Ultimate Skyrim Races Guide: Race Advantages, Spells, Abilities

Welcome to the Ultimate Skyrim Races Guide, your ultimate resource for understanding the different races in the game and making informed decisions about which to choose for your character. Choosing a race for your Skyrim character will have a big impact on how you play.

Each race has unique strengths and weaknesses, making it important to choose one that complements your playstyle. This guide will explain the benefits of each race and help you decide which one to pick.

Additionally, we’ll talk about the various skills and perks associated with each race so you know how to maximize your skills and choose the best perks.

Lastly, we’ll present a variety of character archetypes tailored to specific roles to help you create the ultimate Skyrim hero.

Skyrim Races Starting Spells, Racial Powers, and Abilities

1. Argonians
2. Orc
3. Imperial
4. Dark Elf
5. High Elf
6. Wood Elf
7. Breton
8. Khajiit
9. Nord
10. Redguard

Argonians

• Favored Skills: +10 Lockpicking, +5 Pickpocket, Sneak, Light Armor, Alteration, Restoration
• Starting Spells: Flames, Healing
• Racial Power: Histskin: You regenerate health 1 Ox foster for 60
• seconds
• Racial Abilities: 50% Disease Resistance, Underwater Breathing
• Ideal Play Style: Thief (Defensive)

The Histskin ability is truly remarkable and can save your character from certain death in a flash. The best part about it is that being a power; you can continue attacking while it takes effect, without the need for any concentration.

Resist Disease, conversely, decreases the likelihood of contracting a disease from animals or traps. Still, it won’t impact the severity of any diseases you may have contracted. While diseases are not typically a major concern in Skyrim, they can become debilitating if left untreated. By visiting a shrine periodically, you can easily avoid any trouble.

With Underwater Breathing, you can rest assured that drowning damage will never concern you. Although underwater exploration isn’t always necessary, this ability can come in handy when searching for sunken treasure or exploring shipwrecks.

Orc

• Favored Skills: +1 0 Heavy Armor, +5 Smithing, One-Handed, Two-Handed, Block, Enchanting
• Starting Spells: Flames, Healing
• Racial Power: Berserk: For 60 seconds, you take half damage, and
• inflict double damage in melee combat.
• Racial Abilities: None
• Ideal Play Style: Warrior (Defensive)

While Berserk is the only racial ability available to Orcs, it’s still worth having. When activated, you get a big damage boost for a full minute.

You can use this to take on more formidable opponents like dragons or fend off hordes of smaller enemies. Berserk remains a formidable and strong ability regardless of your level.

Imperial

• Favored Skills: +10 Restoration, +5 Destruction, Enchanting, One-Handed, Block, Heavy Armor
• Starting Spells: Flames, Healing
• Racial Power: Voice of the Emperor: Calms nearby people for 60 seconds
• Racial Abilities: Imperial Luck (Adds a small amount of gold to most
  containers)
• Ideal Play Style: Battlemage (Mage/Warrior)

Voice of the Emperor functions similarly to the Expert-level illusion spell Pacify but with a weaker effect that radiates from your position. While it can be a powerful tool when facing a horde of enemies, it is less effective when dealing with smaller groups or ranged adversaries.

Imperial Luck, on the other hand, provides a slight increase in the number of coins found in most chests. Although the bonus is typically small (10 or fewer), it can accumulate over time.

Dark Elf

• Favored Skills: +10 Destruction, +5 Alteration, Illusion, Sneak, Light
  Armor, Alchemy
• Starting Spells: Flames, Sparks, Healing
• Racial Power: Ancestor’s Wrath: Creates a Flame Cloak that does 1 0
  damage to nearby foes for 60 seconds.
• Racial Abilities: 50% Fire Resistance
• Ideal Play Style: Nightblade (Mage/Thief)

Ancestor’s Wrath is a racial ability that’s a weaker version of Flame Cloak. You can use this ability at early levels if you’re often fighting melee.

However, as you can cast the spell on your own, Ancestor’s Wrath becomes less valuable. Additionally, if you’re playing as a ranged character, like an archer or mage, this ability might not be as useful.

Fire Resistance, on the other hand, is useful when facing fire-wielding casters or dragons that breathe fire. Since no single enemy type exclusively uses fire spells, it can be challenging to predict when strictly this ability will come into play. It’s not a skill that can be used strategically in the traditional sense.

High Elf

• Favored Skills: +1 0 Illusion, +5 Alteration, Conjuration, Destruction, Restoration, Enchanting
• Starting Spells: Flames, Fury, Healing
• Racial Power: Highborn: For 60 seconds, you regenerate 25% of your maximum Magicka each second
• Racial Abilities: Highborn Magicka (+50 Magicka)
• Ideal Play Style: Mage (Offensive)

Highborns have a powerful racial ability that refills Magicka quickly, so they can keep casting spells when they need to. This ability is particularly useful for mages and remains effective at any level.

It’s like getting an instant five-level boost to your Magicka. For any aspiring mage, Highborn is a powerful head start, and you may not even need to rely on your melee skills.

Wood Elf

• Favored Skills: + 1 0 Archery, + 5 Sneak, Lockpicking, Pickpocket, Light
• Armor, Alchemy
• Starting Spells: Flames, Healing
• Racial Power: Command Animal: Target animal becomes your ally for
• 60 seconds.
• Racial Abilities: 50% Disease and Poison Resistance
• Ideal Play Style: Thief (Archer)

The Command Animal ability works like the Animal Allegiance Shout and targets a single animal. You can use it when exploring outdoor areas or animal dens; it is most useful when dealing with animals. It’s not as effective in most dungeons.

Poison and Disease Resistance combines the benefits of the Argonian’s Disease Resistance and Redguard’s Poison Resistance abilities. Even though it can be helpful in some situations, it is not a significant factor in the majority of cases.

Breton

• Favored Skills: +10 Conjuration, +5 Illusion, Restoration, Speech,
  Alchemy, Alteration
• Starting Spells: Flames, Healing, Conjure Familiar
• Racial Power: Dragonskin: You absorb 50% of the Magicka from incoming spells for 60 seconds
• Racial Abilities: 25% Magic Resistance
• Ideal Play Style: Mage (Defensive)

With Dragonskin and Magic Resistance, Bretons excel at taking on other mages. These abilities remain strong even late in the game. Magic Resistance significantly increases your chances of surviving against enemy casters, while Dragonskin helps you maintain your Magicka pool, making it an excellent first line of defense.

Khajiit

• Favored Skills: +10 Sneak, +5 Lockpicking, Pickpocket, Alchemy, One-Handed, Archery
• Starting Spells: Flames, Healing
• Racial Power: Night Eye: Improved night vision for 60 seconds
• Racial Abilities: Claws (4x Unarmed Damage)
• Ideal Play Style: Thief (Offensive)

With Night Eye, you can see in dark environments without having to rely on light sources to reveal your presence. Despite its usefulness in some situations, most dungeons provide enough light to navigate without it. However, unlike other powers, Night Eye can be used multiple times a day without restrictions.

In contrast, Claws provide a significant advantage in unarmed combat and brawls. When coupled with the Heavy Armor perk Fists of Steel or suitable gear, this ability can extend the viability of unarmed combat for longer than you might expect.

It’s worth noting, though, that unarmed combat is not a skill and won’t contribute to leveling up or providing skill uses. Most of the time, Claws only come into play in the occasional brawl.

Nord

• Favored Skills: +10 Two-Handed, +5 One-Handed, Block, Smithing, Speech, Light Armor
• Starting Spells: Flames, Healing
• Racial Power: Battle Cry: All nearby foes flee for 30 seconds
• Racial Abilities: 50% Frost Resistance
• Ideal Play Style: Warrior (Offensive)

Your character lets out a shout that frightens weaker enemies when you activate Battle Cry. Although it isn’t as powerful as Hysteria, it can still give you a few seconds to regroup in a crowded fight. It is not a foolproof method to win a fight and may not work on stronger opponents.

In battle against Frost Atronachs, frost-wielding casters, and frost-breathing dragons, Frost Resistance comes in handy. However, it’s particularly useful in crypts and tombs where Draugr enemies are prevalent and rely heavily on frost spells.

Redguard

• Favored Skills: + 10 One-Handed, +5 Archery, Block, Smithing,
• Destruction, Alteration
• Starting Spells: Flames, Healing
• Racial Power: Adrenaline Rush: You regenerate Stamina 1 Ox foster for
• 60 seconds
• Racial Abilities: 50% Poison Resistance
• Ideal Play Style: Spellsword (Warrior/Mage), Dual-wielding

During prolonged battles, Adrenaline Rush can help you maintain your power attacks and sprint away when needed. It can still be useful in combat, even if it’s not as widely useful as Health or Magicka regeneration.

Poison Resistance, on the other hand, is only helpful against a few types of enemies that use poison, such as Forsworn, Falmer, Chaurus, and Spiders, as well as rare poison gas traps. Even though it may not be as useful as some other abilities, it can still provide some additional protection in certain circumstances.

Pick the race you like best without worrying about stats. You can improve your Skill through practice and experience, so don’t let starting Skill values have a big impact on your race choice. The game is easy to learn, so minor skills deficiencies can be overcome easily.

And that’s everything you need to know about the best Skyrim races. Need more help? See Skyrim Potions recipes.