The Orsimer (or Orcs) are one of the 10 playable races that the player can pick in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim for their character. The Orcs seem like a stereotypically simple and aggressive race that could have been lifted out of any other piece of fantasy media, but their history is deeper than one might expect.
In-game, Orcs prefer combat to be up close and personal rather than sneaky or magical. This is supported by their starting skills, racial powers and even their history, as the Orsimer had to fight aggressively for their place in the world. Here are a few tips on how to play an Orc in Skyrim.
History of the Orsimer
Scholars of Elder Scrolls lore will notice that Orsimer ends with the suffix -mer, which is used to denote those races of elven heritage. This is no accident, as one of the prevailing theories regarding the origin of Orcs is that they are corrupted elves. While the stories vary, all agree that the elven god Trinimac was trounced in a battle by the Daedric Prince Boethiah. This resulted in Trinimac's corruption into the Daedric Prince Malacath and his followers becoming the Orsimer.
With Malacath being the Prince of the Ostracized and the least popular of the Daedric Princes, it's no surprise that the Orcs suffered a similar reputation on Mundus. For much of their history, they were shunned and forced to live underground or inside their own encampments. In fact, they are the only Elder Scrolls race to not have an entire home province. They are limited to Orsinium as an ancestral home, a city within the Breton province of Daggerfall.
Orsinium has a fraught history. It has been the victim of multiple sieges from its Breton neighbors, and even when provided with protection from such benevolent rulers like Savirien-Chorak, that protection was short-lived. The city eventually came under the control of the Daggerfall Covenant, but it wasn't until The Warp in the West that it gained any lasting independence.
The events of Daggerfall led to King Gortwog of Orsinium gaining control of the mighty Numidium (along with the other political leaders of the region) and thus recognition from the Imperial empire. It took only 10 years after this complex corruption of history for Orcs to become a respected race throughout the continent of Tamriel -- and for Orcs to finally be playable in Morrowind.
During the events of Skyrim, Orsinium has once again been sacked by their neighbors the Bretons and the Redguards, though the empire sided with the Orcs and rebuilt the city closer to Skyrim. By the time of the Great War, launched by the Altmer Thalmor, the Orsimer had been fully integrated into Imperial society.
Orsimer Racial Bonuses
The Orcs of Skyrim are very physically-inclined. The game itself builds them up as front-line fighters, stating that Orcs "in heavy armor are among the finest in the Empire, and are fearsome when using their Berserker Rage." This is their activated power, and it's so strong that the Orcs actually lack a passive ability. Berserker Rage buffs the Orc, making them deal twice as much damage to enemies and take half as much damage from them for 60 seconds. They can use this once per day, and it's a perfect ability to trigger when surrounded by tough enemies or taking down a tough boss. Unfortunately, Berserker Rage does nothing to improve the Orc magically, and they will not do more magical damage or take less from foes.
Orcs have more than just Berserker Rage going for them. Every Orc is automatically considered a Blood-Kin to all other Orsimer, meaning that the player will be able to access any Orc Stronghold without doing a prerequisite quest for one of them. Having easy access to these locations is useful, as they can provide great resources, such as radiant quests, merchants and trainers that cannot be found elsewhere. In the stronghold just southwest of Riften, players can take on The Cursed Tribe quest, which will both please Malacath and give the player access to useful Orcish followers.
Skill-wise, Orcs get +5 to both One-handed and Two-handed, encouraging players to build for combat. Defensively, they also get +5 Block and +10 Heavy Armor. On the more utilitarian side of things, Orcs get +5 Smithing, which is a head start for players who enjoy gathering materials and creating their own armor sets. And, while the Orcs are otherwise unimpressive in the realm of magic, they do get +5 Enchanting, which encourages players to further improve their arsenal through magical means.
Orsimer Build Suggestions
The first thing an Orsimer player needs to do is decide whether they are going to wield One-handed or Two-handed weapons, as leveling both would be an inefficient use of time and spread perk points out far too thinly. Picking One-handed weapons allows players to use a shield in their off-hand (or even a spell should they decide to dabble in that area), but Two-handed weapons are usually stronger and can benefit more from Berserker Rage.
No matter which they choose, players should take perks that suit their preferred weapon type. Specializing to such a degree may seem limiting, but the perks offered greatly improve an Orc's damage output. Whether One-handed or Two-handed, swords are always a safe bet, there are plenty of powerful and unique ones in the game that will benefit from sword-related perks, such as Chillrend and Dawnbreaker. Of course, one attractive build option is taking Skullcrusher perks in Two-handed and wield the Volendrung, the weapon received from Malacath's quest.
Defense-wise, Orcs do best wearing Heavy Armor. They should invest a lot of perks into this skill tree, as they will find themselves relying on their armor more than their stealth in most cases. Conditioning makes armor weigh nothing, and Well Fitted gives a bonus to any Orc wearing armor in every slot. Along with ranks of Juggernaut, these should be the player's first goals in this tree. One-handed players should also spread perks into Block to improve the usefulness of shields. Deflect Arrows is vital for dealing with archers, and Block Runner is great for closing gaps against ranged enemies in general.
Outside of these main perk trees, Orcs are quite free to explore the rest of the options. Smithing and Enchanting provide useful ways to make money, Sneak has the Muffled Movement perk and Archery is always useful for situations where you need to deal ranged damage. As far as Standing Stones go, The Atronach stone has a fantastic Spell Absorbtion rate, while The Steed eliminates the negative effects of wearing Heavy Armor. Overall, an Orsimer who follows these guidelines will quickly learn that no problem is insurmountable when threatened with a gigantic hammer, axe or blade.