We all know that the famous “Unrelenting Force” shout is probably the shout that most Skyrim fans use the most.
But that’s just because it’s become a part of a culture that a lot of TES fans can relate to.
Skyrim’s base game has a lot more shouts that are much more useful than Unrelenting Force.
In this post, I’ll talk about my favorite shouts from the base game.
But don’t worry, Unrelenting Force did make it.
It would be silly of me to act like it’s not a very useful spell.
18. Fire Breath
Dragons are most well-known for their ability to breathe fire, even in Skyrim.
Their powerful fire attacks can really devastate an enemy even at long range, as the effects of the Shout continue to burn the target over time.
Well, now there’s a Shout that lets the Dragonborn do it too.
The Fire Breath Shout not only sets everyone on its path on fire, but it also knocks enemies backward.
The damage done on targets depends on how many words are unlocked, and at its highest it can dish out 90 fire damage.
17. Bend Will
For those who have the Dragonborn DLC, one of the best Shouts will become available during its main quest.
Much like other Shouts, learning all three words will grant you the full power of this ability, which is no less than to tame and ride dragons in the same way that Miraak does.
That being said, with only two words you already get a pretty strong Shout which lets you turn enemies into allies for a short period of time.
Anything that tames a hostile creature is always useful when fighting a group pf enemies, which is why Bend Will is so incredibly powerful.
16. Drain Vitality
Players who have the Dawnguard DLC installed will know that some of the Legendary dragons found in this version of the game have an extraordinarily annoying skill: drain vitality.
Their ability to Shout at the Dragonborn and drain magicka, health, and stamina all at the same time makes them frightening opponents.
The good news is that the Dragonborn can actually learn this Shout as well. The Drain Vitality Shout at its best drains 5 points from magicka, health, and stamina per second for a total of 30 seconds.
It may not be the strongest, but it can be devastating against enemies who rely on magicka and stamina, but have larger health pools.
15. Disarm
Yes, this is far from being the most reliable of Skyrim shouts.
However, it’s still a fan favorite and many people say that it can be quite useful on occasion.
It’s not one of those shouts that you’ll want to get if you’re low on dragon souls, but you can definitely have it on you in case any eventualities might come where disarming an enemy can prove to be useful.
Given that foes can pick up weapons that are laying around, using Disarm should only be done when not fighting large groups of enemies at once – especially if you’ve already killed one or two of them
14. Elemental Fury
Elemental Fury is one of the best offensive shouts in the game.
It allows you to increase the speed with which your weapons attack by adding the force of the wind to your attacks.
It’s an amazing shout if you’re one of those who prefer to use offensive shouts over defensive ones. And each level that you increase of this ability will also increase the buff’s speed.
You can also keep your weapon’s enchantment even if this shout is used, which means that it acts as a sort of extra buff to your already suped-up weapons.
No question this one can be super useful throughout the entire game so be sure to level it up completely.
13. Cyclone
Why scream “Fus-Ro-Da” and send your opponents flying backwards, when you could scream “Ven-Gaar-Nos” and throw them up in the air?
Cyclone allows you to shout towards an enemy making him fly upwards, which will cause him to take a ton of fall damage on the descent.
As you can imagine, the higher level this shout is, the further up your opponent will be thrown.
12. Ice Form
Alright, this shout is awesome.
It’s not only extremely useful but it also looks so cool when you shout it.
Ice Form allows you to freeze an opponent and basically turn them into an ice statue. Then you can either focus on other foes or deal more damage to the ones on the ground.
Do keep in mind that the most powerful foes in the game will not be able to be frozen still, so this one isn’t perfect for every scenario. But you can deal tremendous freeze damage to them anyway.
The effect lasts longer on weaker foes, while stronger ones will only be frozen for around 20 seconds. In any case, it’s an awesome shout to keep around as a fighting alternative.
11. Dismay
Dismay is quite a useful shout that not many people love given how situational it is.
But it can prove to be quite effective during most fights. For example, let’s say that you’re fighting a large group of enemies and you need some of them to go away so you can focus on one – shouting Dismay will make them terrified of you, and they will flee the scene almost instantly.
You could also use Dismay on dragons to stagger them, allowing you to deal even more damage without having to worry about dodging their pretty crazy attacks.
10. Dragonrend
Dragonrend, as you might guess from its name, is a shout that can only be used on dragons.
I’m ranking it as number 10 because it makes the art of fighting a dragon much easier than it is, although still not the absolute best choice for all players.
Dragonrend allows you to force a dragon to land, which will let you fight it face-to-face (kinda) without having to worry about it flying around.
This shout is particularly useful if you don’t own any of the game’s expansions, which means that you won’t be able to fly after one of those pesky dragons and you’ll need to use ranged attacks unless they land.
9. Unrelenting Force
Do I really need to say why the famous Fus-Ro-Dah has earned a place on this list?
This amazing shout allows you to push enemies far away from where you are, clearing a path and dealing damage to your opponents as they fling by. Total damage depends what they hit on their way back.
Quick note: this shout only ragdolls enemies after the third word is learned.
The first two words will only cause a staggering effect on your foes which, even if it pushes them backwards, isn’t quite as effective as the famous full shout.
8. Whirlwind Sprint
Whirlwind Sprint is a shout that lets you move forward as quickly as possible, in a dash of speed powered by the soul of dragons and channeled through the Dragonborn’s words.
Reminds me a bit of The Flash, but with a tasty tablespoon of Elder Scrolls.
Note this shout isn’t just for situations where you need to get away really quickly.
It also does wonders at helping you get unstuck from certain parts of the map that tend to force the player into loading another save.
It’s also super useful when you’re looking to catch up on a fleeing foe, or simply to get away from tricky situations.
7. Aura Whisperer
Aura Whisperer is a special shout that works as an improved version of the Detect Life spell.
It has a massively large range, allowing you to detect dragons at a distance. And it also works well at detecting other types of foes that the Detect Life spell simply cannot, as they don’t count as “alive” creatures.
Given that this shout marks the aura of a creature, it can help you determine where Daedra and other undead enemies are.
6. Marked for Death
Marked for Death is a powerful offensive shout that allows you to deal constant damage to an enemy for an extended period of time.
The shout will first target the armor of your enemy, as it will cause them to pick up an armor penalty that goes down by the second.
But it also makes them take a considerable amount of health damage as time goes on so this is a classic twofer.
Each word you learn for this shout will cause more damage and a bigger armor penalty.
It’s an amazing and very useful shout that will definitely aid you throughout the course of the entire game. Highly recommend it.
5. Storm Call
Now I admit that I’m adding the Storm Call shout partly because of how amazing it looks… but that’s not the main reason why it’s at spot #5 on this list.
Storm Call allows you to summon a massive storm that will cause thunder to rain down upon your enemies, dealing massive damage to anything that stands in its path.
Be careful with how you use this shout, though!
It will damage anything on the field – including your friends or followers!
Refrain from using it in a populated area or you will surely need to pay for your crimes.
4. Call Dragon
This shout is given to you during the course of the main story. It will help you summon the dragon Odahviing, who will instantly express his desire to fight alongside the Dragonborn.
Even though this shout is tied to the story, you may freely use it to get some help in battle after you first obtain it. And you will be able to call the dragon as long as you’re outdoors.
Honestly, what’s better than summoning a dragon to fight by your side?
This is one of the best shouts in the game by a mile.
3. Battle Fury
I’ve added the Battle Fury shout as the third best shout because of how useful it is to those of you who play with an offensive companion.
Granted, the Skyrim meta is to keep a tank fighting alongside you to absorb damage. But if you want to go full offensive then the Battle Fury shout is going to be an amazing aid.
This increases the attack speed for all your allies and followers to increase total hits and the number of times they lay their swords on your enemies.
And it makes each movement much faster as you learn more words in this shout.
2. Slow Time
As this shout’s name suggests, you’ll be able to make everything move much slower when using this power.
It works pretty much anywhere too so it’s incredibly useful for many in-game story objectives.
The last word allows you to slow time by 90% for up to 16 seconds, making it one of the best abilities in the entire game – even considering all the spells in Skyrim, I still think this one beats a majority of the magic you can cast.
1. Become Ethereal
Become Ethereal takes the first spot on my list as it’s just incredibly useful.
It allows you to absorb all damage for up to 13 seconds after you’ve learned all three words.
After casting this you’ll take the form of an ethereal being as it channels the souls of dragons into your appearance.
This bad boy allows you to talk through all sorts of damage, which means you’ll be able to move up and down paths much quicker without having to worry about your health at all.
