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Character Build: The Rising Mercenary

Tags: #Character Build Archer  #Character Build Pilgrim  #Character Build Acrobat  #Race:Imperial  #Rank:Recognized 
  • May 31, 2015

    "The only thing I look up to is the sky".

    Among the Imperial ranks she is known as 'The Golden Snake'. A name she spent years earning, and wears proudly. Born in the slums of the Imperial City she learnt at a young age the power of Gold. Forced to adapt to survive, she clawed her way up the ranks of the Imperial Legion and proved herself in both combat and strategy. However, she never could sever the ties to her dark past and soon found the only way she could rise, was to destroy those above her.

    Race: Imperial

    Stats: 0/1/1

    Stone: Thief, then Steed

    - Archery (The Mercenary uses her crossbow/bow to strike down enemies from afar. Thanks to her training in the Imperial Legion she became a master archer and, as such, became notorious for her skill with a bow among the outlaws she associates with).

    - Speech (Physical force isn't always the wisest course of action. If the Mercenary can get what she wants without spilling blood, she will. Her years spent bargaining her way out of poverty have afforded her a very sharp wit and a sly tongue).

    - Light Armour (Unlike many other ranged attackers, the Mercenary likes to make herself known in combat and so she requires a fairly decent defense. Although her aim is to slay her targets before they reach her, the Mercenary takes no unnecessary risks). 

    - Lockpicking (Working with all kinds of questionable groups and individuals in her youth, she gained an exceptional ability to pick locks, copy keys and discover hidden riches. Skills which enabled her to make a living). 

    - Sneak ("Step light, strike hard" is her motto. The Mercenary is extremely quick on her feet and all her time spent exploring dungeons for valuable artifacts have taught her NOT to step on those big, round pressure plates).

    - Aura Whisper (As a self-sufficient bow for hire, knowing your enemy is very important. Almost as important as knowing where they are).

    - Slow Time (Lacking the element of surprise, speed is key for the Mercenary).

    - Marked For Death (Sometimes the dead guys don't know they're dead yet. This can help with that).

    Perks at level 50

    The Mercenary focuses on eliminating enemies one by one when possible. Using Aura Whisper whenever entering a new area allows her to form a plan of attack. She will open fire from the longest distance possible and use her arrows to stagger her opponent. As looting and fortune hunting are the name of the game, she will naturally have many potions and poisons to use to her advantage in battle, and plenty of septims to buy some if not. Often finding herself in close quarters combat, the mercenary can use her bow to bash her target and keep them at bay. This allows her to avoid taking damage and offers pauses in combat in which she can load another arrow safely. In situations where the Mercenary finds herself overwhelmed, she has a couple of special abilities up her sleeve.

    - Everyone has a price 

    (Voice of the Emperor + Wait for 1 hour) 

    The Mercenary strikes a deal with her enemies in the midst of battle (which she has no intention of honouring) in order to save her skin. This buys her some time to recover and regain her energy. They don't call her 'The Golden Snake' for nothing.

    - Diversion 

    (Aura Whisper + Ranged Shot)

    The Mercenary's finely tuned senses alert her to the presence of others and a carefully placed shot can lead them into a more vulnerable position or distract them. Useful for leading enemies into dungeon traps or into other enemy parties to trigger a brawl.

    - Life's cheap, death pays

    (Haggling (5) + Allure + 100 Speech + Amulet of Zenithar + Blessing of Zenithar)

    The Mercenary deals in death and business is good. She is able to buy items with up to a 95% reduction on their commercial price (which means you buy the items for only 5% over their base value) and sell them for their full commercial value. If anyone's making a profit it's her. She knows the market well and will work the most gold she can out of any trade. This is great when buying potions or equipment in anticipation for combat and selling valuable loot obtained in your travels.

    - Ruthless Resistance

    (Bash + Marked For Death + Power Shot)

    The Mercenary delivers a powerful melee blow with her bow which staggers her target, following up with Marked For Death to weaken their defenses and whilst retreating keeping them down with a 50% chance to stagger again with a quick shot. This is an effective combo at close range to keep the enemy weak and unable to attack then regain some distance.

    - The Midas Touch

    (Imperial Luck + Golden Touch + Treasure Hunter + Prowler's Profit)

    While the Mercenary's most reliable source of income comes from contracts and employment she manages to amass the majority of her wealth by marauding dungeons, tombs and ancient ruins. She has been known to uncover the occasional priceless relic whilst on a raid, which usually ends in blood, but she always comes out on top. Her mysterious ability to effortlessly locate large sums of gold has already become legend across Cyrodiil, which is why she is always the top pick for exploration parties in the region.

    The Mercenary normally wears full Light Armour for the benefits in the perk tree. She will use whatever Light Armour she can find until she can loot some armour with relevant enchantments (It's not stealing if they're dead).

    - Thieves Guild Hood (Prices are 10% better) / Shrouded Cowl Maskless (Bows do 20% more damage)

    - Amulet of Zenithar (Prices are 10% better) / Kyne's Token (Bows do 5% more damage)Amulet of Talos (Time between shouts is reduced 20%)

    - Gauntlets of the Old Gods (Bows do 20% more damage)

    - Enchanted Ring (+20 Health) / Ring of Namira (Stamina is increased by 50 points)

    - Thieves Guild Armour (Carrying capacity increased by 20 points) / Nightingale Armour (Increases Stamina by 20 points)

    - Nightingale Boots (Wearer is muffled and moves silently)

    The Rising Mercenary lives for fame and fortune, and values gold above all else. Where there's money there's opportunity. She will take any job, perform any task, and kill anything or anyone if there's a payment involved regardless of the consequences. She sells her services to the highest bidder and will not hesitate to switch allegiances if the price is right. In battle she faces her opponents down with a fierce confidence and prides herself on doing her own dirty work, a rare feat in her line of work.

    She finds herself in Skyrim after travelling there to fulfill a contract from a wealthy client of Thalmor origin. Having been intercepted by the Imperial Legion and unable to buy her way out of the situation as she has done previously, she found herself rather too close to death. Having escaped into the Skyrim mainland she relishes the chance to build up her influence, wealth and notoriety north of the Cyrodiil border. Setting her sights on the most advantageous place to start, she takes her first steps toward infiltrating the most powerful organisation currently in Skyrim. An organisation she knows inside out, the Imperial Legion. Easy pay.

    - Civil War (Imperial Legion)

    - The Thieves Guild

    - No Stone Unturned

    - Any quest that offers a valuable reward or rare item

    This build was my attempt at making a very simple but effective play style with a strong character personality that is fun to play. I found the gameplay easy to handle as there isn't a lot of switching items or spells during combat and there is no crafting as you just use what you find. It also felt very different from the typical archer builds I play because it is a lot more aggressive and confrontational with a heavier focus on movement. I enjoyed playing a character that is only interested in money as it allowed me to experience a lot more differing quests than I would normally when playing a character with loyalties and principles. Please give me feedback in the comments below. I hope you enjoyed this build and thank you for reading!

    Feel free to check out my other builds if you haven't already:

    Mistress of Balance

    The Cannibal

  • Member
    May 31, 2015

    Sorry, hotlinking images is not allowed.

  • May 31, 2015

    What does that mean? Should I re upload the images?

  • Member
    May 31, 2015

    I've never seen this happen before, but my guess is that the site where you got the images from won't let you link them somewhere else. Maybe try saving the images on your computer and then uploading them to your build?

  • May 31, 2015

    Okay I've done what you suggested, let me know if it's fixed!

  • May 31, 2015
    It's fixed, and also, Good build, like the idea. +1
  • May 31, 2015

    Yay! Thanks very much for the +1, glad you liked it.

  • May 31, 2015

    IS THAT... SIVIR FROM LEAGUE OF LEGENDS?

  • June 1, 2015
    It is! She was one of the inspirations for this build :) I love her personality.
  • Member
    June 1, 2015
    I am loving the idea of this. The strong character she has, especially. My plan for furthering the roleplay is she, after learning she is the Dragonborn, gains a feeling of responsibility, and she slowly changes from her selfish self to a more honourable person. Really excited to start this!