What kind of character should I make in Skyrim?

"Skyrim"

Building a character in Skyrim is a detailed process, and starts with choosing a race. Some people look at physical appearance, initial skill bonuses, or powers and abilities when choosing the best race.

I personally choose to build my Skyrim character emphasizing powers and abilities, not because the other things don't matter, but because I aim to make my character practical in the long run. Initial skills do not have any drastic long-term effects on the game.

Here, I list my reasons for thinking the Breton is the best race for most player types (assassin, battle mage, warrior, thief) by comparing it to the other races. If you take my advice for the race at face value, please consider following on to my general advice page. Now is the perfect time to think everything through.

"Skyrim"

Race: Altmer (High Elves)

With a 50+ magic bonus, the Altmer is one of the superior races for Skyrim. This attribute is important because it is a constant effect. The Altmer also has the Highborn power, which allows it to regain magic more quickly than other Skyrim characters. This is a useful attribute, in the beginning especially, and while training a spell.

Furthermore, the Altmer has more height and can therefore run faster (as I heard from the Skyrim designers.) This makes it almost as good as the Breton, if not as good. If you plan to become a mage, consider this race over the Breton.

"Skyrim"

Race: Argonian

Argonians' 50 percent resistance to disease is nice, but if other players want to be werewolves or vampires, it becomes rather pointless. Werewolves are 100 percent resistant, as are vampires. The Histskin power allows an Argonian to recover health very quickly. This is nice in a tight spot, but can only be used once per day.

Finally, the water breathing ability is nice but I personally never had a problem with water. Any time you need to go underwater for a while, there are potions around to help you out. Plus, there’s a spell for it. Being an Argonian might be convenient at first, but doesn't give you any long-term advantages.

"Skyrim"

Race: Bosmer (Wood Elves)

Bosmer has a 50 percent resistance to both poison and disease. As listed above for the Argonians, the disease resistance isn’t totally necessary. Poison, however, is a different story. This can be very useful when facing certain enemies, especially at higher levels when your armor will give you better defense against physical attacks.

Command Animal lets you command an animal for a short period, but there are never animals around when you need them. The Bosmer makes for an okay race in Skyrim because of its poison resistance.

"Skyrim"

Race: Dunmer (Dark Elves)

A 50 percent resistance to fire is extremely helpful, considering how much damage magic attacks do to your health. This makes the Dunmer one of the better races. The power Ancestor’s Wrath, which does fire damage to nearby enemies, is useful for taking out stronger enemies or packs at low levels, but gradually becomes less useful as the game progresses, eventually becoming useless.

In my opinion, the Altmer is a superior race to the Dunmer for a mage, simply because the Altmer is designed for all areas of magic and not just destruction.

"Skyrim"

Race: Nord

The 50 percent resistance to frost is a lifesaver when facing mages. Like I said above, magic kills you…quickly. Battle Cry is also useful when something is gunning you down and about to kill you because it makes your enemies flee.

The Nord makes a relatively decent choice for a character build in Skyrim. It's probably not the best, however, because Battle Cry can only be used once per day, and other races have better magic resistance.

"Skyrim"

Race: Imperial

The Imperial luck allows for more gold to be found. This is kind of cool and there are no other effects in Skyrim like this one, making it unique and almost worth it. The Voice of the Emperor power is also somewhat useful when you accidentally piss off a town and need to run away because it calms people for 60 seconds.

The Imperial is lacking, however, in anything useful for active combat. Combat in Skyrim is typically the drive of the game and the main challenge. For this reason, I don't consider the Imperial a significant race. I consider it the oddball race because of its unusual perks.

"Skyrim"

Race: Khajit

In Oblivion, I consider the Khajit the best race. In Skyrim, however, it is the worst race. It is stronger in melee attacks, but weapons will always be a better option anyway, making this perk useless except in a fistfight.

As far as Night Eye is concerned, if you’re having trouble seeing, turn up the lighting in the Settings menu. It is easier to do that than to scroll in search of a spell or power you need. In other words, the Khajit doesn't really come with anything useful in Skyrim besides its looks. No offense to this race, but in Skyrim, it is pretty much useless.

"Skyrim"

Race: Orc

Beserker Rage allows an Orc player to take half and inflict double damage for 60 seconds, once per day. This is definitely useful for upper-level enemies, especially bosses. On the other hand, a race whose qualities remain constant is probably better, considering preparation time is not always available in the Skyrim wilderness.

Although Beserker Rage and other greater powers are awesome, the once-a-day use always seems to spoil them for me. They won't help you in a dungeon full of tight spots. You probably won't even remember to use Beserker Rage when you need it.

"Skyrim"

Race: Redguard

Redguards are another race in Skyrim with a 50 percent resistance to poison. Adrenaline Rush makes stamina regenerate ten times faster for 60 seconds. I personally never bother upping stamina regeneration, because Become Ethereal, a shout, allows sprinting without stamina for a short time.

Still, the poison resistance makes the Redguard a race worth considering. The only reason I wouldn't choose it is because magic is far worse to deal with than poison and far more common.

"Skyrim"

Race: Breton

This is it, the cream of the crop. The Breton is the best race in Skyrim for one reason, and one reason only: a 25 percent resistance to magic. This is so much more important than many players realize, especially when choosing a character for the first time. It is a pain to augment Resist Magic, and even at upper levels, magic attacks will drop a player almost instantly. There are ward spells, but they take time and hinder fighting back.

The Breton's greater power, Dragon Skin, allows a player to absorb 50 percent of magic attacks for 60 seconds. This is just a nice little perk for the Breton. Consider this: regardless of which player's style you choose, be it assassin or thief, you will always have to worry about being hit with an electricity spell.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed this little article of mine. Please, vote on which race you think is best. If you take anything away from this, let it be that the Breton and Altmer are your best choices in Skyrim, and that the Khajit is the worst. Check out the comments below. You'll get some insight from other players concerning race in Skyrim. Also, please check out my general advice article for the game. You may learn some invaluable information!

Games Similar to Skyrim

• Fallout: New Vegas
• The Elder Scrolls III: Followind
• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
• Fallout 3

lizard on August 12, 2020:

argonian are cool because you can resist deases

Nassau on June 21, 2020:

You completely left out the khajit's sneak bonus which arguably makes it better than the breton as a theif or even archer.

KHAJIITS FOREVER!!! on April 27, 2020:

KHAJIITS FOREVER!!! Might be biased since my fir ever play through was as a Khajiit but still.

Translucent water pistol on April 14, 2020:

In oblivion I always played as a High Elf (Altmer) but they aren’t for Skyrim. You spend a lot of time saying magic does a lot of damage in Skyrim and you should do everything you can to avoid it... Altmer have a weekness to magic so please explain why they are “second best” because it doesn’t seem to make sense. To me archery seems to be the most powerful combat skill in Skyrim and coupled with sneak makes it one or two shot kills consistently even at higher levels. Although I never play as a Khajit you could argue this makes them better. I’m currently playing as a Nord they are typically a well rounded character in Skyrim.

Catman never dies on March 16, 2020:

I chose Khajit simply because they're cool, but it has become cooler as I realised they are the most marginalised race in Skyrim and I've turned one of them into the freaking Dragonborn!!!!!

I am Not your test-kitty...I AM your test-kitty! on January 02, 2020:

When setup properly, (ie: heavy armor with fists of steel perk, the gloves of the pugilist) the Kajiit claw attack is more powerful and faster then any weapon I've come across so far. And with the right heavy armor perks your armor weighs nothing and doesn't slow you down while giving you the best defense in the game

Ukilledmeugay on November 07, 2019:

Wtf? Orcs are the best.

You never should have come here on September 22, 2019:

1 dunmer

2 orc

3 kajiit

4 argonian

5 bosmer

jonah on September 16, 2019:

I started play skyrim when it first came out back in 2011 its 2019 now and I still have my first account . I played as a imperial.. I only picked it because I liked their look and skin done ( dark but not black and not to pale and not to red) .I didn't care about what perks each race has.. my imperial character is now lvl 87 and is unstoppable I now have all the house in skyrim(even the 3 you can build) and the house in raven rock. im the leader of the thieves guild, harbinger of the companions , archmagi of the collage , the listener of the dark brother hood and the only dragon born( I killed the other). I have a few thousand gold and my heavy armor, blacksmithing ,one handed and archery are all lvl 100 ( only my 1 handed is legendary because I didn't want to start over on the others) I am a werewolf also I have mastered that. and also for those who play on xbox 360 you get achivments for some things well skyrim has 75 for xbox and I have those 75.. I did the main quest, all the daedric artifacts. I been to (MOST LOCATIONS) .. I collected all the stones of barenziah. I became a thane in every hold. I have been to (MOST LOCATIONS ON SOLSTHEIM)

I have defeated karstag. I found all the black books, I completed the quest lost to to the ages , I joined the stormcloaks and defeated the empire in skyrim. and much more I cant think of at the moment. oh and I massacred the town of river wood as a werewolf to kill lucan cuz he broke into my house ( might have been a glitch) but he was in the house alone with alea (my wife) who knows what they did

also my characters name is Daneil

Ascel on August 21, 2019:

First race I played was the orc, as a warrior. It was very useful and fun.

Whenever I found myself in a fight I cannot handle, I popped berserkers rage. Being able to do twice as much as well as take twice as less damage is amazing. Plus you can just wait the timer off if you think you'd need it again tbh.

Breton was a much later race I tried and I have to agree on it being the best as it really eliminates magic threat more than any other race.

But alchemy and enchanting can easily help with magic resistance anyway, and I'm not considering the alchemy glitch.

Khajitt is truly useless, early on it's good for sneaking but after a while any race can become competent at stealth to the point where you can walk in someones face without being noticed anyway.

Breno Hildebrando on August 09, 2019:

Breton Vampire with restoration necro mage perk, The alteration perk atronach and the perk 3x magic resistance . using a set with 2 Fire encantment, 2 Shock enchantment and 1 enchantment of frost, full sneak 100 illusion with daggers to drain stamina and health and other to drain stamina and fill gems and full marksman too.

Boopthesnoot on March 20, 2019:

The elder scrolls 3 followind?

You’ll make a fine rug,cat! on February 21, 2019:

Mages are all cowardly wimps. Kajiit are by far superior.

Katt on November 27, 2018:

I think you're forgetting the other extremely helpful qualities of the khajiit that arent obvious. They are EXTREMELY good theives. They have a really high natural sneak and speechcraft. Stealing goods and being able to quickly level up speechcraft to sell them? Sign me up.

Nat Zen on November 17, 2018:

This was an awesome article, thank you! Love the screenshots. I usually play as a Khajit because, well, I just like looking like a cat/beast person. But, I like how you have outlined the considerations for other races as well when I go sans cat :)

Vispa on October 25, 2018:

Here is my favorite play through to date.

Dunmer vampire lord with nightingale armor. Your vampire weakness to fire is canceled out while blood starved, or you can feed and maintain your natural dunmer resistance with a small bit taken out. The nightingale armor adds frost resistance on top of your vampire frost resistance, making it useless against you. Ideally, you would also use illusion magic and one handed weapons to make the most of the armor. For aesthetic reasons, I also chose to use bound weapons, though it helps to have a non-magic side arm.

Timothy G. on October 20, 2018:

I really like this article, it helped me a lot, and i know what really is the best skin of the character. The breton is the very best skin in my opinion.

Joe on July 26, 2018:

Highly disagree. Here's my top 3.

1) Dunmer

2) Breton

3) Khajiit

tot on June 25, 2018:

this game is so easy going that i use a Khajiit as a two-handed swordsman, transformed into a vampire. He is a master smith and that is all about him. Is the only way to make this game entertaining.

A depressed Nerd on June 07, 2018:

High Elves are my personal favorite because the are bor mages and unlike bretons they have a +5 in destruction magick. Anothere one of my faves is the argonien. In ranger mode.

Best mage:

Altmer

Breton

Dunmar

Best Warrior:

Nord

Argonien

Redgaurd

Best thief:

Argonien

Bosmer

Khajiit

Best over all:

Argonien

High elf

I love argonien because you could be sneaking around a villege assasinating people, robing chests and stuff. Then a bunch of hold IDKs are trying to kill you. All you need to do is activate hitskin and Bam! Thief to tank.

High elves are the second best because as siad above they are a naturaly magickal race and the are better at destruction magick.

Best vamp(ire):

Dunmar

Argonian

The Argonians look sooooooo kool as vampires but the dark elves are better statisticly. Imunity to fire cancleing out the weekness to fire.

Best werewolf:

Orc

Khajiit

NOT Argonien

Argonien werewolves look like crap. Orcs can turn on bezerker rage and then go into beast mode. And Khajiits unarmed attakes coupled with the werewolves unarmed attakes make khajiit werewolves cool. And it's cat and dog.

Two of the things that will get you places in skyrim are good magick and stealth. That is why khajiit are another possability.

Gaea65 on January 21, 2018:

Wood Elves are hands down the best. Control animal is great, especially when you're getting attacked by Wolves, Dragons and Skeevers. Plus poison resistence is awesome! I also like Khajits and High Elves.

Felis Catus on October 30, 2017:

Played Skyrim for too many hours, and my favourite playthrough was with a Khajiit.

Racial abilities... meh... they never make that much difference, with all the potions and magic goodies going on, most of the time I totally forget that I have racial abilities. That game goes on and on and on, soon enough you're an unstoppable force anyway.

Khajiits are cool, and that's got to be worth something over a dork with 100% magic resistance.

May your roads lead you to warm sands..

Anonymous on August 02, 2017:

Honestly, a Vampiric Dark Elf is the best race to play as. The resistance to fire counteracts their weakness to it, and necromage + atronach stone + atronach perk makes you have 100% spell absorbtion. Vampirism also gives you a massive 25% boost to stealth, and stealth is the most powerful playstyle in the game.

Some guy in suit on May 28, 2017:

I personally like the khajiit because im a sneaky little theif.

Dude on May 24, 2017:

I think the Nord is the best character because he gets treated with respect by other Nords in Skyrim. The resistance to frost is a big deal too especially when fighting Frost Dragons. Although I don't use the Battle Cry very often, the Nord is a very cool looking character and has the coolest lore out of all the races.

Rai'sha on March 24, 2017:

Khajiit is best. Peaceful race.

Baka desu nya on March 17, 2017:

Lmao, Orc is the best physical attacker. You can 1 shot ebony warrior easily as an orc assassin by using its racial power.

Aaron on November 25, 2016:

Breton is hands down the best. With the atronach perk from alteration and the lord stand stone you get full 100% magic resist withour needing a single enchantment. After that im gonna Say Wood elf comes second cause with snakeblood perk you get full poison immunity as well as better skill boost for ranged combat and stealth which is one of the most lethal combos in the game to the point of cleaning out a whole dungeon without talking a hit.

DevilsReaver on November 23, 2016:

i have to argue with the kajiit ... fists of steel + unarmed enchantment = destroy anything in your path dragons included in no more than 3 punches ... however i would only suggest it for console everytime i try to run a boxer on pc it goes tits up

Norris The Wizard on October 14, 2016:

I hate to break it to the Breton lovers,but to me the high elf is the greatest race of all! They're bigger and taller than the other races which makes them also run quite quicker. They also have the strongest magicka pool, isn't it a huge blessing to have 50+ permanent magicka points and also the ability to call upon their highborn power to regen magicka very quickly!!! Those few core components make a high elf the ultimate pure mage, those statistics will most definitely save your life when 2 or 3 giants relentlessly pursue you!!!! Here's how I'd deal with a situation like that, first things first I'll call upon highborn power then use adept spell ironflesh, it'll be more effective with clothing only with the appropriate perks, next I'll cast a flame or electric cloak and also cast any atronach and dual cast adept spell chain lightning, because after the electricity hits the 1 giant it'll channel into the next then the next. So before you know it, your health would still be full and you wouldn't have even broken a sweat after dealing with them. !!!!!!!TAKE THAT BRETONS!!!!!!!

Scarob on August 28, 2016:

It's simple, Argonian is the best since out of all the daily powers, a x10 bonus to Health regen wins outright.

Equipped with Light Armour to the bonus to Stamina Regen, mobility for being Light Armour, as well as a -100% casting cost to any two schools of magic (my preference is Destruction and Restoration), werewolf and any other enchantments which you feel you like for gauntlets, greeves and boots. Also, not having to casst a spell or drink a potion to breath underwater is a huge benefit, since you can jut sit in the water with most enemies not being able to attack you is such a game changer to a skirmish.

No other race provides this level of resilience all over the map. Magic hits hard, but if your going for the -100% casting cost to your two favourite magic schools then you realise you never need to increase your magicka when you level up, as this results in a wasted boost. Getting Stamina to 200, then the rest in Health, you find that Magic doesn't do much against you when you have so much Health.

However I have found that I only ever play Argonians now because that is the only race I have found which gives me the gaming pleasure i'm after, since the other races are boring to play.

P.S. A lizard wearing dragon armour looks soo frikin awesome!! :D

You don't care about my name on July 25, 2016:

I disagree the khajiit is the least useful, if anything it's the argonian. Everyone is raving about being able to swim to flee past bandits and such because of the ability to breath underwater. But. There is a dragon priest mask that does that! And sure hitskin is cool but limited, and as for disease resistance, other races have it too along with the option to better it later on in the game while also having other useful perks.

This Khajiit lover hates you for saying that khajiits are the worse. on July 07, 2016:

Khajiit are really good at the start of the game since they do about 25 damage. Once you get gloves of the pugilist you do 35 damage. If you get the perk fists of steel and use legendary daedric gloves you will hit like a truck. Then disenchant the gloves of the pugilist, if you have 5 out of 5 on the enchanter perk and have the insightful enchanter perk and enchant it on your daedric gloves then you really won't have any problem against magic since they would be dead before they can cast their magic on you since you would've killed the caster with your khajiit claws. If you want to do more damage you can use power attacks or use the finishing moves on them. With the khajiit claws you won't have a problem beating up those magic users, plus playing as a brawler khajiit is just plain fun. So don't bad mouth my favorite feline race of all time.

Wesleycorn on July 06, 2016:

My personal favorite is the Orc. Some of it may be fond memories, but it is still a strong race.

*Using races with at least one skill falling into that category*

Best Warrior -- Orc

Worst Warrior -- Dunmer

Best Thief -- Bosmer

Worst Thief -- Dunmer

Best Mage -- Breton

Worst Mage -- Dunmer

I don't have anything against Dunmers; it's just that they're skills are too diverse.

not a person on June 09, 2016:

for my first game i chose khajiit because i thought it was interesting and unique. (this was one of my first games i had ever started playing) now, i cant live without Khajiit for some reason.

JordyxD on December 23, 2015:

I love the imperial especially because it has no bonuses. I like that i can level things up myself, indeed it has no special resistance or cool power, thaf makes it more fun.

Same to the kahjit, I think it is pretty good, they only can see in the darkfor 60 secs once a day and have 15% melee attack.

In my opinion it is much more fun leveling everything up myself. Thanks anyway for writing this ^_^.

SonOfSkyrim201 on November 25, 2015:

You're wrong, Khajiit is the best race ever!!!!!!!!!!!!! Long live Khajiit!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IsNotHoomin on July 05, 2015:

Khajiit is not the worst, the N plus 12 unarmed damage is amazing, fists attack faster than any weapon, not to mention that there is an enchantment that makes unarmed attacks even stronger, then get both dual flurry perks making your attacks VERY fast. Also one of the heavy armor perks makes you deal even more damage, so your fists will be stronger than any weapon in the game, and MUCH faster. So remind me... who is the worst race again? Btw you forgot to mention argonians also have more unarmed damage, but not as much as khajiits.

Dwlr on May 05, 2015:

I'm a little biased since I like the aesthetics of Argonians, but I'm going to call them the best for one reason the Histskin power can make you completely unkillable even in a fight you are losing and this can be hemorrhaging life from any source not just magic, this effect stacks on top of increased Health Regeneration which Fortify Health combined with increased Health Regeneration on your armor makes you nigh invulnerable considering how Health Regeneration is a percentage of your current Health. Magic can't kill you if you can out regenerate it and it works against physical sources as well. Orcs can do something similar, but effectively doubling your regeneration by halving the damage is a far cry from 10x, sure the double damage helps too so lets call it 4x at best cutting the time needed to kill an enemy in half and all, this method is usually better for mobs of strong enemies cutting their damage per second down faster than any other race can.

1. Argonian (Histskin is the ultimate emergency button)

2. Orc (Beserk Rage generally requires pre-emptive use rather than as an emergency button and is 'weaker')

3. Breton (Innate Magic Resistance and power that doesn't go out of use eventually)

4. Redgaurd (Increased Stamina Regen means more power attacks, bashes, or aiming ability which results in more damage, additionally giving the option to run away, couple that with Light Armor and the damage output from stamina or the mobility afforded even without increase your Stamina cap is enough to let you get out of most bad situations to regroup)

5. Nord (50% Frost Resistance is good for melee units as it reduces the stamina lost along with the damage, Frost is pretty common too. Battle Cry is useful for earlier levels, but fades in usefulness eventually when you're less likely to get in completely over your head where you can't compete and correct me if I'm wrong it only works on all vanilla enemies, max level affected is 81.)

6. Dark Elf (50% Fire Resistance is fairly useful like Frost Resistance and fairly common like Frost attacks too, Ancestor's Wrath is extremely useful early on and makes the Dark Elf have an easier time keeping his level intentionally low to prevent scaling of enemies.)

7. Khajit (The additional unarmed damage seems useless, but if you're looking for a build that doesn't require a lot of perks then using a Khajit with the Fists of Steel Perk from Heavy Armor is pretty comparable to any un-enchanted weapon and effectively only costs a single perk point making the Khajit a cost effective race since you will probably want conditioned to have weightless heavy armor too the only 'wasted' point with a Khajit in Heavy armor is the reduced fall damage. Night Eye is pretty useless so the less strain on perk points is the only real benefit of the Khajit. *You can still use a shield for blocking with unarmed attacks*)

8. Bosmer (Poison Resistance sticks with you throughout the game for a benefit, it's not an outstanding benefit, but it's something. The Power is rather useless and Disease Resistance is of a rather marginal benefit especially since the benefits vs the negatives of being a Werewolf are heavily skewed towards benefits at least at higher levels where you don't need Well Rested or Lover's Comfort to level)

9. Altmer (The 50 higher Magicka is only useful for a mage character in the beginning, eventually a mage can negate the cost of spells in 1 or 2 schools of magic entirely so you don't need the Magicka, in that same spirit you don't need the Magick Regeneration making pretty much any character a 'better' mage in the end as they get some benefit where the Altmer effectively gets none in the end.

10. Imperial (Extra money is nice earlier on, but eventual money isn't really a concern, the main reason to consider the imperial is the calming power and it's highly situational, falls out of use and just isn't that useful overall)

Beginning Warrior

1. Dark Elf

2. Orc

3. Breton

Beginning Ranger (bow + stealth)

1. Argonian

2. Dark Elf

3. Nord

Beginning Mage

1. Altmer

2. Dark Elf

3. Breton

Skorne on March 12, 2015:

Back to the former topic...

Although all races are good seeing as how with a full set of armor and jewelry, all the races are tied. And using the Rest. glitch, (You don't have to OVERDO IT, or nothing like it) just make it so you can absorb enough so no matter what race you are, you can take it. Also, the only real topic for Skyrims characters is, do you wanna be tall and intimidating (Altmer), small and powerful (Bosmer), or be yourself (fantasy self). Now if you're one that doesn't like exploits and dis on the enchanting glitch, then yes, even for a warrior, the Breton is the best because you can still fortify two-handed on half your armor set and deal massive triple digits (Still OP on even Legendary).

Scoby on December 09, 2014:

I do the similar thing myself with an Orc. I usually only glitch or get my Orc's magic resistant around 85% then i stop glitching everything thing else is natural. I didn't know about the Bezerkers Rage and EbonyFlesh was possible in Werewolf form after trying it i have to say i am stunned O.o. The Werewolf was like a GOD. It took less damage and dealt extreme amounts in return. This is the coolest thing i found so far. I don't think this is a glitch either as even though you cast EbonyFlesh and use the Bezerkers Rage for Werewolf form, man and beast are one so the skin and racial would still matter.

NXS on December 09, 2014:

Orc's makes the "BEST" Werewolves. Many may not have known that you can break over 60k damage with a Werewolf using a Orc as their racial Bezerkers Rage can be used in Werewolf form. If you cast EbonyFlesh and then trigger Beserkers Rage and then Transform into a Werewolf the beast will still have the abilities for 60s. It can one, two or three hit anything including Giants and Dragons. Use the Bloodlust Ring to increase your werewolf damage and have all perks for the Werewolves strength add the EbonyFlesh and Besserkers Rage the beast is insane for 60s. I also like to mention Bretons are not the only race to achieve 100% or near magic resistance if you glitch so spell absorption wont matter in late game when all magic can't harm you. You can still be a Orc and have 100% or or near in magic resistance same as a Breton with help of a Ring, Amulet and the Astronach Stone. The Orc wont be handicapped at magic either as helmet and Boots can be glitched to receive unlimited Magic and Stamina. With their Health and Armor in late game most Magic wont hurt you anyway and you can still glitch Health on Armor if you wanted to. Even without glitching you can still receive around 85% magic resistance with an Orc which is the max limit anyway. Once your armor cap is reached not much can harm you especially with the Orc's crazy racial it seams almost unfair at times even on the highest setting. Breton's don't get me wrong are a great race, but it seams magic is kinda handicapped in the game i would bet on a decked out Orc in this manner over a Breton and his magic any day. Nords are good playable characters as well and feels at home in the Skyrim setting. I can't picture an Elf or Breton siding with the Stormcloaks but i can a Orc. Orcs are similar to Nords and their way with their traditions and honor than siding a Orc with the Imperials. I only sided with the Imperials once as I prefer the Stormclaoks they can be a little racists, but most vikings in history were and are fighting to take back full control of their land. They too me are the good guys in this scenario. The Elves are evil and cruel trying to force dictatorship or die on the population because they don't believe in who they are worshiping. There's more to that though. Gte a female Orc and she can deal even more damage with the Agent of Dibella to the opposite sex and since majority of the enemies in game are male the female Orc is slightly stronger then their male counterparts.

xss on November 17, 2014:

Imperial can (ab)use their racial power like no one else. Voice of emperor, kill one enemy, wait 24 hours, Voice of emperor... Yes you can wait or sleep since there are no enemies around.

For instance killing everyone in Cidhna mines on Legendary is not that hard.

darklord on September 21, 2014:

Hmm I personally love breton's magic resist and dragon skin. When I play as bretons I maxed conjuration, enchanting and dualweild. I enchant my armour up to almost 0 cost to conjur as well as almost 0 cost for illusion spells. Lol it's hella funny whe u summon two dremora lords then go invissible. And smack openents out of nowhere with two axes lol make them bleed for a while then invisible again and repeat lol ninja style

Lorvid on August 30, 2014:

For those asking "what about race X gender Y?", here's a list of the scales being used on player character models for the various races in Skyrim:

Argonian Male: 1.01

Argonian Female: 1.00

Breton Male: 1.00

Breton Female: 0.95

Dark Elf Male: 1.00

Dark Elf Female: 1.00

High Elf Male: 1.08

High Elf Female: 1.08

Imperial Male: 1.00

Imperial Female: 1.00

Khajiit Male: 1.00

Khajiit Female: 0.95

Nord Male: 1.03

Nord Female: 1.03

Orc Male: 1.04

Orc Female: 1.04

Redguard Male: 1.00

Redguard Female: 1.00

Wood Elf Male: 0.98 *

Wood Elf Female: 1.00 *

* Yes, Wood Elf Females character models in Skyrim are slightly larger than Wood Elf Males character models, that is not a typo.

If you're wondering what kind of impact that has on melee damage, it's pretty easy. Just multiply the damage by the scale. A 100 point damage attack by an Imperial would be 108 points by a High Elf, but only 95 points by a Breton Female.

For running speeds, divide the time by the scale. If an Imperial takes 100 seconds to run a set distance, it takes a High Elf only 92.6 seconds to run the same distance. A Breton Female would require 105.3 seconds to do the same trek.

And, of course, the higher your scale, the higher you can jump.

Lorvid on August 30, 2014:

Ok, well, I don't know if players will consider these results good or bad news, but here they are. It appears that your race choice DOES in fact have an impact on how quickly your character can run, in addition to how high they can jump. This seems to be directly tied to the scale value of the character (which can be retrieved by activating the console in third-person, clicking on your character model, and typing "getscale"). And since I've already determined that the "setscale" command has an impact on running speed, jumping height, AND melee damage, we can infer that race selection also directly impacts the amount of damage your character does (at least in melee).

I ran some tests and had an Imperial character (scale value 1.00) run down a straight road (using the auto-run key) for 45 seconds. I then compared the same test (from the same starting save point) using a few other races. The results were as follows:

Wood Elf (scale = 0.98) : 47.3 seconds to run the track.

Imperial (scale = 1.00) : 46.35 seconds to run the track.

Nord (scale = 1.03) : 45 seconds to run the track.

High Elf (scale = 1.08) : 42.9 seconds to run the track.

Clearly the scale value assigned to their race is influencing their running speed. I also used a marker to test jumping height and the High Elf was clearly able to leap higher than the Wood Elf (or any of the other tested races).

If we assume the same scale influence applies to damage output (and we should), a 50 point melee attack from an Imperial would look like this:

Wood Elf (scale = 0.98) : 49 melee damage.

Imperial (scale = 1.00) : 50 melee damage.

Nord (scale = 1.03) : 51.5 melee damage.

High Elf (scale = 1.08) : 54 melee damage.

After all the commotion regarding the removal of stats, this silent modifier would have been nice to know about from the start.

NXS on July 07, 2014:

Technically it really doesn't matter what race you start with and their racial abilities. Not one race is better than the other for the reason and that reason alone you can build that character anyway you want the starting skills doesn't matter either. In the end game that character can be better or stronger than any race if you choose to do so regardless of his or her ability and starting stats. The 25% Breton resistance is good to have no doubt, but any character can get a 90% resistance to magic if you want, it's no big deal. My Nord has a 90% magic Resistance using the restoration glitch and the Agent of Mara but his resistance to frost is even better as he has a starter skill of 50% resistance and most enemies in crypts uses frost spells. There is no possible way to get a 100% magic resistance the game has a limit to the magic resistance i believe it's at 85%. I play on console not PC so i don't have the luxury to use commands either. Play who you like not who people say to play, because like i mention in the end if you do every little quest and mission your character will be stronger and better as any race eventually.

I just started playing again with a female character because i have come to the conclusion that females in game are stronger and better warriors than males and i will explain why.

Females can get;

*The Agent of Dibella: Do 10% more melee damage to the opposite sex.

*The Lovers Insight (DG): Do 10% more extra melee damage and better prices of the opposite sex

*Seeker of might (DG): Combat skills are all 10% more effective.

That is a 20% more melee damage and better prices of the opposite sex including 10% better combat skills. This is a big deal in a non glitching game play. There are more male merchants and enemies than female so the female benefits more than male in Skyrim.

It's hard to be a woman in Skyrim :)

This is a big deal as majority of the enemies in Skyrim are male. If you get these gifts as a Male character it will be useless for the most part as like i have mention you face off against more male character than female to utilize these gifts as a male character. Which makes Skyrim females stronger and better warriors. Of course anyone male or female can be as equal or stronger with the restoration glitch making you and your weapons GOD like. I'm talking about in general not from exploits. I'm using a Female Breton this time around because of the magic resistance, so i wont have to glitch up harder to get the resistance to equal like i would have to do with other races. I try to use less glitching as possible because the game tend to get boring fast when you can kill everything with one hit as there is no challenge.

PoopChronicles on June 28, 2014:

There's more than those special perks to consider. Each race begins with boosts in certain stats. The Khajit begins with a +10 boost in sneaking (and boosts in archery and one handed) so if you're planning to pickpocket and sneak attack, the Khajit is the best race in the beginning. The boost does become useless later on when you've leveled your sneak up all the way but Skyrim isn't that difficult of a game and the assassin type character is one of the stronger types. So the extra perks like 25% resistant to magic isn't going to determine whether you win a fight or not later in the game. It is all up to what kind of character or not but to say the Khajit is the worse character is downright misguided.

Panda Killer on May 28, 2014:

I always chose khajiit or Imperial... My character never dual wields or uses two handed always a one handed sword and a shield or spell in my other hand... Imperial is a great healer and I also like to be an assassin so khajiit is also really good there no matter what in my opinion a good healer is invincible. I like to be a vampire too as I can counter the sun defects easily with the right armors, stones, and perks either way I find them to be great characters.

Kitsune on May 07, 2014:

I've personally found that my Khajiit character has been more fun to play with as opposed to your idea of the 'best' races.

chris EFC on April 20, 2014:

When i first started playing i wanted to be a human character so i tried it as a nord but didn't really like the gameplay was to focused around being a pure warrior magic was so hard to level up once i passed level 65 so i tried an imperial was a lot better but i quit the game around level 80 didn't have the resistances or magical powers i wanted for the college of winterholds questline don't personally feel its right to become arch mage if your shit at magic when i started playing as a Breton was so happy there perfect i like to play an all round character who's a highly skilled battle mage but also a master theif/assassin the bonuses in magic early on meant by level 25 i had a really high combat and magical skill which meant i could get on with doing up my stealth skills without worrying about anything else i also looked into the fictional history of all the races to me that matters its what put me off Breton at first not knowing much about them but there in game history was actually really good its the best all round race in skyrim by far you can quite easily create a level 90 odd pure warrior arch mage master theif and master assassin who's almost completely immune to magic and with one spell and the right armour almost completely immune to combat damage would definitely recommend it to anyone no matter how experienced you are in the game

anon on April 06, 2014:

yea i have honestly never picked breton. khajiit are awesome i have a stealth archer. i have a dunmer fire mage/complete control of the dead necromancer. A recdiculously old and badass orc. sword and shield nord. uhh..thumbs are too tired to keep going. i saygive them all a try.

Sarah Forester from Australia on February 01, 2014:

Really great run down of all the races in Skyrim.

I always find myself playing as a Altmer since I love playing as a mage.

Justin on January 17, 2014:

What you forget about the cats is that there are Werewolves and Vampire Lords that benefit immensely from the claw damage. 15 points of unarmed base damage (about the same as a steel mace) is nothing when you can stab someone with a dagger, but when you add that to the unarmed attacks that you have to use (unless in Blood Magic stance) as either of these things, it makes a huge difference after all of the perks and bonuses from rings and whatnot.

On the matter of Orcs greater power, it is not really meant to be used to clear a large dungeon filled with tight spots. It is ment to be used more for fighting odd OP enemies. That said, you would be surprised how much decimation you can cause in 60 seconds if you know what you are doing. You may not be able to clear a whole dungeon, but when you hit that part where you are facing down 4 drauger deathlords, 3 drauger scourge, and the atronarchs they love to summon sometimes, that little beauty can be a total game changer, especially for a dual wielder, or two-hander.

Anon (again) on December 17, 2013:

Srry I ment wood elf.

Anon on December 16, 2013:

Good list. Personally I prefer the Dark Elves, just because I don't like being Tall.

Anonymous on November 23, 2013:

You were wrong about the imperial being the only way for bonus gold a skill in either pickpocket or lock picking will augment and or give the same effect depending on race

Stealth9326 on September 10, 2013:

I've always been happy with my khajiit, and Bosmers and haven't really had any trouble with the game using these two, kinda confuses me why so many talk bad about them two.

Manmer on August 06, 2013:

With 4 perks in alteration (easy to get with detect life spell) a stone, and a quest, Bretons can reach the 85% Magic resist cap without ever having to put on Magic Resist armor. Just saying.

Also, to whoever said you can't get 100% Absorb, is wrong. You can't get 100% resist, but absorb will go that high. I have done it, multiple times, even without Breton's greater power. Just down some strong fortify restoration potions and take the atronach stone.

EnderA on July 20, 2013:

Ignoring the initial skill bonuses, which are easily rendered irrelevant, I would rank them in strength:

-Tied for 1st:-

1. Breton - The magic resistance is amazing, plus the daily that adds magic absorption, which turns their spells into additional Magicka. In many situations, this makes them superior to the Altmer even when going pure-mage. The only reason this isn't better than the Orsimer is that it is possible to achieve both benefits late in the game as other races.

1. Orsimer - The daily is utterly insane. Half received and double dealt damage. The only disadvantage is that it only applies to physical. If you aren't going pure mage, then this will trivialize otherwise difficult fights.

-

3. Altmer - Both abilities alleviate magicka management issues, making spell-spamming much easier as a mage. It is a second choice for mages.

4. Nord - Frost resistance is a niche ability. If you're going Vampire, this makes frost damage negligible. The fear can make otherwise difficult fights easier, particularly if you're going Archery or Mage. This alone makes it a strong choice.

5. Imperial - The extra gold can accelerate you into early/mid-game equipment, but by late game it's irrelevant. The Voice of the Emperor, however, can let you interrupt a fight for a while, regenerate back up, and pick them off one-by-one. Particularly strong for Thieves.

-Tied for 6th:-

6. Argonian - The extra health regeneration ability can be useful in combat. It's a generic benefit, never useless but never particularly strong. The others are mostly useless.

6. Redguard - The extra stamina regeneration ability can be useful for either running extremely long distances and thereby saving some time, or for getting by with lower Stamina, allowing you to focus more on Health/Magicka. The poison resistance is also occasionally useful.

6. Dunmer - Ancestor's Wrath is quickly outdated, and can hurt neutral NPC's, so it's not an issue. The fire resistance is sometimes useful, especially if you become a vampire to counteract the fire vulnerability.

-

9. Bosmer - Rarely useful abilities. Poison resistance is occasionally useful, but the Redguard are superior, in my opinion.

10. Khajiit - As you mentioned, its abilities are practically useless. Unarmed combat isn't an issue, and vision can be solved either with graphics settings, by choosing to become a vampire, or by using magic to generate light.

true on July 13, 2013:

i think breton is beast i am a mage and vamp guy

Maxwell on May 29, 2013:

I am a Breton and focus on all the thief skills like lock picking pickpocketing sneaking and speech and I don'tve to worry about the magic and I'm so far game that I use all the spells and I am a good warrior

Maximus on May 08, 2013:

I do see your point about how Bretons are a superior race, but I will always choose Imperial. the reason for this is because he is the best all around character. lets say you start of as a warrior, and half-way through the game you want to be a mage then the imperial is the best. Bretons do have better stats on a sheet but if you use an Imperial just right then an Imperial will always have a wider assortment of qualities and skills. with the magic resistance that a Breton has, that is also achievable by any rave be it Impireal, orc, or even Kaijit and so on. you are mostly just thinking that a player wont try, but if he does then any race is better then the other. Also, with the ability that an Imperial has, if you have a follower and you accidentally make them mad you can you Voice of the Emperor to calm them to get them back, you could also use it as exploits where you have a choice where if you help on guy and you kill another and vice versa, you could choose one side attack the side you joined, and then calm the other side to get both rewards. this is much more useful the other races' abilities.

Derek on April 24, 2013:

Bretons are by far the best. They are the only race in Skyrim that can get to the max 85% without enchantments. As said before; enemies that use magic are the hardest to beat, they seem to have unlimited magicka, and their spells take a huge chunk out of your health.

This also stacks with Resist Fire, Shock, and Frost enchantments I believe.

colpolbear (author) from Pennsylvania on March 07, 2013:

What you say is mostly true, but you are missing the other side of the argument. You must remember that while you can make a focused character to garner all of the benefits held by those races (besides orc and nord), it is much easier to focus a character to garner the benefits of the Orc and Nord.

For instance, I could very easily increase melee by over 100% via enchantments, making that once-a-day double garnered through the Orc less considerable. My argument is that considering how much easier that is as opposed to, let's say increasing magic resistance, you are much better off increasing traits such as melee artificially.

When you enchant equipment, you can only put specific traits onto specific items. Furthermore, the magnitude or percentages of such traits vary depending on the type of enchantment. Melee increases just so happen to be very considerable, whereas other traits are comparably difficult to increase via enchantments.

David on March 06, 2013:

I'm sorry but Orc is the best race in Skyrim for melee, and Nord is for mage or archer. I'll tell you why.

Every other racial in the game ultimately becomes redundant once you can craft your superior gear. As a mage, you can achieve magicka free spells for two schools (sorry High Elf); as a warrior, you will have more than enough stamina and regen (sorry Redguard); and as ANY kind of character, you can quite easily hit 85% magic resist cap OR 100% spell absorption constant (sorry Breton).

You will always, however, find use for the Orc racial for melee, and always the Nord racial for mage or archer. Even after you hit armor cap (567=80% physical damage resist) you will still benefit from double damage for Orc racial, and there is NO damage cap, so that is always useful. DOUBLE DAMAGE COME ON PEOPLE! Can you say one shot? Who cares if it's only once a day. The time you spend waiting/fast traveling/sleeping etc. between quests will bring it up soon enough, and I promise you if you get in the habit of using your daily racials you will remember they're there and you will find their usefulness. So, for ranged, you won't benefit from Orc racial, so you go Nord, which is a 30 second fear to any enemies not immune (anything but undead) up to lvl 100, and without having to unequip your weapon or offensive spells. Pick them off while they run.

colpolbear (author) from Pennsylvania on February 19, 2013:

It's very circumstantial. I would not assume that most mages use ice. This would require a statistics (which I have not seen.) Also, you can only use the spell to make him flee once per day. This means that a coven of mages will still be an issue. Granted, ice spells slow you down, and are most difficult to handle in my opinion.

ShadowWolf on February 19, 2013:

Am I wrong on that you said Nords were good for magic protection seeing as most spells are ice you get a 50% resist to ice and the special power makes enemies run. So you can use that to stop the mage for a while and then go chop him to bits.

Valkku99 on February 07, 2013:

I personally never choose race by its skills/powers, because you can change those. This is how i choose my race 1.It looks cool 2. Race's history 3. It's like me (tall as hell). So in this case my option is High Elf.

Scrappy on January 11, 2013:

Another reason why the Breton is excellent: +10 Conjuration.

Being able to summon a Flame Atronach for half mana cost at level 3 feels like cheating. Such a huge advantage with virtually zero effort or time investment.

Imperial's +10 Restoration give them phenomenal survivability early game if you invest the first four perk points into restoration and pick up Fast Heal early. Dual casting 75 HP recovery for half mana is pretty tough to beat.

colpolbear (author) from Pennsylvania on January 07, 2013:

The Imperials are definitely the most unique race. That skill is definitely worth having, do you know just how much more money you accumulate? Is there an average? Is it significant?

iAmRight on January 07, 2013:

what your all forgeting is the imperials. their ability too find extra coin lasts throughout the entire game unlike many others. im not saying they are the best but i think they have been seriously overlooked. i took every septim i found till i had accumuulated around 60k in weath.

Soulskey on January 05, 2013:

Yup I chose redguard. Once you up his health and heavy armor nothing really hurts you. Nor magic or weaponry. In my opinion redguards are the best race. For a warrior character you can't do better than a redguard.

colpolbear (author) from Pennsylvania on January 03, 2013:

Hey, if having a cool looking character makes you enjoy the game more, I say the Argonian is perfect. Let's be completely honest here: after you get to about level fifty or sixty, it really doesn't make a huge difference which race you chose. At that point you are basically invincible no matter what. I think the Breton is the best race, yeah, but who cares? It is a video game. I only even wrote this article to make a bit of money from ads and to help out some people who for whatever reason do care. Sign up for Hubpages! Use my referral link on my profile page! Cheers, and game on!

Hal'hem on January 02, 2013:

I just like the argonian because it looks cool and you can avoid bandits by travelling on the waterways. But you never really see your own character being cool, so you make a good point. I still like lizards, though.

Zero on December 08, 2012:

Forgot 1 little thing I forgot to say to the guy that posted at the top.

It's impossible to 100% spell absorption. I stops going up at 80 - 85 percent one of the 2. But you will always be able to get damaged. If you get it to the max Novice - Adept spells won't damage you but the expert spells will but to a very minor damage. Master Spells will hit no better then apprentice spells did in the beginning of the game which when you hit that much resist you'll probably have more then enough HP to deal with it.

Zero on December 07, 2012:

You make a good argument but I like my High Elves more still.

I honestly put the great war thing because I do love reading the lore of the game series and yes I know in this case it doesn't matter but I thought I'd throw it out there for fun. I have no idea if your interested in such things but I do so don't take it to seriously. I also just know a lot of High Elf haters too so I'm kinda standing up for them (even though they're fictional).

On another note I don't know how your magic resist only went to 20%. Without cheating I maxed out my enchanting and easily got 40-60% resistance WITHOUT the lord stone. Maybe it's because I get almost all the perks for the enchanting which boosts, because I had a necklace give me 20% just like that.

And for a little more fun lore, during the Great War the Breton's and High Elves never went to war with each other so by those standards guess will never know (remember lore is just for fun so you don't really need to bother me about this because I know it don't matter I just like telling it).

colpolbear (author) from Pennsylvania on December 01, 2012:

I do believe you missed some very important points I made in the article. While it is true that you can increase magic resistance later in the game, magic is a killer early on and difficult to increase later (the increase rate in comparison to, let's say magicka, is insignificant.) Furthermore, there are only three items that magic resistance can be augmented to, making it an even bigger hassle to do so. If that isn't enough, the advantages to the high elf are easily augmented to armor. I've gotten individual pieces of armor to have somewhere in the +30 magicka and magic regeneration in the +60's. On the other hand, I've only gotten magic resistance to about 20% (without cheating.)

I will say this: My first play through, in which I beat relatively everything with a High Elf, was really quite swell. I only came to the conclusion that magic resistance was so important after having gone through virtually every conceivable mission and maxing my player out. The overall advantage to the Breton, I will therefore admit, is not too much when compared to the High Elf.

On a final note, lore has nothing to do with the numbers. I could honestly care less about who won the "Great War." Such a matter is irrelevant to which race garners the most advantages.

Zero on December 01, 2012:

I disagree for Breton being the best race. Yes magic resistance is great woop-dee-doo, but the High Elf could easily just get magic resistance items or activate the lord stone or something like that, no you can't use an absorbing ability and you have to wait for the resistance instead of instantly yes but especially for a mage build, the High Elf has the magic regeneration which is great and has the +50 magicka so its also great for spellswords and assassins because its like starting 5 and you spent it on magic so you don't need to worry about your balancing starting out. All I can see Bretons having an advantage is against mages and being not much different from nords and only being only a "decent" race. If you don't plan on using magic to much go for Breton, Nord or Orc but if magic is involved the High Elf all the way.

If you want to be technical from lore the High Elves are best because they won the Great War.

But I do agree with you on a few points, Argonians aren't the best and yes I agree Khajit suck ass in Skyrim.

Joy on November 15, 2012:

I play as a Breton vampiress with all up to date dlc.. She sprints faster than my Altmer female and has the vampire sight giving her the best thing about khajiit assassins while being faster and stronger (I am not a vampire lord). Her daily power comes in handy when I'm fighting a lot of mages that don't use frost (which I'm completely immune to, as I am with disease and poison) I'd have to say that when playing as vampires human characters are the best, and Bretons are the best choice when playing as a vamp because of their starting stats and complimentary skills, followed by the Redgaurd for their very impressive skill at arms and their daily ability to plow through enemies with their stamina regen bonus... Making a khajiit or argonian a vampire is fucking useless... The Nord is by far the best and probably only real viable option when playing as a werewolf both for RP and gameplay... The frost resistance should be expected for great beasts covered in fur...

colpolbear (author) from Pennsylvania on August 09, 2012:

I don't really hate the khajiit. The Hub was solely designed to pull forth the best race for playing (in other words, which is most effective.) Because of this I didn't consider looks. Furthermore, I didn't consider skills because the lower levels are typically easy to get up, making that difference at the beginning of the game negligible. As far as night eye is concerned, you can easily go to settings and increase the brightness a titch, making it more of a hassle to pull out the spell. I will admit, the brawl benefit is a plus. I never considered brawls to be difficult, which is why I didn't mention it, but I must say that some of them are tedious. Overall, I just can't consider the perks of the khajiit good enough to warrant picking it solely for playability. It's not like it'll be the end of the world if you pick it though. I still think it's the coolest race, just not the most practical. The funny thing is that in Oblivion, I was always a khajiit.

Supershadow909 on August 09, 2012:

I'm a level 50 khajiit and I can't see why you hate it so much. I mean it came 4th in the vote and it is best for the assassin/archer type character. They look amazing (mine looks like a tiger) and the night eye is really useful in dark situations. Their claws become useful when fighting in brawls too.

Superman32145 on August 06, 2012:

Breton by far is the best i prefer an assassin role with that race conjuring a bow along with a shrouded armor you can easily be a beast at this game

assassin5000 on August 03, 2012:

I have to say the Bretons, their magic resistant has saved me in master difficulty with dragon priest, ancient dragons, highly leveled master mages.

Razer on July 18, 2012:

Very good post. I agree on the most part, butI wouldn't give too much credit to Bretons, their abilities are good, don't get me wrong, but with a quest and the Lord stone you can have 40% magic resistant as a permanent boon whatever character you choose to play with, now while that's not as good as what you could have with Bretons, it's still pretty decent, I prefer a daily boost to my stamana, if you decide to be a warrior you will truly realise how important stamana is during a hack fest against 4 enemies.

colpolbear (author) from Pennsylvania on July 06, 2012:

Good choice :)

Wat on July 06, 2012:

I'm choosing Breton. Hands down.

colpolbear (author) from Pennsylvania on July 02, 2012:

Thank you for reading this. I was a high elf my first time playing as well. It took an entire play through to realize what attributes were most important.

SH on July 02, 2012:

thank you for writing this. i only started skyrim for some hours and i'm reconsidering the breton over the high elf just because i hear it's more flexible with melee and spells vs. the high elf relying on pure magic.

colpolbear (author) from Pennsylvania on June 28, 2012:

Thank you, gamermonkey.

gamermonkey on June 27, 2012:

I recently made a build using a Breton. I can safely say that the Breton definitely has advantages over the other races, specifically the reason you discussed. A 25% resistance is an incredible boon no matter how experienced the player is or what kind of a class they're building. I usually play the polar opposites, my favorites so far are my High Elf pure mage and my Orc/Redguard pure warrior-type. With the Breton I wanted to switch things up a bit and made a Battle Mage type character. The dragon skin ability (absorbing 50% of magic) has saved me more than once, especially on the hardest difficulty. Keep up the good work, copolbear.

colpolbear (author) from Pennsylvania on June 25, 2012:

This is a very good point, especially for a magic type player. I probably never noticed it because I am more of a run in and hack and slash sort of player, and got all defenses so high early on that nothing could really take me down. Do you perhaps know what the maximum percent is without the Breton?

Psiberzerker on June 24, 2012:

You forgot an incredibly great thing about being Breton, they're the only race that can reach 100% Spell Absorbtion with their daily power(And the Atronach Stone.) Now, I know you don't consider dailies all that great, but for skripted battles where you're going up against powerful Magic, like Alduin, Dragon Priests, and Ancano, that mad minute is pretty much the whole fight. Not only does this make you Immune to magic, but it also tops off your blue gauge, so it can fuel powerful Destruction, like Lightning Storm. You can also stand in a Magicka Well, like Guardian Circle/of Protection for a constant source to channel. Dragon Priests especially don't have physical attacks, so as long as they're pounding you with Wall of Storms, for instance, you can throw it right back at them, rather than being drained by it. Dragons are extremely slow on the ground, and can't strike you from the air, so they're forced to shout as long as you keep your distance. being immune, and able to channel it into retaliation mahes even the Big Bad a lot easier. (You still need Clear Skies so you're not beaten to death by the meteor storm)

What character should I make Skyrim?

What is the best race to choose in Skyrim?

What is the most powerful Skyrim character?