Ah, the much maligned Dark Elves. Without a doubt the Dunmer are this author’s
personal favorite. All of their skills mesh nicely with my preferred play style –
They mix magic with stealth and, once you train your weapon skills, they can easily
fit into just about any role you so desire. The Ancestor ability is very useful as
well for any enemies who dare to get into melee range and the natural fire resistance
will help with some of the tougher enemies in the game.
If you’re going to use a Dunmer then pick what sort of weapon you’ll want to use
early on. They do best with light equipment so it’s suggested that you have a bow, a
one-handed light sword and a light shield. Early on, the bow is very helpful for
getting sneak attacks since you won’t be able to get close to enemies. So snipe them
and then deal with them via sword and shield. It is important that you plan out your
perk path though, since you don’t want to waste perks on bow abilities and then
never use them later on.
Their skills back up this kind of jack-of-all-trades approach. Alchemy provides
healing potions as well as poisons to weaken your foes, Alteration provides numerous
useful spells (Paralyze is notable) and Illusion can help protect you. Destruction
magic is kind of the odd man out since it’s not the most useful for stealth or
straight up fights, but as you get stronger spells later on this can become pretty
useful.
A Dunmer will have access to:
Starting Skills
Alchemy: 20, Alteration: 20, Destruction: 25, Illusion: 20, Light Armor: 20, Sneak:
20
Passive Abilities
Resist Fire – Your Dunmer has a 50% resistance to all forms of fire.
Activated Ability:
Ancestor’s Wrath – For 60 seconds all nearby enemies take 8 points of fire damage
per second.
Character Suggestions:
One of the good things you can do with a Dunmer is to make a spellcaster, swaddle him
in light armor and use Alteration and Illusion magic to protect yourself further. Put
a shield in one hand with an offensive spell in the other and fight smart. If you are
fighting a mage use lightning magic to drain his magicka or set fire to an oil patch
on the floor to burn enemies to death. Honestly, you don’t even need a weapon. It’s
also possible to favorite Paralyze and an offensive spell, paralyze an enemy and then
dual-wield Flames and burn them to cinders.
But as mentioned above, it is quite possible to literally play a character that does
a bit of everything. Your perks will be focused on your preferred weapons of choice,
but it’s quite possible to have a character that can sneak, cast spells and fight
pretty well.