Picking your first race in Skyrim might be the most difficult choice of the game, as they all look so awesome and have unique traits that you just feel compelled to try them all at some point or another. This is especially true if you like to do a bit of roleplay on your playthroughs, or if you’re playing with self-imposed challenges. Don’t worry, we’ve got the best and worst races in Skyrim covered in this list.
This list ranks each race based on how good or bad their skills and abilities are, which will put those with optimized racial perks above those that didn’t have that much luck. In any case, don’t forget that you can just play whatever race you feel like playing, as later in the game you can cover most of the racial passives with enchantments, potions, or spells.
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Best Skyrim Race for Warriors
Redguards and Imperials are good ‘Sword-and-Board’ warriors, as they start with bonus points on Block and One-Handed skills. Redguards can also use their skills to regenerate their Stamina, and Imperials can use their skills to stop fights and recuperate or to reset aggro and pick one-on-one fights.
Orcs and Argonians are excellent if you’re going to play a character with few defenses like those that are oriented towards dual-wielding or two-handed builds, as Orcs can use their racial skill to reduce incoming damage while increasing their own, and Argonians can quickly regenerate their lost health.
Best Skyrim Race for Assassins
Redguards are very nice options due to their base bonus to One-Handed and Archery skills, and their ability which lets them regenerate Stamina to deal more powerful attacks. They don’t get a bonus to Sneak like the Bosmer or the Khajiit, but you can just drink a potion to cover that.
Orcs are good assassins too, as they can use their racial skill to sustain a prolonged fight from a failed sneak attack, or outright kill their enemies before receiving considerable amounts of damage.
Best Skyrim Race for Mages
If you want to play as a pure mage, then you should play an Altmer. They start with bonus points in every school of magic and a bonus of 50 points to their Magicka pool. If that isn’t enough, their racial skill lets them regenerate Magicka quickly. If you want to play a mage, then playing an Altmer will make your playthrough easier.
And if you want to play a Spellsword, then you should pick a Breton. They get passive Magic resistance and their racial ability lets them absorb Magicka from incoming spells, which will let you either tank spells while getting closer, or regenerate Magicka to attack from afar.
Best Skyrim Race for Vampires
If you want to play a Vampire, then you HAVE to put a lot of effort into covering their main weakness: Fire. Dunmer can be a nice choice, as they get passive Fire resistance that will cover their weakness. They also get bonus points in Destruction magic which will make their special spell, Vampiric Drain, even more useful.
You can also pick a Breton, as their innate magic resistance will help them not only mitigate incoming Fire damage but also add to the Frost resistance that Vampires have. If that wasn’t enough, their Dragonskin ability will erase any Fire weakness that you may have, while also regenerating your Magick so you won’t run out of steam.
Bad: Nord
This might not sit well with those who allied themselves with Ulfric and his Stormcloaks. Nords’ main ability lets them shout at their enemies to make them run away in fear, which is something you can just do with a Fear spell. Their bonus points in weapons also contradict each other, as they start with extra points in Two-Handed, Block, and One-Handed skills.
Good: Breton
Bretons are the Go-To race if you want to play a good mage without playing an Elf. Their passive resistance to ALL schools of magic is just awesome, and they can even become more resistant to magic with their Dragonskin ability. They’re just awesome if you want to play a character that specializes in both sword and magic.
Easily one of the strongest races in Skyrim.
Bad: Argonian
Their Water Breathing passive won’t see much use as there are no water levels in Skyrim, and their increased Disease Resistance is also useless as you can cure yourself of them fairly easy. Their racial skill, Hitskin, is the only good thing they have for them, as it can be used to heal themselves in a pinch or to tank heavy blows from powerful enemies.
Good: Orc
The Orcs are the king of weapon-oriented builds, as they start with bonus points in every skill that revolves around melee combat. They also have extra enchanting points, which is essential to melee fighters as enchanted weapons are just too good to pass. Their Berserker Rage is also a game-changer, as it reduces incoming damage while boosting their own.
Bad: Khajiit
The fancy cat-people of Skyrim have the worst racial ability of all races, as it just increases the brightness of your screen which is something that you can just do manually in the game settings. They also have increased damage when unarmed, which is only useful if you’re playing a werewolf.
Bad kitty cat.
Good: Altmer
If you feel like playing magic-oriented builds, then you should consider playing an Altmer. These High Elves start their adventure with extra points in every school of magic and also have a larger Magicka pool. Their racial ability, Highborn, will let them regain their spent Magicka once per day, which is awesome for those who like to spam spells.
Bad: Bosmer
The Wood Elves have a unique and fun racial ability called Command Animal, which lets them make wild animals fight for them. Sadly, this won’t be used at all in cities, lairs, and most dungeons, as you won’t find many animals in those places. Their passive disease and poison resistances also become obsolete as soon as you find potions to overcome them.
Good: Redguard
The Redguards are the best race of the game for those who like to play builds that rely heavily on Stamina, such as those that specialize in shields, dual-wield, or bows. This is due to their natural affinity with all kinds of weapons, and their Adrenaline Rush skill that can be used to swiftly regenerate Stamina to block, spam power attacks, or zoom in with their bows.
Bad: Dunmer
The Dark Elves are pretty interesting to play as, and they are pretty powerful at the earlier stages of the game, as they can use their Ancestor’s Wrath ability to cook lower-leveled enemies alive. The thing is, their racial ability becomes useless the more you level up, as it deals a static amount of damage that doesn’t scale with anything. At least they make for awesome vampires.
Good: Imperial
Imperials are an ideal race for those who like to play with a shield equipped, as they start with extra points in One-Handed, Shield, and Enchanting. You can also use their racial skill, Voice of the Emperor, to either heal yourself, reset aggro, reposition, or flee, it always works on people and it deletes aggro for 60 seconds, making it a very useful tool.
