The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Character Building Guide: Heavy Armor

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.

Heavy Armor

There’s really no need to introduce this skill tree: Heavy Armor improves your usage of Heavy Armors, granting you better armor ratings and a few other special effects. If you’re using a physical build, investing in this skill tree will prove beneficial in the end. Using a ranged character or a stealth or a magical build won’t probably benefit too much from the perks of the Heavy Armor specialization.

Perks

Juggernaut (Rank 1-5)
Increases armor rating for Heavy Armor by 20%. (+20% per additional rank)

• Fists of Steel 
• LV 30

Unarmed attacks with Heavy Armor gauntlets do their armor rating in extra damage.

• Cushioned 
• LV 50

Half damage from falling if wearing all Heavy Armor: head, chest, hands, feet.

• Conditioning 
• LV 70

Heavy Armor weighs nothing and doesn’t slow you down when worn.
Well Fitted 30 25% Armor bonus if wearing all Heavy Armor: head, chest, hands, feet.

• Tower of Strength 
• LV 50

50% less stagger when wearing only Heavy Armor.

• Matching Set 
• LV 70

Additional 25% Armor bonus if wearing a matched set of Heavy Armor.

• Reflect Blows 
• LV 100

10% chance to reflect melee damage back to the enemy while wearing all Heavy Armor: head, chest, hands, feet.