Should I Upgrade My Skills to Legendary in Skyrim? A Comprehensive Guide
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Making a skill Legendary in Skyrim is a significant decision with far-reaching implications for your character’s progression. The short answer is: yes, often, but with careful consideration. Legendary skills allow for continued character leveling beyond the initial soft cap, and provide the opportunity to redistribute perk points into other skills. However, the immediate impact of resetting a skill to 15 can be jarring, especially for combat-oriented skills. Understanding the benefits, drawbacks, and strategic considerations is crucial before taking the plunge.
Understanding Legendary Skills
What Does “Legendary” Actually Mean?
When a skill reaches 100, it can be made Legendary. This action resets the skill back to 15 and refunds all perk points invested in that skill tree. While this may seem like a step backward, it opens up several strategic advantages.
The Advantages of Going Legendary
- Continued Leveling: The primary benefit is the ability to continue leveling your character. Skyrim’s level cap, initially around 81 without utilizing the Legendary system, can be effectively bypassed. As leveling requires increasing skills, making skills legendary ensures you aren’t stuck with unused skills just to gain character levels.
- Perk Point Redistribution: Refunding perk points allows you to reallocate them to other skill trees. This enables specialization, experimentation with different builds, or correcting previous perk allocation mistakes.
- Late-Game Scaling: Leveling a skill from 15 to 100 against the challenges of the late game can be surprisingly fast, especially with certain skills. The early levels are easy to gain, providing quick character level progression.
- Strategic Build Adjustment: Perhaps your playstyle has changed, or you realized a different set of perks would be more optimal. The legendary skill system grants you this flexibility.
- Exploration of Underutilized Skills: Ever wanted to explore the Alchemy or Speech skill tree but felt like your build was already set? Making a legendary skill provides the perk points to invest in something new without sacrificing your core abilities.
The Disadvantages of Going Legendary
- Immediate Power Loss: Resetting a combat skill, like Archery or One-Handed, to 15 drastically reduces your combat effectiveness. Enemies that were once trivial can become challenging again.
- Increased Difficulty (Initially): The game world doesn’t scale down with your skill level. You’ll be facing the same enemies with significantly weaker abilities until you level the skill back up.
- Time Investment: Leveling a skill from 15 to 100 takes time and effort. While the early levels are quick, the grind becomes more noticeable at higher levels.
- Potential Frustration: Losing previously earned abilities and perks can be frustrating, especially if you rely heavily on those skills. Planning and preparation are key.
Which Skills Should You Make Legendary?
The best skills to make legendary depend heavily on your playstyle, current character build, and goals. However, some skills are generally more suitable than others.
Recommended Skills
- Smithing: A fantastic choice for early legendary status. Leveling Smithing is relatively straightforward and quick. Crafting high-value items provides substantial experience, and the perk points are generally less crucial for core gameplay than combat skills.
- Alchemy: Another excellent option for its ease of leveling. Creating potions, especially those with multiple effects, grants significant experience. Additionally, the perks are generally more utility-focused than essential for survival.
- Enchanting: Similar to Smithing and Alchemy, Enchanting can be leveled relatively easily by disenchanting items and creating enchanted gear.
- Speech: While initially tedious, Speech can be leveled efficiently by selling items in bulk, especially once you acquire the Merchant perk. The speech skill tree perks don’t directly enhance damage output so becoming legendary is a viable choice.
- Alteration: Casting spells like Telekinesis in a city or using the Detect Life spell in crowded areas can level up Alteration quickly. The Flesh spells are invaluable for defense, making it useful for all builds.
Skills to Consider Carefully
- Combat Skills (Archery, One-Handed, Two-Handed, Destruction): Making combat skills legendary is a risky move. While the eventual benefits are substantial, the immediate power loss can be significant. Only consider this if you are confident in your ability to survive with reduced combat effectiveness.
- Sneak: A popular choice for stealth-based characters, but resetting Sneak can make sneaking much more difficult initially.
- Light Armor/Heavy Armor: The effectiveness of your armor is directly tied to your skill level. Resetting these skills will make you significantly more vulnerable.
Skills to Avoid (Generally)
- Lockpicking: While leveling Lockpicking can be tedious, the perks are incredibly useful for opening master-level locks. Resetting Lockpicking can severely hinder your ability to access valuable loot.
- Pickpocket: While useful for acquiring gear and completing quests, Pickpocket is not essential for most builds. Resetting it will likely have minimal impact.
Strategic Considerations
Timing is Everything
Don’t make a skill Legendary until you are comfortable with the consequences. Ensure you have sufficient resources (potions, gear, gold) to compensate for the reduced skill level. Consider doing it in a safe area or after completing a major questline.
Plan Your Perk Allocation
Before making a skill Legendary, plan where you will reallocate the refunded perk points. Having a clear goal in mind will help you maximize the benefits of the reset.
Take Advantage of Training
Utilize trainers to quickly level up a skill after making it Legendary. Investing gold in training can significantly reduce the time required to reach a usable skill level.
Use Skill Leveling Exploits (If Desired)
While some players prefer to level skills legitimately, others may choose to use exploits to speed up the process. There are various exploits available for different skills, but use them at your own risk.
Is It Worth It?
Ultimately, the decision to make a skill Legendary depends on your individual circumstances. If you are looking to continue leveling your character, redistribute perk points, or experiment with different builds, then making skills Legendary is a worthwhile endeavor. However, be prepared for the initial power loss and the time investment required to level the skill back up.
Before diving into the game world, consider exploring educational resources like the Games Learning Society, accessible at https://www.gameslearningsociety.org/, to broaden your understanding of how gaming principles apply to learning and development. Understanding these principles can help you approach the game with a more strategic and analytical mindset, leading to a more rewarding and enriching experience.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Do Legendary skills level faster?
No, Legendary skills level at the same rate as non-Legendary skills. The experience required to level each skill is the same regardless of whether it’s Legendary or not. The perception of faster leveling might come from the ease of gaining initial levels (15 to 40) compared to higher levels (80 to 100).
2. What happens to my gear when I make a skill Legendary?
Your gear is unaffected. Making a skill Legendary only resets the skill level and refunds perk points. However, if your gear relies on a specific skill level (e.g., armor skills impacting armor rating), its effectiveness will be temporarily reduced until you level the skill back up.
3. How many times can I make a skill Legendary?
There is no limit to how many times you can make a skill Legendary. You can reset a skill as many times as you want, allowing for infinite character leveling and perk point redistribution.
4. Does making a skill Legendary make it harder to level up?
No, it doesn’t inherently make it harder. The amount of experience required to level a skill remains constant. However, it may feel harder because you are likely facing tougher enemies at higher character levels, making the initial leveling process more challenging.
5. What is the best skill to make Legendary first?
Smithing or Alchemy are generally considered the best skills to make Legendary first. They are relatively easy to level, their perks are less essential for immediate survival, and the refunded perk points can be used to strengthen combat abilities.
6. Can I get all perks in Skyrim?
No, it is not possible to acquire all perks in Skyrim. The number of perks available far exceeds the number of perk points you can earn by leveling all skills to 100. The Legendary system allows you to acquire more perks but still not all of them.
7. Will my character be weaker after making a skill Legendary?
Initially, yes. Resetting a skill to 15 will reduce your effectiveness in areas reliant on that skill. However, this is a temporary setback. The long-term goal is to become stronger overall by strategically reallocating perk points and continuing to level your character.
8. What happens to enchantments on gear related to the Legendary skill?
Enchantments remain active. For example, if you have an enchantment that fortifies Archery, it will still function even if you make Archery Legendary. However, its effectiveness may be reduced if your overall Archery skill contributes to the enchantment’s effect.
9. How do I level up a skill quickly after making it Legendary?
- Training: Pay trainers to increase your skill level.
- Skill Books: Read skill books to gain experience.
- Use the skill frequently: Perform actions related to the skill (e.g., crafting items for Smithing, casting spells for Destruction).
- Exploits (Optional): Utilize known exploits to quickly level certain skills.
10. Should I make a combat skill Legendary early in the game?
Generally, no. Making a combat skill Legendary early on can make the game significantly more difficult. It’s best to wait until you have a solid foundation of skills and gear before considering this option.
11. Does the game difficulty affect how quickly skills level up?
No, the game difficulty does not directly affect how quickly skills level up. Difficulty settings primarily impact enemy health, damage output, and the player’s damage taken.
12. What is the maximum level in Skyrim?
There is no level cap in Skyrim when utilizing the Legendary system. You can theoretically level your character infinitely by repeatedly making skills Legendary and leveling them back up.
13. Can I undo making a skill Legendary?
No, you cannot undo it. Once you make a skill Legendary, the skill level is reset to 15, and the perk points are refunded. There is no way to revert this change without using console commands (which disable achievements) on PC.
14. How does making a skill Legendary affect my character’s overall power?
It initially reduces power but allows for long-term power growth. By redistributing perk points into other skills, you can create a more versatile and powerful character. The ability to continue leveling also contributes to overall power.
15. Is there a recommended character level to start making skills Legendary?
There is no specific recommended level. However, it’s generally advisable to wait until you have several skills at 100 and have a good understanding of your character build before starting. A character level of 50 or higher is a good starting point for most players.
Making skills Legendary in Skyrim is a powerful tool for character customization and progression. Understanding the mechanics, advantages, and disadvantages will help you make informed decisions and create the ultimate Dragonborn.