Summary
- Skyrim has its fair share of difficult encounters featuring dragons, giants, mages, and other challenging enemies.
- Lower-level encounters with mammoths and giants can easily result in the player's death, so it's best to avoid fighting them or use ranged attacks to take them down.
- Magic Anomalies, high-leveled Werewolf Vargrs, Legendary Dragons, and the Ebony Warrior are just a few of the toughest enemies players will come across in Skyrim.
Difficulty and The Elder Scrolls franchise typically aren't synonymous with each other. The balance in each mainline Elder Scrolls game typically leans towards easy, but that doesn't mean that each title doesn't have tough moments. Take Skyrim as an example. With its hundreds of quests and NPCs, there are plenty of moments where the Dragonborn's abilities are truly put to the test.
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Some foes in Skyrim rival the player's power while others well exceed what the player can do. From the Ebony Warrior to packs of draugr, there are some really hard combat encounters players can face in Skyrim. Fighting these enemies is easier said than done, but players who come prepared and never give up will eventually be able to triumph against these powerful foes.
Updated on December 30, 2023, by Ritwik Mitra: Skyrim is one of the greatest video games ever made. The release of Starfield has proven once again how special this gem is, with many people hoping that Bethesda can bounce back from the mediocre reception to this title with the release of The Elder Scrolls 6. Until then, both new and old players can always jump into this 2011 RPG and mod it to enjoy a relatively modern experience with this title. However, there are some encounters that players should be wary of if they don't want the Dragonborn to be obliterated during their adventures.
17 Mammoths At Lower Levels
Deadly, Especially With Giants Lurking Around Close By
- Encountered in: The wilderness of Skyrim and High Rock
It's only a given that the animals who accompany the game's fearsome Giants would be some of Skyrim's toughest foes. Mammoths can be encountered pretty early on in Skyrim when players don't have any hope of surviving against this tusked beast.
Players should either sneak around these beasts or reload an earlier save if they're spotted by these beasts. There's no point in trying to fight unless the Dragonborn has decent gear and is at a high enough level to tackle these foes.
How to Beat
With higher levels and better gear, these monsters are easy to deal with, but players should have their guard up regardless. A safe strategy is taking them out from a distance instead of getting up close and personal.
16 Volsung
One Of The Game's Many Challenging Dragon Priests
- Encountered in: Volskygge
The Dragon Priests are some of the toughest foes in Skyrim who will bring the heat to the Dragonborn in battle. Suffice it to say, players need to be smart while fighting this foe, since a single misstep will lead to their demise.
Volsung is a powerful Dragon Priest whose skills in the most dangerous schools of magic are maxed out, making him a force to be reckoned with. Players who aren't ready to tackle this foe should be ready to die over and over again before eventually emerging victorious by the skin of their teeth.
How to Beat
Players should maintain a steady offense and heal up whenever Volsung unleashes a damaging attack. With enough healing items, strong attacks, and patience, this enemy should be down and out for the count.
15 Giants At Lower Levels
Capable Of One-Shotting The Dragonborn
- Encountered in: The wilderness of Skyrim and High Rock
Giants are easily one of the most iconic enemies in Skyrim. Encountering this powerful enemy in the world during early levels is pretty much akin to a death sentence.
These enemies are extremely powerful and can send players flying in one of the most comical deaths in the game. It takes a few levels for the player to get the strength and equipment they need to deal with this powerful enemy.
How to Beat
At low levels, the best way to beat a Giant if players are adamant about taking on this foe is to cheese it with ranged attacks, exploiting the game's poor pathfinding in the process. If players maintain their distance and don't get too overzealous, then they can take a Giant out without even incurring a single hit.
14 The First Few Dragon Encounters
Tough-As-Nails With A Fair Wealth Of Melee And Ranged Attacks
- Encountered in: Anywhere outdoors in Skyrim
Dragons are one of the biggest aspects of Skyrim's amazing open world. However, a big problem with these enemies is that they become rather easy to defeat further down the line in the game.
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However, the first dragon encounter and the ones that come after it can be quite brutal at times. It takes some smart tactics from players to get through these encounters with their lives intact.
How to Beat
The most important thing is to force a dragon to land, which can be done with a bow, a long-range Destruction spell, or the Dragonrend Shout. Players should be in an open field so that the dragon has space to land, following which they should circle around the beast to avoid its breath attacks and hack away at its health bar until the beast is down and out for the count.
13 Magic Anomalies
Pesky Fiends That Scale Indefinitely With The Dragonborn's Level
- Encountered in: The quests 'Containment', 'The Eye of Magnus', and 'Aftershock'
Magic Anomalies are easily some of the most annoying enemies in the game. They have high magic resistances and are pretty nimble, making it hard to land attacks on them at times.
It's a pain to deal with these enemies when they come in a group, with players finding it hard to focus when these Anomalies keep on hitting them for damage. It takes a sheer force of will for players to get through every encounter against a Magic Anomaly.
How to Beat
Accurate attacks are imperative to winning against these tricky foes, especially given how they dart around. It's important to not get mobbed by a group and to heal up whenever things look dicey since most players will be surprised by how much damage these small enemies can dish out if players aren't attentive during an encounter.
12 Werewolf Vargr (Past Level 42)
Can Ragdoll The Player And Frustrate Them To No End
- Encountered in: Silver Hand bases at high levels
Werewolves are some of the toughest enemies in the game. However, Werewolf Vargrs are in a class of their own, and their viciousness can be felt firsthand when players encounter high-leveled variants of these creatures.
These enemies have a ton of stamina and can ragdoll the player, which can get frustrating at times. It takes a lot of effort and high-damaging attacks from the player to take care of these powerful enemies.
How to Beat
Players should be equipped with the best armor and weapons they have to level the playing field against these tough foes. They hit like a truck, and getting staggered is always a pain, so players should heal up whenever required and blast these foes with their most powerful attacks to take them out before things take a turn for the worst.
11 Legendary Dragons (Past Level 75)
The Toughest Variant Of A Random Dragon Encounter
- Encountered in: Anywhere outside in Skyrim
Leveling up can work against the player in Skyrim. This is mainly because enemies scale up with the player and can get increasingly powerful over time.
The Legendary Dragons are a great example. After Level 75, these dragons become extremely resilient to damage while dishing out powerful attacks of their own. It takes a herculean effort from the player to defeat these dragons once and for all.
How to Beat
As is the case with most dragon fights, getting them to land is paramount to victory. Once this is achieved (via arrows, spells, or the Dragonrend Shout), players should wail at them with their strongest weapons and attacks before this tough dragon is finally down and out for the count.
10 The Ebony Warrior
A Powerful Warrior Who Spawns At High Levels
- Encountered in: One of Skyrim's many holds
Any player that gets to level 80 in Skyrim will likely be ready to end their playthrough. That is likely why Bethesda added the Ebony Warrior in the Dragonborn DLC as a way for players to get one last battle out of their playthrough. This NPC will approach players once they reach level 80 and challenge the player to a battle.
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Calling the Ebony Warrior tough would be an understatement. He has a health pool of 2,071, has 50% damage resistance against elemental damage and poison, has a full set of Ebony gear equipped, and has 36 perks allocated that bolster his damage and defense. To top that off, the Ebony Warrior is one of the few non-undead humanoids in Skyrim that can use Shouts. Killing this beast of a character is no small feat.
How to Beat
The Ebony Warrior is immune to most forms of spell damage but can still be hit for serious damage with Fire attacks if his shield is unequipped. Attacks from a werewolf or Shield Charge can potentially ragdoll him, giving players a few free hits as this foe struggles to get back up on his feet. Persevering and healing at opportune moments is key to winning against this powerful foe.
9 Miraak
One Of The Toughest Boss Fights In The Game
- Encountered in: The final quest of the Dragonborn DLC
Miraak's aggressive level scaling and boss fight mechanics make him a force to be reckoned with. He will always be at a higher level than the player unless the player is level 150 or above. With a health pool of 1,220, Miraak seems surprisingly weak for a level 150 boss.
That doesn't consider the boss fight itself, though. Whenever Miraak reaches critical health, he will consume a dragon soul to regain all of this health. Players will need to down Miraak three times before he truly dies. Combining this with his inherent damage resistance perks, Miraak has closer to 6,000 total HP. Considering his arena is rather small for stealth characters and archers, Miraak can be a nightmare on Legendary for certain builds.
How to Beat
The battle against Miraak is a tricky one, with the boss replenishing his health four times by absorbing a Dragon Soul whenever the Dragonborn humbles him. It's important to wear gear resistant to most forms of spell damage and heal up whenever things look dire. The player can also buff themselves whenever Miraak retreats to regain his vitality, letting them be more efficient in this battle.
8 Krosis
Teams Up With A Leveled Dragon To Bring A World Of Hurt Upon The Player
- Encountered in: Shearpoint
Excluding Solstheim's dragon priests, every dragon priest in Skyrim is level 50 and does not scale with the player. Krosis is no exception. With a health pool of 1,490 and equipped with a plethora of ice Destruction spells, this dragon priest is a serious threat to low-level characters. That isn't what makes Krosis dangerous, though.
Krosis spawns next to a dragon shrine. Assuming players completed the "Dragon Rising" quest, every dragon shrine in the game will have a dragon overlooking the area. That means that players that visit Shearpoint will need to fight a leveled dragon, a level 50 dragon priest that has a high-level staff, all while having little cover to avoid attacks. This is a death trap for most low to mid-level characters and should be avoided.
How to Beat
Krosis can be a tough nut to crack, mainly using Ice spells but throwing players off with his Staff of Fireballs. Resistances to both elements should be paramount, and players should balance their offense between this foe and the dragon that accompanies them to stand a chance of surviving against this powerful dragon priest.