Abilities | Skyrim Wiki


Abilities in Skyrim refer to the to passive bonuses that players can get applied to their character. These differ to powers as they normally do not require activation and are not restricted to being used only once a day. The effects that abilities give to players can be seen under the Active Effects list in the magic menu. Players can find abilities in many places and sources with some of them being mutually exclusive to others, such as characters only able to have 1 racial ability. 

 

Getting Abilities in Skyrim

Abilities are organized by the method they are obtained, each method have different limitations and characteristics. Some abilities only last for a duration while others are permanent bonuses to the character. 

Racial Abilities are permanent effects that are selected and received at character creation so players can only benefit from 1. Vampire and Werewolf racial abilities are given to players who have involved themselves in Vampirism and Lycanthropy and do not conflicting with the regular race abilities.

Blessings last 8 real-time hours from when they are activated. Only 1 blessing can be activated at a time and praying at different shrines will remove the previous blessing to apply the new one. Blessings are received from praying at an altar, typically located in temples. 

Standing Stones Abilities do not have a timer or duration but only a single standing stone ability can be active at a time. To get a standing stone ability players have to visit the desired Standing Stone and activating it. There are 9 Standing Stones that provide a passive ability. 

Temporary Abilities are abilities that players can receive that are limited in duration, unlike other Abilities players are able to have multiple Temporary Abilities active at the same time.

Quest Abilities are permanent abilities that players receive as a reward from certain quests. There are no specific restrictions to these besides having to find and complete the quest to gain the ability.

Armor Abilities are special abilities that some special armor or armor sets give as a bonus to the wearer. These will be active while the armor is on and deactivated when the armor is unequipped.

 

Skyrim Abilities Tips

  • The Temple of the Divines in Solitude has shrines to 9 different divines for players to pray to for blessings
  • Standing stones can be fast travelled to after they have been found so players can choose and swap their standing stone abilities conveniently
  • The Guardian stone abilities are great for leveling skills and the player up quickly each giving 20% to their respective skill groups
  • Racial abilities can be very powerful additions to player gameplay experience when incorporated into their style of combat or story
  • Quest abilities have no downsides besides having to find and complete the quests so it is recommended for players to try to obtain the ones that interest them when they can
  • The Well Rested Temporary Ability is relatively easy to have active to help the player with leveling up

 

 

All Skyrim Abilities

 

 

Quick Search of All Skyrim Abilities

  Click the header to sort the table. 

Name Effects
Blessing of Akatosh Magicka regenerates 10% faster.
Blessing of Arkay Increases your Health by 25 points.
Blessing of Dibella +10 Speechcraft.
Blessing of Julianos Increases your Magicka by 25 points.
Blessing of Kynareth Increases your Stamina by 25 points.
Blessing of Mara Healing spells restore 10% more.
Blessing of Nocturnal You are 10% harder to detect while sneaking.
Blessing of Stendarr Block 10% more damage with your shield.
Blessing of Talos Time between shouts is reduced by 20%.
Blessing of Zenithar Prices are 10% better.
Blessing of Auriel You are 10% more effective with missile weapons.
Blessing of Azura Resist 10% of magic.
Blessing of Boethiah One Handed weapons do 10% more damage.
Blessing of Mephala Prices are 10% better.
Deathbrand Instinct Increases armor rating by 100 points if wearing all Deathbrand Armor.
Nightingale Armor Full Set Increases armor rating by 25 points if wearing all Nightingale Armor.
Shrouded Armor Full Set Increases armor rating by 25 points if wearing all Shrouded Armor.
Boethiah's Embrace You are able to move more quietly, and opponents that get too close take 5 points poison damage per second if wearing Ebony Mail.
Agent of Dibella You do 10% more combat damage to the opposite sex.
Agent of Mara 15% Resist Magic.
Ancient Knowledge Knowledge gained from the Lexicon gives you a 25% bonus while wearing Dwarven Armor and Smithing increases 15% faster.
Dragon Infusion You take 25% less melee damage from dragons.
Prowler's Profit Anywhere gems might be found, members of the Thieves Guild always seem to find a few more.
Sailor's Repose Healing spells cure 10% more.
Sinderion's Serendipity 25% chance to create a duplicate when creating a potion.
Archmage's Authority Better prices with members of the College of Winterhold.
Gift of the Gab Speech skill increases 15% faster.
Champion's Insight Your attacks, shouts, and destruction spells do no damage to your followers when in combat.
Lover's Insight Do 10% more damage and get 10% better prices from people of the opposite sex.
Scholar's Insight Reading Skill Books gives you an extra Skill Point.
Dragonborn Flame When your Fire Breath Shout kills an enemy, a fire wyrm emerges from their corpse to fight for you for 60 seconds.
Dragonborn Force Your Unrelenting Force Shout does more damage and using all three words may disintegrate enemies.
Dragonborn Frost Your Frost Breath Shout encases foes in ice for 15 seconds.
Seeker of Might Warrior skills are all 10% more effective. 10% improved Smithing
Seeker of Shadows Thief skills are all 10% more effective. 10% improved Alchemy
Seeker of Sorcery All spells cost 10% less Magicka. 10% improved Enchanting
Highborn High Elves are born with 50 extra Magicka.
Resist Disease Your Argonian blood gives you 50% resistance to disease.
Waterbreathing Your Argonian lungs can breathe underwater.
Resist Disease, Resist Poison Your Bosmer blood gives you 50% resistance to poison and disease.
Magic Resistance Your Breton blood grants a 25% resistance to magic.
Resist Fire Your Dunmer blood gives you 50% resistance to fire.
Imperial Luck Wherever there is gold to be found, Imperials seem to find a little more (10% extra).
Claws Khajiit claws do 15 points of damage.
Resist Frost Your Nord blood gives you 50% resistance to frost.
Resist Poison Your Redguard blood gives you 50% resistance to poison.
Champion of the Night Illusion spells cast by a Vampire are 25% more powerful.
Nightstalker's Footsteps Vampires are 25% harder to detect while sneaking.
Resist Disease Your Vampiric blood gives you 100% resistance to disease.
Resist Frost Your Vampiric blood gives you 25% resistance to frost.
Resist Poison Your Vampiric blood gives you 100% resistance to poison.
Weakness to Fire Your Vampiric blood makes you 25% more vulnerable to fire.
Resist Disease Your beast blood gives you 100% resistance to disease.
Werewolf Claws Unarmed strikes do x additional damage.
The Apprentice Stone Magicka regeneration is doubled
Weakness to Magicka is doubled
The Atronach Stone 50% Spell Absorption
+50 Magicka
Magicka regenerates 50% slower
The Lady Stone Regenerate Health and Stamina 25% faster
The Lord Stone +50 Armor
+25% Magic Resistance
The Lover Stone Learn all skills 15% faster
The Mage Stone Learn Mage skills 20% faster
The Steed Stone 100 extra carrying capacity
No movement penalty is applied due to armor
Equipped armor is weightless
The Thief Stone Learn Thief skills 20% faster
The Warrior Stone Learn Warrior skills 20% faster
Blood of the Ancients Your Vampiric Drain spell absorbs Magicka and Stamina from your victims for x days
Dragonslayer's Blessing 10% increased Critical Hit chance vs. Dragons for 5 days
Rested All skills improve 5% faster for eight hours.
Well Rested All skills improve 10% faster for eight hours.
Lover's Comfort All skills improve 15% faster for eight hours.
Father's Love Healing spells and potions add 25% extra Health for eight hours
Mother's Love Healing spells and potions add 25% extra Health for eight hours
Tainted Blood of the Ancients Your Vampiric Drain spell absorbs Magicka and Stamina from your victims for 1 day, but at the cost of 30 less Health.
The Gift of Charity Speechcraft is increased by 10 points for one hour.
Vampiric Blood Rested 10% Resist Magic effect.
Voice of the Sky Animals will neither attack nor flee from you for 24 hours of actual gameplay.
Weakened Soul Health, Magicka and Stamina recover slowly while in the Soul Cairn and are reduced by 45 points.
Blessing of the Stag Prince Grants an additional 5 points of Health and Magicka for every 20 animal kills. The blessing maxes out at 25 points of extra Health and Magicka.
Eternal Spirit While Ethereal, health regeneration is 25% faster. Only one word can be meditated on at a time.
The Fire Within The Fire Breath shout deals 25% more damage. Only one word can be meditated on at a time.
Force Without Effort The player staggers foes 25% more and receive staggers 25% less. Only one word can be meditated on at a time.



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