Destruction (Skyrim)

Destruction is a skill in , and is one of the skills that falls under The Mage play-style. The Destruction skill is increased by damaging enemies with Destruction spells. Destruction spells serve as the main offensive for mages, as the majority of the spells in this school cause direct damage.
Destruction spells can be acquired by reading spell tomes bought from vendors or looted from chests and corpses. The tomes of these spells depict an open palm, circled in fire. In the College of Winterhold, Faralda is the Destruction Teacher and has a wide selection of Destruction spell tomes for sale.
==Branches==
Destruction is divided in three types of elements: Fire, Frost and Shock. Each has its own characteristics, costs and effects, as listed below.
===Fire===
Fire spells consume the least amount of magicka of the three types of Destruction spells. Fire spells travel at an average velocity and inflict damage on contact as well as over time. Most fire spells inflict a "burn" effect on enemies, which boosts damage from other weapons. Dark Elves are 50% resistant to this kind of spell, which can be helpful in fighting fire-breathing dragons. Fire spells also boil small amounts of water when cast at them. Fire spells can also ignite oil that is sometimes found spilled on the floor of dungeons, crypts, etc. Creatures (including the Dragonborn and their companions) standing in or passing through burning oil will take fire damage.
===Frost===
Frost spells consume an average amount of Magicka, but they travel at a slower velocity than shock spells. Frost spells slow the target's movement, while dealing damage to health and stamina. Nords are 50% resistant to this kind of spell, which can be an advantage when fighting frost-breathing dragons. Also, vampires resist between 25% and 100% (20% and 50% in ) of frost damage, depending on the stage of vampirism.
===Shock===
Shock spells consume the most Magicka of the three types of Destruction spells, but its spell velocity is instant. Shock spell damage drains health and magicka, making it an ideal choice against mages. Only Bretons, with a 25% resistance to all magic, have an innate resistance to shock spell damage. Shock damage is not conducted by water.
==Skill Books==
The following is a list of books that raise the Destruction skill.
*A Hypothetical Treachery
*The Horror of Castle Xyr
*Mystery of Talara, Book III
*Response to Bero's Speech
*The Art of War Magic
*Oghma Infinium raises Destruction, and all other magically based skills, by 5 increments when the "Path of Magic" is taken.
==Quests==
The following miscellaneous quests increases the Destruction Skill:
*Find Pantea's Flute for Pantea Ateia in the Bards College in Solitude. This also increases Alteration, Enchanting, Conjuration, Restoration, and Illusion.
*After completing Shalidor's Insights for Urag gro-Shub at the College of Winterhold, he may increase the Destruction skill instead of offering scrolls when the manuscripts have been translated.
==Spells==
The following is a complete list of Destruction spells:
===Novice (skill level 0)===
Spell Name 	Description 	Magicka Base Cost
Flames 	A gout of fire inflicting a base damage of 8 points of fire damage per second. Targets on fire take extra damage. One of the two basic spells.	14 per second
Frostbite 	A blast of cold inflicting a base damage of 8 points of frost damage per second to Health and Stamina. 	16 per second
Sparks 	Lightning which inflicts a base damage of 8 points of shock damage per second to Health and Magicka. 	19 per second
Arniel's Convection	Burns the target 1 point per second. Targets on fire take extra damage. 	0 per second
Vampiric Drain 	Absorb 2, 3, 4 or 5 points (depends upon the level of vampirism) of health from the target. 	6, 10, 13 or 17 per second (depends upon the level of vampirism)
===Apprentice (skill level 25)===
Spell Name 	Description 	Magicka Base Cost
Firebolt 	A bolt of fire that inflicts 25 points of fire damage. Targets on fire take extra damage. 	41
Freeze 	A spike of ice that does 20 points of frost damage to Health and Stamina and slows the target for 15 seconds. 	30
Ice Spike 	A spike of ice that inflicts 25 points of ice damage to Health and Stamina. 	48
Ignite 	A blast of flame that sets targets of fire, doing 4 damage per second for 15 seconds. 	30
Lightning Bolt	A bolt of lightning that inflicts 25 points of shock damage to Health and half as much to Magicka. 	51
Fire Rune 	Cast on a nearby surface, it explodes for 50 points of damage when enemies come near. Affected targets take extra damage. 	234
Frost Rune 	Cast on a nearby surface, it explodes for 50 points of damage to Health and Stamina when enemies come near. Movement speed is reduced for affected targets.	293
Lightning Rune	Cast on a nearby surface, it explodes for 50 points of damage to Health and half as much to Magicka when enemies come near. 	323
===Adept (skill level 50)===
Spell Name 	Description 	Magicka Base Cost
Chain Lightning	A lighting bolt inflicting 40 points of damage to Health and half as much to Magicka, then leaps to a new target. If the character has learned Augmented Shock 2/2, the lightning jumps on one additional target and does 60 damage. Caution! Friendly-fire is possible. 	156
Fireball 	A fireball which explodes on impact for 40 points of damage in a 15-foot radius. Targets on fire take extra damage. If the character has learned Augmented Flames 2/2, the radius of the fire explosion is increased by 5 and damage increases to 60 points. Does harm Followers, but not Dragonborn.	133
Ice Storm 	A freezing whirlwind that does 40 points of damage per second to Health and Stamina. The whirlwind radius is increased if the character has Augmented Frost 2/2. Spell range is smaller if cast with Destruction Dual Casting. Does harm Followers, but not Dragonborn. 	144
Flame Cloak 	For 60 seconds, opponents in melee range take 8 points of damage per second. Targets on fire take extra damage. Does not harm Followers. Does harm neutral NPCs like town guards. 	289
Frost Cloak 	For 60 seconds, opponents in melee range take 8 points of damage per second to Health and Stamina. Does not harm Followers. Does harm neutral NPCs like town guards. 	316
Lightning Cloak	For 60 seconds, nearby opponents take 8 points of damage per second to Health and half as much to Magicka. Does not harm Followers. Does harm neutral NPCs like town guards. 	370
Whirlwind Cloak	For 60 seconds, opponents in melee range have a chance of being flung away. 	338
===Expert (skill level 75)===
Spell Name 	Description 	Magicka Base Cost
Icy Spear 	A spear of ice that does 60 (90) points of frost damage to Health and Stamina. 	320
Incinerate 	A blast of fire that does 60 (90) points of fire damage. Targets on fire take extra damage. 	298
Thunderbolt 	A thunderbolt that does 60 (90) points of shock damage to Health and half that to Magicka. 	343
Wall of Flames	Sprayed on the ground, it creates a wall of fire that does 50 points of fire damage per second. Does not harm Followers or Dragonborn. 	118 per second
Wall of Frost 	Sprayed on the ground, it creates a wall of frost that does 50 points of frost damage per second. Does not harm Followers or Dragonborn. 	137 per second
Wall of Storms	Sprayed on the ground it creates a wall of lightning that does 50 points of shock damage per second. Does not harm Followers or Dragonborn.	145 per second
===Master (skill level 100)===
Master spells cannot be purchased initially. To unlock Master Destruction spells, the quest "Destruction Ritual Spell" must be completed upon reaching level 100 Destruction.
Spell Name 	Description 	Magicka Base Cost
Blizzard 	Creates a blizzard that surrounds the caster. Targets take 20 point of frost damage every second for 10 seconds, plus stamina damage.	656
Fire Storm 	A 100-point fiery explosion centered on the caster. The closer a target is, the more damage they take. 	846
Lightning Storm	Fires a continuous stream of lightning. Target takes 75 points of shock damage per second to Health, and half that to Magicka. 	138 per second
==Starting spells==
The following are Destruction spells that the Dragonborn can start with if the correct race is selected:
*The Flames spell is unlocked for all races at the start of the game.
*The Sparks spell is unlocked for Dark Elves at the start of the game. (For other races, a Spell Tome for Sparks can be found while escaping Helgen.)
==Perks==
The following are the perks that become available to select as the skill is leveled up. 17 Perk points are required to max out the tree.
Perk (Ranks) 	Requirements 	Description
Novice Destruction	None 	Cast Novice level Destruction spells for half magicka
 	Destruction 20, Novice Destruction 	Dual casting a Destruction spell overcharges the effects into an even more powerful version
 	Destruction 25, Novice Destruction 	Cast Apprentice level Destruction spells for half magicka
(2) 	Destruction 30/60, Novice Destruction 	Fire spells do 25% more damage (50% for second rank) (Affects all fire weapon enchantments, not just self-enchanted ones.)
(2) 	Destruction 30/60, Novice Destruction 	Frost spells do 25% more damage (50% for second rank) (Affects all frost weapon enchantments, not just self-enchanted ones.)
(2) 	Destruction 30/60, Novice Destruction 	Shock spells do 25% more damage (50% for second rank) (Affects all shock weapon enchantments, not just self-enchanted ones.)
Impact 	Destruction 40, Destruction Dual Casting	Most destruction spells will stagger an opponent when dual cast
 	Destruction 40, Apprentice Destruction 	Can place runes five times farther away
 	Destruction 50, Apprentice Destruction 	Cast Adept level Destruction spells for half magicka
 	Destruction 50, Augmented Flames 	Fire damage causes targets to flee if their health is low
 	Destruction 60, Augmented Frost 	Frost damage paralyzes targets if their health is low
Disintegrate 	Destruction 70, Augmented Shock 	Shock damage disintegrates targets if their health is low
 	Destruction 75, Adept Destruction 	Cast Expert level Destruction spells for half magicka
 	Destruction 100, Expert Destruction 	Cast Master level Destruction spells for half magicka
==Training==
*Wuunferth the Unliving (Adept): Palace of the Kings, Windhelm
*Sybille Stentor (Expert): Blue Palace, Solitude
*Faralda (Master): College of Winterhold
==Leveling==
*Wearing four items with 25% reduction to the cost of Destruction spells completely negates the magicka cost, allowing the casting of several spells infinitely. In this sense, it also means there is less of a purpose in taking the Adept, Expert, or Master Destruction perks, allowing the Dragonborn to spend perks on other skills.
*Using Magic Runes can level Destruction quickly because they deal more damage per second. If using these on a non-hostile character, however, they must be set off by the caster using another Destruction spell or an offensive shout.
*Conjure a Frost Atronach and blast it with a fire spell or Conjure a Flame Atronach and blast it with ice. These creations explode upon death. Because Frost Atronachs are too large to fit through certain doorways, they can get stuck, leaving them vulnerable to incoming assaults. Alternatively, after damaging the atronach, use healing spells from the Restoration school to level a third spell type all in one session. Additionally, wear at least once piece of heavy armor and one piece of light armor, equip a shield, and do as much damage without destroying the atronach as you can, but fast enough that it attacks you. Doing this could effectively level Block, Conjuration, Destruction, Heavy Armor, Light Armor, and Restoration - six skills.
*Using the Flames and Healing Hands method on essential characters can be used to level Destruction, Restoration, and Heavy Armor or Light Armor simultaneously. This can also be done on non-essential characters if enough care is taken.
*Master destruction spells are a good and fast way to level up again after getting the Destruction skill promoted to Legendary, granting an increase from 2 to 3 levels per spell casting.
*It can be quickly leveled up if the Dragonborn has access to the Flame Thrall spell and the Blizzard spell. Simply conjure a Flame Thrall and continuously cast Blizzard. The thrall will be recognized as a target, thus granting experience to the Dragonborn. The damage dealt with Blizzard against allies is low enough where the thralls will not become hostile.
*Another way to level up quickly is to dual-cast a cloak spell (longer range) and single-cast the highest level spell you have. This way you are dealing damage twice as fast, damage per second with the cloak, and impact damage with the other.
==Enhancing destruction damage==
Leveling up destruction does not increase damage and mages may find that destruction is less useful against high level enemies. There are four ways to increase destruction damage.
*The perks Augmented Fire, Frost and Shock (2 perks each) can increase damage by 50% for each element.
*The DLC provides the dragon priest masks Ahzidal, Dukaan and Zahkriisos which increase damage done by fire, frost and shock by 25%, respectively.
*Fortify Destruction potions can be found or created using Alchemy.
*Use a Shalidor's Insights: Destruction scroll (50% more destruction spell damage for 120 seconds).
*Additionally, the Aspect of Terror perk in Illusion increases the damage of fire-based spells. If you get the perk while having zero ranks of Augment Flames your fire spell damage will increase by 10. Adding the perk while having Augment Flames 1/2 will add 12 damage to your fire spells, and adding Aspect of Terror while having Augment Flames 2/2 will add 15 damage to your fire spells.
==Trivia==
*The Companion's Insight ability, available via Black Book: The Winds of Change, makes it impossible for Destruction spells to damage followers in combat. 
==Bugs==
* Jumping in a forge may slowly level the Dragonborn's Destruction skill.
* If a weapon has two enchantments (Extra Effect perk in enchanting) and one of the enchantments is affected by Augmented Flames/Frost/Shock perks it may also amplify the second enchantment. This effect can be amplified further if one has perks in multiple elements and one of the enchantments is Chaos Damage. For example, with all 6 Augmented Flames+Frost+Shock perks and Fear as the second enchantment, the maximum level for enemies to flee is about tripled. When the Augmented perks are removed (by making Destruction a Legendary Skill or using Hidden Knowledge), the maximum level returns to normal, also on existing weapons.
de:Zerstörung (Skyrim)
es:Destrucción (Skyrim)
fr:Destruction (Skyrim)
it:Distruzione (Skyrim)
nl:Destructie/Skyrim
pl:Zniszczenie (Skyrim)
pt:Destruição (Skyrim)
ru:Разрушение (Skyrim)
uk:Руйнування (Skyrim)
Category:Skyrim: Skills
 Destruction