This build is partly inspired by other Druid classes such as in WoW, but was primarily built with shouts like animal allegiance in mind. I also wanted to create a build based primarily around the art of Alchemy, which I had never really used much before in Skyrim. I was worried at first that the skills wouldn't mesh together but I was pleasantly surprised by the versatility of this class.
The Druid
Constantly in tune with his surroundings, The Druid draws power from the energies of the wild, using them to maintain the balance of the natural world. The Druid is primarily a master Alchemist, capable of drawing out the magical properties of raw ingredients and turning them into incredible potions and debilitating poisons. His skill is so great, he is able to craft potions that enhance his other abilities to extraordinary levels. Despite preferring to avoid combat altogether as he searches for rare substances, the Druid is nonetheless a highly skilled combatant with a variety of skills at his disposal. A versatile ranged fighter, the Druid is a master archer, illusionist and destruction mage, utilising all skills to ensure no enemy reaches him. Should his foes break through his offence however, The Druid is capable of altering the very fabric of the world in order to shield himself from attack or paralyse his foes. The Druid is also a highly skilled healer, able to rapidly recover from even the most grievous wounds. The Druids most unusual skill however, is his ability to command the beasts of the wild, calling bears, sabre cats and all manner of creatures to his aid. There are even rumours of Druids who have embraced the very nature of the beast into their spirits, capable of shifting their forms into those of powerful animals.
Race: I would suggest the best race for this build would be the Breton, as their abilities to resist and absorb magical energies is fitting with the Druid's role. However a Bosmer is also a good choice and their racial power to command animals and their skill with archery/Alchemy will be very useful.
Stone: To start with I would make use of the mage stone, in order to level our magic skills. Late game I chose the atronach stone for magic absorption, but this is really a matter of personal preference.
Stats: The Druid is primarily a spellcaster, so a high magicka pool is necessary. However in order to get the most out of our Archery we need to put up stamina as well. I would suggest a ratio of 1/3/2 in Health/Magicka/Stamina.
Major Skills:
Alchemy: The Druids primary skill. The Druid is a master alchemist and so all perks increasing the strength of his concoctions will be taken. The Druid is also able to make his poisons last for more shots, as well as being able to harvest more ingredients from a single plant. We will be using Alchemy excessively, both to poison our weapons and to bolster our other skills.
Destruction: The Druid is capable of harnessing the raw elements of the world into devastating spells. The Druid is proficient with all elements and various levels of spell, so perks should be placed in each element. Dual cast and impact perks are also very useful for any destruction mage.
Archery: The Druid is a master with a bow capable of firing rapidly while moving quickly around the battlefield. We want to reach ranger and quickshot, as well as taking all the damage increase perks. Steady hand is optional, but I like to take at least one perk in it.
Illusion: The Druid is a master of mental manipulation, capable of turning his foes against each other, calming wild beasts, or granting courage and strength to his allies. I would advise taking almost all of the perks in this tree, which will allow us to manipulate even the most strong willed of individuals.
Minor Skills:
Alteration: The Druid is greatly skilled in effecting reality in order to shield himself or to incapacitate his foes. He is also able to resist and absorb the magical energies of enemy mages, turning their power against them.
Restoration: Restoration is optional as our potions will serve to heal us best. However a Druid is typically able to heal himself and allies under his own power so a few perks in here will not go to waste.
Light Armour: I chose to use light armour mainly for the look but a bit more defence never goes amiss. A few perks in agile defender will be good enough as Alteration is already upping our defence.
Sneak: I took a grand total of 3 perks in sneak in order to reach deadly aim, other than that illusion will do the job for us.
Werewolf: The most powerful of Druids are capable of altering their very shape into that of a wild beast. With the addition of the werewolf perk tree, this will allow us to become very powerful.
Equipment:
Armour of the Old Gods: This forsworn set, received as a reward for the Nobody Escapes Cindha mine Quest in Markarth, will boost our magicka, desrtuction, archery and sneak skills as well as having an excellent 'Druid' look about it.
Bow: Zephyr's Bow, found during the lost to the ages quest, fires 30% faster than a normal bow which will be very useful, especially once quickshot is acquired giving us a total of 60% faster fire rate. Otherwise the best bow you can find.
Jewellery: Were going to want to enchant a necklace and ring with fortify destruction/illusion, enabling us to cast quickly and often.
Shouts:
Animal Allegiance: The Druid cries out to the wild, calling animals from afar to aid him in combat.
Kynes Peace: The Druid whispers ancient calming magic to a wild beast, soothing its rage and preventing it from attacking him.
Disarm: The Druid unleashes a shockwave that disarms his opponent, rendering them helpless.
Fire Breath/Frost Breath: The Druids mastery of the elements extends to his voice, unleashing a wave of fire or ice.
Slow Time: The Druid channels the very energy of time itself, moving faster than his opponents eyes can catch.
Storm Call: Calling on the raw power of the heavens, The Druid calls forth a thunder storm, striking his opponents down with bolts of lightning.
Whirlwind Sprint: When his life is threatened, the Druid calls on the wind to carry him to a safe distance.
Roleplay Notes:
Start the battle by calling beasts to your side to aid you in your fight. Follow this up with a fury spell to cause chaos in your opponents ranks before peppering them with poisoned arrows and destruction spells. With the lack of enchanting, our potions will serve to fortify our skills. Make sure to keep several Fortify Marksman, Destruction and Illusion potions at all times in order to increase the strength of these attacks. A strong marksman potion can cause your arrows to deal an immense amount of damage. When not in combat seek out the rarest ingredients you can find, and sell your potions to keep funds up.
Let me know what you think in the comments, and I hope you have fun with it!
This build is partly inspired by other Druid classes such as in WoW, but was primarily built with shouts like animal allegiance in mind. I also wanted to create a build based primarily around the art of Alchemy, which I had never really used much before in Skyrim. I was worried at first that the skills wouldn't mesh together but I was pleasantly surprised by the versatility of this class.
The Druid
Constantly in tune with his surroundings, The Druid draws power from the energies of the wild, using them to maintain the balance of the natural world. The Druid is primarily a master Alchemist, capable of drawing out the magical properties of raw ingredients and turning them into incredible potions and debilitating poisons. His skill is so great, he is able to craft potions that enhance his other abilities to extraordinary levels. Despite preferring to avoid combat altogether as he searches for rare substances, the Druid is nonetheless a highly skilled combatant with a variety of skills at his disposal. A versatile ranged fighter, the Druid is a master archer, illusionist and destruction mage, utilising all skills to ensure no enemy reaches him. Should his foes break through his offence however, The Druid is capable of altering the very fabric of the world in order to shield himself from attack or paralyse his foes. The Druid is also a highly skilled healer, able to rapidly recover from even the most grievous wounds. The Druids most unusual skill however, is his ability to command the beasts of the wild, calling bears, sabre cats and all manner of creatures to his aid. There are even rumours of Druids who have embraced the very nature of the beast into their spirits, capable of shifting their forms into those of powerful animals.
Race: I would suggest the best race for this build would be the Breton, as their abilities to resist and absorb magical energies is fitting with the Druid's role. However a Bosmer is also a good choice and their racial power to command animals and their skill with archery/Alchemy will be very useful.
Stone: To start with I would make use of the mage stone, in order to level our magic skills. Late game I chose the atronach stone for magic absorption, but this is really a matter of personal preference.
Stats: The Druid is primarily a spellcaster, so a high magicka pool is necessary. However in order to get the most out of our Archery we need to put up stamina as well. I would suggest a ratio of 1/3/2 in Health/Magicka/Stamina.
Major Skills:
Alchemy: The Druids primary skill. The Druid is a master alchemist and so all perks increasing the strength of his concoctions will be taken. The Druid is also able to make his poisons last for more shots, as well as being able to harvest more ingredients from a single plant. We will be using Alchemy excessively, both to poison our weapons and to bolster our other skills.
Destruction: The Druid is capable of harnessing the raw elements of the world into devastating spells. The Druid is proficient with all elements and various levels of spell, so perks should be placed in each element. Dual cast and impact perks are also very useful for any destruction mage.
Archery: The Druid is a master with a bow capable of firing rapidly while moving quickly around the battlefield. We want to reach ranger and quickshot, as well as taking all the damage increase perks. Steady hand is optional, but I like to take at least one perk in it.
Illusion: The Druid is a master of mental manipulation, capable of turning his foes against each other, calming wild beasts, or granting courage and strength to his allies. I would advise taking almost all of the perks in this tree, which will allow us to manipulate even the most strong willed of individuals.
Minor Skills:
Alteration: The Druid is greatly skilled in effecting reality in order to shield himself or to incapacitate his foes. He is also able to resist and absorb the magical energies of enemy mages, turning their power against them.
Restoration: Restoration is optional as our potions will serve to heal us best. However a Druid is typically able to heal himself and allies under his own power so a few perks in here will not go to waste.
Light Armour: I chose to use light armour mainly for the look but a bit more defence never goes amiss. A few perks in agile defender will be good enough as Alteration is already upping our defence.
Sneak: I took a grand total of 3 perks in sneak in order to reach deadly aim, other than that illusion will do the job for us.
Werewolf: The most powerful of Druids are capable of altering their very shape into that of a wild beast. With the addition of the werewolf perk tree, this will allow us to become very powerful.
Equipment:
Armour of the Old Gods: This forsworn set, received as a reward for the Nobody Escapes Cindha mine Quest in Markarth, will boost our magicka, desrtuction, archery and sneak skills as well as having an excellent 'Druid' look about it.
Bow: Zephyr's Bow, found during the lost to the ages quest, fires 30% faster than a normal bow which will be very useful, especially once quickshot is acquired giving us a total of 60% faster fire rate. Otherwise the best bow you can find.
Jewellery: Were going to want to enchant a necklace and ring with fortify destruction/illusion, enabling us to cast quickly and often.
Shouts:
Animal Allegiance: The Druid cries out to the wild, calling animals from afar to aid him in combat.
Kynes Peace: The Druid whispers ancient calming magic to a wild beast, soothing its rage and preventing it from attacking him.
Disarm: The Druid unleashes a shockwave that disarms his opponent, rendering them helpless.
Fire Breath/Frost Breath: The Druids mastery of the elements extends to his voice, unleashing a wave of fire or ice.
Slow Time: The Druid channels the very energy of time itself, moving faster than his opponents eyes can catch.
Storm Call: Calling on the raw power of the heavens, The Druid calls forth a thunder storm, striking his opponents down with bolts of lightning.
Whirlwind Sprint: When his life is threatened, the Druid calls on the wind to carry him to a safe distance.
Roleplay Notes:
Start the battle by calling beasts to your side to aid you in your fight. Follow this up with a fury spell to cause chaos in your opponents ranks before peppering them with poisoned arrows and destruction spells. With the lack of enchanting, our potions will serve to fortify our skills. Make sure to keep several Fortify Marksman, Destruction and Illusion potions at all times in order to increase the strength of these attacks. A strong marksman potion can cause your arrows to deal an immense amount of damage. When not in combat seek out the rarest ingredients you can find, and sell your potions to keep funds up.
Let me know what you think in the comments, and I hope you have fun with it!
Thumbs up from me!
