Fans of The Elder Scrolls know that touring Tamriel's many provinces will have players interact with a wide variety of people, creatures, and even monsters. For instance, Oblivion's Cyrodiil has an idyllic landscape with a fair share of threats from the planes of the Oblivion. Meanwhile, Skyrim's eponymous province serves as the home of dangerous and deadly dragons. Moreover, Morrowind's exotic landscape paved the way for never-before-seen creatures and monsters.
However, some competitive players may be more interested in encountering some of these games' most powerful bosses. After all, Trials and other endgame content in The Elder Scrolls Online already teased the existence of greater threats in Tamriel. As such, just what are some of the most powerful bosses in the entire Elder Scrolls series?
10 Umbra (Morrowind)
Fans of Morrowind will likely remember the quest to get the famed Umbra Sword. In it, players need to face an Orc warrior, also named Umbra, in order to retrieve the rare weapon. As players would learn, Umbra will only give the sword to players who grant him a warrior's death. Unfortunately, most players who encounter him end up being too low-leveled to bring him down.
Technically-speaking, Umbra is a Level 20 Orc. Aside from buffs from the sword, Umbra also wears a full Orcish armor alongside a tower shield that bolsters his defenses. Thanks to his origins, Umbra not only has high Magicka resistance but can also boost his attack, fatigue, and health. New players will likely have a hard time with Umbra, forcing them to level up first before taking the warrior on their own.
9 Mankar Camoran (Oblivion)
Players of Oblivion will remember Mankar Camoran as perhaps the last in-game "boss" before the final hour or so of the game. In fact, Mankar reveals himself as the primary antagonist of the Main Quest, as he and his Mythic Dawn cult sought to bring Mehrunes Dagon to Cyrodiil. As such, the Altmer mage also poses as one of the biggest threats in the game, especially for ordinary players.
Mankar as a boss has multiple Magicka bonuses, thanks to his Mage Birthsign, Altmer abilities, and the resistances of Bretons and Nords. Mankar possesses a custom birthsign with special abilities, all built to fight magic. Players who grew reliant on spells will have a hard time facing Mankar, while his arsenal of spells can make melee combat tough as well.
8 The Forgemaster (Skyrim)
Skyrim goes into the lost race of Dwarves and their mysterious technologies. Players of Dawnguard will likely encounter Dwarven Centurions in the Aetherium Forge. Unfortunately, players end their search when they come face to face with the Forgemaster, a huge Dwarven Centurion that packs quite a punch.
Despite its rather mid-level range, the Forgemaster possesses strong melee and ranged attacks. Its fire breath also lasts longer on the ground, creating dangerous terrain. If possible, players should have their followers attack the Forgemaster to keep it distracted, removing the need to worry about dodging attacks while on the offensive.
7 Umaril The Unfeathered (Oblivion)
Players who want to feel the glory of being a holy knight may have joined the Knights of the Nine in the eponymous Oblivion plug-in. However, before players get revered as the Divine Crusader, they must first defeat Umaril the Unfeathered, the immortal sorcerer-king who once enslaved Tamriel's humans. At first glance, Umaril appears like a golden warrior garbed in ancient armor.
Thanks to Oblivion's level scaling, Umaril's difficulty naturally increases the stronger players get. Despite being classified as a Daedric creature, Umaril naturally possesses various spell resistances. His signature Mortal Light spell deals Damage Magicka alongside Shock, while his rare sword has Damage Fatigue.
6 Lord Harkon (Skyrim)
The Elder Scrolls series allows the playable characters to become vampires at any point in the games. Interestingly, Skyrim's Dawnguard DLC lets players meet Lord Harkon, a seemingly-typical guardian of the Volkihar Keep...except when he reveals himself as a powerful Vampire Lord.
Players who join the Dawnguard vampire slayers will eventually have to fight the Vampire Lord. Unfortunately, like any vampire bloodline progenitor, Lord Harkon isn't easy to kill. In fact, he's one of the most powerful vampires in the game. Once combat begins, Lord Harkon summons gargoyles and skeletons throughout the battle. While lacking attacks, his Vampiric Drain can become an irritating form of lifesteal. Moreover, Harkon's innate invisibility makes him a hard enemy to keep track of.
5 Almalexia (Morrowind)
In Morrowind's Tribunal expansion, players get a closer look into the eponymous Tribunal – the three God-Kings of the Dunmer. Interestingly, players (the Nerevarine) will have a complicated relationship with Almalexia, especially considering her deteriorating mental condition.
In her eventual battle with the Nerevarine, Almalexia makes her power as a god known. She isn't indestructible, but she's also one of the most difficult enemies in the game. As a Level 100 Creature, she has complete resistance against most forms of attacks and spells. In addition, her signature attack, Almalexia's Wrath, not only grants her lifesteal but also deals Fire Damage and Weakness to Fire. Her signature sword, Hopesfire, also boosts Almalexia's base melee damage with Shock.
4 Valkyn Skoria (Online)
Oblivion's Mehrunes Dagon is a Daedric Lord who once tried to conquer Tamriel. In Online, players once again encounter him in the form of his general, Valkyn Skoria. This flaming-armored Dremora appears like a typical warrior, but his attacks and abilities are nothing but ordinary.
As a boss, Valkyn Skoria possesses incredible durability and fighting prowess. His flame-themed attacks can annihilate entire groups at once or place immense power in strikes that can break through the sturdiest of defenses.
3 Rakkhat (Online)
Most The Elder Scrolls Online players have likely faced Rakkhat, the Fang of Lorkhaj, in one of the in-game Trials. However, before being Rakkhat, he was once known as Kulan-dro, a dro-m'Athra or Khajiit serving Namiira, the Great Darkness. In his transformed state, Rakkhat serves as quite a formidable enemy, especially given his bulkier build, demonic wings, and void-empowered abilities.
As a boss, players need to face Rakkhat and several of his minions, all of which are considerably powerful. Rakkhat can cast a wide range of abilities, including Void Spheres, Void Bombs, and Searing Shadows.
2 The Serpent (Online)
The Serpent was once one of the many constellations in the realm. Unfortunately, the Serpent's desire to remake Nirn in his own image persuaded him to try and corrupt other constellations to join him. In turn, the Serpent became a fallen Celestial that players can face in Sanctum Ophidia's Trial.
Despite his nature as a melee fighter, the Serpent has extremely powerful attacks that deal massive AOE damage. Moreover, his innate poison abilities allow the Serpent to deal constant damage simply by releasing his poison, forcing parties to focus on healing instead of attacking him. In his Trial, the Serpent demands a huge amount of concentration from the party, making it one of the most difficult fights in the game.
1 Alduin (Skyrim)
As the Dragonborn, players of Skyrim are destined to fight dragons. Alduin, in particular, makes his presence known at the start of the game as the antagonist of the game's Main Quest. Like most dragons, Alduin is a challenge given his immense size and innate bonuses; however, Alduin also possesses unique abilities. As a result, he has a natural resistance to fire and weakness to frost.
Furthermore, Alduin possesses a unique Dragon Storm Call shout. He possesses this shout alongside Unrelenting Force, Frost Breath, and Fire Breath, making him particularly deadly. As such, facing Alduin even with companions can become quite the challenge. Despite other enemies wielding more power, the sheer gravitas of the ancient dragon heralding the cataclysm in Skyrim has no match in the series.