Skyrim:Conjuration

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Skill: Conjuration
Conjuration
Specialization:
Magic

Conjuration, one of the five schools of magic in Skyrim, is the school dedicated to summoning creatures or objects the caster desires. Increasing this skill reduces the magicka cost when casting Conjuration spells. Historical information about the School of Conjuration is provided in the lore article. The Conjuration skill tree has a total of 15 perks, requiring a total of 16 perk points to fill.

In-game Description: The School of Conjuration governs raising the dead or summoning creations from Oblivion. This skill makes it easier to cast these spells as well as Soul Trap and bindings.

Summary[edit]

Conjuration is strongly focused on combat, but in a rather different way than other schools. It has six main areas:

  • Summon spells conjure a creature such as a Daedra to fight for the caster. Characters can only have one summoned creature or reanimated zombie at a time, two with the Twin Souls perk.
  • Reanimation spells animate the corpse of dead NPCs to fight for the caster. Characters can only have one summoned creature or reanimated zombie at a time, two with the Twin Souls perk.
  • Banish spells return summoned Daedra to Oblivion.
  • Command spells place summoned Daedra under the caster's control.
  • Bound Weapon spells conjure an ethereal weapon to your hand. With a few perks that are available at even a low level, bound weapons become very powerful.
  • The Soul Trap spell, important to anyone who wishes to enchant items or recharge magic weapons. While filled soul gems can be bought, and weapons enchanted with Soul Trap can be found, this is a low-level spell and it is often easier to capture your own souls even if you do not otherwise use Conjuration magic much.

Skill Perks[edit]

Conjuration Perk Tree
Novice Conjuration: 0 Conjuration. Cast Novice level Conjuration spells for half magicka.
Novice Conjuration
Apprentice Conjuration: 25 Conjuration. Cast Apprentice level Conjuration spells for half magicka.
Apprentice Conjuration
Adept Conjuration: 50 Conjuration. Cast Adept level Conjuration spells for half magicka.
Adept Conjuration
Expert Conjuration: 75 Conjuration. Cast Expert level Conjuration spells for half magicka.
Expert Conjuration
Master Conjuration: 100 Conjuration. Cast Master level Conjuration spells for half magicka.
Master Conjuration
Conjuration: Dual Casting: 20 Conjuration. Dual casting a Conjuration spell overcharges the spell, allowing it to last longer.
Conjuration Dual Casting
Mystic Binding: 20 Conjuration. Bound weapons do more damage.
Mystic Binding
Soul Stealer: 30 Conjuration. Bound weapons cast Soul Trap on targets.
Soul Stealer
Oblivion Binding: 50 Conjuration. Bound weapons will banish summoned creatures and turn raised ones.
Oblivion Binding
Necromancy: 40 Conjuration. Greater duration for reanimated undead.
Necromancy
Dark Souls: 70 Conjuration. Reanimated undead have 100 points more health.
Dark Souls
Summoner (2 ranks): 30/70 Conjuration. Can summon atronachs or raise undead twice/three times as far away.
Summoner
Atromancy: 40 Conjuration. Double duration for conjured Atronachs.
Atromancy
Elemental Potency: 80 Conjuration. Conjured Atronachs are 50% more powerful.
Elemental Potency
Twin Souls: 100 Conjuration. You can have two atronachs or reanimated zombies.
Twin Souls
Conjuration Perk Tree
Perk Rank Description ID Skill Req. Perk Req.
Novice Conjuration Cast Novice level Conjuration spells for half magicka. 000f2ca7
Apprentice Conjuration Cast Apprentice level Conjuration spells for half magicka. 000c44bb 25 Conjuration Novice Conjuration
Adept Conjuration Cast Adept level Conjuration spells for half magicka. 000c44bc 50 Conjuration Apprentice Conjuration
Expert Conjuration Cast Expert level Conjuration spells for half magicka. 000c44bd 75 Conjuration Adept Conjuration
Master Conjuration Cast Master level Conjuration spells for half magicka. 000c44be 100 Conjuration Expert Conjuration
Conjuration Dual Casting Dual casting a Conjuration spell overcharges the spell, allowing it to last longer. 000153ce 20 Conjuration Novice Conjuration
Mystic Binding Bound weapons do more damage. 000640b3 20 Conjuration Novice Conjuration
Soul Stealer Bound weapons cast Soul Trap on targets. 000d799e 30 Conjuration Mystic Binding
Oblivion Binding Bound weapons will banish summoned creatures and turn raised ones. 000d799c 50 Conjuration Soul Stealer
Necromancy Greater duration for reanimated undead. 000581dd 40 Conjuration Novice Conjuration
Dark Souls Reanimated undead have 100 points more health.[1] 000581de 70 Conjuration Necromancy
Summoner 1 Can summon atronachs or raise undead twice as far away.[2] 00105f30 30 Conjuration Novice Conjuration
2 Can summon atronachs or raise undead three times as far away.[2] 00105f31 70 Conjuration
Atromancy Double duration for conjured Atronachs.[2] 000cb419 40 Conjuration Summoner
Elemental Potency Conjured Atronachs are 50% more powerful. 000cb41a 80 Conjuration Atromancy
Twin Souls You can have two atronachs or reanimated zombies.[2] 000d5f1c 100 Conjuration Dark Souls or Elemental Potency
  1. ^ Perk affects non-reanimated summoned ZombiesCC too.
  2. ^ a b c d Perks affect Dremora Lords too.

Spells[edit]

SR-icon-book-SpellTomeConjuration.png Spell Name
(IDs)
Skill Level Tome
Value
Magicka Base Cost Skill XP Description and Effect Details Where to Get
SR-icon-spell-Bound.png Bound DaggerDB
Spell IDxx01ce06
Tome IDxx01ce07
0
Novice
38 53 269 Creates a magic dagger for 120 seconds. Sheathe it to dispel:
SR-icon-spell-Bound.png Bound Sword
Spell ID000211eb
Tome ID0009e2a9
0
Novice
49 93 469 Creates a magic sword for 120 seconds. Sheathe it to dispel:
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Conjure Familiar
Spell ID000640b6
Tome ID0009e2ab
0
Novice
49 107 64 Summons a Familiar for 60 seconds wherever the caster is pointing:
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Conjure Skeleton MinionCC
Spell IDFExxx85B
Tome IDFExxx88C
0
Novice
50 106 76 Summons a weak Skeleton warrior for 60 seconds:
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Conjure Undying GhostCC
Spell IDFExxx85E
Tome IDFExxx88A
0
Novice
50 0 0 Consumes all magicka and summons an Undying Ghost for 60 seconds. The ghost's attributes are equal to twice the amount of magicka consumed (up to 600):
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Conjure ZombieCC
Spell IDfexxx804
Tome IDfexxx86E
0
Novice
49 107 64 Summons a Zombie for 60 seconds wherever the caster is pointing:
SR-icon-spell-Reanimate.png Raise Zombie
Spell ID0007e8e1
Tome ID0009e2aa
0
Novice
49 103 515 Reanimate a weak dead body to fight for you for 60 seconds:
SR-icon-spell-Bound.png Bound Battleaxe
Spell ID000211ec
Tome ID000a26ed
25
Apprentice
99 169 84 Creates a magic battle axe for 120 seconds. Sheathe it to dispel:
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Conjure BonemanDG
Spell IDxx0045ba
Tome IDxx0045b0
25
Apprentice
75 129 64 Summons a Boneman Archer from the Soul Cairn for 60 seconds wherever the caster is pointing:
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Conjure Flame Atronach
Spell ID000204c3
Tome ID000a26ec
25
Apprentice
99 150 37 Summons a Flame Atronach for 60 seconds wherever the caster is pointing:
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Conjure Foul ZombieCC
Spell IDfexxx806
Tome IDfexxx86F
25
Apprentice
99 75 37 Summons a Foul Zombie for 60 seconds wherever the caster is pointing:
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Conjure Haunting SpiritCC
Spell IDFExxx868
Tome IDFExxx88F
25
Apprentice
100 128 128 Summons a Haunting Spirit for 60 seconds. When killed, the spirit steals 10 points from the skills of its killer and transfers them to the caster for a short time:
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Conjure Skeleton MarksmanCC
Spell IDFExxx856
Tome IDFExxx894
25
Apprentice
100 132 132 Summons a Skeleton Marksman whose arrows weaken foes for 60 seconds:
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Flaming Familiar
Spell ID0009ce26
Tome ID000b45f7
25
Apprentice
250 57 57 Summons a flaming familiar which will charge into battle and explode:
SR-icon-spell-Reanimate.png Reanimate Corpse
Spell ID00065bd7
Tome ID000a26eb
25
Apprentice
99 144 434 Reanimate a more powerful dead body to fight for you for 60 seconds:
SR-icon-spell-Banish.png Soul SplitCC
Spell IDFExxx874
Tome IDFExxx896
25
Apprentice
100 96 96 Sacrifice a friendly conjured or reanimated minion to summon 2 Sundered Shades for 60 seconds:
SR-icon-spell-Banish.png Soul Trap
Spell ID0004dba4
Tome ID0009cd54
25
Apprentice
100 107 215 If target dies within 60 seconds, fills a soul gem:
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Summon ArvakDG
Spell IDxx00c600
25
Apprentice
N/A 136 0 Summons Arvak in the Soul Cairn or Tamriel wilderness to act as your steed:
  • Reward for quest Soul Cairn Horse Quest
  • If you are still mounted after 60 secs he will remain with you until you dismount
  • Only available with the Dawnguard add-on
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Summon Daedric HorseCC
Spell IDxx000B62
Tome IDxx000B64
25
Apprentice
100 136 0 Summons a Daedric Horse to act as your steed:
  • Can be found in: The Deadlands (inside The Punished)
  • Only available with The Cause Creation
SR-icon-spell-Banish.png Banish Daedra
Spell ID0006d22c
Tome ID000a26ee
50
Adept
346 196 196 Weaker summoned daedra are sent back to Oblivion:
SR-icon-spell-Banish.png Banish UndeadCC
Spell IDFExxx86A
Tome IDFExxx889
50
Adept
325 176 176 Summoned or raised undead up to level 15 are sent back to the grave:
SR-icon-spell-Bound.png Bound Bow
Spell ID000211ed
Tome ID000a26f1
50
Adept
335 207 103 Creates a magic bow and 100 magic arrows for 120 seconds. Sheathe it to dispel:
  • Bound Bow, for 120 secs
  • With the Mystic Binding perk, changes to Mystic Bow, for 120 secs
  • If you use all 100 arrows it will automatically equip the weakest arrows you are carrying
SR-icon-spell-Bound.png Bound QuiverCC
Spell IDFExxx80C
Tome IDFExxx816
50
Adept
335 206 0 Creates a magic quiver for 120 seconds:
  • Bound Quiver, for 120 secs
  • With the Mystic Binding perk, changes to Mystic Quiver, for 120 secs
  • Bound Quiver is listed under "Powers", not of any particular spell school or skill, instead of under Conjuration with all the other Bound Weapon skills
SR-icon-spell-Ash.png Conjure Ash SpawnDB
Spell IDxx01cdf6
Tome IDxx01e2b1
50
Adept
338 186 139 Summons an Ash Spawn for 60 seconds wherever the caster is pointing:
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Conjure Dark Seducer ArcherCC
Spell IDxx000870
Tome IDxx000B0C
50
Adept
680 75 37 Summons a Dark Seducer Archer for 60 seconds wherever the caster is pointing:
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Conjure Dark Seducer WarriorCC
Spell IDxx000A0B
Tome IDxx000B63
50
Adept
680 75 37 Summons a Dark Seducer Warrior for 60 seconds wherever the caster is pointing:
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Conjure Frost Atronach
Spell ID000204c4
Tome ID000a26ef
50
Adept
347 215 80 Summons a Frost Atronach for 60 seconds wherever the caster is pointing:
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Conjure Golden Saint ArcherCC
Spell IDxx00086F
Tome IDxx000AF0
50
Adept
680 75 37 Summons a Golden Saint Archer for 60 seconds wherever the caster is pointing:
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Conjure Golden Saint WarriorCC
Spell IDxx0008CB
Tome IDxx000AFD
50
Adept
680 75 37 Summons a Golden Saint Warrior for 60 seconds wherever the caster is pointing:
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Conjure MistmanDG
Spell IDxx0045b8
Tome IDxx0045b1
50
Adept
75 193 96 Summons a Mistman from the Soul Cairn for 60 seconds wherever the caster is pointing:
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Conjure Putrid ZombieCC
Spell IDfexxx805
Tome IDfexxx870
50
Adept
340 107 80 Summons a Zombie for 60 seconds wherever the caster is pointing:
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Conjure SeekerDB
Spell IDxx033c66
Tome IDxx033c67
50
Adept
307 157 118 Summons a Seeker for 60 seconds wherever the caster is pointing:
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Conjure Skeleton ChampionCC
Spell IDFExxx877
Tome IDFExxx893
50
Adept
345 192 192 Summons a Skeleton Champion that gains +10% attack damage for each nearby enemy (up to 5) for 60 seconds:
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Conjure Tomb GuardianCC
Spell IDFExxx854
Tome IDFExxx890
50
Adept
345 192 192 Summons a Tomb Guardian for 60 seconds that conjures a Shade when it kills an enemy:
SR-icon-spell-Banish.png Necromancer's RitualCC
Spell IDFExxx869
Tome IDFExxx88D
50
Adept
325 123 0 Regain 30 health and magicka every time a friendly conjured or reanimated minion dies for 120 seconds:
  • Necromancer's Ritual for 120 seconds
SR-icon-spell-Reanimate.png Revenant
Spell ID00096d94
Tome ID000a26f2
50
Adept
340 183 183 Reanimate a powerful dead body to fight for you for 60 seconds:
SR-icon-spell-Ash.png Conjure Ash GuardianDB
Spell IDxx017782
Tome IDxx01aaba
75
Expert
720 340 221 Creates an Ash Guardian that guards that location until destroyed. Consumes a Heart stone from your inventory, without which it will be hostile:
SR-icon-spell-Banish.png Command Daedra
Spell ID0006f953
Tome ID000a26f6
75
Expert
660 243 242 Powerful summoned and raised creatures are put under your control:
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Conjure Ayleid LichCC
Spell IDxx147D95
Tome IDxx147D93
75
Expert
720 358 716 Summons an Ayleid Lich for 60 seconds:
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Conjure Cursed SpectreCC
Spell IDFExxx870
Tome IDFExxx88E
75
Expert
650 258 258 Summons a Cursed Spectre for 60 seconds that drains health and magicka from enemies:
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Conjure Dragon Priest
Spell ID0010fc16
75
Expert
N/A 358 716 Summons a Dragon Priest for 60 seconds:
  • Only available as an effect of Konahrik
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Conjure Dremora Lord
Spell ID0010ddec
Tome ID0010fd60
75
Expert
730 358 716 Summons a Dremora Lord for 60 seconds:
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Conjure Malignant ZombieCC
Spell IDfexxx807
Tome IDfexxx871
75
Expert
690 161 161 Summons a Malignant Zombie for 60 seconds wherever the caster is pointing:
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Conjure Skeleton WarlockCC
Spell IDFExxx84E
Tome IDFExxx892
75
Expert
650 258 258 Summons a Skeleton Warlock that wields powerful shock magic for 60 seconds:
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Conjure Storm Atronach
Spell ID000204c5
Tome ID000a26f0
75
Expert
690 322 161 Summons a Storm Atronach for 60 seconds wherever the caster is pointing:
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Conjure WrathmanDG
Spell IDxx0045b3
Tome IDxx0045b2
75
Expert
75 301 150 Summons a Wrathman from the Soul Cairn for 60 seconds wherever the caster is pointing:
SR-icon-spell-Reanimate.png Dread Zombie
Spell ID00096d95
Tome ID000a26f7
75
Expert
630 302 302 Reanimate a very powerful dead body to fight for you for 60 seconds:
SR-icon-spell-Banish.png Expel Daedra
Spell ID0006f952
Tome ID000a26f8
75
Expert
620 215 215 Powerful summoned daedra creatures are are [sic] sent back to Oblivion:
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Pride of HirstaangCC
Spell IDfexxx852
Tome IDfexxx861
75
Expert
690 287 Summons a Bear for 60 seconds wherever the caster is pointing. Resist 50% of frost damage for 60 seconds. Health regenerates 50% faster for 60 seconds:
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Conjure Ancient DeathpriestCC
Spell IDFExxx852
Tome IDFExxx88B
100
Master
1150 1004 1004 Summons an Ancient Deathpriest that wields powerful magic and commands the undead for 60 seconds. When killed, the Deathpriest splits into 3 Tortured Shades:
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Conjure Bone ColossusCC
Spell IDFExxx861
Tome IDFExxx891
100
Master
1150 1004 1004 Summons a Bone Colossus for 60 seconds. While active, conjured skeletons regenerate health and you can summon 2 additional skeletons. Only 1 colossus can be summoned at a time:
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Conjure StaadaCC
Spell IDxx19D3FA
Tome IDxx19D3F9
100
Master
1350 75 37 Summons Staada for 60 seconds wherever the caster is pointing:
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Flame Thrall
Spell ID0007e5d5
Tome ID000a26fa
100
Master
1260 900 0 Summons a Flame Atronach permanently:
SR-icon-spell-Reanimate.png Dead Thrall
Spell ID0007e8df
Tome ID000a26f9
100
Master
1270 1000 1000 Reanimate a dead body permanently to fight for you. Only works on people:
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Frost Thrall
Spell ID0007e5d6
Tome ID000a26fb
100
Master
1300 1100 3850 Summons a Frost Atronach permanently:
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Storm Thrall
Spell ID0007e5d7
Tome ID000a26fc
100
Master
1350 1200 4800 Summons a Storm Atronach permanently:
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Spectral Arrow
Spell ID000ab23d
Tome ID000b3165
25
Apprentice
250 50 50 Fires a Spectral Arrow at the target doing 30 points of damage and staggering the target:
  • Not available in game
  • Was apparently intended to be the reward for completing the quest Infiltration, but was replaced by Detect Life
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Summon Arniel's Shade
Spell ID0006a153
N/A N/A 0 0 Summons the Shade of Arniel Gane for 60 seconds wherever the caster is pointing:
SR-icon-spell-Summon.png Summon Unbound Dremora
Spell ID00099f39
N/A N/A 100 0 (scripted) Summons an unbound Dremora for 999 seconds
  • Summon Unbound Dremora Unbound Dremora, for 999 secs
  • Only works at a specific location, as part of the related quest

Spell List Notes[edit]

  • The base cost for spells is the amount of magicka that would be necessary to cast the spell at 0 skill without any perks. The magicka cost at 100 skill is 41% less than the base cost; the cost can also be reduced via enchanted apparel and by unlocking various perks. See Spell Cost for the full magicka cost equation.
  • Skill level indicates which skill perk needs to be unlocked to decrease the spell's magicka cost. "N/A" is used for special spells whose cost is not affected by any perks.
  • The "Where to Get" column only lists guaranteed locations for obtaining the spell tomes. Most spell tomes are also available in random loot; see Spell Tome Locations and the table below for details.
  • For higher-level spell tomes to become available for purchase, your skill in the school must be high enough (see the table below). Also, master-level spell tomes can only be acquired once that school's ritual spell quest has been completed.
  • All spell tomes have a weight of 1.
  • Skill XP can be modified by scripts and by the game engine itself under various circumstances. The exact XP you receive may vary from the numbers listed here.
  • Magicka cost and skill XP are rounded down, both in game and on this page. Because of this, you may find that you cannot cast a spell even though it appears you have exactly enough magicka to do so.
Tomes by Level
Spell Level Skill Level Character Level, Boss Chest Character Level, Random Chest
Novice 0 1 1
Apprentice 0 11 10
Adept 40 23 -
Expert 65 35 -
Master 0/90 - -
Master level spell tomes require the appropriate ritual spell quest to be completed to be sold; while the quests have a skill level requirement of 90 to initiate, if you have completed the quest and reset the skill by making it legendary, the spell tome should still be available for sale.

Magical Effects[edit]

A list of standard Conjuration spells can be found on the Spells page. The following individual effects are all considered to be part of the school of Conjuration (see the individual effect pages for full details on availability; the Magical Effects article also provides a summary):

Skill Increases[edit]

Character Creation[edit]

The following races have an initial skill bonus to Conjuration:

Trainers[edit]

Skill Books[edit]

Free Skill Boosts[edit]

Gaining Skill XP[edit]

  • Summoning or reanimating anything and fighting it grants experience. Be sure not to kill it before it turns hostile, as this will not grant experience.
  • Casting higher level spells gives generally faster skill increases (Novice<Apprentice<Adept<Expert<Master).
  • Regenerate Magicka effects help reduce downtimes while training.
  • It is possible to reduce or even completely eliminate the magicka cost of spells by stacking Fortify Conjuration enchanting effects, which is very helpful when leveling Conjuration. The Secret of ArcanaDB power does the same thing, but only for 30 seconds.
  • When summoning creatures or weapons, you don't have to be engaged in combat at the time of casting to gain experience in Conjuration, as long as you encounter a hostile enemy before the summons vanish.
  • The quickest way to level up your conjuration is by getting the spell Bound Weapon, starting a fight (Mudcrabs are the best opponents for this), casting the spell (one or two hands), when hearing the sound which comes right after you've launched the spell, cancel (so you don't have to wait for the weapons to appear), repeat.
  • Banishing your own summoned creatures grants experience. Banishing conjured familiars grant experience.

Casting with Enemies Nearby[edit]

Repeatedly casting high-duration, low-magicka Conjuration spells (Bound Sword for example) while in a combat situation will also quickly increase your Conjuration skill (some spells such as Bound Sword can be equipped in both hands for quicker leveling). Also note that the Bound Sword and Bound Dagger provide more than four times the Skill XP of the Bound Bow (see bugs). So while the Bound Bow is a powerful weapon (particularly in the beginning and mid-game), grinding for XP is better done with the Bound Sword or Bound Dagger. An effective method for doing so very quickly:

  1. Find a place with enemies that also has a place where you can retreat to that is out of reach of melee attacks (places with caged enemies are a useful alternative, as does encountering a slaughterfish but staying on shore). Kill all but one melee fighter and proceed to cast your spells. Often the enemy will run away in an attempt to find a position to get closer to you. They may retreat far enough to allow you to use the wait function to instantly replenish the magicka bar.

If your level is high enough and you've decided to make the Conjuration skill legendary, one of the good locations for practicing this method is the Tumble Arch Pass giant camp (It's about halfway between Whiterun and Winterhold). Since in most cases Giants will be provoked before that the accompanying Mammoths, kill the giant first, then provoke the mammoth and climb the slope southwest of three mammoth cheeses, the mammoth can't follow you uphill and it'll just stay down there. Now wear all the enchanted apparel, robes, etc for restoring magicka or reducing cost for conjuration spells, and then start casting any thrall spell that you have learned. Since mammoths have considerably high health, it won't die easily if your thrall gets the chance to attack it between the casts (You can use Heal Other restoration spell on the Mammoth as well). This way you can get from 15 to 100 in matter of minutes (Assuming that you can feed the magicka-hungry thrall spell continuously.) The first cast gets you from level 15 to 18, and the last one still increases your conjuration skill almost a whole level.

  1. Have a follower, conjured atronach, or thrall engage in combat, or cast a Fury or Frenzy spell and then repeatedly cast Bound Sword. This allows you to accomplish objectives while leveling, without the need for grinding.
  2. After clearing out a dungeon or a fort, resurrect each dead NPC, and then hit them four times to turn them hostile. Do not kill them, simply reanimate the next NPC and the first will drop dead, and then repeat the process.

You can also cast summon spells repeatedly in areas where the summon and the enemies can't reach each other (e.g., caged animals, areas with high drop-offs).


To grind character levels after already maxing Conjuration at least once, reset it to 15 and summon any Thrall mid-combat to earn a huge amount of experience, especially at low Conjuration levels. This requires a good set of enchanted gear to counter the high magicka cost but can be used to gain character levels extremely quickly.

Soul Trapping a Corpse[edit]

An even faster way to level, although one that exploits a bug, would be to find any sort of dead body and repeatedly cast Soul Trap on it with dual-cast; you can go from level 40 to 91 in less than 10 minutes. If you stand near the big magic well in the College of Winterhold, you will gain additional magicka regeneration. If this is combined with the Altmer's Highborn racial power, your magicka will regenerate extremely quickly.

Soul Trap on your Horse[edit]

Alternatively, repeatedly cast Soul Trap on your horse - unlike followers, your horse will not become hostile (or run away) no matter how many times you attack it.

Notes[edit]

  • If you have the Soul Stealer perk and plan to use Bound Weapons much, souls can be removed from soul gems by dropping them, which can help avoid "wasting" the capacity of the bigger soul gems with smaller souls. This only works on soul gems that you filled yourself, not pre-filled gems purchased from vendors.
  • Unlike in previous games, there are no Bound Armor spells. They have been substituted with the Alteration line of flesh spells.
  • Guards will comment on your abilities if you're proficient in the school of Conjuration: "Hail, Summoner! Conjure me up a warm bed, would you?"
  • Decapitated NPCs cannot be reanimated. Same goes for enemies turned to ash piles.
  • Creatures and NPCs brought back from the dead with Novice, Apprentice, Adept, and Expert-level spells will disintegrate into a pile of ash upon death, banishment, or once the effect wears off. NPCs reanimated with the Master-level spell, Dead Thrall, will not disintegrate and can be reanimated indefinitely. The level cap of reanimated undead targets can be raised by 25% with the Restoration perk Necromage.
  • NPCs reanimated with Dead Thrall can be used as a pack mule. Store whatever you want them to carry on their corpse and then reanimate them. If you wish to access your items afterwards or add more for the thrall to carry, kill it or summon/reanimate something else (this will cause the thrall to die) then take your things from the corpse or add more. The NPC can be reanimated again afterwards. You can also use this method to re-equip your thrall with any extra equipment you may have, although some may not equip heavy armor, and they usually wait until entering a new area to update their equipment.
    • There is the potential, though, that certain circumstances will cause the thrall to stop following you, and if left in a cell that resets, your items may be lost.
  • On PCOn PlayStationThralls will refuse to come out of Broken Oar Grotto for some reason, and dead thralls will resurrect after a certain amount of time.
  • Conjured Ash Guardians do not count as active summoned creatures, meaning that they will not conflict with other summoned creatures.
  • The Necromancy, Atromancy, Dark Souls and Elemental Potency perks have no effect on conjured Ash Spawn, Ash Guardians or Seekers.
  • The Soul Trap effect from Soul Stealer lasts 5 seconds.
  • The XP gain from the reanimate spells are not at all proportional with their magicka cost. Aside from the master spell, Raise Zombie gives the highest amount of XP, with Reanimate Corpse in third place, Dread Zombie in fourth and Revenant in fifth with the least amount of XP gain.

Bugs[edit]

  • When affected by a Spell Absorption effect you can absorb your own summoning spells. You will pay the modified magicka cost of the spell but gain the base magicka cost. This can be used to quickly refill your magicka, but those who rely on summoning should be careful, as random failure of a spell may lead to death, if it happens in a sticky situation.
  • If you cast any of the damaging Cloak spells while you have a conjured creature active, the creature will be dismissed. The reverse is not true; if you conjure a creature while a Cloak is active, both spells remain in effect. If you have the Twin Souls perk and two thralls or summoned creatures, then both summons will be dismissed. With the Elemental Potency perk all Elemental summons (Fire, Frost, Shock) are not affected by this issue (Dremora Lord is affected even with the perk).
  • When in third-person view, summoning a bound weapon in caves or dungeons may cause you to become frozen with an invisible weapon in your hands.
    • This can sometimes be fixed by going in and out of third-person and first-person views several times.
  • Summon Thrall spells can occasionally become "stuck" on your character, causing NPCs to constantly remark, "That spell looks dangerous!"
    • On PC Use the console command player.dispelallspells to remove all temporary effects.
    • If you can turn into a werewolf, it will remove the effect and thus stop the comments.
    • Alternately, going to jail can get rid of this effect, as it dispels any active effects on you that are time-based. Because the Thrall effect is on your character for a certain amount of hours (that never count down), it is dispelled when sent to jail.
  • Summoning staves (e.g. Staff of Fire Atronach or Sanguine Rose) won't work if you have the Elemental Potency perk.
  • As a werewolf, corpses that you have already devoured can be essentially 'tapped' again with a low level raise dead spell and will grant extra werewolf experience even if you are unable to resurrect them. This effect also applies to animals if you have the werewolf perk Savage Feeding.
  • The Elemental Potency perk causes the Storm Thrall spell to stop raising your Conjuration skill.
  • Both the Bound Sword and Bound Dagger magic effect have their skill use multiplier set at 10, as opposed to the other bound weapons that have it set at 1, causing much greater xp gain.