Skyrim Character Building » Discussions


Character Build: The Factotum

Tags: #Character Build Bound Weapons  #Character Build No Crafting  #Race:Orsimer  #Rank:Mythic  #Character Build Everything  #Henson 
  • Member
    February 23, 2016
    Well, that's how it is branded. Perked all, do all, be all. Mix and match the FLAVAAAAAHHHSS!
  • Member
    February 24, 2016

    Oh, it solved my restartitis problem (although, the more I played, the more freezing would occur). 

    Also, I forgot to mention the Race choice, and I decided that for a Jack-of-all-Trades character, Argonian is the best choice. Here is the reason why:

    Hitskin. That was obvious, right? But I'll explain. Can the Orc's "Berserker's Rage" protect them from magic? No. Can the Breton's passive magic resistance and "Dragonskin" protect them from physical attacks? No. Can the Argonian's "Hitskin" protect it from all forms of damage (physical, magic, poison, etc.)? YES.

    The other races have weaker abilities, or those we will never need, including the Imperial's "Voice of the Emperor (we have shouts that cover it). Also, Dunmer abilites are covered by a simple Destruction spell that can be used over and over, and the Nord's ability is covered by a shout, like the Imperial. Their resistances are also too specific unlike a Breton. But Hitskin makes resistances kinda redundant (if you're careful). Who needs poison resistance anyway, and Diseases are more annoying.

    Also... who better fits to be the Dragonborn than a humanoid lizard? Dragons are basically flying lizards that breathe fire (or frost), and Argonians are about as dragon-kin as you can get. Plus, their skill boosts will on average be the most helpful for this type of playthrough, especially since you will mostly spend your money on training Warrior skills, and you'll initially be using nothing but spells and the Bound Sword in the beginning.

    As for One-Handed, you don't perk that ever, because your Bound Sword is your utility weapon, and not meant to be the strongest (even with Mystic Binding). Your Conjuration skill levels up fastest with "Bound Sword" and "Raise Zombie". Two-Handed and Archery are meant to be stronger due to being slower (and both your hands are "bound" to the weapons). You'll also be able to enchant them (and get bolts and a Crossbow).

  • Member
    February 25, 2016

    I forgot to mention one other thing. The reason why we don't bother investing cost reduction perks into the Conjuration tree is because we can actually make staves for the Atronachs (and obtain the Sanguine Rose for Dremora), and by the time you reach and finish the Soul Carin (based on my questline), you'll be able to cast the Boneman, Mistman, and Wrathman with ease... and they benefit from the perks in my finalized build right here: 

    http://www.jayzar.co.uk/#WP41G0000G2i0000Wb003W047m1Go00FyS802000

    Also, you'll never need (or want) to perk Lockpicking, Speech, Alchemy, Illusion, etc. Lockpicking is redundant thanks to the Skeleton Key, and you likely won't give that up just for one little bonus greater power or a set of Guild Master's Armor.

    Speech is useless because most conversations don't have Persuasion or Intimidate options, and selling the right items to the right store isn't time-consuming or hard.

    Illusion is the worst, because the stronger you become, the more useless it becomes because enemies scale with you, and Dragons can never be affected. We also have shouts that basically do the same thing, so why bother?

    Alchemy won't be perked because any potion or poison you make is potent enough, and it's just busywork to level this thing for little damage or healing boosts. If you need more potency, just buy them or wear (self-made) enchanted gear involving alchemy. Smithing and Enchanting are not perked for the same reasons. Besides, you don't need to have OP gear, you just need the right gear for the right job (or quest).

    As for One-Handed, as I said before, you won't be making it stronger because your Bound Sword is meant to be utility, while your Two-Handed and Archery are the strong heavy-hitters of all your other skills. You don't need Dual-wielding because shields are useless against spells, and using spells while having a Bound Sword equipped makes you more of a threat (except the Thalmor sometimes suck at demonstrating this).

    Bethesda has a lot of work to do to make an objective skill system that does not say "playing this way or that way is better than this way or that way". I can only hope.

    Enjoy your non-restartitis Factotum Omnes, everyone! Give props to Henson for the inspiration as well!

  • Member
    November 9, 2016

    All images have been restored for this build. While I try my best to keep the formatting as close to the original as possible, there are some unavoidable differences as a result of differing platforms... for this I apologize.

    Also, please feel free to remove the 'Restored' banner at the end of the build--I put it there as a courtesy to let the reader know that the build has been worked on by somebody other than its original creator without his or her knowlege.