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Character Build: The Dark Brotherhood Special Ops

Tags: #Character Build Assassin  #Race:Argonian  #Rank:Exemplar 
  • March 6, 2014

    This unique build extends focus beyond simply building your own character, and encourages you to build a team of assassins!  You’ll be tasked with assembling The Dark Brotherhood Special Ops; a shadowy guerrilla warfare unit comprised of Skyrim’s six master-level assassins:

    The Shadowscale (you), Cicero, two Dark Brotherhood Initiates, Serana, and Aela the Huntress

     

    You play as The Shadowscale, an Argonian member of The Dark Brotherhood.  Your three primary goals in this build are to:

    1) Develop your assassin skills.

    2) Rise in the ranks of The Dark Brotherhood.

    3) Recruit a team of top assassins to assemble your lethal guerrilla warfare unit.

     

    Led by you, The Shadowscale, your six-member squad calls upon their elite stealth skills to silently infiltrate hostile territory such as bandit strongholds, forsworn camps, and dwemer ruins, among other locations.  Once your team has gained a tactical advantage over the enemy, you and your operatives strike, ambushing unwary foes with a mix of melee combat and ranged attacks.  

    Utilizing sneak puts your team in position to single-out enemies, prevents your squad from becoming too spaced out, and allows you to dispatch of targets quickly and efficiently when you make your initial strike.  You’ll notice that by keeping your team focused and together, all six of you can sweep over an enemy compound like a concentrated plague of death.

     

    Meet the Team

     

    The Shadowscale

    Your character, The Shadowscale, leads The Dark Brother Special Ops.  It’s on you to recruit the members of your team, equip them with upgraded Dark Brotherhood armor, and decide which quests your newly assembled unit will pursue.

     

    Race

    The Shadowscale is an Argonian member of the Dark Brotherhood, and Argonian lore mentions that Black Marsh natives specialize in guerrilla warfare, making Argonian the most logical race choice to lead a build that utilizes team-based ambush tactics.  If you’re dead set on another race, have at it.

     

    Stats

    0/4/1

    Investing heavily in health is ideal in case your team spreads thin during combat and the situation gets messy.  Putting one point into stamina for every five levels is sufficient enough for sprinting and archery purposes.

     

    Skills

    Major perk investments in: Sneak, One-Handed, Archery, and Alchemy.

    Minor perk investments in: Light Armor, Pickpocket, and Smithing.

    Level 49 Perk Calculatorhttp://skyrimcalculator.com/360050

    Note: You’ll need raise to pickpocket to 100 and want to raise smithing to 100, but you’ll only need five and two perks in each tree, respectively.  Light Armor will raise naturally over time as you play.

    Weapons

    Blade of Woe - The best dagger in the game and an ideal primary weapon for the leader of The Dark Brotherhood Special Ops.

    Windshear - In case combat becomes overwhelming, this sword allows you to stagger your opponent and retreat.  I preferred to use Windshear in my left hand and dual wield with the Blade of Woe in my right.

    (Optional) Angi’s Bow - For archery purposes, I chose Angi’s Bow.  It’s the same exact make as a standard hunting bow, except it belonged to Angi.  The bow’s damage output isn’t great, but it fires at a good speed and I use it mainly because I like Angi’s backstory.

    Equipment

    Ancient Shrouded Armor (full set), Nightweaver’s Band, and Amulet of Talos.

     

    Stone 

    Lord Stone - +50 additional armor and a 25% boost to magic resistance will help keep you alive.

     

    Shouts

    Become Ethereal is ideal for survivability and allows your teammates time to come to your aid if an enemy is too tough to handle.  Slow Time gives you room to breath and anticipate enemy movement.

     

    Powers

    Histskin - Ideal for melee combat against particularly tough enemies, the Argonian racial ability Histskin allows you to regenerate health 10x faster for 60 seconds once per day.

     

    Hybridization - You may find it beneficial to have powers that extend beyond your human form.  Becoming a hybrid Werewolf/Vampire Lord gives you new ways of fighting, and increases your mobility on the battle field.  If you don’t know how to become a hybrid, hop on youtube and check it out.

    Shadow Warrior - The Shadow Warrior perk atop the Sneak tree is lethal in the hands of The Shadowscale.  Crouching into sneak makes you invisible for a moment, and if your dagger damage is high enough you can kill-cam opponents who have detected you before they even have the chance to attack.

     

    Role

    As The Shadowscale, you can play the style of assassin character you want to play.  The Dark Brotherhood Special Ops have a mix of melee (3) and ranged (2) members, so you can enjoy skirmishing as a front-line fighter, or sit back and unleash a barrage of arrows while your teammates do the dirty work.  You serve your team best when targeting and dispatching of ranged enemies, which allows everyone else to focus on the same enemy.  Reducing the amount of space your team has to cover allows them to remain together and end fights more quickly.  While sneaking, every other member of the team falls into a straight line behind you.

     

    Cicero

    With skills of 100 Sneak, 100 One-Handed, 100 Light Armor, and 97 Archery, Cicero possesses all the necessary skills of an elite assassin.  In my playthrough, Cicero was my right-hand man (albeit a fairly annoying one).  His assumptions about Astrid were correct, and because I admire his loyalty to The Dark Brotherhood, I gifted him the second, stolen Blade of Woe, that I pickpocketed from Astrid.

     

    Weapons - Blade of Woe, Forsworn sword

    Equipment - Shrouded Armor

    Role - Cicero is ideally suited for a front-line role.  When dual-wielding his damage output doubles, making him lethal when he uses upgraded weapons.  Cicero is also a more than serviceable archer, provided you keep him stocked with arrows.

     

    Aela the Huntress

    Aela has 100 Archery, 100 Light Armor, 97 Sneak, and 75 One-Handed.  She is an archer class and serves as the primary ranged option for your team.  Aela prefers to stay at a distance during combat, firing arrows that pick away at the health of your enemies.  Giving her an upgraded bow helps her damage output, but you’ll need to make sure you keep her inventory stocked with arrows.  Taking away her shield makes her less likely to rush into melee combat.

     

    Weapons - Bow of the Hunt, Poacher’s Axe

    Equipment - Shrouded Armor

    Role - When sneaking, you’ll notice that Aela almost always assumes the position at the end of your “assassin line.”  Her positioning is perfect, as your initial ambush allows her to begin ranged combat right away.  Aela’s archer class setup is perfectly suited to assume the role of your team’s ranged specialist.  I gave her Bow of the Hunt and Poacher's Axe, simply because those weapons are perfect for her hunting affinity.

     

    Serana

    Serana possesses skills of 100 Sneak, 93 Light Armor, 93 One-Handed, and 88 Conjuration.  She is definitely the “free spirit” of The Dark Brotherhood Special Ops.  Serana will be the member of your team most likely to wander off and disappear for a short time, only to later come charging back into combat with a barrage of ice spikes, lightning, and vampiric drain spells.

     

    Weapons - Bloodthorn

    Equipment - Shrouded Armor (Note: Serana will only equip Shrouded Armor if it has been upgraded)

    Role - During combat, Serana usually hovers in a mid-range area, casting ice or lightning spells along with vampiric drain.  She is the only member of The Dark Brotherhood Special Ops who uses magic.  When an enemy is especially low, Serana will charge in with a dagger to deliver the final blow.  Her tendency to finish off enemies with a dagger makes her the perfect candidate to wield Bloodthorn, a soul-trapping dagger.  Stock Serana with some empty soul gems, and she can assume the role of your team’s soul-harvester.

     

    Dark Brotherhood Initiates

    The two Dark Brotherhood Initiates infinitely level with your character.  They will easily reach 100 Sneak, 100 Light Armor, 100 One-Handed, 100 Light Armor, and 100 Archery.  As new bloods to The Dark Brotherhood organization, they obey all your orders and always refer to you as “Listener.”  Both Initiates are best served as front-line, dual-wielding, melee fighters, but also possess elite archery skills if you prefer they attack from afar.

     

    Dark Brotherhood Initiate Male

    Weapons - Mehrune’s Razor, Forsworn Sword

    Armor - Shrouded Armor

     

    Dark Brotherhood Initiate Female

    Weapons - Valdr’s Lucky Dagger, Forsworn Sword

    Armor - Shrouded Armor

     

    Role - The two Initiates wreak havoc on enemies when used as dual-wielding melee fighters.  They have no reserves about charging into battle.  I decided to equip them both with “Luck Daggers.”  Mehrune’s Razor has about a two percent chance to instantly kill enemies, and Valdr’s Lucky Dagger has a 25% of a small critical hit bonus on every strike.  The Initiates primarily serve as high-level damage dealers and excel at keeping enemies busy.

     

    Recruitment

    Cicero and the two Dark Brother Initiates are recruitable after completing the Dark Brotherhood questline.  Serana can be recruited shortly into the Dawnguard DLC storyline.  Aela is recruited at the end of the Companions questline.

     

    To fully assemble your team, use Aela as your primary follower and use the “Multiple Follower” technique.  For information on how to gain multiple followers, click on the link below.

    Link: http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Forum:Skyrim:Multiple_Followers (scroll down to the section labled “Dark Brotherhood Followers”)

     

    Cohesive Unit

    Many of you may have read about or seen videos of Skyrim players who have assembled an army of 10+ followers.  You could do that with this build if you wish, but I suggest keeping your unit limited to the five followers listed above, primarily because The Dark Brotherhood Special Ops are a cohesive unit comprised of assassins who all share the same necessary skills required for guerrilla warfare.  Each member has a high enough sneak skill to allow you to ambush enemies.  If you expand your team to include additional members, you may risk losing your ability to sneak effectively as a unit.

     

    Essential Status

    All the members of your team are “essential,” meaning they cannot die (except you, and potentially Aela, if you complete the Totems of Hircine quest).  Because your team is invincible, I recommend playing on Legendary difficulty, as it will prevent your team from becoming boring and overpowered.  Having essential followers is nice, because you can do your own thing without having to worry about keeping your team alive.

     

    True Family

    It’s not uncommon for members of a family to fight, and your Dark Brotherhood Special Ops family is no different.  Occasionally, just as the team finishes off the last enemy during a battle, a stray ice spike flies from Serana’s hand and catches another family member in the back of the head.  Fighting ensues, and not until someone drops to their knees or your team relocates to a new area, will the fighting cease.  It’s comical to watch, and no one ever gets killed.  Either sit back and enjoy the fight, or enter a new area to put an end to it.

     

    Reinforcements

    When you know you will be in for an epic battle and sneaking/ambushing enemies seems out of the question, you may consider bringing in some fellow Dark Brotherhood reinforcements.  Shadowmere doesn’t deal a whole lot of damage, but his fantastic health regeneration certainly allows him to hold his own in a fight.  The Spectral Assassin, Lucien Lachance, is a summoned assassin who will follow you until he dies.  He won’t sneak, so avoid using him when you wish to remain undetected.

     

    Equipping Your Team

    Armor - Having 100 skill in pickpocket is essential for equipping your team in full Dark Brotherhood Armor.  During the mission Astrid sends you to find Cicero, the ghosts patrolling the halls of the Dawnstar sanctuary all have Shrouded Armor equipped, and you’ll need the Perfect Touch perk to steal their equipped armor.  Once you steal from a few ghosts, you’ll have enough armor to fully equip your team (Cicero, Aela, and Serana will all need armor) and you’ll be able to traverse Skyrim in Dark Brotherhood style.

     

    Weapons - For whatever reason, Cicero and the two Dark Brotherhood Initiates will only dual-wield if their second weapon is a Forsworn weapon.  This means you’ll want to equip them all with secondary weapons of Forsworn swords or axes to maximize their damage output.  If you want a team full of archers, all of your followers except Serana will make good use of a bow.  Just make sure you keep all their inventories stocked with arrows.

    Note: You will want to upgrade your followers’ weapons and armor every chance you get.

     

    Gameplay

    Playing with this build is a blast.  Roaming around Skyrim with a team of shadowy assassins all donning Dark Brotherhood armor looks awesome!  Once I fully assembled the team, I felt a sense of accomplishment and it was really cool to see my goal realized.  Run-ins with roadside thieves, hired thugs, and Thalmor elves aren’t as perilous when you have a gang of fellow assassins at your side.  Battles with elite dragons and boss-level enemies on Legendary difficulty become less frustrating and more fun when your full team of assassins work together to bring them down.  Perhaps the most underrated benefit of The Dark Brotherhood Special Ops is that the team can quickly handle random vampire attacks on cities and prevent important NPCs from getting killed.

     

    Negatives to this build include:

    1) Cicero’s dialogue - Some people find Cicero to be really annoying.  He doesn’t bother me, but I can understand why some people prefer not to use him as a follower.  If you don’t like him, you can simply leave him off your team.

    2) Tight spaces - Navigating tight spaces (like small hallways and doorways) can be a little difficult when you have six people taking up space.  I’m a patient player and tight spaces really weren’t much of an issue for me.  Any time I got stuck I just walked around the room until my followers moved.

    3) Family Fighting - Occasionally a couple of your followers will fight.  Serana is usually the instigator, as her magic will accidentally hit one of your followers and a fight ensues.  I didn’t find it to be a big deal, and I liken it to a normal family, but if you take issue with it then I recommend simply leaving Serana behind.

    4) Sharing the Glory - Your team members will kill a lot of enemies and at times you will feel like a role player.  If you're the type of player who likes to do everything themselves, this build isn't for you.

    Final Words: If you decide to give this build a try I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!  It took a while to assemble but it was definitely worth it.  Enjoy!

  • Member
    March 6, 2014
    I was sceptical at first but I think I've been sold. My only gripe is the name, it sounds way too modern for a fantasy gave but that's just my opinion.
  • March 6, 2014
    I Think the idea is great, the presentation was good but you need to describe some things a little more. Are there any Roleplay reasons to why you picked each of the character or was it only because of their skills. Does the character have a backstory and how does he act when not killing groups of bandits.
  • March 6, 2014

    The name could use changing. But other than that I really like this. As Ben said you should develope the shadowscale more. As the lead man (er lizard) of the team, what is he capable of that sets him apart from the rest of the team. 

  • Member
    March 6, 2014

    The presentation could use work, but for me, it was immediately saved and secondary to the concept, which is pretty awesome. Good role-play concepts really keep me going in Skyrim. But I would work on presentation, and like Ben said, more work on the player character would be good. I don't like looking for builds and being presented with "This is Skyrim do whatcha want" syndrome. I need definition and guidance outside my box!

    I was looking into squad based gameplay just this night, as thats something I haven't ever done in Skyrim yet. Worth my +1... but do maybe think of renaming it Character Build: Sithis' Suicide Squad or something less modern.

  • March 6, 2014
    Its a great name. It really is. Like, what else are you gona call this? The Family? pfft. Also this is a prime build. Makes me think twice about how powerful some followers can be.
  • March 6, 2014
    Plus I never even knew about the multiple followers. I dont follow things like that anymore. Thanks for enlightenment.
  • Member
    March 6, 2014
    You deserve a cookie for that name.
  • March 6, 2014
    The Black Foot? :P
  • Member
    March 6, 2014
    Maybe something like the 'The Family'?