Forums » Elder Scrolls

Top 10 races

    • 48 posts
    September 13, 2015 1:45 AM EDT
    Hi reader I was playing through skyrim and I started to think about my favorites races so here there are I am putting lore and gameplay into perspective. Please note that this is my opinion.

    10.high elf they jerks who think they're better than everyone else and their gameplay is not that fun.

    9.wood elf their lore isn't that interesting and their gameplay is just for archers.

    8.breton their lore is pretty boring and their gameplay is also pretty boring.

    7.redguard their lore is interesting but their gameplay is not that fun.

    6.khajit their lore is interesting and their gameplay is pretty fun.

    5.orc their lore is pretty interesting and fun gameplay.

    4.imperial their lore is really interesting and their gameplay is fun.

    3.nord they have a interesting lore and fun gameplay.

    2.dark elf they have a interesting lore and factions and their good mages and assassins.

    1.argonian their lore is very interesting and their gameplay is really you could be any class with them.

    Put your opinions in the comments.
    • 1595 posts
    September 13, 2015 6:44 AM EDT

    I'm sorry but I lol'd at this. Reminded me of Ponty's photo from some time back

    • 1483 posts
    September 13, 2015 7:16 AM EDT

    Not sure what you mean by gameplay here. If you refer to skill boosts, Argonians are really not that useful. +10 Lockpicking is not as useful as +10 Destruction or +10 Archery. Highborn is one of the best racial powers in the game. As for lore... that's indeed quite subjective 

    • 1595 posts
    September 13, 2015 10:41 AM EDT

    I've got to agree with brother Vaz here but take it a step further than he. In both terms of both gameplay and lore the Altmer have Argonians outmatched. As much as lore can be subjective, Argonians simply don't make sense. Now don't get offended, they aren't meant to. As fun as it might be to play as one can you ever truly say you understand it fully? They are alien to us as we have no frame of reference. Talking about Argonians always reminds me of the conversation between Tali and Shepard regarding the Geth

    • 17 posts
    September 13, 2015 3:13 PM EDT

    XD

    • 268 posts
    September 13, 2015 3:38 PM EDT
    I find this "their gameplay is boring" stuff kind of weird, considering any race can be used for any build, therefore their "gameplay" is irrelevant.
    • 95 posts
    September 13, 2015 3:47 PM EDT
    The Thalmor are the way they are because they were conquered by Tiber Septim. They can't stand the idea of being governed by another race who had no buissness in their affairs.
    Besides, Tiber Septim himself said the only reason they could defeat the Altmer was because of Numidium (or however it's spelled :p). The Altmer are actually pretty cool in lore and gameplay too, so I really disagree with you there.
    And as others said before, the gameplay is irrelevant as any race can be any play style.
    • 98 posts
    September 13, 2015 4:24 PM EDT

    LOL

    • 131 posts
    September 13, 2015 4:30 PM EDT
    Uh.. You have two points on each race, it's essentially all the same really just add or remove an "i like" or "i don't like" and you get the same answers.
    • 411 posts
    September 13, 2015 4:32 PM EDT

    There is only one thing i can say

    #DremoraMasterRace

    • 1217 posts
    September 13, 2015 4:34 PM EDT

    My top three:

    3. Khajiit

    2. Redguard

    1. Argonian

    Maybe you could flesh out your reasons a bit more...I mean, these all say "their lore is x and their gameplay is x".

    Like, I have the Argonians as number 1 because a) Lizardmen are badass, b) they are contenders for the oldest inhabitants of Tamriel, and c) this. To be honest, I'll always be a little disappointed in their gameplay until the race with the snapping jaws full of meat-tearing teeth get a bite attack in melee.

    • 411 posts
    September 13, 2015 4:44 PM EDT

    My top 10 races are

    Scamps 

    Winged Twilight

    Spider Daedra

    Flame Antronch

    Lurkers

    Xivkyn 

    Xivilai

    Grievous Twilights

    Seekers 

    Dremora

    Thats my list of races i love

    • 98 posts
    September 13, 2015 4:44 PM EDT

    Top 6:

    1. Imperial
    2. Khajiit
    3. Bosmer
    4. Orsimer
    5. Breton
    6. Nord

    Was split between Khajiit and Imperial for first place, due to them being easier to relate to roleplay-wise. Besides who doesn't love to play as a stuck-up noble who later evolves into a kind and loving hero?

    • 177 posts
    September 13, 2015 5:04 PM EDT

    Well, even though history generally says making a list of races you like and don't like usually doesn't end well...I'll play ball!

    10. Nords: Nothing about them appeals to me! I hardly ever play tank characters, so stat wise they don't stick out, and their rather battle heavy, "the gods say so", follow traditions culture is something I don't like!

    9. Orcs: Built for tanks...culture with polygamy and killing family as core elements... Nope nope nope!

    8. Imperials: I can deal with their charismatic based stats, but the whole "Let's conquer everything" history turns me off a bit.

    7. Redguard: Their stats for a fighter are okay, but not for how I play. And I find their culture a bit...booooring!

    6. Breton: I love the stats, but their whole Game of Thrones-esque values make me a teeny weeny more likely to avoid them!

    5. Wood Elf: I like the archery thing and I find their homeland intriguing back eating people! No!

    4 .Dark Elf: I like their stats fiery magic theme and their lore interests me a LOT!

    3.  High Elf: Their stats are great and lore is reaaaally cool, but I don't like the pompous attitude! Not one bit!

    2. Argonian: Their stats could be better, but they are so unique their lore is sooooo interesting!

    1. Khajiit: Their stats are almost perfect for me and I love their culture..also. Yay! Kitties!

    • 134 posts
    September 13, 2015 5:18 PM EDT

    Get out of Oblivion much? 

    • 134 posts
    September 13, 2015 5:28 PM EDT

    I'd have to say:

    5. Imperial - Long live the empire!

    4. Khajiit - Interesting personalities and moon-based culture.

    3. Breton - Based on Britain/France/Celts, my favourite area for history (bar the colonies).

    2. Argonian - Well... lizards. Great aesthetics and mysterious.

    1. Altmer - Stuck up with every reason to be - the perfectionists!

    If it counted, then I'd include Falmer, Dwemer and Daedroths, the sadly non-playables...

    • 367 posts
    September 14, 2015 7:03 AM EDT

    I've said it before and I'll say it again. (Give me an excuse and I'll probably say it tomorrow as well).

    There are only three races in Skyrim... Werewolves, Argonians, and everyone else.

    • 622 posts
    September 14, 2015 7:27 AM EDT

    There's races other then Argonian?! O.O

    • 288 posts
    September 14, 2015 7:31 AM EDT

    There are weapons other than greatswords?

    • 367 posts
    September 14, 2015 8:45 AM EDT
    Afraid so Tae. I've got to count Aela somehow
    ..(Werewolf)..
    • 77 posts
    September 14, 2015 11:07 AM EDT

    Here's how the 10 races of Tamriel break down for me.

    1. Altmer – I love playing a mage and high elves make the best mages, you basically start the game as a level 6 mage with the highborn magicka boost and they are taller than everyone else. The race is poorly represented in Skyrim since most of the ones you meet are Thalmor, who are jerks.
    2. Nord – Probably the most relatable race for me ethnically since I’m of Swedish decent.  If I’m not going for a specific build then I play Nord.  Racial power is a great panic button.  BEARDS!!!
    3. Dunmer – The best pyromancers (my favorite way to play) in the game.  They also have a rich lore, probably due to an entire game centered on them.
    4. Breton – Another great mage/anti-mage race due to their racial magic resistance and daily power.  They are just too short for my taste and break the immersion for me.
    5. Argonian – I love a good lizard man.  They are weird and awesome at the same time with a strange religion and great racial abilities.  I hate the tail clipping with every piece of clothing in the game, and the face crunching masks, this could have been done better.  I’m nit-picking here but it just gets annoying after a few hours and I find myself rerolling a character.
    6. Khajiit – Some of my favorite followers  in the game are the khajiit.  They have great peronalities and the culture built up around them is facinateing unfortunately they suffer from the same aesthetic issues as the Argonians.  If not for that both races would be higher on my list.
    7. Imperial – Great racial panic button however its function is used the same way as a Nord’s who also have frost resistance.
    8. Redguard – Combat oriented.  Unless I’m playing a build that makes specific use of their daily power I’ll pass.  If I want to play a human race I need a very good reason to not pick nord.
    9. Orc – Same as redguard.  The only time I pick an orc is if I’m looking to create a very intimidating and monstrous aesthetic.
    10. Bosmer – No point to its existence in Skyrim.  The racial power is highly situational.  I can only see playing them if you really like the lore behind their culture, which is very interesting.  I can’t see myself ever playing this race.

    I play in 3rd person so the appearance of a character probably matters more to me than it would to a 1st person player.

  • September 16, 2015 12:36 PM EDT

    I divide the races into three tiers: Tier I are the races I really like in just about every way. Tier II I like almost as much as Tier I, but there's one thing about them that I don't like quite as much. Tier III I'm just very apathetic about for whatever reason. The number ranking within the tier ~does~ matter, just not a whole lot: the races inside of each tier are very close, and Tiers I and II are also quite close, as I said before. Also, my list is based more on lore, roleplay and aesthetics than gameplay, just because I'm really into lore, roleplay and aesthetics.  On to the list!

    Tier I:

    1. Nord. I pretty much am a Nord in real life, and I love just about everything Nordic/Celtic/Germanic in origin, so it would make sense that Nords are at the top for me. I love their lore, I find roleplaying them to be very natural, and both their physical aesthetics (tall, strong, beardy) and cultural aesthetics (Viking/Celtic mix) are awesome. If I had to choose one favorite race, this would be it.

    2. Dunmer. I find their Daedra-based lore to be quite fascinating, and while they are somewhat alien, they're still very relatable, so I find roleplaying as one quite easy and fun. Their aesthetics are also very cool, and the physical and cultural mesh very well.

    3/4. Orsimer. They also have interesting Daedra-based lore, and a similar honorable barbarian vibe to the Nords, so the roleplay is easy for me. Both their physical and cultural aesthetics are very strong and intimidating, and besides: everyone roots for the underdogs.

    3/4. Khajiit. Again, interesting lore, this time Moon-based, but still incorporating the Daedra. Also fun to roleplay, and while their cultural aesthetics (although good) aren't really represented in Skyrim, they're physical aesthetics are definitely great.

    Tier II:

    5. Reachmen. Even though they aren't technically a separate race from Bretons in-game, they consider themselves to be so, and so do I. Also: I very much like Reachmen, but, as you'll see later, I don't really care for Bretons much.   Anyway: their lore is very interesting and compelling, their roleplay is very fun and easy for me, and their primal cultural aesthetic is very cool. My only small issue with them is that while the females look great, the males look kind of odd to me.

    6/7. Altmer. Great lore, easy and fun roleplay, great aesthetics both physical and cultural. However, they do seem a little generically Elven to me, although they do have unique elements.

    6/7 Argonian. Interesting and unique lore, and same aesthetic situation as the Khajiit. But to quote Veloth the Pilgrim: "I'm just not sure how to roleplay a semi-emotionless, lovecraftian-atheist, hivemind lizard person."

    8. Imperial. Similar situation to the Altmer: Cool lore, easy and fun roleplay, great cultural aesthetics and fine physical ones. Only problem is they're just sort of a generic "Human Empire" sort of thing.

    Tier III:

    9. Bosmer. Great, interesting, unique lore, and easy, fun roleplay. Their cultural aesthetic is quite cool, although again: not represented in Skyrim. However, I find the Bosmer themselves to be rather ugly (not good ugly like Orcs though), and they just don't really "click" or "strike a chord" with me like the tier I and II races.

    10. Reguard. Cool lore, fine physical aesthetic, cool cultural aesthetic. I really have nothing against them at all, the only reason they're not higher is that, to me, they seem to fill a very similar Middle-Eastern themed niche to the Khajiit, and I just like the Khajiit much better.

    11. Breton. The only race who's lore I find completely uninteresting: they're humans who are good at magic because they have a little Elven blood, and they can't stop killing each other, that's it. Also, similar to what I said before with the Reachmen: although their cultural aesthetic is cool (again, not represented in Skyrim, except for maybe Plate Armor) and the females look good, the males look kind of odd to me. 

  • September 16, 2015 10:46 PM EDT

    Perhaps fans will get that when TES VI is released, if it is released.

  • September 16, 2015 11:05 PM EDT

    I hate the game mechanics. Now that crap is done...

    1. Redguards - I find the Forebear and Crown divide interesting on various levels, their love of blades can make for some interesting nightblade, battlemage, and spellsword stories, nightblade especially on account of the desert aesthetics that are the stuff of sultry, and their history with the Bretons is very convenient for story/role-play, especially for spoiled half-breeds who happen to adore magic .
    2. Bretons - Their vanilla fantasy aesthetics appeal to me along with their Renaissance-esque merchant culture, kingdoms full of Redguardsmesh of various cultures, and commonplace magic. Their culture of nobility and persistent trade with the Redguards provide some joy in writing - intrigue and like. The land is also diverse, and I like all types of weather.
    3. What other races? 
    • 184 posts
    October 2, 2015 5:40 AM EDT

    I like all of the races, really.