Conjuration in Skyrim: The Complete Guide to Mastering Summoning and Necromancy

Conjuration might be Skyrim’s most underrated skill tree. While sword-and-board warriors and stealth archers get most of the glory, conjurers command an army of Daedric minions, wield spectral weapons that never break, and resurrect fallen enemies to fight for them. It’s the ultimate force multiplier for solo players, you’re never truly alone when you’ve got a Flame Atronach tanking damage or a Dremora Lord tearing through Draugr.

But Conjuration isn’t just about summoning meat shields. It’s a versatile school of magic that transforms combat tactics, saves thousands of gold on weapon repairs, and scales beautifully from the sewers of Helgen to the final showdown with Alduin. Whether you’re planning a pure necromancer build or just want a reliable companion without the annoying dialogue, mastering Conjuration opens doors other skill trees can’t touch.

This guide breaks down everything you need to know: how the skill works, the fastest leveling methods, which spells and perks deserve your attention, and how to build a character around summoning or bound weapons. No fluff, just actionable advice for anyone ready to bend Oblivion to their will.

What Is Conjuration in Skyrim?

Conjuration is one of the five schools of magic in Skyrim, focused on summoning creatures, reanimating the dead, and manifesting bound weapons. The skill governs three main categories: summoning atronachs and Daedric servants, casting necromancy spells to raise corpses, and conjuring ethereal weapons like bound swords or bows.

Every time you cast a Conjuration spell, you earn experience toward leveling the skill. The amount of XP depends on the spell’s base Magicka cost, higher-tier spells grant more experience per cast. Unlike Destruction or Restoration, Conjuration doesn’t require you to land hits or heal damage: simply casting the spell is enough. This makes it one of the easiest magic skills to power level if you know the right tricks.

Conjuration starts at level 15 for most characters and can be trained up to 100. As the skill increases, spell costs decrease, summons become more powerful, and you unlock perks that extend duration, allow dual summons, and even banish Daedra or turn undead permanently.

The skill pairs naturally with other magic schools, Destruction for offensive spells while your summons tank, Illusion for crowd control, or even Heavy Armor if you’re running a bound weapon battlemage. But it also works as a standalone build foundation, especially for players who prefer tactical, minion-based combat over direct confrontation.

Why You Should Level Up Conjuration

Combat Advantages and Tactical Benefits

Conjuration fundamentally changes how combat flows. Summons act as disposable tanks, drawing aggro away from you while you pepper enemies with spells or arrows. A Frost Atronach can hold a chokepoint while you flank, and a Dremora Lord dishes out serious melee DPS without risking your own health bar.

The skill shines in tight dungeon corridors where positioning matters. Summon a creature at the far end of a hallway, let it pull enemy attention, then hit them from behind with AoE spells or sneak attacks. It’s essentially a built-in difficulty reducer without modding or lowering the game’s challenge slider.

Bound weapons offer another edge: they scale with Conjuration skill and related perks, deal decent base damage, and weigh nothing in your inventory. Bound Bow in particular is notorious for trivializing early-to-mid game content, it has the same damage as a Daedric bow but costs zero gold and never needs repairs. The elemental enchantments on rings can further boost your spell effectiveness when paired with summoning builds.

Reanimation spells let you turn enemy numbers against them. Raise a dead bandit chief to fight his former allies, or resurrect a dragon priest to wreak havoc on a Draugr horde. It’s poetic justice and tactical genius rolled into one spell.

Resource Management and Gold Savings

Conjuration is the budget player’s best friend. Forget spending thousands on smithing materials, enchanting soul gems, or repairing gear after every dungeon crawl. Bound weapons appear fully charged and ready to fight, then vanish when dismissed, no degradation, no repair bills, no inventory clutter.

Summons also eliminate the need for followers early on, which means you don’t have to split loot or deal with pathing AI disasters. Your Flame Atronach won’t trigger every trap in the dungeon or block doorways during critical fights.

Soul Trap, a Conjuration spell, is essential for keeping your enchanted gear charged. Cast it on enemies just before they die, and their souls fill your empty gems. It’s cheaper than buying filled soul gems from court wizards and scales infinitely as long as you have empty gems on hand.

For players running multiple playthroughs or challenge runs, Conjuration reduces dependency on found loot. You can spec into it immediately after leaving Helgen and remain effective throughout the entire game without relying on rare weapon drops or lucky enchantment finds.

How to Level Conjuration Fast

Early Game Leveling Strategies

The fastest way to level Conjuration from 15 to 50 is to spam Bound Sword or Bound Dagger repeatedly. These spells are cheap (around 90-100 Magicka base cost), quick to cast, and grant XP every time you summon the weapon, even if you immediately dismiss it and re-cast.

Here’s the method: find a safe spot (inside your house, at an inn, or anywhere enemies won’t interrupt), then spam-cast your bound weapon. Wait for Magicka to regenerate, repeat. You can level from 15 to 30 in under an hour of real-time gameplay this way. Boring? Absolutely. Effective? Undeniably.

Soul Trap is another early leveling option, especially if you’re actively clearing dungeons. Cast it on any enemy, dead or alive, and you’ll gain XP. The trick is to cast it on corpses: the spell will fail, but you still get the skill experience. This method is slower than bound weapon spam but integrates naturally into regular gameplay.

If you’re willing to invest some gold, buy higher-tier Conjuration spells from court wizards as soon as they become available. Flame Atronach (level 15 requirement) gives more XP per cast than Bound Sword, and Frost Atronach (level 40 requirement) jumps the gains even higher.

Mid to Late Game Power Leveling

Once you hit Conjuration 50-65, you unlock access to Dremora Lord and Storm Atronach spell tomes. These high-cost summons grant massive XP per cast, making them ideal for power leveling to 100. The same spam-cast method applies: find a safe location, summon, wait for Magicka regen, repeat.

At higher levels, Magicka regeneration becomes the bottleneck. Equip gear with Fortify Conjuration or Fortify Magicka Regen enchantments to speed up the process. Potions of Fortify Magicka or Fortify Conjuration also help, drink one before a leveling session to reduce spell costs and cast more frequently.

Dead Thrall, the master-level necromancy spell, provides incredible XP gains per cast due to its high base cost. But, it requires Conjuration 90 to purchase and 100 base Magicka to cast even with perks. If you’re pushing for 100, this spell will carry you through the final grind.

Another late-game trick involves the Equilibrium spell (Alteration) to convert health into Magicka, allowing you to cast endlessly as long as you have healing potions or spells. Pair it with Fast Healing (Restoration) and you can spam expensive Conjuration spells without waiting for natural Magicka regen. This method is faster but requires managing two additional magic schools.

Best Conjuration Spells and When to Use Them

Essential Summoning Spells

Flame Atronach is your bread-and-butter summon from levels 15-40. It deals fire damage at range, has decent health, and doesn’t die instantly in melee. Use it to tank for you in dungeons or to provide ranged support if you’re a melee build.

Frost Atronach (level 40+) is the tankiest summon in the game. It has the highest health pool of any atronach, deals frost damage in melee, and can absorb serious punishment. Deploy it when you need a meat shield against multiple enemies or a single tough opponent like a giant or dragon priest.

Storm Atronach (level 50+) sits between Flame and Frost in survivability but deals the highest raw damage through chain lightning attacks. It’s ideal for clearing groups of weaker enemies quickly or adding burst DPS against bosses. The AOE lightning can hit multiple targets, making it excellent in crowded fights.

Dremora Lord (level 65+) is the gold standard for late-game summons. It wields a massive two-handed weapon, deals heavy physical damage, has solid health, and can actually tank dragon attacks. The iconic “I honor my lord by destroying you.” line is just a bonus. Use this against anything that poses a real threat, dragon priests, giants, high-level bandits, or story bosses.

Bound Weapon Spells

Bound Bow is absurdly strong for its availability. You can grab the spell tome in Fort Amol (in a bucket near the prison) as early as level 1. The bow deals Daedric-tier damage, conjures its own spectral arrows, and weighs nothing. With the Mystic Binding perk, it surpasses unenchanted Daedric bows in raw damage. According to extensive community testing on player guides, it remains viable well into late game, especially for stealth archer builds.

Bound Sword is the melee equivalent, solid damage, zero weight, and when dual-wielded with the right perks, it shreds through enemies. It’s less broken than Bound Bow but still excellent for spellsword or battlemage builds.

Bound Battleaxe (Dragonborn DLC only) offers the highest base damage of any bound weapon and benefits from two-handed perks. If you’re running a two-handed warrior with Conjuration investment, this is your weapon.

All bound weapons automatically inflict soul trap on hit if you have the Oblivion Binding perk, eliminating the need to juggle Soul Trap as a separate spell. This is a massive quality-of-life improvement for enchanters.

Reanimation and Necromancy Spells

Reanimate Corpse (Novice) and Revenant (Apprentice) are early necromancy tools. They’re useful for turning bandit corpses against their allies, but the low level cap limits their effectiveness against tougher enemies.

Dread Zombie (Adept, level 30 requirement) raises corpses up to level 21 for 60 seconds. This is where necromancy starts becoming tactically relevant, you can resurrect Draugr Deathlords or bandit chiefs to fight for you in mid-game dungeons.

Dead Thrall (Master, level 90 requirement) is the necromancer’s ultimate spell. It permanently raises any humanoid corpse up to level 40 with no time limit. The thrall persists across zones, fast travel, and even death (you can re-cast on the same body). Popular choices include named NPCs with unique gear or high-level enemy types like Bandit Marauders. Some players exploit this by thralling NPCs with powerful enchanted equipment that can’t normally be looted. The spell is available from Phinis Gestor at the College of Winterhold after completing the Conjuration Ritual Spell quest.

Necromancy shines in dungeons and against humanoid enemies. It’s less useful against Dwemer automatons, animals, or Daedra, none of which leave usable corpses.

Conjuration Perks: Which Ones to Prioritize

Must-Have Perks for Every Conjurer

Novice Conjuration through Master Conjuration (5 perks total) reduce spell costs by 50% per tier. These are non-negotiable. By the time you reach Master Conjuration, even expensive spells like Dremora Lord become cheap enough to spam.

Mystic Binding is essential if you’re using any bound weapons. It increases their base damage to exceed Daedric-tier weapons, making Bound Bow and Bound Sword competitive with fully smithed and enchanted gear. Take this immediately if you’re running a bound weapon build.

Summoner and Atronach (2 ranks each) extend summon duration from 60 seconds to 120 seconds. This cuts down on re-casting during long fights and makes exploration smoother, you won’t have to resummon every minute while navigating dungeons.

Twin Souls (100 Conjuration required) is the capstone perk that allows two simultaneous summons or reanimations. This effectively doubles your combat power. Two Dremora Lords trivialize most content in the game, including dragons and high-level bosses. It’s the single biggest power spike in the entire tree.

Specialized Perk Paths

If you’re running a necromancer build, Dark Souls, Necromancy, and Reanimation perks are critical. They increase the level cap of reanimated corpses and make them last longer (or permanently with certain spells). Without these, necromancy spells remain underwhelming against leveled enemies.

Oblivion Binding makes bound weapons automatically cast Soul Trap on hit for 120 seconds. This frees up a spell slot and ensures you never waste soul gems. It’s a must-have for enchanters or anyone who uses bound weapons regularly.

Elemental Potency boosts atronach damage by 50%. If you’re primarily using summons rather than bound weapons, this perk significantly increases your DPS. It affects Flame, Frost, and Storm Atronachs but not Dremora Lords or undead summons.

Banish Daedra and Expel Daedra are niche perks useful against conjurer enemies or Daedric creatures. They’re skippable in most playthroughs unless you’re specifically struggling with mages who spam summons or you frequently explore Oblivion planes (like in the Dragonborn DLC).

For a balanced build, prioritize the cost reduction perks first, grab Mystic Binding if using bound weapons, then push toward Twin Souls. Everything else is optional depending on your specific playstyle.

Where to Find Conjuration Spell Tomes

Most Conjuration spell tomes are sold by court wizards in major holds: Farengar in Whiterun, Sybille Stentor in Solitude, Madena in Dawnstar, and others. Their inventory scales with your Conjuration skill level, higher-tier spells appear once you meet the level requirement.

Phinis Gestor at the College of Winterhold carries the most comprehensive selection of Conjuration tomes, including master-level spells. To unlock master spells, you must complete the Conjuration Ritual Spell quest, which he offers at Conjuration level 90. This quest grants access to Dead Thrall, Flame Thrall, Frost Thrall, and Storm Thrall.

Some spell tomes can be found as dungeon loot or in specific locations:

• Bound Bow: Fort Amol prison, inside a bucket near the cells (guaranteed spawn, available at level 1)
• Soul Trap: Frequently found in necromancer lairs or purchased from any court wizard
• Conjure Flame Atronach: Sold by Farengar or found in various mage dungeons
• Conjure Dremora Lord: Sold by Phinis Gestor after reaching Conjuration 65

Random spell tomes also drop from enemy mages or appear in boss chests, though this is unreliable for targeting specific spells. If you need a particular tome and can’t find it, check with multiple court wizards, their inventories refresh every 48 in-game hours.

The modding community at Nexus Mods has created spell packs and expanded Conjuration options for players who want more variety beyond vanilla offerings, including additional summons, bound weapons, and necromancy mechanics.

Best Conjuration Builds and Playstyles

Pure Summoner Build

This build focuses entirely on summons doing the heavy lifting while you stay at range, managing the battlefield and supporting with spells or ranged attacks.

Race: Breton (magic resistance) or High Elf (Magicka boost)
Primary Skills: Conjuration, Destruction (or Archery for ranged damage), Restoration
Perks: Rush to Twin Souls, max out summon duration perks, grab Elemental Potency
Gear: Archmage’s Robes, enchanted circlet/hood with Fortify Conjuration, rings and amulets with Magicka/Conjuration bonuses
Playstyle: Summon two Dremora Lords or atronachs, then hammer enemies with Destruction spells or arrows. Re-summon as needed and use Restoration to keep yourself alive. You rarely engage in melee.

This build excels in dungeons and against bosses. It struggles in anti-magic zones (like the Labyrinthian during the College questline) but dominates everywhere else. Similar Daedric artifact strategies can complement this build by providing additional combat options.

Necromancer Build

Lean into the dark side of Conjuration by raising armies of the dead and using fear/control effects.

Race: Dunmer (fire resistance, thematic fit) or any race with Magicka bonuses
Primary Skills: Conjuration (necromancy focus), Illusion (fear/calm spells), Destruction
Perks: Dark Souls, Necromancy, Reanimation perks, Twin Souls
Gear: Necromancer’s Amulet (found during “Blood on the Ice” quest), robes with Fortify Conjuration, Aetherial Crown with Magicka-focused standing stone
Playstyle: Raise powerful corpses (dragon priests, bandit chiefs, Dremora) to fight for you. Use Illusion spells to manipulate enemy behavior. Dead Thrall allows you to maintain two permanent followers, effectively giving you a four-person party.

This build is lore-heavy and fun for roleplay. It requires managing corpse availability and works best against humanoid enemies. Animal-heavy zones or Dwemer ruins limit your effectiveness.

Bound Weapon Warrior

A hybrid melee/magic build that uses bound weapons as primary damage dealers, backed by Conjuration perks and warrior skills.

Race: Orc (melee damage boost) or Nord (frost resistance, thematic)
Primary Skills: Conjuration, One-Handed or Two-Handed, Heavy Armor
Perks: Mystic Binding, Oblivion Binding, relevant weapon perks (Armsman for one-handed, Barbarian for two-handed), armor perks
Gear: Heavy armor (Daedric or Dragonplate), enchanted with Fortify Conjuration and Fortify Health
Playstyle: Summon bound weapons before combat, charge in with heavy armor, use summons as off-tanks. Oblivion Binding auto-fills soul gems as you fight, fueling enchanted gear.

This build feels like a traditional warrior but with magical flavor. It’s gear-light since your weapons are conjured, and it scales well from early to late game. Bound Bow variants of this build are particularly strong for stealth archers who want zero inventory weight for weapons.

Essential Gear and Enchantments for Conjurers

Archmage’s Robes (obtained by completing the College of Winterhold questline) provide 100% Magicka regen and reduce all spell costs by 15%. They’re the best general-purpose mage armor in the game and ideal for any Conjuration build.

Fortify Conjuration enchantments can be applied to head, chest, ring, and amulet slots. Stacking these reduces spell costs to near-zero at high Conjuration skill levels, allowing you to spam expensive summons without Magicka management.

Savos Aren’s Amulet (looted during the College questline) provides 50 Magicka, making it a solid early-game choice before you craft custom enchantments.

Necromancer’s Amulet (found in Hjerim during “Blood on the Ice”) grants massive Magicka bonuses (+50) and Conjuration cost reduction but reduces health and stamina regen. It’s excellent for pure casters who avoid melee combat entirely.

Aetherial Crown (crafted at the Aetherial Forge after “Lost to the Ages” quest) lets you equip two standing stone blessings simultaneously. Pair the Atronach Stone (50 Magicka, 50% spell absorption) with the Mage Stone (20% faster magic skill leveling) for optimal Conjuration training.

Fortify Magicka and Fortify Magicka Regen enchantments round out your gear. Prioritize Magicka pool for high-cost spells and regen for sustained casting in long dungeons.

For bound weapon builds, standard warrior gear works, just add Fortify Conjuration to keep weapon summoning cheap. You don’t need weapon-specific enchantments since bound weapons can’t be enchanted directly (they have built-in enchantments).

Potions of Fortify Conjuration are craftable using Blue Butterfly Wing + Blue Mountain Flower or Frost Salts + various ingredients. These temporarily reduce spell costs, useful during boss fights or leveling sessions.

Advanced Tips and Tricks

Pre-summon before combat: Conjuration spells have a casting animation that leaves you vulnerable. Summon atronachs or bound weapons before engaging enemies, not in the middle of a fight. Your summon timer doesn’t start until you enter combat in many cases, so you can pre-cast and still get full duration.

Use summons to scout: Send a Flame Atronach ahead into unknown rooms to trigger traps and reveal enemy positions. You’ll see the red combat marker without exposing yourself to danger.

Soul Trap exploit for leveling: Cast Soul Trap on any corpse (even already-trapped ones or non-soul-bearing creatures like undead) to gain Conjuration XP. The spell fails, but the skill experience applies. This is technically an exploit but widely used for power leveling.

Dead Thrall corpse selection: Choose thralls carefully. Named NPCs like J’zargo, Dark Brotherhood initiates, or unique bandits sometimes carry unremovable enchanted gear that makes them stronger. Their gear won’t appear in your inventory when looted but remains equipped on the thrall. Many resources at Twinfinite detail optimal Dead Thrall targets.

Combine with Illusion for crowd control: Frenzy or Calm spells work beautifully alongside summons. Turn enemies against each other, then clean up survivors with your atronachs. This combo trivializes large groups.

Atronach Stone + Necromancer’s Amulet = zero Magicka costs: With enough Fortify Conjuration gear and the Atronach Stone’s 50% spell absorption, you can effectively cast Conjuration spells for free. The stone also provides flat Magicka, synergizing with the amulet’s bonuses.

Twin Souls + Storm Call shout: Summon two tanky Frost Atronachs, then use the Storm Call shout. Your atronachs are immune to the lightning damage, but enemies get wrecked. It’s overkill but hilarious in open-world encounters.

Resurrect enemies before looting: If you raise a dead enemy as a thrall or zombie, you can loot them twice, once as a corpse and again if you dismiss/banish the summon. This sometimes duplicates gold or consumables.

For players interested in expanding Conjuration beyond vanilla mechanics, many other Skyrim guides explore quest-specific items and synergies that can enhance summoner builds.

Conclusion

Conjuration transforms Skyrim from a solo adventure into a summoner’s battlefield, where you command Daedric warriors, resurrect fallen foes, and wield spectral weapons that never break. It’s a skill tree that rewards creativity, whether you’re tanking dragons with Frost Atronachs, one-shotting bandits with Bound Bow sneak attacks, or maintaining an undead honor guard with Dead Thrall.

The leveling process is straightforward: spam cheap spells early, upgrade to expensive summons later, and stack Fortify Conjuration gear to eliminate Magicka costs. The perk investments pay off hard, especially Twin Souls, which turns you into a one-person army.

Whether you’re running a pure summoner, a necromancer, or a bound weapon warrior, Conjuration offers depth and versatility few other skills can match. It’s effective, efficient, and endlessly satisfying when your Dremora Lord cleaves through a room full of Falmer while you watch from the doorway, Magicka regenerating, ready to summon the next wave.

Now get out there, find those spell tomes, and show Tamriel what happens when a mortal learns to bend Oblivion itself.