Conjuration magic is all about the summoning or banishing of the undead and otherworldly forces. This school of magic has gone through some pretty big changes since its conception in The Elder Scrolls: Arena. From summoning powerful Dremora to banishing the various denizens of Oblivion, there is so much more variety to what a mage can do.
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In Skyrim, Conjuration magic has been made much more potent with the addition of skill trees and perks. The school can be improved upon in many different ways through the game's perk system. These are the best Conjuration perks you can use.
10 Summoner
This perk allows you, the caster, to summon your Atronachs twice as far away from the base distance. A good distraction tactic is to summon the Atronach behind the group of enemies you're fighting, so the attention is divided between you and your summon.
This can be a big game changer at higher difficulties where enemies are dealing much more damage. The Summoner perk also enables you to summon your Atronach ahead of you, keeping you out of danger if you're playing a robe-wearing mage or just have low health in general.
9 Necromancy
Necromancy is perfect for those relying on raised corpses for damage. This perk raises the duration of reanimated undead, making corpses much more useful when it comes to reanimation. It works great for longer engagements where dead bodies are your support. The reanimated often provide better support than regular companions simply because they are easily replaced.
Necromancy requires 40 Conjuration and the Novice Conjuration perk to be unlocked. It's worthwhile to pair Necromancy with other perks like Dark Souls and Conjuration Dual Casting to reanimate some corpses that will last a seriously long time and take a lot of damage when needed.
8 Oblivion Binding
Oblivion Binding causes bound weapons to banish summoned Daedra and makes reanimated creatures turn against their masters. It is primarily useful against necromancers who love to repeatedly conjure or raise the dead. It can turn the tide of battle very quickly when applied to something like a frost atronach, which will be sent back to the plane of Oblivion from which it came.
It also works great when the enemy mage reanimates a high-level creature to fight for them since you'll be able to turn the reanimated against their conjurer. Whether you're a veteran or a new player, this perk is key for any good mage build.
7 Novice Conjuration
Although incredibly basic, Novice Conjuration is the foundation of this skills perk tree. Conjuration is a notoriously expensive skill to use when it comes to magicka consumption, especially in the early game. Having a perk that cuts the cost in half for novice spells is greatly helpful.
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It also allows for easier use of novice spells you'll use early on. Take the Conjure Familiar spell, for example, which typically costs 107 magicka. It's quite a lot for a low-level character, especially considering the familiar isn't all that useful.
6 Mystic Binding
This perk alone can make bound weapons extremely viable from early to late-game with the right perks. Mystic Binding causes Bound Weapons to gain a sizeable increase in damage.
The damage increase is far from modest, putting the Bound Weapons on par with their Daedric counterparts. Considering the Bound Sword is a novice-level spell and only costs 93 magicka, it's easy to see how it can carry someone through so much of the game.
5 Dark Souls
With the Dark Souls perk, all reanimated undead have 100 more points of health, which is great to use when resurrecting weaker enemies with small health pools like bandits or novice mages. This, in turn, makes for much more versatility in terms of what you choose to resurrect.
It can also make heavier enemies like the Chaurus much harder to take down and turns them into great tanks. Dark Souls is a great perk to use with the Dead Thrall perk since the thrall follows you until it's killed.
4 Conjuration Dual Casting
Despite being such a basic perk, it's useful for any mage to have as part of their arsenal. Conjuration Dual Casting charges the spell in your hands into a more powerful version that lasts longer for twice the magicka. This is great for a spell like Bound Sword which has a relatively low cost of magicka and only lasts 120 seconds.
It makes longer fights easier on magicka consumption since it avoids the need to recast atronachs or bound weapons. Bear in mind that it does cost double magicka to cast so consider investing in perks like Apprentice Conjuration.
3 Atromancy
Atromancy causes atronachs to last twice as long and also stacks with Conjuration Dual Casting to make for some extremely long-lasting summons. To acquire the perk, it first requires the Summoner perk to be unlocked as well as 40 Conjuration.
Atromancy also applies to the immensely powerful Dremora Lords who can easily dominate a fight, especially when their duration is doubled by the perk. It also works great in conjunction with the Twin Souls perk.
2 Twin Souls
This perk is amazing for mages of any race and caliber. Twin Souls allows for the summoning of two atronachs or undead. Since most people using conjuration rely on atronachs or followers for help in battle, it's immensely helpful to have an extra ally.
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The perk also works with the Dremora Lords, allowing for some great damage output. The perk works well with any of the perks in the skill tree and can be versatile and very effective in the right hands.
1 Elemental Potency
Atronachs are pretty powerful on their own but the ability to make them twice as strong is the dream of every mage. This perk doubles the damage done by each atronach type, making them absolute beasts in a fight.
This works best with a Frost Atronach since it has high defense and hard-hitting melee attacks. It can also work great with the Flame Atronach and its powerful ranged attacks. Combine Elemental Potency with other perks like Twin Souls and you have a recipe for destruction.
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