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Character Build: The Lightbringer

Tags: #Character Build Crusader  #Character Build Warrior  #Character Build Enchanter  #Rank:Mythic 
  • Member
    January 30, 2015

    The Lightbringer

    Nirn is a place full of evil and darkness. And I’m the one who will purge it. I will do everything in my might to cleanse Nirn of the terrors by which it is inhabited. I will fill this dark place with light. I am Meridas Chosen. I am the Lightbringer.

    The mortal races of Nirn fear the darkness. But the darkness fears light.

    I wanted to partake in the Crossworlds Event. But the character I played didn’t make fun the way I imagined it. But I’m the kind of Skyrim Player, when I start to play with a character, I want to finish the game with him (sooner or later). So I looked through my skills and items and thought what I could make from it. Then I saw Meridia’s Beacon and I knew my destiny.

    Race:

    Breton: Extra Magical Protection, restoration bonus. Their daily power will be a boon in tough fights against necromancers and other mages, especially Malkoran and Malys Valen whose quests you‘ll want to make as soon as possible. That was what I choose.

    Altmer: The Extra Magicka is nice and allows you to focus more on health. Also nice skill bonuses.

    Dunmer: Light Armor bonus, Destruction bonus. Daily Power stacks with Stendaars Aura. Though they don’t look like holy warriors.

    Standing Stone: Lover for Leveling; Lord for extra protection

    Stat Spread: 1/1/1 until you reach 200 in every stat. After that 1/2/1 until you reach 250 base stamina and magicka. Then go all health

    Main Skills: 1-Handed, 2-Handed, Restoration, Enchanting

    Minor Skills: Archery, Destruction, Light Armor, Block, Alteration

    Shouts: Become Ethereal, Fire Breath, Slow Time, Unrelenting Force

    Quests: The Break of Dawn, Dawnguard, College of Winterhold, Main Quest, The Black Star, Black Books, Man who cried Wolf/Wolf Queen Awakens

    Skills

    1-Handed: We wield the glorious Dawnbreaker graceful alongside a shield.

    2-Handed: We also use the Dawnguard Rune Hammer to create massive infernos and ignore Armor Rating.

    Restoration: A useful school of magic: it allows you to heal your wounds, to fear and stagger undead and to cloak yourself into an aura of holy light. Stendarr’s Aura does not only give us extra damage against undead (and there are many undead in Skyrim), it also informs us when our Flesh Spell’s duration has ended. If you are the type of player that uses followers you can use it to heal them.

    Enchanting: Used to enchant your crossbows, to reduce casting cost, to increase stamina, magicka and health and to enhance our damage.

    Archery: It gives us good ranged offense in form of crossbow. While we do not put many perks into Overdraw the Enhanced Dwarven Crossbows high base damage, the 50% Ignore Armor the enchantments on our armor and the enchantment on the crossbow itself will add up and make a good deal of damage.

    Destruction: The school of Destruction is not perked heavily but our weapons channel Meridias fiery wrath and it will enhance both power and charges of your weapons.

    Light Armor: Light Armor provides an adequate protection while not being too heavy. And both Elven and Glass Armor look the part.

    Block: A shield is a wonderful companion. It enhances your armor rating, can stop arrows, reduces elemental damage and provides an additional enchanting slot. Even when using the Dawnguard Rune Hammer we could fall back on our blocking prowess and with the support of Quick Reflexes we can take our time and place a burning rune right before our enemy’s feet.

    Alteration: Not perked. But it was quite a nice skill to have; Oak Flesh boosts our Armor Rating by 40 points. This skill becomes more powerful the stronger your regular AR gets cause Damage Resistance grows in an exponential curve, which means that the 40 pts. Armor rating will decrease the damage more if your armor rating is 300 than if it was 100. If you feel like having enough magicka you can upgrade to higher-tier flesh spells.

    Equipment

     

    The Diadem of the Savant has a paladinish look and fits well with the Elven Armor and it counts as light armor. I took the one from the Dremora in Shalidors Labyrinth. Our selfenchanted armor is centered around boosting our combat skills. The Fortify Restoration Enchantment can save your live if you are low on magicka. The Resist Magic enchantment was also quite useful. The Dawnbreaker is not only one of the most useful weapons in Skyrim, it is also one of the most fun to use. It is very rewarding to see Meridias Retribution vaporize undead or make them flee. The Dawnguard Rune Hammer is also a weapon with a nice effect. The ability to cast runes without magicka doesn’t just make good amounts of damage, it also creates a great synergy between our combat styles, lessening the amount of charges our weapons use and allowing us to take the Augmented Flames Perks, granting us a damage bonus on all of our weapons. The Crossbow is a solid weapon for soul farming, doesn’t use to many charges and enables us to take care of dragons from a safe distance. Until I got Dawnbreaker/Dawnguard Rune Hammer I used a Bound Sword/Silver Greatsword.

    Our Endgame Equipment consists of Glass Armor alongside Morokei. Morokei does not only fit the look of the Glass Armor very well but its Magicka Regen Enchantment works very good with the spells we use, cause we use mostly spells that are used a few times during combat and not continuously. If you play on PC and use the Unofficial Skyrim Patch, Morokei will also allow you to use your Shouts more often. As we now have Extra Effect our Armor doesn’t give us only boosts in our combat skills, it also makes Restoration spells cheaper to cast, gives your weapons more charges and boosts your magicka, stamina and health. The Magic Resist enchantment on Sanctuary was the one from the Shield of Solitude. Our enhanced dwarven crossbow Ignis causes over 50 points of fire damage and has a soul trap enchantment. Though I didn’t put much into Overdraw, it was quite a powerful weapon.

    (If you have trouble reading the equipmentspread just click on the picture.)

    Gameplay

    The Lightbringer utilizes four stances to face the evil of Nirn. Three are used for actual combat; the last one is kind of a repositioning-stance. The stances are not as much to face different enemies as to give gameplay a greater diversity. And I learned from one of my all-time favorites that diversity is a good thing.

     

    The Champion

    This is our most well rounded form. Swinging Dawnbreaker in one hand and an enchanted shield in the other, the Champion has a good balance between defense and offense. I used it for bosses and it was my stance for ridding Nirn of undead. With the Deflect Arrows Perk it also did well against archers. My main tactic was to bash my enemy and then do a few cuts.

    Meridia’s Wrath: Fire Breath was the main shout I used in this stance, mainly because it looked thematically fitting. You can get all three words without joining the companions. To do this you have to do these things before meeting Paarthurnax. Step 1: Go to Sunderstone Gorge and get the first word. Unlock it with a dragon soul. Step 2: Meet Paarthurnax, you need at least one dragon soul. Once you gain the second word, go in the magic menu and unlock it. Once he wants to share his knowledge with you, you will gain the third word.

    An easy trick to get powerful companions is to conjure a Flaming Familiar (Spell Tome is gained after killing Vokun) or Frost Spiders (you get the ingredients on your way to kill Dukaan) and hit it/them with the first word of Fire Breath. They will go boom and grant you a Fire Wyrm.

     

     The Crusader

    The Crusader was the stance I used against the common folk (=includes everything not undead, that isn’t mentioned in the other stances, i.e. falmer, dwarven automatons). Wielding the Dawnguard Rune Hammer, he crushes everyone stupid enough to attack him. He can also channel the Rune Hammers power to create fire runes and setting his enemies ablaze. With the Quick Reflexes Perk and enough space to move, you can set up a rune right under your enemies’ feet.

    Intangible Flame: Become Ethereal was the shout for this stance. Anyone who gave the Imperial Paradigm a read, knows that it can become an absolutely devastating shout when coupled with the Rune Hammer. If you bash against a surface, the Hammer will create a rune. If the enemy is hit by the runes explosion, it won’t cancel Become Ethereal. And bashing doesn’t use up stamina while ethereal. This means if you are skilled enough, you can create massive Infernos while being completely invulnerable. If you have problems with using the combo against a group of enemies because you bash them accidently and break BE, then try to go into a corner and face away from the enemies. If the enemies come close enough they will trigger the rune.

     

    The Archer

    The Archer uses a fiery crossbow to dominate his enemies. With the perks invested in Archery he can bombard the enemy with flaming bolts and will most certainly kill them before they are able to reach him. I used this stance with great effect against mages, because I could dodge their attacks and stagger them. If I wanted to harvest some souls to level Enchanting, I went into some ancient barrow and cleared it with this stance. This was also the stance I used against dragons. I was able to hit them while flying in mid-air and I could attack them from a safe distance on ground.

    Divine Guidance: Slow Time was a great shout for this stance. I allowed me to dominate even big groups, because it gave me enough time to target my enemies and think about whom I should kill first.

     

    The Aegis

    The Aegis uses a shield in the off-hand and the spell it needs in the main-hand. The Aegis was the stance I used when I needed to heal myself or to refresh Stendarr’s Aura or my Flesh Spell. I didn't use it for actual combat but rather for licking my wounds. The extra AR (and at later level Magic Resistance) of the shield provides extra protection which helps you not to die. You can also continously bash the enemy and heal your health and stamina if you need to wait for your shouts to recharge. In this stance I also played a bit around with the banishing and sun-spells. You can also use this stance for traveling once you have the Respite perk.

    Repositioning the Enemy: Unrelenting Force was a blessing, when I was crowded by enemies. Just use all three word and you have enough time to heal yourself and set up your defenses. But beware! Certain enemy types like dwarven automatons are immune to its effects.

     

    Shining Armor: Dragon Aspect is a useful shout for every stance. It enhances our power attack damage, gives us additional magical resistance and physical resistance. It also decreases our shout cooldown by 20% percent. If you use the Blessing of Talos and have the Unofficial Skyrim Patch you can use your shout often if you have DA active. Now combine this with a Blessing of Talos and your enemies would run away if they were intelligent enough. If you are in the Champion Stance and have a flesh spell up you ‘ll get close to the cap.

    Quests

    The Break of Dawn: Killing a necromancer who defiled Meridia’s Temple is the point, where the young warrior becomes the Lightbringer.

    Dawnguard: Hearing of the increasing vampire attacks, the Lightbringer knew he must help the Dawnguard to rid Skyrim of the vampire Menace.

    College of Winterhold: Seeking to improve his power in the field of restoration, the Lightbringer goes to the College. Then he goes to an old City, he knew would be infested by undead. Then he kills a few necromancers. And faster than he could process it, he is the Archmage of the College.

    Main Quest: Alduin reviving dragons is not better than a necromancer raising dead. It messes with the Energies your mighty Lady represents. Make it an end and use the knowledge of the Voice you gain on the way to become an even more effective bane of the undead. Once you can meditate over the words of power, don’t forget to meditate about Yol.

    The Black Star: While some people think, enchanting is the same as necromancy, you know Meridia lets you use the energies of Nirn to enhance your powers. And you know she will smile every time you burn a necromancers or vampires soul to replenish the Dawnbreakers power.

    The Man who cried Wolf/The Wolf Queen Awakens: Not only a fitting quest, it also provides us with the Shield of Solitude, or rather, it’s more powerful Resist Magic enchantment.

    Discerning the Transmudane, Dragonborn, Black Books: Being no stranger to the daedra, you know this books house great power. And you know Meridia won’t take it personally, if you seek a bit of help from another daedric prince to become a better slayer of the undead.
    Epistolary Acumen: Dragonborn Flame was the best choice here, because I used Flame Breath quite frequently. If you land the finishing blow on an enemy with Flame Breath, it conjures a Fire Wyrm.
    Filament and Filigree: Secret of Protection seemed like the best choice for this one. We don’t use to much magicka and stamina will regenerate fast enough with Windwalker and the Spectral Drum.
    The Hidden Twilight: Mora’s Boon was the most appropriate power for a paladin character. This power can save you the slurping of dozens of potions.
    The Sallow Regent: Seeker of Sorcery was used for crafting. Seeker of Might enhances four of our skills in combat.
    The Winds of Change: As long as skills I use aren’t maxed, I prefer Scholars Insight. If you use followers Companions Insight is your choice. If you skills are maxed and you don’t use followers use Lovers Insight.
    Untold Legend: Spectral Drum is the way to go. The other two aren’t combat oriented and a sarcastic Dremora Servant or a shady Dremora Merchant won’t help you on your quest to clean Nirn of Undead. Together with Windwalker you stamina will regenerate at a nice rate.

    Dragon Priest Hunt: This mighty Liches are a good test for the skills you acquired. Destroy them and their undead servants. And don’t forget poor mask less Vahlok. He wants to be destroyed, too.

    Killing Kaarstag: Kaarstag is the ultimate undead in ES:V. Its a good final quest for this character.

    Every other Quest where you smite the undead: Like I said before, there are many undead in Skyrim. Help the people of Skyrim and kill them. Also there are many necromancers who need to be destroyed for defiling Meridias natural law.

    Even after the darkest night the sun will rise and bring the next day.

    I hope you enjoyed reading this and might use this character in one of your future playthroughs.
    I appreciate constructive criticism.
    English isn't my native language, my grammar might not be the best.
    Thanks to Morta for the AMAZING screenshots.

    HeroicXCV made an amazing video!

     

    I’d be really happy if you give my other build a look!

    The Liberator

  • Member
    January 30, 2015
    This is a really nice second build SoulLess, your English is better than others who aren't native speakers. Keep it up!
  • Member
    January 30, 2015

    Nice job on this one! I really like the endgame armor combo... which is strange because I usually dislike the way Elven and Glass armor looks on males, but Morokei really pulls it all together. And of course, Morta's screenshots do a lot to help with that, too ;D

    And of course I'm down for anything that has to do with taking out the undead... one of my favorite Skyrim pastimes xD

    Again, fantastic job!

  • Member
    January 30, 2015

    Really solid work here, Shadow, a great improvement from your first build! And your English was great throughout! Here's hoping you have more to share!

  • Member
    January 30, 2015

    I like this.

  • Member
    January 30, 2015

    Great job. I love the aesthetic and overall concept. Glass armor fits this very well. +1

  • January 30, 2015

    Very nice build! I might even use him for a playthough soon.

  • Member
    January 31, 2015

    Uhh, Shadow?

    But thanks for all the kind words of such great character builders!

  • Member
    January 31, 2015
    Sorry, meant Soulless. Two budding builders on the same day, it confuses a guy. Crossworlds will be a mess CD.
  • Member
    January 31, 2015

    This is brilliant! I've wanted to play as some sort of Meridia knight but couldn't find the armour combo to support it, but the glass + Morokei is perfect.