Skyrim Character Building » Discussions


Event Build: The Abyssal

Tags: #Event: Occult 
  • Member
    September 29, 2019

    The Abyssal steps from the boundless emptiness of the Void; a man once, corrupted by ruinous powers of entropy - to harness primeval magics at the cost of the ultimate sacrifice. This build combines some of the most self-destructive spells that Apocalypse has to offer with a heavy focus on restoration magic, an enormous health-pool and the ability to shape the forces of life and death simultaneously. The result is a character that empowers spells by ravaging his own flesh and blood to unleash all manner of meladictive destruction. 

     

    What to expect:

    An Ancient Returned - think Miraak, but rather than being imprisoned in Apocrypha, The Abyssal has traversed the unknowable nothingness that lies beyond and thus become corrupted by the elder knowledge hidden therein.

    Occult Magic - The Abyssal unleashes deadly spells at a deadly cost; much more potent than any blood-mage, this build is able to instantly kill most enemies at the cost of utterly depleting its own health-pool. 

    Finger of Death - (Blast of death magic that damages a living target equal to its Health but the caster takes 125% damage. If this would kill the caster, damage to the target is reduced).The Abyssal uses this spell as it’s main - and indeed singular - form of offence, resulting in a build that calculates damage as “Dragonborns per second”... 

    Those ignorant to the ways of the arcane often view magic as a boundless source of power. They could not be more wrong. Magic, as all things, is bound to a strict set of rules and limitations that shackle all wizards within their confines. I spent a lifetime contemplating these absolutes, seeking ways to undo the restrictions and thereby transcend the ranks of the mundane magi. I submerged myself in the ways of The Occult; seeking knowledge amongst the alternate plains - the realms of the Daedra, yet found their promises of power all but empty.   


    Thus it was that I discovered a source much more potent, much more ancient, than any I had sought before. By way of a great ritual I transported myself beyond the metaphysical realms of the existing, into the vast and primeval darkness known to us as the Void.


    It was within this emptiness, this manifestation of the unknowable nothingness, that I found the secrets to undo the arcane lores. However, to be a mortal touched by this power is to suffer an agonizing glimpse of eternal unreality, and so my body and mind became changed, corrupted by the eternal shroud, to be cursed with an absolute power at the cost of a most terrible sacrifice...


    The core mechanic of this build is to scale both damage and survivability through one single stat:  health. Whereas other mages are forced to invest into magicka management, spell cost reduction and magicka regeneration, The Abyssal instead focuses on gaining as much additional health as possible. The more hit-points The Abyssal can obtain, the more damage he will be able to deal - leading to some devastating one-shot potential whilst remaining exceptionally tanky throughout the entire game. All that remains is to restore the self-damage taken by Finger of Death, or negate its negative effects as much as possible; all of which is achieved through a clever combination spells and perks that synergise wonderfully to make this build one of the most volatile I have ever created. 

     

    Essential Mods: EnaiRim Collecting

    Ordinator, Perks of Skyrim - Apocalypse, Magic of Skyrim - Andromeda, Standing Stones of Skyrim - Imperious, Races of Skyrim.  

    I’d also recommend removing any mods that change the stats of enemies, such as Leveled Zones or Revenge of The Enemies - if a Bandit Outlaw has 600 HP this build is going to become unplayable. 

    Race: Imperial

    The damage potential of this build scales directly from it’s maximum health, making it important to reach as high amount of hit-points as possible. For this reason we choose to play an imperial that, at level 10, sacrifices 50 points of stamina to gain an additional 100 points of health. Furthermorethe Imperial Racial ability grants additional regeneration on entering combat and the ability to select resistances. 

    Essential Spells:

    Lamb of Mara, Fast Healing, Finger of Death, Illusionary Flames, Tree Rings, Ocato’s Recital, Spell Twine, Natures Balance, flesh spell.

    Stat placement: 100% health 

    For the reasons mentioned above, and due to a few cleverly placed perks, The Abyssal is able to invest all stat points into health - making the build exceptionally tanky and further increasing the damage potential of Finger of Death. At level 30 I was sitting comfortably on 850 HP out of combat and over 1000 with buffs.

    Standing Stone: The Atronach

    Adding magicka regeneration on kill, a sorely needed 50% reduction to spell costs and 25% boost to spell effectiveness, The Atronach Stone benefits the build in terms of magicka management; allowing us to completely ignore any additional investments into the stat (apart from a few enchantments) - making it the most practical Standing Stone for the build. 


    By opting for the Intuitive Magic perk from Alteration (all novice / apprentice spells cost 100% reduced magicka) and combining it with the Atronach Stone, The Abyssal is able to spam healing spells - such as Fast Healing and Lamb of Mara - for no cost. Pair this with a long list of health increasing buffs plus enchantments and the build becomes an unbreakable wall of void-corrupted flesh, especially when considering the fact that all restoration spells have greatly increased magnitudes depending on skill level, percentage of missing health and the Atronach Stone.   

     

    Restoration:

    The main skill of the build; restoration grants us enormous amounts of damage as well as healing. By focusing on some of the high-end restoration perks, The Restoration School becomes a truly invaluable asset. Overflowing Cup directly increases maximum health (and thereby the damage of Finger of Death) and Wheel of Life passively grants us healing in combat. All in all the build needs a high level of restoration, but only expends a handful of perks therein. 


    Alteration: 

    Yet another defensive layer and quality of life enhancement; Alteration grants the build even more of a boost to maximum health and a much needed increase to resistances and armor rating. However, the true benefit of The Alteration School stems from the Ocato’s Recital spell in combination with damage-reducing restoration spells and a few cleverly chosen effects of Spelltwine when selected to benefit the autocast skills stored. Alteration takes on the aspect of a utility skill and remains my favorite school of magic within Ordinator. 


    Illusion:

    Some of the most essential perk and spell combinations of the build stem from The Illusion tree: Imposing Presence makes illusions spells cast on those affected 25% stronger, Illusionary Flames (made free by Intuitive Magic) reduces enemy HP by 30% - which can be increased via Dream Thief and Imposing Presence to a total of 72%; reducing the health of an Elder Dragon to around 650 - in other words a one-shot kill. 


    Enchanting:

    Although I tend to stay clear from grinding skills, Enchanting benefits the build to such a degree that I was forced to implement it. By enchanting all gear possible with health enchantments the build is easily able to reach an additional 150 extra health from enchanting alone. And toward the late game (once Twin Enchantment is selected) the build is able to fortify Illusion spells to the point where expert level spells become spammable, allowing for massive area damage, even more self-healing and carrying The Abyssal into the realms of the utterly ridiculous in terms of pure overpoweredness.  


    With just four skills as the primary Focus of the build there will build up an excess of perk points toward the mid- and late game. With this in mind the build allows for a great deal of customization; you could invest a lot more into illusion, becoming a crows controlling death dealer. Conjuration is another great choice, adding both damage and survivability through summoned / reanimated minions. At the end of the day I like to keep things open and interchangeable so ultimately the choice falls to you.  

     


    Finger of Death is an interesting spell to say the least; it allows for some devastating damage, but is only able to hit one enemy at a time and the self-damage taken is a major drawback. However, after doing some testing I discovered that Lamb of Mara procs BEFORE Finger of Death - effectively increasing damage by 35% but reducing the healing effect. In combination with Illusionary Flames this increases The Abyssal damage potential by 65%... and thats without additional increases to skill effects or any perks.  


    In terms of healing I found Fast Healing to be a cornerstone of the build; being free of cost and gaining additional magnitude due to Spell Twine (restore health equal to 50% of alteration level) and The Atronach Stone, this apprentice spell heals a huge amount both in and out of combat. Couple this with Nature’s Balance and the build is able to regenerate itself instantaneously. Here are some of the most essential spell combinations: 


    Undying Anomaly

    Ocato’s Recital + Tree Rings + Sealed Resolve + Flesh Spell 
    Welloc’s Dormant Arcana (1/3) + Flesh spell - Fortify Health 50, fortify Magicka 50, Restoration Magnitude 10%

    By combining Welloc’s with spells stored via Ocato’s Recital, The Abyssal is able to automatically buff up his health-pool and healing effectiveness upon entering combat. This not only allows for more damage and healing, but also works excellently for leveling up both Restoration and Alteration with very little conscious effort.  


    Essence Consumption

    Finger of Death + Spell Twine + Lamb of Mara + Intuitive Magic
    Spell Twine (2/3) + Finger of Death - Heal for 50% of Alteration Level on cast

    Lamb of Mara allows The Abyssal to spam Finger of Death by instantly absorbing 43% (buffed by Atronach Stone) of the health the target loses, which is very useful against groups of weaker enemies, especially when considering the extra boost to healing that Spell Twine adds to Finger of Death itself.   


    Void Battery

    Intuitive Magic + Fast Healing + Edge Walker + Atronach Stone 
    Spell Twine (3/3) + Fast Healing - Heal for 50% of Alteration level

    All in all the build plays out like a fast, deadly and exceptionally potent Blood Mage; juggling Health Points around by leeching the life force from enemies whilst simultaneously casting void-induced death magic for crazy amounts of damage, healing to full life before unleashing utter devastation once more.   


    Yet, the facts remains that The Abyssal is a very difficult build to master - but, to a veteran Skyrim player like myself, this is what makes it so damned enjoyable to play. There will be times when the mechanics of Finger of Death are almost impossible to manage, especially when combating multiple foes at once, but by using (abusing) healing magic and staying out of harm's reach The Abyssal is able to handle most any encounter and come out on top.  

    Levels 1-10

    The first order of business for The Abyssal is to “regain his memories” (the roleplaying version of powering up on spells and skill points) by studying the lores of the arcane at Winterhold. I recommend starting the game in the style of a crusader: level up Restoration and Alteration as fast as possible, but keep a weapon at hand just in case. Luckily the College questline grants us a load of fortify magicka gear - use this to cast high level spells via Ocato’s as early as possible. Once you reach level 10 make sure to convert 50 points of stamina into Health. 


    Levels 10-20  

    Now that you’ve stored a defensive bulwark of spells via Ocato’s its time to delve into the realm of Void Magick. Start by using Lamb of Mara in combination with Finger of Death, restore your health with any novice restoration magic available as you should have Intuitive Magic 1/2 at this point. After completing The College I’d recommend you set out to explore your re-remembered powers by obtaining soul gems and using them to empower your corrupted flesh via enchanting. 


    Levels 20-30

    At this point the build really starts to kick off; we have tons of healing, more than 500 health, some decent enchantments and all the illusion tools we need. The focus from here on out is to reach restoration 80 (if you haven't already) and delve into some of the late game perks from the Alteration tree. You’ll reach a point around level 25-30 where the build really starts to feel powerful and from here on out all of Skyrim becomes your playground.   

     

    And there we have it, The Abyssal. I hope you enjoyed the read and I’ll see you around!

    *The Blue Dremora rises from it’s seat and exits the room*  


    Regrettably I had to rush the build as I was running low on time for the contest - I might do some touching up later, when work has gotten me less bogged down, but for the time being this is it. 

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Member
    September 29, 2019

    I'm not sure how the tags work by the way, so I left them open xD

  • September 29, 2019

    The Archives detail how to use Tags so worth going through them and adding them just so the build will be easier to find in the future. 

    But man it's nice to see how everything works together, and I have to say that I enjoyed the way you wrote the build, having that core focus of Finger of Death to build everything around makes for a rather simplistic build in some ways, but still utterly fascinating and wrapped in more synergy than...uh metaphor's are hard? Just really enjoyed reading the final copy and if you do come back to add to it I'll be even more interested no doubt :D 

  • Member
    September 30, 2019

    Dragonborn2121 said:

    The Archives detail how to use Tags so worth going through them and adding them just so the build will be easier to find in the future. 

    But man it's nice to see how everything works together, and I have to say that I enjoyed the way you wrote the build, having that core focus of Finger of Death to build everything around makes for a rather simplistic build in some ways, but still utterly fascinating and wrapped in more synergy than...uh metaphor's are hard? Just really enjoyed reading the final copy and if you do come back to add to it I'll be even more interested no doubt :D 

     

    Thanks Dragon!

    I was exploring a bunch of options with Vanciant Magic, but found the playstyle too powerful so I ended up going for the simpler version; but simple as the build may be it's quite a unique playstyle.