Skyrim: Magic Defense

There are many Dangers lurking in the tombs and dungeons of Skyrim. Draugr, Werewolves and Dwemer mechanical warriors being a few notable ones. For any warrior in Skyrim, however, powerful Magic poses one of the highest threats. Now i know what you're thinking "i'd much rather take on a magic based enemy than a Dwarven Centurion Master or an Ancient Dragon". And you'd be right to think that, but not all magic comes in the form of a robe wearing warlock. The Dwarven Centurion's steam attack as well as Dragonfire/Dragonfrost are magical attacks. Even some dungeon traps consist of magic (runes).

Dwarven Centurion

Ancient Dragon

The threat posed to a warrior by a mage, or any magic wielding enemy is that the damage dealt by the magic bypasses his armour, meaning that full suit of daedric armour isn't going to spare you one bit from a Centurion's steam blast, a dragon's fiery roar or a Destruction Mage's ice spikes. The solution to magic damage is simple. Magic Resistance and Wards. Mages skilled in restoration use wards as shields to deflect magic, but even you're a warrior who doesn't use magic that doesn't mean you shouldn't have at least some magic resistance. Magic resistance works in percentages, it's simple. 50 percent magic resistance = half damage from spells. You can view your Magic Resistance in the active effects menu. Magic resistance stacks so several active effects providing it will work together. A strong suit of armour or a Mage Amour spell will protect you from physical damage, add a hefty dose of magic resistance and that makes for a solid defence that will protect your character from pretty much anything Skyrim can throw at you. That means no more problems from these guys:

Dragon Priest

Magic Resistance in Skyrim is capped at 85 percent, meaning that you take 15 percent damage from spells, which is a very solid increase in your defensive value. So lets look at the various ways you can increase your magic resistance:

1: Alteration, Magic Resistance Perk

Alteration offers a perk called "Magic Resistance" which pretty much does what it says on the tin. You buy the perk and it increases your magic resistance. Once you have bought all three levels it will give you a total of 30% magic resistance. Of course this requires you to work on your alteration, but is definitely a worthy investment considering the pay off.

2: Agent Of Mara (Active Effect)

This Active Effect provides you with 15% magic resistance and is given as a reward for the quest "The Book Of Love". The quest is given by Dinya Balu, a priest in the Temple of Mara, Riften.

Dinya Balu

This Effect is a nice little reward, that stays with you permanently. The time investment required to get the "Agent of Mara" is very low and it's an effect well worth having.

3: The Lord Stone

The Lord Stone is a Guardian Stone, as you probably already know. The Lord's Stone's blessing give you +50 armour rating as well as 25% Magic Resistance. For a warrior wishing to increase his magic resistance this is ideal. The only catch is that, seeing as you can only have one active guardian stone, activating The Lord Stone requires you to lose whatever effect your current stone is providing.

The Lord Stone is located here (East Of Morthal):

4: Block Skill, Elemental Protection Perk

For all you shield sporting defenders: The elemental Protection Perk on the block tree enables you to block 50% of a fire, frost or shock spell. Once you have this perk purchased you simply use your shield to block the incoming magic attack, the same way you would block an arrow. You will take half damage from a successfully blocked spell. This damage will also be reduced further, depending on your magic resistance. Using Elemental Protection AND having 85% magic resistance at the same time will render incoming magic attacks worthless. Elemental Protection requires 50 block skill to purchase.

5: Restoration, Wards

As i mentioned earlier wards are spells in the restoration school of magic, used as shields to deflect spells. Wards are not related to your Magic Resistance but can be used alongside it to provide greater protection. Your ward can act as a front line defense and if it is broken then your magic resistance will soften the damage received. To really maximize your ward protection however you will need to be proficient in restoration and have bought the necessary spells from one of Skyrim's many spell traders (several of whom are in the college of winterhold). Restoration Perks that will work effectively with wards are: "Restoration Dual Casting" (requires 20 restoration) which will overcharge the ward when cast using both hands. The "Ward Absorb" perk (requires 60 restoration) will cause your magicka to regenerate when the ward is hit by spells. This is especially useful for mages. A solid ward in addition to a large whack of magic resistance will make your character a Mage's worst nightmare.

6: Enchanting and Alchemy

Enchanting an item with the "Resist Magic" attribute will give that item a certain level of Magic resistance, which is passed on to the wearer. The strength of the enchantment depends on your Enchanting skill and Enchanting perks you have purchased. Unlike permanent Magic Resistance gained through Alteration perks or the Agent of Mara effect, magic resistance gained through enchanting will only be active while the player is wearing the enchanted item. Similarly with Alchemy a potion of resist magic can be created, the strength and duration of the potion will depend on the creator's Alchemy skill and perks purchased for Alchemy. This magic resistance will only remain active until the potion wears off. This method of acquiring magic resistance is useful for those who don't want to spend perks on the alteration skill, or for those who are already Enchanters/Alchemists.

7: Spellbreaker

Spellbreaker is shield rewarded by the daedric lord Peryite for completing the quest "The Only Cure". The quest can be received at Peryite's shrine. The quest may prove difficult for lower level players.

Peryite's Shrine is located here (North-East of Markarth):

(Note: You will need to offer a tribute of: flawless ruby, silver ingot, vampire dust, deathbell flower)

Spellbreaker is almost on par with a Daedric shield for defensive values, but its real value lies in it's special power. Spellbreaker casts a 50 point ward in front of itself whenever you're blocking with it. This gives Spellbreaker the unique ability of being able to block both Magic and Physical attacks. When Spellbreaker is used in conjunction with the Block Perk "Elemental Protection" it drastically increases in defensive capability, because even if the ward is broken only half of the magic damage will reach the player, and that damage will still have to pass the player's magic resistance. The Restoration Perk "Ward Absorb" can also be used with Spellbreaker, meaning magic that hits Spellbreaker's ward will replenish the player's magicka. Shields do not negate the "Mage Armor" perk in Alteration so Spellbreaker can be wielded by Mage players without consequence. Spellbreaker is improved at a smithy with Dwarven ingots. As Spellbreaker's defensive values rise with the development it is strongly recommended that this shield is used by players with a well developed block skill tree.

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All of the above methods can be used by a variety of players, in a variety of ways to help bolster their resistance to magic damage. So if you're sick of being steam cooked by Dwarven Centurions, or char grilled by Ancient Dragons then follow the above steps. Increase your magic resistance to 85%, develop your block skill, get your hands on Spellbreaker and purchase those ward and shield perks. Once you've completed the steps you'll be laughing in the face of a Volkihar Master Vampire's lightning storm while you're looting his throne room, safely behind the protection of your stalwart layers of magic defense.

These guys didn't work on their magic defense:

You don't want to end up like them do you?

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