There are few games with the staying power ofThe Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim— how many other games have players still exploring themten years after their release? With how easy it is to mod giving it mind-blowing amounts of content, it’s likely the game will be a mainstay for a long time.
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One of the most iconic parts ofSkyrimcomes from the shouts the Dragonborn can perform. While some are incredibly powerful, others are practically useless. The strongest Dragonborn uses thebest shouts inSkyrimto bring them serious success.
Updated on July 17, 2025, by Reyadh Rahaman:While gauging versatility is important for deciding whichshout is the best in Skyrim, it should still be mentioned that ones with specific applications can still be very powerful. Like any physical weapon or spell, a dragon shout’s potential is only limited to the imagination of the Dragonborn. Whether one’s goal is distraction or destruction, there are shouts that can be more useful than others. Personal preference matters when selecting a dragon shout to equip, however, there is definitely a broad consensus on which ones are the most worth the player’s time.
12Throw Voice
This hilarious shout often gets overlooked due to how comical it is. The Throw Voice shout, ZUL - MEY - GUT, will cause the player to simultaneously insult all enemies nearby to distract them. However, instead of being drawn to the Dragonborn’s position, foes will run toward where one points their cursor when using Throw Voice.This essentially creates the best decoy inSkyrimon command.
Players will get to call hostile beings things like “cheese brain”, “skeever butt”, “melon nose”, and more–even the classic yet simple insult of calling the enemy “ugly”. As such, Throw Voice can be used to taunt foes for fun as well as to lure them into traps in addition to the usual stealth applications. It is worth noting that this shout only has a cooldown of 5 seconds, meaning that the Dragonborn can potentially spam it for interesting results.
Words Of Power Locations
11Stormcall
Stormcall is a shout that lets the Dragonborn summon a powerful storm full of heavy rain and lightning. The latter will actually strike beings in the area for huge damage, however, these bolts of electricity can hit friend and foe alike. Due to this, despite its immense destructive potential, it should be used in places where there are civilians and allies.
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STRUN - BAH - QO, this shout also has a huge cooldown when fully upgraded–600 seconds, and cannot be used indoors, further limiting its usage. However, if the player is traveling solo in the woodlands of northern Tamriel and is surrounded by adversaries, there is no better shout for such a situation than Stormcall.
10Whirlwind Sprint
Whirlwind Sprint can be amazing for not just traveling quickly, but also for reaching special areas in the game. WULD -NAH - KEST also can save players that might accidentally get stuck in places as the game does have awkward collision detection at times. It’s a strong shout in battle as well, though, Whirlwind Sprint is just eventually outclassed by other options.
9Dragonrend
Using this shout is the best way to fight dragons inSkyrim, as it removes their aerial advantage.No one wants to fire bows and spells hopelessly into the air when JOOR - ZAH - FRUL can bring them down right away.
The Dragonborn doesn’t need to use all the words to bring dragons to the ground either, it just increases the duration as the shout grows longer. Without it, players are stuck halving any dragon’s health before they land, which can be a daunting task.
Words Of Power Location
8Marked For Death
In the original base game, Marked For Death hada bug making it incredibly broken. Even though this was fixed once DLC was released for the game, Marked for Death is still quite powerful.
KRII - LUN - AUS can make highly armored dragons and foes melt like butter, as it gives them an armor penalty and inflicts damage per second for a minute.
7Summon Durnehviir
Who doesn’t want a dragon right by their side at a moment’s notice? Players can summon an undead dragon to help aid them in battle with the simple shout of DUR - NEH - VIIR. It may have a long cooldown time, but it’s hard to deny this is a phenomenal shout.
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Call Dragon might seem a bit better, but Summon Durnehviir is much faster at getting the Dragonborn their own dragon companion. Plus, this shout can be used to even summon a dragon indoors where Call Dragon cannot.
6Soul Tear
No enemy going into battle wants their soul torn out of their body.Dragon Soulscan be used to unlock other shouts, but one of the best parts of Soul Tear is that if it kills the opponent it instantly fills a Soul Gem for the player.Furthermore, the opponent is raised from the dead as an ally.
As Soul Gems are so important for enchanting in the game, being able to fill them easily is a fantastic boon. RII - VAAZ - ZOL is worth collecting in its entirety.
5Dragon Aspect
MUL - QAH - DIIV gives playersthe power of a dragon! Well, without the firebreathing, to be fair. Dragon Aspect offers bonus power to attacks, an armor rating increase, increased fire and frost resistance, and even makes other shouts more powerful. It’s a fantastic shout that will make any Dragonborn better if they have it.
4Bend Will
Riding dragons is so appealingeven giants want to do it. GOL - HAH - DOV not only allows players to control any people or animals hit with it but can literally control dragons allowing the players to fly high through the skies ofSkyrim.
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Even more morbidly, players could use it like Dragonrend but with even more power to kill dragons brought to the ground while they are mind-controlled. They could do the same for humans as well, giving this shout someseriously creepy potential.
3Slow Time
Players can literally slow down the world around them by shouting TIID - KLO - UL. Try it in real life — it won’t work but it’ll get a lot of stares. In the world of Skyrim, however, this shout creates tons of possibilities.
Need to get at a better distance witha bow and arrow? TIID - KLO - UL. Make potions and enchantments last longer? TIID - KLO - UL. Can’t take that massive damage from a dragon about to strike? TIID - KLO - UL. It can manage to get players out of many sticky situations.
