Race – Backstory - Motivation
Once again my eternal search for new, flawed and strange ways to play this game has resulted in a bizarre build, full with RP possibilities, but very hard to play. The Spellblocker is a Breton mage class specialized in fighting other mages and monsters with magic-like attacks - he has a high magic damage and he is virtually immune to any kind of magic, but he has a harder time when confronting melee warriors, because he doesn’t use any weapon and he has no way to cause physical damage, except with the shield he always carries.
This unfamiliarity with weapons comes from the origins of this strange class, forged in the long history of the Bretons’ resistance against their aldmeri masters, especially in the Isle of Bafiera, the last corner of High Rock to be liberated from the aldmeri rule. Bretons were then strictly forbidden by their aldmeri overlords, under death penalty, to carry weapons or use armor, and any Breton seen wearing those highly illegal items would be put to death immediately. But that was not enough to smother the flames of rebellion – Bretons simply learned how to fight without weapons, using only their own magical skills and a shield to enhance their natural resistance to magic damage (shields were not included in the original prohibition, though they came to be after some time).
That was a very effective way to fight aldmeri, as their natural penchant for magic made them too dependent of using spells on battle, but after the victory of the rebellion and the expelling of aldmeri, Bretons learned that spellblocking was not a particularly useful fight style when battling their human rivals and neighbors, the nords and the redguards - so, in the course of time, this peculiar style of combat came to almost total disappearance. But now, thanks to a small group of traditionalist Bretons, who want to stick to the old ways, the spellblocking is making a comeback, more deadly than ever. A few changes have been made by this group, and they’ve developed some nasty offensive moves and combinations with the shield, to make this style more effective against melee opponents.
Skills – to role-play you will need perks only on the 5 skills listed below. If you want to take another skill, I would recommend Alchemy, only phisician branch, but it is not really necessary and it will even harm character development a little. Anyway go for those only after having maximized the main skills.
Block –It’s essential, because it is your main physical protection and weapon. You will take all perks in this one – the bash will give you a offensive weapon; shield wall will offer an extra protection; elemental resistance, combined with enchanting, will make you immune to elemental damage; quick reflexes will be an extra help in fights against multiple or very strong enemies; block runner and shield charge will increase the effectiveness of the build in later game. You will need blocking and bashing often to survive against melee opponents, as you do not have the impact perk and will not use master destruction spells. The key is rhythm – one block for one or two hits – and the use of slow time to finish off the fight.
Enchanting– You will need this skill maximized to enchant pieces of clothes. I’d recommend using robes of destruction, combined with unarmored gloves and boots to be enchanted with double effect. You can use Mythic Dawn or Thalmor equipment, or just plain hats, boots and gloves, which can be found on many wardrobes. Do not use armored equipment, as it will interfere with the Mage Armor perk in alteration (the shield won’t). You should take ony the perks on the central branch - insightful enchanter and corpus enchanter up to extra effect. Do not take the soul squeezer/soul siphon perks as they are not suited and not useful to this character. You won’t need to take perks in fire, frost and storm, as you will use no weapons to be enchanted, and you won’t need strong defenses against elemental damage, since your magical resistance and spell absorption should do the trick.
Destruction– Specialize only on the shock branch, to sap magicka and to have a reliable source of magical damage, as few monsters and NPC’s have shock resistance. Take all the half costs perks, as destruction spells are very expensive in terms of magicka. Use trainers to level up the skill and enchanting to lower spell costs. Do not take dual cast and impact, as you will never abandon your shield and your bashing with the shield will be used to stagger your opponents instead of the impact perk. Though you will be using destruction as your main source of damage, you won’t need the perk Master Destruction, as master spells are always dual cast, take a very long time to cast, and may be interrupted – To summarize, they suck!
Restoration – I would recommend taking as soon as possible the respite, the regeneration and the recovery perk, as well as the half cost perks up to adept. Later in the game you can take the necromage perk. Don’t take dual casting, and take ward absorption only if you intend to use the shield Spellbreaker, since they form together a lethal combination to recharge your magicka and keep on the attack. If you ever get to 90, you can take the avoid death perk.
Alteration - All the perk tree must be taken, as soon as it opens to you. The mage armor perk is a must, as it will give you a high armor class in combat for some time, and for a longer time with stability. The resistance and atronach perks will make you immune to magic, and will replenish your magicka when confronted with high level spell casters. Stability will prolong the effect of defensive spells and paralysis. The half cost perks have to be taken, to have access to other perks, and because alteration spells are very costly. You have to take the whole tree, including master and dual casting, as it will provide your only armor in the game. Dual casting Ebonyflesh and Dragonhide will grant you a class armor 300 plus 80% damage reduction for a little more than 2 minutes. Use slow time to repeat it if you need.
Attributes
The rule to distribute attribute points is: 1x health; 2x magic; 1x stamina every four levels.
Equipment
Armor: Destruction or alteration robes, and later, the Archmage’s Robes. I advise you to take the ‘Wolf Queen Awakened’ quest after level 40, as it gives the best shield you can have for this build in its maximum power: The Solitude Shield, with magic resist 30/fortify block 35. You can also use Spellbreaker, which on later game, if combined with the ward absorb perk, will make the build even more powerful against mages. But the Shield of Solitude is really the best weapon to be used against melee opponents, which are the real threat. The other pieces will be enchanted as follow: boots – resist fire/ resist shock; gloves – fortify magicka/fortify block; ring – fortify destruction/fortify stamina; amulet – Amulet of Talos; hat or hood – magic regen/fortify destruction. Always use the Blessing of Talos, as it will shorten, in combination with the amulet, the gap between shouts, allowing you to use Ethereal Form and Slow Time with more frequency. You will be almost invulnerable to magic and capable of blocking most of the physical hits.
Weapon: NONE, except the shield in the left hand, used to bash, and a spell on the right hand (restoration or destruction, as you deem appropriate to the moment - I prefer destruction). Armor/Alteration spells should be performed in advance. Use Slow Time in combat to repeatedly hit your opponents with Thunderbolt (single enemies) or Chain Lightning (multiple enemies) - it allows for 6 hits. When in normal time, use the shield to stagger the target, allowing for one or two hits. When you catch the rhythm, it will become easy.
Stone / Shout / Blessing / Food
The stone would be, in the beginning, The Mage Stone, for leveling up until level 5, and later, the Atronach Stone to boost your magicka pool for attack and absorb incoming spells and spelllike effects. The best shouts for the character would be: Slow Time, Disarm, Become Ethereal and the Dawnguard Drain Vitality, but Slow Time is by far the best, as it allows you to atack up to 6 times a target with a thunderbolt spell. The blessing would be from Talos, to reduce the pause between shouts. Always use shouts in combat as it allows time for targeting your enemies or hiting them multiple times. Use food with frequency, especially venison stew and vegetable soup, to keep some stamina for bashing and blocking, but Elseweyr Fondue is also very good to hasten magical recovery.
Play through:
The build is open to both genders and to any good or neutral alignment, but you must go after mages and Thalmor at every opportunity and pursue them relentless. You are a mage who hates magic users, especially rogue mages who use magic out of a sanctioned institution, or mages who use magic to oppress the people, like the Thalmor. You may take the Main Quest, giving a special attention to dragon priests. You may take the College of Winterhold quest line up to the end. You should take The Wolf Queen Awakens quest, for the Solitude Shield; the Forbidden Legends quest, some Daedric quests you find convenient, and any quest that involves pursuing mages. You should avoid, if possible, fighting against the Forsworn, because they are from your own people. You must take a side in the Civil War, as one of the words in the shout Slow Time is locked in that quest. Do not Take the Companions or The Dark Brotherhood quest lines. Thieves Guild is optional, but lacking high skill in sneak and pickpocket, you will have a hard time trying to complete their quest line .
This is more a pure mage than a hybrid class, the only dissonant tone being the use of a shield to protect against magical and physical damage. The build should be strong enough against melee warriors in close combat, very strong against archers, and invincible against mages. Fighting dragons will not be difficult, as you will be able to stand against their breath without a blink, and defend against their bite with the shield, as you punish them with magic. The respite perk will allow you to replenish the stamina lost blocking and bashing, and you may take potions also, though you will not specialize in the poison side of alchemy. You will disenchant and enchant everything you put your hands on, to learn enchanting, but you will not use any smithing, except to make jewelry. The leveling up should be easy, as you will be using constantly your skills. Always use a spell to buff your armor, heal often, use shock, or other destruction spells as main weapon, block always and bash often. You will be able to fight anyone, but you will be particularly powerful against magic users.
Special Moves : the first one is to be used against mages, while the second one is to be used against melee opponents.
The Magical Mirror – An active move that allows you to punish your enemy with high magical damage, while absorbing all damage he inflicts upon you and using it to feed your attack, thus reflecting his own power against himself. With the Atronach Stone (50% magic absorption) + Dragonskin greater power (50% magic absorption for 60s) = 100% magic absorption for a minute. If you're using Spellbreaker and have unlocked the perk ward absorbtion, you will need only to raise the shield to absorb a good portion of the magical damage sent upon you, though it will be less than with the dragonskin power. When facing an extremely high level spell caster, you can go for your best spell from the start, while absorbing all the power of the spells that are being cast against you for a whole minute, and then continue to absorb half the magic untill the enemy mage runs dry or get killed by you. Use Slow Time to follow your target and to hit it with 6 spells at a time. Irresistible against all mage opponents and dragons.
The Hurricane Charge - That’s a Shield Charge against all targets on reach, using a combination of Lightning Cloak and Slow time. You should buff yourself with Ebony Flesh and Dragonhide, cast Lightning Cloak, then raise your shield and sprint towards your enemies, using Slow Time when you are near them. You have 16 seconds of slow time to hit every target with your raised shield, knocking them down for 3 to 4 seconds, while hurting everybody with shock damage. You should target archers first, as they are the main source of threat. The weak ones should simply disintegrate, and the hard ones will be damaged enough to be dealt with in normal time. After about 25 seconds of pause, you may repeat the move. Very effective against large groups of weak melee warriors with one or two bosses.
So, the stats for a Level 25 build are:
Attributes - magicka = 230; health = 160; stamina = 160
Skills and Perks
Blocking 55 – Shield wall 2/5; Power bash; Deflect arrows; Elemental protection; Deadly bash:
Restoration 60 – Novice; Respite; Regeneration; Apprentice:
Destruction 75 – Novice; Apprentice: Adept; Augmented shock 2/2; Expert:
Alteration 60 – Novice; Dual Casting: Apprentice; Mage armor 1/3; Adept; Magic resistance 1/3:
Enchanting 50 – Enchanter 2/5, Insightful enchanter;
Here are the stats for a Level 50 build:
Attributes - magicka = 360; health = 220; stamina = 220
Skills and Perks
Blocking 100 – Shield wall 5/5; Power bash; Deflect arrows; Elemental protection; Deadly bash; Quick Reflexes; Block Runner; Disarming Bash; Shield Charge:
Restoration 80 – Novice; Respite; Regeneration; Apprentice: Adept; Recovery 2/2; Necromage:
Destruction 100 – Novice; Apprentice: Adept; Augmented shock 2/2; Expert; Disintegrate:
Alteration 100 – Novice; Dual Casting: Apprentice; Mage armor 3/3; Adept; Magic resistance 3/3; Stability; Expert; Atronach; Master:
Enchanting 100 – Enchanter 5/5; Insightful enchanter; Corpus Enchanter; Extra Effect; :
Race – Backstory - Motivation
Once again my eternal search for new, flawed and strange ways to play this game has resulted in a bizarre build, full with RP possibilities, but very hard to play. The Spellblocker is a Breton mage class specialized in fighting other mages and monsters with magic-like attacks - he has a high magic damage and he is virtually immune to any kind of magic, but he has a harder time when confronting melee warriors, because he doesn’t use any weapon and he has no way to cause physical damage, except with the shield he always carries.
This unfamiliarity with weapons comes from the origins of this strange class, forged in the long history of the Bretons’ resistance against their aldmeri masters, especially in the Isle of Bafiera, the last corner of High Rock to be liberated from the aldmeri rule. Bretons were then strictly forbidden by their aldmeri overlords, under death penalty, to carry weapons or use armor, and any Breton seen wearing those highly illegal items would be put to death immediately. But that was not enough to smother the flames of rebellion – Bretons simply learned how to fight without weapons, using only their own magical skills and a shield to enhance their natural resistance to magic damage (shields were not included in the original prohibition, though they came to be after some time).
That was a very effective way to fight aldmeri, as their natural penchant for magic made them too dependent of using spells on battle, but after the victory of the rebellion and the expelling of aldmeri, Bretons learned that spellblocking was not a particularly useful fight style when battling their human rivals and neighbors, the nords and the redguards - so, in the course of time, this peculiar style of combat came to almost total disappearance. But now, thanks to a small group of traditionalist Bretons, who want to stick to the old ways, the spellblocking is making a comeback, more deadly than ever. A few changes have been made by this group, and they’ve developed some nasty offensive moves and combinations with the shield, to make this style more effective against melee opponents.
Skills – to role-play you will need perks only on the 5 skills listed below. If you want to take another skill, I would recommend Alchemy, only phisician branch, but it is not really necessary and it will even harm character development a little. Anyway go for those only after having maximized the main skills.
Block –It’s essential, because it is your main physical protection and weapon. You will take all perks in this one – the bash will give you a offensive weapon; shield wall will offer an extra protection; elemental resistance, combined with enchanting, will make you immune to elemental damage; quick reflexes will be an extra help in fights against multiple or very strong enemies; block runner and shield charge will increase the effectiveness of the build in later game. You will need blocking and bashing often to survive against melee opponents, as you do not have the impact perk and will not use master destruction spells. The key is rhythm – one block for one or two hits – and the use of slow time to finish off the fight.
Enchanting– You will need this skill maximized to enchant pieces of clothes. I’d recommend using robes of destruction, combined with unarmored gloves and boots to be enchanted with double effect. You can use Mythic Dawn or Thalmor equipment, or just plain hats, boots and gloves, which can be found on many wardrobes. Do not use armored equipment, as it will interfere with the Mage Armor perk in alteration (the shield won’t). You should take ony the perks on the central branch - insightful enchanter and corpus enchanter up to extra effect. Do not take the soul squeezer/soul siphon perks as they are not suited and not useful to this character. You won’t need to take perks in fire, frost and storm, as you will use no weapons to be enchanted, and you won’t need strong defenses against elemental damage, since your magical resistance and spell absorption should do the trick.
Destruction– Specialize only on the shock branch, to sap magicka and to have a reliable source of magical damage, as few monsters and NPC’s have shock resistance. Take all the half costs perks, as destruction spells are very expensive in terms of magicka. Use trainers to level up the skill and enchanting to lower spell costs. Do not take dual cast and impact, as you will never abandon your shield and your bashing with the shield will be used to stagger your opponents instead of the impact perk. Though you will be using destruction as your main source of damage, you won’t need the perk Master Destruction, as master spells are always dual cast, take a very long time to cast, and may be interrupted – To summarize, they suck!
Restoration – I would recommend taking as soon as possible the respite, the regeneration and the recovery perk, as well as the half cost perks up to adept. Later in the game you can take the necromage perk. Don’t take dual casting, and take ward absorption only if you intend to use the shield Spellbreaker, since they form together a lethal combination to recharge your magicka and keep on the attack. If you ever get to 90, you can take the avoid death perk.
Alteration - All the perk tree must be taken, as soon as it opens to you. The mage armor perk is a must, as it will give you a high armor class in combat for some time, and for a longer time with stability. The resistance and atronach perks will make you immune to magic, and will replenish your magicka when confronted with high level spell casters. Stability will prolong the effect of defensive spells and paralysis. The half cost perks have to be taken, to have access to other perks, and because alteration spells are very costly. You have to take the whole tree, including master and dual casting, as it will provide your only armor in the game. Dual casting Ebonyflesh and Dragonhide will grant you a class armor 300 plus 80% damage reduction for a little more than 2 minutes. Use slow time to repeat it if you need.
Attributes
The rule to distribute attribute points is: 1x health; 2x magic; 1x stamina every four levels.
Equipment
Armor: Destruction or alteration robes, and later, the Archmage’s Robes. I advise you to take the ‘Wolf Queen Awakened’ quest after level 40, as it gives the best shield you can have for this build in its maximum power: The Solitude Shield, with magic resist 30/fortify block 35. You can also use Spellbreaker, which on later game, if combined with the ward absorb perk, will make the build even more powerful against mages. But the Shield of Solitude is really the best weapon to be used against melee opponents, which are the real threat. The other pieces will be enchanted as follow: boots – resist fire/ resist shock; gloves – fortify magicka/fortify block; ring – fortify destruction/fortify stamina; amulet – Amulet of Talos; hat or hood – magic regen/fortify destruction. Always use the Blessing of Talos, as it will shorten, in combination with the amulet, the gap between shouts, allowing you to use Ethereal Form and Slow Time with more frequency. You will be almost invulnerable to magic and capable of blocking most of the physical hits.
Weapon: NONE, except the shield in the left hand, used to bash, and a spell on the right hand (restoration or destruction, as you deem appropriate to the moment - I prefer destruction). Armor/Alteration spells should be performed in advance. Use Slow Time in combat to repeatedly hit your opponents with Thunderbolt (single enemies) or Chain Lightning (multiple enemies) - it allows for 6 hits. When in normal time, use the shield to stagger the target, allowing for one or two hits. When you catch the rhythm, it will become easy.
Stone / Shout / Blessing / Food
The stone would be, in the beginning, The Mage Stone, for leveling up until level 5, and later, the Atronach Stone to boost your magicka pool for attack and absorb incoming spells and spelllike effects. The best shouts for the character would be: Slow Time, Disarm, Become Ethereal and the Dawnguard Drain Vitality, but Slow Time is by far the best, as it allows you to atack up to 6 times a target with a thunderbolt spell. The blessing would be from Talos, to reduce the pause between shouts. Always use shouts in combat as it allows time for targeting your enemies or hiting them multiple times. Use food with frequency, especially venison stew and vegetable soup, to keep some stamina for bashing and blocking, but Elseweyr Fondue is also very good to hasten magical recovery.
Play through:
The build is open to both genders and to any good or neutral alignment, but you must go after mages and Thalmor at every opportunity and pursue them relentless. You are a mage who hates magic users, especially rogue mages who use magic out of a sanctioned institution, or mages who use magic to oppress the people, like the Thalmor. You may take the Main Quest, giving a special attention to dragon priests. You may take the College of Winterhold quest line up to the end. You should take The Wolf Queen Awakens quest, for the Solitude Shield; the Forbidden Legends quest, some Daedric quests you find convenient, and any quest that involves pursuing mages. You should avoid, if possible, fighting against the Forsworn, because they are from your own people. You must take a side in the Civil War, as one of the words in the shout Slow Time is locked in that quest. Do not Take the Companions or The Dark Brotherhood quest lines. Thieves Guild is optional, but lacking high skill in sneak and pickpocket, you will have a hard time trying to complete their quest line .
This is more a pure mage than a hybrid class, the only dissonant tone being the use of a shield to protect against magical and physical damage. The build should be strong enough against melee warriors in close combat, very strong against archers, and invincible against mages. Fighting dragons will not be difficult, as you will be able to stand against their breath without a blink, and defend against their bite with the shield, as you punish them with magic. The respite perk will allow you to replenish the stamina lost blocking and bashing, and you may take potions also, though you will not specialize in the poison side of alchemy. You will disenchant and enchant everything you put your hands on, to learn enchanting, but you will not use any smithing, except to make jewelry. The leveling up should be easy, as you will be using constantly your skills. Always use a spell to buff your armor, heal often, use shock, or other destruction spells as main weapon, block always and bash often. You will be able to fight anyone, but you will be particularly powerful against magic users.
Special Moves : the first one is to be used against mages, while the second one is to be used against melee opponents.
The Magical Mirror – An active move that allows you to punish your enemy with high magical damage, while absorbing all damage he inflicts upon you and using it to feed your attack, thus reflecting his own power against himself. With the Atronach Stone (50% magic absorption) + Dragonskin greater power (50% magic absorption for 60s) = 100% magic absorption for a minute. If you're using Spellbreaker and have unlocked the perk ward absorbtion, you will need only to raise the shield to absorb a good portion of the magical damage sent upon you, though it will be less than with the dragonskin power. When facing an extremely high level spell caster, you can go for your best spell from the start, while absorbing all the power of the spells that are being cast against you for a whole minute, and then continue to absorb half the magic untill the enemy mage runs dry or get killed by you. Use Slow Time to follow your target and to hit it with 6 spells at a time. Irresistible against all mage opponents and dragons.
The Hurricane Charge - That’s a Shield Charge against all targets on reach, using a combination of Lightning Cloak and Slow time. You should buff yourself with Ebony Flesh and Dragonhide, cast Lightning Cloak, then raise your shield and sprint towards your enemies, using Slow Time when you are near them. You have 16 seconds of slow time to hit every target with your raised shield, knocking them down for 3 to 4 seconds, while hurting everybody with shock damage. You should target archers first, as they are the main source of threat. The weak ones should simply disintegrate, and the hard ones will be damaged enough to be dealt with in normal time. After about 25 seconds of pause, you may repeat the move. Very effective against large groups of weak melee warriors with one or two bosses.
So, the stats for a Level 25 build are:
Attributes - magicka = 230; health = 160; stamina = 160
Skills and Perks
Blocking 55 – Shield wall 2/5; Power bash; Deflect arrows; Elemental protection; Deadly bash:
Restoration 60 – Novice; Respite; Regeneration; Apprentice:
Destruction 75 – Novice; Apprentice: Adept; Augmented shock 2/2; Expert:
Alteration 60 – Novice; Dual Casting: Apprentice; Mage armor 1/3; Adept; Magic resistance 1/3:
Enchanting 50 – Enchanter 2/5, Insightful enchanter;
Here are the stats for a Level 50 build:
Attributes - magicka = 360; health = 220; stamina = 220
Skills and Perks
Blocking 100 – Shield wall 5/5; Power bash; Deflect arrows; Elemental protection; Deadly bash; Quick Reflexes; Block Runner; Disarming Bash; Shield Charge:
Restoration 80 – Novice; Respite; Regeneration; Apprentice: Adept; Recovery 2/2; Necromage:
Destruction 100 – Novice; Apprentice: Adept; Augmented shock 2/2; Expert; Disintegrate:
Alteration 100 – Novice; Dual Casting: Apprentice; Mage armor 3/3; Adept; Magic resistance 3/3; Stability; Expert; Atronach; Master:
Enchanting 100 – Enchanter 5/5; Insightful enchanter; Corpus Enchanter; Extra Effect; :
