The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Character Building Guide: Minor Skills Overview

With so many customization option given by the game, creating your character is not going to be too hard. We have taken a good look at each of the races available and understood that each one of them comes with its own strengths and weaknesses: some are better suited at being warriors while others are better at magic or stealth.

In creating your character and getting him or her ready for battle and adventure you’ll probably need some good understanding on how skills work. Skills determine your proficiency at everything that can be done in the world of Skyrim. Unlike previous The Elder Scrolls game, skills aren’t determined by the character class: the specialization of skills comes with the Perks system.

All Skills improve depending on the action you do: improving some of them can be somewhat tedious. There are other ways to improve skills without having to repeat some actions over and over: you can improve them by getting your hand on a Skill Book or find some Trainers who will help you improve specific skills.

Trainers can only train you five times per level: to get them to train you again you will have to raise you level. This limit doesn’t apply to a single trainer but to all: if you have already trained three times with a single trainer, you can only train two more times with another trainer. To start training again you will have to level up.

Some followers will also be able to train you: this actually comes with an advantage since you can get your money back by going through their inventory.

There’s also another trick to earn some good XP if you have the horse Shadowmere: this horse cannot be damaged by magic, direct and ranged attacks. Keep attacking him to earn some easy XP.

• Minor Skills

All the skill trees covered until know all awarded you with perks which improve your performance in way way or another. Together with these skill trees, Skyrim also has three different minor skills which don’t actually get special abilities unlocked. We’re talking about Mining, Cooking and Wood Chopping. These three skills are actually quite important for creating items since with Mining you’ll be able to find a lot of different ores which will be used in Smithing. Cooking, on the other hand, will allow you to create food which will have various positive effects on your character once eaten. Wood Chopping doesn’t really require an explanation: with this skill you’ll be able to collect wood for all your crafting endeavors.