Restoration magic is one of the most important spells that every wizard needs to know.
Most new players think that all forms of restoration magic are defensive or self-buffing, but this is not always the case.
Some spells are extremely effective against enemies. And especially against the dead.
In any case, the spells at the School of Restoration are among the most wanted in all of Tamriel.
The biggest problem with this school of magic is that it doesn’t have as many different spells as other schools in the game.
Because of this, you’ll find that many of the spells in restoration books are the same or just updated versions of spells from older books.
I know how frustrating it is not to find the best spell in the game when you’re looking for it.
So I’ve written down the best restoration and healing spells to give you an idea of what kind of magic you’ll be able to cast as a master of restoration.
17. Steadfast Ward
| Spell Level | Apprentice |
| Effect | Increases armor rating by 60 points; negates up to 60 points of spell damage. |
| Magicka Cost | 58 per second |
Ward spells are incredibly niche in Skyrim, serving as a magic shield that casters can use while fighting other mages. Steadfast Ward serves as one of the best ward spells, granting a nice balance of defenses and Magicka cost.
While projecting a ward, enemy spells and associated effects will impact your ward first. This works with mage spells and dragon breath attacks.
Are you getting roasted by a dragon repeatedly on Legendary? Channel a Steadfast Ward to absorb the attack in its entirety.
If you pair Steadfast Ward with the Ward Absorb perk, you can even regain Magicka while doing this. It might not beat Spellbreaker in terms of utility, yet its availability in the early game makes Steadfast Ward an excellent spell for all mage builds.
16. Sun Fire
| Spell Level | Apprentice |
| Effect | Launch a sunlight projectile, dealing 25 damage to the undead over 2 seconds. |
| Magicka Cost | 24 |
Added in the Dawnguard DLC, Sun Fire is an offensive Restoration spell.
While that sounds like an oxymoron, Sun Fire deals sun damage to undead targets, fitting the theme of Restoration healing people and harming undead.
15. Healing
Healing is the most basic type of magic in Skyrim that can fix things.
It’s the easiest spell the school has to offer, and when you cast it, you get 10 health points and 10 stamina points. It also only costs 12 magicka points.
You can keep using this spell for as long as you want, but it will cost you 12 points per second and give you 10 points back in health and stamina per second.
It’s kind of like trading your magicka bar for one of your other two bars.
14. Healing Hands
Healing Hands is a spell that is very similar to Healing, except that you can use it on other people instead of yourself.
It has the same effect on other people as Healing does on you, but it costs almost twice as much magicka.
This is the first healing spell you can get in the game that heals someone else or an NPC, so be careful and use it wisely.
13. Fast Healing
Casting Fast Healing will grant you 50 points of health and 50 points of stamina at the cost of 73 points of magicka.
The main difference with the other spells is that the effect of this one is instant, which means that you end up paying more.
It’s a more advanced form of restoration magic than the former two spells, but it’s far more effective.
Do keep in mind, however, that this spell must be cast upon yourself and may not be used on others. There are other spells that do work for others and and they’re ranked higher on my list.
12. Repel Undead
Have you ever looked at a band of undead approaching towards you and wondered “boy, I sure wish there was an easy way for me to repel them”?
Well, there is!
Repel Undead just exactly that, as surprising as it might seem.
It’s an expert level restoration skill which makes all undead flee the scene as long as they’re level 16 or lower.
They will run for 30 seconds, which gives you enough time for you to make a swift getaway or kill the others that decide to stay.
It does have a base cost of 353 magicka, so be sure to keep that bar filled when you use it.
11. Turn Greater Undead
This spell does exactly the same thing as the Repel Undead spell, so if you really asked yourself that question that I just mentioned you can use this spell as well.
It makes undead up to level 21 flee.
It’s not the best spell in the world or anything like that.
But it does provide good assistance when fighting against a bunch of evil undead foes.
It also works against summoned undead, so worry not – does pesky necromancers don’t stand a chance against your power, my friend.
10. Steadfast Ward
Wards are some of the first spells that you learn as a mage in Skyrim, and they turn out to be pretty decent when fighting enemies throughout the game.
The Steadfast Guard protects you for up to 60 points of damage plus it gives you an extra 60 points of armor, which will help you negate a decent amount of incoming damage and keep yourself safe from harm.
It’s an apprentice level spell, and in my opinion the first usable ward in the game.
I really don’t rate the most basic ward spell as it just doesn’t justify the magicka cost.
In any case, the Steadfast Ward can prove to be a trustworthy spell – even more so if you’re playing as a battlemage.
9. Vampire’s Bane
Vampire’s Bane is sure to cause a lot of damage to the undead.
But can you imagine how devastating it is when you cast it upon a vampire?
It basically attacks the target with a ray of ultrapowerful sunlight, which is sure to destroy even the mightiest of undead foes.
We all know how much vampires hate sunlight, so you can imagine how damaging this attack would be on one of them.
Just be sure to cover your eyes if you want to cast it as a vampire yourself. I’m against self-harm.
8. Heal Undead
It is beyond me why you would want to heal an undead creature unless you were a filthy necromancer, but this spell is ideal for you if that’s what you need to do.
Heal Undead will not do anything to creatures that live, but instead it will regenerate the health of any undead that it manages to hit.
Be sure to aim it towards your zombie friends. As this spell will also heal your enemies if you don’t aim as you should.
Don’t hit them or face the consequences!
7. Poison Rune
Poison Rune is a restoration spell that was added with the Dragonborn DLC, and it causes 3 points of poison damage for 30 seconds to every enemy that doesn’t have poison resistance.
It’s a fantastic spell, but it works by creating a rune on the ground which causes the poison damage when your enemies come near.
If they aren’t near, you won’t be able to move the rune again unless you recast the spell. That’s just how the cookie crumbles my friend.
6. Greater Ward
The Greater Ward creates a war that protects you with an armor that resists 80 points of damage, so be sure that it’s going to serve you very well in all sorts of armed and ranged combat.
It’s an adept skill that creates a stronger shield than the Steadfast Ward, and this one is far more usable than the previous spell.
It might not protect you against the might of a dragon or against a powerful wizard. But it will keep you safe from trouble in your adventures!
5. Close Wounds
Close Wounds is one of the most powerful self-healing spells in the game.
And it even though it costs a lot of magicka, it grants you enough health to justify casting it when needed. Close Wounds heals you for an astonishing 100 points of health, with a magicka cost of 126.
It’s a very good tradeoff, if you ask me.
Much like the previous self-healing spells that I mentioned here, this one also recovers you 100 points of stamina.
4. Grand Healing
Grand Healing is going to restore health to anything that surrounds you.
It’s a fantastic area spell and one of the best healing spells in the game if you need to heal your friends (or, for some weird reason, your foes).
Now it’s going to cost you 250 points of magicka to cast it, but it restores 200 points of health and stamina to you as well as 200 points of health and stamina to anyone (or anything) standing in a 15-feet perimeter.
3. Stendarr’s Aura
Summon upon yourself the aura of Stendarr and deal 10 points of damage for 60 seconds to any undead that stands close to you.
This spell was added to the game with the Dawnguard DLC and it’s a fantastic piece of sorcery that will keep you safe from the harm of those pesky undead creatures.
2. Guardian Circle
Guardian Circle casts a circle around you that lasts one entire minute, in which you’ll be healed for 20 points per second and any undead that surround you will flee the scene in despair.
Undead creatures will run as long as they are level 35 or lower.
As you can probably tell, this is a pretty bad ass one.
1. Bane of the Undead
This spell is not only gaining the first spot on my list because of its effectiveness; I’m also ranking it as the number one spell because of how fun it is to use.
Bane of the Undead makes undead around you burst into flames and it also makes them flee.
Watching a bunch of undead run in despair while being set on fire is not only super fun, it’s also hilarious and extremely effective!
