Skyrim Best Races: Amplifiers, Abilities & Skills

The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim, albeit an old game, still has a large player base hooked due to its lore aspect and overall gameplay. Players in the game will be able to choose from a total of 10 races, such as the Argonians, Bosmer, Imperial, Nord, and Redguards, and therefore players might need assistance in figuring out what The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim Best Races might be, and how each race operates! 

Here’s a summarized look at all the Best Races in Skyrim:

Altmer 

Kicking things off, we have the Altmer race, whose playstyle will be centered mainly towards having enhanced magicks as well as enhanced magicks regeneration. Altmers are known to best fit as being mages, and they are able to take on a magic-based playstyle rather than fitting any other classes. 

The Altmer will have a total of +50 magicka, which will grant them the ability to take advantage of gaining extra stamina or health without really needing to consume any magicka. 

Skill Amplifiers 

When it comes to their skill Amplifiers, they will have a total of 6 skill Amplifiers that they will get at specific levels. 

• They will have a +5 restoration, which will be at level 20. 
• Altmers will also have +5 Enchanting at level 20. 
• At level 20, altmers will also have +conjuration. 
• At level 20, Altmers will also have +5 destruction. 
• +10 illusion will also be at level 25. 
• At level 20, +5 alteration will also be given to the race. 

Special Abilities 

When it comes to the special abilities of the Altmer race, they will have two main abilities, as follows: 

• One of the main abilities will be Fortify Magicka, which will provide players with a bonus of 50 magicka enhancement. 
• The second ability will be called Highborn, which will be able to regain a magicka at an enhanced rate for a total of a minute. 

Starting Spells 

Whenever the player starts out as an Altmer, they will be able to get three spells. 

• Fury
• Healing
• Flames 

Bretons 

Moving on, let’s take a look at Breton, which will really fall into The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim Best Races, but their main playstyle will start off by being magic-based. However, going forward, they are able to become pretty good warriors, and they are able to be focused on combat quite well too. 

If Bretona is not wearing any kind of warrior, they are still able to receive about 85% magic negation, and it will be based on the Racial Bonus, Magic Resistance which grants 20%, Lord Stone, as well as the Agent of Mara. 

Skill Amplifiers

Now, as far as the skill Amplifiers are concerned, the Bretons will be able to gain access to a total of 6 skill bonuses which will be as follows: 

• At level 20, +5 speech will be provided. 
• At level 20, a +5 illusion will be available. 
• While being at level 20, +5 Alteration. 
• At level 20, +5 Restoration. 
• At level 25, +10 Conjuration 
• +5 Alchemy at level 20.

Special Abilities 

Moving on, let’s take a look at the special abilities for the Bretons class, and there will be two abilities: 

• One of the first abilities will be called Magic Resistance which will be able to give a total of 25% magic negation to players. 
• Another ability will be called Dragonskin, which allows about 50% of magicka to be absorbed in if the Bretons are attacked by any hostile spells for about 60 seconds. 

Starting Spells 

The class will gain three main spells: 

• Healing
• Conjur Familiar 
• Flames 

Dunmer 

Moving on, we will be considering the next race, which is known as the Dunmer, and it is a race that is known to be able to fit anywhere, making it amazing for the Skyrim best characters that players might want to play with. 

Dunmers are able to fit the playstyle of a melee fighter, and apart from that, it is also able to fit the playstyle of an assassin or even a mage. Other than that, due to their negation against fire attacks, they are also able to fit the playstyle of a vampire class, really making them a versatile class. 

Skill Amplifiers 

As far as the skill Amplifiers are concerned for Dunmers, the six Amplifiers will be present below: 

• +5 sneak at level 20. 
• + light Armor at level 20. 
• +10 Destruction at level 25. 
• +5 Illusion at level 20. 
• +5 Alchemy at level 20. 
• +5 Alteration at level 20. 

Special Abilities 

Moving on, let’s take a look at the special abilities that are offered up to Dunmers: 

• The first ability will be called Resist Fire which will grant the class that is being played 50% fire resistance due to the Dunmer blood. 
• The next ability will be called Ancestor’s Wrath, with which any enemy that dares get too close to the player will end up taking fire damage for a minute once a day. 

Starting Spells 

The three spells that will be given out to the Dunmer race will be as follows: 

• Healing
• Flames
• Spawks 

Argonians 

Next up, we have the Argonians, who will be really won’t one of The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim Best Races; they will be able to become excellent assassins, along with being able to become a thief as well. Other than that, they can also wander around in becoming a spellsword, though it may not work that well. 

Argonians are blessed with the ability to breathe underwater, which allows them to not need to rely on potions as other races would. 

Skill Amplifiers 

Next up, let’s take a look at the six different skill Amplifiers that are offered to players who decide to go for the Argonian’s race. 

• +5 Sneak skill.
• Restoration skill at +5 Modifier. 
• Alteration skill at +5 modifier. 
• Pickpocket skill at +5 modifier. 
• Lockpicking skill at +10 modifier. 
• Light Armor skill at +5 modifier. 

Special Abilities 

As compared to other classes that have two special abilities, the Argonians will have a total of 3 special abilities: 

• The water breathing ability will allow Argonians to breathe underwater, which makes it incredibly useful. 
• Another ability will be called HIstskin, which can allow Argonians to use the hist power in order to regenerate their HP at 10x speed for about a minute. 
• The third Skill will be called Resist Disease, and it will basically grant Argonians 50% disease resistance. 

Starting Spells 

As far as the starting spells are considered, there will be two ranging from: 

• Healing 
• Flames 

Bosmer 

Another solid race that players can choose to go for will be the Bosmer race, which unfortunately falls into the lower half of the rating since they are not really made for versatility but rather will have one focused playstyle. 

The best playstyle for the Bosmer will be playing as an archer and will be mostly stealth-based. They have skills that allow them to become immune to disease as well as being positioned by enemies. 

Skill Amplifiers 

When discussing the skill Amplifiers for the Skyrim best character Bosmer, they will be as listed below: 

• Sneak Skill at +5 modifier at level 20. 
• Lockpicking skill at +5 modifier at level 20. 
• Light Armor skill at +5 modifier at level 20. 
• Lockpicking skill at +5 at level 20. 
• Archery skill at +10 modifier at level 25. 
• Alchemy skill at +5 modifier at level 20. 

Special Abilities 

As for the special abilities, they are going to be two main ability, such as: 

• The first ability will be called Command Animal, which can allow them to make any kind of animal their ally for about a minute. 
• The next ability will be both Poisons as well as Resist Disease, which allows them to gain 50% negation to both disease and poison. 

Starting Spells 

The Bosmers will have two starting spells:

• Healing
• Flames 

Imperial 

As far as the next race is concerned, it will be known as the Imperial race for Skyrim’s Best character, and when it comes to their main kit, they will be used best for players that decide to play as battle mages. 

They can also be excellent for use as crusaders or even for classes that are made to be cross-classes. Players can go for a mix of Paladin and Templar since they mostly have Amplifiers in their heavy Armor. All in all, the Imperial is a pretty versatile and all-rounder class. 

Skill Amplifiers 

The six main skill Amplifiers that players will gain when using the race for their classes will be: 

• Restoration skill with +10 modifier at level 25. 
• One-handed Skill with +5 modifier at level 20. 
• Enchanting Skill with +5 modifier at level 20. 
• Heavy Armor skill with +5 modifier at level 20. 
• Block Skill with +5 modifier at level 20. 
• Destruction skill with +5 modifier at level 20. 

Special Abilities 

There will be two special abilities that will be as follows: 

• The voice of the emperor skill will allow players to calm down humanoids that are close for a minute. 
• The imperial luck ability can allow players to gain more gold coins. 

Starting Spells 

Imperials will start off by having only two main spells: 

• Flames 
• Healing 

Nords 

Next up, we will be discussing the Nords race, which used to mostly come in handy for classes that ranged from either barbarians or warrior-type classes. With their power, they are able to make opponents run away for a total of 30 seconds. 

Their plsytyle will typically be tailored towards having 50% negation to frost without needing to have any kind of enchanted equipment, and they are able to also excel in providing the players with advantages in one-hadned weaponry as well as light Armor. 

Skill Amplifiers 

Next up, let’s discuss the six starting skill Amplifiers that players will get if they decide to play as a Nord: 

• Speech skill with +5 modifier at level 20. 
• One-handed Skill with +5 modifier at level 20. 
• Light Armor skill with +5 modifier at level 20. 
• Smithing skill with +5 modifier at level 20. 
• Two-handed Skill with +10 modifier at level 25. 
• Block Skill with +5 modifier at level 20. 

Special Abilities 

When it comes to the two special abilities, they will be from the following:

• The first special ability will be called Battle Cry, which we mentioned before, can allow players to make opponents flee for about 30 seconds. 
• The second ability will be called Resist Frost, which will grant resistance to frost to players by 50%. 

Starting Spells 

The two starting spells that Nords will get will be 

• Flames 
• Healing 

Orsimer 

Now, the next race will be the Orsimer race, and they are basically nothing but deadly warriors. They are built through and through to engage in combat, and rather than having to rely on stealth like the remaining Mers, the Orsimers really don’t need it. 

The two main roles that players would typically want to go for whenever they want to play as an orsimer will be by being either a tank or a blade master since it would mainly focus on heavy armor use. 

Skill Amplifiers 

As far as the six skill Amplifiers are concerned, they will be as the following: 

• Smithing skill with +5 modifier at level 20. 
• Enchanting Skill with +5 modifier at level 20. 
• Heavy armor skill with +10 modifier at level 25. 
• Block Skill with +5 modifier at level 20. 
• Two-handed Skill with +5 modifier at level 20. 
• One-handed Skill with +5 modifier at level 20. 

Special Abilities 

There will be just one special ability that the Orsimers will have, and it will be called Berserker Rage, and players will be able to take in half damage but be able to dish out double damage for one minute. 

Starting Spells 

The two main starting spells that the race will have: 

• Healing 
• Flames 

Khajiit

The second last race will be the Khajiit, and when it comes to their playstyle, it will mostly be centered around stealth-based, which allows them to fit into classes that take advantage of stealth, such as thieves and assassins. Khajiitsare also able to become pretty good archers, especially since their sneak level is amazing. 

Skill Amplifiers 

For the Skyrim best character playing as Khajiit, the skill bonuses will be as shown: 

• Pickpocket skill with +5 modifier. 
• Archery skill with +5 modifier. 
• Sneak Skill with +10 modifier. 
• Lockpicking skill with +5 modifier. 
• Alchemy skill with +5 modifier. 
• One-handed Skill with +5 modifier. 

Special Abilities 

As far as the abilities are concerned, Khajiitwill has two abilities: 

• Night Eye ability allows them to see in the dark for a minute.
• As for the second ability, it will be called Claws, with which any unarmed attacks that are carried out by the players will deal 12 damage. 

Starting Spells 

As for the starting spells, they will be: 

• Healing 
• Flames 

Redguards 

Last but not least, let’s take a look at the Redguards race, who will have their playstyle centered around combat. They are known to be mostly centered towards being defensive fighters, as they will start off by having a one-handed starting skill. 

Skill Amplifiers 

As for the six skill amplifiers, they will be: 

• Smithing skill with +5 modifer. 
• Block Skill with +5 modifier 
• Alteration skill with +5 modifier
• Destruction skill with +5 modifier 
• One-handed Skill with a +10 modifier 
• Destruction skill with +5 modifier. 

Special Abilities 

The Redguards will have abilities such as: 

• The Adrenaline Rush ability will allow their stamina to regenerate at an enhanced 10x rate for a minute. 
• The resist Poison ability will allow them to gain 50% poison negation. 

Summary 

And there we have it! All races, alongside their abilities, and with that, we will wrap up our The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim Best Races guide! While you’re at it, you might want to take a look at our Skyrim Best Builds guide, which will cover a plethora of builds that players might want to try out, whether they are just starting out in the game or have been playing it for a decade! You might also want to check out our Skyrim Best VR Mods guide that showcases mods that are currently functional as of 2023!

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