out our Skyrim paladin in-depth build guide.
13 Dual Dagger Assassin
Dual Dagger Assassin Overview
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Dual-wielding is an underappreciated build in Skyrim, mostly because it takes away some of the flexibility seen in other builds that incorporate shields or one-handed spells. However, it's a really unique game mechanic and makes for some interesting builds, including the dual dagger assassin build.
Orcs are a great race to try this dual dagger build with due to their special ability called Berserker Rage, which allows them to deal twice as much damage for one minute while taking only half of all incoming damage. It's a high damage, up close and personal kind of build, utilizing Light Armor and Sneak to get the drop on your foes. If combat gets too much to handle, use some Illusion spells to manipulate enemy AI.
12 Spellsword
Spellsword Overview
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The spellsword is a more standard version of the Paladin build, focusing more on flexibility. The spellsword is one of the most versatile and customizable builds because of how many schools of magic and weapon types you can weave together.
In essence, Spellswords rely on the One-Handed skill and a few spells of choice from multiple schools of magic. Destruction magic is one of the best ones to go for early on in the game, especially Flames. More defensive variants can be created as well, utilizing Wards and Alteration magic to mitigate incoming damage. If you love using spells and swords, this is the build for you.
For a more in-depth look at Spellswords, check out our Skyrim spellsword build guide.
11 Pure Mage
Mage Overview
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Players looking to really challenge themselves should absolutely go for a pure mage build. This build has a serious learning curve, requiring extensive knowledge on how bonuses and enchants work. The result is a character that can turn every enemy into dust.
Those wanting to reap all the benefits of this build should go for a High Elf as a starting race. The Pure Mage requires the player to pick a school of magic (or several schools of magic) and specialize. Destruction is great for damage, but Conjuration is also excellent when fighting multiple enemies. Weapons aren't needed once you have good Magicka sustain.
Since this build can be tough to pull off, you might want to give our mage build guide a look. It covers recommended spells, the best items, and combat tips.
10 Necromancer
Necromancer Overview
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Although there isn't a proper necromancy school in Skyrim, there are still ways to play as a Necromancer type of mage. This is the opposite of a Paladin conceptually, specializing in more heretical uses of Conjuration, Destruction, and Alteration schools of magic.
To make the character even more vicious and sustainable, the player can opt for Heavy Armor and Two-Handed, fully turning them into a dark knight of death. With the Daedric armor unlocked and enchanted, any character will look intimidating and demolish their foes with an undead army by their side. If you're OK with modding Skyrim, this build becomes much stronger with Ordinator or Vokrii installed.
9 Bound Warrior
Bound Warrior Overview
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While most associate Conjuration with summoning creatures from Oblivion to fight alongside you, this school of magic can also create weapons for you to use.
Bound weapons are incredibly powerful early-game spells in Skyrim. Bound Bow and Bound Sword are great spells that summon Daedric-quality gear for the player to use for a minute. Upgrading the tree can make these weapons deal even more damage while also allowing you to summon Dremora Lords to do your bidding. It's an enjoyable build that is fantastic in the early to mid-game of Skyrim. For the endgame, this build can easily be tweaked to become a powerful necromancer.
8 Unarmed Khajiit
Unarmed Khajiit Overview
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Every race in Skyrim has a unique passive that keeps them distinct from the rest. Khajiits have a few, one of which grants them increased unarmed damage.
Their sharp claws allow them to deal increased damage with their fists compared to other classes. There is also a perk in the Heavy Armor skill tree called Fists of Steel, granting unarmed damage equal to your gauntlet's base armor rating. Get a pair of Daedric gloves, obtain the Fortify Unarmed enchantment, then enjoy punching everything from humans to dragons to a pulp. Certain Shouts like Marked for Death can make this deal even more damage as well.
7 Crafter
Crafter Overview
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If you aren't sure what to play when you create a character for Skyrim, focusing on crafting professions isn't a bad idea. Skills like Enchanting, Smithing, and Alchemy become incredibly powerful when leveled up. If you take this build to the extreme, you can make the strongest weapons and armor in the game.
Enchanting allows you to add unique modifiers to weapons and armor, including increased damage and health. Smithing will let you create virtually any non-quest item in the game, ranging from Iron armor to Daedric gear. Alchemy is one of the most underrated skills in Skyrim, letting the player create potions that grant temporary bonuses that can make you virtually invincible. Any weapon or spell will work with this style of character.
6 Tanky Conjurer
Tanky Conjurer Overview
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Blocking attacks in Skyrim can be fun to do, but there is little reason to do so when you are wearing great armor. On higher difficulties, however, being able to absorb damage is key.
Unlike most tank builds, using Conjuration as a secondary skill gives this build unmatched versatility. Conjuration allows you to summon two Dremora Lords to deal amazing amounts of damage and draw the attention of most of your enemies. You can then swing your one-handed weapon at enemies alongside your Dremora Lords to take down any enemy in the game. The shield you use is still a great backup for when enemies decide to focus on attacking you, giving your Dremora Lords free rein to attack and kill them.
5 Destruction Mages
Destruction Mage Overview
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While spell crafting is missing in this installment, Destruction is still a great school of magic for players to invest in.
Completing the College of Winterhold questline will reward you with powerful Master Destruction spells, letting you summon Blizzards of Fire Storms at will. While this is already rather powerful, the Magicka cost for these abilities can be reduced to nothing. If you equip enchanted items that add up to 100% reduced Magicka cost of Destruction spells, you can cast these powerful spells forever. It is a satisfying way to play Skyrim, disintegrating dragons with Lightning Storm or throwing multiple Fireballs in quick succession.
4 Werewolf
Werewolf Overview
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Those who go through the Companions questline will eventually be offered the ability to become a Werewolf. This ability is incredibly powerful when invested in properly.
The Dawnguard DLC adds a skill tree for Werewolves to invest in, granting powerful bonuses when they feed on corpses. Playing a dedicated Werewolf allows you to have unrivaled passive Stamina regeneration, strong melee attacks, and constant wolves that fight by your side. With the Ring of Hircine, you can keep transforming into a Werewolf as much as you like, making this a proper playstyle instead of a temporary buff.
3 Windshear Stun Master
Windshear Stun Master Overview
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- Race: Redguard
- Core Skills: One-Handed, Light Armor, Destruction
- Recommended Enchantments: Fortify Stamina Regen
- Recommended Spell: Chain Lightning
The Windshear is a unique scimitar found in the "Hail Sithis!" quest for the Dark Brotherhood. You can find it on the ship on the main deck.
This scimitar is so powerful that you can make a build with just this weapon. It has the unique property of staggering any enemy it hits, letting you stun-lock targets with rapid attacks. When Windshear can't be used to strike targets, you can use a Chain Lightning staff to stun targets from afar, letting you close the gap to stun-lock them. If you want to attack even faster, equip a non-enchanted dagger in your left hand and use the Elemental Fury Shout. You'll be able to attack at lightning speeds, turning even the toughest enemies into harmless ragdolls.
2 Stealth Archer
Stealth Archer Overview
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Fans of Skyrim know of this build, combining the high damage of Archery with the absurd Stealth damage bonuses Sneaking grants. Few builds can match the damage output of this build.
Stealth Archers invest heavily in the Sneak and Archery trees to scale their damage. Unlike most builds, this build has fantastic damage that gets multiplied by massive Stealth damage multipliers. Better yet, having a high Stealth rating allows you to stay concealed during the toughest of encounters, preventing enemies from attacking you since they can't see you. The main flaw with this build is how long it takes to get going, making it somewhat annoying to level for the first few hours. Once you get better sneak multipliers and bows, this build can one-shot virtually every enemy in the game.
1 Illusion Assassin
Illusion Assassin Overview
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Taking much of what makes Stealth Archers broken, Illusion Assassins are stealth characters that are more focused on using spells and daggers than bows.
Rapid dagger strikes can gain the stealth damage multiplier, making them stronger than bows can ever hope to be. Since you also invest in Illusion, you have the ability of frenzying every enemy in a room into fighting each other, letting you clear dungeons without so much as raising a weapon. For dragon fights, you can use Marked for Death and rapidly strike the enemy from behind to kill them in seconds.