Shouts and Other Powers

The Nords have long practiced a unique, spiritual form of magic known as “the Way of the Voice.” Nords consider themselves to be the children of the sky, and their breath and voice are their vital essence. Through the use of the Voice, this power can be articulated into a Thu’um, or Shout. Use Shouts to sharpen blades, strike enemies at a distance, or command time to stand still. Masters of the Voice are known as Tongues, and their power is legendary. The most powerful Tongues cannot speak without causing destruction and must remain gagged at all times, communicating through sign language and the scribing of runes.

The Rule of Thu’um

A Shout is the utterance of one or more Words of Power in order to achieve a specific magical effect. Each Shout has a unique effect, such as summoning or commanding a creature, striking foes with a blast of force to stun or disarm them, or calling down a powerful lightning storm. You should frequently use these powerful special abilities; as the Dragonborn, you have an incredible gift that few heroes have ever possessed!

There are some important general points to remember regarding Shouts:

• Each Shout consists of three Words of Power.
• You will learn the vast majority of these Words by absorbing them, one at a time, from Word Walls found throughout Skyrim. A few Shouts are also taught to you during the Main Quest, mostly by the Greybeards of High Hrothgar. You always collect Words of Power in the order of the three-word final phrase, so it doesn’t matter which Word Wall you visit first.
• After you learn a Word, you must unlock it, which requires a Dragon Soul. You can only obtain Dragon Souls by slaying dragons. Since the return of the dragons only begins in earnest after Main Quest: Dragon Rising, you must complete that quest in order to begin unlocking Words and using Shouts.
• You need one Dragon Soul for each Word you want to unlock. You can begin using a Shout after learning and unlocking only its first Word, but each additional Word allows you to invoke a more powerful version of the Shout.
• Do you know all three Words for five Shouts? Then you’ll need to slay and absorb the souls of 15 dragons to fully unlock them all. That’s a tall order, so consider carefully which Shouts you really need, and spend your Dragon Souls wisely. For example, the Aura Whisper Shout (which tracks a foe’s movement) is great for an assassin but is less useful for a berserker who simply charges into the fray.
• Shouts can be added to your Favorites, making switching between them (and employing them for different situations) quick and easy.
• Each Shout has up to three levels, corresponding to the Words of Power you’ve unlocked:
• Level 1: Tap the button. One word. Exhale. This is the weakest Shout but takes the shortest amount of time to recharge.
• Level 2: Briefly hold, then release the button. Two words. Inhale, then exhale. This is the midlevel Shout.
• Level 3: Hold the button. Three words. Inhale, inhale, then exhale. This is the highest level Shout and the most powerful, but it takes the longest to recharge.
• The longer you hold the Shout button, the more powerful the shout. When you bellow a Shout, you drain your Thu’um (Shouting power), which slowly rebuilds across your compass. When the compass changes from a pulsing blue back to its regular gray, you can Shout again.

A Shout Example: Frost Breath

You begin by learning “Fo” (Frost), the first Word of this Shout, from a Word Wall. After scouring the lands for the second syllable “Krah” (Cold) and the third syllable “Diin” (Freeze), you spend three Dragon Souls to unlock all three Words. You can now use the weak, average, or strong version of this Shout.

Weak Shout: Bellow “Fo!” by tapping the Shout button.

Medium Shout: Bellow “Fo, Krah!” by briefly holding the Shout button, then releasing it.

Strong Shout: Bellow “Fo, Krah, Diin!” by holding the Shout button.

Words to Live By

This section lists all of the available Shouts. Each Shout’s name is followed by its three Words, the locations where you can learn them, any quests related to those locations, and some notes and tips on using each Shout. A complete table of Shouts with detailed statistics appears at the end of this section.

Animal Allegiance

• Words of Power: Raan (Animal), Mir (Allegiance), Tah (Pack)
• Word Wall Locations: Angarvunde (the Rift): Dungeon Quest: Medresi Dran and the Wandering Dead
• Ancient’s Ascent (Falkreath Hold): This is a dragon lair.
• Ysgramor’s Tomb (Winterhold Hold): The Companions Quest: Glory of the Dead
• Description: A Shout for help from the beasts of the wild, who come to fight in your defense.
• Notes: This Shout “charms” all nearby animals, who fight for you for a short time. You can attack them without breaking this effect, so it’s easy to kill them before the Shout wears off. Note that this Shout does not affect summoned creatures (like Familiars) or creatures already under the control of someone else (like animals controlled by Spriggans).

Aura Whisper

Top 5 Shouts - Aura Whisper

• Words of Power: Laas (Life), Yah (Seek), Nir (Hunt)
• Word Wall Locations: Northwind Summit (the Rift): This is a dragon lair.
• Valthume (the Reach): Dungeon Quest: Evil in Waiting. This is a dragon priest’s lair.
• Volunruud (the Pale): Dark Brotherhood Quest: The Silence Has Been Broken; Dungeon Quest: Silenced Tongues
• Description: Your Voice is not a Shout but a whisper, revealing the life forces of any and all.
• Notes: For a short time, this Shout allows you to see an aura around all living or undead creatures, even through walls. The Shout is silent, so it won’t create a sound that would cause enemies to detect you. Great for thieves, archers, and assassins!

Battle Fury

• Words of Power: Mid (Loyal), Vur (Valor), Shaan (Inspire)
• Word Wall locations: Vahlok’s Tomb (Solstheim): Only accessible during Solstheim Side Quest: Lost Legacy.
• Description: Your Thu’um enchants your nearby allies’ weapons, allowing them to attack faster.
• Notes: This Shout increases the attack speed of your allies, including followers and summoned creatures. The second and third words increase its potency, allowing your companions to attack up to 70% faster-- and thus do up to 70% more damage for its duration. A great choice if you find yourself with several followers, or ally with a high-damage melee follower.

Become Ethereal

Top 5 Shouts - Become Ethereal

• Words of Power: Feim (Fade), Zii (Spirit), Gron (Bind)
• Word Wall Locations: Ironbind Barrow (Winterhold Hold) Lost Valley Redoubt (the Reach)
• Ustengrav (Hjaalmarch): Main Quest: The Horn of Jurgen Windcaller
• Description: The Thu’um reaches out to the Void, changing your form to one that cannot harm or be harmed.
• Notes: While Ethereal, you are invulnerable, you can’t attack or cast spells, and you recover Magicka and Stamina. This Shout gives you a few seconds to safely retreat or reposition yourself during a difficult battle. You can also use it to bypass most traps without fear of taking damage.

Bend Will

• Words of Power: Gol (Stone/Earth), Hah (Mind), Dov (Dragon)
• Word Wall locations:
• Saering’s Watch (Solstheim): The first Word of this Shout is always learned here.
• Hermaeus Mora (Apocrypha): The second and third Words of this Shout are always learned from this Daedric Prince, during Dragonborn Main Quest: The Gardener of Men.
• Description: Your voice bends the very stones to your will. As it gains power, animals, people, and even dragons must do your bidding.
• Notes: The first Word of this Shout is used during Dragonborn Main Quest: Cleansing the Stones to remove the traces of Miraak’s construction around the ancient All-Makers Stones of Solstheim. The second Word forces those around you (neutral characters and creatures) to ally themselves against an enemy you’re fighting for 30 seconds. But the third Word of this Shout is the most precious, enabling you to tame and ride dragons!

Call Dragon

• Words of Power: Od (Snow), Ah (Hunter), Viing (Wing)
• Word Wall Locations: None. You learn this Shout during Main Quest: The Fallen.
• Description: Odahviing! Hear my Voice and come forth. I summon you in my time of need.
• Notes: This Shout summons the dragon Odahviing to battle during Main Quest: The Fallen. After you complete the main quest, you can summon Odahviing to aid you (in most exterior areas). Note that this Shout has no effect unless all three words are used.

Call of Valor

• Words of Power: Hun (Hero), Kaal (Champion), Zoor (Legend)
• Word Wall Locations:
None. You learn this Shout at the end of the main quest.
• Description: The valiant of Sovngarde hear your Voice, and journey beyond space and time to lend their aid.
• Notes: Each level of this Shout summons a different hero from Sovngarde, each with unique equipment and abilities. Choose the one that best meets your needs for the current battle.
• “Hun” summons Gormlaith Golden-Hilt, who wields a bow, sword, shield, and a few Shouts.
• “Hun, Kaal” summons Felldir the Old, who wields a greatsword and has a number of damaging Shouts.
• “Hun, Kaal, Zoor” summons Hakon One-Eye, who wields a battle-ax and uses melee Shouts.

Clear Skies

• Words of Power: Lok (Sky), Vah (Spring), Koor (Summer)
• Word Wall Locations: None. You learn this Shout from the Greybeards during Main Quest: The Throat of the World.
• Description: Skyrim itself yields before the Thu’um, as you clear away fog and inclement weather.
• Notes: This clears the weather and disperses fog, and it dispels poison gas traps.

Cyclone

• Words of Power: Ven (Wind), Gaar (Unleash/Release), Nos (Strike)
• Word Wall locations:
• Benkongerike (Solstheim) White Ridge Barrow (Solstheim) Kolbjorn Barrow (Solstheim): During Solstheim Side Quest: Unearthed
• Description: Your Thu’um creates a whirling cyclone that sows chaos among your enemies.
• Notes: This Shout conjures up a maelstrom of wind that departs your presence, striking enemies and throwing them up into the skies, where they’re inflicted with blasts of wind and damage as they land. The pain caused and range increases as you learn the Words. This is helpful when facing foes you wish to keep from close combat (like Giants) or multiple foes bunched together.

Disarm

• Words of Power: Zun (Weapon), Haal (Hand), Viik (Defeat)
• Word Wall Locations: Eldersblood Peak (Hjaalmarch): This is a dragon lair. Silverdrift Lair (the Pale) Snow Veil Sanctum
• (Winterhold Hold): Thieves Guild Quest: Speaking with Silence
• Description: Shout defies steel as you rip the weapon from an opponent’s grasp.
• Notes: This Shout only affects enemies up to a specific level, with higher levels of the Shout allowing you to disarm higher-level foes. Refer to the chart at the end of this section for details. Note that some enemies cannot be disarmed.

Dismaying Shout

• Words of Power: Faas (Fear), Ru (Run), Maar (Terror)
• Word Wall Locations: Dead Crone Rock (the Reach): Daedric Quest: Pieces of the Past Labyrinthian (Hjaalmarch): In Shalidor’s Maze Lost Tongue Overlook (the Rift): This is a dragon lair.
• Description: And the weak shall fear the Thu’um, and flee in terror.
• Notes: This Shout only affects enemies up to a specific level, with higher levels of the Shout allowing you to affect higher-level foes. See the chart at the end of this section for details.

Dragonrend

• Words of Power: Joor (Mortal), Zah (Finite), Frul (Temporary)
• Word Wall Locations:
None. You learn this shout during Main Quest: Alduin’s Bane.
• Description: Your Voice lashes out at a dragon’s very soul, forcing the beast to land.
• Notes: This Shout is extremely useful for fighting Alduin or other dragons if you prefer to face them in melee combat.

Dragon Aspect

• Words of Power: Mul (Strength), Qah (Armor), Diiv (Wyrm)
• Word Wall locations:
• Raven Rock Mine (Solstheim): During Solstheim Side Quest: The Final Descent Temple of Miraak (Solstheim): During Dragonborn Main Quest: The Temple of Miraak Waking Dreams of a Starless Sky (Apocrypha): During Dragonborn Main Quest: At the Summit of Apocrypha
• Description: Once a day, take on the mighty aspect of a dragon, delivering colossal blows and possessing an armored hide and more powerful Shouts.
• Notes: You are bound in ethereal armor for 300 seconds, and once you learn two or three Words, an Ancient Dragonborn appears by you when your Health is reduced to half or lower. Your Armor Rating (+25) and Power Attacks are increased (+25%), and at two Words, +25% Fire and Frost Resistance is available, as well as an increased Armor Rating (+100). The third Word reduces your Shout regeneration time by 20%. You may use this powerful Thu’um only once per day.

Elemental Fury

Top 5 Shouts - Elemental Fury

• Words of Power: Su (Air), Grah (Battle), Dun (Grace)
• Word Wall Locations:
Dragontooth Crater (the Reach): This is a dragon lair. Kilkreath Ruins (Haafingar): Daedric Quest: The Break of Dawn Shriekwind Bastion (Falkreath Hold)
• Description: The Thu’um imbues your arms with the speed of wind, allowing for faster weapon strikes.
• Notes: This Shout lasts only a short time, but increases your damage output by 30-70%. Time it well, and you can do some serious damage.

Fire Breath

• Words of Power: Yol (Fire), Toor (Inferno), Shul (Sun)
• Word Wall Locations:
Dustman’s Cairn (Whiterun Hold): The Companions Quest: Proving Honor Sunderstone Gorge (Falkreath Hold) Throat of the World (Whiterun Hold): Main Quest: The Throat of the World.
• Description: Inhale air, exhale flame, and behold the Thu’um as inferno.
• Notes: Fire Breath does high damage in a quick burst and sets enemies on fire. Great against foes already susceptible to fire damage (such as Vampires or Frost Atronachs).

Frost Breath

• Words of Power: Fo (Frost), Krah (Cold), Diin (Freeze)
• Word Wall Locations:
Bonestrewn Crest (Eastmarch): This is a dragon lair. Folgunthur (Hjaalmarch): Side Quest: Forbidden Legend Skyborn Altar (Hjaalmarch): This is a dragon lair.
• Description: Your breath is winter, you Thu’um a blizzard.
• Notes: Frost Breath does about the same damage over time as Fire Breath but slows your enemies instead of setting them on fire. If your foes are more susceptible to frost than flame (such as Fire Atronachs), or if you can take advantage of the slowing effect, this is a good choice.

Ice Form

• Words of Power: Iiz (Ice), Slen (Flesh), Nus (Statue)
• Word Wall Locations:
Frostmere Crypt (the Pale): Dungeon Quest: The Pale Lady Mount Anthor (Winterhold Hold): This is a dragon lair. Saarthal (Winterhold Hold): College of Winterhold Quest: Under Saarthal; Side Quest: Forbidden Legend
• Description: Your Thu’um freezes an opponent solid.
• Notes: This Shout takes the form of a wave of frost that freezes your enemies solid. Foes struck by this Shout are encased in ice and effectively paralyzed, and they take frost damage over time. If an enemy encased in ice is struck by an attack, the ice shatters, allowing them to recover. Use this Shout to take one or more foes out of the fight temporarily or to buy yourself a few free attacks before they can recover.

Kyne’s Peace

• Words of Power: Kaan (Kyne), Drem (Peace), Ov (Trust)
• Word Wall Locations:
Ragnvald (the Reach): This is a dragon priest’s lair. Rannveig’s Fast (Whiterun Hold) Shroud Hearth Barrow (The Rift): Dungeon Quest: Wilhelm’s Scream
• Description: The Voice soothes wild beasts, who lose their desire to fight of flee.
• Notes: This Shout only affects wild animals, with the radius and duration of the Shout increasing at higher levels. This allows you to navigate animal dens without fighting or pacify a pack of animals before picking them off one by one.

Marked for Death

Top 5 Shouts - Marked for Death

• Words of Power: Krii (Kill), Lun (Leech), Aus (Suffer)
• Word Wall Locations:
Autumnwatch Tower (the Rift): This is a dragon lair. Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary (Falkreath Hold) Forsaken Cave (the Pale): Side Quest: The White Phial
• Description: Speak, and let your Voice herald doom, as an opponent’s armor and life force are weakened.
• Notes: This Shout saps your foes’ armor and causes damage over time, allowing you to kill them more quickly. Good to use on bosses.

Slow Time

• Words of Power: Tiid (Time), Klo (Sand), Ul (Eternity)
• Word Wall Locations:
Hag’s End (the Reach): Dark Brotherhood Radiant Quest: The Feeble Fortune Korvanjund (The Pale): Civil War Quest: The Jagged Crown Labyrinthian (Hjaalmarch): College of Winterhold Quest: The Staff of Magnus; this is a Dragon Priest’s lair.
• Description: Shout at time, and command it to obey, as the world around you stands still.
• Notes: This Shout buys you extra time, which you can use for any purpose: to rush in and assault a helpless enemy, to line up a perfect sniper shot, or to easily outrun any foe. Incredibly useful!

Soul Tear

• Words of Power: Rii (Essence), Vaaz (Tear), Zol (Zombie)
• Word Wall Locations: None, the Soul Tear is learned one Word at a time, every time you succeed in summoning Durnehviir to Tamriel using the Summon Durnehviir Shout (below). Summon this dragon three times to learn all three words, expend three Dragon Souls, and claim this Shout as your own. Consult Side Quest: Durnehviir for more information.
• Description: Your Thu’um cuts through flesh and shatters souls, commanding the will of the fallen.
• Notes: Does 300 damage, soul-traps your target, and reanimates slain foes for 60 seconds. A truly devastating Shout, and one that can critically wound even the hardiest of foes. Slain foes are resurrected within the Shout’s blast radius and can augment your fighting prowess considerably. However, this Shout has no effect until you learn all three words. Simply yelling “Rii vaaz!” may get you funny looks but no devastating combat victories.

Storm Call

• Words of Power: Strun (Storm), Bah (Wrath), Qo (Lightning)
• Word Wall Locations:
Forelhost (the Rift): This is a Dragon Priest’s lair. High Gate Ruins (the Pale): This is a Dragon Priest’s lair. Skuldafn (Other Realm): Main Quest: The World-Eater’s Eyrie. This is a Dragon Priest’s lair.
• Description: A Shout to the skies, a cry to the clouds, that awakens the destructive force of Skyrim’s lightning.
• Notes: Summons a thunderstorm with powerful lightning that lashes out at anything and anyone. Only works outdoors. It’s fantastic against dragons, but be careful—the lightning can and will kill civilians and your Followers.

Summon Durnehviir

• Words of Power: Dur (Curse), Neh (Never), Viir (Dying)
• Word Wall Locations: None. You must enter the Soul Cairn, defeat Durnehviir in combat, meet this undead dragon as you depart the Boneyard, and learn all three Words from him so you can summon him in Tamriel. See Side Quest: Durnehviir for more information.
• Description: Durnehviir! Hear my voice and come forth from the Soul Cairn. I summon you in my time of need.
• Notes: Remember to expend three Dragon Souls to learn all parts of the Word and summon the dragon. Simply yelling “Dur neh!” won’t break the bonds holding the dragon in the Soul Cairn. In addition to summoning a powerful dragon to fight for you, this Shout also advances your pact with Durnehviir: each time you summon him, he teaches you the next Word of the Soul Tear Shout (above).

Throw Voice

Words of Power: Zul (Voice), Mey (Fool), Gut (Far)

• Word Wall Locations:
Shearpoint (the Pale): This is a dragon lair and a Dragon Priest’s lair.
• Description: The Thu’um is heard, but its source unknown, fooling those into seeking it out.
• Notes: This Shout produces no sound at your location, instead throwing your voice to the target. Enemies will detect the sound and investigate, allowing you to lure them away from their posts or into traps or other hazards. This is immensely useful when sneaking. Throw Voice is unique in that its Word Wall teaches you all three Words of the Shout.

Unrelenting Force

Top 5 Shouts - Unrelenting Force

• Words of Power: Fus (Force), Ro (Balance), Dah (Push)
• Word Wall Locations:
Bleak Falls Barrow (Falkreath Hold): Main Quest: Bleak Falls Barrow; Side Quest: The Golden Claw High Hrothgar (Whiterun Hold): Main Quest: The Way of the Voice. You learn both the second and third Words from the Greybeards.
• Description: Your Voice is raw power, pushing aside anything—or anyone—who stands in your path.
• Notes: This Shout staggers enemies or sends them flying, and does some light damage. Aim carefully to push your foes into traps, or follow up with a swift melee or ranged attack to take advantage of the stagger.

Whirlwind Sprint

• Words of Power: Wuld (Whirlwind), Nah (Fury), Kest (Tempest)
• Word Wall Locations:
Dead Men’s Respite (Hjaalmarch): The Bards College Quest: Tending the Flames High Hrothgar (Whiterun Hold): Main Quest: The Way of the Voice. Learned from the Greybeards. Volskygge (Haafingar): This is a Dragon Priest’s lair.
• Description: The Thu’um rushes forward, carrying you in its wake with the speed of a tempest.
• Notes: This surge forward is useful for reaching otherwise-inaccessible ledges or platforms.

The Shouting Table

The following table provides a summary of all the Shouts and their effects:

Shout/Effect

Other Powers and Abilities

Powers

As Dragonborn, Shouts are your most numerous type of power, but there are many other powers and abilities that you can acquire during your time in Skyrim. These are listed in the following table, and include:

• Racial powers, also described in this chapter.
• Standing Stone powers, also described in this chapter.
• Vampire powers, also described in this chapter.
• Werewolf powers, also described in this chapter.
• Sacred Stone powers, also described in this chapter.
• Apocrypha powers, also described in this chapter.
• Nightingale powers, also described at the end of the Thieves Guild questline.
• A Dark Brotherhood power, your reward for Dark Brotherhood Quest: Bound Until Death.

All Powers are found in the Magic > Powers part of your Inventory Menu. Equip a power by assigning it to the button or key you use for your Dragon Shout.

Abilities

Most special abilities are offered as rewards for quests or for performing specific actions. They typically appear in your Active Effects list. Note that some are presented explicitly (with dialogue and/or onscreen text), while others may not be. A few are not visible to you at all, so learn when you can obtain them and how long they last. These are listed in the following table and include:

• Permanent Abilities (Nonskill Perks)
• Racial Abilities (innate to each race)
• Standing Stone Abilities (Skyrim’s Standing Stones)
• Temporary Abilities (Buffs)
• Blessings (and Disease Curing): From shrines (see next section)