Throwing fireballs and magic missiles are a common trend among mages in RPGs. The archetype of the elemental mage is arguably one of the most fun to experience, but previous Elder Scrolls games have struggled with making magic-exclusive gameplay captivating.
Thankfully, this is less of an issue in Skyrim. While spell crafting is missing from this installment, the spells that do exist are powerful and satisfying in their own way. Destruction magic lets you throw fireballs, shoot arcs of chain lightning, and summon blizzards to freeze enemies to death. Here are the 10 best Destruction spells you can use in Skyrim.
Focused on elemental magic, the Destruction school holds a lot of underrated spells that become accessible at higher levels, really ramping up the damage dealt in fights. For players looking to get value out of a Destruction mage, here are five additional spells worth adding into anyone’s repertoire.
15 Freeze
This is a spell that’s only available for players who have the Dragonborn DLC installed. It’s a classic spell, one that utilizes the innate advantage of the frost element to slow down enemies. At close range, it can be devastating to use this spell, especially if the player’s follower is a high damage tank character.
Freeze essentially summons an ice spike which does a bit of damage, roughly 20 points, to both Health and Stamina pools. The enemy also gets slowed down significantly for 15 seconds, allowing for an easy takedown.
14 Icy Spear
Very similar to Freeze, the Icy Spear spell is one that becomes available in the Frost spell category when the player reaches Expert level Destruction magic. It’s a spell that costs quite a bit of magicka in comparison to Freeze, but the results are worth it.
Icy Spear inflicts roughly 60 points of damage to both the Health and Stamina pools of an enemy. It’s particularly good against opponents that rely on their Stamina pool to perform heavy attacks.
13 Wall Of Flames
When fighting multiple enemies in a room, spells that have an area of effect are a saving grace for mage characters. At the Expert skill level of Destruction, the player will get access to a spell called Wall of Flames, which is an excellent area denial spell.
The Wall of Flames needs to be cast on the floor, on which it creates an area filled with flames. The wall deals about 50 damage per second, which is pretty huge against enemies that love to rush towards the player and play at close range.
12 Incinerate
A very classic fire spell, and sort of the bread and butter of any fire mage specializing in Destruction magic, Incinerate is a must pick against any opponent. It’s available for players to learn at Expert level, making it a fairly difficult spell to earn.
That being said, Incinerate is a powerful blast of fire that deals about 60 points of damage. As is always the case with the fire element, enemies that are affected will keep on burning over time and taking damage.
11 Wall Of Frost
Similar to the Wall of Fire spell, this spell is focused on frost element instead. Once again, spells like these are a necessity to have in anyone’s repertoire due to their ability to deny a specific area. Against grouped enemies they’re particularly powerful.
Wall of Frost is also cast on the ground, creating a frost area. Enemies caught in the area affected will take 50 points of frost damage per second, which affects both stamina and health.
10 Flame Cloak
Casting spells from your hands is rather fun, but using your body as a weapon is something else entirely.
Flame Cloak engulfs your body in flame, damaging all nearby enemies with 8 points of fire damage per second. Melee attacks you deal also gain this fire damage bonus, so battlemage or gish builds will see plenty of benefit from this. If you combine this with flesh-based Alteration skills or high armor, you can be both a tank and damage dealer to anything in the game.
9 Ignite
Ignite is a rather strong ability, causing a target to take a constant 4 points of fire damage per second for 15 seconds. When Destruction perks are also taken, this spell becomes incredibly powerful.
Standard Destruction perks will make this stronger, but the Illusion perk named Aspect of Terror also increases the lethality of this spell, potentially letting Ignite deal 21 damage per second for 15 seconds. While only an apprentice level spell, Ignite is one of the most powerful flame spells you can use in Skyrim.
8 Ice Storm
Ice Storm is a frost variant on Fireball with a few differences. Mainly, Ice Storm does damage in a constantly moving area that gets larger the further it travels.
40 points of frost damage to both health and stamina per second is incredibly strong for an adept level spell. What makes Ice Storm so powerful, however, is the ability to slow targets caught in the whirlwind, causing them to stay in its path longer and take more damage. While it can’t reach as far as Fireball can, the range it covers towards the end of the spell is massive and can take out groups of enemies with ease.
7 Wall of Storms
Sometimes all you need is a way to stop the enemy. Wall based Destruction spells are amazing at doing just that, but Wall of Storms slightly inches above the other two.
Wall of Storms deals 50 shock damage a second while an enemy is on the shocking ground. Besides looking cool, the shock damage it deals is fantastic since few enemies in Skyrim are resistant to shock, unlike frost damage. You can use this to either take out fast enemies by spraying on the ground or covering entryways with this, preventing any enemy from entering or exiting.
6 Fireball
If you need something dead, very few things will do it as efficiently as Fireball. This AoE ball of death deals 40 points of fire damage in a 15-foot radius with a chance of igniting enemies.
When they are ignited, they can be hit with Fireball again and take even more damage from it. Unlike Ice Storm, Fireball is a simple projectile that can travel a very long distance before dissipating, making this a fantastic option in every location in Skyrim. When various Destruction spells are taken, Fireball becomes one of the most cost-effective ways of eliminating someone in the game.
5 Blizzard
Blizzard is the master spell for frost users of Destruction. It works somewhat like a Frost Cloak, creating a massive Blizzard at the caster’s location for a set duration in a massive area.
This spell would be in the top 3 if it wasn’t for a crippling PC bug. On PC, players that gear for frost or magic resistance will have that percentage reduce the damage Blizzard deals, meaning those with capped frost and magic resist values will deal almost no damage with Blizzard. The good news is you can either install the unofficial patches or get negative resistances through potions to deal more damage than normal.
4 Chain Lightning
No other spell can let you bank shots around corners and kill people. Chain Lightning is one of the coolest lightning spells in Skyrim, letting players take on groups of enemies in a single cast.
The special thing about Chain Lightning is in its name. The lighting you shoot out can chain from its impact point onto nearby enemies. The best part is the initial hit doesn’t need to be near an enemy, meaning you can cast it behind enemy cover and hit them regardless. This spell is incredibly strong when you get the right upgrades for it.
3 Flames
The classic Destruction spell. Flames turn your hand into a flamethrower, dealing 8 points of flame damage per second to every enemy you hit.
Because this is a novice spell, it is rather cheap to cast. This is also a channeling spell, meaning as long as you hold the input down and have Magicka you can cast Flames forever. When dual casting the flame gets even stronger and larger, dealing even more damage if the enemy is already set ablaze.
2 Lightning Storm
Lightning Storm is like Flames but requires both hands and prevents you from moving. It shoots out a massive beam of electricity, dealing 75 shock damage per second to enemies caught in its wrath.
The damage of this spell is fantastic and also damages enemy Magicka values for half of the main damage, meaning this is a fantastic option against mages. Better yet, this spell can disintegrate foes when it kills them regardless of perks. In terms of fun factor, this is the best spell in Skyrim, but it lacks the area coverage and ease of use you’d expect from a master level spell.
1 Fire Storm
If you need everything on your screen to instantly die, it is hard to find a better solution than using Fire Storm. This master level fire spell deals 100 damage in a massive area around the caster.
While it takes 5 seconds to fully charge, using this spell will kill nearly everything in the game. Its massive area means that enemies at a distance can still be hit by it, and those up close will take even more damage and likely burn to death. Intense Flames can also be taken to make targets flee when this is cast. While somewhat unwieldy to use, the payoff for charging it is massive. Nothing destroys enemies better in the Destruction school of magic than Fire Storm.
NEXT: Skyrim: 10 Hidden Details You Missed In Blood On The Ice
