After much delay thanks to a certain death plague we're pleased to announce the results of the 3rd Skyrim Character Building Contest - Back to Basics has finally been unvieled. This was a contest filled with a multitude of quality submissions and it was a tough call for the judges - we even had two builds tie for 3rd! But a grand winner has been chosen and coming in at 1st place is The Lamp Descendent by Ponty!
Ponty came out of retirement for this one like a old pro here to show us young whippersnappers how its done. And he absolutely blew the contest judges away with absolutely flawless presentation and brilliant incorporation of little known lore surrounding the Lamp Knights into his build. It's clear Ponty came out swinging for this contest and it shows with the extra mile he went in order to produce quite possibly one of the best, most memorable witch hunter builds the community has ever seen. Take a look at what the judges had to say:
"Exceptional in every sense of the word. This is an incredibly memorable spellsword, and the way you split skills into chapters makes developing the character more natural."
"One of my favourite things about builds is that they allow for headcanoning lore in a reasonable way. The Order of the Lamp was a bland faction from Daggerfall, but you’ve managed to rejuvenate it and provide a history in between the games in a way that I completely believe."
"Spellswords are easily my favourite class and I feel you hit all the high notes of fun things to do with them. There’s a lot of synergy of witch-hunting between the Rune Axe and Bound Sword, and the way that gameplay evolves through the different chapters ensures that it won’t become boring."
Its clear Ponty's still a master character builder even after such a legnthy hiatus from character building. It was obvious right away that something amazing was going to come out of Ponty jumping into this contest. Not only did he come out ahead in a contest filled with talented character builders, his entry has earned the highest judge's score ever given to a contest build. Ponty's more than earned his lifetime supply of vanilla ice cream. I think I speak for many when I say I'm hoping we see more Skyrim builds from Ponty in the future.
Coming in behind the Lamp Descendent and placing 2nd is The Lurcher by Shadon. Shadon is a fairly new character builder on the scene who's been quick to establish a reputation for quality character builds. He's put the hard work in with every contest build, outdoing himself with each new entry, so its no surprise here that his hard work has paid off and earned him a well deserved spot at 2nd place. For Shadon's entry he decided to take the old saying of "'returning to your roots" quite literally with a daring take on the mysterious spriggans. Shadon has always been able to strike a solid balance between gameplay Here's some of what the judges had to say:
"I love the tactics you use here, as they give the build a truly unique tone. "
"I didn’t expect to like a spriggan build so much. It’s extremely grounded in lore, but branches out (hehe) with the idea of the taproot. Very cool idea and entirely believable."
"I have to admit, I have a soft spot for builds that “tap” into the nature themes of the game, since they are seldom explored in-game through quests and the like. I love the interpretation of consuming a taproot to absorb the essence of a spriggan, and see nothing wrong with the lore you produce to compensate.."
Shadon has done a superb job of integrating elements of spriggan lore into the gameplay, and creating a natural sense of progression to go along with it. The Lurcher strikes a unique tone in its gameplay, pulling together a plethora of often ignored spells, and mechanics, allowing it to stand out amongst the numerous nature themed builds that have popped up over the years. Its truly one of the most unique builds ever packed into just twenty levels. A must play for anyone wanting to dive right into something new.
Coming in at 3rd place is Blacklion by Telby. Telby is just one build into this community and has already turned heads by placing 3rd in a contest filled with seasoned character builders.
Here's what the judge's had to say:
"While there doesn’t seem to be a real lore foundation to the character directly, you’ve certainly taken great effort to cement your concept into the lore with the diaries and the narrative integration for the quests. This is a believable and interesting character that feels at home in Skyrim"
"As always, the most important part of invented lore is it being believable. I believe it and like the dark internal politics of the Thalmor being shown. This character definitely has a role in Skyrim."
The Blacklion follows the exploits of a disgraced agent of the Dominion on a mission to undo the Thalmor's work in Skyrim. Arguably the greatest aspect of this build is its versatility. The Blacklion takes an unorthodox approach to the assassin archetype and forgoes standard stealth gameplay entirely, relying instead and a wide assortment of tools, weapons, spells and tactics to undermine his foes.
I would be remiss if I didnt give an honorable mention to the Bowdancer by asgard. Asgard, for those of you who dont know is an old pro with a long established reputation for awesome archer builds. For the first time since we've hosted these contests, two builds have actually managed to tie for 3rd place. The Bowdancer tied with the Blacklion, both with the exact same judges score of 41.65. High marks indeed! The community itself would be the ultimate decider, and the Blacklion was won out over the Bowdancer due to its higher number of total 'likes'.
And there you have it folks, the winners of the Back to Basics Character Building Contest. Take a moment to say congrats to the winners and let them know what you think of their builds. If you missed the chance to take part in this contest dont sweat it, we have many more contests planned for the future!
