Becoming a Mage in Skyrim is perhaps the most time-consuming attempt at a build that players can make, however, it is by far the most rewarding. Mages in Skyrim get a bad reputation, in part due to the College of Winterhold. However, those who seek the path of magic and its capabilities will find unlimited power in Skyrim, to not only become known as the Last Dragonborn but to become the greatest mage known to Tamriel.
There are many forms of Mages in Skyrim, each specializing in a different set of spells to bind their power. Players can try them all, or focus on Conjuring, Destruction, Illusion, and other forms of magic. These best Skyrim Mage builds will offer variety, power, and success.
Updated August 27, 2024, by Hamza Haq: Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is, at this point, a 13-year-old game, but the love and dedication of the player base has kept the world of Tamriel alive even after all this time. However, while the sandbox nature of the game does offer nearly infinite replayability, running the same build time and again can quickly become stale. To compensate, players will often find themselves looking for new build ideas for their next grand adventure as the Dragonborn. A new type of Mage build, the Illusionist, has been added to the list to increase the pool of options players have.
The Basics
For the majority of Mage builds in Skyrim, it’s best that players invest heavily into Alchemy and Enchanting. This will enable them to create some absurdly overpowered potions that will thus enhance the equipment that they craft and upgrade through Enchantments. By ensuring the maximum efficiency of Enchanting and Alchemy, players can ensure that every piece of clothing they wear, and jewelry, will have some devastating effects.
Players should always aim for high Alchemy and Enchanting to maximize the possibilities on damage numbers. If players know how to make the most overpowered potions in Skyrim, then they can see themselves benefiting from magic damage and enchanting bonuses of well over a number of 1,000 and beyond. This is essential to becoming an overpowered Mage in Skyrim.
To maximize efficiency with Alchemy, these perks are essential: Alchemist, Poisoner, Green Thumb, Benefactor, and Physician. This will provide players with the best possible bonuses to their potions, which will be used when creating the strongest armor sets, enchantments, or enhancing the damage of spells.
Considering players will also be enhancing their Enchanting, it’s best to enhance these Perks as well: Enchanter, Insightful Enchanter, and Corpus Enchanter. This will increase the total efficiency of armor and jewelry on which players will place their strongest enchantments, further unlocking the potential of their strength.
As for the best race to play as in Skyrim, it’s best to start as an Altmer (High Elf) due to the fact that they will get +50 Magicka straight away. Their Active Power will also let them regenerate 25% of their maximum Magicka per second for a total of 60 seconds. The Altmer is a great race to start for those who want to be a Mage, but at the end of the day, the race does not matter when compared to the gear, spells, and skills unlocked.
As for stat progression, players are going to want to focus mainly on Magika, increasing it well beyond Stamina and Health. This may make players feel like a glass cannon, but when their Magicka is high enough, and their mastery is strong enough, they will feel like they are made of Dragon Bones. It’s best to aim for over 200 Magicka, whilst keeping Health at a close second. Meanwhile, players should never think about upgrading Stamina over 100.
Pyromancer
Destruction spells, and especially flame ones, get a bad rap in Vanilla Skyrim. However, if players dual cast and bring plenty of Fortify Destruction potions, then players can bask their opponents in flame to cause devastating effects that will have nobody questioning the power of the Pyromancer ever again. Pyromancy is good for a few things:
- Easily accessible spells
- Great for new players
- Not a large skill or learning gap
- Everything burns
Anything in Skyrim can be set on fire, which will provide passive damage whilst players continue to burn their foes. With these Perks and Spells, players can create a viable Pyromancer Build in Skyrim. Novice Destruction, Destruction Dual Casting, Impact, Augmented Flames, Intense Flames, Apprentice Destruction, Adept Destruction, and Expert Destruction are all essential Perks in the Destruction Skill Tree. These will ensure the maximum damage input and variety when casting Destruction Spells.
As for the best Spells in Skyrim, players will want to use Flame Cloak, Ignite, and Incinerate. These are the best for both defense and offense, as Flame Cloak will ensure that anyone lucky enough to get close or hit the player, will be set on fire. The spell also enhances melee damage. The most important spell will be Ignite, as this will shoot out a bolt of flame that can ignite targets for up to 15 seconds, providing great base damage, and damage over time. Paired with the Perks like Impact, enemies will be staggered, meaning they can’t even find the strength to try and hit the player. It’s best to keep these flames out of the cities.
As for the best clothing, it’s recommended that players invest their Alchemy and Enchanting in any set of clothes that can decrease the total cost of Destruction spells, increase Magicka points, and increase Fire resistance and other magic resistances, whilst providing good bonuses to defense. However, the most important aspect is Ahzidal’s Ring of Arcana, which can be found in Kolbjorn Barrow in Solstheim, which will unlock the Ignite Spell.
Illusionist
Not all Mage builds in Skyrim revolve around slinging spells to deal direct damage to the enemy by slinging elemental spells at the target. The Illusion spell tree often goes underappreciated because its first impression on players is not the best. The true value of Illusion spells lies in the following:
- Supporting spells.
- Distracting groups of enemies
- Turning invisible for better sneaking.
- Sowing mayhem
By design, Illusion mages in Skyrim have no real way to deal direct damage to an enemy; they need to invest in a second skill and branch out into other schools of magic or martial skills.
This means there are quite a few options to choose from. Perhaps the most powerful one is the Sneak Archery Illusion build. This build lets players cast Muffle (and later Invisibility) to remain hidden from enemies, sneak around bandit camps, and try to land headshots. Sneak Archer is an already popular build that pairs extremely well with Illusion spells. However, unlike a traditional Sneak Archer, the Illusionist isn’t afraid of attracting attention because Illusion spells are excellent at misdirection, giving this build the chance to walk right past enemies to cover.
Alternatively, for players who want to maintain the identity of a pure magic user, combining Illusion with Destruction or Conjuration instead of Archery can work just as well, if not better.
Demonic Conjurer
Restoration may be for the good, but Conjuration is certainly for the wicked. Players can harness the best Conjuring Spells in Skyrim to summon some truly horrific and powerful entities that are not of this world. This can come in the form of Daedra, giants, and other monstrosities that only the most powerful wizards can unleash. This build can:
- Summon powerful followers and warriors
- Easy to use
- Passive Spells means players can use other weapons
- Summoning allies to do the work means players can sit back
For a Conjurer, players will want to invest heavily into their Conjuring skill to maximize the potential of their summons. The following perks will be essential: Novice Conjuring, Mystic Binding, Summoner, Apprentice Conjuring, Adept Conjuring, Atromancy, Elemental Potency, Necromancy, Expert Conjuring, Master Conjuring, Dark Souls, Twin Souls. These should be bound with the usual perk Enchanting, as well as a few defense options in Heavy Armor.
With the right Perks and Skills covered, players will want to invest in the right Spells. Conjure Dremora Lord is great for unlocking the gates of Oblivion, and allowing intense demonic warriors to storm Tamriel for the player’s bidding. Conjure Bone Colossus, Conjure Ancient Deathpriest, and Conjure Storm Atronach are also a great trio of options for ranged damage, intimidation, and just all-around greatness when it comes to Conjure magic.
Considering players are going to want to run Heavy Armor so that they are more defended against enemies, it’s best to bring about some Enchantments that will make Destruction and Conjuration spells cost less Magicka. Other essentials should be bonuses that increase total Magicka, as well as resistance to spells of a variety of sources.
Lightning God
Destruction spells are really the way to go if players want to become a powerful Mage in Skyrim. However, there is a set of Spells, Armor, and Perks that can unlock the truest potential of a Mage God in Skyrim, one that will essentially summon the power of lightning to strike down their foes nearly instantly. This is the perfect build for essentially destroying anything:
- One-shot near every enemy
- Time-consuming to gather the right equipment
- Not the most entry-grade friendly
- Extremely powerful
- Turn every room into an instant-kill zone
The most important Skills to reach 100 for this build are Alchemy, Enchanting, and Destruction. The correct combination of these Skills will enable synergy between the perks that will allow for a flurry of walking death where the player will not even need to raise a finger. Here are the Perks needed for each Skill:
Destruction essential Perks: Novice Destruction, Augmented Flames, Augmented Frost, Augmented Shock, Destruction Dual Casting, Impact, Disintegrate, Deep Freeze, Apprentice Destruction, Adept Destruction, Expert Destruction. In using these Perks, players will essentially guarantee success, and the synergy between their Destruction spells will enable death to all that oppose the rule of the Last Dragonborn, even those pesky Dwarven ruins.
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Through Destruction Spells, players will want to use these main three: Elemental Blast, Mara’s Wrath, and Unbound Storm. With the correct enchantments on the player’s armor, they will only really be using Unbound Storm, as this Destruction Spell targets all in the area, striking them with lightning for further damage, on top of the health and Magicka draining storm that fills the area. However, for tighter corners, or players who want to shoot things themselves, Elemental Blast will provide that extra hit that will nearly one-shot everything that is in the way.
These may be the best Spells in Skyrim, but players will need to combine them with the best armor to truly unlock their power. As usual for a Mage, these Enchantment upgrades should only be done when under the most efficient passive effects of potions and Standing Stones are ready. Players will want to Fortify Destruction, Health, Stamina, Magicka, Magic Resistance, and further Destruction to become a walking Mage God.
