Combat is a core part of The Elder Scrolls franchise. Every mainline game has made changes to the combat formula to some degree. Oblivion made combat based on skill rather than dice rolls, and Skyrim focused on improving the feedback of combat while introducing the Dual-Wield mechanic and Shouts.
With nearly a decade since it was released, there are still aspects of Skyrim’s combat mechanics that some players are unfamiliar with. Some systems tied to combat are either obscure or never explained well in the game itself. From critical hits to off-hand daggers, here are ten details most players rarely notice about Skyrim’s combat.
10 Walking Backwards Trivializes Fights
The largest weakness every melee opponent has in Skyrim is walking backward. Enemy telegraphs are so long in Skyrim that it gives most players ample time to walk backward to avoid the hit altogether. Get near a target, wait for them to start an attack, then walk backward. The chance an enemy will hit the Dragonborn is extremely low and gives the player ample time to deal some damage or heal.
9 Can’t Attack Underwater
Skyrim is the first mainline Elder Scrolls game since Arena where players can’t attack while underwater. Daggerfall, Morrowind, and Oblivion allowed players to use their melee weapons or spells while underwater. No attacks work while underwater in Skyrim. Lure Slaughterfish and similar aquatic foes to a shoreline to take them out.
8 Staggers
An enemy has a chance to become staggered when they are hit by an attack. When staggered, enemies will be unable to move and will be forced to stop whatever action they were taking. Players can also be staggered by certain power attacks and Shouts, although they are free to move while staggered.
These staggers can be modified with certain perks and weapon types. The Destruction tree’s Impact perk, for example, allows Destruction spells to stagger targets if they deal enough damage. Power bashes from shields also provide a much higher probability of staggering a target than any weapon attack. Finally, players can enhance their stagger effects with the Force Without Effort meditation provided by Paarthurnax. This also makes Unrelenting Force’s stagger and ragdoll effects stronger.
7 Power Attack Differences
Not every power attack in Skyrim is made equal. Depending on the weapon a player is using, their power attack will grant certain damage, Stamina, and stagger multipliers. In general. using a single weapon will grant more devastating results than bashing or using a dual-wield flurry. The modifiers are as follows:
- One-Handed: 2x damage multiplier, 1x stagger multiplier, 1x Stamina consumption rate
- Dual-Wield flurry attack: 1.5x damage multiplier, 1x stagger multiplier, 0.5x Stamina consumption rate per swing
- Bashes (shields or weapons): 0.5x damage multiplier, 0.5x stagger multiplier, 1x Stamina consumption rate
- Power Bash (shields): 1.5x damage multiplier, 1.5x stagger multiplier, 1x Stamina consumption rate
- Unarmed single power attack: 2x damage multiplier, 0.5x stagger multiplier, 1x Stamina consumption rate
- Unarmed flurry power attack: 1x damage multiplier, 0.5x stagger multiplier, 1x Stamina consumption rate per swing
Many thanks to the Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages wiki for this information.
6 Conjuration Power Leveling
Conjuration is one of the hardest magic schools to level in Skyrim since the act of summoning thralls or Daedra grants such little experience. However, there is a neat combat trick to level Conjuration up extremely fast.
Right before an enemy dies, cast Soul Trap on it. Deliver the killing blow to refill a soul gem, then immediately cast Soul Trap again. Despite the body lacking a soul, it will still become soul trapped and grant Conjuration experience. Cast Soul Trap on the corpse as many times as desired until the skill is level 100.
5 Dagger Attack Speed
Dual-Wielding is a strange mechanic in Skyrim. Despite wielding two weapons at once, the player’s off-hand weapon will swing 50% slower than their main-hand weapon.
Even weirder, the player’s equipped off-hand weapon determines the swing speed of their main-hand blade. This makes daggers the best off-hand weapon in Skyrim since they have the fastest weapon swing speed out of any archetype. For those that want to maximize their dual-wielding builds, an off-hand dagger is the best choice despite their low damage output.
4 Unarmed Damage Is Based On Race
Unarmed builds are strange in that they rely heavily on the player’s chosen race. Non-beast races such as Nords will deal four damage a punch while unarmed. Beast races deal ten unarmed damage. However, Khajiits are objectively better at melee than Argonians and other non-beast races due to their innate claw passive which grants 12 additional damage per unarmed attack.
Combine with their ten base damage, Khajiits deal a whopping 22 damage a punch without any enchanted items or buffs. Since there is no unarmed skill in Skyrim, the best way to make an unarmed build is to play a Khajiit.
3 Critical Hits
Critical hits, not to be confused with sneak attack critical hits, are one of Skyrim’s strangest combat mechanics. Every weapon in the game can, with the right perks, critically hit a target for additional damage.
Similar to Bethesda’s Fallout titles, critical hits in Skyrim add flat damage to a weapon attack instead of a global damage multiplier. This flat damage bonus is typically half of a weapon’s base damage and is not influenced by tempering or damage-related perks.
For example, dealing a critical hit with a Daedric Sword would grant seven bonus damage as its base damage is 14. Upgrading a Daedric Sword to deal 1,000 damage a hit will still make a critical hit grant an additional seven damage instead of 500 like one would expect. This is why critical hits are considered one of the worst ways to scale damage in Skyrim.
2 Resource Economy Tricks
Despite the cost of power attacks in Skyrim, the player only needs to have more than zero Stamina to initiate the attack. If a player’s current Stamina is one and they decide to deal a power attack, they will deliver a full-damage attack despite lacking sufficient Stamina. Using Stamina regeneration effects from potions or Vegetable Soup will allow the Dragonborn to power attack to their heart’s content since they will never have zero Stamina.
Certain spells also have a resource economy cheat. Channeled flame spells like Wall of Flames can be “feathered” by repeatedly tapping the cast button instead of holding it down. Feathering the attack button will deal the same damage output per second but dramatically cut down on Magicka costs.
1 Skill Level Matters
Many players believe that the level of a particular skill only governs the perks they can allocate. While it is true that perks provide radical buffs to certain skills and playstyles, the level of certain skills will grant passive benefits.
One-Handed, Two-Handed, and Archery will each grant a 0.5% damage bonus for their respective weapons per skill level. At the level cap of 100, these skills will grant 50% increased damage with their category of weapons regardless of perks allocated.
Non-combat skills also see small benefits; Alchemy grants a 0.5% potency buff to crafted potions and poisons per skill level. Sneak also makes enemies have a harder time detecting the player for every level in the skill.
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