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Event Build: The Dark Druid

Tags: #Character Build Spellsword  #Character Build Elementalist  #Character Build Mage Armor  #Race:Bosmer  #Rank:Event Bloodworks  #LeBlanc Builds  #Event:Against Type 
  • Member
    November 17, 2016

    But Y'ffre took the Ooze and ordered it. First, she told of the Green, the forest and all the plant life in it. She gave the Green the power to shape itself as it willed, for it was her first tale. The Elves were Y'ffre's second tale. As Y'ffre spun the story, the Elves took the form they have today. Y'ffre gave them the power to tell stories, but warned them against trying to shape themselves or the Green. Shifting and the destruction of the forest were forbidden. Instead, Y'ffre commended the Wood Elves to the Green, so that they might ask the Green to provide them with shelter and a safe passage, and as long as they respected the Green, it would obey.                                                                                                                                             - The Ooze-A Fable

    From the beginning of time the Bosmer have heeded the call of Y'ffre and honored the Green Pact that she struck with the people of the 'Wood.  Harm not the wood of the forest was the creed that Bosmer have followed for generations ensuring the lushness of Valenwood in the domain of Tamriel.  However, recent acts in the northern reaches of Tamriel, the domain of the Nords in Skyrim, have begun to resonate across all of the land.  Civil War and turmoil have erupted in Skyrim.  It is a perfect place for the Dark Druids of Y'ffre to wallow in the carnage of war and destruction and sow fear and destruction in her name.  The rise of vampires and rumors of shape changers are an abomination to those of the 'Wood, and an abomination to the second rule of the Pact. 

    As a Dark Druid, you will seek to eliminate these abominations as well as revel in carnage that war has wrought.  In secrecy you take shelter in the hills and mountains of Skyrim.  You use your druidic abilities to gain support from the wild beasts that roam the countryside.  You wield the metal and magic of Y'ffre to confront your foes...such as the one that now lies at your feet.  Blood and bile spill down your chin as you finish a morsel from this fallen enemy.  In accordance with the Pact you eat of your fallen foe and gain his strength.  Observe "The Pact" as you travel Skyrim.

     

    Begin building your Dark Druid by starting the Main Quest and then joining the Companions and the College of Winterhold.  While at the College, venture nearby to gain the first Animal Allegiance word at Ysgramor's Tomb.  Then head to Markarth to acquire Namira's Ring.

    As for the build itself:

    Race: Bosmer (Wood Elf):Stone: Warrior or Mage (to start) then transition to Lord.  Take Apprentice on the Aetherial Crown once attained.
    Shrine: Talos
    Shouts: Animal Allegiance; Slow Time
    Amulet: Talos
    Required Quests: Companions; College of Winterhold; Agent of Dibella; Agent of Mara; Dawnguard
    Suggested Quests: Ring of Namira (if you can use the glitch)
    Stats: 1/2/0 (H/M/S)

    Alteration: This will be a key casting tree for us from a defensive standpoint.  Ensure you are not wearing ANY gear that gives armor as that severely limits your Mage Armor bonuses.  We will take this tree all the way up to Expert; all three points in Mage Armor; Stability; Atronach and all three points in Magic Resistance.  The MR will help offset the Magic Resistance penalty that we suffer from the Apprentice Stone on the Aetherial Crown.

    Destruction: We will rely on Destruction spells as the bulk of our damage, especially early on.  Runes will play a big role in leveling up Destruction once Rune Master is attained.  We will take both points in all three Augmented (Spell) perks to boost the damage to all three spell classes (flames, frost and shock). 

    Restoration: As we are NOT using dual casting and getting stagger effects plus the fact that we are using maces as well, we will need to utilize healing spells regularly.  We will go all the way up to Expert although you can scale this back if you are not needing the next level of healing.  You can self evaluate this during your gameplay.  Take Recovery for enhanced healing and take Ward Absorb lastly as an option to recharge magicka in combat (just in case..lol). 

    One-Handed: We won't go far in this tree but we will take all five points in Armsman plus Fighting Stance.  We are not taking any points in Stamina so any stamina reduction is helpful.  Also take all three points in Bonebreaker for the added pop for your maces and the avoid armor is pretty nice when facing those heavily armored foes.

    Enchanting (Optional): I did not use enchanting in my playthroughs of the build.  However it could make gameplay easier by self-enchanting weapons and gear.  I have included these in the perk spread but again, this is optional.  This takes the build to Level 51 rather than Level 40.

     

    This build will require a one handed mace and an offhand spell.  I took the warrior stone to help level up the one-handed ability in the early going but there is no issue taking the Mage Stone if desired as you will be pushing three casting trees.   For gameplay purposes, utilize training at both the College of Winterhold (for the applicable trees) and the Companions Guild (for One-Handed).  As a druid we will also focus on Animal Allegiance as your primary shout option allowing you to have an animal companion for much of the game and the flexibility to choose the animal you most prefer.  You will want to equip the Amulet of Talos and use the Talos Shrine to allow for a quicker shout cooldown.  Don't forget to utilize the Ring of Namira to boost your health and health regeneration by following the Green Pact and eating of your fallen enemies.  For roleplaying, and simplicity sake, you do not have to eat every fallen foe, rather just as needed (at least once per dungeon/quest) to remain faithful to the spirit of the Pact and keep your buffs in place.

    Early Levels:

    We will use a mace as our primary attack weapon.  Begin combat by using flames (or another Destruction spell) to engage enemies at range and then use the mace to bash them into Oblivion when they enter close range.  Switch to a Resto spell for self-healing and don't forget to use your Alteration skin spells for defense purposes.  This will be the crux of our attack style for the entire game.

    Mid Levels:

    As you progress in experience in the Destruction tree you can engage from further away with Bolt spells.  I highly recommend runes once you can attain them, and take the Rune Master perk.  While they do not do a lot of damage, without mods, I highly recommend using them as they seem to give much more experience to help the leveling process for the Destruction tree.  Begin with a rune placed out at range, then use a bolt spell to engage the enemy (unless you can directly target the enemy with the rune itself).  Switch to Flame Hands for closer combat and better control.  As usual, use to the mace in your main hand to finish the attack.  We are NOT perking Dual Casting as we don't want to be a pure mage and want to utilize the main hand/spell combination.  Also, begin to use elemental cloak spells (Flame Cloak) as part of your gameplan to dish out additional damage while in melee range and using your mace.  Don't forget to pop a healing spell into your casting hand for a quick refresher if needed. 

    Later Levels

    Once you attain Expert level spells and have the magicka required begin using the appropriate level spells (ie Incinerate) to begin combat, again relying on your mace and cloak spell to finish off enemies.  Make liberal use of healing spells as needed, even in combat.  Incinerate will become your go-to spell to begin combat and you likely will no longer use runes any longer at this point although you may wish to still place them, pre-combat engagement, and then use Incinerate once your magicka has recharged. 

    Gameplay

    As soon as possible, go to Markarth to attain the Ring of Namira to get into character.  From the point you gain this item, ensure that you keep your health boost intact by cannibalizing corpses of your enemies.  You do not need to do "every" corpse but do at least bosses and enough to keep the boost in place as often as possible while questing.  Also work to get the Animal Allegiance shout as soon as you can.  This ability to "control animals and have them come to your aid in combat" is part and parcel of being a Druid of the Wood. 

    Doing the Dawnguard quest line, as a member of the Dawnguard, filts in with the Green Pact as it was used to "stop" shape changing and so stopping vampirism would fit in with that line.  Also, the Companions is done to open up training options but do NOT finish the quest line and become a werewolf.  Or if you do decide to finish the quest line, ensure that you immediately seek out a cure for your lycanthropy so that you are not an abomination to your creed.

    As an alternative to this base build you can do the following and still be in character but with some variances:

    1. If you are playing unpatched you can use the Cursed Ring of Hircine glitch.
    2. You can also choose to take Enchanting.  This will allow more powerful maces to be enchanted, thus improving your melee damage.
    3. You can also self-enchant your gear with Fortify Destruction and Fortify Alteration to seriously decrease the amount of magicka needed for spell casting.  If you go this route you may wish to restructure your stat points and put more into health.  With the mace, stamina is still not needed.

    Early Levels:

    Use basic mage robes and hoods for clothing.  Grab the best mace you can find/buy as well.  You will rely more on your destruction spells in the early going but do not forsake using the mace to help level that skill up in the early going, especially if you took the warrior stone.  I ended up with a steel mace rather quickly, would use flames to get the enemy down to about 20% and then finish off with the mace.  Make sure to keep your Mage Armor up for the added defense.   As we are not leveling any of the crafting skills you will be dependent on found (and purchased) gear to improve your character.  Getting Mage Armor as soon as possible will be key for your defensive rating.  As noted above, if you take Enchanting then you can self enchant your weapon and gear.  Use the best secondary gear (boots, gloves, etc) that you can find or self enchant if needed.  Again, without enchanting this won't be anything great but it will help. 

    Mid to Late Levels:

    You will be looking to become the College of Winterhold Arch-Mage at this point.  You should also work on attaining the Aetherial Crown.  When you complete the Mage College quest line, and become the Arch-Mage, you will use the Arch-Mage robes found in the Arch Mage quarters (without the hood).  This gives 15% reduction to all spells plus 100% mana regen.   This robe allows you to use the AC.  Continue to follow the above criteria for secondary gear. 

     

     

    I would like to thank those in the Workshop for any and all suggestions and other input.Sincere gratitude to Blooded for the Perk Shot artwork.  Turned out great.

  • November 17, 2016

    Glad to see this out, John and thank you for participating in this event. I so like that you've made enchanting optional. For us non-crafters, it helps a lot. 

  • Member
    November 17, 2016

    My pleasure Lissette.  Had a good time with this one. 

  • Member
    November 18, 2016

    It's different than I expected. Awesome build, nonetheless! :D

  • Member
    November 18, 2016

    I hope "different" is acceptable..lol.

  • Member
    November 18, 2016

    I said it's awesome, didn't I? :)

  • Member
    November 18, 2016

    Looks great and is a nice dark twist on the whole Bosmer thing :) I think there are a few Druidic Conjuration mods now. May be worth exploring them?

  • Member
    November 19, 2016

    Thanks Phil.  I'll have to check out some of those mods as I haven't looked at them yet.

  • Member
    November 19, 2016

    Congratulations on a well put together character build my friend, well done +1

  • Member
    November 19, 2016
    Thanks Bonelord