With so many available character options in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, deciding what one's next build should be can be quite a conundrum. Of the three main constellations that encompass all skills, The Mage offers the most for Dragonborn inclined to the arcane. There are six skills in this playstyle, all of which specialize in vastly different kinds of gameplay.
One such magical skill, Restoration, is accessible to all players from the start of the game in the form of the basic spell Healing. This restores 10 of the caster's HP per second and can be a real lifesaver in many early-game situations. Health is the most crucial stat in the game; without it, there would be a Game Over. preventing it from reaching zero is of utmost importance to all builds. Restoration skills are the best way to ensure that the player keeps as many of these precious hit points as possible. All players can benefit from knowing more about this vital school of magic.
10 Restoring Health
The most straightforward and easy to use branch of spells from Restoration are those that return lost hit points. The basic Healing spell one starts with is quite handy, though there are much better versions of it to be found that heal the Dragonborn for significantly more health in an instant, rather than overtime.
One can also heal allies, with the exception of the undead, atronachs, and machines for the most part. Such spells are relatively cheap. Grand Healing, the expert tier spell that grants the biggest return of life, restores a whopping 200 hit points to the caster and everyone around for only 254 Magicka; much less than the cost for expert level spells in other skills. This can be also be decreased with the right perks.
9 Repel The Undead
Another beneficial application that can be found in the school of Restoration are spells that target and assail the undead, such as skeletons, draugrs, certain spectral foes, and more. Spells like Turn Undead, and its variations, cause these creepy enemies to flee temporarily.
Since undead enemies are so common in Skyrim's dungeons, this is a group of spells that can help one deal with even some of the stronger foes, like draugr scourges and deathlords. The higher tier ones, such as Turn Greater Undead, can send necromantic adversaries up to level 21 fleeing in terror for 30 seconds.
8 Wards & Circles
In addition to restoring hit points, Restoration has spells that can give one the ability to prevent losing them in the first place. Wards, both lesser and greater, bestow a magical aura around the caster that both increases their armor rating as well as negating a certain threshold of incoming spell damage.
Protective circles are an area-of-effect group of spells that the player must place on the ground. The area within the circle of light will cause undead of certain levels to flee, much like the Turn Undead spells. These can also be applied to similar strategies.
7 Master Rank Spells
Initially locked to players, attaining the two master level Restoration spells requires one to complete a quest that only becomes available after the Dragonborn reaches level 90 in this particular skill. Upon speaking with Colette Marence at the College of Winterhold after reaching this Restoration level, one can begin the adventure for the "Restoration Ritual Spell."
This will lead the Dragonborn to the Augur of Dunlain, a being of light beneath the college, who will test their prowess with wards and healing spells. After proving themselves, the player will be given the Bane of the Undead master-level spell, which sets undead enemies up to level 44 on fire and sends them fleeing for 30 seconds. There is another that can be bought from Colette called Guardian Circle, which paints a luminous ring upon the ground around that caster that forces necromancy-risen threats level 35 and under to scurry away while also healing the caster for 20 HP per second while inside the circle.
6 The Best Perks
Besides the usual perks, such as the ones that reduce Magicka cost and increase spell power, there are many that can be beneficial for a wide variety of builds. The Recovery perks grant much faster Magicka regeneration, which would benefit any playstyle using magic and are worth grabbing. Respite is a handy one for warriors since it lets healing spells also restore one's Stamina bar.
Those specializing in wards should snag Ward Absorb to grant one's magical buffers the ability to consume and transfer Magicka from attacks launched at the player. Lastly, the best perk one can take is far up the skill tree, though grants players the ability to evade certain doom. Avoid Death automatically restores 250 HP to the player if their Health drops below 10% of its maximum value.
5 A Useful Effect
There is an Active Effect that can be acquired that stacks very well with many perks and skills for Restoration. The Sailor's Repose effect can be attained through a quest that one can find upon entering Frostflow Lighthouse. This beacon of light can be found east and a bit south of Dawnstar.
Inside, the player will find a massacre at the hands of inhuman fiends. Slaying them and avenging the butchered family, which one can learn of through writing found in the area, will eventually lead the player to Habd's remains. If these are brought to the fire atop the lighthouse, and one ignites the wood, Habd's remains will disappear and the Dragonborn will be given a permanent effect that increases how much healing spells cure by 10%.
4 Balanced Leveling
Since Restoration is a versatile school of magic that benefits many playstyles, there are a ton of ways to use it in conjunction with other skills. One way that lets players level up their Restoration and Alteration skills simultaneously is to cast the basic Healing spell to slowly regenerate health while also using an Alteration spell called Equilibrium.
Equilibrium converts one's Health into Magicka at 25 points per second. If one has Sailor's Repose and the Regeneration perk from Restoration, the amount the Dragonborn heals with Healing should be similar enough to the drain by Equilibrium that they can continuously use both for minutes at a time, rapidly gaining experience in two of The Mage skills at once.
3 Necromantic Healing
Although Restoration is heavily geared towards opposing the undead, the Dawnguard DLC adds some spells to the Restoration school that can benefit those seeking to align themselves with death. The Necromantic Healing spell allows players to heal undead allies, such as vampires or undead minions raised with Conjuration skills.
If allied with such creatures of the dark, one can boost them from the sidelines and let them do all the work of slaying the enemies while the Dragonborn reaps the benefits. There is even a better version called Heal Undead, which instantly bestows fell allies with 75 points of life.
2 Masters & An Expert
Despite being immensely helpful in all things pertaining to Restoration, Colette Marence can be considered inferior to her colleagues, the College of Winterhold's instructors. Everyone else who one can speak to about particular magical skills is a master rank trainer in their field of study.
Everyone except for Colette, who is only an expert. For the highest level of training in Restoration, the Dragonborn will need to seek out Danica Pure-Spring at the Temple of Kynareth in Whiterun or Florentius Baenius at Fort Dawnguard if one has the vampire-themed DLC installed.
1 Warding Against Dragons
These massive monsters that one is often pitted against in the northernmost province of Tamriel are deadly for many reasons. Dragons have vicious bite attacks that can do great physical damage and many breath attacks which unleash torrents of magical damage. Even though these breath attacks are shouts, they act very much like spells.
This being the case, players can utilize wards against dragons to help deal with both the physical and magical offense dragons come well equipped with. Having the right perks in place will give Restoration oriented builds an easier time battling these iconic adversaries.