Unarmed build actually viable or am I wasting my time?

[RiftenWanderer]

Playing through on Switch right now and got weirdly invested in doing a pure hand-to-hand run, but I'm only level 12 and already getting shredded by anything with a weapon. I know there's perks that scale unarmed damage, and I've got the Fortify Unarmed enchantments on my gear, but it feels like I'm fighting the game instead of playing it. Is there a point where this actually clicks, or should I pivot to something else before I get too far in?

 

[ScrollsOfTamriel]

Unarmed at level 12 is rough, yeah, but it does get way better - you're just hitting the wall where the game hasn't scaled to your build yet. The damage feels terrible right now because you're missing the perks that actually matter.

What you need is the perk that lets your unarmed strikes ignore a chunk of armor, and then the ones that add flat damage per hit. There's also one that staggers enemies on power attacks. Once you stack those together with your enchantments, you'll stop feeling like you're punching a wall. Problem is most of those are deep in the tree, so yeah, level 12 you're still in the slog.

The other thing - and this might sound weird coming from someone who loves lore - but unarmed is kind of a late-game build in vanilla Skyrim. It's not that it's broken or anything, but the game was designed around weapons and magic first. If you're on Switch you can't mod it, so you're stuck with what Bethesda gave you. That said, if you're actually invested in it, push through to maybe level 25-30 and grab the key perks. It clicks way harder once you do.

Alternatively, if you want to keep the hand-to-hand fantasy but make it viable sooner, heavy armor plus unarmed is legitimately good - you tank everything and just wear enemies down. Less pure, but honestly more fun to actually play.

 

[EbonyWarrior]

Yeah, that's solid advice. I'd just add - if you're gonna stick with it, don't sleep on the Fortify Unarmed potions you can brew or buy. They're cheap and stack multiplicatively with your gear enchants, so chugging one before a tough fight makes a huge difference when you're still leveling up the tree. Alchemy's easy to level passively too.

Also, and maybe this is the Morrowind player in me talking, but pure unarmed in Skyrim always felt like the game was kinda fighting you on design. Back in Morrowind you could actually make hand-to-hand work at any level because the whole game was balanced differently - armor actually mattered less, scaling was weirder, you had way more control. Skyrim's combat is way better, but it definitely assumes you're swinging a sword or slinging spells, not just fists. It's not broken, just... you're playing against the grain a bit.

That heavy armor tank route the other person mentioned is legit though. If you want the fantasy of being an unarmed fighter without the constant frustration, that's honestly the move. You get to punch things AND survive, which beats standing there getting wailed on while you tickle enemies.