Block is the art of putting something solid between your face and the enemy’s axe. Raise a shield or a weapon and incoming physical attacks hit for less and stagger you less. It belongs to the Combat skills, so the Warrior Stone speeds up its progress, and it pairs naturally with One-handed and Heavy Armor for the classic sword-and-board warrior.
It is easy to treat Block as an afterthought, but a well-perked shield changes how fights play out. You shrug off arrows, cut dragon fire in half, slow time when a giant winds up a power attack, and eventually knock down whole groups simply by sprinting at them. For any melee character who would rather not drink a potion every ten seconds, it is one of the best survival investments in the game.
How Block works
Blocking with a shield or a weapon
Hold the block button with a shield or a weapon equipped and your character raises a guard. Attacks that land on it deal reduced damage and are less likely to stagger you. Shields are clearly better at this than weapons, and several perks only work with a shield – arrow deflection and elemental protection among them. You cannot block while dual-wielding two weapons or while holding a spell in your off hand.
Bashing
While blocking, press attack to bash with your shield or weapon. A bash interrupts the target and is the classic way to stop a mage mid-cast or break a draugr’s rhythm. With the Power Bash perk you can hold the button for a heavier bash, and later perks turn bashing into a genuine damage source and even a disarm.
How the skill rises
Block gains experience when you successfully block incoming attacks – the more damage you absorb with your guard, the faster it climbs. Simply holding the shield up does nothing; something has to actually hit it. That makes Block a skill you level by fighting, ideally against enemies that hit often but not too hard.
Shields and armor skills
A shield’s armor rating is governed by the armor skill of its class, not by Block. A glass or elven shield counts as light armor, while iron, steel or ebony shields count as heavy. Block decides how well you use the shield; Light Armor or Heavy Armor decides how much protection it gives, and Smithing can improve it further.
Block perk tree
The Block tree has 9 perks with 13 ranks in total. Required levels are the Block skill level needed for each rank.
| Perk | Ranks | Skill level | Requires | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shield Wall | 5 | 0 / 20 / 40 / 60 / 80 | – | Rank 1: Blocking is 20% more effective. Rank 2: Blocking is 25% more effective. Rank 3: Blocking is 30% more effective. Rank 4: Blocking is 35% more effective. Rank 5: Blocking is 40% more effective. |
| Deflect Arrows | 1 | 30 | Shield Wall | Arrows that hit the shield do no damage. |
| Power Bash | 1 | 30 | Shield Wall | Able to do a power bash. |
| Quick Reflexes | 1 | 30 | Shield Wall | Time slows down if you are blocking during an enemy's power attack. |
| Deadly Bash | 1 | 50 | Power Bash | Bashing does five times more damage. |
| Elemental Protection | 1 | 50 | Deflect Arrows | Blocking with a shield reduces incoming fire, frost, and shock damage by 50%. |
| Block Runner | 1 | 70 | Elemental Protection | Able to move faster with a shield raised. |
| Disarming Bash | 1 | 70 | Deadly Bash | Chance to disarm when power bashing. |
| Shield Charge | 1 | 100 | Disarming Bash or Block Runner | Sprinting with a shield raised knocks down most targets. |
Perk guide
Shield Wall is the backbone of the tree: each rank makes blocking more effective, from 20% at rank 1 to 40% at rank 5 (ranks unlock at Block 20, 40, 60 and 80). Take ranks as you level, but there is no rush to max it before grabbing the branch perks, which give far more value per point.
At Block 30 the tree splits three ways. Quick Reflexes slows time when you are blocking during an enemy’s power attack – a lovely window to counter or bash. Deflect Arrows makes arrows that hit your shield do no damage, which turns bandit archers and Falmer from a nuisance into background noise. Power Bash opens the bashing branch.
The defensive branch is the real prize. Elemental Protection (Block 50) halves fire, frost and shock damage when you block with a shield – raise it against a dragon’s breath or a mage’s barrage and watch the damage melt away. Block Runner (Block 70) lets you move faster with your shield raised, so you can close distance on archers and casters without dropping your guard.
The bash branch suits aggressive builds. Deadly Bash (Block 50) makes bashes deal five times more damage and Disarming Bash (Block 70) adds a chance to disarm with a power bash – great against enemies with nasty unique weapons. At Block 100, Shield Charge (reachable from either Block Runner or Disarming Bash) knocks down most targets when you sprint with your shield up. Combined with Block Runner it is an excellent crowd-control tool.
Suggested order: Shield Wall 1, Deflect Arrows, Quick Reflexes, Power Bash, Elemental Protection, Block Runner, then Shield Wall ranks, and finally Shield Charge. Deadly Bash and Disarming Bash are optional – pick them if you bash a lot or want the extra route to Shield Charge. Mages who use a shield only occasionally can stop after Elemental Protection.
How to level Block fast
- Fight weak enemies with your shield up. Wolves, skeevers, mudcrabs and low-level bandits hit often and do little damage – let them pound your shield before finishing them off.
- Block everything in normal combat. Make raising the shield a habit before every swing; it trains the skill and keeps you alive.
- Keep potions or food handy. Long blocking sessions against a weak attacker go further if you can top up health and stamina without lowering your guard for long.
- Use the Warrior Stone early on – Combat skills level 20% faster under it. The Lover Stone is an alternative if you want all skills boosted a little.
- Train with the experts: Njada Stonearm of the Companions in Whiterun teaches up to 75, and Chief Larak of Mor Khazgur up to 90 – the stronghold must be open to you first.
- Read the skill books – each gives a free skill increase the first time it is read. The Mirror and Warrior are among them.
Trainers
| Trainer | Trains up to | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Njada Stonearm | Expert (up to 75) | |
| Chief Larak | 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.
Block skill books
Reading each of these books for the first time raises Block by one level:
Tips and notes
- Shields and weapon blocking both benefit from Shield Wall, but Deflect Arrows and Elemental Protection need a shield.
- Elemental Protection is one of the strongest anti-dragon perks for a melee character – raise the shield the moment you see a dragon inhale.
- Bashing interrupts spellcasting, which makes Power Bash surprisingly useful against draugr overlords and necromancers.
- Shield enchantments such as Resist Fire or Resist Magic stack with Elemental Protection, so Enchanting and Block support each other well.
Perk tree, required levels and trainer levels from the Skyrim LE 1.9 master files (AVIF AVBlock, PERK and CLAS records).
