Skyrim Challenge Builds To Make The Game Harder

It can at times be difficult to find new ways to play Skyrim, especially for those who might be returning to the world of Tamriel after many other ventures across the game’s map. While there are many different ways to help remedy this, what are some more creative approaches to increase Skyrim‘s longevity?

Skyrim already has a relatively large replayability value thanks to its vast map, many repeating side quests, and active modding community. It seems at times as though returning players will almost always have new areas to discover across Skyrim or quests to complete that they haven’t before. There is also a wide range of different skills, items, and spells to invest in. The Dragonborn never has to be the same twice; players can alter everything from what race they start as to which Dragon Shouts they opt to learn. Mixing and matching different abilities to create unique character builds is oftentimes seen as part of the fun.

Despite that, though, there are still some who may find themselves growing bored with Skyrim‘s mechanics. In particular, players who have extensively worked on creating powerful character builds might view the game’s combat as being a bit too easy, even at higher difficulty settings. To that end, here are some more challenging builds that aim to turn Skyrim into a more difficult but rewarding experience in one way or another.

Non-Violent Builds To Make A Pacifist Skyrim Run

The first option is also one of the most straightforward: play through Skyrim without actually killing any characters. There are primarily two different ways to approach this. One way to view it is as more of a peaceful warrior than a strict pacifist. Players can use summons, traps, and poisons to indirectly kill their enemies, but cannot use any of the game’s weapons, magic, or skills in direct combat. This is easier if the perk is taken that allows poisons to immediately take effect when reverse-pickpocketed onto an NPC. It’s worth noting, however, that while this does require more coordination than many builds, it could arguably still be seen as too easy for some players. Conjuration is one of the more powerful magic schools in Skyrim, especially at higher levels, and summons can do a significant amount of damage in that regard.

On the other hand, players could also approach pacifism entirely straightforwardly, refusing to kill any of Skyrim‘s NPCs either directly or indirectly. The Illusion branch of magic is helpful for this build, as it can be used to distract enemies, make them easier to sneak past, or otherwise confuse them. Enchanting a low-damage weapon such as a dagger with the Fear enchantment can also be useful. The Stealth skill branch is also beneficial to have. This is a unique way to approach the game not only due to how central combat is in Skyrim but also how powerful the Dragonborn is capable of becoming as levels are gained. Players may have to think on their feet to get out of and avoid confrontation for the sake of doing no harm.

Add Variation By Failing Out Of Skyrim’s Questlines

Another way to make Skyrim more difficult is to deliberately avoid entirely completing any questlines. For example, players could start with a mage character, progress five levels through the College of Winterhold, and then “fail out,” leaving and following a different pursuit. The Thieves Guild or Dark Brotherhood could then be pursued as a thief, but again, once five levels have been gained, they’ll need to leave and perhaps join up with the Companions. This build makes it challenging to gain sufficient power in any particular skill tree and encourages players to keep moving to discover new quests to undertake and skills to pursue, turning the Dragonborn into a jack of all trades rather than a powerful warrior of legend.

A similar approach can be made entirely through Skyrim‘s skill trees rather than relying on any in-game questlines. Players should assign their skill points in a rotating fashion. The first level goes into Destruction, the second to Conjuration, and so forth, only ever assigning one skill at a time into a tree before moving onto the one right after it. Like the previous approach, it keeps the Dragonborn from quickly becoming powerful in any given area and encourages diversity of playstyles during combat. An extra level of difficulty could be added if players refuse to utilize any enchantments or alchemy to fortify this build. This will make it harder to complete questlines in Skyrim, so it may be better for players to undertake smaller missions and side quests instead.

Skyrim’s Unarmed Khajiit Build Is Fun But Challenging

One more difficult area to branch into is unarmed combat, particularly because it does not have its own skill tree to invest points into. A fully unarmed character cannot use any proper weapons or magic to make the game less difficult. Those looking for even more of a challenge can likewise refuse to wear armor or only allow light armor sets rather than heavy ones. However, there are a few perks that can be taken to make this Skyrim build more feasible, and the most significant of them requires at least part of a heavy armor set to be effective.

Skyrim’s Fists of Steel perk adds additional damage to unarmed attacks when the Dragonborn wears heavy armored gauntlets. Enchantment is another good area to look into. A unique item, the Gloves of the Pugilist, can be found in the Ratway in Riften. It contains the Fortify Unarmed Damage enchantment, and, when disenchanted, players can then apply the spell to both rings and gloves to stack the bonus.

The Dragonborn’s species is also a crucial decision, particularly at lower levels. While most races in Skyrim do the same amount of unarmed damage, Khajiit and Argonians both have a bonus to this area. The Khajiit’s is more significant: their passive racial ability, Claws, more than doubles the base unarmed damage that players can do. Turning the Dragonborn into either a werewolf or a vampire is also an effective way to increase unarmed damage. Vampire Lords in Skyrim can nearly triple their unarmed combat abilities, and a werewolf in Beast Form likewise deals almost double what an Argonian could inflict. These are just a few of the factors that should be considered when building a character in Skyrim.

About The Author

Ky Shinkle
(528 Articles Published)

Ky Shinkle is a Senior Gaming Features Writer for Screen Rant as well as an overall avid gamer and writer. Her prior experience is primarily that of a narrative designer for video games, although her writing has covered all formats from screenplays and novels to stage scripts. A graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design, when she isn’t writing she works on digital media projects and other types of fiction writing. Ky currently works out of Ohio and enjoys spending her free time either playing RPGs or running with her dog.

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