The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has a controversial relationship with the Altmer race. They are the race that makes up most of the Aldmeri Dominion, which is one of the most unambiguously evil factions in the game. Despite this, an Altmer player character can still thrive amongst the denizens of Skyrim and become a heroic Dragonborn legend in their own right.

The Altmer possess amazing magical abilities and therefore make great mages. In the world of Skyrim, this can lead to a tricky start as players struggle to accrue spells and level up the correct skills. Once their magical potential is realized, however, Altmers are a force to be reckoned with. Here are some tips to help make that happen.

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History Of The Altmer

Summerset Island Skyrim

Summerset Isle is the ancestral home of the Aldmer, and lies to the southwest of Tamriel's main landmass. The Aldmer were the original elves, who spread out over Tamriel and eventually became the disparate elven races that are known so well today, including the Bosmer and the Dunmer. They believed themselves to be the descendants of the Aedra and thus placed themselves above the other races, leading to the alternate name for the Altmer, the High Elves. The Altmer are the elves who stayed on Summerset Isle, developing a society and culture largely separate from the chaotic mainland. This ultimately led them to venerate hierarchy and scholarly pursuits, like in many depictions of elvenkind. Their society became highly stratified, headed by a monarch who is advised by the College of Sapiarchs, a collective of talented scholars and mages.

Being separate from the rest of Tamriel did not prevent strife from impacting Summerset Isle. In fact, it is internal arguments and disagreements that led to the vast emigrations that predated the separation of the elves into different types of Mer. The Altmer also did not keep to themselves. Twice over the course of history, they decided try and to invade the rest of Tamriel with the aid of the Bosmer of Valenwood and the Khajiit of Elsweyr. Both of these attempts ended in failure.

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The Third Era was marked by dissidence, with young Altmer clamoring for social reform and progressive politics. Despite this, the Fourth Era (the setting of Skyrim) saw the rise of the Thalmor, a political and militaristic organization that named itself for the old scholars of Altmeri history. They took control of the province and reversed the progressive reforms of the previous age, going as far as to rename Summerset Isle to Alinor. They established the Third Dominion and conquered nearby lands, eventually launching the Great War when they felt powerful enough to do so. This would be the spark that lit the flame that burned the Imperial empire to the ground, outlawed the worship of Talos and set the stage for the Civil War of Skyrim.

Altmer Racial Bonuses

Altmer race Skyrim

Being the token mage race, the Altmer start the game with a number of very powerful bonuses that highly incentivize collecting and using magic. The first of these is a massive +50 bonus to Magicka. This is five levels' worth of Magicka and is a significant boon for almost any player, even those who do not wish to make magic the main focus of their build. This highly increased Magicka level allows players to cast advanced spells without investing much into the stat or the various skill perks that reduce Magicka costs. This means that more physically-aligned Altmer can cast extremely useful spells like Oakflesh, Soul Trap, Muffle or Close Wound without spending a single level-up bonus on upgrading their Magicka. Of course, the dedicated mages will also enjoy this boon greatly, as it allows them to cast more spells before needing to chug a potion or resort to weaponry.

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While the passive bonus to Magicka is great on its own, the Altmer also possess the useful power called Highborn. This ability lets the Altmer regenerate their Magicka faster for sixty seconds once per day. While this doesn't sound impressive on its own, it is important to note that this Magicka regeneration is increased by a whopping 2500% and thus allows the Altmer player character to fire off powerful spell after powerful spell, making this a fantastic tool to have for more dangerous fights.

Being a magically-inclined race, the Altmer have a little extra firepower in their pocket right from the beginning. In addition to the Flames spell and the Healing spell, Altmer have access to Fury. It's obvious that the game expects Altmer players to take advantage of the Illusion school of magic as they have a nice +10 bonus to that skill, making it an attractive option to explore. They also get a +5 in every single other magical skill, including Enchanting. This makes a pure mage build quite easy to get off the ground as they will be able to take myriad magical perks sooner than players of other races.

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Altmer Build Suggestions

Skyrim mage combat

The obvious build for an Altmer to go with is a pure mage build, getting the Mage Stone blessing as soon as possible. The five schools of magic are all useful in their own way and provide plenty of effects that make them worthwhile. For combat, Altmer will want to use Destruction for offense and Alteration for defense, as well as leveraging their increased starting Magicka to use their first few levels to improve their health. It is recommended to specialize in one element and take the perks associated with it. Shock is a good choice as eventually the player can outright disintegrate low-health foes. Frost would also be great, but Skyrim is rather full of Nord characters who have a hefty resistance against the element.

With Alteration, the player should focus on the cost-reduction perks and pick up some ranks of Mage Armor along the way if they aren't going to use any Light or Heavy Armor. Stability, a perk that makes Alteration spells last 50% longer, is a crucial pick-up for those relying on the Alteration protection spells, and players should definitely consider the Dual Casting perks for both Alteration and Destruction to add a little oomph to their casting.

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Restoration and Illusion are less crucial but still offer amazing boons. Being able to heal large amounts, calm enemies and even become invisible at will are powerful. The Recovery perks in Restoration are fantastic for mages, as stacking Magicka regeneration is one key strategy to success, and Respite can make running away from an unwinnable situation easier. Those who want to make use of Illusion's great effects should invest heavily in the perks that raise the level cap of those spells, and Quiet Casting is almost required for a mage who wishes to be stealthy.

Conjuration is perhaps the most optional of the five magic schools. Being able to summon creatures or raise the dead during battle can make it a lot easier to survive, but these strategies feel weaker on higher difficulties and require a lot of perk investment to be optimal. If the player wishes to dabble in close combat (or even archery), there are great perks that improve the Bound Weapon spells, such as Mystic Binding, which may be worth a look.

Outside of magic, an Altmer player may wish to dabble in Sneak as well as Alchemy, both to make money and to create enough potions to keep their Health and Magicka topped off. Money in general will be very important, as the myriad spell books that a pure mage will need are quite expensive. Overall though, a mage is going to have plenty of tools that they can use to succeed.

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