Character Creation

Questions about is your build viable?

Any build is viable in the early game. It genuinely does not matter, you can run pretty much anything you want.

Build viability only becomes a problem once you reach things with lots of perks, armor or regen in the mid-game.

If you just want to Play around killing bandits or whatever, you can pretty much play anything you want. But if you wanna complete all the content, defeat Alduin, kill Miraak, etc. you’re gonna run into trouble, unless you pick a ‘Meta’ build.

Going a Spellsword/Battlemage build is not recommended for beginners - as there are a lot of mechanics relating to heavy armor & spell casting that make this one of the hardest builds to master.

General rules for successful build - One ranged ability, One Defense ability, One melee ability and 3 support skills.

---

Beginner-Friendly Requiem Builds

Important: This is a Requiem-based modlist. Vanilla Skyrim playstyles do not apply. Requiem significantly changes combat mechanics, enemy scaling, and build viability. These recommendations are tailored for Requiem’s difficulty curve.

Why Vanilla Builds Don’t Work in Requiem

• The world is de-leveled - Enemies don’t scale with you, so a difficult enemy at level 1 becomes easier at level 10; overleveling makes content trivial
• Damage is more lethal - Both you and enemies deal significant damage
• Perks matter more - You need specific perks to be effective with a weapon type
• Magic is harder early - Spell costs are high and enemies have good resistance
• Armor is essential - You’ll need proper armor for survival

Recommended Beginner Builds for Requiem

1. Barbarian (Light Armor + Two-Handed) (Easiest)

• Why it works: High mobility, strong two-handed damage, flexible playstyle
• Best Race: Nord or Orc
• Key Skills: Two-Handed, Light Armor, Smithing, Evasion
• Stone: Warrior or Steed
• Why for beginners: Similar to the heavy armor warrior but more mobile, good damage output, easier gear maintenance
• See Milkdrinker’s Barbarian Guide →

2. One-Handed + Shield Knight

• Why it works: Balanced offense and defense, very survivable
• Best Race: Imperial or Nord
• Key Skills: One-Handed, Block, Heavy Armor, Restoration
• Stone: Lord or Lady
• Why for beginners: Block provides damage reduction, easier to kite enemies, Restoration helps with healing
• See Knight of the Iron’s Knight Guide →

3. Two-Handed Warrior

• Why it works: Simple playstyle, high damage, straightforward perk progression
• Best Race: Nord or Orc
• Key Skills: Two-Handed, Heavy Armor, Smithing
• Stone: Warrior or Lord
• Why for beginners: Doesn’t require micromanagement, good survivability, clear progression path
• See 2Hand Warrior Guide →

4. Restoration Cleric

• Why it works: Self-healing, support magic, can hold your own in combat
• Best Race: Breton (magic resistance helps) or High Elf (extra magicka)
• Key Skills: Restoration, Heavy Armor, One-Handed, Block
• Stone: Mage or Apprentice
• Why for beginners: Healing keeps you alive, doesn’t require aggressive spell slinging. You can cast a healing aura before combat while naked and avoid most of the magic penalties.

Builds to AVOID as a Beginner

• Pure Mage - Magic is expensive early game and enemies resist it heavily. Get used to movement or dodging before picking this.
• Spellsword/Battlemage - Requires balancing heavy armor, spellcasting, and melee (very difficult)
• Stealth Archer - Requires understanding of sneak mechanics and positioning
• Hybrid builds with many skills - Spread too thin, won’t be effective

General Requiem Beginner Tips

• Focus on 3-4 skills maximum - Spreading perks thin makes you weak
• Get armor early - Unarmored characters die quickly
• Smithing is your friend - Upgrade your gear frequently
• Don’t waste perks on utility - Lockpicking, Pickpocket, etc. aren’t essential for combat
• Stamina management is critical - Power attacks and blocking drain stamina; manage it carefully
• Use health potions in combat - Casting healing spells leaves you vulnerable; potions are instant and safer

Want to Mix Up a Playthrough?

Try these tools for fresh challenges and character ideas:

• Community Challenges - Player-created challenges to keep your playthroughs interesting
• Skyrim Random Character Generator - Generate random character builds
• Character Roller - Quick random character creation tool

---

Choosing Your Race & Build

Not sure which race to pick? Use this quick guide based on your preferred playstyle:

Melee Combat (Warriors)

Best Choices: Nord, Orc, or Redguard

• Nord - Strong two-handed damage, frost resistance, best for dual-wielding or 2H weapons
• Orc - Highest stamina pool, excellent for heavy armor and damage output
• Redguard - Balanced damage and stamina, great for hybrid playstyles

Ranged Combat (Archers)

Best Choices: Wood Elf, Khajiit, or Redguard

• Wood Elf - +15 Archery bonus, excellent with light armor
• Khajiit - Best movement speed, strong pickpocket/sneak perks for stealth archers
• Redguard - Balanced stamina for holding arrows

Magic (Mages)

Best Choices: High Elf, Breton, or Wood Elf

• High Elf - Most magicka, best spell efficiency, recommended for pure mages
• Breton - Good magic resistance, can absorb enemy spells
• Wood Elf - Balanced magicka, works for hybrid magic builds

Stealth/Thief

Best Choices: Khajiit, Wood Elf, or Dark Elf

• Khajiit - Highest movement speed, excellent for sneaking and lockpicking
• Wood Elf - Good light armor bonus and sneak bonus
• Dark Elf - Balanced offense and stealth, fire resistance useful

Note: Any race can play any build—these are just the optimized choices. Pick based on lore preference if you want!

---

For more guidance on builds and examples - you can see the class guides section of the Wiki.

The maximum level is 82, with 6 bonus perk points at character start, and an optional 7 additional perk points from the Oghma Infinium. Most players only reach around level 40-45 in a typical playthrough, so plan your builds accordingly.

---

Character Creation

Skills and Attributes

• Some Foods require a strong stomach to be able to get the benefits from consumption.

For all races the Base health regen is 0% of 0.2 per second. Using items which increase the health regen percentages will use 0.2 as the multiplier.

---

Background

• Acrobat: Lockpicking, Marksman, One-Handed, Pickpocket, Sneak, Speechcraft
• Agent: Illusion, Lockpicking, Marksman, One-Handed, Sneak, Speechcraft
• Assassin: Alchemy, Evasion, Lockpicking, Marksman, One-Handed, Sneak
• Barbarian: Block, Evasion, Marksman, One-Handed, Smithing, Two-Handed
• Bard: Block, Enchanting, Illusion, Evasion, One-Handed, Speechcraft
• Battlemage: Alteration, Conjuration, Destruction, Enchanting, Heavy Armor, Two-Handed
• Crusader: Alchemy, Block, Destruction, Heavy Armor, One-Handed, Restoration
• Healer: Alchemy, Alteration, Destruction, Illusion, Restoration, Speechcraft
• Knight: Block, Enchanting, Heavy Armor, One-Handed, Restoration, Speechcraft
• Monk: Alteration, Illusion, Lockpicking, Marksman, One-Handed, Sneak
• Nightblade: Alteration, Destruction, Evasion, Lockpicking, One-Handed, Restoration
• Pilgrim: Block, Illusion, Evasion, One-Handed, Smithing, Speechcraft
• Scout: Alchemy, Evasion, Marksman, One-Handed, Smithing, Sneak
• Sorcerer: Alteration, Conjuration, Destruction, Enchanting, Heavy Armor, Restoration
• Spellsword: Alteration, Destruction, Heavy Armor, Illusion, One-Handed, Restoration
• Thief: Alchemy, Evasion, Lockpicking, Pickpocket, Sneak, Speechcraft
• Warrior: Block, Heavy Armor, Marksman, One-Handed, Smithing, Two-Handed
• Witchhunter: Alchemy, Destruction, Lockpicking, Marksman, One-Handed, Sneak

---

STANDING STONES

Once you take a stone from given group, you will become locked to that group. For example, after taking Warrior you will be able to change your stone only to Lady/Lord/Steed and not others.

< The Warrior Group >

• Lady: Those under the sign of the Lady regenerate Stamina faster. 50% faster Stamina regen

• Lord: The Stone of the Lord grants those who possess its blessing increased damage resistance and weakened hostile spells. 120% damage resistance, 15% magic resistance

• Steed: The Steed grants those who bear its blessing increased Stamina. Fortify Stamina 100 points

• Warrior: The Warrior strengthens those who bear his blessing, allowing a more efficient use with all kinds of weaponry. +10 Fortify Marksman, +10 Fortify One-Handed, +10 Fortify Two-Handed, +10 Fortify Armor Penetration

---

< The Mage Group >

• Apprentice: The Apprentice greatly enhances magicka regeneration. 200% faster Magicka regen, 25% decrease to magic resistance

• Atronach: The Sign of the Atronach grants additional Magicka and a chance for Spell Absorption, but makes it almost impossible to passively regenerate magicka, reduces the efficacy of magicka potions by one third, and negates the long-term benefits offered by cooked meals. 0% chance of magicka regen, 50% spell absorption, fortify Magicka by 350 points

• Mage: Those under the Sign of the Mage are granted additional Magicka and find it easier to focus their thoughts while running. Fortify Magicka 100 points

• Ritual: Those under the Sign of the Ritual are capable of animating hordes of undead for a limited duration once each day. Daily power to raise the dead

---

< The Thief Group >

• Lover: Those under the sign of the lover find it easier to be attractive, intriguing and also use speech to get what they want… Fortify Speech 25 points

• Shadow: Those under the Sign of the Shadow are able of becoming invisible and inaudible once a day. Daily power of muffle and invisibility for 300 seconds

• Thief: The Thief grants wide-spread abilities to those who bear her blessing. It improves sneaking, pickpocketing and lockpicking skills and grants lockpicking expertise. Furthermore it increases armor penetration with one-handed and ranged weapons. +5 Armor Penetration, +15 Fortify Sneak, +15 Fortify Pickpocket, +5 Fortify Lockpicking, +20 Fortify Lockpicking Expertise

• Tower: The Tower grants a blessing of 20 extra carry weight and supernatural lockpicking skills. Expertise is increased by 40 and any effortless lock can be picked in plain sight with nobody noticing, creating a wax-molded copy of the key, if one exists. +20 Carry Weight, +40 Lockpicking

---

< The Serpent Group >

• Serpent: The Bite of the Serpent will paralyze and poison a target for a moderate duration. ‘Venomous Splatter’ poison and paralyze spell

---

Next Steps

You’ve planned your character build! Now it’s time to start playing:

1. Read Your First Day - Learn survival priorities and money-making strategies
2. Read Leveling your Character - Understand perk allocation and skill progression
3. Read Stamina Management - Master resource management for your chosen playstyle

Remember: Your build choice matters less than understanding the game mechanics. Any build can succeed if you play smartly.

---