The importance of choosing the right race for Skyrim is not as critical as in many other RPGs computer games, examples of which are on the site. Even if not too optimal choice race, in Skyrim you can feel calm and develop the hero at your own request, without looking at racial bonuses. For example, it is quite possible to raise a skilled magician from a stern orc, although making a similar one from a high elf is much easier. So, to simplify your life in Skyrim, especially in the initial stages of the game, you should choose a race that will suit your play style. There is no need to worry, the hero can then painlessly change his specialization in the future and become a true generalist. However, it also makes sense to immediately decide on a playing style in order to follow it at the initial stage of the game. The choice of race will help you in this case. However, I repeat, you can completely choose the race that you like best in appearance, this is The Elder Scrolls 5, and there are no barriers or clear restrictions for the player. However, we will most likely be using first-person view, so we will not often admire our Skyrim character.

Each Skyrim race has a specific set of racial abilities, passive and active. The vast majority of each race has both passive and activated abilities, with a few exceptions. Naturally, passive bonuses that are valid throughout the game are of greater interest and are more effective. Additionally, each Skyrim race has a starting skill bonus that is added to their skill value (base skill level 15). Racial abilities in The Elder Scrolls 5 do not have any effect on faster or slower skill development. So you don’t have to pay close attention to this racial feature. The fact is that underdeveloped Skyrim skills develop very quickly when used, so there are no problems with their development in the future.

Unfortunately, when choosing a race, the game itself only qualitatively describes the abilities of representatives of the races, so you won’t be able to get any accurate data directly in Skyrim. Which is somewhat inconvenient, since even I, who is familiar with The Elder Scrolls series, had some misunderstandings when choosing a race.

Argonians are representatives of a race that has a lot in common with reptiles, and they also resemble them. Their appearance is ugly, even scary, however, they are also not lacking in originality.

Argonian racial bonuses:



Lockpicking Skill +10

Sneak skill +5

Argonian Racial Abilities:
Disease Resistance 50% (passive)
Breathing underwater (passive)
Histskin – increases health regeneration by 10 times for 60 seconds once per day (requires activation)

Starting bonuses to Argonian skills suggest the path of a thief or assassin, but these bonuses are small, so they cannot have a serious impact on the character’s play style. The abilities of reptiles are not something to be awed by. The ability to resist disease can make life a little easier, but it cannot be called a necessity. Cure Disease Vials are easy to make yourself, and the blessing of Talos can always be obtained in Whiterun. Those wishing to become a Skyrim vampire will face some problems due to the natural resistance of Argonians to disease. Breathing underwater is interesting, but a similar effect can also be achieved with the help of potions. You won’t have to swim often in Skyrim, so you can prepare a scuba diver’s kit for the swim in advance. Histskin is a good ability of the Argonians, which allows them to become practically immortal for a minute (the main thing is not to receive critical damage). However, in Skyrim you can drink healing potions directly from your inventory during combat, so pressing Tab in the heat of battle isn't that difficult or time-consuming. As a result, Argonians are not a very good choice of race for playing Skyrim.

Bretons are a good choice for a cautious mage who may change specialization later. It was as a representative of the Breton race that I began my first Skyrim walkthrough, choosing the path of a magician, which he later adjusted somewhat. The Bretons look quite civilized, the main racial bonuses are the strengthening of magical skills, the abilities of the Bretons are associated with resistance to magic.

Breton racial bonuses:
Conjuration Skill +10
Illusion Skill +5
Alteration Skill +5
Restoration Skill +5
Alchemy skill +5

Breton Racial Abilities:
Magic Resistance 25% (passive)
Dragonskin – absorbs 50% of magic damage for 60 seconds (requires activation, valid once per day)

Bretons are a good choice for mages in Skyrim and beyond. Passive resistance to magic is useful for absolutely all classes of heroes. Starting bonuses to magic skills are not so significant as to influence the choice of play style. So the choice for the Bretons may fall not only if you want to play for a magician, but also for another class of heroes. Bretons will also make quite capable all-rounders. During particularly difficult battles with magicians, it will be possible not only to drink protective potions, but also to activate Dragonskin, which will make the hero practically invulnerable to magical attacks. And if you also activate the Lord’s sign (25% resistance to magical and physical attacks), then you can completely ignore the enemy’s lightning flashes. Bretons are a good choice for a character in Skyrim, in addition, representatives of this race are quite beautiful.

The indigenous inhabitants of the province of Morrowind, with whom we became well acquainted during our wanderings around the world of The Elder Scrolls 3.. They look like vampires, but it may be easier for them to become vampires than other races, due to their natural resistance to fire.

Dunmer racial bonuses:
Destruction Skill +10
Alteration Skill +5
Illusion Skill +5
Alchemy skill +5
Light armor skill +5
Sneak skill +5

Dunmer racial abilities:
Innate fire resistance 50% (passive)
Ancestor's Wrath is an analogue of Illidan's Immolation skill from WarCraft 3, the Dunmer surrounds himself with flames, which causes 8 points of damage per second (small value) to everyone within a certain radius of himself for 60 seconds (requires activation, can be used only once per day).

You can play as a Dunmer if you want to become a vampire in the future; racial resistance to fire will help level out negative impact vampirism. Small bonuses to magical skills hint at the possibility of developing a battle mage. Ancestor's Wrath is not a very useful ability, especially in the later stages of the game, since the damage dealt is low. However, the original appearance of the Dunmer can be an advantage when choosing a race, although there are more advantageous options regarding abilities. For example, the passive magic resistance of the Bretons seems more interesting.

Also known as Altmer, the Altmer are the natural mages of the entire Elder Scrolls world. It is noteworthy that in Skyrim they do not receive negative racial characteristics, which makes them almost ideal magicians in the game. Ideal when choosing a classic mage, however, I preferred a more cautious playstyle, choosing a race with defensive ability.

High Elf Racial Bonuses:
Illusion Skill +10

Restoration Skill +5
Conjuration Skill +5
Alteration Skill +5

High Elf Racial Abilities:
Magic Boost: +50 to Max Magicka (passive)
Highborn - increases magic regeneration by 60 seconds once a day (requires activation, 1 time per day)

Altmer are an almost ideal choice for a mage in Skyrim. Bonus 50 points to your magic reserve is a real treasure, and not only for the initial stages of the game. Considering that when you level up in Skyrim, you can only increase your mana by 10 points. In particularly difficult battles, you can use a racial ability, which will allow you to ignore mana recovery bubbles for a minute. However, the choice of the Altmer race somewhat obliges the development of the magician. With further changes in specialization, racial abilities will be less effective. Also, as the character level increases, the starting bonus of 50 mana points will be somewhat hidden. Either way, High Elves are a great race choice for any Skyrim mage.

The indigenous inhabitants of Cyrodiil are quite an interesting choice for the game. The appearance of representatives of this race of Tamriel is quite civilized and pleasant, their skills are versatile. So the Imperials can turn out to be real generalists, and quite wealthy ones at that, for this reason it is worth paying attention to the racial abilities of the Imperials.

Imperial racial bonuses:
Restoration skill +10
Destruction Skill +5
Enchanting Skill +5

Heavy armor skill +5


Imperial Racial Abilities:
Imperial Luck – Imperials find more gold in chests and other places (passive)
Voice of the Emperor – calms people in a certain radius for 60 seconds (requires activation, works 1 time per day)

From the very beginning of Skyrim, the Imperials have been generalists, so you can develop your hero in any direction. However, try to be careful with perks, they may not be enough in the future. The ability to find more gold will not be superfluous, since in Skyrim hard cash can be spent not only on equipment, but also on your own houses and on training skills.. The Imperials are a good race, if you have not decided what class of hero you will develop from your character, the Elder Scrolls universe allows this.

I prefer not to pronounce the first letter of the name of this race of Tamriel, but you can often see the name of these furry animals as Khajiit. Even during Oblivion, representatives of this race were very skilled in dark deeds, it was for the Khajiit that I compiled a walkthrough of the Dark Brotherhood on the site. In Skyrim, the removal of main and side skills made these bonuses less significant. The ability to fight with the claws of the Khajiit will not be in demand by all players. However, the opportunity to play as a big fluffy cat that can talk is worth a lot.

Khajiit racial bonuses:
Sneak Skill +10
Pickpocket skill +5

One-handed Weapon Skill +5
Archery Skill +5
Alchemy skill +5

Khajiit Racial Abilities:
Claws – Khajiit unarmed attacks deal 15 points of damage (passive)
Night-Eye – ability to see in the dark (passive, requires activation)

A distinctive feature of the Khajiit is the presence of only passive abilities, which is very good. Night vision must be turned on manually, but these felines have no limits on its use. And this ability is very useful, since while traveling through Skyrim we will often be in caves and catacombs. Trying to light a magic light bulb will ruin all hope of moving secretly. Turning up the game brightness in the Skyrim settings is a questionable decision. So the Khajiit is an excellent choice for an assassin and a thief, and you can also experiment with hand-to-hand combat.

The indigenous inhabitants of Skyrim are skilled fighters who are accustomed to the harsh northern winters of their homeland, where The Elder Scrolls 5 takes place. Representatives of this race are fair-haired, beautiful, and can become not only skilled warriors, but also formidable magicians or cunning thieves. The base bonuses to martial skills are small, so they will not create problems with the alternative development of these blond warriors of Tamriel.

Nord racial bonuses:
Skill Two-handed weapons(Two-handed) +10
One-handed Weapon Skill +5
Light armor skill +5
Block Skill +5

Speech skill +5

Nord racial abilities:
Constant cold resistance 50% (passive)
Battle Cry – Enemy runs in fear for 30 seconds (requires activation, valid once per day)
Despite the seeming predisposition of Nords to martial arts, a Nord can develop into a character of any specialization. Cold resistance will be very useful in Skyrim, and the ability to scare away enemies will also find its use. I do not recommend giving preference to two-handed weapons, since in Skyrim we can now fully use both of the character’s hands. However, this skill also provides its own tangible bonuses. In addition, the Nords are very beautiful, which your fellow countrymen will appreciate. You can immediately head to the storm cloaks and cleanse your homeland from the dominance of the empire.

Orcs in many computer games are evil and hostile creatures. So the players are more likely to destroy them in en masse than they play for them. In Skyrim, orcs are quite civilized people, so passers-by will not run away from representatives of these races in fear. But the greenskins in The Elder Scrolls 5 were not lucky with their racial abilities.

Orc racial bonuses:
Heavy Armor Skill +10
Block Skill +5
One-handed Weapon Skill +5
Two-handed Weapon Skill +5
Smithing skill +5
Enchanting Skill +5

Orc Racial Abilities:
Berserker Rage – damage to the hero is -50% (decreased), and the damage dealt to enemies is doubled (requires activation, lasts 60 seconds, can be used once per day).

Orcs do not have a passive ability, which is very sad. The relative power of the active ability is associated only with martial art, which means developing a warrior or berserker from an orc. However, if you have a pathological desire to play as a stern orc, you can choose this race of Tamriel. However, such a choice presupposes the development of the hero only as a fighter. Let me remind you that The Elder Scrolls 5 will allow you to play with any race, any character, with virtually no problems or great difficulties. So if you want to choose an orc, feel free to choose. However, if you choose a race based on abilities and bonuses, orcs are unlikely to suit you.

The dark-skinned warriors from Hammerfell are very skilled with weapons and armor. However, playing through Oblivion as a Redguard seemed boring to me, as did playing as a warrior in general. However combat system Skyrim has become more interesting and complex, so the developers managed to dispel some of the boredom. Small bonuses to magical skills seem unnecessary.

Redguard racial bonuses:
One-handed Weapon Skill +10
Block Skill +5
Smithing skill +5
Archery Skill +5
Destruction Skill +5
Alteration Skill +5

Redguard Racial Abilities:
Poison Resistance 50% (passive)
Adrenaline Rush – restores your stamina 10 times faster for 60 seconds (requires activation, can only be used once per day).

The Redguards' abilities are not very strong or useful; resistance to poisons is easily replaced by a set of potions taken on the road. Quickly restoring your strength during a quick battle will allow you to use powerful blows more often, which, however, can also be compensated by taking the appropriate potions. Bonuses to combat skills are not very significant for Redguards, as well as for representatives of other races. A small increase in magical abilities looks weak at all. One way or another, the Redguard can be chosen as a warrior, although the same Nords seem to be more capable and useful fighters in Skyrim.

Wood Elves are also called Bosmer in Tamriel. Representatives of this race are quite rare in Skyrim. They are natural archers and good friends with animals. They look typical of the elven race and have a characteristic dark skin tone. From a representative of this race in Skyrim you can make not only a hunter, a ranger, but also a skilled assassin, a typical representative dark brotherhood. Our companion in the Diplomatic Immunity mission was also a Bosmer, while the Thalmor representatives were high elves.

Wood Elf Racial Bonuses:
Archery Skill +10
Sneak skill +5
Pickpocket skill +5
Lockpicking Skill +5
Light armor skill +5
Alchemy skill +5

Wood Elf Racial Abilities:
Resistance to diseases and poisons 50%
Command Animal – the selected animal becomes an ally for 60 seconds (requires activation, can be used once a day)

Wood elves' abilities are not very effective, which relates more to animal control. There is not much benefit from such an ally, although there are very powerful representatives of the fauna of Skyrim, which is the subject of a separate article on the site. However, spells from the school of illusions can give a similar or greater effect. Resistance to poisons and diseases is not needed so often, besides, it is easier and more reliable to have a supply of healing potions for diseases in your inventory. However, if you want to shoot accurately from the very beginning of the game, you can choose a forest elf for yourself. Then such a character can be developed in many ways, adapting it to the current style of playing the game.

Despite all the pros and cons of all the presented races of Tamriel, I strongly recommend that you play for the race that you like, albeit for subjective reasons. I propose to follow the same path when developing a character. The fact is that Skyrim, unlike many role-playing games, is very tolerant of the development and choice of the hero. So you won’t find any big difficulties when choosing a race or developing skills is not very effective. So play Skyrim the way you want. However, it cannot be said that an effective choice of race will be useful; it is worth paying special attention to racial abilities rather than starting bonuses to skills. Developing “zero” skills in Skyrim is very easy, while passive and active abilities will affect the entire playthrough and are more difficult to influence.

The importance of choosing the right race to play Skyrim is not as critical as in many other role-playing computer games, examples of which are on the site. Even if the choice of race is not very optimal, in Skyrim you can feel calm and develop the hero at your own request, without looking at racial bonuses. For example, it is quite possible to raise a skilled magician from a stern orc, although making a similar one from a high elf is much easier. So, to simplify your life in Skyrim, especially in the initial stages of the game, you should choose a race that will suit your play style. There is no need to worry, the hero can then painlessly change his specialization in the future and become a true generalist. However, it also makes sense to immediately decide on a playing style in order to follow it at the initial stage of the game. The choice of race will help you in this case. However, I repeat, you can completely choose the race that you like best in appearance, this is The Elder Scrolls 5, and there are no barriers or clear restrictions for the player. However, we will most likely be using first-person view, so we will not often admire our Skyrim character.

Each Skyrim race has a specific set of racial abilities, passive and active. The vast majority of each race has both passive and activated abilities, with a few exceptions. Naturally, passive bonuses that are valid throughout the game are of greater interest and are more effective. Additionally, each Skyrim race has a starting skill bonus that is added to their skill value (base skill level 15). Racial abilities in The Elder Scrolls 5 do not have any effect on faster or slower skill development. So you don’t have to pay close attention to this racial feature. The fact is that underdeveloped Skyrim skills develop very quickly when used, so there are no problems with their development in the future.

Unfortunately, when choosing a race, the game itself only qualitatively describes the abilities of representatives of the races, so you won’t be able to get any accurate data directly in Skyrim. Which is somewhat inconvenient, since even I, who is familiar with The Elder Scrolls series, had some misunderstandings when choosing a race.

Argonians are representatives of a race that has a lot in common with reptiles, and they also resemble them. Their appearance is ugly, even scary, however, they are also not lacking in originality.

Argonian racial bonuses:



Lockpicking Skill +10

Sneak skill +5

Argonian Racial Abilities:
Disease Resistance 50% (passive)
Breathing underwater (passive)
Histskin – increases health regeneration by 10 times for 60 seconds once per day (requires activation)

Starting bonuses to Argonian skills suggest the path of a thief or assassin, but these bonuses are small, so they cannot have a serious impact on the character’s play style. The abilities of reptiles are not something to be awed by. The ability to resist disease can make life a little easier, but it cannot be called a necessity. Cure Disease Vials are easy to make yourself, and the blessing of Talos can always be obtained in Whiterun. Those wishing to become a Skyrim vampire will face some problems due to the natural resistance of Argonians to disease. Breathing underwater is interesting, but a similar effect can also be achieved with the help of potions. You won’t have to swim often in Skyrim, so you can prepare a scuba diver’s kit for the swim in advance. Histskin is a good ability of the Argonians, which allows them to become practically immortal for a minute (the main thing is not to receive critical damage). However, in Skyrim you can drink healing potions directly from your inventory during combat, so pressing Tab in the heat of battle isn't that difficult or time-consuming. As a result, Argonians are not a very good choice of race for playing Skyrim.

Bretons are a good choice for a cautious mage who may change specialization later. It was as a representative of the Breton race that I began my first playthrough of Skyrim, choosing the path of a magician, which I later adjusted somewhat. The Bretons look quite civilized, the main racial bonuses are the strengthening of magical skills, the abilities of the Bretons are associated with resistance to magic.

Breton racial bonuses:
Conjuration Skill +10
Illusion Skill +5
Alteration Skill +5
Restoration Skill +5
Alchemy skill +5

Breton Racial Abilities:
Magic Resistance 25% (passive)
Dragonskin – absorbs 50% of magic damage for 60 seconds (requires activation, valid once per day)

Bretons are a good choice for mages in Skyrim and beyond. Passive resistance to magic is useful for absolutely all classes of heroes. Starting bonuses to magic skills are not so significant as to influence the choice of play style. So the choice for the Bretons may fall not only if you want to play for a magician, but also for another class of heroes. Bretons will also make quite capable all-rounders. During particularly difficult battles with magicians, it will be possible not only to drink protective potions, but also to activate Dragonskin, which will make the hero practically invulnerable to magical attacks. And if you also activate the Lord’s sign (25% resistance to magical and physical attacks), then you can completely ignore the enemy’s lightning flashes. Bretons are a good choice for a character in Skyrim, in addition, representatives of this race are quite beautiful.

The indigenous inhabitants of the province of Morrowind, with whom we became well acquainted during our wanderings around the world of The Elder Scrolls 3.. They look like vampires, but it may be easier for them to become vampires than other races, due to their natural resistance to fire.

Dunmer racial bonuses:
Destruction Skill +10
Alteration Skill +5
Illusion Skill +5
Alchemy skill +5
Light armor skill +5
Sneak skill +5

Dunmer racial abilities:
Innate fire resistance 50% (passive)
Ancestor's Wrath is an analogue of Illidan's Immolation skill from WarCraft 3, the Dunmer surrounds himself with flames, which causes 8 points of damage per second (small value) to everyone within a certain radius of himself for 60 seconds (requires activation, can be used only once per day).

You can play as a Dunmer if you want to become a vampire in the future; racial resistance to fire will help neutralize the negative impact of vampirism. Small bonuses to magical skills hint at the possibility of developing a battle mage. Ancestor's Wrath is not a very useful ability, especially in the later stages of the game, since the damage dealt is low. However, the original appearance of the Dunmer can be an advantage when choosing a race, although there are more advantageous options regarding abilities. For example, the passive magic resistance of the Bretons seems more interesting.

Also known as Altmer, the Altmer are the natural mages of the entire Elder Scrolls world. It is noteworthy that in Skyrim they do not receive negative racial characteristics, which makes them almost ideal magicians in the game. Ideal when choosing a classic mage, however, I preferred a more cautious playstyle, choosing a race with defensive ability.

High Elf Racial Bonuses:
Illusion Skill +10

Restoration Skill +5
Conjuration Skill +5
Alteration Skill +5

High Elf Racial Abilities:
Magic Boost: +50 to Max Magicka (passive)
Highborn - increases magic regeneration by 60 seconds once a day (requires activation, 1 time per day)

Altmer are an almost ideal choice for a mage in Skyrim. Bonus 50 points to your magic reserve is a real treasure, and not only for the initial stages of the game. Considering that when you level up in Skyrim, you can only increase your mana by 10 points. In particularly difficult battles, you can use a racial ability, which will allow you to ignore mana recovery bubbles for a minute. However, the choice of the Altmer race somewhat obliges the development of the magician. With further changes in specialization, racial abilities will be less effective. Also, as the character level increases, the starting bonus of 50 mana points will be somewhat hidden. Either way, High Elves are a great race choice for any Skyrim mage.

The indigenous inhabitants of Cyrodiil are quite an interesting choice for the game. The appearance of representatives of this race of Tamriel is quite civilized and pleasant, their skills are versatile. So the Imperials can turn out to be real generalists, and quite wealthy ones at that, for this reason it is worth paying attention to the racial abilities of the Imperials.

Imperial racial bonuses:
Restoration skill +10
Destruction Skill +5
Enchanting Skill +5

Heavy armor skill +5


Imperial Racial Abilities:
Imperial Luck – Imperials find more gold in chests and other places (passive)
Voice of the Emperor – calms people in a certain radius for 60 seconds (requires activation, works 1 time per day)

From the very beginning of Skyrim, the Imperials have been generalists, so you can develop your hero in any direction. However, try to be careful with perks, they may not be enough in the future. The ability to find more gold will not be superfluous, since in Skyrim hard cash can be spent not only on equipment, but also on your own houses and on training skills.. The Imperials are a good race, if you have not decided what class of hero you will develop from your character, the Elder Scrolls universe allows this.

I prefer not to pronounce the first letter of the name of this race of Tamriel, but you can often see the name of these furry animals as Khajiit. Even during Oblivion, representatives of this race were very skilled in dark deeds, it was for the Khajiit that I compiled a walkthrough of the Dark Brotherhood on the site. In Skyrim, the removal of main and side skills made these bonuses less significant. The ability to fight with the claws of the Khajiit will not be in demand by all players. However, the opportunity to play as a big fluffy cat that can talk is worth a lot.

Khajiit racial bonuses:
Sneak Skill +10
Pickpocket skill +5

One-handed Weapon Skill +5
Archery Skill +5
Alchemy skill +5

Khajiit Racial Abilities:
Claws – Khajiit unarmed attacks deal 15 points of damage (passive)
Night-Eye – ability to see in the dark (passive, requires activation)

A distinctive feature of the Khajiit is the presence of only passive abilities, which is very good. Night vision must be turned on manually, but these felines have no limits on its use. And this ability is very useful, since while traveling through Skyrim we will often be in caves and catacombs. Trying to light a magic light bulb will ruin all hope of moving secretly. Turning up the game brightness in the Skyrim settings is a questionable decision. So the Khajiit is an excellent choice for an assassin and a thief, and you can also experiment with hand-to-hand combat.

The indigenous inhabitants of Skyrim are skilled fighters who are accustomed to the harsh northern winters of their homeland, where The Elder Scrolls 5 takes place. Representatives of this race are fair-haired, beautiful, and can become not only skilled warriors, but also formidable magicians or cunning thieves. The base bonuses to martial skills are small, so they will not create problems with the alternative development of these blond warriors of Tamriel.

Nord racial bonuses:
Two-handed Weapon Skill +10
One-handed Weapon Skill +5
Light armor skill +5
Block Skill +5

Speech skill +5

Nord racial abilities:
Constant cold resistance 50% (passive)
Battle Cry – Enemy runs in fear for 30 seconds (requires activation, valid once per day)
Despite the seeming predisposition of Nords to martial arts, a Nord can develop into a character of any specialization. Cold resistance will be very useful in Skyrim, and the ability to scare away enemies will also find its use. I do not recommend giving preference to two-handed weapons, since in Skyrim we can now fully use both of the character’s hands. However, this skill also provides its own tangible bonuses. In addition, the Nords are very beautiful, which your fellow countrymen will appreciate. You can immediately head to the storm cloaks and cleanse your homeland from the dominance of the empire.

Orcs in many computer games are evil and hostile creatures. So players would rather destroy them en masse than play for them. In Skyrim, orcs are quite civilized people, so passers-by will not run away from representatives of these races in fear. But the greenskins in The Elder Scrolls 5 were not lucky with their racial abilities.

Orc racial bonuses:
Heavy Armor Skill +10
Block Skill +5
One-handed Weapon Skill +5
Two-handed Weapon Skill +5
Smithing skill +5
Enchanting Skill +5

Orc Racial Abilities:
Berserker Rage – damage to the hero is -50% (decreased), and the damage dealt to enemies is doubled (requires activation, lasts 60 seconds, can be used once per day).

Orcs do not have a passive ability, which is very sad. The relative power of the active ability is associated only with martial art, which means developing a warrior or berserker from an orc. However, if you have a pathological desire to play as a stern orc, you can choose this race of Tamriel. However, such a choice presupposes the development of the hero only as a fighter. Let me remind you that The Elder Scrolls 5 will allow you to play with any race, any character, with virtually no problems or great difficulties. So if you want to choose an orc, feel free to choose. However, if you choose a race based on abilities and bonuses, orcs are unlikely to suit you.

The dark-skinned warriors from Hammerfell are very skilled with weapons and armor. However, playing through Oblivion as a Redguard seemed boring to me, as did playing as a warrior in general. However, Skyrim's combat system has become more interesting and complex, so the developers managed to dispel some of the boredom. Small bonuses to magical skills seem unnecessary.

Redguard racial bonuses:
One-handed Weapon Skill +10
Block Skill +5
Smithing skill +5
Archery Skill +5
Destruction Skill +5
Alteration Skill +5

Redguard Racial Abilities:
Poison Resistance 50% (passive)
Adrenaline Rush – restores your stamina 10 times faster for 60 seconds (requires activation, can only be used once per day).

The Redguards' abilities are not very strong or useful; resistance to poisons is easily replaced by a set of potions taken on the road. Quickly restoring your strength during a quick battle will allow you to use powerful blows more often, which, however, can also be compensated by taking the appropriate potions. Bonuses to combat skills are not very significant for Redguards, as well as for representatives of other races. A small increase in magical abilities looks weak at all. One way or another, the Redguard can be chosen as a warrior, although the same Nords seem to be more capable and useful fighters in Skyrim.

Wood Elves are also called Bosmer in Tamriel. Representatives of this race are quite rare in Skyrim. They are natural archers and good friends with animals. They look typical of the elven race and have a characteristic dark skin tone. In Skyrim, a representative of this race can become not only a hunter, a ranger, but also a skilled assassin, a typical representative of the dark brotherhood. Our companion in the Diplomatic Immunity mission was also a Bosmer, while the Thalmor representatives were high elves.

Wood Elf Racial Bonuses:
Archery Skill +10
Sneak skill +5
Pickpocket skill +5
Lockpicking Skill +5
Light armor skill +5
Alchemy skill +5

Wood Elf Racial Abilities:
Resistance to diseases and poisons 50%
Command Animal – the selected animal becomes an ally for 60 seconds (requires activation, can be used once a day)

Wood elves' abilities are not very effective, which relates more to animal control. There is not much benefit from such an ally, although there are very powerful representatives of the fauna of Skyrim, which is the subject of a separate article on the site. However, spells from the school of illusions can give a similar or greater effect. Resistance to poisons and diseases is not needed so often, besides, it is easier and more reliable to have a supply of healing potions for diseases in your inventory. However, if you want to shoot accurately from the very beginning of the game, you can choose a forest elf for yourself. Then such a character can be developed in many ways, adapting it to the current style of playing the game.

Despite all the pros and cons of all the presented races of Tamriel, I strongly recommend that you play for the race that you like, albeit for subjective reasons. I propose to follow the same path when developing a character. The fact is that Skyrim, unlike many role-playing games, is very tolerant of the development and choice of the hero. So you won’t find any big difficulties when choosing a race or developing skills is not very effective. So play Skyrim the way you want. However, it cannot be said that an effective choice of race will be useful; it is worth paying special attention to racial abilities rather than starting bonuses to skills. Developing “zero” skills in Skyrim is very easy, while passive and active abilities will affect the entire playthrough and are more difficult to influence.