Not many games maintain their popularity ten years after their release, but somehow Skyrim is the rare exception. The game is easy to mod which has lead to it having mind-blowing amounts of content. It's likely that even when Elder Scrolls 6 releases there will be many players still sticking with Skyrim.

A lot of players think that magic is vastly underpowered in the game. However, that's simply because they just aren't using the right spells. If players know the right spells to choose they can manage to do amazing things in combat. With that, Dragonborn has no excuse not to hit the spellbooks already.

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Updated on May 20th, 2021 by Anastasia Maillot: Given how many spells Skyrim has, confining the best of the best to a list of ten just doesn't do them proper justice. As challenge runs and player builds have been refined, the concept of good spells has broadened as well, since players have gained a better knowledge of the game.

Players looking to make a spellsword or even a full mage should look no further than these 15 spells. These will serve any mage splendidly, regardless of approach to combat. However, even with strong spells, it's important to keep in mind that mages must move more strategically in combat than other character classes.

15 Soul Trap

There are three crafting skill trees in the game, and the ideal choice for some mage builds is enchanting. However, with soul gems being an important and sometimes expensive resource that might be rare to come by, any help in filling empty ones is much-needed.

That's where Soul Trap comes in. It's a utility spell, a curse to put on a target moments before they die. Depending on the strength of the spell, the window of time needed for the dead enemy to fill a gem might be longer or shorter. Find it in the Conjuration school of magic, and use it towards the middle of the fight just before a kill is secured to fill an empty soul gem.

14 Close Wounds

Restoration is an underrated school of magic, as Colette always preaches. The truth is, Restoration spells can help players seriously save on health potions, which can have a fairly steep price tag at a general store. Moreover, health potions aren't that common in dungeons either.

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Close Wounds is one of the best, most balanced spells in the skill tree. It demands quite a bit of Magicka since it's an Adept-level spell, but it's worth it. Close Wounds instantly gives the Dragonborn 100 health points. Since it doesn't take time to charge like Healing, it's a nice burst spell to use mid-combat as well.

13 Incinerate

A powerful Destruction spell of the fire kind, it's an Expert-level skill for a good reason. It does 60 points of damage, and anyone hit will take additional fire damage over time. The Magicka cost is quite impressive at 298 Magicka points, but by this point, the player should be a specialist in any case.

The real utility of this spell also comes from the fact that with the right perks, it can stagger all enemies or all size. This is insanely useful in combat. Simply unlock Augmented Flames and Impact in the Destruction skill tree to reap the maximum benefits.

12 Icy Spear

The icy counterpart of Incinerate is the Icy Spear spell. The reason why fire and frost are listed here over shock is because shock is a more situational element, useful exclusively against enemies that rely on their Magicka to attack the Dragonborn. Most generic enemies, however, will not be Magicka users.

Icy Spear also has the ability to stagger if the right perks are unlocked (Impact and Augmented Frost). It does 60 points of damage to both health and stamina, meaning it will significantly slow down enemies.

11 Oakflesh

Players might be surprised to see Oakflesh here before Ebonyflesh and others of its kind, but the reason for that is that Oakflesh is a fantastic starting Alteration spell. Given that Alteration is one of the hardest trees to level up, casting Oakflesh is arguably the best way to level it up. It's easy to get, though costly to cast.

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Any mage can grab this spell and add some points into Alteration as a result. Cast it at the beginning of any fight when facing off against melee enemies. It ups the caster's armor by 40 points for a minute, which should be enough to take down any enemies while reaping maximum benefits from the spell itself. This makes up for its high casting price.

10 Arniel's Convection

The only way to get Arniel's Convection is through the sidequest Arniel's Endeavor. It's so mighty that it burns opponents for a single fire damage a second, which might not sound like a lot initially. However, there are other perks to it to keep in mind.

What makes Arniel's Convection so strong is that it costs zero magicka to cast. This means it can still be powered up to deal more damage using various Destruction Spell Perks to actually deal significant damage but costs nothing to cast. It also increases burn damage taken on enemies when used, making it awesome for dual-wielding with a weapon that deals fire damage.

9 Whirlwind Cloak

Who doesn't love a little FUS - ROH - DAH? What about having the shout in protective spell form? Whirlwind Cloak is amazing for keeping archers or mages safe if the opponent gets in too close. Plus, it can lead to some hilarity for melee characters as they send opponents flying out of nowhere.

Though this spell may lack the consistency of Unrelenting Force, it doesn't have the cooldown time the shout has either.

8 Dragonhide

It's hard to die if players barely take any damage. Still, it can sometimes be a pain to wear pesky heavy armor. Fortunately, with spells like Dragonhide, a skilled mage doesn't need to worry. It's by far the best Alteration Spell in the game.

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Dragonhide reduces all damage taken by physical attacks by a whopping 80% and even stacks with armor if the player is wearing it. It's the perfect spell for mages who want to wear powerful robes while still providing a major buff to those in armor.

7 Ash Rune

There are many runes players can cast that deal large amounts of damage, but the Ash Rune is particularly unique. The only way to get this spell is to buy it from Talvas Fathryon, but it's worth the gold.

This rune immobilizes all opponents in ash for a full thirty seconds. Although players can't damage them while immobilized, this can provide the perfect chance to heal up, set traps, or simply retreat whenever they need to.

6 Invisibility

Combined with Muffle and Quiet Casting, Invisibility is the ultimate sneaking spell. It renders players literally invisible and can constantly be reapplied as needed. This spell makes any stealth quest mind-bogglingly easy. Sure, it doesn't of damage, but its utility is too strong to ignore.

Invisibility is, however, an Expert level spell. Its duration is only 30 seconds, so players must be make it count. Keep in mind that basic actions like opening containers, taking objects and casting other spells will break the invisibility.

5 Conjure Dremora Lord

Having a magically summoned melee monster is just what a mage needs to keep from getting killed. The Dremora Lord is also particularly potent as it can't be sent away by a mage using Expel Daedra, nor can it be controlled by Dragon Priests. If summoning the power equivalent of a Draugr Deathlord isn't enough for the Dragonborn, then nothing is.

The spell lasts for a full minute, which makes it very potent for an Expert-level spell. Most fights in Skyrim won't last this long, so having a Dremora ally as powerful as this is worth its steep Magicka cost of 358 points.

4 Conjure Thralls - Flame, Frost, Storm

Flame Thrall, Frost Thrall, and Storm Thrall are all very similar, hence why they share the same ranking. Everyone loves a good Atronach, right? How about one that doesn't need to be summoned over and over again?

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That's the best part of these Master Conjuration Spells — they keep the Atronach on the field until it dies. If players take the Twin Souls Perk they can even have two of these permanent Atronachs at once. It's quite the damaging combo.

3 Blizzard

Blizzard is the most decimating spell to deal frost damage in the entire game. However, it has a serious flaw. Due to a glitch in the game, the damage that Blizzard deals is actually reduced by the player's magic and frost resistance.

This issue can make it a bit of a pain to use. However, crafty players can actually lower those resistances on purpose to make it deal even more damage too, so it's still a powerful spell.

2 Lightning Storm

Lighting Storm is the most efficient Master Destruction Spell when it comes to damage dealt vs magicka spent. It has amazing range, it can even hit a dragon flying in the air, and will reduce enemies into piles of ash even without the Disintegrate perk. Bring on the power of thunder and lightning!

It's also one of the few good shock element spells, which generally only work best against Magicka users. However, this one does 75 damage to health each second and half the damage to the opponent's magicka.

1 Fire Storm

If the Dragonborn needs something dead, Fire Storm will do the trick. Nothing is left in the wake of this raging inferno, nothing. There's a reason it's a Master Destruction Spell. Combining this with the Augmented Flames Perk and the Ahzidal mask can result in damage levels that would make a dragon blush.

This powerful Master-level spell deals a 100 damage, and anyone within range will be affected, aside from the Dragonborn themselves. Make sure not to burn any followers into a crisp when casting this.

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