Skyrim Races: Stats, Starting Skill Bonuses and Racial Powers for All 10 Races

Updated October 3, 2026. Every Skyrim race starts with +10 in one skill and +5 in five others, plus passive abilities and a once-a-day power. The bonuses are small and catch up quickly, so pick the race whose power fits your build.

Race-by-race details below.

In The Elders Skroll V: Skyrim, the race determines not only the appearance of the character, but also the initial increase in some characteristics, and also gives a racial bonus that can be applied once per game day. In this guide, we will look at what races are in the game and what each of them is more suitable for.

Argonians

Humanoid reptiles, whose birthplace is the Black Swamp, located in the western part of Tamriel. The race has become memetic and is often the object of not quite decent fanarts - largely due to the two parts of the book "The Lusty Argonian Maid ", which can be found in Skyrim itself. Features Argonian:

• Underwater breathing;
• Immunity to diseases at 50%;
• Initial spells - Heal and Flame;
• Race skill - Skin Hista (enhanced 10 times the recovery of health within a minute);
• Initial skills - Lockpicking +10, restoration of health, change, light armor, stealth, pickpocket +5.

Some of these features have no practical meaning - any disease can be cured at the altar or with the help of a first-aid kit, and swimming underwater in the game is rarely necessary. From the argonianin best to do a warrior or a thief.

Bretons

They live in High Rock Province - in the north-west, not far from the kingdom of Daggerfall. They have such features:

• Magic resistance 25%;
• The initial spells are Healing, Flame, Pet Summon;
• Racial habits - Dragon skin (absorbing enemy spells for a minute with a probability of 50%);
• Starting skills - Conjuration +10, Change, alchemy, eloquence, recovery, illusion.

From the features it is already clear that it is best to pump Breton into the mage. You can also make a pure warrior with good resistance to magic, which is very much in the game.

High Elves

They call themselves the Altmer and are the oldest and most advanced race in Tamriel. In their culture lies the origins of the culture of the Empire - the language, writing, science, crafts and arts. High Elves Features:

• +50 to base mana;
• Initial spells - Healing, Flame, Rage;
• Racial ability - Highborne (restoring 25% of the total mana per second within a minute);
• At the start, +10 to illusion, +5 to enchantment, restoration, destruction, Conjuration and change.

The only effective use of Altmer is to pump the magician in its pure form. Difficulties at high levels are possible, since even with such a reserve for casting mana spells will not always be enough.

The Imperials

The indigenous population of Cyrodiil6. The soldiers are best able to drill, so they conquered almost the whole continent. Race Features:

• Get more gold from chests and corpses;
• Racial ability - Voice of the Emperor (you can calm people nearby for a minute);
• The initial spells are Healing and Flame;
• At the start: +10 to recovery, +5 to heavy armor, blocking, one-handed weapons, enchantment, destruction.

A warrior in heavy armor with a stitching and a sword or an ax is not the only option for pumping. Heavy armor is quite possible to replace light armor - with a slight decrease in protection weighs significantly less.

Khajiit

Cat-like furry hails from Elsweyr, located far to the south. Clever, mobile and fast crooks, for whom to steal what is badly nailed or screwed is a sacred cause. The race is perfect for creating a thief or an assassin:

• Night vision mode, which needs to be activated once a minute;
• Four times the damage in a fight without a weapon;
• Starting spells - Flame and Healing;
• Initial skills: stealth +10, alchemy, shooting, one-handed weapons, pickpocketing and Lockpicking +5.

Wood Elves

Like the previous race, the Bosmer also know how to shoot well with bows and are prone to theft. Members of the race are small wild clans who took refuge in the forests of Valenwood, located in the west. Race Features:

• Can tame any animal for a period of one minute;
• Resistance to poisons and diseases is 50% higher;
• Starting spells - Healing and Flame;
• Basic skills: shooting +10, stealth, Lockpicking, pickpocketing, alchemy, and light armor +5.

Due to the racial ability to tame animals, gameplay has its own characteristics. For example, hunting for giants, you can temporarily make an ally of one of the powerful mammoths with whom giants are inseparable. The appearance of the Bosmer, regardless of gender, is not the most pleasant - with such mugs, the place is somewhere in the forest more often, away from human eyes.

The Nords

"Skyrim for the Nords!" - One of the replicas of the NPC, which has long become a meme. The indigenous people of the province of Skyrim have such distinctive features:

• Opponents take flight for 30 seconds;
• Cold resistance is up 50%;
• The basic spells are Healing and Flame;
• Basic talents: +10 to two-handed weapons, +5 to eloquence, light armor, blacksmithing, blocking and one-handed weapons.

One of the best gaming races: Skyrim is cold, and many hostile magicians use the element of ice. You can make a universal soldier out of the north, with a shield and a sword, as well as a heavy two-handed ax or a hammer. When pumping heavy armor you get a classic tank, crushing the enemy in melee.

The Orcs

Another militant barbarian race that fades a little against the background of the Nords. The few surviving tribes inhabit the mountains of the Dragon tail. Racial ability is absent. Other features:

• Racial skill - Berserker Rage (decrease in damage taken and an increase in damage by half for one minute);
• The basic spells are Healing and Flame;
• Starting skills: heavy armor +10, enchantment, blacksmithing, blocking, one-handed and two-handed weapons +5.

From the orc also get a good tank. Appearance is even more vile than that of the Bosmer: protruding lower fangs make the face not too pleasant.

Redguards

Universal soldiers, which can be turned into a warrior, and a mage, and combine these branches of skills. They live in the province of Hammerfell. Features:

• Poison resistance 50% higher
• Racial ability - Fury of battle (restoration of vigor with a tenfold speed within a minute);
• Basic spells - Flame and Healing;
• Starting skills: +10 to one-handed weapon, +5 to blocking, shooting, forging craft, destruction and alteration.

Poison resistance is a stupid skill, as poisonous creatures and poisoned weapons in Skyrim are rare. Racial talent is a very useful skill: when used, a redgard sprints for a decent distance, or crushes an opponent with a hail of reinforced strikes, and also shoots from a bow.

Dark Elves

The Danmer race is from the province of Morrowind. They have dark skin and reddish eyes. An analogue of the drow of the setting of Dungeons & Dragons. Dark elves make great sorcerers or warriors. Race Features:

• Fire resistance is 50% higher;
• Racial habits - Rage of the ancestors (fire aura, inflicting 10 units of damage per second for a minute);
• Starting spells - Flame, Healing, Electric discharge;
• At the start: +10 to destruction, +5 to alchemy, stealth, light armor, illusion and change.

In conclusion, it is worth noting that only racial talents can have practical use - they are all different. However, there is no fundamental difference, because, as mentioned above, this skill can be applied once per game day. And having learned a few dragon screams, a character can easily do without the use of racial skills.

As for starting skills, the difference of several points is also unprincipled - up to this level the required characteristics can be pumped in a maximum of half an hour. As a result, the main thing that players are guided by when choosing a character's race in Skyrim is his appearance: in this case the difference is cardinal.