Think Gaming Blog: posts tagged Skill lines explained

Acrobatics Explained • The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 13:43:33 +0100

In this video, I break down how the Acrobatics skill line works in The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era. I go through each of the dice, explain how the abilities work, highlight common rules points, and share practical tips on how to use Acrobatics effectively in your campaigns. Whether you’re thinking about building around it or just want to better understand its utility, this guide should help clarify how the skill line functions at the table

Illusion Explained • The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:00:00 +0100

In this video, I break down how the Illusion skill line works in The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era, introduced in the Valenwood expansion. I go through each of the dice, explain how the abilities work, highlight common rules points, and share some practical tips on how to use Illusion effectively in your campaigns. Whether you’re looking to build around it or just want to better understand how it functions, this guide should help clarify how the skill line plays at the table.

Speech Skill Line Explained • The Elder Scrolls Betrayal of the Second Era

Mon, 09 Mar 2026 14:32:06 +0100

In this video, I break down how the Speech skill line works in The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era. I go over each of the dice, explain how they work, and highlight common rules on how to play them correctly and efficiently. Whether you’re considering building around it or just want to better understand its utility, this guide should help clarify how the skill line functions at the table.

Destruction Staff Explained • The Elder Scrolls Betrayal of the Second Era

Mon, 17 Nov 2025 20:00:00 +0100

The Destruction Staff skill line is all about raw elemental damage, crowd-controlling status effects, and destructive power. In this video, I go over each of the dice in the line, explain how the skills work, highlight some common rules questions, and share thoughts on how to get the most out of this explosive toolkit.

Two Handed Explained • The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 13:49:25 +0100

The Two Handed skill line is all about raw damage, and I’d say it’s probably the strongest of the starting damage-dealing options in the game. What I love about it is that most of the dice stand strong on their own, you don’t need tons of support pieces to make them work. Momentum can dish out ridiculous amounts of damage, Executioner is one of the most powerful dice in the whole game with its instant-kill effect, and Cleave gives you a way to spread damage without even targeting enemies directly. It’s aggressive, straightforward, and hugely rewarding to play if you enjoy hitting hard and cutting through tricky enemy skills.

In this video, I go through each die one by one, starting from Wrecking Blow at level one and working all the way up to Cleave. I explain how they work, when to use them, and highlight some common mistakes and rules clarifications.

Daedric Summoning Explained • The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era

Mon, 14 Jul 2025 12:59:45 +0100

Daedric Summoning is easily one of my favourite skill lines in The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era. It’s just really fun and thematic, especially if you’re into companion builds. Power Stone is probably the highlight here – it lets you completely control your dice rolls, which feels amazing and is honestly one of the strongest effects in the whole game. Bound Armaments is another great one for granting extra engages (though a bit tricky to use), and Expert Summoner boosts your companions so much it feels like you’re doubling or even tripling their effectiveness. Clanfear also deserves a shout-out, as its aggressive trait makes its damage output super consistent with built-in rerolls.

In this video, I break down each of the Daedric Summoning dice and explain how their abilities work, including some common rules questions you might have. You’ll see exactly how tricky abilities like Tempered Soul can trigger in actual gameplay and how you can set up some clever combos. Whether you’re running a dedicated companion strategy or just like having dice you can fully rely on, Daedric Summoning has loads to offer, and I’ll share my best tips for getting the most out of it.

One Hand and Shield Explained • The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 12:40:47 +0100

One Hand and Shield is an awesome skill line that’s perfect if you’re looking for strong single-target burst damage and a reliable dice recovery engine. There’s plenty of synergy between the dice, and chaining abilities together feels great. My personal favourite is Shield Charge because it never misses, so you always get guaranteed damage.

In this video, I go through each die from level one to four, talk about how to make the most of them individually, and how they combine into bigger, more effective combos. I’ll explain how the dice interact, how to manage their timing in your active slots, and why Shield Discipline is essential for getting the most out of this skill line. Whether you’re into dealing massive burst damage or prefer steady, dependable play, One Hand and Shield has you covered.

Heavy Armor Explained • The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era

Mon, 16 Jun 2025 11:00:00 +0100

Heavy Armor is easily one of the best skill lines in the game for consistent damage mitigation – arguably even a bit too powerful. It provides a simple yet incredibly effective defence by preventing damage from both adjacent and distant enemies. Watching opponents defeat themselves just by hitting you when you’ve got Immovable active is both hilarious and satisfying. Then there’s Unstoppable, which lets you effortlessly shove enemies out of your way, and Juggernaut, providing a fantastic source of extra tenacity. Even though it’s powerful, it never stops feeling great to use.

In this video, I explain exactly how each die in the Heavy Armor skill line works, including why the timing and placement of dice in your cooldown track is crucial. I also cover strategies for combining these dice with various builds, and why some effects, like Juggernaut, can completely transform how you manage resources during tough encounters. If you’re curious how to reliably shrug off enemy attacks while building extra tenacity or simply want to see enemies bounce off you as they defeat themselves, Heavy Armor is definitely worth mastering.

Bow Explained • The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era

Mon, 02 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0100

Bow is one of the most consistent damage-dealing skill lines in the game. It gives you several solid options depending on how you want to build it. You can go for high burst damage by doubling up on Rapid Fire, or you can lean into a reroll-heavy build with Arrow Barrage, just like I did with the Bard. And then there’s Scatter Shot, which is easily one of the best dice in the entire line. It effectively doubles your damage output by letting you hit two targets at once, and more importantly, it gives you a way to bypass Shatter by not targeting the enemy directly. That interaction alone makes it incredibly useful.

In this video, I go through each of the Bow skill dice, from level one to level four, and explain how they work in practice. I share which dice I think are worth doubling up on, what to combine them with, and how to make the most of Bow’s strengths depending on your class. Whether you’re looking for reliable single-target damage or a bit of clever positioning to exploit area effects, Bow has a toolkit that’s both flexible and dependable.