Elder Scrolls Skyrim offers a variety of destruction spells divided into three elemental categories: Fire, Frost and Shock. All three categories have spells that rank from novice to master. The skill level of spells that can be acquired for use is determined by the characters Destruction Level. It is a good idea to focus on leveling up in this area if you are wanting, which you will be wanting, to utilizes some of the more versatile and stronger spells that best destruction has to offer.
Following is a list of some of the most useful Destruction Spells that prove their worth based on damage caused and Magicka energy used to cast the spells. Keep in mind the importance that leveling up and enchanting gear can affect how often a spell can be used and how much Magicka energy is used. Highly recommended for the mage class since the mages are built around Magicka.
Fire Spells
The three best fire spells are Incinerate, Fire Cloak and Fire Ball. Incinerate is the only one of the three rank at the expert level. Fire Cloak and Fire Ball are both at the adept leave, but it can give your character a better advantage when still working on leveling up then the lower level Frost or Shock spells.
Fire Cloak
Fire Cloak uses 289 Magicka points and last for 60 seconds. Your character is surrounded by fire which deals 10 fire damage and 2 burning damage. It. repeatedly damages enemies in close proximity. It is excellent in situations where you are being attacked by multiple enemies as it will continuously damage all of them.
Fireball
The low Magicka cost of Fireball compared to damage done makes it a great spell to use throughout the game even in pvp battles. One shot with Fireball cost 133 Magicka points and causes 50 in damage to enemies in the area. Your shot does not have to be accurate to do damage, and it can also damage multiple opponents. Also, due to low cost it can be used more often than other spells.
Incinerate
Incinerate is a blast of fire shot from the hand that deals 60 fire damage and 6 burning damage to whom ever gets in its way. The Magicka cost is a little step at 298, but once you have leveled up and are able to use it multiple times it becomes one of the frequently used spells in your arsenal. Remember that enchanting gear will also lower the cost.
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Frost Spells
Though not as powerful as Fire Spells, Frost Spells serve an important rule by damaging your opponent’s stamina, which weakens their attack, and also slowing them down. Ice storm, Ice Spear and Wall of Frost are three Frost Spells that will prove useful in a variety of situations.
Ice Storm
Ice Storm is an adept level spell. It uses only 144 Magicka points, but it can help immensely in situations where enemies are hiding or moving too fast. Ice Storm sends a wave cold frosty air that can move through walls and objects and slows anyone in its path freeing you up to attack more often and gain the upper hand. It is quite helpful in situations where your opponent is stronger, and you need a way to get a little extra leverage.
Ice Spear
An expert level spell that can deal a large amount of damage but cost a good amount of Magicka is Ice Spear. At 320 Magicka points a pop, it can wield 60 points of damage. If Frost is the destruction spell of choice for you then Ice Spear will be your best choice to when sticky situations present themselves.
Wall of Frost
The Wall of Frost can end up taking all your Magicka points with little outcome if not used properly. It uses 137 points per second and deals 50 damage points per second as well as slowing your opponents. To be able to use Wall of Frost properly you must be good at predicting your enemies’ movements. If you are not, then each time you use it you will wasting precious Magicka points and giving your attackers the advantage.
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Shock Spells
Shock Spells tend to cost more Magicka points compared to what the results you get from their usage. For example, Wall of Storm, an expert level spell, cost 145 Magicka points per second and deals only 20 in damage per second. Its Disintegrate perk, which can only be used if unlocked, deals 200 disintegrate damage per second therefore only making it useful if enemies are already low in health.
The Wall of Storm’s counterparts in the other to classes of destruction spells both deal higher damage at lower cost. Not all Shock Spells are useless. There are two that can prove to be a great help in a variety of situations. Chain Lightning deals a good amount of damage to multiple attackers at very little cost. It uses only 156 Magicka points and deals 40 points damage to its target.
What makes it this spell even more beneficial is that after it hits the initial target it will leap to another target in proximity and it won’t stop there. Chain Lighting can effectively take hordes of enemies as it continuously jumps from one to another.
Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt is another Shock Spell worth utilizing. It is an expert level spell that uses 343 Magicka points and deals 60 in lighting damage. It may seem difficult to aim the first few times you use it, but once you figure it out and pair it with the Disintegrate perk you will be dealing a lot of damage. It is especially helpful when dealing with larger enemies.
As far as master level spells go, it may be the best to just avoid them. Fire Storm, the master level Fire Spell, is given to you as a gift from Faralda after completing the Destruction Ritual quest. It does a 100 fire damage plus 40 burning damage and uses 1426 Magicka points.
The Frost and Shock master spells must be purchased and when comparing the amount of damage, they do compare to the cost of obtaining them and using them they don’t seem to be an efficient choice. The only upside to the master level spells is that they look neat when you use them. Plus is cool burning Daedra NPCs.
