Destruction is the school of magic that does exactly what it says on the tin. It covers the three elemental damage types – fire, frost and shock – and every offensive spell from the humble Flames you start the game with to room-clearing Master spells like Fire Storm and Blizzard. Bolts, cloaks, runes, walls and area blasts all live here.
It is a Magic skill, so the Mage Stone speeds up its progress. For a pure mage, Destruction is usually the main source of damage, and even hybrid characters lean on it for a quick Firebolt or a shock spell against a casting enemy. The skill tree is built around making spells cheaper, hitting harder with your chosen element and adding finishing effects that panic, freeze or vaporise weakened foes.
How Destruction works
How Destruction rises
The skill only improves when a Destruction spell actually deals damage to a target. Casting fireballs at empty walls teaches you nothing, and the experience you receive scales with the spell’s magicka cost, so a single Adept spell landing on an enemy is worth far more than a puff of Sparks. Cloaks, runes and walls all count as long as something hostile takes damage from them.
The three elements
Fire is the cheapest element. Fire spells deal damage on impact plus burning damage over time, can ignite oil puddles in dungeons, and many fire spells make burning targets take extra damage. Dark Elves resist fire by 50%, which is handy against fire-breathing dragons.
Frost costs a middling amount of magicka, travels slower and damages both Health and Stamina while slowing the target down. Nords resist frost by 50%, and vampires shrug off a good chunk of it.
Shock is the most expensive but hits instantly and drains Magicka as well as Health, which makes it the go-to element against enemy mages. Only Bretons, with their general magic resistance, have any natural defence against it.
Spells and dual casting
New spells come from spell tomes bought from court wizards and vendors or looted in the field. Faralda at the College of Winterhold sells the widest selection. Master-level spells are locked until you reach 100 Destruction and complete Faralda’s ritual quest. With the Destruction Dual Casting perk, casting the same spell from both hands produces an overcharged version that hits harder.
Destruction perk tree
The Destruction tree has 14 perks with 17 ranks in total. Required levels are the Destruction skill level needed for each rank.
| Perk | Ranks | Skill level | Requires | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Novice Destruction | 1 | 0 | – | Cast Novice level Destruction spells for half magicka. |
| Destruction Dual Casting | 1 | 20 | Novice Destruction | Dual casting a Destruction spell overcharges the effects into an even more powerful version. |
| Apprentice Destruction | 1 | 25 | Novice Destruction | Cast Apprentice level Destruction spells for half magicka. |
| Augmented Flames | 2 | 30 / 60 | Novice Destruction | Rank 1: Fire spells do 25% more damage. Rank 2: Fire spells do 50% more damage. |
| Augmented Frost | 2 | 30 / 60 | Novice Destruction | Rank 1: Frost spells do 25% more damage. Rank 2: Frost spells do 50% more damage. |
| Augmented Shock | 2 | 30 / 60 | Novice Destruction | Rank 1: Shock spells do 25% more damage. Rank 2: Shock spells do 50% more damage. |
| Impact | 1 | 40 | Destruction Dual Casting | Most destruction spells will stagger an opponent when dual cast. |
| Rune Master | 1 | 40 | Apprentice Destruction | Can place runes five times farther away. |
| Adept Destruction | 1 | 50 | Apprentice Destruction | Cast Adept level Destruction spells for half magicka. |
| Intense Flames | 1 | 50 | Augmented Flames | Fire damage causes targets to flee if their health is low. |
| Deep Freeze | 1 | 60 | Augmented Frost | Frost damage paralyzes targets if their health is low. |
| Disintegrate | 1 | 70 | Augmented Shock | Shock damage disintegrates targets if their health is low. |
| Expert Destruction | 1 | 75 | Adept Destruction | Cast Expert level Destruction spells for half magicka. |
| Master Destruction | 1 | 100 | Expert Destruction | Cast Master level Destruction spells for half magicka. |
Perk guide
The tree is wide rather than deep, and it rewards picking an element instead of buying everything. Take Novice Destruction at the start, then add Apprentice Destruction (25) as soon as you move on to Firebolt, Ice Spike or Lightning Bolt. The cost-reduction line is the backbone of a mage build: Adept (50), Expert (75) and Master Destruction (100) each halve the magicka cost of their tier, and running out of magicka mid-fight is the number one way Destruction mages die.
Next, pick one main element and take both ranks of its Augmented perk – Augmented Flames, Augmented Frost or Augmented Shock, at 30 for +25% and 60 for +50% damage. A second element is useful for enemies that resist your first choice, but three full lines is usually wasted points. The capstone perks then decide the flavour:
- Intense Flames (50) makes low-health targets flee – nice breathing room, but fleeing enemies can be annoying to chase.
- Deep Freeze (60) paralyses low-health targets, which is excellent crowd control.
- Disintegrate (70) turns low-health targets into ash piles and is the most satisfying finisher in the game.
Destruction Dual Casting (20) is well worth it for the extra damage, and Impact (40) is arguably the best perk in the tree: most dual-cast Destruction spells stagger the target, so a steady stream of dual-cast bolts can keep even big enemies locked in place. Rune Master (40) is the one perk most builds can skip unless you love trapping corridors with runes.
Synergies: the Augmented perks also boost elemental weapon enchantments, so a spellsword with fire- or frost-enchanted weapons gets value from them through Enchanting. Fortify Destruction gear from Enchanting cuts costs further, and Alteration armour spells or Conjuration summons help keep enemies off you while you cast.
How to level Destruction fast
- Fight with your best Destruction spell, not your cheapest – experience scales with the spell’s magicka cost, so higher-tier spells that hit level the skill much faster.
- Dual cast whenever you can afford it; the overcharged spell costs more magicka and therefore earns more experience per hit.
- Keep a cloak spell such as Flame Cloak running during melee fights – every enemy it burns feeds the skill without extra effort.
- Pile on Fortify Destruction gear and potions so you can keep casting through long dungeons instead of waiting for magicka to regenerate.
- Finish Pantea’s Flute for Pantea Ateia, and after Shalidor’s Insights Urag gro-Shub may raise Destruction as a reward.
- Read the skill books – The Art of War Magic, A Hypothetical Treachery, Horror of Castle Xyr, Mystery of Talara, v3 and Response to Bero’s Speech – for a free level each.
- Pay for training: Wuunferth the Unliving in Windhelm (up to 50), Sybille Stentor in Solitude (up to 75) and Faralda (up to 90).
- Activate the Mage Stone early on to learn all Magic skills faster.
Trainers
| Trainer | Trains up to | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Wuunferth the Unliving | Journeyman (up to 50) | |
| Sybille Stentor | Expert (up to 75) | |
| Faralda | Master (up to 90) |
Each trainer can teach up to five levels per character level, and training costs more gold the higher your skill is.
Destruction skill books
Reading each of these books for the first time raises Destruction by one level:
- A Hypothetical Treachery
- Horror of Castle Xyr
- Mystery of Talara, v3
- Response to Bero's Speech
- The Art of War Magic
Destruction spells
Novice
Apprentice
Adept
Expert
Master
Tips and notes
- Gear that reduces Destruction costs by a combined 100% (four 25% pieces) makes Destruction spells free, which also makes the cost-reduction perks pointless – very powerful, but it removes most of the challenge.
- Fire spells cast at oil puddles in dungeons set them alight, damaging anyone standing in them – you and your followers included.
- Fireball, Ice Storm and Chain Lightning can hurt your followers, so mind your aim in crowded fights.
- Cloak spells don’t hurt followers but will happily singe town guards and other neutral bystanders.
- Shock is the best answer to enemy mages: draining their magicka shortens the duel considerably.
Perk tree, required levels and trainer levels from the Skyrim LE 1.9 master files (AVIF AVDestruction, PERK and CLAS records).
