The best builds to get the most out of your journey in The Elder Scrolls.

By Matt Poskitt

Published: Wednesday, 22 November 2023 at 14:04 PM

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Skyrim may have been around for longer than a decade now, but that hasn’t stopped players new and old from exploiting the beloved Elder Scrolls RPG.

And for anyone looking to get the most from their playthrough, picking one of the best Skyrim builds can make a huge difference.

Developed by Bethesda Game Studios – the same team that made Starfield – the open world of Skyrim is simply massive, with plenty of main missions, side quests and distractions to keep you entertained for days on end.

These can all be attempted in various ways depending on what build you pick, usually stemming from the 18 skills on offer. These can then be levelled up via Perk Points and combined with different weapons to hone in on a speciality.

While there are plenty of different styles, many of them can essentially be broken down into warrior, magic or stealth-related.

Still, the variety that is accessible between all of this has helped Skyrim to become endlessly replayable. But which ones are really the best?

From enchanting sorcerers to big brutes to werewolves and everything in between, the best Skyrim builds require some effort to unlock – but once done so, you can expect a great playthrough.

You can find all our Skyrim build recommendations, along with how to get them and why they’re worth giving a shot, below.

Pure Mage

Race: Altmer

Skills: Alteration, Conjuration, Enchanting, Restoration

Armour: Enchanted Heavy Armour or Archmage Robes

A Pure Mage (also known as High Elf) build is all about obtaining knowledge and mastering magic, specifically the Arcane Arts. Think fewer weapons and ideally less armour (hence the robe’s suggestion). Conjuration is a great skill to have, as it lets you summon minions to fight in your place. Be aware that you’ll be in and out of menus constantly to change your spells, unless you focus on only a few.

Bruiser

Race: Redguard

Skills: Block, Two-Handed, Heavy Armour

Armour: Daedric Armour

If you enjoy getting your hands dirty up close and personal, then the Bruiser build is the one to pick. Two-handed weapons are the way to go, while block is similarly useful to parry and absorb melee attacks. The Daedric Armour is the highest-rated in the whole game (excluding DLC), and you’re best placed to take advantage with this build.

Stealth Archer

Race: Argonian or Khajiit

Skills: Sneak, Archery, Light Armour, Smithing

Armour: Shrouded Armour

Naturally, to become a Stealth Archer, stealth is the name of the game. With that, the Sneak skill is a must to get the edge over enemies. Additionally, the Shrouded Armour used by the Dark Brotherhood is a must due to its high resistance to poison (50 points), muffled footstep enchantment and bonus damage for bows. It also comes in a cool red/black design.

Bound Warrior

Race: Breton

Skills: Smithing, Conjuration, Heavy Armour

Armour: Dragonplate Armour

Summon powerful swords and duel-wield the weapons against all the stand in your way with the Bound Warrior build. Essentially, you use Conjuration magic to summon Daedric weapons (the most powerful in the game) for a short amount of time.

Vampire Necromancer

Race: Dunmer

Skills: Conjuration, Illusion, Restoration,

Armour: Nightingale Armour

This one can be pretty fun, stalking townsfolk during the night – even if it does pose a big risk when venturing out in the daytime. The Vampire Necromancer can be acquired by first becoming a vampire by being bitten by one or using vampiric weapons. Then, begin utilising the Necromage perk found in the Restoration skill tree and keep levelling up to become part of the undead.

Pure Werewolf 

Race: Redguard

Skills: Alchemy, Sneak, Illusion

Armour: Wolf Armour

How about playing Skyrim entirely as a werewolf? That’s the idea for this build, relying only on skills that come from being a shape-shifting creature. To do this, you need to be infected with the Lycanthropy disease and complete The Companions quest line.

Thief

Race: Argonian

Skills: Sneak, Pickpocket, lockpicking

Armour: Thieves Guild Armour

Live the life of a thief and go full Assasin’s Creed in this build, perfect for those that want a lot of gold fast. It’s pretty easy to acquire compared to a lot of options on this list, and is equally great for getting into restricted areas thanks to the lockpick skill.

Archer Illusionist

Race: Bosmer

Skills: Ilusion, Sneak, Archery

Armour: Nightingale Armour

Another archer build designed around sneaking, yet this one has a splice of magic to it and offers a lot more fun. It takes a while to unlock the expert-level Illusionist spell of invisibility, but when you have it, you’ll be so glad you did. Bosmers are generally great archers too.

One-Handed Warrior

Race: Argonian or Redguard

Skills: One-Handed, Heavy Armour, Block

Armour: Daedric Armour

For those of us who like simplicity, then look no further than the One-Handed Warrior. This build is one of the easiest and quickest ways to level up your Dragonborn. Just hit enemies with weapons in one hand and repeat. It’s worth picking up the Spellbreaker shield to help keep magic at bay, too.