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Skyrim:Classes

< Skyrim: NPCs(Redirected from Skyrim:Nightblade)

In Skyrim, a class cannot be chosen by the player character, but is instead used by NPCs. There may be some classes that appear identical to each other. The difference between such classes are the services offered, which are not listed here.

Skill and Attribute WeightsEdit

The numbers in the table are the weights assigned by the classes to each skill and each attribute (empty cells have a weight of zero). These weights determine how many of 8 skill points and 10 attribute points per level are added to each value. Note that 5 points per gained level are always added to Health, in addition to any health points from the shared set of 10 attribute points; this means NPCs gain 15 attributes per level, in addition to approximately 8 skill points per level (see below).

Unlike the PC, there is no intrinsic mechanism for an NPC to gain perks as they level; a stock leveled NPC has the same perks at any level. This is one of the reasons leveled lists exist. For example, a Bandit Thug and a Bandit Highwayman are fundamentally the same NPC at levels 9 and 14, respectively (they are both members of the Bandit Archer class, below), but the former has the Extra Damage 1.5 perk, while the latter has Extra Damage 2. Because perks are manually assigned to an NPC independently of its level or class (and hence independently of its skill expertise and attributes), mismatches exist; this is particularly noticeable among followers.

Class and perks are also not automatically tied to equipment or spells in any way, leading to the same mismatches; while the aforementioned Thug and Highwayman share the same leveled lists for equipment, and their level is used to determine what they have, these lists were assigned manually, not by the class (or race). Typically, these mismatches are less obviously unintentional, particularly when an NPC lacks any equipment, but still sometimes leads to followers carrying weapons they do not know how to use.

Attribute WeightsEdit

The game ensures attribute points are not lost or gained due to rounding, but it is easy for an NPC's number of attribute points to not be an integer multiple of a weight (for example, Imperial Soldiers have a Stamina weight of 7, but can be level 37). Attribute points are actually assigned as follows:

  1. Calculate the total number of points available (10 * (level - 1))
  2. Calculate the result for the attribute with the highest weight, rounded down, and subtract that from the total.
    • In the event of a tie, choose Health over Magicka or Stamina, and Magicka over Stamina.
  3. Repeat for the next-highest result, remembering to use the ratio of only the two remaining attributes.
  4. Any remaining points go to the last attribute.

This means there is a weighting bias in favor of Stamina over Magicka and Magicka over Health, because Stamina is intrinsically chosen last and gets anything the others lost due to rounding, but Health gets 1/3 of each level's attribute points before assignment. For example:

  • A beggar has weights 1, 1, 1 - all equal. A beggar at level 8 (70 attribute points, plus 35 mandatory health points) calculates as follows:
    1. Health is assigned 23 points (70/3, rounded down), then adds 35: Health +58.
    2. Magicka is assigned 23 points ((70-23)/2, rounded down): Magicka +23.
    3. Stamina is assigned 24 points (70-23-23): Stamina +24.

Skill WeightsEdit

In the "Primary Skills" summary on individual NPC pages, skills with values of 3 or greater are normally emphasized in bold face, skills with a value of 2 are shown in normal font, and skills with a value of 1 or 0 are not listed. However, on NPCs with a fixed low level, the displayed skills are adjusted taking into account racial skill bonuses, with only skills greater than 25 being shown.

Unlike with Attributes, an NPC is capable of "losing" or "gaining" skill points due to rounding; a skill gains skill points in accordance with:

This Skill Points = round(Total Skill Points * (This Skill Weight / Sum of Skill Weights))

Where Total Skill Points = (Level-1)*8; an NPC's skill points at level 1 are 15 (a game-wide constant) base, then modified by its race.

Note the drastic difference between NPCs and the PC: for the PC, each level takes more skill ranks than the level before did, while NPCs gain a linear (aside from rounding errors) number of skill points per level. On the other hand, the PC needs less than 8 skill points to level initially (only 4 are needed in the skill the PC's race is best at to level) and that number depends on which skill is being leveled (since the 100th rank in a skill counts for more than the 16th); assuming the PC is leveling as quickly as possible, their skill ranks per level will only exceed 8 (meaning the NPCs have begun "winning") at level 33.

Because NPCs face the same skill maximum of 100 ranks as the PC, however, and unlike the PC, will not resort to putting skill points into non-preferential (0 weight, below) skills - the formula above always holds true - past a certain point, which depends on the NPC's class, they will cease to gain any skill points per level, and will only gain attributes. An excellent example of this is Arngeir, who is level 150, but stopped gaining skill points at level 139 (which is when he reached 100 ranks in Enchanting). In addition, none of his leveled skills do anything - he has no weapons or armor to smith or enchant (nor would he, if he did have them - NPCs with crafting skills do not automatically craft anything), no potions indicative of his alchemy, no spells to cast with conjuration or restoration (he only has shouts), and no way to use the speech skill. This is indicative of how the game usually works - there is simply no framework in place allowing NPCs to "automatically" employ their skills, so it has to be assigned manually. This is why you routinely see NPCs like Arngeir, with magic skills but no spells to cast with them, crafting skills but nothing crafted to show for it (which is why the PC is the only source of smithed gear in the game - NPCs never carry Fine or better gear), speech without relatively increased money or gear quality (as is found on the PC), etc.

Mismatch ExamplesEdit

As the table below shows, many physical-combat-oriented classes such as Stormcloak ("Sons of Skyrim") Guards and Soldiers (Class IDs GuardSonsSkyrim and SoldierSonsSkyrimNotGuard respectively) and Orc Warriors (GuardOrc1H and GuardOrc2H) have no magic skills, yet are weighted toward Magicka as well as Health as their levels increase, leaving them with stunted Stamina. Consequently, if you keep them in melee range but avoid or Block (or simply withstand) their swings, they rapidly become less dangerous than they should be, from exhaustion. They are also an unexpectedly good source of unused Magicka to Absorb from them during the fight.

Numerous NPCs likewise come with gear that is not suited at all to their specializations (e.g. Light Armor when they should have Heavy, or One-handed weapons when they should have Two-handed). If gear they should prefer is dropped near them, they will not pick it up and switch. Even using the Console to give them armor they should like will not make them auto-equip any of it in most cases, due to the game's pre-set Outfits system; they typically must be forced to equip it with EquipItem <BaseID>. (This does not apply to long-term followers, who provide inventory access, though you sometimes have to take things away from them to get them to use what you want.)

A more specific example of how the lack of automatic perks and gear can lead to apparent absurdity is provided by the three Dawnguard followers that have no maximum level: Celann, Durak, and Ingjard, particularly without the Unofficial Skyrim Patch.

Ingjard has no perks at all, but is a Nord CombatWarrior2H, meaning she reaches 100 skill in Two-handed very quickly (at level 36), then stops getting any better at it. Celann is a Breton CombatWarrior1H, meaning he reaches 100 in the same skill much slower (level 118), but he has the Extra Damage 1.5 perk, meaning he will do the same damage as Ingjard once he reaches skill 80 at level 90, and then continue on to surpass her; in addition, he inexplicably has Champion's Stance, letting him power attack more often than she does right from the start, with the same Two-handed weapons he does not have any skill with yet.

Meanwhile, both Celann and Durak have Custom Fit, even though Celann has zero skill weight on Light Armor (Durak does have skill weight on Light Armor); both wear Light Armor stock, so Durak will be drastically more durable if you do not issue Celann new gear, and even if you do give him some heavy armor, he will be at a constant disadvantage.

None of the three has access to any sort of leveled lists for gear, so they will carry the same gear at any level unless you give them something better to carry.

List of ClassesEdit

Name EditorID FormID Combat Magic Stealth Attributes
ARC BLO HVA 1HD SMI 2HD ALT CON DES ENC ILU RES ALC LTA LOC PIC SNK SPE Hea Mag Sta
Alik'r Archer EncClassAlikrMissile 0006766c 3 1 1 2 2 2 3 2
Alik'r Warrior EncClassAlikrMelee 0006766b 2 1 3 3 2 3 2
Alik'r Wizard EncClassAlikrWizard 0006766d 2 3 2 2 1 1 2 3
Apothecary TrainerAlchemyExpert 000e3a6e 1 4 2 2 3 1 1 1
Apothecary TrainerAlchemyJourneyman 000e3a5d 1 3 2 2 3 1 1 1
Apothecary VendorApothecary 00013258 1 3 2 2 3 1 1 1
Ash GuardianDB DLC2EncClassAshGuardian xx03cf6a 1 2 1 3 2 2 2 2
Ash HopperDB DLC2EncClassAshHopper xx020e8a 3 1 3 3 4 2
Assassin CombatAssassin 0001317f 2 3 1 2 3 2 1 3
Assassin TrainerAlchemyMaster 000e3a67 4 3 1 2 3 2 1 3
Assassin TrainerLightArmorMaster 000e3a68 2 3 1 4 3 2 1 3
Atronach EncClassAtronachFlame 000ad235 2 1 3 3 2 2 3 1
Atronach EncClassAtronachFrost 000ad236 1 3 2 3 2 3 1 2
Atronach EncClassAtronachStorm 000ad237 1 2 1 3 2 2 2 2
Bandit EncClassBanditMelee 0001ce17 2 1 3 3 2 3 2
BanditDB DLC2EncClassBanditBoss xx01e8ac 2 3 2 3 1 1 3 2
Bandit Archer EncClassBanditMissile 00015be7 3 1 1 2 2 2 3 2
Bandit ArcherDB DLC2EncClassRiekling xx03bd08 3 1 1 2 2 2 3 2
Bandit Wizard EncClassBanditWizard 00039d30 1 2 3 2 1 2 2 3
Barbarian CombatBarbarian 0001ce16 2 2 1 3 3 4 2
Name EditorID FormID ARC BLO HVA 1HD SMI 2HD ALT CON DES ENC ILU RES ALC LTA LOC PIC SNK SPE Hea Mag Sta
Bard Bard 0001325d 1 1 2 2 2 4 2 3 2
Bard TrainerSpeechcraftExpert 000e3a70 1 1 2 2 2 4 2 3 2
Beggar Beggar 0001327b 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 2 4 1 1 1
Blacksmith TrainerHeavyArmorExpert 000e3a60 2 3 3 2 1 2 2 1
Blacksmith TrainerHeavyArmorMaster 000e7f45 2 3 2 1 3 3 3
Blacksmith TrainerLightArmorExpert 000e3a61 2 2 3 3 2 1 3 2 2 1
Blacksmith TrainerLightArmorJourneyman 000b8340 2 2 2 3 2 1 3 2 2 1
Blacksmith TrainerSmithingExpert 000e3a5f 2 3 2 1 3 2 2 1
Blacksmith TrainerSmithingJourneyman 000aedd2 2 3 2 1 3 2 2 1
Blacksmith TrainerSmithingMaster 00042dc1 2 4 2 1 3 2 2 1
Blacksmith VendorBlacksmith 00013257 2 2 3 1 3 2 1 2
Blade Blade 00021a74 3 2 2 1 3 3 3
Chaurus EncClassChaurus 00044cca 3 1 3 3 4 2
ChaurusFlyerDG DLC1_EncClassChaurusFlyer xx005206 3 1 3 3 4 2
Child Child 00013279 4 4 4 1 2 1 1
Citizen Citizen 0001326b 2 2 3 3 3 2 2 2 1 1 1
Conjurer CombatMageConjurer 0001ce14 2 3 2 3 1 2 4
Conjurer CombatMageNecro 000c969f 2 2 3 3 1 2 4
Conjurer TrainerConjurationExpert 000e3a78 2 3 2 3 1 2 4
Conjurer TrainerConjurationMaster 000e3a6a 2 4 2 3 1 2 4
Name EditorID FormID ARC BLO HVA 1HD SMI 2HD ALT CON DES ENC ILU RES ALC LTA LOC PIC SNK SPE Hea Mag Sta
Death HoundDG DLC1EncClassDeathhound xx0145dc 2 2 3 1 3 4 2
Destruction Mage CombatMageDestruction 0001e7d0 2 1 3 3 2 2 4
Destruction Mage TrainerDestructionExpert 000e3a5c 2 1 3 3 2 2 4
DLC2Ralis DLC2dunKolbjornRalisClass xx0179c6 2 3 3 2 2 2 1
Dragon EncClassDragon 0002f201 3 3 3 5 4 2
Dragon Priest EncClassDragonPriest 0001ce1c 3 5 6 5 3 3
Draugr Melee EncClassDraugrMelee 00023c0c 2 2 3 3 1 3 3
Draugr Missile EncClassDraugrMissile 00023c0d 3 2 3 2 2 3 3
Draugr Warlock EncClassDraugrMagic 00023c0e 2 3 3 2 2 3 3
Dremora EncClassDremoraMelee 00017008 2 2 3 3 1 3 2
Dwarven Centurion EncClassDwarvenCenturion 00090356 2 3 3 1 2 3 2
Dwarven Sphere EncClassDwarvenSphere 00090358 3 2 3 1 2 3 2
Dwarven Sphere [sic] EncClassDwarvenSpider 00090359 1 2 3 3 2 3 2
EbonyWarrior ClassDB DLC2EbonyWarriorClass xx0285c2 9 9 9 9 6 7 3 3 8 4 2
EnchanterDB DLC2NelothClassTrainer xx017774 2 2 3 3 1 2 4
Falmer EncClassFalmer 0001ce1e 3 2 3 2 2 3 2 1
Falmer Shaman EncClassFalmerShaman 0001ce1f 1 2 1 3 3 1 2 3 1
Farmer Farmer 0001326c 2 2 3 2 3 3 1 1 1 1 1 1
Fire/Frost/Shock Mage CombatMageElemental 0001317a 2 2 3 3 1 2 4
Fire/Frost/Shock Mage TrainerAlterationExpert 000e3a71 4 3 3 2 1 2 4
Name EditorID FormID ARC BLO HVA 1HD SMI 2HD ALT CON DES ENC ILU RES ALC LTA LOC PIC SNK SPE Hea Mag Sta
Fletcher VendorFletcher 00013259 3 2 1 2 3 1 2 1
Food Vendor VendorFood 00013256 1 2 3 2 3 1 1 1
Forsworn EncClassForsworn 00043bcb 3 1 2 1 2 2 2 2 1
Forsworn Missile EncClassForswornMissile 00043bcd 3 1 2 1 2 2 2 1 2
Forsworn Shaman EncClassForswornShaman 00043bcc 1 2 3 2 1 2 2 3
Frea Combat StyleDB DLC2csFrea xx030cca 1 3 3 2 2 3 1 2
Frostbite Spider EncClassFrostbiteSpider 00044ccb 3 2 3 3 3 3
GargoyleDG DLC1EncClassGargoyle xx00d6f6 2 2 3 1 3 4 2
Giant EncClassGiant 000abb44 2 1 3 3 2 3 2
Guard GuardImperial 000253f2 1 2 2 3 2 2 4 2
Guard GuardSonsSkyrim 000253f3 1 2 2 3 2 2 4 2
Hagraven EncClassHagraven 000a93b3 2 3 3 3 2 3
Haknir Death-BrandDB DLC2dunHaknirClass xx037feb 4 5 3 2
Horker EncClassHorker 000edd36 3 2 3 3 5 3
Horse EncClassHorse 0010f71e 3 2 3 3 4 1
Ice Wraith EncClassIceWraith 00073f1f 2 1 2 3 2 4 2
Imperial Soldier SoldierImperialNotGuard 0001327f 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 7
Jailor Jailor 0001325e 2 3 3 2 2 2 3 2
KarstaagDB DLC2dunKarstaagClass xx028213 1 5 3 1 1 7 1 1 3 1 1 1 1 3 1 1 5 1 3 1
KatriaDG DLC1EncClassKatria xx004d0e 3 1 1 2 2 2 2 1 3
Name EditorID FormID ARC BLO HVA 1HD SMI 2HD ALT CON DES ENC ILU RES ALC LTA LOC PIC SNK SPE Hea Mag Sta
Lumberjack Lumberjack 0001326e 2 2 3 2 3 3 1 1 1 1 1 1
LurkerDB DLC2EncClassLurker xx03183a 2 9 1 3 2 3 4 2
Mammoth EncClassMammoth 000f2594 2 3 2 3 4 2
Miner Miner 0001326d 2 2 3 2 3 3 1 1 1 1 1 1
MiraakDB DLC2EncClassMiraak xx023f78 1 2 2 2 2 2 8 3 3 2
Monk CombatMonk 00013182 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 2
Monk TrainerRestorationExpert 000e3a74 3 1 3 2 2 3 1
MudCrab EncClassMudCrab 000bb4b0 3 2 3 3 3 3
Mystic CombatMystic 0001317b 3 2 3 1 2 2 3 1
Nightblade CombatNightblade 0001317c 2 2 3 1 3 2 2 2
Nord Hero MQAncientNord 0004fa49 2 2 1 3 3 4 2
Orc Warrior GuardOrc1H 0002a477 2 1 3 3 2 4 2
Orc Warrior GuardOrc2H 0010e714 2 1 3 3 2 4 2
Pawnbroker VendorPawnbroker 0001325b 1 2 2 3 3 1 1 1
Penitus Oculatus EncClassPenitusOculatus 0007d98d 1 2 3 2 1 2 2 2
Player Spellsword Class AAAPlayerSpellswordClass 0002f202 3 1 2 3 3 2 2 2
Predator EncClassAnimalPredator 000131e6 2 3 2 3 3 3
Predator EncClassBear 00106aed 2 3 2 3 3 3
Prey EncClassAnimalPrey 0001ce1d 3 2 3 3 3 3
Priest Priest 00013276 2 2 1 3 2 3 1 2
Name EditorID FormID ARC BLO HVA 1HD SMI 2HD ALT CON DES ENC ILU RES ALC LTA LOC PIC SNK SPE Hea Mag Sta
Priest TrainerConjurationJourneyman 000e3a72 2 4 2 2 3 2 3 1 2
Priest TrainerEnchantingMaster 000e3a77 2 2 1 3 2 3 1 2
Priest TrainerRestorationJourneyman 000c2914 2 2 2 3 2 3 1 2
Priest TrainerRestorationMaster 000e3a75 2 2 2 4 2 3 1 2
Prisoner Prisoner 00013263 1 3 3 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Ranger CombatRanger 00013181 3 2 2 3 1 3 3
Rogue CombatRogue 00013180 1 2 3 2 3 3 3
Scout CombatScout 0001317d 3 1 2 2 3 2 2 2
Scout TrainerSneakExpert 000e3a6c 3 1 2 2 4 2 2 2
Soldier CWSoldierClass 0010b1d8 2 2 1 2 2 1 3 7
Sons of Skyrim Soldier SoldierSonsSkyrimNotGuard 00013280 3 3 3 3 3 3 1 1
Sorcerer CombatSorcerer 00013179 2 2 3 3 1 2 3 1
Sorcerer TrainerDestructionJourneyman 000e2fcd 1 1 3 3 1 1 2 4 1
Sorcerer TrainerDestructionMaster 000e3a73 2 2 1 3 3 3 3
Sorcerer TrainerIllusionExpert 000b812c 1 2 3 3 2 2 3 1
Sorcerer TrainerIllusionMaster 00042dc6 2 2 3 4 1 2 3 1
SorcererHF BYOHHousecarlHjaalmarchClass xx019636 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Spell Vendor TrainerAlterationMaster 000e3a69 4 1 2 1 2 2 1 1 1
Spell Vendor TrainerEnchantingExpert 000e3a76 3 1 4 2 1 2 2 1 1 1
Spell Vendor VendorSpells 0001325a 3 1 2 1 2 2 1 1 1
Name EditorID FormID ARC BLO HVA 1HD SMI 2HD ALT CON DES ENC ILU RES ALC LTA LOC PIC SNK SPE Hea Mag Sta
Spellsword CombatSpellsword 00013177 3 3 3 2 2 2 2
Spellsword NPCclassBelrand 0010f7f9 3 3 2 3 2 2 2
SpellswordDB DLC2NPCClassTeldryn xx038561 3 2 3 1 3 2 2 2
Tailor VendorTailor 00013270 2 1 2 3 3 1 1 1
Thalmor Archer EncClassThalmorMissile 00072891 3 1 1 2 2 2 1 2
Thalmor Warrior EncClassThalmorMelee 0007289d 2 3 1 2 1 2 1 2
Thalmor Wizard EncClassThalmorWizard 00072887 1 3 3 1 1 2 3
Thief CombatThief 0001317e 2 1 2 3 3 2 4
Thief TrainerLockpickMaster 000e3a65 2 1 2 3 4 3 2 4
Thief TrainerMarksmanExpert 00042dc2 4 1 2 3 3 2 2 4
Thief TrainerMarksmanJourneyman 0010fc39 4 1 2 3 3 2 2 4
Thief TrainerMarksmanMaster 000e3a66 4 1 2 3 3 2 2 4
Thief TrainerPickpocketExpert 000c6fb6 2 1 2 3 3 3 2 4
Thief TrainerPickpocketMaster 000e3a62 2 1 2 3 3 2 4
Thief TrainerSneakMaster 000e3a63 2 1 2 3 3 2 4
Thief TrainerSpeechcraftMaster 000e3a64 2 1 2 3 3 4 2 4
Vampire EncClassVampire 0002e00f 2 1 2 1 2 3 2 2 1
Vigilant Vigilant1hMeleeClass 0010bfef 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 3 1 2
Vigilant Vigilant2hMeleeClass 0010bff0 3 3 3 1 2 1 3 1 2
VyrthurDG DLC1CClassVyrthur xx0126b3 1 2 3 2 3 3 3
Name EditorID FormID ARC BLO HVA 1HD SMI 2HD ALT CON DES ENC ILU RES ALC LTA LOC PIC SNK SPE Hea Mag Sta
Warrior CombatNightingale 000fb0da 3 3 2 1 2 4 2
Warrior CombatWarrior1H 00013176 2 2 3 3 1 4 2
Warrior CombatWarrior2H 0001ce15 2 2 3 1 3 4 2
Warrior TrainerBlockExpert 00042dc7 3 3 1 2 1 3 2 2 1
Warrior TrainerBlockMaster 000b5fb4 1 3 2 3 2 4 2 1
Warrior TrainerLockpickExpert 000e3a6b 2 2 3 3 1 4 4 2
Warrior TrainerOneHandedExpert 00042dc3 2 2 3 3 1 4 2
Warrior TrainerOneHandedJourneyman 000e3a5e 2 2 3 3 1 4 2
Warrior TrainerOneHandedMaster 000b5fb5 2 3 3 1 2 4 2
Warrior TrainerSneakJourneyman 000e3a6d 2 2 3 3 1 3 4 2
Warrior TrainerSpeechcraftJourneyman 000e3a6f 2 2 3 3 1 3 4 2
Warrior TrainerTwoHandedExpert 00042dc5 2 2 3 1 3 4 2
Warrior TrainerTwoHandedMaster 00042dc4 2 2 3 1 4 4 2
WarriorDB dlc2DBAncientDragonbornClass xx0265af 2 3 3 3 9 1 4 2 3
WarriorCC ccASVSSE001_BladeBinder xx052276 3 3 2 1 2 2 2 2
Werewolf EncClassWerewolf 000a1993 2 2 3 1 3 3 3
Werewolf EncClassWerewolfBoss 000a1995 1 2 2 3 3 3 3
Werewolf EncClassWerewolfMage 000a1994 2 3 2 3 3 3
Witchblade CombatWitchblade 00013178 2 3 3 2 1 3 3
Name EditorID FormID ARC BLO HVA 1HD SMI 2HD ALT CON DES ENC ILU RES ALC LTA LOC PIC SNK SPE Hea Mag Sta