Skyrim Illusion Magic Guide
Illusion Spells List, Perks, and Magic Effects
by Leto Kersten
Illusion is a skill of its own. It's Black and White and one may choose to use it for a very wide range of reasons, most of them somewhere between good and evil. The difference between Illusion and a spell school like Alteration is that Illusion can be used without relying on any other skill. The purpose of using Illusion spells differs from gamer to gamer - some are too lazy to fight, avoiding conflict all together and taking the least obvious approach to this violent game: pure pacifism.
With the right spells, skills, perks and experience as an Illusionist, one can change the tide of battle instantly and often, as you can manipulate the mind of everyone around you. That is the pure nature of Illusion. Just remember that all dragons are resistant against all Illusion spells. They will notice you while invisible much easier than any other creature, and your Muffle will be less effective. No matter how strong your Pacify or Fury spell, no dragon shall be affected.
Benefits of Training Illusion
With the right perks and spells, you even don't have to be on the same level as your opponent in battle to be able to survive. I find myself pretty much comfortable entering a Dwemer Dungeon filled with enemies on Master Difficulty with nothing more over my shoulders than an enchanted Monk Robe, a Wizard Hood, one Healing spell in my left hand and a Pacify spell in my right owning no weapons. Illusion takes care of the rest. How Illusion can be used depends on both the gamers' conscience as well as your character's morals if you are approaching Skyrim as a pure role playing game. You can either choose to Calm the two spiders in front of you to pass them with no conflict, or you can Fury them and enjoy watching how they try to kill one another, stabbing the final weakened survivor in the back. Combined with sneaking, Illusion can be even more devastating: use a muffle spell, make yourself invisible and sneak to a corner to throw Illusion spells on your enemy from a safe distance. The possibilities are practically endless.
Finding Illusion Spell Books
Illusion spells can be found all over Skyrim as loot, though not every single one can be bought at vendors. Muffle can be bought in Whiterun at the very beginning of the game which makes it possible to start training Illusion very soon, very quick. The same for Courage, which can be used on your followers and allies in quest battles to give them some extra health and stamina or prevent them from fleeing for a time.
Training the Illusion Skill & Master Illusion Spells
The easiest way to train Illusion is simply to use Illusion spells. Every time you Calm an enemy or Fury them your Illusion experience will increase. This may take a while, so you can follow the easy route for training. Courage can be used to speed train Illusion: just find a guard in town and throw Courage spells at them.
Drevis Neloren is the Master Illusionist trainer in College of Winterhold. He will give you the quest Illusion Ritual Spell, which will unlock the best Illusion spells. You must be level 90 to take on the quest. Lagrashbur is home of Atub, an Expert trainer. You can find this Orc Stronghold west-southwest of Riften. Unless you're an Orc, you'll have to do something to gain access to a good Illusion trainer.
Illusion Spell List
Here is a list of all the Illusion spells in Skyrim by type, from least to most difficult. Please note Magicka cost is base. That is, what the spell would cost if you were casting it at lowest level without any perk.
| Spell Name | Skill Level | Magicka | Spell Description |
| Clairvoyance | Novice | 25/sec | This spell helps with quests. It'll show a 'breadcrumb' trail to the next quest objective, pointing you on your way. |
| Courage | Novice | 39 | Cast this on your followers and friendlies in combat. They will not be able to flee for 60 seconds and get +25 health and stamina, aiding them in combat. |
| Fury | Novice | 67 | Causes creatures up to level 6 to attack anything nearby, even their former friends, for 30 seconds. They will be unable to flee during this time, as well. |
| Calm | Apprentice | 146 | Makes a creature or person stop fighting for 30 seconds, should they fail to resist the spell. This can get you out of combat, or reduce the number fighting you. |
| Fear | Apprentice | 153 | Causes creatures and people up to level 9 to flee from combat for 30 seconds. Again, cast this as a defense to get you out of a battle or eliminate one of your attackers for a time. |
| Muffle | Apprentice | 144 | Reduces the weight of your armor by half for determining how much noise you make. Heavy armor can be made to sound like light armor, and light armor's minor sounds diminshed. This effect can be enchanted on your boots if you find an item to disenchant. |
| Frenzy | Adept | 209 | This is like fury, only it affects everyone level 14 in a 15 foot radius, and none of them can flee from one another. Pure chaos! |
| Rally | Adept | 113 | Gives the courage buff to all friendlies within 15' of target. |
| Invisibility | Expert | 334 | Makes you invisible. This removes the visual component of being detected. Enemies can still hear you, and if they get close enough and they're looking, they may spot you. If you move quietly, you can slip by undetected. Attacking will break the spell, unlike stealth. |
| Pacify | Expert | 290 | Creatuers and people up to level 20 will stop fighting, all in a 15 foot radius. This can stop an entire battle. |
| Rout | Expert | 316 | Casts fear on all targets within 15', causing them to flee for 30 seconds. Works on level 20 and below. |
| Call to Arms | Master | 655 | Fortify Health, Stamina, and all weapon skills (1h/2h/archery) for 10 minutes on all targets within 100 feet of you. Use this on your followers or quest NPCs before a big fight! You can only buy this from Drevis Neloren in College of Winterhold for 1150 Septim after you have finished Illusion Ritual Spell, which you get from him at level 90 Illusion. |
| Harmony | Master | 1052 | Like pacify, only affects everything level 25 or lower within 250 feet of you. Truly powerful and will stop an entire combat. Like above, you buy this after completing Illusion Ritual Spell. |
| Hysteria | Master | 866 | Casts fear on everything level 25 or lower within 250 feet of you. This is the actual reward for completing the Illusion Ritual Spell quest from Drevis. |
| Mayhem | Master | 990 | Causes all targets level 25 or lower to attack each other in a 250' radius from you. Mayhem is the perfect name for this spell. You can buy it from Drevis after completing Illusion Ritual Spell. |
Skyrim Illusion Skill Perks
To fill the Illusion tree, the Dragonborn needs to invest 13 perk points, but your need for them depends on your build. Below are the names of the Perks, the descriptions the game gives them and what they do for your character.
Novice, Adept, Expert, and Master Illusion Perks: Cast each rank of Illusion spells for half Magicka. If you're going to invest in Illusion.
Illusion Dual Casting
(level 20 Illusion Magic required)
Dual casting an Illusion spell overcharges the effect into an even more powerful version. Any spells that can be resisted have a lower chance to resist, and spells with durations have them increased.
Animage
(level 20 Illusion Magic required)
Illusion spells now work on higher level animals. That means even mammoths and trolls, if you Dual Cast the spell. This is especially practical if you need to travel a lot at lower levels and you have a high chance of encountering bears, sabre cats, mammoths or in the worst case a Snow Troll. All these animals will fall for your spells when you have this perk unlocked.
Kindred Mage
(level 40 Illusion Magic required)
All Illusion Spells work on higher level people. Especially useful against bandits on all levels. Know that orcs and all elves also fall under 'people' in this case. If you notice some targets still fail to be affected by your spells with this perk, you will need the Hypnotic Gaze Perk as well.
Quiet Casting
(level 50 Illusion Magic required)
All spells you cast from any school of magic are silent to others. You may have noticed that some spells tend to drag the attention of enemies to your location. This is especially disastrous if you also have missed an enemy while aiming with a spell. This will prevent that, and allow you to cast spells while sneaking.
Hypnotic Gaze
(level 30 Illusion Magic required)
Calm Spells now work on higher level opponents. This is cumulative with Kindred Mage and Animage, meaning most creatures will fall for your calm spells.
Aspect of Terror
(level 50 Illusion Magic required)
Fear spells work on higher level opponents. Cumulative with Kindred Mage and Animage.
Rage
(level 70 Illusion Magic required)
Frenzy spells work on higher level opponents. Cumulative with Kindred Mage and Animage.
Master of the Mind
(level 90 Illusion Magic required)
Illusion works on undead, daedra and automatons. Don't go into any dungeon if you completely rely on Illusion spells until you've unlocked this perk. With it, your Illusion power will work on skeletons, vampires, Draugr, daedra, falmer and all kinds of automatons. Nothing will resist your manipulation anymore, except for dragons.
Illusionist Battle Strategies
Illusionist
The Illusionist sneaks upon his enemies with either Muffle on as an enchantment, or as a spell. Usually invisible, he hides in a corner while waiting for the right moment to affect the minds of his enemies. With high levels in both Illusion and Sneak the Illusionist wears mostly light armor to improve his movement and it doesn't affect his speed. He has a high variety of ways in which he can manipulate his opponents and every situation requires a different strategy, though are mostly based on three simple choices: sneak away while being invisible, calm the enemy and then sneak away or frenzy them and wait for the last man standing, which he will stab in the back with a dagger and then walk away. A lot of gamers may feel that playing an Illusionist is really a battle strategy, as this character barely fights at all and only goes after the weakened enemies.
Pacifist
The Pacifist play style lives by one rule and one rule only, never kill. Unlike any other character that is either built on hunting treasures and destroying the enemy, the Pacifist has her own ways of dealing with situations. Her skills are entirely build upon defense for either herself or her enemy and she will always choose the strategy that requires zero kills, even when this means she doesn't get the treasure at the end of the quest. Most of the time you'll Calm the enemy down, talks yourself out of narrow situations or simply run through a bunch of enemies while constant healing yourself and wearing heavy armor and a shield.
All the pacifist's skills are used for good, even things like Pickpocket and her knowledge of Destruction magic. Mostly armed with a Pacify spell in one hand and Recovery in her other she walks the lands doing nothing but what is good for the rest of the world, with herself coming second. In teamwork she can be an effective healer and enchanter thanks to her high knowledge of both alchemy and Restoration, but don't expect her to attack for you. The Pacifist is mostly skilled in things most other builds won't invest in, simply because she can easily afford them, as she has no need for either one- or two-handed weapons, or for any bow. This gives you a wider variation in how to develop the character.
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