My favorite build is a... Well I guess it'd be a Shadow Knight.

Mage / Warrior hybrid.

More specifically:
Dual Wield | Heavy Armor | Conjuration | Illusion | Enchanting | Smithing | Alteration | Restoration

Roleplay:
A warrior who absorbs the souls of his victims, and harvests their arcane energy to fuel his own magical talents. Skilled in the arts of Necromancy.

Gameplay:
Uses stealth just to get the drop on a group of "victims". Not an assassin, just careful in his planning. Uses Illusion magic to turn his targets against each other, and charges into battle, heavily armored, 2 swords drawn, with a summon by his side to help even the numbers. As his victims fall, he raises them from death to fight amongst their former allies in life. Uses Soul Trap or Bound Swords to captures souls in soul gems, and Enchant self made gear. Alteration magic for "Flesh" (Shield) spells, and Restoration to keep himself alive when circumstances get tricky.

Race: Breton
* Also considered Wood Elf for specific roleplay purposes
Name: Thadious (Breton), Marr'Taan (Wood Elf)
Guilds: College of Winterhold, Companions
* Possibly Dark Brotherhood depending on roleplay
Faction: Imperial Legion
Alignment: Lawful Good (Breton RP), Neutral Evil or Chaotic Good (Wood Elf RP)

I play as an archer assassin. He only uses magic in the most desperate of situations and he is skilled in lockpicking, sneaking, archery, and alchemy.

Favorite so far has been an Imperial paladin sort (level 51 so far). One hand, Heavy Armor, Block (shield), Restoration. I maxed enchanting and maxed magic resistance as well (in alteration). This build seems god-like. I am absolutely dying for Bethesda to include 'Holy' magic, for undead, in TES.

Orc Dual wield warrior is ok (level 35 ish). Not as fun as I expected. Very, very, powerful -- I feel invincible. Like the paladin, I also boosted up my enchanting and restoration, though. So I don't know if that's still considered a warrior. As sort of an experiment, I put almost every level up to improve Health (~32/35 times). Everytime I feel like maybe I went too far, some powerful enemy puts me in my place, and I feel like I still don't have enough health.


Neither of those characters have any sneak ability, or range attacks (except the paladin has undead repel) Never sneak, I bust in the door and rush and destroy.


I haven't had much luck with a High Elf, almost exclusively destruction and restoration Mage (level 30ish). I find they just get butt kicked unless you spot an enemy from far away, and generally exploit the AI pathfinding. I probably have a lot to learn, regarding proper techniques and such. It's more complicated than my other characters, and preparation is important. I find it difficult to tell which spell is equipped, since there are no icons. I often fumble through the hotkeys and can't find what I need, while dying. It would be easier to remember if I played this character more consistently.

I play on master difficulty, except with the mage

Maxxed-out Wood Elf Assassin. Archery, dual-wield daggers, sneak, alchemy, enchanting, light armor. Never once casted a spell, though I keep a few staves around for a very rare treat. Buff the bejeesus out of my backstabs with poison and enchants. I usually sneak around in plain sight, then when I get close, I change a few rings from sneak to one-hand buffs. Heavy focus on Stamina for lots of dual flurries and carrying capacity. Soul trap for one second dagger never runs out of charges. I do a little smithing to max my backstab damage further, but it's not a smith build. I do some lockpicking and pickpocketing as necessary, but it's not much of a thief build, either. My backstabs could kill a god. It's fun watching a throat-slit animation that includes two enchantment hits and a poison hit. It's fun killing someone in the middle of a group of guards, then crouching and walking bcakwards into a corner while they all run in circles trying to find me. It's fun walking all the way around a Dwemer Centurion and then killing him with one hit to his foot.

But I can't wait to re-roll a two-handed Nord battlemage/smith.

My next character will probably be a two hand nord as well. I would like to make a child 'race' thief/archer, or mage -- when more child race supporting mods come about. It's so funny to me. I can't wait to take on giants.

I enjoy my assassin a lot. Sneak, One-Handed, Archery, Light Armour, Smithing, Enchanting. Sneaking is essential, especially during the early levels since you're still quite vulnerable, but at higher levels (40+) you'll be strong enough to run through everything regardless of what you do. Use your bow at a distance, and swords/daggers of choice up close, and beat up everything with ease. You'll be quite overpowered with Smithing and Enchanting added to the mix, but you can leave them out for more balance. The sneak multipliers will help you muscle through pretty much everything anyways.

I'm planning on making a thief some time soon, with Light Armour, Archery, Alchemy, Sneak, Lockpicking and Pickpocket (basically Thief-skills with Archery). Could be fun

The most satisfying build for me has been the ''ranger'' build. Focusing on archery, alchemy, one handed weapons, light armor and sneak. Skyrim lends itself to rangers because of it's fauna and flora. I found mages to be the least interesting build because of the absence of spell creation, absence of spell effects and the shortage of mage related questing.

I do'nt worry about "overpowering" much. RPGs aren't about skill for me. They're about imagination and story and sandboxing and exploration. I enjoy the journey from gimp to god. I'm the Dragonborn, m i rite? I'm supposed to be a demigod.

Spellsword: Conjuration, One-Handed, Alchemy, Light Armor, Enchanting

I have a ranged companion, summon a Dremora, and stand ready with a Bound Sword if anything gets past those two.

Vamp necro pure mage on master, level 54 now and kicking ass.

I play as a boring traditional hero if you will.

I am a Nord of Skyrim who has excelled in combat through on the job training. I have crafted my own armor from dragons who have fallen to my blade. I wield a sword that was forged with the hearts of the demonic and requires both my hands to swing. Using muscle and wisdom gained from my travels my equipment unparalelled in this world. When wounded I am able to retreat and quickly recover from my wounds with small incantations learned from the school of restoration. I am judge, jury, and executioner of all that would seek to hurt others. My code is that of honor, and I will save Skyrim from all those who wish her destruction!

My favourite so far is a Dunmer with destro, 2 hand, restoration, heavy armour, and enchanting.
The destro and 2 hand is a really fun combo. I attack from afar until the magicka runs dry, and when the enemies approach, the defenseless mage suddenly becomes a fearful 2 hander with crazy damage output. I often use a lightning bolt to stagger the enemy, using their stagger as an opportunity to switch to a battleaxe and get in close where I can power attack. Part of the fun of this playstyle is the constant switching between different weapons (destro --> battleaxe --> healing spell --> unrelenting force --> two hand power attack). Combat is really fun when I have to keep track of health, stamina, and magicka bars

I think my favourite is my Stealth/mage Dark elf
Really fun.