Hammerfell, home… To some, it was nothing more than a land of turmoil after the war of independence, deserved to be left off. To us, it’s our very essence, we, the Redguards are known as the most naturally talented warriors in Tamriel and in this land of turmoil, we’ve found a way to restore their old legacy. True, many of us have Festival of Blades and most of us too have learned basic weaponry and combat since childhood, but we too have schools to learn such arts, particularly swordsmanship. While these schools only established around Hammerfell, their students are many, even those hailing from neighbouring region such as Highrock or even those of Summerset Isles would join us to further their knowledge in swordsmanship. These schools have given birth to many renowned swordsmen, heroes, mercenaries, and even assassins, but only a few could earn the honor to be called The Swordmaster
Hello there, lads and lasses, this is my first time I’ve ever tried to re-assemble a build from an old website (for those that’s curious, it’s Alastor’s Swordmaster build, sorry if I butcher the OG creator’s name) and also, this is my first time posting a build in this forum, so your critiques and advices would be very helpful, also a little bit of heads-up, I’m currently making this build with some mods.
Race: Any races can become a Swordmaster with each of their advantages and quirks. I personally choose Redguards since they have almost all of the starting advantages for this build and lore-wise, they’re naturally talented warriors. For suitable races aside from Redguards, I advise you to pick either Nords, Orsimers/Orcs, or Imperials, you can also pick the unexpected ones such as Altmers/High Elves, Argonians, Bosmer/Wood Elves, or even Bretons.
Stats Spread: 1/2/2 This is for boosting your magicka so that you can cast ebonyflesh, but once you’ve finished the trial to become swordmaster, you can focus on both health and stamina.
This is the first time I’ve ever tried using perk overhaul mods like Ordinator, so your advices for the future project would be helpful for me. Also, here’s the list of mod I’ve used for this build:
Essential Mods
Ordinator
Imperious
ESO Skyshards
Wintersun
Andromeda
Recommended Mods
Ravengate: Riften Underground (for the sake of testing your skills)
Wyrmstooth (same as before)
Believable Weapons
Heavy Armory (This is for the more variative type of weapons wielded by the enemy, which means more different approaches will be needed, and also, some good redesign for the Scimitar IIRC)
Perk Points and More Gold
20 pct more Perk Points
Do give me critiques and advice which mods are good or not, for the sake of next build (whoops, spoiler)
Perks: One-Handed, Block, Alteration, Smithing, Alchemy, Sneak
One-Handed: Being a swordmaster means that you’ll become one with the sword, making the said weapon an extension to your body.
Block: I learned the 38 grips, the 750 offensive and 1800 defensive stances, and the 9000 strikes that I would practice for all my future days (Hunding, Frandar. 780). ‘nuff said.
Alteration: In a way, swordmaster are akin to those of a Sword-Singer, but only in terms of their m-magic (I don’t want an Alik’r to cut my throat after this). Anyway, with this, swordmasters are able to defend themselves IF the enemy somehow able to strike them.
Smithing: Before you learn how to wield swords, you’ll need to learn how to tend the swords. This skill is the only one that corresponds with your preference, so you could choose which sword (damage-wise or even the aesthetically pleasing) you love the most.
Alchemy: Being a swordmaster doesn’t mean anything if you die for the sake of 'honor and glory', so use every advantage you have, including but not limited to poisons and some beneficial potions, also “…sometimes the right action is a head-butt”. This is a quote from Frandar Hunding himself, so yeah, might as well use a paralyzing poison to make that lumbering brute stop or some invisibility potion to sneak by and dispatch the most troublesome foe.
Sneak: Again, you’re not one of those higher than thou type of people, remember the word of Gaiden Shinji himself “The best techniques are passed down by the survivors”.
Book One: Myrmidon (Chapter of Sea)
Equipments: Cultist Robes and Boots, gloves (or fine armband if you’re getting the Myrwatch), an Amulet of Talos, and an unenchanted circlet (if you’re lucky, a circlet enchanted with alteration). While the circlet kinda look weird on your character, it’s the closest one you could get for a headband, one of Myrmidon’s equipment. Or if you want, get the Boatswain Clothes (the blue one) and Boots and a Vampire or Mourner Gloves if you want to cosplay a certain lone-wolf Myrmidon (in my case, I got the whole Cyrus outfit because it's kinda tied to Elder Scrolls lore)
For your swords, it is up to you as long as you have the required perk to temper it, I personally choose either Scimitar, Blades’ Sword, or Nordic Swords since I love some curved swords, for the first two, it’s pretty easy to achieve the required perk to temper the blade, for the last one, you’ll need to either go to Solstheim and try your luck there, or you could just level up your smithing skill to acquire the perk. Remember, it is up to you to pick which sword that are suitable for you.
Myrmidon's "humble" abode. This is his OG outfit btw
After freeing the spirits of Dead Man's Dread, this is one of the thing he took, after reading the captain's journal of course
Quests: Main Questline up to A Blade in the Dark, The Companions, Dead Man’s Dread (CC Content), Thieves Guild (optional), Fishing questlines up until Clear Headed (optional)
Ignore the outfit, it's his starter before getting the robe
Path of Myrmidons
Every master once starts as a disciple, Myrmidons in Fire Emblem universe are swordmaster in training, they’re fast, able to dish out a big damage thanks to their critical strikes, but they’re rather frail and squishy. But in Skyrim, I envisioned them as fighters that able to handle some trouble with a different approach (through subterfuge to be exact). You’ll start by wandering around Skyrim, searching for quests and finishing up the Holds' bounties to hone your skills in swordsmanship akin to that of Sword Singer’s Walkabout
On following the Path of Myrmidons, you will need to:
- Try completing Companions’ Questline first, in some Fire Emblem game, Myrmidon belongs to a mercenary guild by trade (IIRC, their names were Marisa, Joshua, or something… CMIIW), you’ll also gain a free block trainer (an annoying one, but regardless), which will make your class advancement easier. Levelling your Block up naturally may take time because Myrmidon relies on their quick feet to dodge the opponent’s attack, if you want, make sure to pick Timed Block for the extra boost of levelling, if you’re not really sure on using Timed Block, then I highly recommend you to pick a shield and start levelling up with either a giant (be sure to lower your difficulty to the easiest if you wish to face a giant) or some mudcrabs… I’m not joking, those mudcrabs are pretty good in levelling your block up.
- Follow the main questline up to A Blade in the Dark just for the Blades’ sword if you wish to obtain it, I roleplay as the Myrmidon finds out that his current strength is not enough to deal with these overgrown lizards after witnessing Alduin resurrects one of his kin, so he’ll start searching for another way to actually match them in a likely, but dark place.
Skills:
Avoid+ (Distorted Shape perk + Become Ethereal shout)
Myrmidons are known for their speed, by concentrating on the enemies’ stances and hand movements, they can dodge every strikes coming towards them, even arrows, spells and dragons breath. Just be sure to wait until the Distorted Shape wore off, then start spamming Z while having the aforementioned shout equipped.
Luna (Whirlwind Sprint shout + Overrun)
Myrmidons could cut through their enemies with such speed that will leave them staggered, use this to close the gap with the mages and archers, it only need one word to do this
Speed+ (Quick Reflexes perk)
While Myrmidons are known for their speed, they’re also known for their ability to dodge a certain death by dodging away from the enemies’ power attacks, the difference between this and Avoid+ is that Avoid+ can make you dodge everything, while Speed+ only against the physical melee attacks, you can also strike them with a normal and power attack, or a power bash to stagger them
Stealth (Assassin Beetle Solution + Sneak)
During one of the quest, Myrmidons learnt that sometimes, you’ll need to resort to subterfuge in order to overcome an obstacle. You can use this skill to scout an enemy encampment or you can also use this to perform a quick sneak attacks
Vantage (Stealth + Silent Roll perk + Overrun perk)
Myrmidons are also known to able to take an advantage towards confused enemies, while fighting, use this to pick off the most annoying enemies like mages, archers, and two-handers, you can also use this when the enemies didn't spot you.
Potions and Sword Oils
Being a wandering swordsman, you need to utilize some things you can find on the nature, from flower, to even the heart of your enemies (literally).
Elixir (Blue Mountain Flower + Wheat)
(Fortify Health and Restore Health)
Your good ole’ healing potion plus fortify health, the materials are easy to find, so be sure to have these on your arsenal
Assassin Beetle Solution (Chaurus Eggs or Luna Moth + Vampire Dust)
(Invisibility)
This will be used to activate Stealth, stock this up if possible
Vulnerary (Canis Root + Bear Claw or Hanging Moss or Hawk Feathers)
(Fortify One Handed)
This will help you take down your enemies faster by enhancing the Myrmidons strength and accuracy
Dracoshield (Fly Amanita + Snowberry + Hawk Beak)
(Resist Fire, Resist Frost and Resist Shock)
This is your lifesaver against the elemental attacks like dragon’s breath or mages’ spells, be sure to get this whenever possible if you’re planning to taking on these magical menaces
Sep Adder Oil (Imp Stool + Canis Root or Briar Heart)
(Paralysis)
This is your lifesaver against those pesky mages, archers, and two-handers. Remember to take them down before they fully recovered after you use poison them
Scorpion Oil (Deathbell + Salt Pile + Nightshade or Deathbell + River Betty)
(Damage Health + Slow)
This is a complimentary oil in case your Sep Adder Oil stock is depleted, this will slow the two-hander or the tanks making it far easier for you to take out the mages and archers in vicinity.
Nightshade Oil (Nightshade + Red Mountain Flower)
(Damage Health)
Your quick damage boost in case Vulnerary is not enough
Here are some tips and tricks (plus some explanations) while you’re in this phase:
- Subterfuge is your best friend. In Myrmidon stage, many enemies could instantly kill you the moment they spot you. So, the best way to deal with them is by doing sneak attacks, that way you could actually have an equal footing while also learning some of their attack patterns through their weaker versions, using alchemy will make it easier for you to rip ‘em off
- If you’re spotted or failing a sneak attack, bash the enemy, backpedal and put an alteration spell, Distorted Shape perk will save you from getting swatted like a fly, just be sure that your initial target is not a one hit kill opponent like Bandit Marauders or Pillagers, Draugr Deathlords, and the same sort. If so, then use Stealth and hide until they turn their backs, then finish the deed
- The same can be done during an open combat, but instead coat your blade with a sword oil (preferably the sep adder one), drink a vulnerary, put an alteration spell, then start picking off the most annoying enemies like mages, archers, or two-hander, rinse and repeat until you’re left with the grunts
- Stock on both paralyzing poison and invisibility potion! This is part of your kit and also your last ditch if things goes south.
- While fighting dragons, use Avoid+ to dodge their breath attacks, while on close range, try to bash whenever they’re winding up their attacks (especially breath attacks), there are some chances that they’ll stagger whenever you did that, if not, then keep blocking while using Elixir or backpedal with Whirlwind Sprint and take cover behind any structure you could find, be it tree, houses, dragon walls, and even big rocks. Use Marked for Death shout to soften their armour, just be sure that you’re in a good range to take cover or use Avoid+ after you finished trading blows with them.
- Dead Man’s Dread not only offers you a cool place to stay, but also a saber of a revered Redguard, Cyrus the Restless (it looks cool too IMO), just be sure to bring a tanky follower like that headsman from Solitude to distract the ghosts long enough for you to rend them asunder. I roleplay my Myrmidon as somewhat of a fan of Restless and wanted to carry his legacy.
- Thieves’ Guild questline are optional thanks to Myrmidon’s kit are already enough to have Stealth and Vantage activated, but if you really want to, finish the whole questline (yes, including the radiants) to get more money and Shadowcloak of Nocturnal for your reward. I personally didn’t join Bryn and co’s because I think it’s kind of a waste, there are many ingredients that can make you invisible similar to that power, albeit not as powerful and lorewise, Myrmidons and Swordmasters are not tied into thievery
- I added Fishing Questlines due to how good the Ring of Surroundings on this character, and how it would help you with killing the more troublesome foes. You can finish the whole questline if you want, but it is not required for roleplaying as a Myrmidon (this particular questline is actually fun to do, especially since one of the foe is LEAPING MUDCRAB), just try to be patient on getting that one tiny fish around Eastmarch.
Be sure to obtain these prerequisites to gain the Swordmaster title:
- Maximize the Block skill tree.
- Obtain ‘the gears’
- Finish the Remnants’ questline for the Boneshaver or Remnant’s Scimitar if you have the CC installed, if not, you can just skip it
- Finish the Dark Brotherhood questline (this also means you need to get that one shout on Deep Wood Redoubt)
Book Two: Swordmaster (Chapter of Sand)
At long last, your path leads you to master the blade while some just drinking their meads and prancing around in the tavern, this is the fruit of your efforts on studying the blade… Alright, let’s get down to business, as I've mentioned before, Swordmaster is the fastest and most accurate fighter in Tamriel, rivalled only by few such as battlemages or even heroes. In this class, you’re able to wield two swords simultaneously and utilize your second sword as a mean to defend yourself while also storming your enemies akin to a dessert storm, Swordmaster is also known for cutting through the thickest armor or dragon scales with one calculated strike.
‘The Gears’: For this, you need only to change your attire into Thalmor Robes (the one without hood) attire, have a Circlet of Alteration if you hadn’t yet, obtain a Ring of Wielding (try Radiant Raiment, they got a chance of having that in the shop). Captain Clothes along with Fine Boots and Fine Armguards can be an alternative attire for your Swordmaster, but if you have other things in mind then go ahead and remember, no armours… Except from the flesh spells.
For the swords, I switched towards Boneshaver as my main weapon and Cyrus’ Sabre or Remnant’s Scimitar as the secondary weapon, both are aesthetically pleasantly looking (despite how the latter looks weird for me). It may take another levelling on Smithing to upgrade Boneshaver but hey… It’s worth it.
Being this dapper takes a lot of skills... and murder spree
Path of Swordmaster:
Congratulations! You are now a Swordmaster! But this doesn’t mean you’re immortal or some sort, there are still enemies that could kill you with just one sweep, so don’t let overconfidence be your undoing. However, you can kill them even faster thanks to your times with the Companions and Dark Brotherhood with Companions offers to train your defensive stance and learning the Brotherhood secret killing art, in Fire Emblem, Swordmaster are well known to have two swords at the ready (a certain lobster can vouch for me) and they have a better strength so that means they could deal a bit more damage than before, they’re pretty accurate with their blades too, meaning that they can also cut through the most heavily armored enemies and even the thickest scales dragons could offer with one pinpoint slash.
Here's what you have to do while following this path:
- Finish the Main Quest once you’ve obtained the Swordmaster! Alduin threat needs to be ended ASAP and you’ve been itchin’ for some vengeance toward this overgrown lizard and his posse
- Be sure to check the arena mod at Riften (Ravensgate IIRC) to test your skills and also to get that manor for yourself.
- Feel free to follow whatever questline you want to, whether it’s DLC or some of the mods around here and there. I strongly advise you to get Wyrmstooth, Chain of Time, and Into the Abyss mods to test your mettle.
Now it's my turn, dragons!
Quests: Complete the Main Questline, Companions and Dark Brotherhood (if you’re not completing it yet), Dawnguard (I prefer to choose the Dawnguard side despite how OP you can get with being a vampire, also lore-wise, Redguards HATES vampires. The choice is yours though), Dragonborn, Civil War quests (I roleplay as the Legion found out that I’m the Emperor and his Cousin's assassin, along with the streak of murders around Skyrim, so they force me to join the Legion or my spouse will be executed, alongside that Aretino boy), Chain of Time, Wyrmstooth, Into the Abyss (The last three are mods quest, I kinda want to give the character some challenge and more story, so yeah, this too is up to you), Ravensgate, Pit Fighter (these two are arena mods to test your mettle, again, it’s up to you if you want to add this or not)
Skills:
Astra (No Stamina Dual-Wield Power Attacks + Force Without Effort)
This skill allows you to shred the enemy to ribbons, you need to wield a secondary sword and then press both the mouse as the same time to perform a normal dual-wield power attack, but then quickly release your finger from it and do it again, the next power attack won’t cost you any stamina, if you’re playing as a Redguard, you can choose HoonDing as your starting deity to switch Force Without Effort
Shove (Sweeping Strike)
This skill will help you prioritize which one you should finish off first, your bail out button in case you got yourself surrounded by them. Personal space and all that jazz.
Aether (Luna + Shield Charge perk)
Swordmasters able to charge to the enemy with such speed, the enemy got thrown away from them. To do this, activate Luna first then repeatedly press the right mouse button to activate the Shield Charge, it took a while to perfect this skill, but the result is stunning.
Great Aether (Speed ++ + Aether + Astra)
A deadlier version of Aether. Activate Speed ++ first, then start rammig them with Aether, once they're airborne rip them to shreds with Astra, these three combos can actually finish off almost any opponent if done correctly (and with additions of either Vulnerary or any sword oils you want for guaranteed kills). You can also activate Speed ++ with a racial ability that will be explained later on.
Lethality (Marked for Death shout with all three words + Vantage)
Thanks to those of Brotherhood, you can actually kill one of those overgrown lizard or pesky dragon priests during one of your journey. Cut their armour with that shout while dodging and bashing every possible attack, after some moments, activate Vantage to finish them off with one precise cut.
Nitoryu Ougi: Kiritsugu (Dual Wielding Block + Block Runner)
As I’ve mentioned before, Swordmasters are able to block with their second sword, to do this, you need to block with one weapon first, then equip your second sword while holding the block button, this enables you to block with your second sword and fun fact, the damage you’ll receive will be mitigated by the attack power of your secondary sword at the cost of your ability to attack normally, but hey, your attack changed into a bash and you’re now able to dodge EVERY MELEE POWER ATTACK coming towards you thanks to the procs from Speed+
Speed++ (Speed+ + Slow Time shout or Red Sand Dance)
This is one of the techniques you’ll gain thanks to joining Dark Brotherhood, you can tap into a far more intense focus that time practically slows down to a crawl, enabling you to dance through the battlefield and shred the enemies even faster. If you're a Redguard, you can also switch it into Red Sand Dance, but this can only be activated once you're running (this applies to Breton with their Shared Ancestries too).
Crit + (Falling Sword perk)
Swordmasters are well known for their ability to kill their opponent efficiently and with pinpoint accuracy, on your journey, you’ve learnt that every creature around Nirn have weak spot on their respective body that if exposed, will result in a rather advantageous situation. Remember though, this perk can only be triggered once you bring their health down below 25%.
A bit of tips for your swordmaster to dominate the battlefield:
- Be sure to activate Nitoryu Ougi if you’re surrounded, it’ll help you navigate through them and pick off the annoying ones, after that, switch to single sword to finish off some of the farther foes.
- True, you’ve obtained the title of Swordmaster along with the power, but hey, you're not the only one that grew up, while you'll most definitely finish them off even faster thanks to your current set of skills, they too have tighten their defenses, some can even outright kills you, so, keep your guard up. Should you got overwhelmed however, use Speed ++ and cut them to shreds with Astra, good ol' slice n dice with time slow combo will never gets old.
- Use Shove if you spot some enemies that could one shot you. Those will give you room for a breather and to setup other combos.
- Crit + with Boneshear's passive (which can make your opponents bleed) is actually stackable, combo that with Shove and the enemies won't be able to reach you (unless they wield a big weapon)
- Your normal attacks can cut them fairly easy and your combos can absolutely decimate them to pieces, but it won't hurt to save up potions and sword oils if things goes south.
- Have fun!
Conclusion
This is the first build I’ve ever post on this forum! I wanna give a shoutout to Saronis' Crimson Dirk build for making Alchemy easier (especially for assassin type builds) with that recipe lists you've made. Your critiques and advices are valuable to me, this is also the first time I’ve ever tried some mods such as Ordinator and co's too. I might try to post another build after this, so expect something more and maybe some twist for this build. Thank you so much for checking on this build and I hope you enjoy playing as a Swordmaster, take care and have a nice day!
Replies
Awesome job Agni. Hmm, format looks good, though I would, personally, recommend centering stuff like heads. Also maybe try and wrap the text so images for special moves are to the side
Ah, I just noticed that, yikes... Anyway, thank you Chris! Now I'm kinda itchin to post more build here