With one smart cast, however, nearly every enemy in Skyrim will run away in fear. The area on this is rather large and takes two hands to cast, meaning you are vulnerable while preparing it. Hysteria causes creatures and people who are level 25 or lower to flee combat for 60 seconds. Hysteria sounds exactly like what it does. Because of this, most of their master spells are versatile and can handle nearly any situation. Illusion gets significantly more spells for their master quest than any other school of magic. It is also useful for non-vampires, giving the player time to recover their resources before fighting again. If you need to lower your Vamparism level before going out into the sunlight, influence a target with Vampire’s Seduction and feed on them right there. What Vampire’s Seduction does amazingly well, however, is its ability to let Vampire characters feed on calmed people that are affected by this spell. With a level range of 10 or lower, this spell seems worse than most other calming spells. Vampire’s Seduction is similar to other calming spells in that it makes enemies less hostile towards the player, ending combat and allowing dialogue. Unless you’re trying to influence a Dragon, very few spells can compete with what Frenzy Rune does. When you consider perks into the equation, Frenzy Rune can affect level 40 enemies and above. With a somewhat large Magicka cost of 165, the rune makes up for it with its level 20 range. Frenzy Rune affects enemies up to level 20, lasts 30 seconds, and is a trap you can place on the ground from anywhere. Ranged characters will find more use with Frenzy Rune than typical fear spells. While the range isn’t massive, it is large enough to cause a tavern or a small room worth of people to start killing each other. When you consider perks, however, Fury can be upgraded to affect enemies over level 20, making it a cheaper alternative to Frenzy. Since this is a novice level spell, it is the cheapest yet least effective of the bunch. If you need to quickly create chaos, this is the way to do it. It allows enemies level 6 or bellow to attack every NPC and player for 30 seconds. High Elves begin the game with this spell already learned. Its 60-second duration further supports this playstyle. If you are fighting enemies that are too tough but you need to collect a quest item, Pacify can allow you to run through the area with ease and take the item before enemies can retaliate. Pacify works on up to level 20 creatures without perks, preventing any creature or person effected from attacking you. Even though there is a master variant of Pacify, being able to dual cast Pacify makes it objectively stronger than Harmony.

If you need to prevent NPCs from attacking you, Pacify is the strongest spell you can use. Because it affects a small area instead of once target, this is a better choice than Courage in almost every way. The health and stamina bonuses are small at 25 points, but sometimes a small bonus is all you need to turn the tide of battle. Rally is fantastic if used on companions or a small army of soldiers, and it’s particularly useful when doing the Skyrim Civil War questline.

Rally grants a health and stamina buff to those in its radius, while also making them immune to fear. Finally, the best Conjuration spells summon elemental or paranormal Thralls that fight alongside players as a summoned companion.Illusion can do many things, from making enemies terrified to bolstering their confidence. The best Alteration spells involve paralyzing enemies and protecting the player from most damage taken. Alteration spells focus on altering the field of battle itself. The best Illusion spells specialize in crowd control, making enemies flee, stand still, or even attack other enemies for the duration of the spell. Destruction spells are the go-to damage-dealing mechanism for an offensive mage or Magicka-heavy build. The most powerful Destruction spells in Skyrim expel massive bursts of energy that deal extreme amounts of damage to enemies. Related: Skyrim: Best Cooked Food Recipes (& Their Uses)

Therefore, even though Morrowind's spell system may be preferable to some players, the following spells are recognized as game-changers amid a heated fight in Skyrim. However, players who deal in aspects of Skyrim like melee combat and archery may find some of the best spells more useful than others. For example, caster players who mainly battle with spells can find a place for each of the best spells in their repertoire. Generally, players want to choose spells conducive to their particular playstyle.

Skyrim harmony master spell