Fun and easy spellsword/battlemage build that is powerful enough to conquer expert difficulty without too much trouble. Recommended for new players, as it will expose them to both melee and magic mechanics. Though, they may want to turn the difficulty down.

Race

Breton is the race of choice for this build. The 50% magic resistance is incredible for survivability at all stages of the game, and the additional 50 magicka will allow us to cast more powerful spells without running out. The greater power Dragon Skin can also be quite useful, granting 50 armor for 60s once a day. I recommend the Systres origin for the extra strength, as carry weight might be an issue without it. Especially if you opt to use Heavy Armor.

Birthsign

Both the Lord and the Mage are great picks. I recommend the Lord for this build, especially if playing on expert. The extra survivability helps a ton in the early/mid game, and is still quite good in late game. The Mage is great too, and if you want to focus more on magic rather than melee this might be the better choice for you.

Class

Class is not as important in the remaster; major skills are no longer the only way to level up, and you don't have to worry about efficient leveling. That being said, your major skills will get a nice starting bonus and will level faster. I used the following, but feel free to adjust it to your preference. There really isn't a way to mess up too bad with class.

Major skills:

• Blade
• Block
• Heavy Armor (You could go light armor if you want)
• Destruction
• Armorer
• Athletics
• Acrobatics

Specialization: Combat

Favored Attributes: Endurance, Speed (This is mostly up to you, Endurance will give you a nice survivability boost, and Speed is good quality of life)

Build Guide

In the early game, take fights slow. You do not yet have all of the tools that will make this build powerful so focus on avoiding damage, either through the block skill or your movement, and attack when you have an opening. Use the best armor you can find, a shield, whatever spells you have access to, and a blade weapon. Eventually, you will use a dagger or shortsword for the higher dps and faster enchantment application, but for now your low agility might make longswords a better choice. Prioritize Endurance and Willpower when you level up. Endurance increases your maximum health and Willpower determines how quickly you will regenerate magicka and your maximum fatigue, all of which are critical to this build. In order for this build to really take off, you need to acquire some things.

To Get:

• Weakness to Shock and Weakness to Magic spell effects (These are for sale in the Skingrad Mages Guild, but you will need to be level 50 in Destruction before you can use the latter)
• Soul Trap (Sold in any Mages Guild location, requires level 25 Mysticism. If you pick Mysticism as a Major Skill you won't need to level it any further)
• Azura's Star (Available from level 2 from Azura's daedric quest)
• A grand soul (Two filled grand soul gems can be stolen from the display in the Arcane University, or taken if you progress far enough. Smaller souls are useable, you will just have to recharge your weapon more frequently)

Once you have met all of these prerequisites, take the highest quality dagger or shortsword you can find to an enchanting altar. You can now create the primary weapon of this build:

Name: Electrolyte

• Weakness to Shock for 3s on strike
• Weakness to Magic for 4s on strike

It is important that the enchantment effects are in this order. Due to the way spell effects interact in this game, this order is necessary to allow the enchantment to get stronger each time you strike. To go along with your trusty blade, you will now make a custom spell to take advantage of its weakening capabilities.

Name: Soul Shock

• Soul Trap for 4s on Touch
• Shock Damage x pts (5-10 would be good to start) for 3s on Touch

With these two tools, this build becomes very strong. Simply get a few strikes in with Electrolyte when you have an opening, either by blocking or dodging, and zap them with Soul Shock. Soul Trap plus Azura's Star will keep your weapon charged, and taking Armorer as a Major Skill will allow you to repair magical items from the start of the game. From this point, the core of the build is complete, and the rest of the equipment, spells, and weapons you use are up to you. You can make new, more powerful versions of your blade and spell, or make your own creations. Experiment with other magic skills; Restoration will be extremely useful to keep you healthy, and at high levels it can be used to grant massive buffs to your character. Stick with one type of armor, Heavy if you want superior protection, or Light if you want better mobility. At higher levels, if you so choose, you can become nearly invincible with the combination of a Mundane Ring, Necklace of Swords, Ring of the Iron Fist, and the Escutcheon of Chorrol. Look these items up to see how to acquire them and what level you need to be to get the best versions of them.

Have fun, and be creative! If you have any questions, feel free to ask.