Magic Skills: The Path of Magic – Destruction

Destruction Magic harnesses the elemental forces of fire, frost, and shock to obliterate your foes. This skill improves when you damage enemies with Destruction spells, based on the amount of damage you do. You get the same increase for killing a Frost Troll with one Fire Storm as for killing it with ten Lightning Bolts, and no increase at all if the spell misses its target.

In addition to its listed damage, each element has its own innate effect: Flame spells set your enemies on fire (doing damage over time), Frost spells slow your foes and sap their stamina, and Shock spells drain their Magicka.

• Constellation: Path of Magic
• Available Perks: 17

Available Destruction Perks

1. Novice Destruction ★

• Cast Novice-level Destruction spells for half Magicka.
• Requires: None

2. Destruction Dual Casting ★

• Dual casting a Destruction spell overcharges the effects into an even more powerful version.
• Requires: Destruction 20, Novice Destruction

Dual Casting more than doubles the damage of your Destruction spells. This is a great choice, especially at early levels, where inflicting that extra damage with Flames or Frostbite often means the difference between life and death.

3. Apprentice Destruction ★

• Cast Apprentice-level Destruction spells for half Magicka.
• Requires: Destruction 25, Novice Destruction

4–5. Augmented Flames (2 ranks)

• Rank 1: Fire spells do 25% more damage.
• Requires: Destruction 30, Novice Destruction
• Rank 2: Fire spells do 50% more damage.
• Requires: Destruction 60, Augmented Flames 1

6–7. Augmented Frost (2 ranks)

• Rank 1: Frost spells do 25% more damage.
• Requires: Destruction 30, Novice Destruction
• Rank 2: Frost spells do 50% more damage.
• Requires: Destruction 60, Augmented Frost 1

8–9. Augmented Shock (2 ranks)

• Rank 1: Shock spells do 25% more damage.
• Requires: Destruction 30, Novice Destruction
• Rank 2: Shock spells do 50% more damage.
• Requires: Destruction 60, Augmented Shock 1

10. Impact

• Most destruction spells will stagger an opponent when dual cast.
• Requires: Destruction 40, Destruction Dual Casting

Impact adds a stagger effect to most dual-cast spells. Flames, Frostbite, and Sparks are not included in this set, so you can’t stagger enemies at will, but this can still be a powerful effect, allowing you to slow an enemy who’s trying to close in on you or giving you a chance to run if you are overwhelmed.

11. Rune Master

• Can place runes five times farther away.
• Requires: Destruction 40, Apprentice Destruction

Rune spells allow you to create traps that enemies can trigger. The Rune Master perk allows you to place them dramatically farther away, making it much easier to throw them into an enemy’s path or place them near an existing trap (to create a “killing zone”) without being detected.

12. Adept Destruction ★

• Cast Adept-level Destruction spells for half Magicka.
• Requires: Destruction 50, Apprentice Destruction

13. Intense Flames

• Fire damage causes targets to flee if their health is below 20%.
• Requires: Destruction 50, Augmented Flames 1

Sure, by the time this perk takes effect, your enemy was almost dead anyway, but watching a flaming foe run screaming off the edge of a cliff is just priceless.

14. Deep Freeze

• Frost damage paralyzes targets if their health is below 20%.
• Requires: Destruction 60, Augmented Frost 1

Deep Freeze paralyzes enemies near death, allowing you to kill them with impunity or turn your attention to more pressing threats. It often prevents a foe from completing their last attack (or two), which may be a lifesaver if your health is also low.

15. Disintegrate

• Shock damage disintegrates targets if their health is below 15%.
• Requires: Destruction 70, Augmented Shock 1

Disintegrate effectively increases your damage output, instantly killing an enemy whenever your shock spells reduce their health below 15%. For pure efficiency, this is the best of the three low-health perks.

16. Expert Destruction ★

• Cast Expert-level Destruction spells for half Magicka.
• Requires: Destruction 75, Adept Destruction

17. Master Destruction ★

• Cast Master-level Destruction spells for half Magicka.
• Requires: Destruction 100, Expert Destruction

Racial Benefits

• +10 Destruction
• Dark Elf
• +5 Destruction
• High Elf
• Imperial
• Redguard

Trainers

• Journeyman: Wuunferth the Unliving, sorcerer of Windhelm.
• Expert: Garan Marethi, of Castle Volkihar (Sea of Ghosts)
• Expert: Sybille Stentor, wizard at the Blue Palace, in Solitude.
• Master: Faralda, sorceress at The College of Winterhold.

Other Resources

• The following quests can also increase this skill:
• The College of Winterhold Quests: Radiant Quests: Shalidor’s Insights.
• Other Factions Quest: Pantea’s Flute.
• Daedric Quest: Discerning the Transmundane.