Skyrim: The Mage Builds You Must Try (2023)

Skyrimit offers a lot of customization, and with that customization comes the ability to create your own unique build. Many adventurers have experimented with different types of buildings over the years since the game was released, and some of the magical buildings you can create in Skyrim are well worth trying out.

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A character focused on raising your enemies from the dead to fight for you and a build that immobilizes your enemies with paralysis spells are just some of the more unique Magicka characters you can create to breathe new life into your game. from Skyrim.

Updated July 6, 2022 by Michael Caruso:Mage builds are generally more fun than melee builds due to the fact that you can summon a lot of items to help you on your journey. There are dozens of ways to create the perfect mage in Skyrim using five different schools of magic. However, there are even magic items you can use to improve your builds. Here are five more mage builds you should try if you want to become a master of Tamriel's elements.

20 The Shield Mage

The shield mage is one of the most powerful mage builds you can create. Not only will you deal heavy damage with destruction spells in one hand, but your other hand will also carry a shield, which allows you to block most of the damage you take from enemies.

You can take it a step further and use the Spellbreaker shield, which casts protection, allowing you to block massive damage from magic spells. As such, you can easily take down dragons because their breath attacks won't be able to do almost any damage while you're blocking. You get Spellbreaker by completing "The Only Cure" quest.

19 the elemental archer

While you wouldn't normally use bows in a spell-based build, the Elemental Archer isn't your typical magical character. You'll wield a crossbow, which you can earn by joining the Dawnguard faction. You can acquire Elemental Bolts by purchasing them from Gunmar and Sorine inside Fort Dawnguard. These darts are a type of magical crossbow ammunition that explodes on impact.

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There are elemental rays for fire, ice, and shock, so there's a lot of variety to choose from. Creating magical explosions is fun using spells, but it's even better wielding a crossbow since archery is so satisfying in Skyrim.

18 the magic werewolf

If you want to create a hybrid build that prioritizes magic and melee, but don't want to dedicate a weapon slot to a sword or axe, the Secret Werewolf might be perfect for you. You'll start out in human form casting magic spells, mostly destruction and conjuration magic. When a fight gets tough, you jump into your werewolf form for the ultimate surprise and easily defeat your enemies with the power of a werewolf.

This compilation is a lot of fun and offers the best of both worlds without sacrificing anything. It's a good idea to prioritize stamina and magic when leveling up. You can become a werewolf during the "The Silver Hand" quest, which is part of the Companions story.

17 the underwater magician

Unfortunately, Skyrim's underwater sections aren't used for anything exciting, with a few notable exceptions. However, there is a lot of water that you can use to your advantage during combat. You can jump into the water and escape when the fight isn't going well, as well as use the water as an alternate method of stealth so you don't alert nearby enemies.

For The Underwater Wizard, you'll be using cold magic, as it fits perfectly with the water theme. You can summon a Frost Atronach using Conjuration magic, then dive underwater and let your conjured entity defeat your foes. Be sure to choose an Argonian for this build, as they can breathe underwater indefinitely.

sixteen the elemental storm

As you might guess from the name, The Elemental Storm is a build that primarily uses destruction magic. Conjuration spells that summon entities like Flame or Storm Atronach work well, however. However, the main type of spell you'll be using are cloaks, like a cloak of flame.

Flame Cloak, along with Frost Cloak and Lightning Cloak, damage nearby enemies when cast. Cloak will surround you for a set amount of time, and you can dash towards enemies to deal damage. After casting a cloak, the rest of your damage should come from other Destruction spells like Flame.

15 The Daedric Commander

There are a myriad of ways to create a unique build.using conjuration spells, and using your magic to conjure up Daedric entities to fight by your side is one of the most entertaining ways. The Daedric Commander primarily uses the Conjure Dremora Lord spell to conjure a Dremora Lord for Skyrim.

Dremora Lords are powerful enemies, and depending on your spellcasting ability advantages, you may be able to cast it together with another entity, such as Frost Atronach. However, the Lords of Dremora are the main focus of this build, and in addition to the Conjure Lord of Dremora spell, you can also use the Blood Rose to conjure Lords of Dremora if you are not skilled in conjuration magic. You can obtain the Rose of Blood by completing the quest "An Unforgettable Night".

14 master of telekinesis

Telekinesis is one of the most fun abilities in Skyrim and you can use it effectively in many different situations. While the Telekinesis spell itself isn't particularly powerful when compared to destruction spells, you can come up with unique ways to use it.

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For example, you can use the Telekinesis spell to pick up weapons from afar and equip them to fight an enemy. You can also throw objects at enemies with the Telekinesis spell, which is a lot of fun and a unique challenge as you have to practice your aim. Pairing Telekinesis with one-handed weapons or destruction spells can create a unique build, especially since you can pick up one-handed weapons and equip them along with the spell.

13 the magic blacksmith

Bound weapons are a special type of weapon in Skyrim where you use conjuration magic to summon weapons like swords and bows. Unlike regular weapons, bonded weapons don't last forever; however, they are unique in that they resemble a spectral version of Daedric weapons, and the stringed bow requires no arrows to use.

If you want to play as a mage and an archer or warrior at the same time then you should try building The Magical Blacksmith for a truly unique experience.

12 the poisonous adventurer

Poison damage exists in Skyrim in several forms; however, you may not be familiar with the Poison Rune or Staff of Miraak spells, which deal poison damage without the need to apply poison to your physical weapons. Miraak's Staff can be obtained by defeating Miraak during the Dragonborn DLC quest line.

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You can pair the Staff of Miraak with poison runes to create a deadly combo. If you want to take this build even further, you can also acquire Ebony Mail by completing the "Boethiah's Calling" quest. Ebony Mail deals poison damage when you get close to enemies, making it really fun to use.

11 The Rune Wizard

Runes are a unique variant of destruction spells that allow you to create magical traps that deal damage when enemies enter them. You can get runic spells for many different elements, including fire, ice, and lightning.

Runes are fun if you want to trap enemies and deal magic damage to them instead of dealing direct damage with other spells. Runes can also damage multiple enemies at once, which is great if you're fighting a group of enemies. Rune Master is not a build for everyone because it works very differently from other builds and requires a lot of planning; however, it's a rewarding feeling when you manage to defeat multiple enemies with a single rune. There's even an illusion rune if you'd rather send your enemies into a frenzy than defeat them.

10 Spell-Sword

Most adventurers prioritize melee or magic weapons; however, the Spell-Sword build proves that it's possible to create a balanced character that focuses as much on one-handed weapons as it does on schools of magic.

The most popular way to use a Spell-Sword is to equip a one-handed weapon while having a destruction spell present in the other hand. However, you can create many different combinations with the magic sword, including illusion, restoration, conjuration, and alteration magic.

9 paralysis mage

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The paralysis mage is incredibly fun to use and is arguably one of the strongest builds in Skyrim because it can render enemies completely immobile for short periods.

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You can use the Paralyze spell on an enemy, then use a destruction spell or a weapon to finish off the fallen enemy. Unfortunately, the Paralyze spell requires a lot of Magicka to cast; however, this build is still viable as long as your character is also proficient in using other types of magic while prioritizing the Paralyze spell in one of his two hands. You can also create a paralysis poison for situations where you run out of Magicka during combat.

8 restoration curator

The Restoration Healer is a unique build because instead of fighting yourself, you'll be healing a follower as they fight for you in combat. This build is particularly viable on the hardest difficulties because sometimes your followers can take a lot more hits without dying than you can. The main skill you will be using for this build isrestoration magic.

The Healing Hands spell is the most important resource for this build, as it is a spell you can use to heal your followers during combat. However, make sure you don't accidentally heal an enemy while your follower is fighting him; this is a common mistake you can make with healer builds.

While using spider scrolls doesn't directly turn you into a "wizard" in the typical sense, it does.sona special type of magic weapon that you can craft inside White Ridge Barrow on the island of Solstheim. Spider scrolls look like normal spiders; however, these creatures have unique magical abilities that you can use against your enemies.

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For this build you need to head to White Ridge Barrow right away and craft some Spider Scrolls. Some of these spiders deal destruction damage, while others have different effects, including a spider that latches onto an enemy, forcing them to fight for you. Building Master Of The Spider Scrolls may require you to combine restoration magic with using spiders; this is so you can stay alive while your spiders deal magic damage to your enemies. Restoration magic is especially useful at the start of a new game.

6 Illusionist

Many mages completely ignore illusion spells when they first play Skyrim because they initially don't seem useful, especially lower-level illusion spells. However, expert and master level illusion spells allow you to affect many enemies in their radius at once, forcing them to flee combat and even attack each other. Invisibility is a particularly useful spell for an illusion construct.

Any race is viable for the illusionist build; however, High Elves and Bretons are the best choices due to their natural talent with magic. It is recommended to level up a secondary combat type so that you can still fight enemies if you run out of Magicka or if the enemies you are fighting are too high level to be affected by your illusion spells.

5 Necromancer

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Necromancers are mages who raise enemies from the dead to fight for their cause. They use conjuration spells to create zombies, and sometimes these zombies can be important story characters who died during missions. The most powerful spell of its kind allows you to permanently raise a character from the dead to fight by your side until he is killed in combat.

The ideal race for a Necromancer build is a Breton, as they are gifted in magic and are the most powerful Necromancers in Tamriel.

4 sneaky wizard

While stealth and magic don't seem to go together, they can be the deadliest combination in the game if used correctly. Using invisibility spells and potions can make it nearly impossible for other characters to spot you while you're sneaking around, and you can also use runes of destruction to set traps for enemies.

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Illusion, Destruction, and Alteration are the most important schools of magic for a stealth mage, as they focus on dealing damage and keeping the character hidden from enemy eyes. Combining magic with archery is also a great strategy for this build.

3 Lord Vampire Mage

Vampire lords are incredibly skilled with magic; however, even outside of this powerful form, you gain additional bonuses to schools of magic for being a vampire. Your magical abilities of destruction will benefit the most from becoming a vampire.

You can only use unique spells like Vampiric Drain while you are a Vampire Lord, and this is the main spell you should use as a Vampiric Mage. However, there are also downsides to being a vampire, such as taking more damage from fire spells. The best way to use this compilation is to switch in and out ofVampire Lord Form.

2 master atronach

Similar to the Necromancer build, the Master Atronach build focuses onconjuring other beingsfight for you; however, this construct is even more powerful due to the power possessed by fire, ice, and storm atronachs.

Master spells for summoning atronachs will allow you to keep them indefinitely, meaning they won't leave your side until they die, and even then you can simply summon them again. Storm Atronachs are the strongest type of Atronach in the game, and once you reach level 100 spellcasting, you can have two Atronachs by your side at all times.

1 Ahzidal's Mage

The build of Ahzidal's Mage is based on using two unique spells that are added to your spell list when you equip Ahzidal's Ring of Arcana. This is the only way to get these two spells. You can find this ring in the Dragonborn DLC, inside Kolbjorn Barrow. You must progress through the "Unearthed" quest to receive this powerful ring.

The two spells you get from using Ahzidal's Ring of Arcana are called Ignite and Freeze. Ignite ignites the enemy for 15 seconds, dealing four points of damage every second. Freeze deals health and stamina damage and also has the unique effect of slowing down the enemy. Combining these two spells creates a powerful combo that can rival almost every enemy type in Skyrim, and this build is worth a try for Skyrim fans.Destruction of the School of Magic.

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