Skyrim Anniversary Edition introduces such a huge variety of changes to the game that it practically warrants being called an expansion rather than an upgrade. Among these new additions are several new spells that give Skyrim mages plenty of new tricks to try out.
Some new spells, like Orum's Aquatic Escape, grant niche effects that won't do much in combat. Other Skyrim Anniversary Edition new spells, like Conjure Bone Colossus and Paralysis Rune, are incredibly powerful and sure to change the way a new player builds their Mage.
Updated January 13, 2022 by Erik Petrovich: Skyrim Anniversary Edition has been out for a few months now, giving players plenty of time to try out the vast number of new spells and Magickal abilities the upgraded version of Skyrim has to offer. New spells are added to each school of magic, but the school that seems to have received the most love is Conjuration. While Arcane Accessories and the Necromancer's Grimoire certainly add a lot of new summons and minions, other creations (like The Cause) include additional spells not included in these spell-oriented creations. The Summon Ayleid Lich spell, for example, is only acquirable during this late-game questline – but it's not the only useful Conjuration spell added to the game.
Pride of Hirstaang
- Cost: 287 Magicka
- School: Conjuration
- Level: Expert
The Conjuration spell Pride of Hirstaang is added with the Arcane Accessories creation alongside many other Skyrim Anniversary Edition new spells. An Expert-level spell, it lets players summon a hardy Bear for 60 seconds while also providing two additional buffs for the duration.
Pride of Hirstaang is named after the Hirstaang Forest in southern Solstheim (which can be visited in Morrowind's Bloodmoon DLC) and as such grants its user 50% Frost Resistance for 60 seconds. Add on a 50% faster Healing Rate for the duration, and Pride of Hirstaang becomes one of the most useful Battlemage spells in the game (at least at Expert level).
Necromancer's Ritual
- Cost: 123 Magicka
- School: Conjuration
- Level: Adept
The spell Necromancer's Ritual is added by the Necromantic Grimoire creation, which adds a huge number of new summons that go well beyond simple skeletons and zombies. This Adept Conjuration spell doesn't summon anything, though – for two minutes, when a minion or summon dies, the player regenerates 30 Health and Magicka.
While this doesn't seem like a lot, it lets players summon weaker minions to fight for them to more regularly trigger the resource recovery. It also procs with the spell Soul Split, which sacrifices a minion to create two weaker ones, thereby tripling the number of times the effect can occur on just one minion. Use this alongside the Dual Summon perk to increase the times it procs even more.
Conjure Ayleid Lich
- Cost: 358 Magicka
- School: Conjuration
- Level: Expert
Conjure Ayleid Lich is one of the few new spells Skyrim gains from The Cause, which explores the events after the Oblivion Crisis. As such, the mod makes a lot of references to Oblivion, and the Ayleid Lich is one such callback. With this Expert-level Conjuration spell, players can summon an ancient Wild Elf sorcerer to fight by their side for 60 Seconds.
Being able to control Daedra, summon its own Storm Atronach, use Greater Ward and Ebonyflesh, and an assortment of high-level Destruction spells makes the Ayleid Lich a powerful ally. While there isn't a Master-level Thrall version to keep the Lich around forever, it tends to survive for its entire summoned duration.
Conjure Bone Colossus
- Cost: 1104 Magicka
- School: Conjuration
- Level: Master
Conjure Bone Colossus is a spell first introduced in the Necromantic Grimoire creation. This creation boasts vast improvements to Necromancy (and Conjuring in general), and the Conjure Bone Colossus spell is a prime example of the newfound abilities available to powerful Necromancers
As the name suggests, Conjure Bone Colossus summons a gigantic skeletal amalgamation to fight by your side.The Necromantic Grimoire also adds the ability to summon a variety of Skeletal minions, but all pale in comparison to the mighty Bone Colossus bruiser.
Elemental Flare (And Its Higher-Level Versions)
- Cost: 45 Magicka
- School: Destruction
- Level: Novice
Elemental Flare is a Novice-level Destruction spell that deals two types of elemental damage that affect an enemy's Stamina and Magicka. Elemental Flare deals 15 points of Fire and Shock damage each for a total of 30 damage, with half that damage being dealt to Magicka and Stamina to enemies in its wide area of effect.
There are three other versions of this effect included in the Arcane Accessories pack, being Elemental Bolt, Elemental Burst and Elemental Blast. Elemental Bolt is an Apprentice spell, Elemental Burst is an Adept spell, and Elemental Blast is an Expert spell, each one dealing more damage than the previous tier. They are some of the most powerful Skyrim new spells thanks to their large area of effect and low mana cost.
Unbounded Flames/Freezing/Storms
- Cost: 118 Magicka (Flames), 89 Magicka (Freezing), 69 Magicka (Storms)
- School: Destruction
- Level: Master
Unbounded Flames, Unbounded Freezing, and Unbounded Storms are three powerful Expert-level Destruction spells with wildly different effects (though each one is incredibly powerful in its own right). These spells can only be bought once the player has hit Destruction 100 and completes the "Destruction Ritual Spell" quest to unlock higher-level spells.
Unbounded Flames creates a stream of fireballs that create a huge wall of fire that lingers and deals damage. Unbounded Freezing knocks down every enemy in melee range and deals huge damage to Health and Stamina, freezing enemies if maintained. Unbounded Storms deals huge Shock damage per second to melee attackers and randomly strikes all nearby NPCs with lightning bolts.
Conjure Golden Saint...
- Cost: 75 Magicka (both Warrior and Archer)
- School: Conjuration
- Level: Adept
The Golden Saints of Sheogorath's personal plane of Oblivion, the Shivering Isles, are iconic and stalwart guards of Mania. They are powerful spellcasters and, of course, golden in appearance - from their head to their toes and everything in between. The Summon Golden Saint spell is one of two new spells in Skyrim Anniversary Edition that calls back to this DLC.
The Saints and Seducers creation brings another Sheogorath-centered questline to Skyrim, alongside a variety of new weapons, armor, spells, and other items. Golden Saints aren't the only guardians of the Shivering Isles, however.
...And Conjure Dark Seducer
- Cost: 75 Magicka (both Warrior and Archer)
- School: Conjuration
- Level: Adept
If golden warrior-spellcasters isn't exactly your "thing", consider learning the Conjure Dark Seducer spell instead. While Golden Saints guard Mania, Dark Seducers guard Dementia. The two groups are constantly fighting over Sheogorath's favor, though they serve similar purposes.
The differences between the Dark Seducer and the Golden Saint are mostly aesthetic, and though they are both able to attack with weapons and cast spells, Dark Seducers tend to favor melee combat while Golden Saints favor spellcasting.
Fenrik's Welcome
- Cost: 116 Magicka
- School: Illusion
- Level: Expert
Fenrik's Welcome is a spell included in the Arcane Accessories pack for Skyrim Anniversary Edition, and it's not a spell one finds themself using in combat. Its effect is to turn the caster invisible for five seconds and enable them to unlock any Expert-level lock or below.
It's the perfect spell to learn in a Stealth build, though its effect helps players who haven't improved their lockpicking abilities too. Fenrik's Welcome is an Expert-level Illusion spell, though, so thieves might want to level up their Magicka skills a fair bit before being able to use this.
Paralysis Rune
- Cost: 172 Magicka
- School: Alteration
- Level: Adept
Runes in Skyrim are not used as often as more direct spells, mostly because one can't be too sure of where their enemy's pathfinding AI will take them. The Paralysis Rune doesn't change pathfinding programming, but it serves as a much more useful Rune than just about any other in the game.
As the name suggests, the Paralysis Rune paralyzes enemies who walk on top of the spot where the caster placed it. As an Adept-level Alteration spell, Paralysis Rune immobilizes enemies for an entire eight seconds, plenty of time to get a few huge hits in.
Choking Grasp (And Its Higher-Level Versions)
- Cost: 39
- School: Destruction
- Level: Novice
Choking Grasp is a new Novice-level Destruction spell included with the Arcane Accessories creation that gives players the ability to absorb health. It's not too expensive a spell, either, at a meager base cost of 39 Magicka. It has three higher-level versions, each of which improves the health absorption rate.
Strangulation is an Apprentice-level spell that deals and heals 16 damage, Hangman's Noose is an Adept spell that does 26 damage, and Touch of Death is an Expert spell that deals and heals a whopping 40 damage on impact. These new spells Skyrim has give non-vampire players direct Health Absorb effects to try out without getting bitten.
Summoning Skeletons
In addition to granting players the ability to summon the Bone Colossus, the Necromantic Grimoire mod adds a variety of Conjuration spells revolving around summoning a skeletal army. Archer, Fighter, and Mage Skeletons can now be brought back from the dead, rather than just the one-hit-to-kill Skeleton summons.
The Necromantic Grimoire mod adds lots of other things that Necromancers can make great use of, like a new set of Necromancer Robes that improve on the base game's version. Improvements to Skeleton summons are always welcomed by Conjurer-types.
Orum's Aquatic Escape
- Cost: 165 Magicka
- School: Illusion
- Level: Adept
Orum's Aquatic Escape, like Fenrik's Welcome, is not a spell that deals damage – as the name suggests, it provides an escape. This Adept-level Illusion spell grants the player invisibility, water breathing, and improved night vision for a total of 15 seconds.
It's a great spell for getting past enemies in a dungeon without being heard, especially in dark areas. It's even better for getting away from an unwinnable combat situation, as its invisibility and water breathing effects give players plenty of ways to get away before the enemy can process what happened.