TES:5 Skyrim is a wonderful role-playing game that still amazes its fans with the immersion and freedom of choice it provides. This game allows creating the most enjoyable and interesting builds, each of which is effective and fun in its own way.
This guide focuses on the best unarmed build, which allows players to defeat enemies using only their bare hands. Just imagine how epic a dragon-born Kajit looks when fighting an elder dragon without any weapons. Read this guide below to learn how to do the same.
Skyrim: Best Conjuration Spells, Ranked
Players who love to utilize Conjuration in Skyrim can’t go wrong with these spells.
Best Race for the Unarmed Build in Skyrim
For this build, the Kajit race is a must-have because of their incomparable skills in unarmed combat. They have the highest base unarmed damage among all races of 10 points and possess a special ability called Claws, which adds an extra 12 points to their unarmed damage.
This means their unarmed attacks will deal a whopping 22 points of damage from the start of the game, surpassing the damage output of any non-upgraded one-handed sword in Skyrim.
Best Skills and Armor for the Unarmed Build in Skyrim
Heavy armor is ideal for this build, as it allows getting closer to enemies without worrying about taking too much damage.
To maximize its effectiveness, level up the heavy armor skill and invest some points in all the perks out there. The most important perk in this tree is Steel Fists, which adds the armor rating of the gauntlets to the damage in unarmed combat.
The most optimal armor set for this particular build would be the Daedric armor set. The gauntlets in this set provide a significant boost of 18 armor, resulting in an additional 18 damage to the unarmed attacks.
Fortify Unarmed Spell
To further enhance unarmed DPS, consider using the Fortify Unarmed enchantment on the Daedric Gauntlets and ring.
To get this enchantment, consider disenchanting the Gloves of the Pugilist, which are unique gloves with this spell. Players can get these gloves by defeating Gian the Fist, a thief located in the Ratway beneath Riften.
With a decent enchantment skill and enchantment potion, it is possible to increase the damage by 12 points per item, adding another 24 points of damage to unarmed strikes.
Skyrim: How to Get the Dragonscale Armor
Dragonscale Armor is both powerful and hard to come by in Skyrim, but it is certainly worth the effort.
Best Shouts for the Unarmed Build in Skyrim
In tough battles, it is useful to have some extra power, which is shouts.
The Dragon Aspect shout with all three Power Words will provide a 25% boost for power attacks, 125 extra armor points, a 25% increase in fire and frost resistance, stronger shouts, and a 20% reduction in shout recharge time. Pairing this with the Marked for Death shout, which lowers the target’s armor by 75, will result in massive damage with each strike, allowing to defeat most enemies in the game with just a few punches. Also consider using shouts like Relentless Force to knock down enemies and Disarm to counter enemies with shields.
It’s a shame that Skyrim doesn’t offer a specific skill tree for unarmed combat like Oblivion did. However, it’s still enjoyable to fight against bandits and dragons using only bare hands with this particular character build. Additionally, there are plenty of mods available that can enhance the unarmed combat experience in Skyrim, so don’t hesitate to try them out.
Skyrim
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS3, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox One X, Xbox Series S, PS4, PS5, Switch
- Released
- November 11, 2011
- Developer(s)
- Bethesda
- Publisher(s)
- Bethesda
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Action, Adventure
