One Discussion, Four Builds
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
The Four Horsemen, bane of the living, the true harbingers of the end times. These things, be they human, specter or demon, are the forerunners for the end of the world, showing humanity the signs of their impending doom.
This "Mega-build" As I like to call it, features each of the four horsemen at level 40. The Stone used for each is fittingly the Steed stone, due to the obvious joke (Horsemen ha ha) as well as the actual effects of the stone being highly beneficial to the all heavy armor build style.
Basic Playstyles
Pestilence: Stealthy bowman, using poison to harm and demoralize enemies without them even knowing they are infected.
War: Total Berzerker, using a two handed great sword to decimate his foes, whilst playing on their fears and incinerating all that stand before him
Famine: Manipulating enemies so they are at their weakest and wiping them out using dual-wield maces, poisoned to sap their energy and stamina
Death: Commanding undead soldiers whilst disabling and harming anything that gets in his way with his battleaxe(scythe).
Character Builds
Pestilence
Race: Bosmer, due to Archery Buff and Poison/Disease Resist
Suggested Equipment: Orcish Boots/Gauntlets, Ebony Mail, Ebony Bow, Jagged Crown
Key Shouts: Marked For Death, Aura Whisper, Slow Time
Archery (100) |
Heavy Armor (100) |
Sneak (80) |
Alchemy (80) |
Overdraw (5) Eagle Eye Critical Shot (3) Power Shot Hunter’s Discipline Quick Shot Ranger Bullseye |
Juggernaut (5) Well Fitted Tower of Strength Matching Set Reflect Blows |
Stealth (5) Backstab Deadly Aim |
Alchemist (3) Physician Poisoner Concentrated Poison Snakeblood |
Smithing (100) |
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Steel Smithing Dwarven Smithing Orcish Smithing Ebony Smithing Daedric Smithing |
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Priority: Archery> Heavy Armor> Alchemy> Sneak>Smithing
Special Abilities
Contraction: A single ailment is never enough. Equip a Weakness to Poison + Ravage Health + Damage Health potion (Deathbell, Giant Lichen, Skeever Tail) and use the Marked for Death dragon shout. Fire twice after a short while, giving the mark time to work.*
Epidemic: Spread disease to all. Use Damage Over Time poisons (One every two shots) and use the Slow Time dragon shout. This not only hits more enemies but also causes more damage to them as well.
*If the specific poison isn’t easily obtainable, any poison with Weakness to Poison + Health Damage may be substituted
War
Race: Orc preferable for special abilities
Suggested Equipment: Ancient Nord Armor, Daedric Greatsword
Key Shouts: Slow Time, Elemental Fury, Dismay, Fire Breath
Destruction (100) |
Illusion (50) |
Heavy Armor (100) |
Two Handed (90) |
Novice Destruction Apprentice Destruction Adept Destruction Expert Destruction Master Destruction Augmented Flames (2) Intense Flames |
Novice Illusion Hypnotic Gaze Aspect of Terror |
Juggernaut (5) Well Fitted Tower of Strength Matching Set Reflect Blows |
Barbarian (5) Champion’s Stance Deep Wounds (3) Great Critical Charge Devastating Blow Sweep |
Smithing (90) |
Enchanting (20) |
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Steel Smithing Dwarven Smithing Orcish Smithing Ebony Smithing Daedric Smithing |
Enchanter (2) |
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Priority: Two Handed>Heavy Armor>Destruction>Smithing>Illusion>Enchanting
Restrictions
Destruction: Only Fire-based Illusion: Fear only
Special Abilities
Annihilation: Show your enemies the true power of war. Use Flame Cloak, Berserker Rage and Slow Time/Elemental Fury and charge into the enemy.
Scorched Earth: The flames of war are hotter than ever before. Using a weakness to fire poison, slice with sweep on enemies in front of you, followed by casting Fire Storm. Slow time may prove useful for performing this maneuver, especially if combined with Flame Cloak for extra damage.
*Note, Fire Storm may be replaced by any flame-based destruction spell
Famine
Race: Imperial, due to racial ability
Suggested Equipment: Dragonbone Armor, Dual Orcish Maces
Key Shouts: Marked For Death, Disarm, Dismay
Illusion (100) |
Alteration (100) |
Heavy Armor (100) |
One Handed (100) |
Novice Illusion Apprentice Illusion Adept Illusion Expert Illusion Master Illusion Hypnotic Gaze Aspect of Terror Rage Master of the Mind |
Novice Alteration Apprentice Alteration Adept Alteration Expert Alteration Master Alteration
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Juggernaut (3) Well Fitted
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Armsman (3) Fighting Stance Bone Breaker (1) Dual Flurry (2) Savage Strike Dual Savagery Paralyzing Strike |
Alchemy (60) |
Smithing (100) |
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Alchemist (3) Physician Poisoner Concentrated Poison |
Steel Smithing Dwarven Smithing Orcish Smithing Ebony Smithing Daedric Smithing Dragon Armor |
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Priority: Illusion>One Handed>Heavy Armor>Alchemy>Alteration>Smithing
Special Abilities
Ravenous: A man unfed will eat anything. Cast Frenzy on the strongest visible enemy. Whilst the group of enemies is distracted, use marked for death on the target to weaken further over time.
Starvation: The slowest and emptiest of deaths. Use the Disarm dragon shout on an enemy, followed by casting fear and paralyze in quick succession. The enemy is utterly helpless against their impending demise.
Death
Race: Nord, due to Frost resistance and racial ability
Suggested Equipment: Blades Armor, Ebony Boots/Greaves, Vokun, Nord Hero Battleaxe
Key Shouts: Marked for Death, Frost Breath, Ice Form, Become Ethereal
Conjuration (100) |
Destruction (100) |
Heavy Armor (60) |
Two Handed (60) |
Novice Conjuration Apprentice Conjuration Adept Conjuration Expert Conjuration Master Conjuration Necromancy Dark Souls Twin Souls |
Novice Destruction Apprentice Destruction Adept Destruction Expert Destruction Master Destruction Augmented Frost Augmented Shock Deep Freeze
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Juggernaut (4) Well Fitted
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Barbarian (4) Champion’s Stance Limb Splitter(2) Devastating Blow
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Enchanting (100) |
Smithing (100) |
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Enchanter (3) Insightful Enchanter Corpus Enchanter Extra Effect |
Steel Smithing Elven Smithing Advanced Armors Glass Smithing |
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Priority: Conjuration>Two Handed>Heavy Armor>Destruction>Enchanting>Smithing
Special Abilities
Lambs to the slaughter: When in combat with thralls, cast as many Frost runes behind the enemy as is practical and then use Battle Cry. When the enemy is slowed after running over the runes, cast Wall of Frost/Storms on top of them to cause massive damage.
Death’s Touch: One devastating strike. Use the Marked for death dragon shout, followed by a weakness to frost poison/Weakness to shock applied via battleaxe and finally casting Icy spear/Thunderbolt.
BONUS: Four horsemen, One playthrough
To Achieve this, you will need to use the Death build, potentially taking the ritual stone to make up for the lack of temporary resurrection. You will then need to use:
Follower- Eola; Famine
Eola is a good choice for this role because even though she does not fit the role 100%, she is the best fit for the role out of the followers, especially due to her quest line and dialogue. Load her up with stamina/magicka/weakness poisons as well as dragonplate armor and dual maces to create Famine.
Thrall 1- Champion of Boethia; Pestilence
Who else but the Champion of Boethia? Mostly used to to the default armor being ebony mail but also because he is a solid fighter too. Load him with damaging poisons along with a bow of choice to create Pestilence.
Thrall 2- Chief Yamarz; War
Wearing full orcish armor along with over 1200 health (Help kill the giant), Chief Yamarz has all the health and armor required to take on the mantle of war, although he is lacking fire magic. Upgrade his armor and give him a Greatsword to complete the role.
And there you go, all four horsemen in one play-through. Warning: Save frequently and often and do not enter a new area without making sure your thralls are still there, losing named thralls really sucks.
Go bring the apocalypse to Skyrim!
Note; Conquest is potentially in the works, watch this space!
While you're at it, why not take a look at my other quality builds?
One Discussion, Four Builds
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
The Four Horsemen, bane of the living, the true harbingers of the end times. These things, be they human, specter or demon, are the forerunners for the end of the world, showing humanity the signs of their impending doom.
This "Mega-build" As I like to call it, features each of the four horsemen at level 40. The Stone used for each is fittingly the Steed stone, due to the obvious joke (Horsemen ha ha) as well as the actual effects of the stone being highly beneficial to the all heavy armor build style.
Basic Playstyles
Pestilence: Stealthy bowman, using poison to harm and demoralize enemies without them even knowing they are infected.
War: Total Berzerker, using a two handed great sword to decimate his foes, whilst playing on their fears and incinerating all that stand before him
Famine: Manipulating enemies so they are at their weakest and wiping them out using dual-wield maces, poisoned to sap their energy and stamina
Death: Commanding undead soldiers whilst disabling and harming anything that gets in his way with his battleaxe(scythe).
Character Builds
Pestilence
Race: Bosmer, due to Archery Buff and Poison/Disease Resist
Suggested Equipment: Orcish Boots/Gauntlets, Ebony Mail, Ebony Bow, Jagged Crown
Key Shouts: Marked For Death, Aura Whisper, Slow Time
Archery (100) |
Heavy Armor (100) |
Sneak (80) |
Alchemy (80) |
Overdraw (5) Eagle Eye Critical Shot (3) Power Shot Hunter’s Discipline Quick Shot Ranger Bullseye |
Juggernaut (5) Well Fitted Tower of Strength Matching Set Reflect Blows |
Stealth (5) Backstab Deadly Aim |
Alchemist (3) Physician Poisoner Concentrated Poison Snakeblood |
Smithing (100) |
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|
|
Steel Smithing Dwarven Smithing Orcish Smithing Ebony Smithing Daedric Smithing |
|
|
|
Priority: Archery> Heavy Armor> Alchemy> Sneak>Smithing
Special Abilities
Contraction: A single ailment is never enough. Equip a Weakness to Poison + Ravage Health + Damage Health potion (Deathbell, Giant Lichen, Skeever Tail) and use the Marked for Death dragon shout. Fire twice after a short while, giving the mark time to work.*
Epidemic: Spread disease to all. Use Damage Over Time poisons (One every two shots) and use the Slow Time dragon shout. This not only hits more enemies but also causes more damage to them as well.
*If the specific poison isn’t easily obtainable, any poison with Weakness to Poison + Health Damage may be substituted
War
Race: Orc preferable for special abilities
Suggested Equipment: Ancient Nord Armor, Daedric Greatsword
Key Shouts: Slow Time, Elemental Fury, Dismay, Fire Breath
Destruction (100) |
Illusion (50) |
Heavy Armor (100) |
Two Handed (90) |
Novice Destruction Apprentice Destruction Adept Destruction Expert Destruction Master Destruction Augmented Flames (2) Intense Flames |
Novice Illusion Hypnotic Gaze Aspect of Terror |
Juggernaut (5) Well Fitted Tower of Strength Matching Set Reflect Blows |
Barbarian (5) Champion’s Stance Deep Wounds (3) Great Critical Charge Devastating Blow Sweep |
Smithing (90) |
Enchanting (20) |
|
|
Steel Smithing Dwarven Smithing Orcish Smithing Ebony Smithing Daedric Smithing |
Enchanter (2) |
|
|
Priority: Two Handed>Heavy Armor>Destruction>Smithing>Illusion>Enchanting
Restrictions
Destruction: Only Fire-based Illusion: Fear only
Special Abilities
Annihilation: Show your enemies the true power of war. Use Flame Cloak, Berserker Rage and Slow Time/Elemental Fury and charge into the enemy.
Scorched Earth: The flames of war are hotter than ever before. Using a weakness to fire poison, slice with sweep on enemies in front of you, followed by casting Fire Storm. Slow time may prove useful for performing this maneuver, especially if combined with Flame Cloak for extra damage.
*Note, Fire Storm may be replaced by any flame-based destruction spell
Famine
Race: Imperial, due to racial ability
Suggested Equipment: Dragonbone Armor, Dual Orcish Maces
Key Shouts: Marked For Death, Disarm, Dismay
Illusion (100) |
Alteration (100) |
Heavy Armor (100) |
One Handed (100) |
Novice Illusion Apprentice Illusion Adept Illusion Expert Illusion Master Illusion Hypnotic Gaze Aspect of Terror Rage Master of the Mind |
Novice Alteration Apprentice Alteration Adept Alteration Expert Alteration Master Alteration
|
Juggernaut (3) Well Fitted
|
Armsman (3) Fighting Stance Bone Breaker (1) Dual Flurry (2) Savage Strike Dual Savagery Paralyzing Strike |
Alchemy (60) |
Smithing (100) |
|
|
Alchemist (3) Physician Poisoner Concentrated Poison |
Steel Smithing Dwarven Smithing Orcish Smithing Ebony Smithing Daedric Smithing Dragon Armor |
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|
Priority: Illusion>One Handed>Heavy Armor>Alchemy>Alteration>Smithing
Special Abilities
Ravenous: A man unfed will eat anything. Cast Frenzy on the strongest visible enemy. Whilst the group of enemies is distracted, use marked for death on the target to weaken further over time.
Starvation: The slowest and emptiest of deaths. Use the Disarm dragon shout on an enemy, followed by casting fear and paralyze in quick succession. The enemy is utterly helpless against their impending demise.
Death
Race: Nord, due to Frost resistance and racial ability
Suggested Equipment: Blades Armor, Ebony Boots/Greaves, Vokun, Nord Hero Battleaxe
Key Shouts: Marked for Death, Frost Breath, Ice Form, Become Ethereal
Conjuration (100) |
Destruction (100) |
Heavy Armor (60) |
Two Handed (60) |
Novice Conjuration Apprentice Conjuration Adept Conjuration Expert Conjuration Master Conjuration Necromancy Dark Souls Twin Souls |
Novice Destruction Apprentice Destruction Adept Destruction Expert Destruction Master Destruction Augmented Frost Augmented Shock Deep Freeze
|
Juggernaut (4) Well Fitted
|
Barbarian (4) Champion’s Stance Limb Splitter(2) Devastating Blow
|
Enchanting (100) |
Smithing (100) |
|
|
Enchanter (3) Insightful Enchanter Corpus Enchanter Extra Effect |
Steel Smithing Elven Smithing Advanced Armors Glass Smithing |
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|
Priority: Conjuration>Two Handed>Heavy Armor>Destruction>Enchanting>Smithing
Special Abilities
Lambs to the slaughter: When in combat with thralls, cast as many Frost runes behind the enemy as is practical and then use Battle Cry. When the enemy is slowed after running over the runes, cast Wall of Frost/Storms on top of them to cause massive damage.
Death’s Touch: One devastating strike. Use the Marked for death dragon shout, followed by a weakness to frost poison/Weakness to shock applied via battleaxe and finally casting Icy spear/Thunderbolt.
BONUS: Four horsemen, One playthrough
To Achieve this, you will need to use the Death build, potentially taking the ritual stone to make up for the lack of temporary resurrection. You will then need to use:
Follower- Eola; Famine
Eola is a good choice for this role because even though she does not fit the role 100%, she is the best fit for the role out of the followers, especially due to her quest line and dialogue. Load her up with stamina/magicka/weakness poisons as well as dragonplate armor and dual maces to create Famine.
Thrall 1- Champion of Boethia; Pestilence
Who else but the Champion of Boethia? Mostly used to to the default armor being ebony mail but also because he is a solid fighter too. Load him with damaging poisons along with a bow of choice to create Pestilence.
Thrall 2- Chief Yamarz; War
Wearing full orcish armor along with over 1200 health (Help kill the giant), Chief Yamarz has all the health and armor required to take on the mantle of war, although he is lacking fire magic. Upgrade his armor and give him a Greatsword to complete the role.
And there you go, all four horsemen in one play-through. Warning: Save frequently and often and do not enter a new area without making sure your thralls are still there, losing named thralls really sucks.
Go bring the apocalypse to Skyrim!
Note; Conquest is potentially in the works, watch this space!
While you're at it, why not take a look at my other quality builds?