Skyrim Character Building » Discussions


General Build Discussion

Tags: #Crucial Discussion 
  • Member
    January 8, 2019
    Thanks! I’ve already started some streamlining just based on more play testing of different builds and I think I have an idea that is a good middle ground between what I’m thinking and what you are saying.
  • January 26, 2019

    This is a bit of a weird, maybe hard to answer question. Do you think it's possible, with the right mods, to create a build that doesn't target any spells at enemies and doesn't inflict melee damage, but also doesn't rely on atronachs or followers? Like, there's stuff in Summermyst Enchantments that kills people if they stay too close for too long and Apocalypse has that spell that casts other spells upon entering combat. So that means you can kill by just standing there, but could it be viable? Anybody know any other ways you could kill without the player attacking or have like automatic summons or something, whether through Vanilla or modded means?

  • January 26, 2019
    This is a bit of a weird, maybe hard to answer question. Do you think it's possible, with the right mods, to create a build that doesn't target any spells at enemies and doesn't inflict melee damage, but also doesn't rely on atronachs or followers? Like, there's stuff in Summermyst Enchantments that kills people if they stay too close for too long and Apocalypse has that spell that casts other spells upon entering combat. So that means you can kill by just standing there, but could it be viable? Anybody know any other ways you could kill without the player attacking or have like automatic summons or something, whether through Vanilla or modded means?

    Oooh, okay that's an interesting topic. Instantly my thought process jumps to using Cloaks as a major form of damage, which is one of the only types of damage dealing spells that can be used with Ocato's Recital (which is the spell from Apocalypse that you mentioned.) They're fairly easy to use as the core of your build and because of how Ocato's Recital works it's really nice to just wade into combat and have a Cloak pop up. A lot of the Master Level Expert spells from Apocalypse have interesting effects that would work well with the build, Battletide (Steals AR from nearby foes), Hethoth's Grimoire (Summons a hovering spell-tome that you can set a spell in and it'll cast it in whatever direction your facing.), Talons of Nirn (Tosses targets and damages stamina whenever a foe nearby staggers) and Sotha's Maelstrom (lowers enemy Magicka Regen for any enemy near you) are just a few of the useful spells there. Of course you have the issue of Master Level spells being kind of difficult to cast so you can't just use them all the time.

    Basically the most viable form I can think of is to use a lot of those debuffing spells, Illusion and Restoration should have a few other spells and there are plenty of perks from Ordinator in any number of skills. I think between Summermyst, Ordinator and Apocalypse you could really just stack debuffs and use Cloaks, maybe even Alchemical Oils from Ordinator to trigger additional damage.

    Eh, that's just some random thoughts but yeah I think it could be incredibly viable and interesting to run. You could add more but I think Summermyst, Ordinator and Apocalypse would be all you need to pull it off (though for completion I would also pick up Andromeda - Standing Stones of Skyrim)

  • Member
    January 26, 2019

    PaarthurnaxTheWhite said:

    This is a bit of a weird, maybe hard to answer question. Do you think it's possible, with the right mods, to create a build that doesn't target any spells at enemies and doesn't inflict melee damage, but also doesn't rely on atronachs or followers? Like, there's stuff in Summermyst Enchantments that kills people if they stay too close for too long and Apocalypse has that spell that casts other spells upon entering combat. So that means you can kill by just standing there, but could it be viable? Anybody know any other ways you could kill without the player attacking or have like automatic summons or something, whether through Vanilla or modded means?

    I like this sort of approach :) I don't think I ever went really deep into the possibilities, but I remember I had a cleric who used the Dawnguard Rune Shield and a Flame Cloak for passive DoT. The damage of both can be buffed by fortify destro pots, so I'd just pop a potion and use Become Ethereal, sit back and watch them burn.

  • Member
    January 26, 2019

    Use Imperious Races + Andromeda Standing Stones + Ordinator + Summermyst + Apocalypse Spells and if you play on LE  Forgotten Magic mod has a few good things to use as well.

    Imperious: Bosmer for Harrier. Altmer is also an OK choise for Contingency and Shimmering Threads.

    Ordinator: In Alteration and Restoration there are perks that affect / debuff your enemies in combat without you doing anything and one of your main damage ability will be cloaks not sure if you 'd like to use runes as well something like the poison rune for example to fit the DoT theme.

    Summermyst: Death Shroud, Siphon Health, Amplify Destruction.

    Apocalypse spells: DB above covered it your main thing will be cloaks and debuffs. If you chose to use a summon there is a lich summon in Apocalypse or More Apocalypse that only debuffs the enemies and it do any attacks to damage them.

    Also for equipment you can use Boethia's Ebony Mail for the poison enchantment it has.

    If you also use the Andromeda Standing Stones mod I suggest taking the Lady for the summon or Shadow for the extra speed in combat to go around and spread the DoTs. Another mod I highly recommend is Mortal Enemies that 's a must have for combat.

    Forgotten Magic has a few cool things and is my favorite spell mod but it is only on LE not sure if you play LE or SE.

  • January 26, 2019

    You three have given me some stuff to think about. Awesome ideas! And now that I think about, Duvain, you said the Lady has a summon and if I use the Aetherial Crown and also get the Ritual there'll be even more. Plus the King of the Lost enchantment from Summermyst has a ghost permanently fighting for me. I could command a spirit army or something, which actually fits really well with my build idea! And Death Shroud and Siphon Health will be great

  • Member
    January 26, 2019

    Yeah I also thought of the ritual stone as well but wasn't sure if it fitted with your build. Another thing to think about is the Dunmer race with Imperious they also have a racial that will summon a spirit.

  • January 26, 2019

    Duvain said:

    Yeah I also thought of the ritual stone as well but wasn't sure if it fitted with your build. Another thing to think about is the Dunmer race with Imperious they also have a racial that will summon a spirit.

    I thought about that, but I'll be doing a LOT of enchanting so I'm going for Altmer because of Shimmering Threads

  • Member
    February 5, 2019
    Hmm... You could take a more traditional route, but it would have you invest in the following skills: Sneak Pickpocket Alchemy Destruction Illusion The basis of the idea behind this build revolves around sneaking behind your target, placing poisons that damage and debuff (against living) and then proceed to throw up invisibility and a destruction cloak of choice (depending on the elemental debuff poison placed on the target). Alternatively, if you don't want to mess around with pickpocket, you could head directly for the ebony mail and just use that in tandom with flame cloak, invisibility and sneak. Works well against most dungeons that have loving targets or dwemer constructs. Against the dead and dragur though, you might need to get the dawnguard shield and have it's effect stack with your cloak, whilst under invisibility. Having experimented with this sort of build before, it's best if you could invest into marked for death or drain vitality dragon shouts as well... As both do entropic damage and add on to the poison and damage over time effects of the passive damage approach you seek. Hope this helps.
  • Member
    February 25, 2020
    Long time no post. Got out of Skyrim, got back into it, got heavy into mods, completely changed the game, started hating it, and circled back around to vanilla gameplay with graphics mods and a few for immersion. All of this time spent messing around and settling back on a stripped down approach inspired 10 (count ‘em, 10) new build ideas. I am taking each race and making a build that focuses on the default skills, and trying to turn it into something interesting. For each build I’m trying to be unique in some aspects. They’ll use unique shouts, no overlap with Daedric artifacts, different home base, different main quests focus (there happen to be 10 major quest lines). As of now, all the builds are typed out in the notepad on my phone, and I imagine it will take a large chunk of time to get them all playtested. But they’re coming, and if they’re worth sharing I’ll be taking the specifics to the workshop. First up will be a pure mage Altmer vampire, and I’m gonna black out the sun. Again, nothing ground breaking, but I think I’ll be able to put an interesting twist on it. Stay tuned