My guide to ultimate character building

[Harth]

I think the most powerful build around here is:
- Redguard (best stat distribution, best totally broken power)
- The Lady (so you can max out Endurance faster)
- favourite attributes Luck and Endurance

Major skills:
- Athletics (convenience)
- Acrobatics (convenience)
- a hand-to-hand weapon skill of choice (all are good, I dont recommend hand-to-hand fighting though)
- Marksman (or Destruction)
- Light Armor (I find medium and heavy too heavy, and unarmoured too weak for low lvl)

Minors:
doesn't matter that much , I utilize:
- Alchemy
- Mysticism
- Restoration
- Conjuration
- Illusion

All support magic goes to Minor Skills. I also train Alteration to 25 and Security to 30 the fastest I can. I train these Minor skills to 25-30 as fast as I can. The rest of the skills aren't that much needed. Speechcraft 20 is nice, Armourer 20 is nice.

I dont like offensive magic in Morrowind. Spells are highly cost of mana, and a lot of enemies have reflect (atronachs, ash monsters, daedras as far as I remember). So i prefer Marksman over Destruction. Sometimes I absorb health by Mysticism. Alchemy is broken skill that shouldn't be used really. Bound weapon spells are equally broken and they spoil the game, however hence Conjuration is present.

For the 2nd best character race I vote for Nord, then Orc, Dunmers are nice, Bretons good for Destruction mage option. I dont like Altmers weaknesses neither Atronach sign

When I level up, I try to add 2x 5 points and one Luck point.

Most often I end up choosing the Spear skill speaking of weapons, for I like to use Illkurok because I dont have to cast Night Eye all the time in the caverns. Spear of Bitter Mercy is also very powerful.

[Karma30]

Something that can influence your build choice is how well you know that game and where everything is. I do try not to take advantage of that too much, but I will ask around until I get the right rumours to get me what I want. (Goldbrand) I take 2 weapons in major & minor - long blade & blunt. Long blade for Fighters Guild & Redoran, blunt for Temple & Cult. It's easiest to advance in a weapon because you can use it far more often than spells. I don't join the legion any more since I have all the LGNPC mods & the legion interferes with the Redoran quests too much. I do like speechcraft. Taunting comes in very handy quite a bit. Agree going with the Lady. I do like the initial stat boost. (and somehow the Lady seems appropriate given how much Azura is involved.) I prefer Dunmer if only because it seems "right" that Nerevar is reborn as Dunmer. Also, if you like throwing around fireballs, you can get caught up in your own explosion. I pick endurance & willpower as my preferred attributes. Again, not so much for game reasons but the idea that you just keep going when others give up - the definition of willpower.

And training to high levels does cost a lot, especially if you aren't focused on every trick to get extra coin at low levels. Athletics yes, Acrobatics for Thieves Guild, I go for Destruction as my 90 in Mages Guild. I do like heavy armour & using a shield, so block as well. With most of the other magic, you just don't need to get to a high level. About a 45 in Alteration will get 100% in levitate (and water walking/breathing.) Ditto with restoration and the "restore attribute" spells as well as cure common/blight on others & cure common on yourself. About a 40 or so in Mysticism gets you 100% in mark & recall. So I go for skills that are worth getting to 100. Even security - with a 50 & master picks you can open 100 level locks. Armourer - something you only really need in the werewolf maze since you can usually zip out & get someone to repair things for you, but that's another I stick in the minors. Unarmed - can be very handy in about three situations so I will train that up to about 50 or so. I don't like alchemy as a skill either, prefer to cast spells for things but try and get my hands on as many restore health/magicka as I can.
I don't build up luck until I've got everything else up. As soon as you get a golden saint soul gem, get an exquisite shirt or pants & enchant a permanent 1-23 points of luck. Keep putting it on/off until you go up at least 20 points. Generally by 15th level I have an 80 in luck.

[Harth]

Cool. I dont follow the rule that I have to have a skill in my majors/minors to fulfill the guild requirement. I dont have room for Block for all the magic skills, though I train it to ~25 when I boost Agility x5 during leveling. I rarely join Imperial Legion, I play without mods (maybe install them later on), but I do want to join Legion in my next plays since I never joined them. My mages / Telvanni / Imperial Cult skill is Mysticism. Most often I join Telvanni, also I've never done a single Tribunal Temple quest. I plan to do it in the future though. But it never seemed right to me, a Nerevarine doing Tribunal Temple quests.

After you've reached lvl 20 though, with smart choosing of advancement and training, you beat everything and the game gets boring.

[Karma30]

Well it's not really a rule you have to have one of the preferred skills as a major/minor, but it is quicker to get it up if it is. Very frustrating when you do enough quests to advance but don't have the skills for it.

From a RP POV, there's no problem about joining the Temple if you do it before you advance in the MQ. After all, at that stage, you don't actually know you are the Nerevarine. Your first orders are to go out and get some experience. By the time I go back, I'm the master of the three Imperial guilds. I then get up to the Vivec informants and again you get the option to get some experience. So I go get some religion. You need to do the informants to get the dream in order to peacefully resolve a Temple quest, otherwise I wouldn't bother with it. As you advance in the Temple. especially if you're of a curious bent and find the secret library, you find out how the Tribunal gained their powers. Shock! Horror! But you continue to advance to a position of power perhaps to control the ordinators and stop the persecutions. But even as Patriarch you find you're ineffectual. (BTW Saryoni, get out of my office.) Disillusioned with the Tribunal, you seek solace with the Cult. At least the 9 Divines do actually seem to be divine.

[ElderScrolls]

In my humble opinion, Nords and Redguards would be among the best races in the game.

A Male Nord is right behind a Male Orc in terms of weight-influenced speed, but the elemental resistances that Nords naturally possess allow them to reach 100% resistance quite easily. This makes them incredibly durable, especially on Maximum Difficulty where surviving heavy damage is often more important than dealing it.

Orcs are arguably one of the strongest choices in the entire game and could even be considered the best race depending on your playstyle. Their naturally high Strength, Endurance, and heavy weight make them exceptional melee fighters. A Male Orc has the highest weight-based speed advantage in the game, giving him better movement speed than almost every other race. Their only real drawback is their lower starting Personality and the lack of natural elemental resistances compared to Nords. However, for a pure combat character who relies on physical damage, enchanted equipment, and strategic use of potions, these weaknesses are almost irrelevant. Their raw attributes make them devastating, especially on Maximum Difficulty where fights are often decided by who can trade the most damage and survive the longest. Berserk is just ridiculously good. It makes you better at nearly everything.

Redguards, with Adrenaline Rush, are arguably the strongest and fastest fighters in the game for short encounters. At Maximum Difficulty, fights usually do not last long either way, and having additional Strength, Health, and Speed is extremely valuable when trading blows. If you also use Alchemy properly, you can achieve maximum magical and elemental resistances anyway, so for pure power gaming, Redguard remains one of the most dominant choices.

For pure mages, Altmer are the best in the long run. They have the largest Magicka pool in the game, and by using certain items as suggested in my guides, you can completely negate their elemental weaknesses. Their height does not affect their speed like it does in Oblivion and Skyrim, but it does influence their swimming and levitation speed when moving upward or downward. This gives them a small advantage over Bretons since you will often be casting spells from the air.

Another interesting point to consider is that heavier races tend to be less accurate when casting spells. I do not see much reason to use spells as a Nord or Orc instead of relying on enchanted items, but it is still useful information to keep in mind.

Finally, if you intend to abuse Alchemy, most racial differences become irrelevant. With enough preparation, any race can become absurdly powerful. You can effectively become a god.