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The way of the fist : Playing hand-to-hand in Skyrim

  • Posted by Paul December 16, 2011 - 800 views

    The current site poll on 'things we miss in Skyrim' included 'hand-to-hand as a skill' as one of the options. Although it is trailing in the poll, a few people have mentioned it on the thread.

    I'm certainly puzzled by the severe downgrading of unarmed combat in Skyrim. I made a pugilist 'bruiser' character in Fallout and Fallout: New Vegas and had an absolute blast. With the introduction of finishing moves into Skyrim it would have been similarly awesome to make a similar character in this game.

    So, is it possible to play as an unarmed monk character?

    The good news is that it is not only possible to create a viable hand-to-hand character, it can actually be an immensely powerful and fun option. Here is a 'Let's Play' video from a guy who starts out with an unarmed Khajiit character and causes havoc just with his fists!

    What are the options open to the dedicated unarmed devotee?

    1. Taking Khajiit as a race to take advantage of their 'claw' attack. According to UESP this means a Khajiit actually deals 18 more damage than most other races.
    2. Put perks into the Heavy Armour perk tree and grab the 'Fists of Steel' perk to boost unarmed attacks when using heavy gauntlets. Additionally, the use of the best available Heavy Armour to resist the damage dealing of enemies!
    3. Find the Gloves of the Pugilist, and then disenchant them at an Enchanting Station. This will allow other pieces of clothing or armour to be enchanted with a Fortify Unarmed Attack.

    Anything else that anyone wants to suggest?

    OK, to finish off this blog post, here is another fun YouTube video, this time we see an unarmed character take down an Elder Dragon solely with the use of his fists.

Comments

23 Comments
  • matt campbell
    matt campbell   ·  August 28, 2013
    I made my first unarmed character a week or so ago and I must say, ITS FUCKING AWESOME! My unarmed damage is now around 110 and I have had no need to even pick up a weapon other than to sell it. Sure there are weapons with much higher damage ratings but c...  more
  • Warlocksg
    Warlocksg   ·  February 12, 2013
    Based on the research I have done on Unarmed in Skyrim, I will be posting a build real soon (think today) on a viable monk build for skyrim. Whilst the Monk class of oblivion was no doubt a cloth wearer, skyim has made it such that you need to include hea...  more
  • RuneRed
    RuneRed   ·  December 18, 2011
    I, too, had made a khajiit unarmed fighter.  I use a bow to attack from distance, and when the enemy closes, I fight unarmed.   He is one of my secondary characters, and generally just hunts game, but of course he runs into the occassional hostile.  Curre...  more
  • Mason
    Mason   ·  December 18, 2011
    Someone needs to test if destructions cloak elemental damage works with fists, it definitely adds damage to weapons. They also need to try stacking elemental fury with a cloak spell active.
  • Dan Green
    Dan Green   ·  December 18, 2011
    A couple weeks back I made a Khajiit monk character resembling one of my all time favorite characters I played in Morrowind.  I thought about going Heavy Armor but monks don't don a lot of armor so I threw that idea out the window.  I only played him to l...  more
  • Cameron Swarbrick
    Cameron Swarbrick   ·  December 18, 2011
    So I've been 'researching' for you all by playing as a Khajiit with only claws for close combat. My findings are as follows.

    This is immensely powerful at lower levels. Khajiit claws do 15 damage on top of regular unarmed damage, while an iro...  more
  • Paul
    Paul   ·  December 17, 2011
    I don't think anyone is suggesting that H2H is more powerful than a decent bow or sword, nor should it be really. And of course the lack of skill and perk upgrades is something that can only be barely compensated for, if at all
    But the thread is abo...  more
  • Jay
    Jay   ·  December 17, 2011
    Mr. Norris, my daedric bow does 220 damage per arrow hit, which is far more than any fist-blow.  Even yours. 
  • Chuck Norris
    Chuck Norris   ·  December 16, 2011
    @ All doubting Hand to Hand combat

    Hand to hand combat is a viable option for any situation and furthermore I will come round house you in the face if you think otherwise..

    Sincerely,
    C. Norris

    P.s. Go by a Tot...  more
  • Dreema
    Dreema   ·  December 16, 2011
    Someone is wrong on the internet!  I disengage...it's a game.  Enjoy it.
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