Skyrim:Destruction

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Skill: Destruction
Destruction
Specialization:
Magic

Destruction magic provides many means of inflicting damage on enemies. Destruction spells use elements (fire, frost, or shock) to damage health; an enemy's magicka and stamina can also be reduced. Increasing this skill reduces magicka cost when casting Destruction spells. Historical information about the School of Destruction is provided in the lore article. The Destruction skill tree has a total of 14 perks, requiring a total of 17 perk points to fill.

In-game Description: The School of Destruction involves the [sic] harnessing the energies of fire, frost and shock. This skill makes it easier to cast spells like Fireball, Ice Spike, and Lightning Bolt.

Summary[edit]

Destruction is the principal damage-dealing school of magic. Destruction mages can use perks to specialize in one or more of the elements—fire, frost, and shock—gaining the ability to do extra damage. Since some enemies are resistant to particular forms of magic, anyone relying on Destruction is well-advised to learn spells from more than one element, and perhaps to specialize in two or more.

Elements[edit]

Fire[edit]

  • Lowest magicka cost of the three elements.
  • Deals only health damage.
  • Sets targets on fire, which deals damage over time using a tapering effect.
  • Special perk: Intense Flames. Causes enemies below 20% health to run away.

Many inhabitants of Skyrim are weak against fire damage, including trolls and all creatures with "Frost", "Ice", or "Snow" in their name. In some dungeons there are pools of flammable liquid which you can ignite with fire magic, resulting in impressive conflagrations that can wipe out enemies in seconds, particularly at low levels. The Intense Flames perk is of limited use, firstly because humanoid enemies will drop down to their knees when their health is below 10%, and secondly because enemies that do not drop down will run away, forcing you to kill them some other way.

In addition, by casting the Flames and Wall of Flames spells repeatedly in short bursts (exploiting their charge time of 0), you can output the underlying 8 damage hits faster than the baseline of once per second, which will dramatically increase your damage output. If you take the Aspect of Terror perk from the Illusion skill tree', it will make this trick even more devastating, and potentially viable even at high levels, despite being a Novice-level spell, even without Augmented Flames. It should also be noted that even without Aspect of Terror, Flames is the second-most magicka-efficient spell in the base game (after Firebolt), and Aspect of Terror will make it an uncontested first place. This trick also works well when combined with the Slow Time shout. With Dragonborn installed, Ignite is much more magicka-efficient, but will not advance your Destruction skill very quickly. With the Unofficial_Skyrim_Patch installed, Aspect of Terror no longer applies to Fire spells, even with Augmented Flames.

Frost[edit]

  • Middle magicka cost of the three elements.
  • Deals damage to health and stamina (typically the same amount).
  • Slows targets by 50% for a few seconds (duration varies).
  • Special perk: Deep Freeze. Causes enemies below 20% health to be paralyzed.

Unfortunately, many enemies boast a resistance to Frost damage, and Nords—the most common NPCs in Skyrim—resist it as well. Vampires have a bonus 50% Frost resistance and Nord vampires are completely immune, as are all Dwarven automatons. The Deep Freeze perk is useful, but almost exactly the same effect can be achieved with dual-casting and Impact. The Adept-level area effect missile spell, Ice Storm, is distinct from its counterparts in the other two elements in that it covers an area of effect as the projectile itself travels, instead of just projecting its effect area upon impact. Large swaths can be attacked by rapid-fire tandem casting of Ice Storm.

Usage of any frost attacks against bandits or other primarily melee-based foes shows the utility of the stamina-damage and slow effects, as it can impair their ability to power attack or shield bash, as well as allow you to stay out of their melee range. However, Ice Storm's primary weakness is that, unlike Fireball and Chain Lightning, it has a limited range (though still three times as far as your typical concentration spell), and is also quite slow, making it more difficult to target fast opponents in open areas, particularly since it primarily hurts targets in a straight line.

Shock[edit]

  • Highest magicka cost of the three elements.
  • Deals damage to health and magicka (magicka damage is typically 50% of the health damage).
  • Generally shorter range, but projectiles hit instantly.
  • Special perk: Disintegrate. Instantly kills enemies below 15% health.

In practice, enemy mages tend to have more magicka than health, which combined with the fact that you deal more health damage than magicka damage might make the magicka damage meaningless. However, skilled mages with the proper magicka reserves will win in a mage-vs-mage duel of attrition. The magicka damage is also effective against dragons who are unable to shout once their magicka pool is depleted. Shock spells have three chief advantages: firstly, there are few enemies that are resistant to shock damage, and in the base game, only storm atronachs and Orchendor have 100% shock resistance, making it equally useful against practically all enemies and allowing you to save perks by specializing in just one element (Dawnguard and Dragonborn add a couple of unique creatures with shock resistance, along with netch, seekers and shock spiders). Secondly, unlike fire and frost, all shock spells hit instantly wherever you're aiming them, making it easier to hit moving targets, though at a reduced range compared to fire and frost spells. Finally, shock gets a specialization perk, Disintegrate, which effectively reduces hit points of all enemies in the game by 15% (though it may cause some looting problems as of patch 1.3, so be careful). This perk is particularly useful when dealing with necromancers, or anything else capable of raising the dead, since it ensures that the disintegrated target cannot be reanimated. At the same time, if you wish to reanimate enemies, you should either avoid this perk or avoid using shock damage on enemies you want to revive.

Spell Types[edit]

Across each elemental family, the pattern of spells is consistent:

Type Level Fire Frost Shock Effect Base Damage
Spray Novice Flames Frostbite Sparks Short range spell that deals damage as long as you cast 8/s
Missile Apprentice Firebolt Ice Spike Lightning Bolt Single-target missile 25
Rune Apprentice Fire Rune Frost Rune Lightning Rune Cast on a surface and triggered like a proximity mine 50
Area Missile Adept Fireball Ice Storm Chain Lightning Multiple-target missile (projectile behaviors vary specific to which element) 40
Cloak Adept Flame Cloak Frost Cloak Lightning Cloak Harms all enemies in melee range 8/s
Heavy Missile Expert Incinerate Icy Spear Thunderbolt Single-target missile 60
Wall Expert Wall of Flames Wall of Frost Wall of Storms Persistent sprayed-down obstacle that does damage when walked through 20/s
Storm Master Fire Storm Blizzard Lightning Storm Constant wide area of effect varies

Skill Perks[edit]

Destruction Perk Tree
Novice Destruction: 0 Destruction. Cast Novice level Destruction spells for half magicka.
Novice Destruction
Apprentice Destruction: 25 Destruction. Cast Apprentice level Destruction spells for half magicka.
Apprentice Destruction
Adept Destruction: 50 Destruction. Cast Adept level Destruction spells for half magicka.
Adept Destruction
Expert Destruction: 75 Destruction. Cast Expert level Destruction spells for half magicka.
Expert Destruction
Master Destruction: 100 Destruction. Cast Master level Destruction spells for half magicka.
Master Destruction
Rune Master: 40 Destruction. Can place runes five times farther away.
Rune Master
Augmented Flames (2 ranks): 30/60 Destruction. Fire spells do 25/50% more damage.
Augmented Flames
Intense Flames: 50 Destruction. Fire damage causes targets to flee if their health is low.
Intense Flames
Augmented Frost (2 ranks): 30/60 Destruction. Frost spells do 25/50% more damage.
Augmented Frost
Deep Freeze: 60 Destruction. Frost damage paralyzes targets if their health is low.
Deep Freeze
Augmented Shock (2 ranks): 30/60 Destruction. Shock spells do 25/50% more damage.
Augmented Shock
Disintegrate: 70 Destruction. Shock damage disintegrates targets if their health is low.
Disintegrate
Destruction Dual Casting: 20 Destruction. Dual casting a Destruction spell overcharges the effects into an even more powerful version.
Destruction Dual Casting
Impact: 40 Destruction. Most destruction spells will stagger an opponent when dual cast.
Impact
Destruction Perk Tree
Perk Rank Description ID Skill Req. Perk Req.
Novice Destruction Cast Novice level Destruction spells for half magicka. 000f2ca8
Apprentice Destruction Cast Apprentice level Destruction spells for half magicka. 000c44bf 25 Destruction Novice Destruction
Adept Destruction Cast Adept level Destruction spells for half magicka. 000c44c0 50 Destruction Apprentice Destruction
Expert Destruction Cast Expert level Destruction spells for half magicka. 000c44c1 75 Destruction Adept Destruction
Master Destruction Cast Master level Destruction spells for half magicka. 000c44c2 100 Destruction Expert Destruction
Rune Master Can place runes five times farther away. 00105f32 40 Destruction Apprentice Destruction
Augmented Flames 1 Fire spells do 25% more damage. 000581e7 30 Destruction Novice Destruction
2 Fire spells do 50% more damage. 0010fcf8 60 Destruction Augmented Flames Level 1
Intense Flames Fire damage causes targets to flee if their health is low (under 20%). 000f392e 50 Destruction Augmented Flames
Augmented Frost 1 Frost spells do 25% more damage. 000581ea 30 Destruction Novice Destruction
2 Frost spells do 50% more damage. 0010fcf9 60 Destruction Augmented Frost Level 1
Deep Freeze Frost damage paralyzes targets if their health is low (under 20%). 000f3933 60 Destruction Augmented Frost
Augmented Shock 1 Shock spells do 25% more damage. 00058200 30 Destruction Novice Destruction
2 Shock spells do 50% more damage. 0010fcfa 60 Destruction Augmented Shock Level 1
Disintegrate Shock spells disintegrate targets if their health is low (under 15%).†† 000f3f0e 70 Destruction Augmented Shock
Destruction Dual Casting Dual casting a Destruction spell overcharges the effects into an even more powerful version. 000153cf 20 Destruction Novice Destruction
Impact Most destruction spells will stagger an opponent when dual cast. 000153d2 40 Destruction Destruction Dual Casting
This effect is affected by any Alteration-modifiers, such as the Stability perk.
††Deals an extra 200 damage on any lighting spell when the target is under 15% health.

Spells[edit]

SR-icon-book-SpellTomeDestruction.png Spell Name
(IDs)
Skill Level Tome
Value
Magicka Base Cost Skill XP Description and Effect Details Where to Get
SR-icon-spell-Absorb Blue.png Choking GraspCC
Spell IDFExxx85A
Tome IDFExxx869
0
Novice
65 39 39 Absorb 8 points of health per second from target, for 3 seconds.
SR-icon-spell-Fire.png Elemental FlareCC
Spell IDFExxx850
Tome IDFExxx862
0
Novice
65 45 22.5 An elemental explosion for 15 points of fire damage, 15 points of shock damage, and half as much damage to stamina.
  • Aimed
SR-icon-spell-Fire.png Flames
Spell ID00012fcd
Tome ID0009cd51
0
Novice
50 14/s 20/s
14/sDB
A gout of fire that does 8 points per second. Targets on fire take extra damage:
  • Concentration spell
  • Range: 36 feet
  • Speed: 47 fps
  • Flames, 8 pts for 1 sec
    • Sets targets on fire, dealing 1% of the immediate spell damage over 0.1s
  • Intense Flames Fear, 99 pts for 15 secs; if the Intense Flames perk has been unlocked
SR-icon-spell-Ice.png Frostbite
Spell ID0002b96b
Tome ID0009cd52
0
Novice
47 16/s 23/s A blast of cold that does 8 points of damage per second to Health and Stamina:
SR-icon-spell-Shock.png Sparks
Spell ID0002dd2a
Tome ID0009cd53
0
Novice
46 19/s 26/s Lightning that does 8 points of shock damage to Health and Magicka per second:
  • Concentration spell
  • Range: 48 feet
  • Speed: instant
  • Sparks, 8 pts for 1 sec
  • Disintegrate, 200 pts for 1 sec; if the Disintegrate perk has been unlocked
SR-icon-spell-Fire.png Elemental BoltCC
Spell IDFExxx85F
Tome IDFExxx863
25
Apprentice
95 62 31 An elemental explosion for 20 points of fire damage, 20 points of shock damage, and half as much damage to stamina.
  • Aimed
SR-icon-spell-Fire.png Fire Rune
Spell ID0005db90
Tome ID000a2700
25
Apprentice
90 234 234 Cast on a nearby surface, it explodes for 50 points of fire damage when enemies come near:
  • Cast on ground
  • Fire Rune, 50 pts for 1 sec
    • Sets targets on fire, dealing 10% of the immediate spell damage over 1s
SR-icon-spell-Fire.png Firebolt
Spell ID00012fd0
Tome ID000a26fd
25
Apprentice
96 41 41 A blast of fire that does 25 points of damage. Targets on fire take extra damage:
SR-icon-spell-Ice.png FreezeDB
Spell IDxx02732d
25
Apprentice
N/A 30 0 A spike of ice that does 20 points of frost damage to Health and Stamina and slows the target for 15 seconds:
SR-icon-spell-Ice.png Frost Rune
Spell ID0006796f
Tome ID000a2701
25
Apprentice
92 293 293 Cast on a nearby surface, it explodes for 50 points of frost damage when enemies come near:
SR-icon-spell-Ice.png Ice Spike
Spell ID0002b96c
Tome ID000a26fe
25
Apprentice
96 48 48 A spike of ice that does 25 points of frost damage to Health and Stamina:
SR-icon-spell-Fire.png IgniteDB
Spell IDxx02732b
25
Apprentice
N/A 30 7 A blast of flame that sets targets on fire, doing 4 damage per second for 15 seconds:
SR-icon-spell-Shock.png Lightning Bolt
Spell ID0002dd29
Tome ID000a26ff
25
Apprentice
95 51 51 A bolt of lightning that does 25 points of shock damage to Health and half that to Magicka:
SR-icon-spell-Shock.png Lightning Rune
Spell ID00067970
Tome ID000a2702
25
Apprentice
93 323 323 Cast on a nearby surface, it explodes for 50 points of shock damage when enemies come near:
SR-icon-spell-Absorb Blue.png StrangulationCC
Spell IDFExxx859
Tome IDFExxx86A
25
Apprentice
95 84 84 Absorb 16 points of health per second from target, for 3 seconds.
SR-icon-spell-Shock.png Chain Lightning
Spell ID00045f9d
Tome ID000a2708
50
Adept
390 156 78 Lightning bolt that does 40 points of shock damage to Health and half to Magicka, then leaps to a new target:
SR-icon-spell-Fire.png Elemental BurstCC
Spell IDFExxx85B
Tome IDFExxx864
50
Adept
350 96 48 An elemental explosion for 30 points of fire damage, 30 points of shock damage, and half as much damage to stamina.
  • Aimed
SR-icon-spell-Fire.png Fireball
Spell ID0001c789
Tome ID000a2706
50
Adept
345 133 66 A fiery explosion for 40 points of damage in a 15 foot radius. Targets on fire take extra damage:
  • Missile, explosive
  • Range: 469 feet
  • Speed: 117 fps
  • Explosion radius: 15 feet
  • Fireball, 40 pts in 15 ft
    • Sets targets on fire, dealing 20% of the immediate spell damage over 2s
  • Perk Impact Stagger, 0.25 pts; if the Impact perk has been unlocked
  • Intense Flames Rout, 99 pts for 15 secs in 15 ft; if the Intense Flames perk has been unlocked
SR-icon-spell-Fire.png Flame Cloak
Spell ID0003ae9f
Tome ID000a2703
50
Adept
325 289 0 For 60 seconds, opponents in melee range take 8 points fire damage per second. Targets on fire take extra damage:
  • Cast on self
  • Flame Cloak, 8 pts in 10 ft for 60 secs
    • Sets targets on fire, dealing 20% of the immediate spell damage over 2s
SR-icon-spell-Ice.png Frost Cloak
Spell ID0003aea2
Tome ID000a2704
50
Adept
340 316 0 For 60 seconds, opponents in melee range take 8 points frost damage and Stamina damage per second:
SR-icon-spell-Absorb Blue.png Hangman's NooseCC
Spell IDFExxx858
Tome IDFExxx86B
50
Adept
350 143 143 Absorb 26 points of health per second from target, for 3 seconds.
SR-icon-spell-Ice.png Ice Storm
Spell ID00045f9c
Tome ID000a2707
50
Adept
360 144 72 A freezing whirlwind that does 40 points of frost damage per second to Health and Stamina:
SR-icon-spell-Shock.png Lightning Cloak
Spell ID0003aea3
Tome ID000a2705
50
Adept
355 370 0 For 60 seconds nearby opponents take 8 points of shock damage and half magicka damage:
SR-icon-spell-Whirlwind.png Whirlwind CloakDB
Spell IDxx01772d
Tome IDxx0177ad
50
Adept
395 338 0 For 60 seconds, opponents in melee range have a chance of being flung away:
  • Cast on self
  • Whirlwind Cloak, 10 pts for 60 secs
SR-icon-spell-Fire.png Elemental BlastCC
Spell IDFExxx856
Tome IDFExxx865
75
Expert
650 144 72 An elemental explosion for 40 points of fire damage, 40 points of shock damage, and half as much damage to stamina.
  • Aimed
SR-icon-spell-Ice.png Icy Spear
Spell ID0010f7ec
Tome ID0010f7f3
75
Expert
725 320 320 A spear of ice that does 60 points of frost damage to Health and Stamina:
SR-icon-spell-Fire.png Incinerate
Spell ID0010f7ed
Tome ID0010f7f4
75
Expert
710 298 298 A blast of fire that does 60 points of damage. Targets on fire take extra damage:
SR-icon-spell-Fire.png Mara's WrathCC
Spell IDFExxx855
Tome IDFExxx868
75
Expert
650 329 0 For 30 seconds, opponents in melee range take 16 points fire damage per second. Undead up to level 26 flee for 30 seconds. Swim unharmed in freezing cold water.
  • Cast on self
  • Mara's Wrath, determines that damage is dealt in 15 feet per second for 30 seconds; extends the duration of the cloak visual effect for an additional 2 seconds.
    • Flames (FExxx854; ccBGSSSE014_MarasWrath_FlameCloakDmg)
      • Flames, deals 16 points of fire damage for 1 second; hostile targets receive a burning effect that lingers, dealing an additional 0.16 fire damage for 0.1 seconds.
      • Turn Undead Fear, demoralizes undead targets up to level 15 for 30 seconds.
      • Intense Flames Fear, demoralizes targets up to level 15 for 15 seconds; if the Intense Flames perk has been unlocked.
  • Resist Freezing Water, grants resistance to freezing cold water for 32 seconds.
SR-icon-spell-Shock.png Thunderbolt
Spell ID0010f7ee
Tome ID0010f7f5
75
Expert
750 343 343 A Thunderbolt that does 60 points of shock damage to Health and half that to Magicka:
SR-icon-spell-Absorb Blue.png Touch of DeathCC
Spell IDFExxx857
Tome IDFExxx86C
75
Expert
650 316 316 Absorb 40 points of health per second from target, for 4 seconds.
SR-icon-spell-Fire.png Unbounded FlamesCC
Spell IDFExxx80E
Tome IDFExxx815
75
Expert
950 78/s 78/s Casts a stream of long-distance fireballs in an arc. Impact creates a wall of fire that does 50 points of fire damage per second.
  • Concentration
  • Unbounded Flames, deals 8 points of fire damage for 1 second in 6 feet; targets receive a burning effect that lingers, dealing an additional 2.67 points of fire damage for 2 seconds.
    • Fire (0008F3EE; FireBarrierHazard) or Fire (000590FB; FireBarrierHazardDrop), determines that damage is dealt in 3 feet for 30 seconds.
      • Fire (0008F3F1; HazardWallofFireSpell). (Note that this is a separate spell linked with the above hazards, which allows for the grouping of the following effect.)
        • Fire hazard, deals 20 points of fire damage for 1 second; targets receive a burning effect that lingers, dealing an additional 0.67 points of fire damage for 1 second.
  • Intense Flames Fear, demoralizes targets up to level 99, with health below 20%, for 15 seconds; if the Intense Flames perk has been unlocked.
SR-icon-spell-Ice.png Unbounded FreezingCC
Spell IDFExxx80D
Tome IDFExxx816
75
Expert
950 69/s 69/s A freezing wind envelops the caster, knocking down nearby enemies and freezing them for 50 points of damage per second to Health and Stamina.
  • Constant cast on self
  • Unbounded Freeze, determines that damage is dealt and targets are knocked down in 15 feet.
    • Frost Cloak Freeze (FExxx825; ccBGSSSE014_FrostCloakDmg).
    • Silent Empty Area Push explosion (FExxx81A; ccBGSSSE014_SilentEmptyAreaPush), knocks down targets.
  • Unbounded Freeze, paralyzes targets in 12 feet.
SR-icon-spell-Shock.png Unbounded StormsCC
Spell IDFExxx808
Tome IDFExxx817
75
Expert
950 69/s 69/s Targets in melee range take 40 shock damage per second to Health, and half that to Magicka. Random lightning strikes deal an additional 30 damage.
  • Constant cast on self
  • Unbounded Storms, determines that damage is dealt to nearby targets
    • Lightning Cloak Drain (FExxx824; ccBGSSSE014_LightningCloakDmg)
      • Sparks, deals 40 points of Shock Damage to Health and Magicka per second.
      • Disintegrate, 200 pts for 1 sec; if the Disintegrate perk has been unlocked
  • Storm Lightning, randomly casts lightning bolts at nearby targets
SR-icon-spell-Fire.png Wall of Flames
Spell ID00035d7f
Tome ID000a2709
75
Expert
680 118/s 118/s Sprayed on the ground, it creates a wall of fire that does 50 points of fire damage per second:
  • Constant cast on ground (each impact lasts for several seconds)
  • Fire Barrier, 8 pts for 1 sec on targets hit directly
    • Sets targets on fire, dealing 33% of the immediate spell damage over 2s
  • Intense Flames Fear, 99 pts for 15 secs; if the Intense Flames perk has been unlocked
  • Fire (HazardWallofFireSpell), 20 damage every 1 second and tapers for another. The hazard effect lasts for 30 seconds on the ground
SR-icon-spell-Ice.png Wall of Frost
Spell ID00035d80
Tome ID000a270a
75
Expert
700 137/s 137/s Sprayed on the ground, it creates a wall of frost that does 50 points of frost damage per second:
  • Constant cast on ground (each impact lasts for several seconds)
  • Frost Barrier, 8 points for 1 second on targets hit directly.
  • Slow, 50 points for 5 seconds.
  • Deep Freeze Paralyze, for 3 secs, if the Deep Freeze perk has been unlocked.
  • Frost (HazardWallofFrostSpell), 20 damage every 1 second, Slows enemy for 5 seconds. The hazard effect lasts for 30 seconds on the ground.
SR-icon-spell-Shock.png Wall of Storms
Spell ID00035d81
Tome ID000a270b
75
Expert
725 145/s 145/s Sprayed on the ground, it creates a wall of lightning that does 50 points of shock damage per second:
  • Constant cast on ground (each impact lasts for several seconds)
  • Wall of Storms, 8 pts for 1 sec on targets hit directly
  • Disintegrate, 200 pts for 1 sec; if the Disintegrate perk has been unlocked
  • Shock (HazardWallofShockSpell), 20 shock damage every 1 second. The hazard effect lasts for 30 seconds on the ground
SR-icon-spell-Ice.png Blizzard
Spell ID0007e8e4
Tome ID000a270d
100
Master
1350 1106 1106 Targets take 20 points of frost damage for 10 seconds, plus Stamina damage:
SR-icon-spell-Fire.png Fire Storm
Spell ID0007a82b
Tome ID000a270c
100
Master
1290 1426 1426 A 100 point fiery explosion centered on the caster. Does more damage to closer targets:
SR-icon-spell-Shock.png Lightning Storm
Spell ID0007e8e5
Tome ID000a270e
100
Master
1400 138/s 0 Target takes 75 points of shock damage per second to Health, and half that to Magicka:
SR-icon-spell-Fire.png Arniel's Convection
Spell ID0006a104
N/A N/A 1/s 1/s Burns the target 1 points per second. Targets on fire take extra damage.
  • Flames, 1 pt for 1 sec
  • Specifically intended to be used for heating Dwarven Convectors in the related quest
SR-icon-spell-Absorb.png Vampiric Drain
Spell IDs0008d5bf, 0008d5c0, 0008d5c1, 0008d5c2
N/A N/A 6/s
10/s
13/s
17/s
6/s
10/s
13/s
17/s
Absorb <mag> points of health per second from the target
  • Drain Health, <mag> pts for 1 sec
  • <mag> is 2, 3, 4, or 5, depending upon your level of vampirism
  • Not available for purchase
  • Spell is automatically added when you become a vampire

Spell List Notes[edit]

  • The base cost for spells is the amount of magicka that would be necessary to cast the spell at 0 skill without any perks. The magicka cost at 100 skill is 41% less than the base cost; the cost can also be reduced via enchanted apparel and by unlocking various perks. See Spell Cost for the full magicka cost equation.
  • Skill level indicates which skill perk needs to be unlocked to decrease the spell's magicka cost. "N/A" is used for special spells whose cost is not affected by any perks.
  • The "Where to Get" column only lists guaranteed locations for obtaining the spell tomes. Most spell tomes are also available in random loot; see Spell Tome Locations and the table below for details.
  • For higher-level spell tomes to become available for purchase, your skill in the school must be high enough (see the table below). Also, master-level spell tomes can only be acquired once that school's ritual spell quest has been completed.
  • All spell tomes have a weight of 1.
  • Skill XP can be modified by scripts and by the game engine itself under various circumstances. The exact XP you receive may vary from the numbers listed here.
  • Magicka cost and skill XP are rounded down, both in game and on this page. Because of this, you may find that you cannot cast a spell even though it appears you have exactly enough magicka to do so.
Tomes by Level
Spell Level Skill Level Character Level, Boss Chest Character Level, Random Chest
Novice 0 1 1
Apprentice 0 11 10
Adept 40 23 -
Expert 65 35 -
Master 0/90 - -
Master level spell tomes require the appropriate ritual spell quest to be completed to be sold; while the quests have a skill level requirement of 90 to initiate, if you have completed the quest and reset the skill by making it legendary, the spell tome should still be available for sale.

Magical Effects[edit]

The following individual effects are all considered to be part of the school of Destruction (see the individual effect pages for full details on availability; the Magical Effects article also provides a summary):

Skill Usage[edit]

Be aware that increasing your Destruction skill level decreases the casting cost, but does not increase the spell damage. To keep using Destruction magic effectively against tougher opponents, you will need to learn stronger spells, pick the damage increasing perks, or use potions of Fortify Destruction.

Shock spells reach their target nearly instantaneously, much faster than the other elements, so you do not have to lead your shot when targeting moving opponents.

Rune spells can only be placed close to the caster, and the continuous-damage Novice-level spells Flames, Sparks, and Frostbite have a very limited range. However, the range of Rune spells can be improved with the Rune Master perk.

It is best to use Rune spells in close quarters or tight entrances, and is especially useful for those that mix stealth and magic. They are also useful for triggering draugr that are hidden in crypts. What's more, if you have the Rune Master perk, runes can be used as an instantaneous mid-range attack.

Use the various cloak spells when battling multiple enemies, as any nearby opponent that you are not focusing on will still take damage. Be aware, however, that cloak spells will only level your Destruction skill on a per cast basis, not a per damage basis.

When facing a difficult opponent with high health, such as a dragon priest, it is often helpful to make use of the dual-casting Impact perk. This effectively allows you to stagger-lock the opponent, preventing them from retaliating. Larger opponents like dragons and Dwarven Centurions can only be staggered if you have the Augmented perk that corresponds to your spell (for example, Augmented Fire for Firebolt).

Note that the Dual Casting perk is magicka inefficient, as it means only 10% damage increase for 40% higher magicka cost. Unless you have a lot of magicka or a lot of casting-cost-reducing gear, it is more efficient to cast two normal spells with both hands (you can still cast two single-cast spells after acquiring the perk by activating one hand then the other in rapid succession, rather than activating both hands simultaneously for the dual-cast version). However, dual casting has two advantages that, situation depending, may outweigh the additional cost: the DPS of dual casting is higher, and the Impact perk provides a guaranteed stagger, depending on the spell. The stagger effect has no effect if the target is already staggering, thus a good balance between efficient damage and shutdown of the target is to alternate a dual-cast with two quick double casts. Impact does not work with constant 'stream' spells (Flames, Frostbite), Novice-level spells, the Wall-type Expert spells, or Master-level spells.

Note that any spells that require preparation time to be cast stop your magicka from regenerating for the duration of the charge up until the spell is cast. This means that both preparing and holding spells, and casting spells in rapid succession reduce the amount of time available for magicka regeneration, and make sustained casting difficult. In order to maximize natural magicka regeneration while in combat, it's best to minimize any time spent "waiting" to cast a fully-charged spell.

When using Fireball or Chain Lightning, it is better to aim at the ground or wall near the target than at the target itself. There is no proximity falloff to damage in the area of effect, and the wall or ground near a moving target is far easier to hit than the target itself. Use those spells (and Ice Storm as well) to attack areas, not specific targets.

Skill Increases[edit]

Character Creation[edit]

The following races have an initial skill bonus to Destruction:

Trainers[edit]

Skill Books[edit]

Free Skill Boosts[edit]

Gaining Skill XP[edit]

  • Unlike any other skill, Destruction XP is reduced on higher difficulties. On Legendary difficulty, XP gain is reduced by 75%. However, XP gain maxes out on Adept difficulty, and does not increase further on lower settings. To maximize XP gain, play on Adept difficulty, to avoid XP reduction, while leaving enemies the most HP possible to allow for more spell castings.
  • The XP gain for Destruction skill is otherwise dependent on the base magicka cost of the spell, and is unaffected by any damage boosts such as potions or perks.
  • Dual Casting does not give extra XP, and only gives the same XP as a one-handed casting. To maximize leveling speed, avoid dual casting whenever possible.
  • To level Destruction, you must cast a spell on a valid target. This can be exploited by casting the spells on essential targets that will not turn hostile. Some of these targets include Shadowmere, Hadvar or Ralof during Unbound, the Riekling Chief during The Chief of Thirsk HallDB, Esbern before A Cornered Rat, Paarthurnax before starting his quest, M'aiq the Liar, Ancano before the conclusion of Revealing the Unseen, and conjured creatures.
    • Note that the target in question must actually sustain damage for it to count. For this reason, casting spells on invincible targets such as Children and Brynjolf will not level your skill.
  • Regenerate Magicka effects help reduce downtimes while training.
  • It is possible to reduce or even completely eliminate the magicka cost of spells by stacking Fortify Destruction enchanting effects. The Secret of ArcanaDB power does the same thing, but only for 30 seconds.
    • The Secret of Arcana power can be exploited using concentration spells, as the spell will continue to cost 0 so long as spell is uninterrupted.
  • Casting Blizzard will increase Destruction Skill even if there is no opponent. Since the spell does a small amount of damage to you, this appears to count as a valid opponent. Although you can only obtain Blizzard at skill level 100, if you subsequently make your Destruction skill legendary, you can then use Blizzard to level it.
  • Rune spells will also quickly increase your Destruction skill, provided an enemy triggers them.
  • Adept-level spells are particularly bad for leveling against single targets, as they give half the XP/Magicka of other spells. Unless hitting multiple targets at once, Apprentice-level spells may level Destruction more rapidly.
  • Repeatedly re-equipping Fortify Magicka equipment is a quick and easy way to power destruction spells. When unequipped, the player's magicka reserves will bottom out at zero, and then be re-fortified up by the enchantment amount when equipped, allowed for instant casting. Favoriting the Novice Hood found in Helgen is a particularly convenient way of doing this.

Notes[edit]

  • Projectile spells shoot at 1 spell per second (2 if dual cast), much faster than even the fastest bow with the Quick Shot perk.
  • Destruction Dual Casting enables you to cast a 220% strength version of the spell at 280% of normal cost when simultaneously casting the same spell from both hands.
  • Rune spells can be used to draw draugr out of their sarcophagi. Even "at rest," they will set off nearby runes and take damage from them. This is useful in barrows with large numbers of draugr, as it allows you to take them on one at a time. Furthermore, since Wall of Flames does not wake enclosed draugr, it can be applied around or in front of a sarcophagus before awakening the draugr within, resulting in nearly instant kills as they emerge. J'zargo's Flame Cloak Scrolls will also draw out draugr as the Rune Spell.
  • Ice Storm can travel through walls or other obstructions and damage unseen foes.
  • With a high enough skill level in Destruction, passing guards may say, "Destruction magic's fine; just don't go burning down any buildings".
  • If the Impact perk is taken, Ice Storm will stagger all foes within its area of effect when dual cast, unlike Fireball and Chain Lightning, which will only stagger the target they hit directly.
  • Apprentice-level Destruction spells are better than Expert-level in terms of damage per magicka cost.
  • Area effect spells such as Fireball, Ice Storm and Chain Lighting can damage more than one target, allowing you to destroy groups of enemies more quickly than with single-target spells.

Bugs[edit]

  • With the Disintegrate perk, if Lightning spells are used as a finishing blow to kill a dragon, the dragon's soul may not be absorbed.
  • The Cloak spells will dismiss summoned creatures because they are programmed to dispel any spell with the "that spell looks dangerous" flag. This was meant to dispel an existing cloak, but also affects other spells.
  • Many effects are not correctly affected by the Augmented Flames, Augmented Frost, and Augmented Shock perks. These perks rely upon the MagicDamageFire, MagicDamageFrost, and MagicDamageShock keywords to identify which magic effects should be enhanced by the perks, however many spell effects are missing those keywords—specifically, all Rune and Cloak spells.
    • PC Only The Unofficial Skyrim Patch, version 1.0, fixes this bug.
    • Conversely, all Damage Stamina enchantments are affected by the Augmented Flames perk.
      Mod Notes: EnchStaminaDamageFFContact incorrectly has MagicDamageFire applied.
  • The Deep Freeze, Intense Flames, and Disintegrate perks will cause your cloak spells to kill followers who are in bleedout.
  • If you kill anything with a frost spell, have the Deep Freeze perk, and try to reanimate them, they will just walk in place and do nothing.
  • If you jump up and down repeatedly in a forge, you will be set on fire, which will slowly increase your Destruction skill. This does not work with special forges like the Skyforge or with similar natural hazards.
  • If you have the Disintegrate perk and use Lightning spells to kill enemy soldiers during the Civil War battles where they continuously respawn, the respawned enemy soldiers may be invisible. This is due to the way the quest respawns dead soldiers for additional waves; disintegrated soldiers respawn still disintegrated.
  • The Wall spells do a direct damage of 8/sec and 20/sec to anything that touches them. At no point do they do the 50/sec stated in the spell description.
  • The description of all Cloak and Wall spells does not reflect damage increases given from the Augmented Flames/Frost/Shock perks nor from Fortify Destruction potions. ?