We have all been there ... maybe. Given the Hip Bone of Pelagius, taken it to the Blue Palace, talked to some people and found ourselves in a dark, dirty hallway of the Pelagius Wing. After scrounging through cobwebbed shelves and overturned chairs, you are suddenly transported to a mysterious place which you soon find out is the mind of Pelagius the Mad, formerly Emperor Pelagius Septim III.
You are then introduced to this crazy bastard: Daedric Prince of Madness Sheogorath. Your are presented with three trials, stages of specific puzzles related to Pelagius and you only have one tool to "fix" them with. The tool is, of course, the Wabbajack.
You use the staff to overcome the hilariously disturbing situations plaguing the mind of Pelagius. The effects of the staff demonstrated during the quest are not what interests us here in this discussion. The version of the Wabbajack that the player is given is much more useful and can be taken to the land of Skyrim to wreak humor, confusion, and absolute destruction.
With the help of Ponty, I want to go into detail of what the Wabbajack can do, getting rid of silly myths of stories of effects that some "claim" to have seen. In presenting this along my new character, you can guess I use it as a main weapon. I have quickly found out that the Wabbajack is quite possibly the most powerful weapon in the game of Skyrim. Let's take a look!
Predetermined and Randomness
Random Effects:
When we open up the Creation Kit (CK), which we thank again to Ponty for doing so, we find there are two kinds of initial determinations of what the Wabbajack does on a target. There are targets which are made to have a random effect, chosen from a number of 1 - 100 as well as non-random, predetermined effects which are regulated by who or what the target is.
The Wabbajack effect is based off of 11 effects divided up into a roll of a 100 sided "die". These numbers are randomly generated and when the red, glowing bolt cast from the Wabbajack hits a target, it will produce one of these effects. For example, if the target is hit and the number is within a certain range of numbers, which we will see that some effects have a greater percentage of occurring, then that effect will go off.
50%: >=1 and <51, Elemental Effect
By the largest percentage margin, the Wabbajack will deal a random 3 road elemental effect. This effect is identical to Fireball (fire), Thunderbolt (shock), and Frost Rune (frost). (Taken from the wiki). The elemental effects are very potent and the fire and shock effects have a slight AoE effect. Through testing, far and wide the most damaging effect is the frost rune explosion. Having these effects target directly under an enemy, or friendly for fun, the rune effect seems to be devastating and goes far and above the listed spell damage of 50. (See my Cabalist for more fun rune stuffs).
- What makes this weapon and specific effect so special is that the elemental damage effects are not determined by difficulty. These means no matter what difficulty, Novice and on through to Legendary, the elemental explosions will deal a rough 50 damage on up across the board. Elemental resistances also seem to be completely ignored, as Nords and Undead will take full frost damage, dragons will take severe damage no matter the element, and so on. This means on Legendary, the Wabbajack will deal the equivalent damage of a 200 damage weapon (barring the enemy has no armor) on every elemental hit.
7%: >=51 and <58, Chicken
Probably one of the more popular effects (and known to the player base of Skyrim) of the Wabbajack is turning an enemy into a chicken. Through testing, it is also observed that on some enemies, namely city guards, a chicken will just be summoned next to the target instead of taking the place of the target. If a target is transformed into a chicken, the target (now a feathered bird of death) will not take any damage unless changed back to original form. If the chicken is left to run away and change back due to the timer (roughly 8-10 seconds) running out, the target will automatically transform back sometimes with full health. If hit again with the Wabbajack, the enemy will transform back and the fight will continue. These transformation effects are good crowd control and help take a big named enemy out of the picture for a short period of time so the player can focus on any other foes in a given area. It also needs to be noted that the chicken is non hostile to anything around it, making it an immortal chicken that does nothing good for anyone except place an enemy on vacation for a bit.
7%: >=58 and <65, Rabbit
The hilarious rabbit effect is identical to the chicken transformation/summoning effect but is also like any in game rabbit meaning it will RUN. It is sometimes difficult to aim a follow up Wabbajack bolt to hit the rabbit in order to cancel the effect, but this is also helpful in that when an enemy comes back, he may be 50-100 yards away from you giving you more time to crowd control.
7%: >=65 and <72, Mudcrab
This one always makes me laugh the hardest. Reasons being that although it is identical in effect (transformation/summoning) to the chicken and rabbit, it is also hostile to anything around it. This produces a hilarious effect of surrounding enemies now having to deal with an immortal mud crab biting their ankles and pissing everyone off. This allows for even more crowd control as it not only replaces/distracts the target struck with the Wabbajack, but also makes other enemies get in on the crustacean craziness.
5%: >=72 and <77, Turn Invisible
As it goes with the Daedric Prince of Madness, not all effects are going to be beneficial to the player. This 5% chance effect turns any enemy invisible, making it difficult for a follow up shot if the enemy is quick on foot. Luckily, it seems to work similarly to the player's invisibility spell when not sneaking. Since enemies are not sneaking, if you have a follower or summons/zombies out, they will still hear the enemy and attack it. The target will turn visible again if they attack or cast a spell.
5%: >=77 and <82, Transfer Health/Stamina/Magicka
From what I have tested, which is a LOT, this effect seems to be deemed as an "absorb health" only effect. In the CK, it does seem to denote transferring all 3 stats, but in my experience it only transfers health to the wielder of the Wabbajack, which hey, isn't too shabby, right? The amount of health transferred seems to be ~30 and is designated by the absorb health effect of red glow around the player character without all the little red orbs getting drawn into the character. Very useful!
7%: >=82 and <89, Dremora
Where would a Daedric artifact of madness be without a spawning, leveled Dremora? Similar to the transformation/summoning effects, this one brings the hammer of Oblivion along with it. Some may say this is an "oh shit" moment when 1 on 1 with an enemy and I will wholeheartedly agree. However, when this effect takes place amongst a large group of enemies, it will be extremely beneficial. The summoned Dremora's #1 goal when appearing does seem to be ripping the Wabbajack's wielder. If enough enemies are around this crazed Daedra, it will attack anything around it, making it hell for enemies in a bunch. This is the lone fact which makes this effect my favorite. In some chances, this effect has proc'd 3-4 times in a row, giving myself 3-4 free Dremora summons wreaking havoc on foes in front of me. Hilaaaariouuusss.
5%: >=89 and <94, Heal Target
Pretty self explanatory. 5% chance of healing a target for what roughly seems equivalent to the amount usually taken away with the "Transfer Health"/absorb health effect. Not a fun time when you heal a charging berserker, but a follow up absorb health or elemental explosion can remedy this.
2%: >=94 and <96, Instakill: Gold
Now onto the really fun stuff! This first instakill effect (yes, instant kill on hit) will transform the enemy into a goopy, ghostly remains and then drop 50 pieces of gold on top. LOL. In my experiences, the pile of gold will either drop in a neatly stacked pile which is easy to pick up if not inside hit box of "search ghostly remains" OR will spray out everywhere when they hit the ground. Make it raaaaaiiinnn!
2%: >=96 and <98, Instakill: Sweetroll
I am serious. By now I am sure most of Skyrim's adventurers have used this weapon, but no one has really played the game until you turn a powerful enemy into a sweet roll and then dined on the resulting confection. Hilarious and deadly all at the same time.
3%: >=98 (Up to 100), Instakill
With a little better 3% chance, the final instakill effect is one that just kills the target no matter the HP left. Through testing, sometimes this turns the enemy into a ghostly remains pile, sometimes just makes them drop dead where they stand, and sometimes it literally makes their whole body disappear. Either way, they are gone and you are standing their laughing.
Fixed Effects:
Essential Targets: If the target is marked as essential, the effect will be 1. (Elemental Effect)
Giants: If the target is a giant, the effect will be 1. (Elemental Effect) *Mammoths are effected by everything!*
Dragon: If the target is a dragon, the effect will be 1. (Elemental Effect) This is one of the most effective ways of killing dragons in the game as the Wabbajack has an extremely long range and consistent damage irregardless of difficulty.
Follower: If wielded by a follower, the effect on targets will be 1. (Elemental Effect)
Madwoman: When you encounter the Mad Woman who wishes you to Wabbajack her, the effect will be 60. (Rabbit)
Breaking it Down...
With all this in mind, I hope you have gained a bit of insight on the real inner workings of the Wabbajack. Some players refrain from using it due to the negative effects it has such as Dremora popping up or healing an enemy, but when you look at the numbers, the beneficial effects outweigh the bad ones:
- 55% will directly damage an enemy.
- 28% will transform the enemy/summon something. 14% of these will be harmless, immortal beings good for crowd control. 14% of these will be damaging enemies that can also attack foes surrounding them.
- 10% to either heal or turn the target invisible.
- 7% will kill the enemy outright.
It should be noted the Ebony Warrior is immune to the Wabbajack and Karstaag is immune to the instakill effects. It is true you will have some bad runs with the Wabbajack. Healing a tough boss, turning them invisible (which is scary as all hell), but you will also have some hilariously awesome times. Having Dremora pop up to fight everything around them multiple times in a row. Instakilling enemies, especially Dragon Priests! It all comes down to taking a chance.
Thanks again to Ponty for the CK information. Happy Wabbajacking!
We have all been there ... maybe. Given the Hip Bone of Pelagius, taken it to the Blue Palace, talked to some people and found ourselves in a dark, dirty hallway of the Pelagius Wing. After scrounging through cobwebbed shelves and overturned chairs, you are suddenly transported to a mysterious place which you soon find out is the mind of Pelagius the Mad, formerly Emperor Pelagius Septim III.
You are then introduced to this crazy bastard: Daedric Prince of Madness Sheogorath. Your are presented with three trials, stages of specific puzzles related to Pelagius and you only have one tool to "fix" them with. The tool is, of course, the Wabbajack.
You use the staff to overcome the hilariously disturbing situations plaguing the mind of Pelagius. The effects of the staff demonstrated during the quest are not what interests us here in this discussion. The version of the Wabbajack that the player is given is much more useful and can be taken to the land of Skyrim to wreak humor, confusion, and absolute destruction.
With the help of Ponty, I want to go into detail of what the Wabbajack can do, getting rid of silly myths of stories of effects that some "claim" to have seen. In presenting this along my new character, you can guess I use it as a main weapon. I have quickly found out that the Wabbajack is quite possibly the most powerful weapon in the game of Skyrim. Let's take a look!
Predetermined and Randomness
Random Effects:
When we open up the Creation Kit (CK), which we thank again to Ponty for doing so, we find there are two kinds of initial determinations of what the Wabbajack does on a target. There are targets which are made to have a random effect, chosen from a number of 1 - 100 as well as non-random, predetermined effects which are regulated by who or what the target is.
The Wabbajack effect is based off of 11 effects divided up into a roll of a 100 sided "die". These numbers are randomly generated and when the red, glowing bolt cast from the Wabbajack hits a target, it will produce one of these effects. For example, if the target is hit and the number is within a certain range of numbers, which we will see that some effects have a greater percentage of occurring, then that effect will go off.
50%: >=1 and <51, Elemental Effect
By the largest percentage margin, the Wabbajack will deal a random 3 road elemental effect. This effect is identical to Fireball (fire), Thunderbolt (shock), and Frost Rune (frost). (Taken from the wiki). The elemental effects are very potent and the fire and shock effects have a slight AoE effect. Through testing, far and wide the most damaging effect is the frost rune explosion. Having these effects target directly under an enemy, or friendly for fun, the rune effect seems to be devastating and goes far and above the listed spell damage of 50. (See my Cabalist for more fun rune stuffs).
- What makes this weapon and specific effect so special is that the elemental damage effects are not determined by difficulty. These means no matter what difficulty, Novice and on through to Legendary, the elemental explosions will deal a rough 50 damage on up across the board. Elemental resistances also seem to be completely ignored, as Nords and Undead will take full frost damage, dragons will take severe damage no matter the element, and so on. This means on Legendary, the Wabbajack will deal the equivalent damage of a 200 damage weapon (barring the enemy has no armor) on every elemental hit.
7%: >=51 and <58, Chicken
Probably one of the more popular effects (and known to the player base of Skyrim) of the Wabbajack is turning an enemy into a chicken. Through testing, it is also observed that on some enemies, namely city guards, a chicken will just be summoned next to the target instead of taking the place of the target. If a target is transformed into a chicken, the target (now a feathered bird of death) will not take any damage unless changed back to original form. If the chicken is left to run away and change back due to the timer (roughly 8-10 seconds) running out, the target will automatically transform back sometimes with full health. If hit again with the Wabbajack, the enemy will transform back and the fight will continue. These transformation effects are good crowd control and help take a big named enemy out of the picture for a short period of time so the player can focus on any other foes in a given area. It also needs to be noted that the chicken is non hostile to anything around it, making it an immortal chicken that does nothing good for anyone except place an enemy on vacation for a bit.
7%: >=58 and <65, Rabbit
The hilarious rabbit effect is identical to the chicken transformation/summoning effect but is also like any in game rabbit meaning it will RUN. It is sometimes difficult to aim a follow up Wabbajack bolt to hit the rabbit in order to cancel the effect, but this is also helpful in that when an enemy comes back, he may be 50-100 yards away from you giving you more time to crowd control.
7%: >=65 and <72, Mudcrab
This one always makes me laugh the hardest. Reasons being that although it is identical in effect (transformation/summoning) to the chicken and rabbit, it is also hostile to anything around it. This produces a hilarious effect of surrounding enemies now having to deal with an immortal mud crab biting their ankles and pissing everyone off. This allows for even more crowd control as it not only replaces/distracts the target struck with the Wabbajack, but also makes other enemies get in on the crustacean craziness.
5%: >=72 and <77, Turn Invisible
As it goes with the Daedric Prince of Madness, not all effects are going to be beneficial to the player. This 5% chance effect turns any enemy invisible, making it difficult for a follow up shot if the enemy is quick on foot. Luckily, it seems to work similarly to the player's invisibility spell when not sneaking. Since enemies are not sneaking, if you have a follower or summons/zombies out, they will still hear the enemy and attack it. The target will turn visible again if they attack or cast a spell.
5%: >=77 and <82, Transfer Health/Stamina/Magicka
From what I have tested, which is a LOT, this effect seems to be deemed as an "absorb health" only effect. In the CK, it does seem to denote transferring all 3 stats, but in my experience it only transfers health to the wielder of the Wabbajack, which hey, isn't too shabby, right? The amount of health transferred seems to be ~30 and is designated by the absorb health effect of red glow around the player character without all the little red orbs getting drawn into the character. Very useful!
7%: >=82 and <89, Dremora
Where would a Daedric artifact of madness be without a spawning, leveled Dremora? Similar to the transformation/summoning effects, this one brings the hammer of Oblivion along with it. Some may say this is an "oh shit" moment when 1 on 1 with an enemy and I will wholeheartedly agree. However, when this effect takes place amongst a large group of enemies, it will be extremely beneficial. The summoned Dremora's #1 goal when appearing does seem to be ripping the Wabbajack's wielder. If enough enemies are around this crazed Daedra, it will attack anything around it, making it hell for enemies in a bunch. This is the lone fact which makes this effect my favorite. In some chances, this effect has proc'd 3-4 times in a row, giving myself 3-4 free Dremora summons wreaking havoc on foes in front of me. Hilaaaariouuusss.
5%: >=89 and <94, Heal Target
Pretty self explanatory. 5% chance of healing a target for what roughly seems equivalent to the amount usually taken away with the "Transfer Health"/absorb health effect. Not a fun time when you heal a charging berserker, but a follow up absorb health or elemental explosion can remedy this.
2%: >=94 and <96, Instakill: Gold
Now onto the really fun stuff! This first instakill effect (yes, instant kill on hit) will transform the enemy into a goopy, ghostly remains and then drop 50 pieces of gold on top. LOL. In my experiences, the pile of gold will either drop in a neatly stacked pile which is easy to pick up if not inside hit box of "search ghostly remains" OR will spray out everywhere when they hit the ground. Make it raaaaaiiinnn!
2%: >=96 and <98, Instakill: Sweetroll
I am serious. By now I am sure most of Skyrim's adventurers have used this weapon, but no one has really played the game until you turn a powerful enemy into a sweet roll and then dined on the resulting confection. Hilarious and deadly all at the same time.
3%: >=98 (Up to 100), Instakill
With a little better 3% chance, the final instakill effect is one that just kills the target no matter the HP left. Through testing, sometimes this turns the enemy into a ghostly remains pile, sometimes just makes them drop dead where they stand, and sometimes it literally makes their whole body disappear. Either way, they are gone and you are standing their laughing.
Fixed Effects:
Essential Targets: If the target is marked as essential, the effect will be 1. (Elemental Effect)
Giants: If the target is a giant, the effect will be 1. (Elemental Effect) *Mammoths are effected by everything!*
Dragon: If the target is a dragon, the effect will be 1. (Elemental Effect) This is one of the most effective ways of killing dragons in the game as the Wabbajack has an extremely long range and consistent damage irregardless of difficulty.
Follower: If wielded by a follower, the effect on targets will be 1. (Elemental Effect)
Madwoman: When you encounter the Mad Woman who wishes you to Wabbajack her, the effect will be 60. (Rabbit)
Breaking it Down...
With all this in mind, I hope you have gained a bit of insight on the real inner workings of the Wabbajack. Some players refrain from using it due to the negative effects it has such as Dremora popping up or healing an enemy, but when you look at the numbers, the beneficial effects outweigh the bad ones:
- 55% will directly damage an enemy.
- 28% will transform the enemy/summon something. 14% of these will be harmless, immortal beings good for crowd control. 14% of these will be damaging enemies that can also attack foes surrounding them.
- 10% to either heal or turn the target invisible.
- 7% will kill the enemy outright.
It should be noted the Ebony Warrior is immune to the Wabbajack and Karstaag is immune to the instakill effects. It is true you will have some bad runs with the Wabbajack. Healing a tough boss, turning them invisible (which is scary as all hell), but you will also have some hilariously awesome times. Having Dremora pop up to fight everything around them multiple times in a row. Instakilling enemies, especially Dragon Priests! It all comes down to taking a chance.
Thanks again to Ponty for the CK information. Happy Wabbajacking!
