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Contest Build: The Lightsworn

Tags: #Character Build Spellsword  #Character Build Pilgrim  #Character Build No Crafting  #Race:Khajiit  #Rank:Exemplar  #Contest3  #Dragonborn1721  #Elysium 
  • August 31, 2015

    Through Sun and Moon, come Nightfall or Sunrise the light flows always through the Dusk and the Dawn. Neither men nor beast can prevent its passage. Even in the dense jungles of Elsweyr, the light filters through to the ground, hidden in shadows and whispered in the magic of sunbeams. This abstract power of Sun and Moon, Light and Dark, is what brought the rise and ruin of the Lightsworn. An ancient order, they rose and fell in the depths of history, and their abandoned temples have grown thick with ivy and time, their walls inscribed in unknown magic runes.

    Still, stories are told, of beings who worship the Sun and Moon, that absorbed the powers of the two and became Immortal and now ghosts who haunt their cracked stone forts. These beings walked through day and night unseen by their enemies, unknown even to those who walked beside them. The Legend of the Lightsworn may just be a legend, but I have touched their secrets and now I know. Their myth is no more.

    Race: Khajiit is our race of choice. From a gameplay perspective the bonus to Sneak is great, it allows our minor skill to start off pretty well without needing to grind it. 

    Stats: All Health. We're going for max Health here, or more accurately we're going for base Magicka and Stamina to hit the sweet spot of this character. 

    Standing Stone: Lady or Lord Stone (Shadow Stone in Aetherial Crown). This is definitely the way to go. The Lady gives us increased Health and Stamina Regeneration which are big pluses but the Lord can give us protection against both Magical and Physical attacks (again useful). But the important Stone here is the Shadow in the Crown, this allows us to use a rather simple glitch to be able to use Invisibility whenever we want.

    Two-Handed: This is  our main offense. The focus is on dealing heavy blows with a Greatsword to finish enemies off quickly and with maxed out Two-Handed and a lot of Stamina (Unlimited really) to throw those power attacks around means this character can certainly do it.

    Block: Block is the center point of the build. Whether we were armed with Shield and Spell or Greatsword, falling back on Block was always an option, and usually a necessity. 

    Destruction: Destruction is paired with Block to some great extent, using Infinite Concentration Casting along with Frostbite or Frost Wall creates a character that can drain an enemy's Health and Stamina while also being able to take shelter behind a Shield.

    Speech & Pickpocket: A hard-hitting, smooth-talking treasure hunter, Speech and Pickpocket are almost essential to completing the stealth element.

    Restoration: Healing and Wards. We didn't actually end up perking Restoration because there really wasn't a need to do it but the Wards and concentration Healing just work perfectly with this character and his command of Light.

    Unperked Skills: Light and Heavy Armour are both used throughout the playthrough. Sneak and Lockpicking are two other big ones, due to the general stealthiness and uselessness of lockpicking.

    At level 20 we can finally access this build's "final form". With Unlimited Stamina and Concentration Casting we turn from  a kind of weak Stealthy Barbarian into a powerhouse of tricks and items. Below is a description of how these Exploits improve this build.

    Dawnguard Rune Shield: The Dawnguard Rune Shield absorbs a constant amount of Stamina to generate a Stendarr's Aura (Sun-based Cloak). This is incredibly effective against Undead when compared with our other items and general attacks. Combined with Shield Charge makes a very powerful defense and anti-undead offense. 

    Galdur Family Amulet: But The Galdur Family Amulet in it's completed version has the unique ability to unlock both Unlimited Stamina and Unlimited Concentration Casting. At level 20 we can finally buy the Philter of the Healer.

    To activate this Amulet's true potential you must drink a Potion of the Healer followed by a Philter of the Healer before equipping the item.

    Bloodskal Blade: Is an under-rated weapon. With it (and Unlimited Stamina) we can essentially create a never-ending stream of long-ranged attacks. 

    Walls: Wall Spells are incredibly useful but they are fairly cost expensive usually. For us we can cast them as long as we have enough Magicka and turn a field into a pit of Fire, Ice or Shock Magic.

    USS = Unlimited Shadow Stone, US = Unlimited Stamina, UCS = Unlimited Concentration Casting

    Early Game (1-20):

    Offense: Charging in with a Greatsword handy this is a very simple form. Relying mostly on blocking incoming attacks and the Greatsword for pure damage.

    Defense/Shieldmage: Armed with Flames and our Shield makes a combined defensive and offensive character that can deal damage from a medium range of close up. This form is excellent against Archers and Mages because of the Deflect Arrows and Elemental Protection Perks.

    Late Game (21+)

    Bloodskal Shadow (Bloodskal Blade + Unlimited Shadow Stone + Unlimited Stamina): This form is excellent for long-range stealth based combat. Inflicting small but consistent amounts of damage (30) from afar can be used to either whittle away at enemies or weaken them before getting close. Warriors are particularly easy to kill with this form. Power attacks can be done while maintaining invisibility, but the enemy will become "active".

    Holy Fire (Rune Shield + Fire Wall + Unlimited Concentration Casting + Unlimited Stamina): This form is designed for one thing. Decimating Undead. The Rune Shield is an excellent for offense and defense now that we've unlocked Unlimited Stamina and we also have the ability to continuously cast Fire Walls, inflicting large amounts of damage on opponents. 

    Stall and Destroy (Frost Wall + Rune Shield Bashes + Unlimited Concentration Casting + Unlimited Stamina): This form is meant for an odd Defense/Offense Hybrid that is great at dealing with Warriors and not much else. Bashes can actually inflict decent amounts of damage at higher level and when combined with Frost Walls slowing enemies down.

    Shadow of the Blade (Bloodskal Blade + Unlimited Shadow Stone): Alright so this one is simple. It's kind of the main form that should be used because of it's simplicity. It's great against all enemies, as long as you can sneak up on them. The form relies simply on sneaking up to enemies and hitting enemies with your Blade close up. Then disappearing and then again and again. This makes greatsword sneak attacks, as well as ambush tactics much more useful.

    Charge of the Light (Rune Shield + Shield Charge + US + USS): Alright now I don't want to spread too much hype into this but the combination is just ridiculous. Shield Charge by itself is a pretty powerful attack, but combine that with the fact that it doesn't actually break Invisibility and you have a powerful method of attack. Throw in the Rune Shield and an unlimited supply of Stamina and you have a deadly attack capable of dealing with any melee threat.

    Not only content to have secured the ancient secrets of the near-forgotten Lightsworn, he continues onto Skyrim in his quest for forgotten power. Running amok of the Thieves Guild in Riften, he finds comfort in the arms of thieves and easily climbs their ranks, joining the most elite as a Nightingale, a servant to command both Light and Dark (Unlimited Shadow Stone). Soon enough, he finds his source of power threatened by the Volikhar and he joins forces with the Sun-emblazed Dawnguard, easily taking their treasures for himself in attempts to bring himself even closer to the powerful Light.

    An arrogant figure, he continues his ruthless conquest to supplement the power he gained from the Lightsworn. Leading him through Dwemer Ruins (Lost to the Ages) and Nordic tombs (Final Descent), as well as killing a fellow treasure hunter to attain the powerfully enchanted relics of Ahzidal (Unearthed), the Lightsworn Thief accepts the Mail of the Prince of Plots and Queen of Darkness, Azurah's darkened kin, Boehthiah (Boehthiah's Calling).

    And that's that. Ely and I worked pretty damn hard on this and I think that I speak for both of us when I say that I'm happy with how it turned out. 

    THANK YOU TO GOLDEN FOOL FOR THE PERK SPREAD

    This build combined our idea to choose the Riften Hold, our desire to create a build that can balance Unlimited Concentration Casting and Unlimited Stamina and my personal love for the Infinite Shadow Stone. I hope you guys enjoyed it and I'll remind you to leave a comment and like below. 

     

     

     

     

  • Member
    August 31, 2015

    I've been waiting for a build that used both unlimited stamina and concentration casting, nice work 

    Edit: So I get not recognition for making the perk spread huh? :P

    is this space supposed to be there? also there's another one in the middle of shadow of the blade

    Bloodskal Shadow (Bloodskal Blade + Unlimited Shadow Stone + Unlimi

    ted Stamina): This 

  • Tim
    Member
    August 31, 2015

    Nice build guys! My first build was gonna use the Gauldur amulet for unlimited CC and stamina, but I figured nah.....too much lol. It's not OP the way you guys used it though.

    The only thing I noticed was that the format under the combat section got a little messed up.

    Edit: Same thing that the Fool is talking about.

  • Member
    August 31, 2015

    Nice build, but how exactly is it connected to the Rift? Is it because it joins the Thieves Guild and uses the Shadow Stone?

  • August 31, 2015

    I don't have that problem when editing it at all... Is it still there or did I accidentally fix a problem I don't have

  • Tim
    Member
    August 31, 2015

    It's fixed as far as I can see.

  • Member
    August 31, 2015

    It's fixed, and I don't think the text thanking me is quite big enough 

  • August 31, 2015

    A majority of the build is connected to Riften.

    The roleplay itself is woven in with it and the gameplay is also woven in. Our three major exploits are impossible without visiting the Rift (admittedly not the biggest connection but it is one), the Shadow Stone especially is connected quite directly to Riften.

    The Thieves Guild and Dawnguard are the main points, they are an integral part of the build by being the only major quests this character participates in really (The others are all minor quests).

    We wanted to leave part of the Backstory and Roleplay up to the original reader so it's a balance between connecting it and doing that. Is the amount unacceptable for the Contest or were you just trying to get clarification? 

  • August 31, 2015

    I felt guilty about forgetting to thank you Golden. Give an old Dragonborn a break every once in a while.

  • Member
    September 1, 2015

    Nice one, guys. Glad you managed to squeeze it in before the contest window closed! A worthy submission, to be sure. Though it's a bit short (especially for a build with Ely's name on it, haha) yet sweet nonetheless. I've been wondering when someone would finally get around to using the Gauldur Amulet to get both infinite Stamina and concentration casting.

    You have a couple of random line beaks in the middle of sentences, particularly in the Late Game section. You also misspelled Boethiah under the RP/Quests section. Other than that, well written and well presented. My only real criticism is that, for a build that's essentially written around three big gameplay mechanics/exploits, you don't really push any of them very far. There's so much more you could do with those!