The fighter class is a staple of any RPG, including the granddaddy of all offline RPG’s, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. They’re a solid, dependable choice, able to both inflict and withstand heavy physical damage. Playing as a fighter is straightforward as well – a simple matter of wading into battle, hitting everything as hard as possible, and swigging a healing potion whenever necessary.
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Given that strategy doesn’t play a huge part in the combat style of most fighters, obtaining the right equipment is important. The right gear can help a fighter to maximize outgoing damage, and minimize incoming damage.
Potion Of Resist Fire, Frost, And Shock
Physical damage doesn’t pose much of a threat to an armored warrior, but magical and elemental damage can be a problem. While there are plenty of items that provide protection from individual damage types, it’s a hassle swapping between them. This potion provides a catch-all solution, granting resistance the three most common types of magic attack.
Make it using Snowberries, which are very common in all colder, higher regions of the map, Dragon’s Tongue, which is abundant in Eastmarch, and Hawk Beak, which can be harvested from hawks, commonly found in and around Solitude.
Ring of Namira
All fighters need a protein-heavy diet to keep their strength up, but fighters wearing the Ring Of Namira take things a step or two further. In addition to a hefty bonus to Stamina, the ring allows the wearer to feed on the corpses of any of the playable races.
Feeding grants 50 Health and a 50% boost to Health regeneration for 5 minutes. The ring is awarded for completing the “The Taste Of Death” quest, which is started by talking to Eola in Markarth’s Hall Of The Dead.
Visage Of Mzund
This unique Dwarven helmet has numerous benefits for any warrior. First, it’s armor rating is extremely high. Second, it boosts Stamina by 60 points. Third, it allows the wearer to unleash a powerful steam attack. This attack is similar to the Novice level Destruction spells, but does more damage and costs Stamina instead of Magicka.
The helmet is found in Fahlbtharz, a Dwemer Ruin in the northern mountains of Solstheim, northeast of the Water Stone. Venture all the way through the ruin, and find the Visage of Mzund next to a chest on a table in the final chamber.
Gauldur Blackblade
While it is possible to craft a better life-stealing sword than the Gauldur Blackblade, it requires a very high Enchanting skill. And self-respecting fighters are too busy hitting things and getting hit by things to waste time on non-violent activities like enchanting.
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Venturing into a dungeon and retrieving a sword from a fallen enemy is much more a fighter’s style, and that’s exactly how the Gauldur Blackblade is acquired, on the “Forbidden Legend”, to be precise. Begin the quest by reading any one of numerous copies of the book, “Lost Legends”, found all over Skyrim. Loot the sword from the remains of Mikrul Gauldurson when exploring Folgunthur. The power of the sword is dependent on the level of the player upon first entering Folgunthur, so it’s best to save the question until after reaching level 36.
Daedric Boots And Gauntlets Of Nullification
There are no exciting unique boots or gauntlets for warriors in Skyrim, so the best thing is to buy, find or craft boots and gauntlets with generic enchantments. Most fighters’ biggest weakness is poor Magic Resistance, so use enchanted boots and gauntlets to make up for this shortfall.
Once the player finds any item with Magic Resistance, their next step should be to disenchant it at an Arcane Enchanter. They will then be able to enchant the toughest pairs of heavy boots and gauntlets they can find with Magic Resistance.
Shield of Ysgramor
This unique shield has a decent armor rating and two simple, but very warrior-friendly, enchantments to go with it. These enchantments are a 20% increase to Magic Resistance and a 20-point increase to Health.
The shield is located in a chest at the very end of Ysgramor’s Tomb, which is inaccessible until the player embarks upon the “Glory Of The Dead” quest, which is the final quest in the Companions main questline. Joining the Companions is very worthwhile for a fighter anyway, even if they don’t wish to become a werewolf.
Volendrung
While basic attacks might suffice at first, any ambitious fighter is going to want to use power attacks at some point, but these heavy special attacks drain Stamina quickly. Volendrung is the solution to this problem. It deals heavy damage to a target’s Health, and absorbs 50 points of Stamina per strike.
Volendrung is the final reward for completing the “The Cursed Tribe” quest, which is initiated by speaking to Atub, an orc mage who can be found in the orc stronghold of Largashbur. Find the stronghold in The Rift, southwest of Lake Honrich.
Ebony Blade
The ultimate weapon for any evil warrior, the Ebony Blade has a 10-point Health absorption enchantment when first acquired. But this can be improved to a much more useful maximum of 30 points by using the sword to kill friendly characters. Each pair of friends slain adds 4 points to the lifesteal, meaning that it requires 10 such deadly betrayals to max out the sword’s power.
The Ebony Blade is the final reward on the “The Whispering Door” quest. To start “The Whispering Door”, the player must be at least level 20, and must have completed the “Dragon Rising” quest. It’s initiated by asking Hulda in Whiterun’s The Bannered Mare if she’s heard any rumors.
Wuuthrad
This awesome looking battleaxe inflicts heavy damage, but is fairly light for a weapon of its type. Its unique power is that it inflicts extra damage against all types of elf, which isn’t such a big deal. But this power is not an enchantment, so Wuuthrad can be additionally enhanced with an enchantment of the player’s choice (Absorb Stamina is the best all-round enchantment for fighters).
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The axe is used as a kind of key in the final Companions quest, “Glory Of The Dead”. Once it has been used to open the passageway in Ysgramor’s tomb, it can be retrieved without resealing the passage.
Locket of Saint Jiub
One of very few amulets in Skyrim that counts as light armor, the Locket of Saint Jiub also grants its wearer 50-point bonuses to both carry capacity and Stamina. Both of these bonuses are very useful for a warrior, particularly one with heavy armor and weapons.
It’s obtained as a reward for completing the Dawnguard quest. “Impatience of a Saint”, which is initiated by speaking to Saint Jiub, whose soul can be found wandering the Soul Cairn. The quest is a simple matter of finding 10 pages of a book that have been scattered across the Soul Cairn.
Ahzidal's Armor of Retribution
Ask any hedgehog or porcupine, and they will advise that the best armor doesn’t just protect – it fights back! And that’s exactly what Ahzidal’s Armor of Retribution is good for. Its base armor value is decent, if not exceptional, but its enchantment grants a small chance that enemies will be paralyzed upon landing a melee attack on the wearer.
This armor is located in Kolbjorn Barrow, and can be found during the fourth investment phase of the “Unearthed” quest. After being ambushed by three “sleeping” Draugr on thrones, complete the totem puzzle to open the gate in the southern corner and access the armor.
Konahrik
This mask has high base armor, as well as an extremely useful enchantment which grants a number of powerful benefits. If the wearer gets hit while below 15% Health, there’s a 15% chance that the mask will cast both Grand Healing and Flame Cloak, and a 3% chance that it’ll summon a "friendly" Spectral Dragon Priest.
With Konahrik on, it’s almost impossible to die, so it’s suitably difficult and time-consuming to obtain. The player has to kill eight named Dragon Priests found throughout Skyrim and place their masks on the Dragon Priest Shrine in Bromjunaar Sanctuary east of the entrance to Labyrinthian. Once all eight masks are in place, Konahrik will appear.
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