Highlights

  • 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

Giant and some Mammoths in Skyrim PS4
  • 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

Dragon Priest Volsung
  • 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

Skyrim Giant Sends Enemy Flying in Hilarious Clip
  • 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

Skyrim Dragon Shouting Over The Skies Of Skyrim
  • 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

Magic Anomaly in Skyrim
  • 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

Werewolf Vargr in Skyrim
  • 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

Legendary Dragon in Skyrim
  • 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

The Ebony Warrior in Skyrim
  • 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

Miraak in Skyrim
  • 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

Skyrim Shearpoint dragon shrine with Krosis and dragon fight.
  • 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.

7 Nightmaster Vampire

High-Level Boss Vampire Who Can End An Unprepared Dragonborn's Life

A Vampire Leader in Skyrim
  • Encountered in: Numerous locations in Skyrim

Every main city in Skyrim can be attacked by vampires if the Dawnguard DLC is installed. As the player levels up and gets better gear, so too do the vampires that invade each Hold. At level 60, players can begin to expect tougher vampires named Nightmaster Vampires, the strongest non-unique foe in Skyrim.

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Each Nightmaster Vampire comes with 1,226 health, resistance to most magic damage, and can use devastating spells such as Invisibility and Chain Lightning. Nearly every vampire in the game gets replaced with this variant, meaning that city raids can pit players against half a dozen Nightmaster Vampires at a time, each resurrecting corpses as minions while throwing bolts of lightning. Vampire raids with these enemies are nothing short of terrifying.

How to Beat

If players have spells or attacks that deplete someone's Magicka, then using it is paramount to victory. After all, Nightmaster Vampires utilize a bevy of spells and even bring corpses back to life in their attempts to try and wear down a player's heath. Depleting their source of magic is a great way to nullify most of their dangerous attacks, making them slightly easier to handle.

6 Ahzidal

A Dragon Priest With Powerful Fire Magic

Dragon Priest Ahzidal in Skyrim
  • Encountered in: Kolbjorn Barrow

Solstheim's fire dragon priest, otherwise known as Ahzidal, is easily the toughest-named dragon priest in the game. A 2,000 health pool is further bolstered by Ahzidal's Mask, an item enchanted with 50% fire resistance and 25% increased damage with fire spells.

Ahzidal only uses fire spells, which means that this level 60 boss that uses Expert-level spells is dealing an additional 25% damage compared to normal. Worse, he frequently uses a fast projectile spell named Fire Stream that deals 100 damage a second—which is increased to 125 a second thanks to his mask. This boss can also buff himself using Ebonyflesh and Flame Cloak. He even resurrects Draugr to attack the player mid-fight.

How to Beat

Being a fire-based dragon priest, it's easy to see why having fire resistance or absorption is critical to ensure that players emerge victorious. His Fire Stream spell is one of the strongest attacks in the entire game and can decimate the player if they aren't ready with their defenses. The draugr he summons are also a pain, meaning that players should employ a degree of crowd control if they wish to survive this encounter too.

5 The Seven Thousand Steps Frost Troll

A Powerful Enemy Encountered By Most Players At A Low Level

A Frost Troll in Skyrim
  • Encountered in: The ascent to reach Throat of the World

Frost trolls are a tough opponent in Skyrim due to their high cold resistance and large health pools. These enemies are meant to be fought around level 22, so it's strange that Bethesda decided that a frost troll should patrol the seven thousand steps to High Hrothgar, a location that is tied to one of Skyrim's early-game quests.

Compared to the dragon players just killed, the frost troll has half its total health but can regenerate two HP per second. This means that early-game weapons and spells that deal low damage will be mostly mitigated by the frost troll's health regeneration. Players are so weak when they first make contact with this enemy that many skip the fight altogether.

How to Beat

This particular Frost Troll can be pretty tricky to defeat, especially with its regenerative abilities. Players can either cheese this encounter by consistently hitting the troll with its ranged attacks or have a wealth of healing potions on them if they wish to deal consistent melee damage without being walloped to kingdom come in the process.

4 Orchendor

A Mage With Extremely High Defenses

Skyrim Orchendor mage holding two spells.
  • Encountered in: 'The Only Cure' quest

Most players likely don't remember Orchendor. This is a unique mage that players encounter during Peryite's "The Only Cure" quest. His health total scales based on the player's level, starting at 300 and reaching up to 688 at level 40.

A pitiful health pool for a mini-boss, for sure, but that doesn't matter because Orchendor is immune to all magic damage in Skyrim. Everything from cold to sun damage does nothing against Orchendor. To make matters worse, he has a perk that gives him double damage while he takes half, meaning his effective health pool is closer to 1,376 before buffs while his spells can make short work of most low-level characters.

Orchendor also has a spell roster fit for a dragon priest. He can cast Expert-tier spells like Ebonyflesh, Invisibility, and Incinerate, and even teleport across the map. All of this is bundled with scaling gear to make it by far the toughest mage fight in Skyrim.

How to Beat

Elemental resistance is key to winning this battle, and having some followers or using Conjuration spells is a great way to divide the damage that he dishes out. He teleports frequently, but that can aid the Dragonborn if they decide to go into stealth mode and hit him with a wide range of critical attacks.

3 Voslaarum And Naaslaarum

A Dual Boss Fight With Two High-Level Dragons

Skyrim twin water dragons flying in arena.
  • Encountered in: The Forgotten Vale

If fighting Alduin wasn't enough, why not fight two stronger versions of the World Eater at once? What about doing that battle on a sheet of ice with no cover? That is exactly what Dawnguard's Voslaarum and Naaslaarum fight is.

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Both dragons have a health pool that exceeds Alduin's if the player is level 60. They can also use the Drain Vitality Shout, which can annihilate a player's stats for 30 seconds. This is not a fight to take lightly.

How to Beat

Fire resistance is a great way to make the damage output of both dragons somewhat manageable during this encounter. Forcing both dragons to land and keeping a wealth of potions handy is a great way to even the odds against this powerful foe.

2 Karstaag

One Of Skyrim's Toughest Endgame Bosses

Skyrim Karstaag's spirit and throne in Dragonborn DLC.
  • Encountered in: Glacial Cave

Karstaag is a level 90 frost giant that can be found in the Dragonborn DLC. Since he is level 90, this giant has 4,000 health, immunity to paralysis and ragdolls, takes 75% less damage from shock, is immune to fire, heals 12 HP a second, and surrounds himself in a blizzard that ragdolls the player while dealing damage-over-time.

Should players get past the blizzard, they will have to take down a giant that deals upwards of 100 damage a swing. These attacks also slow the player to prevent players from kiting the boss. He even spawns wraiths during the fight that draw a player's attention away from Karstaag. In terms of non-leveled encounters, Karstaag is by far the toughest encounter in the entire game.

How to Beat

Given how damaging its frost attacks are, it's important for the Dragonborn to use frost-resistant gear, potions, and spells to level the playing field. Fire damage is a great way to deal damage, and summoning both the Ash Guardian and Storm Atronach is useful since both of them aren't affected by the ragdoll-inducing stomp attack of this foe. The Marked for Death Shout is also a great way to reduce his defenses and make him easier to take down with repeated casts.

1 Skuldafn (Past Level 45)

Level-Scaling Dungeon With Numerous Tough Enemies

Skyrim Skuldafn final dungeon in campaign.
  • Encountered in: Eastern edge of Skyrim in the Velothi Mountains

Considering scaling, however, the Skuldafn dungeon is arguably the toughest encounter in all of Skyrim. This is due to Skuldafn being the only dungeon in Skyrim that replaces all draugr with a level-scaled variant.

In other words, players that enter this dungeon at level 45 can expect every draugr to be a Death Overlord variant. Draugr Death Overlords each have 1,400 health, use Ebony-quality gear, and can use the Unrelenting Force and Disarm Shouts. They take full advantage of these Shouts by using them every chance they get. Since some rooms in Skuldafn can have half a dozen Draugr in them, expect to be ragdolled and disarmed every fight. When players also consider that this dungeon has two dragon fights and a dragon priest boss fight, it's hard to argue that Skuldafn isn't the hardest encounter in all of Skyrim.

How to Beat

Players need to channel everything they've learned about Skyrim to stand a chance of surviving this dungeon. Wearing the highest-level gear available to the player and taking out the Draugr Death Overlords before they even have time to whip out a powerful shout is highly recommended to secure glory.

elder scrolls 5 skyrim cover
Skyrim

Platform(s)
PC , PS3 , Xbox 360 , Xbox One , Xbox One X , Xbox Series S , PS4 , PS5 , Switch
Released
November 11, 2011
Developer(s)
Bethesda
Genre(s)
RPG , Action , Adventure