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Character Build: The Garlythi

Tags: #Character Build Juggernaut  #Character Build Necromancer  #Character Build Mage  #Rank:Exemplar  #Henson 
  • Member
    April 6, 2014

    4/6/14 - Hey everyone. I had this build deleted awhile ago and came across it in my saved files. I thought I could revamp the idea but didn't get around to it so I thought I would re-upload it just to have it elsewhere and to keep it among my others.

    This build is an extension from my exploration of The Khulari and now discovery of another vampire bloodline that is quite impressive when applied to the game of Skyrim. This build is also inspired by the various shield mage builds on the site, specifically The Spellblocker by ricardo maia. It is my take on a mage that uses a shield and combining it with my third vampire build...

    The Garlythi

    The Garlythi are a vampire bloodline found in the Iliac Bay. Their bloodline specific powers include an ability to magically shield themselves from damage. Using this information, I decided to create a hulking, shield toting Orc (wearing no armor!!!) that uses repeated shield bashes to stun enemies while continuously firing off fire destruction spells and cloaks. Using the bloodline's lore, The Garlythi are able to shield themselves from all magic damage while also absorbing oncoming spells to protect himself and also recharging their own magicka to continue their magic onslaught.

    Defense is this build's main objective. Alteration and block provide extreme levels of protection with the right perks as well as great battle tactics. On the offense, destruction fire spells provide a ranged attack as well as added damage when up close with fire cloak/wall. Fire spells are a great fit for this build as it bodes well with the rage of the Orc. Conjuration provides an offensive back up with zombies taking down foes while you stun them. The Orc's berserker rage is just icing on the cake, especially early on, and is good to note it increases bash damage, making deadly bash a HUGE source of physical damage! Let's break it down.

    Build

    Race: Orc ... Iliac Bay + Berserker Rage's 50% damage reduction just make it fit so well.

    Stone: Lord + Atronach (Aetherial Crown) and the occasional Ritual

    Major Skills: Alteration, Block, Restoration

    Minor Skills: Destruction, Conjuration

    Dragon Shouts: Become Ethereal, Disarm, Drain Vitality, Fire Breath, Marked for Death, Soul Tear

     

    Gear:

    Shield: Spellbreaker (combined with Ward Absorb)
    Head: Aetherial Crown
    Chest: Vampire Robes
    Hands: Vampire Gloves
    Feet: Fine Boots (Black)
    Ring: Ring of Namira
    Amulet: Anything with +stats

    Vampirism

    This build's use of vampirism is for the great perk necromage, boosting our existing perks and skills/spells. With Necromage, end game stats provide a 100% spell absorption through the use of the Atronach stone and perk! Up until then, Spellbreaker is your best friend with combination of Ward Absorb, allowing you to absorb spells to fire off more destruction. Your vampiric blood also provides the cool vampire daily powers which are useful and is so cool to role-play which is my favorite.

    Skills and Perks

     

    Alteration: All perks!

    Block: All perks!

    Restoration: Novice - Adept, Regeneration, Respite, Recovery 2/2, Necromage, Ward Absorb, Avoid Death

    Conjuration: Novice - Master, Necromancy, Dark Souls, Twin Souls

    Destruction: Novice - Expert, Augmented Flames 2/2

     

    The general idea for the perk approach is to have as much defense as possible without all the lumbering heavy armor to lug around.

    Perk layout Here

     

     

     

    Gameplay

    Being this is my second vampire bloodline in the Elder Scrolls universe I wanted to explore, and hopefully more to come, I want to make a big shift from my previous vampires. My Fearmonger wanted to have enemies run and The Garlythi wants face to face fights to shield bash, so no taking of Intense Flames. The Khulari was based off of powerful sword tactics, but taking that out of the equation allows for a required smarter gameplay in timing of shield bashes and destruction spells.

    As you progress, it will be good to know about Vegetable Soup. It allows for unlimited shield bashing since it is recovering 1 stamina per second, the minimum amount needed to power bash. Is this a trick/cheap? Maybe. But being a shield focused character, until you have respite, it will be hard to bash enemies into a stun to fight them continuously. This build is taking away destruction dual cast perk Impact and replacing that stun with your powerful shield.

    If you have not noticed, it is a NON CRAFTING build which is something I LOVE doing. Having no ties to town or a workbench/alchemy station/arcane enchanter is just great as you may explore worry free about equipment. I went for a heavy vampire look (all black with the Aetherial Crown) and it looks pretty sweet.

    As for perks, there are only 5 skills. Perk placements should be heavily geared towards alteration and block first to keep your survival up, especially on master. Having conjuration and necromancy linked with a vampire build is so cool and your minions will be a help in tough bouts early on.

    The Ritual Stone adds a certain overkill to this build as well. Using the Aetherial Crown, you can have the crown set with the Ritual Stone, meaning when you take off the crown and then re-equip it, the stone's ability will be "reset", meaning you can fire off another AoE necromancy spell that raises al the surrounding undead. On Master difficulty, this is something to marvel at as you charge into battle with 20+ zombies!

     

    Well there you have it. I am hoping to try out one or two other vampire bloodlines as they offer some unique gameplay options. This build is insanely fun and VERY hard to kill!

     

     

     

     

     

  • Member
    April 6, 2014

    And I wondered where has it gone...  Reliked 

  • Member
    April 6, 2014
    This was one of your builds? Must have been deleted before I joined the first time, or I just never saw it and it got deleted. Sweet
  • Member
    April 6, 2014
    Ha! I was searching for this one a few days ago... +1
  • Member
    April 6, 2014

    I knew you were missing one of your Orc builds!

  • Member
    April 6, 2014
    What quests would the Garlythi be suited for? I'd also love to see more detail on the gameplay! Sounds fun :)
  • April 6, 2014

    Wait so necromage will increase the spell absorption of the atronach perk? If so thats awesome. I'm surprised you deleted this build. It seems like a very effective and unique one. 

  • Member
    April 6, 2014

    Yeah, there are plenty of builds on the blog that take advantage of that. Necromage + Vampirism affects just about every spell-based effect in the game, including many perks and powers. 50% from Atronach stone + 30% from Atronach perk = 80%. 80% * (1 + 25%) = 100%.

  • Member
    April 6, 2014
    You'd have to be a vampire first to activate the "controversial" effect.
  • Member
    April 8, 2014

    Yeah I had it deleted not too, too long ago because I wanted to revamp and come back to it, but I think my interest dropped when I took on new characters. A shield bashing mage sure is fun.