The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Character Building Guide: Blocking

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.

• Blocking

With the Block skill tree, you’ll be able to learn some perks which will greatly enhance your defense possibilites. Shield parries will be way more effective with these perks. Please note that if you enjoy using a duel wield character, these perks will become useless to you since you cannot equip a shield. Consider what you want your character to be in the end before investing time in this skill tree

Perks

• Shield Wall (Rank 1-5)

Blocking is 20% more effective. (+5% per additional rank)

• Deflect Arrows
• 30

Arrows that hit the shield do no damage
.

• Elemental Protection
• 50

Blocking with a shield reduces incoming fire, frost, and shock damage by 50%.

• Block Runner
• 70

Able to move faster with a shield raised.

• Shield Charge
• 100

Sprinting with a shield raised knocks down most targets.

• Quick Reflexes
• 30

Time slows down if you are blocking during an enemy’s power attack.

• Power Bash
• 30

Able to do a power bash.

• Deadly Bash
• 50

Bashing does five times more damage.

• Disarming Bash
• 70

Chance to disarm when power bashing.