Elder Scrolls: Blades Abilities List – All Abilities and How to Get Them

Whenever you level up in Elder Scrolls: Blades, you get a skill point that you can spend on either a perk or an ability. Perks are basically passive skills that boost your skills in a number of different areas, from …

Abilities, on the other hand are your active skills. These let you pull off power attacks, and whack enemies with your shield, and dodge attacks— among many more.

Abilities are not to be confused with spells though, which require Magicka to pull off and have an entirely separate tree. We’ll go into more detail about these in a later post.

In this guide, we’re going to detail every single ability in Elder Scrolls: Blades to help you plan your upgrade path before you’ve earned a single skill point.

Elder Scrolls: Blades – Ability List

Ability	Description	Stamina Cost	Level Requirement	Skill Point Cost
Power Attack	A slow but powerful overhead blow deals 30 extra damage (60 with a two-handed weapon).	145	1	1
Dodging Strike	The fighter instantly dodges to evade up to 85 damage, then strikes back.	145	1	1
Shield Bash	The fighter first blocks with their shield, then slams it into the enemy, dealing 36 extra bashing damage. A shield is required.	155	4	1
Quick Strikes	A quick combo of two strikes that each deal 20 extra damage (no extra damage for two-handed weapons).	205	4	1
Skullcrusher	This Power Attack deals 33 extra damage (65 with a two-handed weapon), and ignores both 79 points of the target’s Block Rating and 147 points of their Armor Rating.	175	9	2
Adrenaline Dodge	This Dodging Strike evades up to 76 damage and restores up to 97 Health. The closer the fighter is to getting hit, the greater the healing.	180	10	2
Harrying Bash	This Shield Bash deals 29 extra bashing damage and adds 4 seconds to all of the target’s skill cooldowns. A shield is required.	190	11	3
Piercing Strikes	These Quick Strikes each deal 21 extra damage (no extra damage for two-handed weapons), and any elemental damage done with them ignores 80 points of the target’s Block Rating and 11 points of resistance.	260	11	3
Guardbreaker	This Power Attack deals 39 extra damage (77 with a two-handed weapon) and stuns a target that blocks it.	215	16	4
Focusing Dodge	This Dodging Strike evades up to 91 damage and reduces skill cooldowns by up to 6 seconds. The closer the fighter is to getting hit, the greater the reduction.	195	17	4
Staggering Bash	This Shield Bash deals 45 extra bashing damage and stuns a target that does not block it. A shield is required.	235	18	4
Venom Strikes	These Quick Strikes each deal 27 extra damage (no extra damage for two-handed weapons), and poisons delivered with them are 10% more effective.	320	18	4
Indomitable Smash	During this Power Attack, all resistances are increased by 125. It also cures all of the fighter’s conditions, but deals no extra damage.	265	23	5
Renewing Dodge	This Dodging Strike evades up to 84 damage and restores up to 338 Magicka. The closer the fighter is to getting hit, the greater the restoration.	205	24	5
Reflecting Bash	Up to 33 points of any damage received during this Shield Bash are redirected at the target. A shield is required.	290	25	5
Recovery Strikes	These Quick Strikes can be performed at any time, except when Paralyzed. They each deal 28 extra damage (no extra damage for two-handed weapons).	375	25	5
Reckless Fury	An intense rage increases the fighter’s damage and protects them from being stunned or killed, but also stops them from blocking or using skills. Light, versatile and heavy weapons deal 13, 17, and 21 extra damage, respectively.	425	35	10

If you’re looking for more Elder Scrolls: Blades content, check out the other articles we’ve written below:

Glen Fox

Head of Editorial

Glen has over a decade's worth of experience in gaming journalism, writing for Pocket Gamer, Pocket Tactics, Nintendo Life, and Gfinity. When he's not badgering everyone about the dangers of passive text, you can probably find him playing Wild Rift.