With Mysticism being removed in Skyrim, the main school of magic that delves into altering the environment is Alteration. This school of magic lets its users grab onto objects from afar, light surrounding areas, and even paralyze foes they deem threatening.

Alteration can have amazing benefits for any player in The Elder Scrolls series. While it lacks many options for damaging enemies in combat, it offers a level of utility that is unmatched when compared against other schools of magic. Lighting the environment is handy when you don’t have a torch, and being able to morph your health into Magicka is useful for any mage. Here are the 10 best Alteration spells you can use in Skyrim.

10 Candlelight

Sometimes all you need is a little bit more light near you. Candlelight does just that, projecting a magic sphere that illuminates your surroundings for 60 seconds.

Candlelight works better than a normal torch does, but it also gives a more blueish glow than the amber color of a lit torch. Some of the dungeons in Skyrim can get dark, so it’s nice to use Candlelight in those situations. It also works underwater, so you can see underwater fauna well, something that a torch can’t do.

9 Equilibrium

There aren’t many spells that can kill the caster, but Equilibrium is a rare exception. This spell converts 25 points of your health into Magicka per second.

This spell can be lethal to yourself, going past your health threshold and killing you. If you can get past that massive negative, being able to generate Magicka on the fly is incredibly useful for nearly every mage build in Skyrim. Since this is a novice spell that costs no Magicka, this can be useful on non-magic characters that need to cast spells like Muffle or Heal.

8 Detect Life

This spell has two very useful uses: it can be used to see any organic, non-daedric being in a massive radius, and Detect Life can be used to quickly level your Alteration skill.

Detect Life does what it says just like you’d expect. Cast this to uncover every living thing near you, with enemies glowing red and allies or passive creatures glowing a light blue color. The best use of this spell, however, is for power leveling Alteration. Every person marked gives progression to leveling up Alteration, so spam Detect Life in cities or Civil War battles to gain massive experience quickly.

7 Ash Shell

Paralyze can be a phenomenal spell to prevent enemies from attacking you, but sometimes you just want to pacify a target without harming them. Ash Shell is the perfect solution for that problem.

Ash Shell is a spell that entombs the target, should they fail to resist it, with a layer of Ash. This prevents them from moving or acting, effectively making this a cheaper Paralysis spell. Unlike Paralysis, however, Ash Shell prevents affected targets from taking damage, making this perfect for taking high priority targets out of combat quickly or preventing you from killing protected NPCs.

6 Tramsute

You can’t turn Lead into Gold in Skyrim, but you sure can turn Iron into Gold. This spell converts Iron Ore into Silver Ore, and then converts Silver Ore into Gold Ore when cast.

This is the best spell for making money in Skyrim. There isn’t a contest. Iron Ore is plentiful in Skyrim, being found as drops on enemies and nearly every cave in the game. Certain caves exist—most notably, the one in Dawnstar—that provide dozens of Iron Ore. Convert all of it into Gold Ore, then either create jewelry out of it for massive profit or sell the Ore as-is to any vendor you see fit. It fills a unique niche that no other spell can.

5 Ash Rune

Ash Rune does the same thing as Ash Shell but is inscribed in a rune first, acting as a sort of magical landmine that enemies can set off by stepping on.

Just like Ash Shell, Ash Rune will cover an enemy in Ash and prevent them from taking actions. What is fantastic about this, however, is how you can stick runes onto any surface to create traps for enemies. This can be a lifesaver in dungeons or any enclosed spaces. Lure a tough enemy into a rune to take them out of the fight temporarily, then take out their minions before they can strike again. It’s a solid choice in more situations than you’d think.

4 Mass Paralysis

The massive Magicka cost of this power is its only downfall compared to its absurdly strong effect. Mass Paralysis lets you paralyze entire rooms worth of enemies in a single cast for 15 seconds.

Casting this requires both hands, a lack of movement, and 5 seconds of casting before you can use it. In addition, this is a master level spell. You will have to finish the “Alteration Ritual Spell” quest to use this spell. Once complete, however, prepare to trivialize nearly every encounter in the game. As long as it isn’t a machine or dragon, you can paralyze everything in the game using this. This does affect allies, however, so be careful when you use this spell.

3 Ebonyflesh

Ebonyflesh increases the caster’s armor rating by 100 for 60 seconds, capable of being increased through the use of dual casting and various perks. If you need armor quickly, there isn’t a better option.

This expert spell can be acquired from most Alteration vendors in Skyrim. Provided you can spend the Magicka to cast this, you will take significantly less damage against physical damage. Since the armor cap for Skyrim is just shy of 600, gaining 100 armor—300 with 3 Mage Armor perk ranks. With perks, gaining over 50% damage reduction for over a minute is insanely strong.

2 Dragonhide

Dragonhide makes the user take 80% less physical damage during its 30-second base duration, stacking with armor effects and potions. This is an insanely strong spell when used right.

Mage characters typically don’t wear heavy armor as it slows them down. Dragonhide allows mages to have as much damage resistance as fully upgraded Daedric armor without the weight and movement reductions associated with heavy armor. This also stacks with armor as well, providing a multiplicative damage reduction of 96%! You are almost impervious to physical damage with this, and Ebonyflesh active without the baggage of most armor types.

1 Paralyze

When most think of Alteration, they instantly imagine Paralyze. This iconic spell causes targets that fail to resist it to slump to the ground motionless for 10 seconds.

This is an incredibly strong effect that allows for unique strategies. Bosses can be paralyzed, allowing for easy counter-attacks. Groups of enemies charging you can be Paralyzed as well, effectively stopping combat for the enemy and giving you ample time to heal or damage the enemy. This spell is so strong it is almost like cheating, but it is even better compared to its master variant because of how easy it is to cast and control. It might last shorter, but its smaller AoE makes it easier to select targets you wish to paralyze. It is the best Alteration spell in Skyrim.

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