New Perk Trees
The main point of this mod is, of course, the perk system. As much as possible, the new trees still resemble the unmodified perk trees. However, the biggest change is that every perk tree now has five perks gained for free at different skill tiers: Novice (20), Apprentice (30), Adept (50), Expert (75), and Master (100). As a general rule, these are all of the most boring, passive perks from the old trees, many of which were required to make a skill feel worthwhile. This frees up perk points to be spent on the more unique and interesting perks, which have also increased in number.
Look below for a detailed look at all of the new perk trees, or see the notes section at the bottom for some explanations behind the changes.
Warrior Skills
Archery
| An Archer is trained in the use of bows and arrows. The greater the skill, the more deadly the shot. |
Automatic perks
| Overdraw (Novice) |
No Requirement |
| Your Archery skill increases the amount of damage you deal with bows. |
| Critical Shot (Apprentice) |
25 Archery |
| Your Archery skill increases your chance to critically hit with bows. |
| Hunter's Discipline (Adept) |
50 Archery |
| 80% chance to recover arrows from dead bodies. |
| Ranger (Expert) |
75 Archery |
| Able to move faster with a drawn bow. |
| Quick Shot (Master) |
100 Archery |
| Can draw a bow 30% faster. |
Specialization perks
| Ethereal Arrows |
10 Archery |
| Firing a bow without any arrows equipped will fire an ethereal arrow from your magicka pool. These arrows improve slightly with perks that affect bound weapons. |
| Eagle Eye |
20 Archery, Ethereal Arrows |
| Pressing Block while aiming will zoom in your view. |
Specialization perks (cont.)
| Steady Hand |
30 Archery, Eagle Eye |
| Zooming in with a bow slows time by 50%. |
| Knockout |
40 Archery, Steady Hand |
| Bashing with a bow briefly knocks the target out. This ability can only be used once every 15 seconds. |
| Survivalist |
55 Archery |
| Most wild animals are friendly until attacked. Gain use of the Hunter's Sight lesser power. |
| Hunter's Sight: See clearly in darkness. |
| Power Shot |
65 Archery, Eagle Eye |
| Arrows stagger all but the largest opponents 50% of the time. Critical hits with all weapons deal 50% more damage. |
| Sniper |
80 Archery, Eagle Eye |
| Bow attacks are guaranteed to critically hit when firing from out of combat. |
| Head Shot |
90 Archery, Sniper |
| Critical hits with a bow have a 10% chance to deal lethal damage. All weapons are 5% more likely to critically hit. |
| Knee Shot |
100 Archery |
| Bow attacks have a 15% chance to cripple the target for 12 seconds. Targets without vulnerable knees will be paralyzed instead. |
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Block
| The art of blocking an enemy's blows with a shield or weapon. Blocking reduces the damage and staggering from physical attacks. |
Automatic perks
| Shield Wall (Novice) |
No Requirement |
| Your Block skill increases the effectiveness of blocking. |
| Power Bash (Apprentice) |
25 Block |
| Able to do a power bash. |
| Charge! (Adept) |
50 Block |
| You have a 20% chance to gain a burst of speed if an arrow hits you while you're blocking. |
| Deflection (Expert) |
75 Block |
| Arrows that hit the shield do no damage. |
| Hoplite (Master) |
100 Block |
| Able to move faster with a shield raised. |
Specialization perks
| Stalwart Defender |
10 Block |
| Stamina regenerates at its full rate even in combat. |
| Survival Instinct |
20 Block, Stalwart Defender |
| When your health is critical, time slows down before enemy melee attacks. This can only occur once every 30 seconds. |
Specialization perks (cont.)
| Accurate Bash |
35 Block, Stalwart Defender |
| Regular bashes with a shield deal ten times the damage and have a a 30% chance to disarm. |
| Brutal Bash |
45 Block |
| Power bashes deal ten times the damage and have a 20% chance to daze the target. |
| Retaliation |
65 Block, Brutal Bash |
| Blocking an attack has a 30% chance to trigger a 20% increase to melee damage for 4 seconds. |
| Aegis |
80 Block |
| Blocking with a shield grants a 20% chance to absorb incoming magic and reduces incoming fire, frost, and shock damage by 50%. |
| Quick Reflexes |
85 Block, Aegis or Retaliation |
| Time slows down if you are blocking during an enemy's power attack. |
| Defensive Stance |
90 Block, Hoplite or Accurate Bash |
| You take 20% less damage. Blocking staggers the attacker 20% of the time. |
| Shield Charge |
100 Block, Quick Reflexes or Defensive Stance |
| Sprinting with a shield raised knocks down most targets. |
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Heavy Armor
| Those trained to use Heavy Armor make more effective use of Iron, Steel, Dwarven, Orcish, Ebony, and Daedric armors. Heavy Armor wearers emphasize defense over speed. |
Automatic perks
| Juggernaut (Novice) |
No Requirement |
| Your Heavy Armor skill increases armor rating for Heavy Armor. |
| Well Fitted (Apprentice) |
25 Heavy Armor |
| 25% Armor bonus if wearing only Heavy Armor. |
| Conditioning (Adept) |
50 Heavy Armor |
| Heavy Armor weighs nothing and doesn't slow you down when worn. |
| Tower of Strength (Expert) |
75 Heavy Armor |
| 50% less stagger when wearing only Heavy Armor. |
| Matching Set (Master) |
100 Heavy Armor |
| Additional 25% Armor bonus if wearing at least three matched pieces of Heavy Armor. |
Specialization perks
| Fists of Steel |
15 Heavy Armor |
| Heavy Armor gauntlets increase melee damage and reduce the stamina cost of power attacks. Gauntlets made of stronger materials have a greater effect (max 30%). |
Specialization perks (cont.)
| Thick Padding |
30 Heavy Armor, Fists of Steel |
| When you are wearing mostly heavy armor, arrow damage is reduced by half and frost resistance is increased by 20%. |
| Wall of Iron |
40 Heavy Armor, Thick Padding |
| When you are wearing mostly heavy armor, enemies that strike you in melee occasionally stagger. |
| Mounted Knight |
55 Heavy Armor |
| When fighting on horseback you deal double damage and take half damage. When fighting on foot you take 20% less damage from melee attacks. |
| Warded Plate |
65 Heavy Armor, Thick Padding |
| For each piece of heavy armor equipped, there is a 5% chance for incoming fire, frost, and shock spells to deal no damage (maximum 20% chance). |
| Iron Will |
80 Heavy Armor, Wall of Iron or Mounted Knight |
| Grants immunity to paralysis and the strongest Unrelenting Force shouts. |
| Ignore Pain |
90 Heavy Armor, Wall of Iron |
| 20% chance of ignoring all damage from a melee attack. |
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One Handed
| The art of combat using one-handed weapons, such as daggers, swords, maces and war axes. Those trained in this skill deliver deadlier critical hits. |
Automatic perks
| Armsman (Novice) |
No Requirement |
| Your one-handed skill increases the amount of damage you deal with one-handed weapons. |
| Training (Apprentice) |
25 One Handed |
| Power attacks with one-handed weapons cost 25% less stamina. |
| Parry (Adept) |
50 One Handed |
| Blocking with one-handed weapons is more effective. This bonus increases based on the material of the weapon. |
| Mobility (Expert) |
75 One Handed |
| You move 10% faster when wielding a one-handed weapon. |
| Riposte (Master) |
100 One Handed |
| Blocking with a one-handed weapon or shield has a 20% chance to trigger a riposte, making your next attack 150% faster. |
Specialization perks
| Bone Breaker |
10 One Handed |
| Attacks with maces have a 10% chance to stagger the target. Attacks with all weapons ignore 50% of armor. |
| Hack and Slash |
20 One Handed |
| Attacks with war axes deal 50% more critical damage. Attacks with all weapons are 5% more likely to critically hit. |
Specialization perks (cont.)
| Bladesman |
30 One Handed |
| Attacks with one-handed swords are 30% faster. Attacks with all other weapons are 15% faster. |
| Fighting Stance |
40 One Handed |
| All weapons swing 15% faster and critical damage is increased by 50% when wielding one or more one-handed weapons. |
| Weapon Master |
55 One Handed |
| Melee attacks gain unique bonuses based on weapon type. These bonuses are listed with active magic effects. |
| Critical Charge |
65 One Handed |
| Can do a one-handed power attack while sprinting that does double critical damage. One handed power attacks are 20% more likely to critically hit. |
| Savage Strike |
80 One Handed, Fighting Stance |
| One-handed sideways power attacks may slay targets low on health and regenerate 100 points of stamina over 5 seconds if successful. One handed standing power attacks may decapitate enemies. |
| Dual Savagery |
90 One Handed, Weapon Master |
| Dual wielding power attacks do 25% bonus damage and dual wielding attacks are 25% faster. |
| Paralyzing Flurry |
100 One Handed |
| For 6 seconds following a one-handed backwards power attack, all attacks paralyze their target. This can only occur once every 20 seconds. |
Weapon Master
Intended for dual wield specialists, this perk grants one ability for each weapon equipped. If the weapons are different, it grants each of the two bonuses on the left. If they are the same, it grants both the 'single' and 'dual' bonus.
Single Weapons
| Axe |
25% increased critical hit damage |
| Dagger |
5% increased melee damage |
| Mace |
Ignores 50% of armor |
| Sword |
5% increased critical hit chance |
| Unarmed |
5% increased melee damage. |
Dual Weapons
| Axes |
10% increased critical hit chance |
| Daggers |
3% chance to paralyze on hit |
| Maces |
Forward power attacks have a 30% to daze the target. |
| Swords |
Increases melee attack speed by 15%. |
| Unarmed |
10% chance to daze on hit. |
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Smithing
| The art of creating and improving weapons and armor from raw materials. |
Automatic perks
| Basic Smithing (Novice) |
No Requirement |
| Can create Iron and Steel equipment at forges. |
| Worldly (Apprentice) |
25 Smithing |
| Can create Elven and Dwarven equipment at forges. |
| Advanced Smithing (Adept) |
50 Smithing |
| Can create Orcish equipment and Steel Plate armor at forges. |
| Intense Heat (Expert) |
75 Smithing |
| Can create Glass and Ebony equipment at forges. |
| Hammer of Oblivion (Master) |
100 Smithing |
| Can create Daedric equipment at forges. |
Specialization perks
| Prospector |
15 Smithing |
| Find twice the ore and gems when mining. Gain a 25% bonus to Iron and basic Steel armor. |
| Light Armorer |
30 Smithing |
| Can improve Light Armor twice as much. |
Specialization perks (cont.)
| Open Minded |
35 Smithing, Prospector |
| Gain a 25% bonus to Elven and Dwarven armor. Enchantments you cast on Elven, Dwarven, and Orcish equipment are 15% more powerful. |
| Heavy Armorer |
40 Smithing |
| Can improve Heavy Armor twice as much. |
| Honorary Orc |
60 Smithing, Open Minded |
| Orcs consider you a friend and give you a 20% discount. Gain a 15% bonus to Iron, Steel, and Orcish armor, and a 30% bonus to Iron, Steel, and Orcish weapons. |
| Arcane Blacksmith |
70 Smithing |
| You can improve magical weapons and armor. Fire damage enchantments you cast are 15% stronger. |
| Weaponsmith |
80 Smithing, Armorer or Arcane Blacksmith |
| Can improve weapons and shields twice as much. |
| Applied Knowledge |
90 Smithing, Honorary Orc |
| Fortify Smithing effects also increase weapon damage and armor rating. |
| Dragon Armor |
100 Smithing |
| Can create Dragon armor (and weapons) at forges. |
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Two Handed
| The art of combat using two-handed weapons, such as greatswords, battle axes, and warhammers. Those trained in this skill deliver deadlier power attacks. |
Automatic perks
| Barbarian (Novice) |
No Requirement |
| Your Two-Handed skill increases the amount of damage you deal with two-handed weapons. |
| Seasoned (Apprentice) |
25 Two Handed |
| Power attacks with two-handed weapons cost 25% less stamina. |
| Tireless (Adept) |
50 Two Handed |
| Your stamina regenerates 20% faster when wielding two-handed weapons. |
| Merciless (Expert) |
75 Two Handed |
| Normal two-handed attacks strike all targets in front of you. |
| Counterattack (Master) |
100 Two Handed |
| Blocking with a two-handed weapon has a 20% chance to trigger a counterattack, making your next attack 150% faster. If it's a power attack, it costs no stamina. |
Specialization perks
| Skullcrusher |
10 Two Handed |
| Standing power attacks with warhammers have a 30% chance to daze the target. Attacks with all weapons ignore 50% of armor. |
| Limbsplitter |
20 Two Handed |
| Attacks with battleaxes deal 50% more critical damage. Power attacks with all weapons are 20% more likely to critically hit. |
Specialization perks (cont.)
| Great Swings |
30 Two Handed |
| Attacks with greatswords are 30% faster. Attacks with all other weapons are 15% faster. |
| Champion's Stance |
40 Two Handed |
| Attacks with two-handed weapons have a 10% chance to stagger the target. Power attacks with all weapons deal 20% more damage. |
| Great Critical Charge |
60 Two Handed |
| Can do a two-handed power attack while sprinting that does double critical damage. Critical hits with two-handed power attacks deal 50% more damage. |
| Sweep |
70 Two Handed |
| Sideways power attacks with two-handed weapons hit all targets in front of you. Melee damage is increased by 20% for 5 seconds after any two-handed power attack. |
| Sunder Armor |
80 Two Handed |
| Two-handed forward power attacks destroy the target's shield if blocked and have a 30% chance to destroy a piece of the target's armor if unblocked. |
| Devastating Blow |
90 Two Handed |
| Two-handed standing power attacks do 25% bonus damage with a chance to decapitate your enemies. Melee attacks with two-handed weapons deal 10% more damage. |
| Warmaster |
100 Two Handed, Sunder Armor or Sweep |
| Two-handed power attacks have a 10% chance to deal lethal damage. |
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Thief Skills
Alchemy
| The art of brewing potions and poisons. A skilled Alchemist can harvest powerful ingredients, improve equipment, and transmute metals. |
Automatic perks
| Alchemist (Novice) |
No Requirement |
| Your Alchemy skill increases the strength of the potions and poisons you make. |
| Experimenter (Apprentice) |
25 Alchemy |
| The higher your Alchemy skill, the more effects you recognize when eating an ingredient. |
| Physician (Adept) |
50 Alchemy |
| Potions that restore health, magicka, or stamina are 25% more powerful. |
| Poisoner (Expert) |
75 Alchemy |
| Poisons you mix are 25% more effective. |
| Green Thumb (Master) |
100 Alchemy |
| Two ingredients are gathered from plants. |
Specialization perks
| Fortifier |
10 Alchemy |
| Clothing and body armor made of leather or fur gain armor rating based on your Alchemy skill. Potions that fortify health, magicka, or stamina are 50% more effective. |
| Troll Blood |
20 Alchemy |
| Health regenerates 50% faster. When your health is below 50%, you have a 20% chance to poison enemies in melee range every time you get hit. |
| Envenom |
30 Alchemy, Troll Blood or Metallurgy |
| Poisons applied to weapons last longer the higher your Alchemy skill (max 10 charges). You gain 50% resistance to all poisons. |
Specialization perks (cont.)
| Side Effects |
40 Alchemy, Envenom or Mage Oil |
| 33% chance to gain beneficial side effects when drinking potions or eating ingredients. |
| Wortcraft |
55 Alchemy, Troll Blood or Side Effects |
| You suffer no negative effects from eating ingredients, and positive effects are substantially improved. |
| Mage Oil |
65 Alchemy |
| Enchantments you cast are 15% more effective on regular jewelry and 25% more effective on high quality jewelry. |
| Surgeon |
80 Alchemy, Wortcraft |
| Find unique stat-boosting ingredients, more food, and more rare ingredients when looting corpses. |
| Knowledge Seeker |
90 Alchemy, Surgeon or Purity |
| Allows you to create the Philosopher's Stone, which unlocks the ability to transmute metal ingots. |
| Purity |
100 Alchemy |
| You create two potions or poisons instead of one. All negative effects are removed from created potions, and all positive effects are removed from created poisons. |
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Light Armor
| Those trained to use Light Armor make more effective use of Hide, Leather, Elven, and Glass armors. Light Armor wearers emphasize speed and offense over protection. |
Automatic perks
| Agile Defender (Novice) |
No Requirements |
| Your Light Armor skill increases armor rating for Light armor. |
| Custom Fit (Apprentice) |
25 Light Armor |
| 25% Armor bonus if wearing only Light Armor. |
| Unhindered (Adept) |
50 Light Armor |
| Light Armor weighs nothing and doesn't slow you down when worn. |
| Nimble (Expert) |
75 Light Armor |
| Falling damage is reduced by half. |
| Matching Set (Master) |
100 Light Armor |
| Additional 25% Armor bonus if wearing at least three matched pieces of Light Armor. |
Specialization perks
| Nomad |
15 Light Armor |
| Horses you ride move 50% faster. Damage taken on horseback or while sprinting is reduced by 30%. |
Specialization perks (cont.)
| Wind Walker |
30 Light Armor |
| Stamina regenerates 50% faster. You have a 20% chance to avoid all damage from an attack when sprinting. |
| Strategic Retreat |
40 Light Armor, Wind Walker |
| When an attack brings your health below 20%, you gain a burst of speed for 10 seconds. This effect can only occur once every 30 seconds. |
| Insulating Wards |
55 Light Armor |
| For each piece of light armor equipped, potions and armor spells have a 10% longer duration (maximum 40% increase). |
| Berserker Rage |
65 Light Armor, Nomad |
| On being hit, you have a 5% chance to gain stamina regeneration and a 25% damage increase for 6 seconds. This chance is 100% if hit with a power attack. |
| Skirmish Tactics |
80 Light Armor |
| Perks which affect power attacks have a lesser effect on regular attacks as well. |
| Soldier |
90 Light Armor |
| Power attacks cost 30% less stamina. |
Skirmish Tactics
This perk allows the light armored warrior to conserve stamina for sprinting without suffering as much from the lack of power attacks. Power attacks and sprints may still be used strategically, but the overall reliance on them is diminished through the bonuses below.
One Handed
| Dual Mace Mastery |
| 3% chance to knock back with mace attacks. |
| Critical Charge |
| One-handed attacks critically hit 5% more often and deal 25% more critical hit damage. |
| Savage Strike |
| This perk's effect has a 5% chance of occurring on one-handed attacks. |
| Dual Savagery |
| Damage when dual wielding is increased by 20%. |
| Paralyzing Flurry |
| 5% chance to paralyze on one-handed attacks. |
Two Handed
| Skullcrusher |
| Warhammer attacks have a 3% chance to knock back. |
Two Handed (cont.)
| Limbsplitter |
| Critical hit chance is increased by 5%. |
| Champion's Stance |
| Melee damage is increased by 5%. |
| Great Critical Charge |
| Two-handed attacks critically hit 5% more often and deal 25% more critical hit damage. |
| Devastating Blow |
| Damage with two-handed weapons is increased by 5%. |
| Sunder Armor |
| Two-handed attacks have a 10% chance of destroying the target's shield if blocked. |
| Sweep |
| Two-handed attacks have a 50% chance of hitting all targets in front of you. |
| Warmaster |
| Two-handed attacks have a 2% chance of dealing lethal damage. |
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Lockpicking
| The art of opening locked doors and containers. Those trained in Lockpicking liberate valuables wherever they are found, from decadent manors to abandoned ruins. |
Automatic perks
| Security (Novice) |
No Requirements |
| Your lockpicking skill makes locks easier to pick. |
| Luck (Apprentice) |
25 Lockpicking |
| Find more gold in chests. |
| Seeker (Adept) |
50 Lockpicking |
| 50% greater chance of finding special treasure. |
| Locksmith (Expert) |
75 Lockpicking |
| Pick starts close to the lock opening position. |
| Unbreakable (Master) |
100 Lockpicking |
| Lockpicks never break. |
Specialization perks
| Bash Locks |
No Requirements |
| You may attempt to open locked doors and containers by bashing them. |
| Inside Man |
20 Lockpicking |
| Allows access to inconspicuous chests placed outside of town jails. These are used for laundering stolen goods and paying discounted fines. |
Specialization perks (cont.)
| Adventurous Parry |
30 Lockpicking |
| Blocking with a torch is twice as effective. |
| Thief |
40 Lockpicking, Inside Man |
| Able to pick locks without being noticed. Carrying capacity is increased by 100. |
| Blinding Bash |
55 Lockpicking, Adventurous Parry |
| Bashing opponents with a torch gives their attacks against you a 30% chance to become a glancing blow (10% damage) for 8 seconds. |
| Blazing Bash |
65 Lockpicking, Blinding Bash |
| Fire damage from your torch bash is significantly increased and may cause opponents to run in fear. |
| Dungeon Delver |
85 Lockpicking |
| Chaurus, skeevers, and spiders are friendly until attacked. Gain use of the Dungeon Sense lesser power. |
| Dungeon Sense: Shows nearby dungeon creatures through walls. |
| Dwemer Engineer |
100 Lockpicking, Dungeon Delver |
| Dwemer Automatons are friendly until attacked. Grants 30% shock resistance and increases the variety of dwemer scrap metal that may be melted into ingots. |
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Pickpocket
| The art of thievery by stealthy or more forceful means. Skilled Pickpockets are less likely to be detected when picking pockets and more capable of defending themselves if caught. |
Automatic perks
| Light Fingers (Novice) |
No Requirement |
| Your Pickpocket skill increases unarmed damage and your chances of successfully picking someone's pockets. |
| Night Thief (Apprentice) |
25 Pickpocket |
| +25% chance to pickpocket if the target is asleep. |
| Cutpurse (Adept) |
50 Pickpocket |
| Pickpocketing gold is 50% easier. |
| Keymaster (Expert) |
75 Pickpocket |
| Pickpocketing keys almost always works. |
| Misdirection (Master) |
100 Pickpocket |
| Can pickpocket equipped items. |
Specialization perks
| Extra Pockets |
30 Pickpocket |
| Carrying capacity is increased by 100 and stamina is increased by 50. |
| Toxic Touch |
35 Pickpocket |
| Silently harm enemies by placing poisons in their pockets. |
| Dodge |
40 Pickpocket |
| When not wearing any armor, you have a chance to take no damage from incoming attacks. This chance increases with your pickpocket skill (max 25%). |
Specialization perks (cont.)
| Brigand's Brew |
45 Pickpocket |
| Consuming alcohol increases your melee damage by 30% for 15 seconds. |
| Purse Snatcher |
60 Pickpocket, Extra Pockets |
| Increases run speed by 30%. |
| Acid Splash |
70 Pickpocket, Toxic Touch |
| As long as one hand is free, melee attacks deal 50% more critical damage and have a 20% chance to deal extra poison damage over 3 seconds. |
| Drunken Rage |
80 Pickpocket, Brigand's Brew |
| Consuming alcohol has a chance of sending you into a drunken rage, increasing melee damage and reducing damage taken by 50% each. This chance increases the more you drink. |
| Blade Catcher |
90 Pickpocket, Dodge |
| As long as one hand is free (unarmed or spell), melee attacks deal 20% more damage and you have a 10% chance to disarm attackers that strike you in melee. |
| Cheap Shot |
100 Pickpocket, Blade Catcher |
| As long as one hand is free, power attacks have a 25% chance to cripple the target. Unarmed attacks have a 5% higher chance to critically hit. |
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Sneak
| Sneaking is the art of moving unseen and unheard. Highly skilled sneaks can even hide in plain sight. |
Automatic perks
| Stealth (Novice) |
No Requirement |
| Your sneak skill makes you harder to detect while sneaking. |
| Muffle (Apprentice) |
25 Sneak |
| Noise from armor is reduced 50%. |
| Silence (Adept) |
50 Sneak |
| Walking and running does not affect detection. |
| Silent Roll (Expert) |
75 Sneak |
| Sprinting while sneaking executes a silent forward roll. |
| Assassin's Blade (Master) |
100 Sneak |
| Attacks with daggers deal 25% more damage and ignore armor. |
Specialization perks
| Sneak Attack |
20 Sneak |
| Sneak attacks deal 3x damage with bows, 6x with 1H weapons, 8x when unarmed, and 15x with daggers. Instant kills with 2H sneak attacks may cause nearby enemies to run in fear. |
Specialization perks (cont.)
| Keen Eye |
35 Sneak, Sneak Attack |
| Dagger attacks made from out of combat are guaranteed to critically hit. |
| Cloak of Shadows |
55 Sneak |
| You have a chance to take no damage from incoming attacks. This chance increases with your sneak skill (max 10%). |
| Light Foot |
65 Sneak |
| You won't trigger pressure plates and you're 20% less likely to stagger when struck. |
| Heart Seeker |
70 Sneak, Keen Eye |
| Sneak attacks have a 10% chance to deal lethal damage. |
| Assassin's Reflexes |
85 Sneak, Heart Seeker |
| Grants the Assassin's Reflexes lesser power, which slows time in exchange for stamina. |
| Shadow Warrior |
100 Sneak |
| Crouching in combat renders you invisible for two seconds. This can only occur once every ten seconds. |
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Speech
| This skill of persuasion can be used to get better prices from merchants, and persuade others to do as you ask. Skilled speakers can even use their voice as a weapon. |
Automatic perks
| Haggling (Novice) |
No Requirement |
| Your Speech skill improves buying and selling prices. |
| Merchant (Apprentice) |
25 Speech |
| Can sell any type of item to any kind of merchant. |
| Investor (Adept) |
50 Speech |
| Can invest 500 gold with a shopkeeper to increase his available gold permanently. |
| Fence (Expert) |
75 Speech |
| Can barter stolen goods with any merchant you have invested in. |
| Trader (Master) |
100 Speech |
| Every merchant in the world gains 1000 gold for bartering. |
Specialization perks
| Convincing |
10 Speech |
| Can bribe guards to ignore crimes. Persuasion attempts are 30% easier and intimidation is twice as likely to succeed. |
| Good Listener |
20 Speech |
| Your skills increase 5% faster, and you can train substantially more per level. |
Specialization perks (cont.)
| Long Winded |
30 Speech |
| Sprinting consumes very little stamina, and power attacks cost 10% less stamina. |
| Best Friend |
40 Speech |
| A loyal animal companion carries your extra equipment and fights by your side. |
| Allure |
60 Speech |
| 30% better prices with the opposite sex. Also gain the "Lover's Comfort" buff. |
| Trained Voice |
70 Speech |
| Shouts are 50% more powerful and last 30% longer. |
| Master Debater |
80 Speech, Trained Voice |
| You gain 50 magicka, and your shouts prevent nearby enemies from shouting for a short time. |
| Patron |
90 Speech |
| Alchemy shops and court wizards you invest in will stock unique and expensive potions and scrolls. |
| Legendary Skald |
100 Speech, Trained Voice |
| Time between shouts is reduced by 50%. |
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Mage Skills
Alteration
| The School of Alteration involves manipulating the physical and magical worlds. This skill enhances other schools and makes it easier to cast spells like Waterbreathing, protection, and Paralysis. |
Automatic perks
| Mystic (Novice) |
No Requirement |
| Your Alteration skill increases the duration of your Alteration spells. |
| Sage (Apprentice) |
25 Alteration |
| Cast Alteration spells for half magicka. |
| Adaptation (Adept) |
50 Alteration |
| You gain the ability to breathe underwater. Most waterbreathing potions, spells, and enchantments give you the ability to walk on water instead. |
| Seer (Expert) |
75 Alteration |
| New spell tomes may be found on appropriate merchants. |
| Theurgist (Master) |
100 Alteration |
| Once every hour, you're able to cast a ritual spell near instantly for very little magicka. |
Specialization perks
| Ancestral Awakening |
15 Alteration |
| Your passive racial abilities are twice as strong, and you receive a second, awakened version of your racial power that can be used every 6 hours. |
| Spell Charge |
30 Alteration |
| Single cast spells are 15% more effective for each second spent casting them (max 45% increase). |
Specialization perks (cont.)
| Mage Armor |
40 Alteration |
| Magic armor spells never need to be re-cast. When not wearing armor, they are four times as strong and level Alteration as if it were an armor skill. |
| Efficiency Expert |
55 Alteration |
| Your magic skills increase the duration of spells in each school by up to double. Each rank in a school reduces the cost of spells in that school by 10%. |
| Mystic Transmutation |
60 Alteration |
| Allows you to forge an Arcane Converter, which can convert magicka into soul energy for powering enchantments. Higher skill levels allow the creation of more potent converters. |
| Magic Resistance |
70 Alteration |
| Blocks 30% of a spell's effects. |
| Spirit Echo |
80 Alteration |
| 10% chance of summoning a Spirit Echo in combat, which drains health, magicka, and stamina from enemies and returns it to you. |
| Chain Casting |
90 Alteration, Spell Charge |
| Destruction spells charge with each spell cast. At max charge, dual casting a spell allows you to cast double damage spells at no magicka cost for 5 seconds, but afterwards the charge will reset. |
| Atronach |
100 Alteration |
| Absorb 30% of the magicka of any spells that hit you. |
Ancestral Awakening
For the most part, the abilities granted by this perk are inherently obvious, but there are a couple notable exceptions here.
Passive
| Fortify Health (Orc) |
Awakening the latent energy in your Orc blood gives you 50 extra health. |
Active
| Skooma Frenzy (Khajiit) |
You attack and run at the speed of skooma, which is twice as fast as normal, for 1 minute. |
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Conjuration
| The School of Conjuration governs raising the dead and summoning creations from Oblivion. This skill makes it easier to cast these spells as well as Soul Trap and bindings. |
Automatic perks
| Conjurer (Novice) |
No Requirement |
| Your Conjuration skill increases the duration of your Conjuration spells. |
| Covenant (Apprentice) |
25 Conjuration |
| Cast Conjuration spells for half magicka. |
| Warlock (Adept) |
50 Conjuration |
| Bound weapons drain magicka on hit. |
| Occult Lore (Expert) |
75 Conjuration |
| New spell tomes may be found on appropriate merchants. |
| Soul Reaper (Master) |
100 Conjuration |
| You can fill two soul gems with the same soul as long as the soul is the appropriate size. |
Specialization perks
| Summoner |
15 Conjuration |
| Doubles the range of all summon spells and the duration of all conjuration spells. You gain 50 health, and friendly summoned creatures gain 20% damage resistance when near you. |
| Spirit Binding |
20 Conjuration |
| Bound weapons do more damage and cast Soul Trap on targets. |
Specialization perks (cont.)
| Dark Souls |
35 Conjuration |
| Reanimated undead have 100 points more health and leech health from nearby enemies. |
| Elemental Potency |
45 Conjuration, Summoner |
| Conjured Atronachs are significantly more powerful, and you gain 25% resistance to all elements. |
| Mystic Binding |
60 Conjuration, Spirit Binding |
| Bound weapons do more damage, banish summoned creatures, and turn raised ones. |
| Plague Carrier |
70 Conjuration, Dark Souls |
| Can reanimate higher level undead. Reanimated undead spread a contagious disease that slows movement, drains health and stamina, and increases damage taken by 30%. |
| Oblivion Binding |
80 Conjuration, Mystic Binding |
| Bound weapons do more damage and gain elemental enchantments. |
| Elemental Mastery |
90 Conjuration, Elemental Potency |
| Conjured Atronachs gain new abilities and give you a 30% increase to elemental damage when summoned. |
| Twin Souls |
100 Conjuration, Plague Carrier or Elemental Mastery |
| You can have two atronachs or reanimated zombies. Every six hours, you may summon three atronachs at once or reanimate all corpses around you. |
Elemental Mastery
Here are the new abilities you can expect your empowered atronachs to make use of.
Flame Atronach
| Fireball |
The atronach's fire bolt is upgraded to an explosive fireball. |
Frost Atronach
| Frost Aura |
The atronach causes nearby enemies to move 20% slower and gain a 50% weakness to frost damage. |
| Frozen Blows |
The atronach has a 5% chance to paralyze enemies on hit, or a 100% chance to knock them back when power attacking. |
Storm Atronach
| Lightning Bolt |
In addition to its normal attacks, the atronach can cast lightning bolts from a distance. |
| Chain Lightning |
A lightning area attack useful against enemy groups. |
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Destruction
| The School of Destruction involves the harnessing the energies of fire, frost and shock. This skill makes it easier to cast spells like Fireball, Ice Spike, and Lightning Bolt. |
Automatic Perks
| Evoker (Novice) |
No Requirement |
| Your Destruction skill increases the magnitude of your Destruction spells. |
| Mage (Apprentice) |
25 Destruction |
| Cast Destruction spells for half magicka. |
| Dedication (Adept) |
50 Destruction |
| Fire spells deal more health damage, Frost spells deal more stamina damage, and Shock spells deal more magicka damage. |
| Archmage (Expert) |
75 Destruction |
| New spell tomes may be found on appropriate merchants. |
| Feedback (Master) |
100 Destruction |
| When you have a Destruction spell readied, enemies that strike you in melee take elemental damage. |
Specialization Perks
| Dual Casting |
10 Destruction |
| Enables dual casting for all spell schools. Dual casting a spell overcharges the effects into an even more powerful version. |
| Flame Affinity |
20 Destruction |
| Weapon attacks have a 20% chance to make targets take triple damage from fire for 4 seconds. Smithing improvements are 20% more effective. |
Specialization Perks (cont.)
| Intense Flames |
30 Destruction |
| Fire damage causes targets below 30% health to flee. 20% chance when casting a fire spell to instantly cast it a second time for no magicka. |
| Impact |
40 Destruction, Dual Casting |
| Most destruction spells will stagger an opponent when dual cast. |
| Frost Aura |
55 Destruction |
| Increases armor rating and frost resistance by 20%. Nearby enemies suffer 75% weakness to frost and 20% reduced movement speed. |
| Rune Master |
65 Destruction |
| Can place runes five times farther away, runes temporarily disable their targets, and you can place two runes at once. |
| Flowing Current |
80 Destruction |
| Shock spells deal 50% more damage. All spells cost 20% less to cast. |
| Deep Freeze |
90 Destruction |
| Frost damage paralyzes targets below 20% health. 20% chance when casting a frost spell to instantly cast it a second time for no magicka. |
| Disintegrate |
100 Destruction |
| Shock damage disintegrates targets below 10% health. 20% chance when casting a shock spell to instantly cast it a second time for no magicka. |
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Enchanting
| The art of binding magic to weapons and armor. Skilled enchanters harness enchanted items more effectively and can even manipulate powerful artifacts. |
Automatic Perks
| Enchanter (Novice) |
No Requirement |
| Your Enchanting skill increases the strength of enchantments you cast. |
| Siphon (Apprentice) |
25 Enchanting |
| Death blows to creatures, but not people, trap 5% of the victim's soul, recharging the weapon. |
| Economy (Adept) |
50 Enchanting |
| Soul gems provide extra magicka for recharging. |
| Wisdom (Expert) |
75 Enchanting |
| Health, magicka, and stamina enchantments on armor are 25% stronger. |
| Sagacity (Master) |
100 Enchanting |
| Skill enchantments on armor are 25% stronger. |
Specialization Perks
| Magic Dust |
10 Enchanting |
| Doubles the duration of all potions. Potions which fortify a crafting skill last ten times as long. |
| Intensity |
20 Enchanting |
| Elemental enchantments on weapons and armor are 25% stronger. |
Specialization Perks (cont.)
| Imbue Potion |
35 Enchanting, Magic Dust |
| Potions and poisons are 50% more effective. |
| Artificer |
45 Enchanting, Intensity |
| Artifacts consume no charge, and all other weapons consume 50% less charge. You can learn the spells of unique staves by using them. |
| Enchanted Weave |
60 Enchanting |
| Enchantments are 25% more effective on clothing. |
| Glittering Prizes |
70 Enchanting, Artificer |
| Weapon enchantments deal 20% more damage. You can craft unique items and modify artifacts at an enchanter. |
| Soul Scavenger |
80 Enchanting, Enchanted Weave |
| Souls you trap are one size larger than normal. |
| Preserver |
90 Enchanting, Soul Scavenger |
| Soul gems have a 50% chance to remain after use. Soul gems that remain have a 50% chance to retain the soul being used. |
| Extra Effect |
100 Enchanting |
| Can put two enchantments on the same item. |
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Illusion
| The School of Illusion involves manipulating the mind of the enemy and creating illusory puppets. This skill makes it easier to cast spells like Fear, Calm and Invisibility. |
Automatic Perks
| Illusionist (Novice) |
No Requirement |
| Your Illusion skill increases the magnitude of your Illusion spells. |
| Discipline (Apprentice) |
25 Illusion |
| Cast Illusion spells for half magicka. |
| Longevity (Adept) |
50 Illusion |
| Your Illusion skill increases the duration of your Illusion spells. |
| Thaumaturge (Expert) |
75 Illusion |
| New spell tomes may be found on appropriate merchants. |
| Chameleon (Master) |
100 Illusion |
| Your companions turn invisible whenever you do. |
Specialization Perks
| Quiet Casting |
10 Illusion |
| All spells you cast from any school of magic are silent to others. |
| Rallying Presence |
20 Illusion |
| Nearby allies have 50 more health, take 20% less damage, and regenerate 6 health per second. Does not work on undead, daedra or automatons. |
Specialization Perks (cont.)
| Phantom Beast |
35 Illusion |
| Phantom creatures fight at your side during combat, occasionally casting fear on their targets. If the beast dies, it will not return for 3 hours. |
| Calming Presence |
45 Illusion, Rallying Presence |
| Giants, mammoths, ice wraiths, and trolls are friendly until attacked. Gain use of the Tranquility lesser power. |
| Spectral Warrior |
60 Illusion, Quiet Casting |
| 5% chance to enter Spectral Form for 8 seconds when hit. In this form, you take no damage, deal 50% more damage, and illusion spells cost no magicka. |
| Spectral Warding |
70 Illusion |
| For every 70 points of armor rating gained from worn armor, you also gain 5% magic resistance (max 40%). |
| Tranquility: Calms low level targets (up to level 30 at 100 Illusion). |
| Ghostwalk |
80 Illusion, Spectral Warrior |
| Invisibility effects last twice as long. While invisible, your movement is silent, and attacks and spells pass through you. |
| Master of the Mind |
90 Illusion, Calming Presence |
| Illusion spells and Rallying Presence work on undead, daedra and automatons. |
| Phantom Armory |
100 Illusion, Master of the Mind or Ghostwalk |
| Invulnerable phantom weapons will aid you during combat. |
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Restoration
| The School of Restoration involves control over life forces. This skill makes it easier to cast spells like Healing, Turn Undead, and magical Wards. |
Automatic Perks
| Healer (Novice) |
No Requirements |
| Your restoration skill increases the magnitude of your restoration spells. |
| Conviction (Apprentice) |
25 Restoration |
| Cast Restoration spells for half magicka. |
| Respite (Adept) |
50 Restoration |
| Healing spells also restore Stamina. |
| Scholar (Expert) |
75 Restoration |
| New spell tomes may be found on appropriate merchants. |
| Paladin (Master) |
100 Restoration |
| You take 30% less damage from undead and deal 30% more damage to them. |
Specialization Perks
| Resolve |
15 Restoration |
| Magicka regenerates 50% faster. Your restoration skill increases the duration of your restoration spells. |
| Ward Absorb |
20 Restoration |
| Wards recharge your magicka when hit with spells. Melee attackers that strike your ward have a 30% chance to be staggered. |
Specialization Perks (cont.)
| Concentration |
35 Restoration, Recovery |
| Magicka regenerates at its full rate even in combat. |
| Necromage |
45 Restoration |
| Spells cast on undead are 25% more powerful and last 50% longer. |
| Guardian |
60 Restoration |
| Nearby allies regenerate 6 health per second in combat. Time slows when their health drops below 10%. This can only occur once every 30 seconds. |
| Exorcist |
70 Restoration, Necromage |
| Your turn undead spells instantly kill low level undead. |
| Succor |
80 Restoration |
| When hit, you have a 2% chance to instantly heal yourself. Once a day, when your health drops below 10% you heal 500 health instantly. |
| Faith |
90 Restoration |
| When you cast a healing spell on yourself, half of the health restored above your maximum is converted to temporary health. |
| Temperance |
100 Restoration, Faith |
| Whenever you gain temporary health from Faith, you gain an equivalent amount of stamina for 60 seconds. |
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Notes
Overall, the goal behind these changes was to make the skill system feel more like that of Morrowind and Oblivion without getting rid of the fun parts of Skyrim's new perk system. I found the simplest solution in the automatic granting of perks. This way the relative power of each skill remains somewhat constant while still freeing the player from the annoyance of spending valuable points on filler perks or on boring, passive perks that simply give flat bonuses. Now, simply raising a skill to the maximum will unlock its full potential.
On the other hand, perks should grant unique special abilities, or at least encourage the player to change the way they play the game. For example, the "Flowing Currents" perk in the Destruction tree only grants passive bonuses. However, it encourages pure mage characters to focus on shock for damage, while frost and fire have greater utility and appeal to non-mages. Thus a mage character will play very differently after acquiring the perk, even though it doesn't grant any new special abilities.
I also significantly re-worked many of the skill trees for the non-combat skills. In vanilla Skyrim, these skills primarily granted the benefit of making the game less annoying for the player. Spending points in Speech just reduces the amount of running around and waiting a player must do to sell all their goods, while points in Lockpicking merely make the minigame less frustrating (it's still possible to pick a master lock at 20 skill - I've done it). There are far more fun things to spend your perk points on, and automating the vast majority of the non-combat skill trees frees you up to do exactly that. This also allows room in those trees for even more perks which grant some benefit to combat, helping to reduce the unpleasant scaling effects that result from gaining too many levels from non-combat skills.
To fill the void left by collapsing all of these perks, I've had to slightly rethink the themes in several trees. Pickpocket has expanded to include perks for unarmed combat, making it feel appropriate for an amoral bandit. Lockpicking has taken on several perks appropriate for a dungeon explorer, constantly finding her way into places she shouldn't. Illusion now includes perks that summon phantom creatures, and Alteration has taken on some of the flavor of the old Mysticism skill. These upgrades are all lore friendly, but you might have to look past the name of the tree when trying to figure out what torches have to do with lockpicking.
Lastly, I felt that the original perk design felt too isolated. Your character naturally uses several skills to tackle different challenges, and obviously some skills go better together than others. Why shouldn't the perk system reflect that? I've designed many perks to be appealing to many different player types instead of only players who want to focus on that specific skill. This helps guide your character build by rewarding you for branching out into several different skill trees, and it also encourages you to experiment, because it's much harder to waste a perk point on something you'll never use again. As a result, perk points feel significantly more valuable.
Of everything, I think that is where this mod succeeds the most. It might open up paths for exploitation or make some builds significantly more viable than others, but that's always been part of the charm of the Elder Scrolls series. Bringing it back makes the game feel exactly like it always should have.
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