Best Magic Systems In The Main Elder Scrolls Games

Key Takeaways

• Magic in Elder Scrolls originates from Aetherius and varies with star signs.
• Magic in each Elder Scrolls game changes, offering unique mechanics.
• Skyrim simplifies magic mechanics, introducing new spells and powers.

In the Elder Scrolls series, magic is one of the core mechanisms of gameplay and is deeply rooted in the lore. It is said that magic originates from Aetherius, the Immortal Plane, and passes through the sun and stars to reach the world. Magic affinity and potency vary depending on the star sign that the caster was born under.

Magic, or the Arcane Arts, is the ability to alter the world through Magicka. One of the main uses of magic in The Elder Scrolls is to cast spells, along with magical crafting, like enchanting weapons or making potions through alchemy. Access to magic and its gameplay mechanics change with each installation of The Elder Scrolls. Here’s how magic works in each Elder Scrolls game, from Arena to Skyrim, ranked by how good each system is.

Introducing Magic And The Spellmaker

In The Elder Scrolls: Arena, the Mage and Bard classes can cast spells, and anyone with a magically-imbued item or potion can use magic. About 50 spells exist, with up to 32 more combinations available with the Spellmaker. Players can only cast spells known in their spellbook, and they can only cast them if they have the requisite spell points. The mechanics of figuring out how much a spell costs to cast is mathematical; if Toxic Cloud costs 700 gold to buy, casting it will cost 700 divided by 2, divided by character level.

In Arena, spells and magical items are either bought from the Mages Guild or found out during adventures. There exist 4 different types of casting magic, offensive spells, healing and attribute enhancement spells, protective spells, and environmental alteration spells. By default, spells are cast with the C key, recast with Shift-C, and aimed spells clicked with the cursor. Gamers will find the magic in Arena to be incredibly powerful and game-changing once they understand the basics of casting.

Further Simplifying And Modernizing Magic

The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim simplified magic in major ways that greatly benefit the game as well as dampen it a little. Spellcasting only requires knowing the spell, having enough Magicka to do so, and being the right skill level. As one of the primary skill groups alongside Combat and Stealth, Magic comes in five major flavors: Alteration, Conjuration, Destruction, Illusion, and Restoration, with Enchanting returning as the crafting skill for magic. Soul Gems first made an appearance in Daggerfall and have remained since, with several spells in Skyrim‘s Conjuration skill books and skill tree giving players the ability to trap souls for enchanting.

Custom spells are done away for good in Skyrim, but Powers still exist, and Dragon Shouts are introduced, both of which do not cost Magicka to use and have cooldowns. Like all of Skyrim‘s predecessors, the Daedric influence is still alive, mostly emerging here as artifacts scattered across the land or in the form of bound weapons summoned through Conjuration.

Spell Schools And An In-Depth Spell Maker

The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall allows anyone with the right amount of spell points to cast magic. Spell points depend on the amount of Intelligence attribute points a character has, and the cost of spellcasting largely depends on whether the chosen school of magic is selected as one of the minor, major, or primary skills in character creation. The schools of magic introduced in Daggerfall are Alteration, Destruction, Illusion, Mysticism, Restoration, and Thaumaturgy.

Daggerfall’s magic is similar to Arena’s in terms of casting costs and extremely potent when skill points are allocated well. Once players join the Mages Guild, they gain access to a more in-depth version of the Spell Maker. The Spell Maker lets players create custom spells with up to three effects, such as achieving a ghostly form with Invisibility, Levitate, and Silence. Daggerfall also introduces enchanting to players who ascend the ranks of the Mages Guild, along with new items called Soul Gems, which trap the souls of enemies in order to power magical items.

Redefining And Revamping Magic

The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind removed the Spell Maker and specified Magicka as the name for the spell point energy resource mentioned in the previous games. Morrowind also changed how magic is cast, with Intelligence determining a character’s Magicka pool, and Willpower affecting the ability to successfully cast spells (Fatigue and Luck also determine the hit chance of spells). Players can use single-use scrolls to cast spells for free.

Morrowind re-establishes similar schools of magic seen in Daggerfall, with Illusion, Conjuration, Alteration, Destruction, Mysticism, and Restoration. Enchanting and Alchemy are also introduced as skills in this installment. A new arrival of magic is Powers, which are similar to spells and used in the same manner. Powers are acquired upon character creation through choice of race, birth sign, and from finishing certain quests — they never fail and cost no Magicka to use, but they can only be used once every 24 hours of game time.

Simplifying Magic

In The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, anyone can cast magic as long as the skill level requirement is met for the spell and consumes Magicka to use. The six schools of magic show up again here, as well as Spell Making at altars for those in the Mages Guild found in the Arcane University in the Imperial City or at Frostcrag Spire. Customizing spells in Oblivion requires knowing spells and allows players to manipulate parameters like range, area of effect, magnitude, and duration.

Powers and scrolls make another appearance, functioning the same as Morrowind. One of the most notable changes in magic from Morrowind to Oblivion is the removal of significant spells like Levitate, Jump, and Blind, but spellmaking powerful combinations makes up for it. The enchant skill was also removed, but replaced with Altars of Enchantments and Sigil Stones. Magicka in Oblivion also regenerates much faster, and spells can never fail, unlike Morrowind’s classic RPG mechanics.