(Note: This build gives mention to additions made by the Dragonborn dlc.)
This build originally started as a shield mage. I’d never played one and wanted to see what I could do with them in the new dlc. However, as I played, I realised that by being just a shield mage, I was severely limiting the potential of my idea. After some redrafting and editing of my original plan, I was able to create the ultimate defender build. All without a single perk spent in an armor skill.
I’d like to thank Ben C, for all the help he put into making this build what it is.
The Stalhrim Defender
You were a Nord born in the town of Bruma. You always had a true Nord’s fire in your heart and longed to prove yourself in battle. You spent your early adult life working as a fighters guild mercenary. The coin was good but there was no challenge in killing wolves or petty bandits. Any milk drinker could handle that. You longed for real battle and companionship. A true way to test your mettle in battle, and prove yourself worthy of the Nord’s true spirit home in Sovenguard.
The Great War provided you the opportunity you sought. During the Thalmor offensive, you were trapped in the Jerral Mountains by a blizzard while on a job for the fighters guild, and had no idea of what was happening until you returned to Bruma later and the Imperial city had been sacked. You joined with the Imperial forces almost instantly and fought at the battle for Red Ring road. You took part in the re-capture of the city but the fighting changed you.
No longer the fiery Nord you once were, you became disgusted with yourself. There was no honour or glory could make up for all the lives you cut short. No way to erase the memories of men and mer alike, lying dead on top of each other. You returned to Bruma with sorrow in your heart.
The temple of Talos was quickly reformed into a temple to Kynareth, in accordance with the white gold concordant. There you became a priest for the next 30 years of your life, trying to redeem yourself. While you still worshiped Talos in secret, your devotion was primarily to Kyne. You healed the sick in her name and became a strict pacifist.
Old and grey, it was then you had a premonition in a dream. Kyne spoke to you of the troubles facing your ancestral homeland. She told you that your long unused skills as a warrior should not be wasted. That you would become her champion, and with her blessings and guidance, save Skyrim from the troubles that faced it.
Equipment- Amulet of Kynareth, Amulet of Talos, Auriel’s shield, Dukaan, Zahkriisos
Steed stone- The steed stone is often overlooked, but offers some amazing gameplay and roleplay benefits to this character. Firstly, extra carry weight is a huge plus, especially when this build’s only stamina comes from enchantments. You also get the mobility of wearing no armor.
The last benefit of the stone however is the most interesting. It allows for any armor or shield you wear to become completely weightless. This allows you to carry as many sets of the same armor and shield as you want, each with different enchantments, all for no carry weight cost. This allows for the creation of specialised armor sets, each made specifically to deal with a certain situation.
Kyne’s winds speed you on your journey to Skyrim. They allow you to run faster and carry more equipment. The winds also take the weight of your heavy armor off your old bones, allowing you to wear it.
Major Skills
Block- Block is a centre piece of this build. The skill is almost essential for any defender type class. The left side of the tree helps to boost protection against mages (max frost resistance and 50% for both other elements). It also makes archers less of a threat with the deflect arrows perk. The right side is also great. Power bashes can be a huge help in combat, especially when combined with a fully charged Auriel’s Shield. With Shield charge taken, you can just charge through enemies, knocking them to the ground to be finished off. Multiple shields with different enchantments can be carried under the effect of the steed stone, meaning you are always prepared for any situation.
Being a veteran of the Great War, you have remembered some basic blocking techniques. You will have to re-learn most of it, but the basic training will help a lot. Just remember what your old captain used to tell you: “Block the light blows, then counter the heavy ones. With this shield on your arm, you can afford to wear your opponent down before finishing the fight. It may not be the most elegant kill, but it gets the job done”.
Destruction- This is the primary means of ranged and magical combat. It also adds an extra layer of defence with the amazing whirlwind cloak. The extra layer of defence is incredible, and is worth getting as soon as possible. Lightning and ice magic are both used and add versatility to combat. Their effectiveness can be augmented by the corresponding elemental dragon priest mask. Cost reduction is taken all the way to Master, with different styles, using different spells.
You had no former knowledge of destruction magic coming from a stereotypical Nord family. However, your devotion to Kyne has been rewarded. You have been granted the power to manipulate the winds and storms. It is rare for Kyne to grant this gift, and demonstrates her trust in you as her champion.
Enchanting- Enchanting is used effectively and it is recommended to level it quickly. Under the effects of the steed stone, all carried armors that match what you are wearing become weightless. This can be used to enchant gear for almost any situation or playstyle. These options are opened up even more when the extra effect perk is taken. Fire enchanter is taken to give a well-rounded elemental magic resistance.
It is not uncommon for priests to learn enchanting. They often provide beneficial effects to those in need, and bless weapons to banish daedra or turn the undead. However, a lot of training will be needed if you are to create the enchanted armor fit for a champion of Kyne.
Restoration- Restoration is a massive defensive boost to this build. The Healing spells are a huge life saver and are augmented with the respite and regeneration perks. The Sun fire spell provides a suitable offensive substitute to destruction when dealing with the undead. The Necromage perk gives a welcomed boost to the spell’s damage output.
Spending time in the priesthood has taught you some basic restoration skills for healing the sick. This skill with have to be trained even more to help in your adventures in Skyrim.
Minor Skills
One handed- One handed is very effective in the close combat fighting styles. Only one perk is spent here, as 100% extra damage can be achieved with just two enchantments with 100 enchanting skill.
Being an ex-soldier, you’ve retained some of your old fighting skills. However your bones are old, and not as strong as they used to be. To this end, you rely on enchantments to make your sword skills more deadly.
Conjuration- This skill provides you with a sword that outclasses any physical one. Firstly, you can do more damage than a regular sword with the mystic binding perk. You also get a free soul trap, which fuels your enchanting skill. Finally, the sword being weightless fits in with the theme of the build.
Kyne has provided to you the ability to call upon her winds to form a powerful and weightless blade. You don’t have to carry it with you, and it is far sharper than your rusty old legion sword.
Alchemy- Alchemy will be used to make money for training and other things. However it can also be used to create potions of Restore magicka, to further fuel your spell casting. Snakeblood is also a great investment, helping you to reach full poison resistance.
You are a priest and have a grasp on basic alchemy. Spells of healing cannot always cure the sick and dying, so you have turned to nature to provide the cure. During your travels in Skyrim, you can sell your potions to make a living and provide what you need.
Speech- This skill is used to make money. You can get better prices for the enchanted gear and potions you sell. The Merchant perk allows you to barter for trading from certain npcs as well.
After years of being a priest, you have developed a strong set of social skills. You will use this to your advantage when trading for training and supplies on your journey.
Out of Combat
This build has a lot of activites to be done out of combat that revolve around making money for training among other things. Firstly, Dragonborn adds the new master enchanting trainer Neloth, who is also a vendor. We will be selling him enchanted gear and potions with the merchant perk to help level up our enchanting skill quickly, while also making a profit. I kept a set of gear to boost my alchemy skill and provide other useful effects on my travels. That way I could make more cash for each potion I sold to him, which equates to more training.
Neloth also has an apprentice called Talvas. He will make an amazing follower after completing a small (but very challenging) quest for him at a low level. He is the best follower in my opinion, and should be kept by your side when adventuring around Solsteim at a low level. He is also a master conjuration trainer.
With whirlwind cloak being a centre piece of the build, it is important to get it as early as possible. The only way to get the spell is to do quests for Neloth until he asks you to recover a book. Then the spell will be available for purchase from Talvas. Take Talvas with you and do the quests for Neloth around level 18 to get the spell ready to use when your destruction skill is high enough. The dragon priest masks and cyclone can be picked up when you return to face solsteim at an appropriate level.
Combat
The Master Defender- This build has incredible defensive capabilities, all without using smithing or a perked armor skill. It combines together the best defensive techniques together to outlast anything that challenges it.
Dodging- With no movement penalty from the steed stone, this build has no trouble dodging attacks while wearing heavy armor.
Blocking- Block is capped out with maximum damage reduction with one enchantment, one point in shield wall and 100 block skill. This gives a huge damage reduction to physical attacks, but also makes elemental magic 50% less effective.
Heavy Armor- This armor offers the highest physical protection. While not perked or smithed, with powerful enchantments we can reach a respectable armor rating which will give great protection, especially when in a full set of Stalhrim armor.
Endurance- By switching between different fighting styles, you can remain at full combat effectiveness, and outlast anyone you face. Healing yourself in combat pushes this even further, making you all but unstoppable.
Active defence- This is where defence is taken to the extreme. Instead of letting the enemy hit you, you remove them from combat so that they are no longer a threat for a short time. This has several layers, so if one does not trigger, you still have more as back up before even taking into account the rest of your defence.
Whirlwind cloak is the first layer of this. By activating this before a fight, you give yourself a huge advantage over melee attackers, and they will often not get a chance to deal any damage. I’ve noticed that moving in and out of the spell’s range increases the chance that it will activate which works amazingly well with the steed stone. I’ve also noticed that the spell can cause fall damage to enemies, with many fights being ended simply by running at an enemy with a cliff behind them. My favourite thing about the spell however, is that it still affects enemies who have already been knocked down. This can be used to keep enemies out of the fight for longer, while you deal more damage.
The next is shouts. Unrelenting force and cyclone can be used if your cloak does not activate, giving you a second layer of protection. Whirlwind sprint is also used in the build. It is great for getting out of combat, giving you time to heal.
The final layer of protection here is Auriel’s shield. The shield can be charged up and carried in your inventory, ready to be used when your shout hasn’t cooled down and your cloak won’t activate.
Kyne has chosen you as her champion, but you must prove yourself worthy to wield the winds around you for protection. Kyne has also blessed other champions of hers in the past with knowledge of the Thu’ um. Notable examples include Morihaus and Wulfharth.
The four winds of Kyne
Combining enchanting and the steed stone allows us to specialise in four different fighting styles that all synergise together nicely. This is done by creating a different armor set for each playstyle that maximises its effectiveness. By switching between them during combat, you are able to outlast anything you fight, assuring your eventual victory. In a single playstyle build, when your fuel for attacks starts to run low, you have to wait for your stamina or magicka to recharge. Here you can just change armor and be able continue fighting at full effectiveness.
Battlemage- This style of combat relies on Destruction magic heavily. You stand at range blasting everything that comes near with lightning and ice spells. Lightning storm can be devastating here, where you are able to cast constantly for over 30 seconds. It is a good idea to use a whirlwind cloak just in case anything manages to get close. This style works best against long range targets and enemies with high health bars.
Equipment-
Helm: Fortify destruction and magicka
Armor: Fortify magicka and magicka regen
Gauntlets: Fortify Heavy armor and magicka
Boots: Fire resistance and fortify stamina
Easily transitions to- Spellsword or Warrior
Shield mage- In this style, you use a shield to block incoming fire from mages and archers, while shooting back lightning and ice blasts. You can also use the shield to power bash warriors who get in close or shot them away with your cloak, giving you time to put some distance between you and them. This style works great for dealing with ranged attackers and works best at medium range.
Equipment-
Helm: Fortify magicka regen and magicka
Armor: Fortify heavy armor and magicka regen
Gauntlets: Fortify block and fortify magicka
Boots: Shock resistance and fortify stamina
Easily transitions to- Spellsword or Warrior
Warrior- The Warrior is a standard sword and board fighter with health regen enchantments. This playstyle is great to use when magicka is starting to run low. Use the last of your magicka to cast whirlwind cloak and summon a sword. Then you can just tank damage while letting your magicka regenerate. It is great for fighting one on one against tough warriors with the fully perked block tree.
Equipment-
Helm: Zahkiriisos (For elemental resist)
Armor: Fortify health and health regen
Gauntlets: Fortify block and one handed
Boots: Fortify stamina and one handed
Easily transitions to- Battlemage, Shield mage or Spellsword
Spellsword- This playstyle offers by far the most versatility. The spellsword uses speed and whirlwind cloak to control large groups of enemies. A healing spell is kept in the right hand to maintain high health throughout fights. Shouts can be thrown in when you get into trouble to keep enemies on the ground, while you dance around them.
Equipment-
Helm: Fortify restoration and magicka
Armor: Fortify health and heavy armor
Gauntlets: Fortify Heavy armor and one handed
Boots: Fire resistance and fortify one handed
Easily transitions to- Battlemage, Shield mage or Warrior
You will also use several shields of your own, specifically made for different situations.
Shield of strength- Increase magic resistance and fortify health
Shield of magic- Increase magic resistance and resist fire
Shield of the monster hunter- Fortify health and resist poison.
Hurricane blast- Using whirlwind sprint with a whirlwind cloak on, you can crash into enemies and send them flying.
Requires- Whirlwind sprint and whirlwind cloak
Taken by the winds- using either unrelenting force or cyclone, immediately after an enemy has been thrown into the air, you can blast them even further giving greater fall damage.
Vitality drain- After knocking an enemy to the ground, you can steal the fuel for their attack power from them, greatly lowering their combat effectiveness.
Requires- Any knockdown attack and sparks/frostbite
Champions blast- Interestingly, Auriel’s shield can be charged up and then unequipped, ready to be pulled out as a last ditch defence. However, if you combine this with the right side of the block tree, your bash does extra damage and has a chance to blast your opponent away, with their weapon at your feet.
The first variant works with the shield mage style, and you finish off your opponent with a barrage of Ice storm or Chain lightning. The second variant is for the warrior. Here you follow your opponent with whirlwind sprint and finish them off with your sword, keeping them away from their weapon.
Requires- Auriel’s shield, disarming bash and whirlwind sprint.
(Note: This build gives mention to additions made by the Dragonborn dlc.)
This build originally started as a shield mage. I’d never played one and wanted to see what I could do with them in the new dlc. However, as I played, I realised that by being just a shield mage, I was severely limiting the potential of my idea. After some redrafting and editing of my original plan, I was able to create the ultimate defender build. All without a single perk spent in an armor skill.
I’d like to thank Ben C, for all the help he put into making this build what it is.
The Stalhrim Defender
You were a Nord born in the town of Bruma. You always had a true Nord’s fire in your heart and longed to prove yourself in battle. You spent your early adult life working as a fighters guild mercenary. The coin was good but there was no challenge in killing wolves or petty bandits. Any milk drinker could handle that. You longed for real battle and companionship. A true way to test your mettle in battle, and prove yourself worthy of the Nord’s true spirit home in Sovenguard.
The Great War provided you the opportunity you sought. During the Thalmor offensive, you were trapped in the Jerral Mountains by a blizzard while on a job for the fighters guild, and had no idea of what was happening until you returned to Bruma later and the Imperial city had been sacked. You joined with the Imperial forces almost instantly and fought at the battle for Red Ring road. You took part in the re-capture of the city but the fighting changed you.
No longer the fiery Nord you once were, you became disgusted with yourself. There was no honour or glory could make up for all the lives you cut short. No way to erase the memories of men and mer alike, lying dead on top of each other. You returned to Bruma with sorrow in your heart.
The temple of Talos was quickly reformed into a temple to Kynareth, in accordance with the white gold concordant. There you became a priest for the next 30 years of your life, trying to redeem yourself. While you still worshiped Talos in secret, your devotion was primarily to Kyne. You healed the sick in her name and became a strict pacifist.
Old and grey, it was then you had a premonition in a dream. Kyne spoke to you of the troubles facing your ancestral homeland. She told you that your long unused skills as a warrior should not be wasted. That you would become her champion, and with her blessings and guidance, save Skyrim from the troubles that faced it.
Equipment- Amulet of Kynareth, Amulet of Talos, Auriel’s shield, Dukaan, Zahkriisos
Steed stone- The steed stone is often overlooked, but offers some amazing gameplay and roleplay benefits to this character. Firstly, extra carry weight is a huge plus, especially when this build’s only stamina comes from enchantments. You also get the mobility of wearing no armor.
The last benefit of the stone however is the most interesting. It allows for any armor or shield you wear to become completely weightless. This allows you to carry as many sets of the same armor and shield as you want, each with different enchantments, all for no carry weight cost. This allows for the creation of specialised armor sets, each made specifically to deal with a certain situation.
Kyne’s winds speed you on your journey to Skyrim. They allow you to run faster and carry more equipment. The winds also take the weight of your heavy armor off your old bones, allowing you to wear it.
Major Skills
Block- Block is a centre piece of this build. The skill is almost essential for any defender type class. The left side of the tree helps to boost protection against mages (max frost resistance and 50% for both other elements). It also makes archers less of a threat with the deflect arrows perk. The right side is also great. Power bashes can be a huge help in combat, especially when combined with a fully charged Auriel’s Shield. With Shield charge taken, you can just charge through enemies, knocking them to the ground to be finished off. Multiple shields with different enchantments can be carried under the effect of the steed stone, meaning you are always prepared for any situation.
Being a veteran of the Great War, you have remembered some basic blocking techniques. You will have to re-learn most of it, but the basic training will help a lot. Just remember what your old captain used to tell you: “Block the light blows, then counter the heavy ones. With this shield on your arm, you can afford to wear your opponent down before finishing the fight. It may not be the most elegant kill, but it gets the job done”.
Destruction- This is the primary means of ranged and magical combat. It also adds an extra layer of defence with the amazing whirlwind cloak. The extra layer of defence is incredible, and is worth getting as soon as possible. Lightning and ice magic are both used and add versatility to combat. Their effectiveness can be augmented by the corresponding elemental dragon priest mask. Cost reduction is taken all the way to Master, with different styles, using different spells.
You had no former knowledge of destruction magic coming from a stereotypical Nord family. However, your devotion to Kyne has been rewarded. You have been granted the power to manipulate the winds and storms. It is rare for Kyne to grant this gift, and demonstrates her trust in you as her champion.
Enchanting- Enchanting is used effectively and it is recommended to level it quickly. Under the effects of the steed stone, all carried armors that match what you are wearing become weightless. This can be used to enchant gear for almost any situation or playstyle. These options are opened up even more when the extra effect perk is taken. Fire enchanter is taken to give a well-rounded elemental magic resistance.
It is not uncommon for priests to learn enchanting. They often provide beneficial effects to those in need, and bless weapons to banish daedra or turn the undead. However, a lot of training will be needed if you are to create the enchanted armor fit for a champion of Kyne.
Restoration- Restoration is a massive defensive boost to this build. The Healing spells are a huge life saver and are augmented with the respite and regeneration perks. The Sun fire spell provides a suitable offensive substitute to destruction when dealing with the undead. The Necromage perk gives a welcomed boost to the spell’s damage output.
Spending time in the priesthood has taught you some basic restoration skills for healing the sick. This skill with have to be trained even more to help in your adventures in Skyrim.
Minor Skills
One handed- One handed is very effective in the close combat fighting styles. Only one perk is spent here, as 100% extra damage can be achieved with just two enchantments with 100 enchanting skill.
Being an ex-soldier, you’ve retained some of your old fighting skills. However your bones are old, and not as strong as they used to be. To this end, you rely on enchantments to make your sword skills more deadly.
Conjuration- This skill provides you with a sword that outclasses any physical one. Firstly, you can do more damage than a regular sword with the mystic binding perk. You also get a free soul trap, which fuels your enchanting skill. Finally, the sword being weightless fits in with the theme of the build.
Kyne has provided to you the ability to call upon her winds to form a powerful and weightless blade. You don’t have to carry it with you, and it is far sharper than your rusty old legion sword.
Alchemy- Alchemy will be used to make money for training and other things. However it can also be used to create potions of Restore magicka, to further fuel your spell casting. Snakeblood is also a great investment, helping you to reach full poison resistance.
You are a priest and have a grasp on basic alchemy. Spells of healing cannot always cure the sick and dying, so you have turned to nature to provide the cure. During your travels in Skyrim, you can sell your potions to make a living and provide what you need.
Speech- This skill is used to make money. You can get better prices for the enchanted gear and potions you sell. The Merchant perk allows you to barter for trading from certain npcs as well.
After years of being a priest, you have developed a strong set of social skills. You will use this to your advantage when trading for training and supplies on your journey.
Out of Combat
This build has a lot of activites to be done out of combat that revolve around making money for training among other things. Firstly, Dragonborn adds the new master enchanting trainer Neloth, who is also a vendor. We will be selling him enchanted gear and potions with the merchant perk to help level up our enchanting skill quickly, while also making a profit. I kept a set of gear to boost my alchemy skill and provide other useful effects on my travels. That way I could make more cash for each potion I sold to him, which equates to more training.
Neloth also has an apprentice called Talvas. He will make an amazing follower after completing a small (but very challenging) quest for him at a low level. He is the best follower in my opinion, and should be kept by your side when adventuring around Solsteim at a low level. He is also a master conjuration trainer.
With whirlwind cloak being a centre piece of the build, it is important to get it as early as possible. The only way to get the spell is to do quests for Neloth until he asks you to recover a book. Then the spell will be available for purchase from Talvas. Take Talvas with you and do the quests for Neloth around level 18 to get the spell ready to use when your destruction skill is high enough. The dragon priest masks and cyclone can be picked up when you return to face solsteim at an appropriate level.
Combat
The Master Defender- This build has incredible defensive capabilities, all without using smithing or a perked armor skill. It combines together the best defensive techniques together to outlast anything that challenges it.
Dodging- With no movement penalty from the steed stone, this build has no trouble dodging attacks while wearing heavy armor.
Blocking- Block is capped out with maximum damage reduction with one enchantment, one point in shield wall and 100 block skill. This gives a huge damage reduction to physical attacks, but also makes elemental magic 50% less effective.
Heavy Armor- This armor offers the highest physical protection. While not perked or smithed, with powerful enchantments we can reach a respectable armor rating which will give great protection, especially when in a full set of Stalhrim armor.
Endurance- By switching between different fighting styles, you can remain at full combat effectiveness, and outlast anyone you face. Healing yourself in combat pushes this even further, making you all but unstoppable.
Active defence- This is where defence is taken to the extreme. Instead of letting the enemy hit you, you remove them from combat so that they are no longer a threat for a short time. This has several layers, so if one does not trigger, you still have more as back up before even taking into account the rest of your defence.
Whirlwind cloak is the first layer of this. By activating this before a fight, you give yourself a huge advantage over melee attackers, and they will often not get a chance to deal any damage. I’ve noticed that moving in and out of the spell’s range increases the chance that it will activate which works amazingly well with the steed stone. I’ve also noticed that the spell can cause fall damage to enemies, with many fights being ended simply by running at an enemy with a cliff behind them. My favourite thing about the spell however, is that it still affects enemies who have already been knocked down. This can be used to keep enemies out of the fight for longer, while you deal more damage.
The next is shouts. Unrelenting force and cyclone can be used if your cloak does not activate, giving you a second layer of protection. Whirlwind sprint is also used in the build. It is great for getting out of combat, giving you time to heal.
The final layer of protection here is Auriel’s shield. The shield can be charged up and carried in your inventory, ready to be used when your shout hasn’t cooled down and your cloak won’t activate.
Kyne has chosen you as her champion, but you must prove yourself worthy to wield the winds around you for protection. Kyne has also blessed other champions of hers in the past with knowledge of the Thu’ um. Notable examples include Morihaus and Wulfharth.
The four winds of Kyne
Combining enchanting and the steed stone allows us to specialise in four different fighting styles that all synergise together nicely. This is done by creating a different armor set for each playstyle that maximises its effectiveness. By switching between them during combat, you are able to outlast anything you fight, assuring your eventual victory. In a single playstyle build, when your fuel for attacks starts to run low, you have to wait for your stamina or magicka to recharge. Here you can just change armor and be able continue fighting at full effectiveness.
Battlemage- This style of combat relies on Destruction magic heavily. You stand at range blasting everything that comes near with lightning and ice spells. Lightning storm can be devastating here, where you are able to cast constantly for over 30 seconds. It is a good idea to use a whirlwind cloak just in case anything manages to get close. This style works best against long range targets and enemies with high health bars.
Equipment-
Helm: Fortify destruction and magicka
Armor: Fortify magicka and magicka regen
Gauntlets: Fortify Heavy armor and magicka
Boots: Fire resistance and fortify stamina
Easily transitions to- Spellsword or Warrior
Shield mage- In this style, you use a shield to block incoming fire from mages and archers, while shooting back lightning and ice blasts. You can also use the shield to power bash warriors who get in close or shot them away with your cloak, giving you time to put some distance between you and them. This style works great for dealing with ranged attackers and works best at medium range.
Equipment-
Helm: Fortify magicka regen and magicka
Armor: Fortify heavy armor and magicka regen
Gauntlets: Fortify block and fortify magicka
Boots: Shock resistance and fortify stamina
Easily transitions to- Spellsword or Warrior
Warrior- The Warrior is a standard sword and board fighter with health regen enchantments. This playstyle is great to use when magicka is starting to run low. Use the last of your magicka to cast whirlwind cloak and summon a sword. Then you can just tank damage while letting your magicka regenerate. It is great for fighting one on one against tough warriors with the fully perked block tree.
Equipment-
Helm: Zahkiriisos (For elemental resist)
Armor: Fortify health and health regen
Gauntlets: Fortify block and one handed
Boots: Fortify stamina and one handed
Easily transitions to- Battlemage, Shield mage or Spellsword
Spellsword- This playstyle offers by far the most versatility. The spellsword uses speed and whirlwind cloak to control large groups of enemies. A healing spell is kept in the right hand to maintain high health throughout fights. Shouts can be thrown in when you get into trouble to keep enemies on the ground, while you dance around them.
Equipment-
Helm: Fortify restoration and magicka
Armor: Fortify health and heavy armor
Gauntlets: Fortify Heavy armor and one handed
Boots: Fire resistance and fortify one handed
Easily transitions to- Battlemage, Shield mage or Warrior
You will also use several shields of your own, specifically made for different situations.
Shield of strength- Increase magic resistance and fortify health
Shield of magic- Increase magic resistance and resist fire
Shield of the monster hunter- Fortify health and resist poison.
Hurricane blast- Using whirlwind sprint with a whirlwind cloak on, you can crash into enemies and send them flying.
Requires- Whirlwind sprint and whirlwind cloak
Taken by the winds- using either unrelenting force or cyclone, immediately after an enemy has been thrown into the air, you can blast them even further giving greater fall damage.
Vitality drain- After knocking an enemy to the ground, you can steal the fuel for their attack power from them, greatly lowering their combat effectiveness.
Requires- Any knockdown attack and sparks/frostbite
Champions blast- Interestingly, Auriel’s shield can be charged up and then unequipped, ready to be pulled out as a last ditch defence. However, if you combine this with the right side of the block tree, your bash does extra damage and has a chance to blast your opponent away, with their weapon at your feet.
The first variant works with the shield mage style, and you finish off your opponent with a barrage of Ice storm or Chain lightning. The second variant is for the warrior. Here you follow your opponent with whirlwind sprint and finish them off with your sword, keeping them away from their weapon.
Requires- Auriel’s shield, disarming bash and whirlwind sprint.
Awesome Build! It's about time someone properly utilised cyclone and whirlwind cloak! I've been saying for a while now someone should use those, coupled with aurials shield to create a stagger inducing tank which could be taken further by throwing windshear into the mix. But yea, great, well thought out build with original strategies! +1
Awesome Build! It's about time someone properly utilised cyclone and whirlwind cloak! I've been saying for a while now someone should use those, coupled with aurials shield to create a stagger inducing tank which could be taken further by throwing windshear into the mix. But yea, great, well thought out build with original strategies! +1
I would pick up all quests for Kyne from a roleplay standpoint. However, I wouldn't suggest using the amulet, your enchanting skill will provide rings and amulets which would be a much greater benefit to the build.
I would pick up all quests for Kyne from a roleplay standpoint. However, I wouldn't suggest using the amulet, your enchanting skill will provide rings and amulets which would be a much greater benefit to the build.
Yeah, I really wanted to test the spell out. Combining all these awesome knockdown attacks really made a great build. It's really fun to just throw people around every time they get close to you, then kill them before they get back up.
Yeah, I really wanted to test the spell out. Combining all these awesome knockdown attacks really made a great build. It's really fun to just throw people around every time they get close to you, then kill them before they get back up.
Thanks TZ. This was my first attempt at a build using the new content and my first time using Auriel's shield. I don't know how I'll be able to pull myself away from them now.
Thanks TZ. This was my first attempt at a build using the new content and my first time using Auriel's shield. I don't know how I'll be able to pull myself away from them now.
Nice build, it gets my like. I've also been working on a wind-based build but had a feeling someone would beat me to it (slow worker). Ah well, I'll probably post it anyway :p
Again, it's a nice build with a unique way of using new content. +1
Nice build, it gets my like. I've also been working on a wind-based build but had a feeling someone would beat me to it (slow worker). Ah well, I'll probably post it anyway :p
Again, it's a nice build with a unique way of using new content. +1
Thanks Sanctus. Yeah, I was sure someone else was working on something similar by now. I'll look out for your build in the near future. By the way, it looks like you forgot to click like.
Thanks Sanctus. Yeah, I was sure someone else was working on something similar by now. I'll look out for your build in the near future. By the way, it looks like you forgot to click like.
