Elder Scrolls fans had a chance to get some hands on time with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim recently at the Eurogamer Expo, and have collated a big old list of information on most of Skyrim's Perks over on The Elder Scrolls Skyrim fan site. These extra abilities can boost your major skills. One will cause your lightning bolt spell to outright evaporate your enemy if their health is low enough. Another will make items cheaper when you buy from the opposite sex you charming rogue, you.
There will be more pronounced racial differences in Skyrim, too. A scaly Argonian will have different baseline stats to a sturdy Orc. They're more adept at picking locks, but can't take a punch quite as well. As with Oblivion, each race will start with a racial ability of which the most impressive is surely the Dark Elf's Ancestor's Wrath, which surround him in wreaths of flame. In Oblivion, these abilities could often only be used once every 24 hours. A bit of Ancestor's Wrath after breakfast would be a great way to start the day, don't you think? Read on for the full list of perks discovered so far.
Perk Trees
Speech
Buying and selling price 10% better (5 ranks)
10% price buying from opposite sex
Invest in shops and increase available gold permanently in invested stores
Master Trader – every merchant in world gains 1000 gold for bartering
Buy and sell from any merchant regardless of what they normally buy and sell
Intimidation attempts twice as successful
Persuasion attempts more likely successful
Alchemy
Potions 20% stronger (5 ranks)
Potions for restore health, magicka or stamina are 25% more powerful (maybe ranked)
Poisons 25% more effective (maybe ranked)
Poisons last for twice as many hits
Two ingredients are gathered from plants
50% resistance to all poisons
All negative effects removed from potions and all positive removed from poisons
2 effects of an ingredient are revealed when testing it for the first time (instead of just one)
Illusion
Dual casting overcharges effect for more powerful spell
Cast Novice spells for 50% less magicka
Cast Apprentice spells for 50% less magicka
Cast Adept, Expert, Master etc spells for 50% less magicka (more levels this time around)
Spells work on higher level animals
Spells work on higher level people
All spellcasting (from ANY school) is done silently
Spells work on undead, daedra and automatons
Fear spells work on higher level enemies
Conjuration
Novice for 50% magicka etc (up to Master)
Dual casting overcharges –> greater spell effect
Bound weapons do more damage
Bound weapons cast Soul Trap on target
Bound weapons banish certain creatures (and I think summon creature in their place, not 100% on that though, dodgy recording)
Reanimate undead with 100 more health
Summon 2 Atronachs or reanimated zombies
Summon Atronachs at twice the distance
Summoned Atronachs twice as strong
Destruction
More damage for each school (fire, frost and shock) – ranked
Novice for 50% magicka etc.
Shock damage chance to disintegrate targets if their health is under 10%
Frost damage chance to paralyse targets if health low
Fire damage chance to make low health enemies flee
Place runes 5x farther away
Restoration
Healing spells also restore stamina
Novice for 50% less magicka etc
Healing spells do 50% more healing
Recharging healing spells
More is recharged with each hit with healing spells (unclear)
Spells more effective against undead
Once a day chance to autocast 250HP restoration when health drops low
Magicka regenerates 25% faster
Alteration
Novice for 50% less etc
Alteration spells have greater duration (ranked)
Absorb 30% magicka that hits you
Enchanting
Enchants are 20% stronger (ranked)
Enchanted armour 25% stronger
“Soul gems provide extra magicka for recharging” – again, dodgy recording but that’s what I heard, even if it doesn’t make much sense
Death blows to creatures but not people trap souls for weapon recharge
Health, magicka and stamina enchants stronger
Extra effect on already-enchanted weapon can be applied
Shock, Frost and Fire enchants 25% stronger (individual perks for each element)
Heavy Armour
Increase armour rating 20% (5 ranks)
Unarmed attacks with heavy armour gauntlets – damage increased by gauntlets’ armour rating
Half fall damage if all in heavy armour
Heavy armour weighs nothing and doesn’t slow you at all
Additional 25% armour if in matching set
25% armour bonus if all in heavy armour (not necessarily matching)
50% less stagger if all in heavy armour
10% damage reflected back to enemy if all in heavy armour
2-handed weapons
2h weapons do 20% more damage (5 ranks)
Attacks with warhammers ignore 25% armour (ranked)
Attacks with battleaxes do extra bleeding damage (ranked)
Attacks with greatswords do extra critical damage (ranked)
Power attacks cost 25% less stamina
Standing power attacks do 25% bonus damage, chance to decapitate
Sprinting power attacks do double (critical) damage
Sideways power attacks hit all targets
Backwards power attacks have 25% chance of paralysis
Archery
Bows do 25% more damage
Zoom in
Zooming slows time
10% crit chance
Move faster with drawn bow
Recover twice as many arrows from dead bodies
50% chance of paralysing for few seconds (might be 15%, can’t really hear…)
Draw bow 30% faster
Sneak
20% harder to detect (ranked)
Sneak attacks do 6x damage with 1h weapons
Sneak attacks with bows do 3x damage
Sneak attacks with daggers do 15x damage (end perk on skill tree)
Noise from armour reduced 50%
No longer activate pressure plates
Sprinting while sneaking performs silent forward roll
Running does not affect detection chance
Crouching can make hostile enemies lose sight of you and search for a target
Racial Abilities
ORCS: Beserker
REDGUARDS: Adrenaline Rush
WOOD ELF: Resist poison, resisit disease, command animals
NORD: Battlecry
KHAJIIT: Night-eye, claw attacks
IMPERIAL: Voice of the Emperor, find more coins when looting
HIGH ELF: Regenerate Magicka more quickly
DARK ELF: Ancestor’s Wrath (surround self in fire), resist fire
BRETON: Dragonskin (absorb spells), resist shock
ARGONIANS: Histskin (regenerate health quickly), resist disease, breathe underwater