Story:
The Aldmeri Dominion planted the Thalmor Infiltrator in Skyrim under the guise of ambassador and peacekeeper. His true mission is to hack at the foundations of an already crumbling empire. Nord beliefs are being denounced, ridiculed and ruled out, forcing residents of Skyrim to hunt down and kill the noblest souls among them. The infiltrator furthers the cause by joining the ranks of the Imperial Legion. This allows him to silence Talos worshippers and sow fear in the hearts of nords throughout Skyrim. His next move is to strike a devastating blow to the entire Empire by assassinating its very leader. His likely replacement will be Atmund Montierre, a man whose lust for power would outweigh his desire to protect his people. The Thalmor Infiltrator is assigned to perform any other actions that might weaken Skyrim or the Empire. The infiltrator's later actions place him in roles of leadership, allowing him to convince and deceive many more civilians.
Main Quests:
- Imperial Legion
- Dark Brotherhood - spare Atmund Montierre
- No One Escapes Cidha Mine - side with Madonach
- Thieves' Guild - The Amulet of Articulation is a good way to offset the infiltrator's untrained Speech skill. Avoid over-leveling lockpicking and pickpocketing.
Side Quests:
- Main questline and Dawnguard: dragons and vampires pose a threat to all mortals
- College of Winterhold: position of power - Archmage
- Companions: position of power - Harbinger
- Book of Love: magic resist bonus,
Special Missions:
- To generate hate against Stormcloaks, dress as a Stormcloak Officer and publicly kill the priests of any other god.
- To generate hate for the Empire, wear Penatus Oculatus Armor and publicly kill Heimskr. He is the priest of Talos and anti-Thalmor protestor in Whiterun.
Quests to Avoid:
- Daedric quests - daedra can't be trusted
Strategy:
- The infiltrator's preferred style is stealth. With shadows as his ally, he infiltrates dungeons, towers, and even the nine holds.
- The Bound Bow is the ideal weapon for the infiltrator. He walks around seemingly unarmed.
- The thalmor infiltrator is not a perfect assassin. Whether his stealth fails or discretion is optional, he can rely on his Ash Spawn to draw enemy fire.
- He is a strict specialist, only training and using skills that facilitate enemy casualties. In other words, he is meant to be a fairly low level, capping around level 30.
Skills and Perks (Priority perks are in bold):
Archery (max)
- Overdraw (5/5)
- Eagle Eye, Steady Hand (1/2), Power Shot, Quick Shot
- Critical Shot (3/3) with extra perks
- According to the Elder Scrolls Wiki, the Ranger perk doesn't work with Bound Bow
- I avoid the Bullseye perk because enemies are harder to hit on the ground, especially at long range. I can see how it could improve survivability, however, so I'm not adamantly opposed to it.
Sneak (40+)
Conjuration (50+)
- Mystic Binding - Bound Bow is now equivalent to a basic Daedric Bow with 100 Daedric Arrows, which proves extremely powerful at low levels.
- Adept Conjuration - Allows summoning of Ash Spawn and then Bound Bow in short succession.
Illusion (50)
- Quiet Casting - Because Bound Bow would otherwise ruin his stealthiness
Race: Altmer, Stone: Lord, Magicka/Health/Stamina: 150 stamina, as much health as possible
Equipment:
- Head: Ancient Shrouded Cowl
- Body: Thalmor Robes
- Hands: Any acquired lightweight gauntlets of archery, or enchant some Thalmor Gloves
- Feet: Shrouded Shoes or Cicero's Boots
- Neck: Necklace of Health (or Archery)
- Finger: Ring of Archery
Quick Guide:
The preferred race for this build is Altmer for lore purposes and for the +50 Magicka. Play on Novice until you get a bow to avoid leveling non-essential skills. During Unbound, side with Ralof in order to collect the valuable imperial armor pieces. Sell your junk at the general goods merchant and the blacksmith in Riverwood. Get the Mage Stone. Take the carriage from Whiterun to Riften. Brawl with stablehand for infinite borrowed horses (they walk away when you dismount but appear next to you when fast-traveling). Take carriage to Windhelm and ride your borrowed horse to Fort Amol. In Fort Amol Prison's first room, there is a bucket with a lantern in it. Under the lantern is the Bound Bow spellbook.
Now head to and join the college. Buy Soul Trap from Phinis Gestor and Muffle from Drevis in the Hall of Countenance. Drevis' quest can give a buff to magicka that can help level illusion and conjuration. Cast muffle to level illusion to 50. Cast soul trap on a corpse to level conjuration to 50.
Fast travel to Windhelm Stables and head to the docks. Buy a ride to Solstheim and head to Tel Mithryn. Enter and exit one of the buildlings and then defend the apprentice from the Ash Guardian that he summoned. Buy Conjure Ash Spawn from the apprentice.
That's the extent of the grinding required for this build, unless you choose to do Thieves' Guild.
Story:
The Aldmeri Dominion planted the Thalmor Infiltrator in Skyrim under the guise of ambassador and peacekeeper. His true mission is to hack at the foundations of an already crumbling empire. Nord beliefs are being denounced, ridiculed and ruled out, forcing residents of Skyrim to hunt down and kill the noblest souls among them. The infiltrator furthers the cause by joining the ranks of the Imperial Legion. This allows him to silence Talos worshippers and sow fear in the hearts of nords throughout Skyrim. His next move is to strike a devastating blow to the entire Empire by assassinating its very leader. His likely replacement will be Atmund Montierre, a man whose lust for power would outweigh his desire to protect his people. The Thalmor Infiltrator is assigned to perform any other actions that might weaken Skyrim or the Empire. The infiltrator's later actions place him in roles of leadership, allowing him to convince and deceive many more civilians.
Main Quests:
- Imperial Legion
- Dark Brotherhood - spare Atmund Montierre
- No One Escapes Cidha Mine - side with Madonach
- Thieves' Guild - The Amulet of Articulation is a good way to offset the infiltrator's untrained Speech skill. Avoid over-leveling lockpicking and pickpocketing.
Side Quests:
- Main questline and Dawnguard: dragons and vampires pose a threat to all mortals
- College of Winterhold: position of power - Archmage
- Companions: position of power - Harbinger
- Book of Love: magic resist bonus,
Special Missions:
- To generate hate against Stormcloaks, dress as a Stormcloak Officer and publicly kill the priests of any other god.
- To generate hate for the Empire, wear Penatus Oculatus Armor and publicly kill Heimskr. He is the priest of Talos and anti-Thalmor protestor in Whiterun.
Quests to Avoid:
- Daedric quests - daedra can't be trusted
Strategy:
- The infiltrator's preferred style is stealth. With shadows as his ally, he infiltrates dungeons, towers, and even the nine holds.
- The Bound Bow is the ideal weapon for the infiltrator. He walks around seemingly unarmed.
- The thalmor infiltrator is not a perfect assassin. Whether his stealth fails or discretion is optional, he can rely on his Ash Spawn to draw enemy fire.
- He is a strict specialist, only training and using skills that facilitate enemy casualties. In other words, he is meant to be a fairly low level, capping around level 30.
Skills and Perks (Priority perks are in bold):
Archery (max)
- Overdraw (5/5)
- Eagle Eye, Steady Hand (1/2), Power Shot, Quick Shot
- Critical Shot (3/3) with extra perks
- According to the Elder Scrolls Wiki, the Ranger perk doesn't work with Bound Bow
- I avoid the Bullseye perk because enemies are harder to hit on the ground, especially at long range. I can see how it could improve survivability, however, so I'm not adamantly opposed to it.
Sneak (40+)
Conjuration (50+)
- Mystic Binding - Bound Bow is now equivalent to a basic Daedric Bow with 100 Daedric Arrows, which proves extremely powerful at low levels.
- Adept Conjuration - Allows summoning of Ash Spawn and then Bound Bow in short succession.
Illusion (50)
- Quiet Casting - Because Bound Bow would otherwise ruin his stealthiness
Race: Altmer, Stone: Lord, Magicka/Health/Stamina: 150 stamina, as much health as possible
Equipment:
- Head: Ancient Shrouded Cowl
- Body: Thalmor Robes
- Hands: Any acquired lightweight gauntlets of archery, or enchant some Thalmor Gloves
- Feet: Shrouded Shoes or Cicero's Boots
- Neck: Necklace of Health (or Archery)
- Finger: Ring of Archery
Quick Guide:
The preferred race for this build is Altmer for lore purposes and for the +50 Magicka. Play on Novice until you get a bow to avoid leveling non-essential skills. During Unbound, side with Ralof in order to collect the valuable imperial armor pieces. Sell your junk at the general goods merchant and the blacksmith in Riverwood. Get the Mage Stone. Take the carriage from Whiterun to Riften. Brawl with stablehand for infinite borrowed horses (they walk away when you dismount but appear next to you when fast-traveling). Take carriage to Windhelm and ride your borrowed horse to Fort Amol. In Fort Amol Prison's first room, there is a bucket with a lantern in it. Under the lantern is the Bound Bow spellbook.
Now head to and join the college. Buy Soul Trap from Phinis Gestor and Muffle from Drevis in the Hall of Countenance. Drevis' quest can give a buff to magicka that can help level illusion and conjuration. Cast muffle to level illusion to 50. Cast soul trap on a corpse to level conjuration to 50.
Fast travel to Windhelm Stables and head to the docks. Buy a ride to Solstheim and head to Tel Mithryn. Enter and exit one of the buildlings and then defend the apprentice from the Ash Guardian that he summoned. Buy Conjure Ash Spawn from the apprentice.
That's the extent of the grinding required for this build, unless you choose to do Thieves' Guild.
