Two-handed weapons in Skyrim deliver the highest raw damage per swing of any weapon class, letting players delete enemies with a single well-placed strike. While they sacrifice speed for power, a properly built two-handed warrior can stagger dragons, flatten giants, and cleave through dungeons faster than most other builds. This guide covers everything from optimal perk paths to legendary weapon locations, ideal races, and combat tactics that’ll turn any Dragonborn into a walking apocalypse. Whether someone’s starting a fresh playthrough or respeccing an existing character, these strategies will maximize damage output and survivability.

Why Choose a Two-Handed Build in Skyrim?

Two-handed builds offer the highest burst damage in Skyrim, often killing weaker enemies before they can react. A fully perked greatsword or warhammer regularly hits for 200+ damage per swing before enchantments, while daggers and swords cap out significantly lower.

The playstyle suits aggressive players who prefer offense over defense. Heavy attacks can stagger most humanoid enemies, interrupting their attacks and creating safe windows for follow-up strikes. Against dragons and giants, this stagger mechanic becomes critical for survival.

Two-handed weapons also simplify inventory management. Players only need one weapon instead of dual-wielding pairs or sword-and-shield combinations. This frees up carrying capacity for potions, quest items, and loot.

The build scales exceptionally well into late game. Combining perks like Champion’s Stance (power attacks cost 25% less stamina) with stamina-boosting enchantments lets players spam power attacks that rival spell damage. With the right gear, two-handed warriors outpace most magic builds in pure DPS.

Understanding the Two-Handed Skill Tree

The Two-Handed skill tree in Skyrim contains 20 perks split between damage boosters, stamina management, and crowd control. Smart perk allocation makes the difference between a clunky tank and an unstoppable force.

Essential Perks for Maximum Damage

Barbarian (Ranks 1-5) should be players’ first priority. Each rank adds 20% damage, stacking to +100% at Rank 5. This perk alone doubles base weapon damage and affects all two-handed weapons equally.

Champion’s Stance (Two-Handed 50) reduces power attack stamina cost by 25%. Since power attacks deal 2x damage and can stagger, this perk essentially doubles sustainable DPS in prolonged fights.

Devastating Blow (Two-Handed 50) adds a 25% chance to paralyze targets for 1 second with standing power attacks. This proc interrupts enemy attacks and guarantees follow-up hits land cleanly.

Great Critical Charge (Two-Handed 100) doubles critical damage on charging power attacks. Combined with elemental fury shouts or enchantments, this creates massive burst damage when closing distance.

Weapon-specific perks, Deep Wounds (greatswords), Skull Crusher (warhammers), and Limb Splitter (battleaxes), add bleeding, armor ignore, and extra critical damage respectively. Players should take the perk matching their preferred weapon type, though advanced combat strategies suggest carrying one of each type for different enemy resistances.

Crowd Control and Utility Perks

Sweep (Two-Handed 30) lets sideways power attacks hit all targets in front of the player. Essential for dealing with multiple draugr or bandits, though it drains stamina quickly without proper management.

Warmaster (Two-Hadn 80) grants immunity to backwards movement while power attacking. This prevents getting staggered mid-swing by enemy attacks, turning trades heavily in the player’s favor.

Savage Strike (Two-Handed 30) grants +25% critical hit chance with standing power attacks. Combined with elemental damage enchantments, this perk triggers devastating burst windows.

Skip Limbsplitter unless running a battleaxe-focused build. The bleed damage doesn’t scale well compared to raw damage increases from other perks. Similarly, Skullcrusher‘s armor ignore matters less once Smithing pushes weapon damage above 150.

Best Two-Handed Weapons and Where to Find Them

Weapon choice significantly impacts playstyle. Greatswords swing fastest, warhammers hit hardest, and battleaxes balance speed with power. Here’s where to find the top-tier options.

Legendary Greatswords

Bloodskal Blade (Bloodskal Barrow, Solstheim DLC) fires energy blasts on power attacks, dealing 30 damage in a line. This effect doesn’t consume charges, making it the best greatsword for crowd control without enchanting.

Dragonbane (Sky Haven Temple) deals +20-40 bonus damage to dragons and 10 shock damage to others. Since dragon fights define late-game Skyrim, this weapon stays relevant far longer than its base damage suggests.

Ebony Blade (Whispering Door quest, Dragonsreach) absorbs 10-30 health per hit when fully upgraded through friendly kills. Even though technically being a two-handed sword, it swings at one-handed speed, making it absurdly efficient for sustained combat.

Daedric Greatsword (crafted or found at level 48+) offers the highest base damage at 24 before Smithing improvements. With Legendary upgrades and enchantments, these reach 200+ damage per swing.

Powerful Battleaxes

Wuuthrad (Glory of the Dead quest) deals +1.2x damage to elves (all types). Against Falmer-heavy dungeons or Thalmor encounters, this racial bonus outweighs any enchanted Daedric battleaxe.

Rueful Axe (A Daedra’s Best Friend quest) has 22 base damage, tied with Ebony but available much earlier. The +20 stamina absorbed per hit helps sustain power attack chains.

Stalhrim Battleaxe (crafted, Dragonborn DLC) enhances frost enchantments by 25%, making frost damage enchantments deal 50% more. Pair with Chaos Damage enchantment for maximum elemental output.

Top-Tier Warhammers

Longhammer (Liar’s Retreat, near the waterfall) swings 30% faster than normal warhammers even though dealing full damage. This speed increase effectively boosts DPS by 30% with zero downside.

Volendrung (The Cursed Tribe quest) absorbs 50 stamina per hit, completely eliminating stamina management issues. Players can spam power attacks indefinitely as long as enemies have stamina pools.

Daedric Warhammer (crafted or found at level 49+) hits for 27 base damage, the highest in the game. With Smithing perks and improvements, Legendary versions exceed 250 damage per swing.

Most experienced players gravitate toward specialized weapon techniques involving weapon swapping mid-combat based on enemy type, though keeping one preferred main weapon simplifies gameplay for most playthroughs.

Optimal Races and Standing Stones for Two-Handed Builds

Race matters less in Skyrim than perk allocation, but starting bonuses accelerate early-game progression. Orcs begin with +10 Two-Handed skill and the Berserker Rage power (take half damage, deal double damage for 60 seconds). This racial power trivializes boss fights throughout the entire game.

Nords start with +5 Two-Handed and resist frost 50%, which helps in draugr-heavy dungeons. Their Battle Cry power causes enemies to flee for 30 seconds, useful for controlling overwhelming encounters.

Redguards gain +5 Two-Handed and the Adrenaline Rush power (regenerate stamina 10x faster for 60 seconds). Since power attacks drain stamina rapidly, this power enables sustained aggression when surrounded.

For Standing Stones, The Lord Stone (50 damage resistance, 25% magic resistance) turns two-handed warriors into unkillable tanks. The passive defense compensates for not using shields, especially against mages.

The Warrior Stone increases combat skill leveling by 20%, helping Two-Handed, Heavy Armor, and Smithing progress faster. Switch to The Lord Stone once core skills hit 100.

The Atronach Stone (50 magicka, 50% spell absorption, -50% magicka regen) completely negates mage threats. Since two-handed builds rarely use magicka, the regeneration penalty doesn’t matter. Combine with Breton race for 75% total spell absorption.

Leveling Your Two-Handed Skill Quickly

Two-Handed skill increases based on damage dealt with two-handed weapons. Higher base damage weapons level the skill faster, so use the best available weapon at every level bracket.

Farm skill gains by attacking Shadowmere (obtained during Dark Brotherhood questline). The horse has 1,637 health and regenerates faster than most two-handed weapons can damage it. Players can AFK swing for 30+ minutes to push Two-Handed from 15 to 50.

Alternatively, pay trainers for quick gains. Torbjorn Shatter-Shield (Windhelm) trains up to skill 50, Burguk (Dushnikh Yal) trains to 75, and Vilkas (Companions, Jorrvaskr) trains to 90. Pickpocketing gold back after training creates essentially free skill levels.

Use the Oghma Infinium exploit (patched in later versions but still accessible with console commands on PC) to instantly boost combat skills. The book grants +5 to all warrior skills when read.

Skill books scattered throughout Skyrim grant +1 Two-Handed per unique book. All five books are:

• Battle of Sancre Tor (multiple locations)
• King (multiple locations)
• The Legendary Sancre Tor (multiple locations)
• Night of Tears (College of Winterhold)
• Words and Philosophy (multiple locations)

Completing the Companions questline unlocks unlimited radiant quests that naturally level combat skills through regular play. The questline also grants access to Vilkas, the best two-handed trainer.

Complementary Skills and Secondary Builds

Two-handed builds need support skills to maximize effectiveness. Pure damage means nothing if players run out of stamina or can’t survive long enough to land killing blows.

Heavy Armor vs. Light Armor

Heavy Armor synergizes better with two-handed playstyles. Perks like Conditioning (removes movement penalties) and Reflect Blows (10% chance to reflect melee damage) compensate for slower weapon speeds. The Tower of Strength perk grants 50% bonus armor rating when wearing a full heavy armor set.

Light Armor offers better stamina efficiency through the Unhindered perk (no armor weight). The Wind Walker perk regenerates stamina 50% faster, enabling more frequent power attacks. But, light armor caps at lower total defense.

Most beginner-friendly builds favor heavy armor for survivability, while advanced players prefer light armor’s stamina benefits paired with dodging mechanics.

Smithing and Enchanting Synergies

Smithing directly multiplies weapon damage. Leveling to 100 and taking Daedric Smithing or Dragon Smithing lets players craft endgame weapons. The Arcane Blacksmith perk allows improving enchanted weapons, further boosting damage.

Improving a Daedric Greatsword from base (24 damage) to Legendary quality (+13 improvement bonus) increases damage to approximately 115 before enchantments. This 4x damage multiplier makes Smithing mandatory for late-game viability.

Enchanting adds elemental damage, absorb effects, or utility bonuses. Dual enchanting (via Extra Effect perk) lets weapons carry two effects simultaneously. The optimal combination is Chaos Damage (25% chance for 50 fire/frost/shock damage) plus Absorb Stamina (30 points).

Alchemy supports both through crafting Fortify Smithing and Enchanting potions. A maxed Alchemy skill creates potions that boost Smithing improvements by 130%, pushing weapon damage even higher.

Combat Tactics and Playstyle Tips

Two-handed combat revolves around positioning and stamina management. Unlike sword-and-shield builds that can turtle behind blocks, two-handed warriors must commit to every attack.

Backward walking while charging power attacks exploits AI pathing. Most enemies stop briefly when the player backpedals, creating perfect windows for sprint power attacks. This tactic works especially well against single strong enemies like giants or deathlords.

Vegetable soup (1 cabbage, 1 potato, 1 leek, 1 tomato) restores 1 health and 1 stamina per second for 720 seconds. This sustained regeneration allows nearly infinite power attack spam when combined with Champion’s Stance.

Against dragons, wait for breath attack animations then sprint underneath and power attack their legs. The stagger from heavy weapons interrupts their takeoff, keeping them grounded for extended beatdowns.

Elemental Fury shout (increases attack speed 30-50%) doesn’t work on enchanted weapons, but turns unenchanted Daedric or Dragonbone weapons into blenders. Some community mod recommendations on Nexus Mods remove this restriction for more build flexibility.

Sprint + jump attacks deal bonus damage and have extended reach. Use this to close gaps against fleeing enemies or kiting mages.

Switch to Frost enchantments against stamina-heavy enemies (warriors, bandits) to slow their attack speed. Fire works better against regenerating enemies like trolls. Shock enchantments drain magicka, neutralizing mages.

Best Enchantments and Gear Setup

Optimal gear focuses on stamina efficiency and damage multipliers. Here’s the complete endgame setup:

Weapon Enchantments:

• Chaos Damage + Absorb Stamina (dual enchanted) provides both burst and sustain
• Fiery Soul Trap for convenience (fills soul gems while dealing fire damage)
• Paralysis for crowd control, though short 1-second duration limits usefulness

Helmet: Fortify Archery + Fortify Two-Handed (archery for pulling single targets, Two-Handed for melee boost)

Armor: Fortify Health + Fortify Stamina Regeneration (survivability plus faster power attack recovery)

Gauntlets: Fortify Two-Handed + Fortify Smithing (core damage boost plus improves weapons at grindstones)

Boots: Fortify Stamina + Fortify Two-Handed (maximum power attack spam)

Ring: Fortify Stamina + Fortify Health (pure stat bonuses)

Amulet: Fortify Stamina + Fortify Two-Handed (matches boots for maximum effect)

The Fortify Two-Handed enchantment stacks additively. Four gear pieces with 40% Two-Handed each grant +160% damage, effectively tripling base weapon damage.

For potions, keep stacks of Restore Stamina (blue mountain flower + wheat) and Fortify Two-Handed (dragon’s tongue + fly amanita). Pop both before major boss fights for 200+ seconds of boosted damage.

Alternative enchantment strategies documented on resources like Game8 suggest magic resistance stacking for higher difficulty playthroughs, though pure damage remains more efficient for normal-to-expert difficulties.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

New two-handed players frequently over-invest in health at the expense of stamina. Without stamina, power attacks become unavailable, cutting DPS in half. Aim for 2:1 stamina-to-health ratio when leveling, adjusting based on difficulty.

Ignoring Vegetable Soup or other stamina foods wastes massive DPS potential. A single bowl provides 12 minutes of sustained power attacking, effectively multiplying damage output by 2x for the entire duration.

Taking all three weapon-specific perks (Deep Wounds, Skull Crusher, Limb Splitter) spreads perks too thin. Pick one weapon type and invest fully, then carry alternative weapon types unperked for situational use.

Blocking with two-handed weapons drains stamina without offering meaningful defense. Better to dodge sideways or trade damage with power attacks that stagger enemies first.

Waiting too long to invest in Smithing and Enchanting creates massive power gaps in mid-game (levels 20-40). These crafting skills should hit 100 before Two-Handed exceeds 75 for optimal scaling.

Using Elemental Fury shout on enchanted weapons does nothing, the shout specifically excludes enchanted gear. Either carry unenchanted weapons for use with this shout or skip it entirely.

Skipping Champion’s Stance perk severely limits sustained damage. The 25% stamina reduction lets players execute 33% more power attacks per stamina bar, making it mandatory for any serious build.

Many players overlook helpful resources when planning builds, checking comprehensive build guides before committing perks prevents costly mistakes and restarts.

Conclusion

Two-handed builds in Skyrim deliver unmatched burst damage when properly optimized. By focusing on essential perks like Barbarian and Champion’s Stance, acquiring legendary weapons like Volendrung or the Longhammer, and stacking Fortify Two-Handed enchantments across gear, players create characters that one-shot most enemies and stagger even dragons.

The playstyle rewards aggressive positioning and stamina management over defensive play. Vegetable soup, strategic enchantments, and weapon-swapping tactics separate good two-handed warriors from unstoppable killing machines.

Whether someone’s starting a fresh Nord berserker or respeccing an existing character with late-game resources, these strategies provide the framework for dominating Skyrim’s toughest encounters. The art of heavy hitting isn’t just about swinging the biggest weapon, it’s knowing when to swing, what to swing, and how to ensure every blow lands with maximum force.