Bretons hail from the province of High Rock and they are mages extraordinaire. With
the mixture of their Aldmer and human blood they are capable of powerful magical
feats without being quite as frail as their elven ancestors. With a sword in one hand
and electricity blazing from the other these guys can handle almost any situation if
they’ve been trained properly.
To a degree it’s safe to think of the Breton as a “training wheels” type
character. They have a high Conjuration skill which lets them summon allies to help
them fight, aiding new players in dealing with some of the harder battles (like
Dragons). In addition to that, they focus on support magic instead of direct combat
spells which lets you fight with a sword and shield – swapping to magic as needed.
These two facts grant them high survivability as compared to most other mage
characters.
Honestly, the Breton is one of the better character races in the game even if you don
’t know what you’re doing. They don’t start off in especially fantastic shape to
be a warrior or thief, but they can certainly be trained up for that. Heck, use the
Guardian Stones if you find your skills aren’t leveling up fast enough. Overall,
this race may not be as immediately helpful as some other races but it definitely
packs a heck of a punch when used properly.
A Breton will have access to:
Starting Skills
Alchemy: 20, Alteration: 20, Conjuration: 25, Illusion: 20, Restoration: 20, Speech:
20
Passive Abilities
Magic Resistance: Grants a 25% resistance to magic but not elemental spells.
Activated Ability:
Dragonskin: Absorb 50% of the magicka from hostile spells for 60 seconds.
Character Suggestions:
As you can probably guess, the Breton makes for an excellent mage. Due to their
innate skill with magick you have a whole lot of options here. They have no
specialization with offensive spells so either train them up or simply work around
that. Either way, this character can really be played in just about any way. A few
ideas are listed below:
Pure Mage: This is the most obvious choice. Eschew weapons and armors almost entirely
for best results; keep an offensive spell in one hand and a summoning or protective
spell in the other. Pump up your school of choice and then just tear through your
foes. Mages will find you especially difficult to fight, especially if you bring
protective spells. While they may not start with a boost to Destruction they do start
with Flames and Sparks so they’re ready to blast apart enemies right out the door.
Thief: Illusion provides you with concealment options for stealthy approaches. Take
the Illusion Perk and Quiet Casting, to give yourself the option to cast any spells
you like while hidden away. Conjuration can be used to summon powerful weapons or
battle allies – it’s entirely possible to hide away from enemies and send minions
to do your bidding. If you’re not doing great in combat then use Alchemy to make
poisons to rapidly damage enemies or paralyze them.
Fighter: A fighter might seem unlikely but it actually works pretty well. Restoration
spells will keep you alive, Conjuration will summon up a battle buddy to provide
assistance in tough fights and Alteration will help inhibit your foes ability to
fight back. Plus, since you resist their magic, mages are going to die in short order
as you charge right into their face and cut them open. Even their strongest spells
will have little impact on you especially if you use Dragonskin.