Incinerate

School	Destruction
Level	Expert
Magicka Cost	298
Casting	Fire and Forget
Delivery	Aimed
Effect	A blast of fire that does 60 points of damage. Targets on fire take extra damage.
Duration	-
Perk	Expert Destruction (1)
Spell Tome	Spell Tome: Incinerate
Game/DLC	Skyrim

Incinerate is the Expert fire spell in Destruction and the big brother of Firebolt. It throws a single blast of fire for 60 points of damage and sets the target alight. It belongs to the late game, once Destruction reaches the Expert rank. Only a few mages sell the tome, among them Faralda at the College of Winterhold.

Incinerate is the strongest single target fire spell a mage can buy. It costs far more magicka than Firebolt, but it hits more than twice as hard. Fireball is the better choice against a group, and Fire Storm is the Master spell that burns everything nearby.

Spell Tome

Incinerate is learned by reading Spell Tome: Incinerate. Enthir, Faralda and Talvas Fathryon sell the tome.

How It Plays

Incinerate is a fire and forget spell. It works like Firebolt: a quick charge, then a bolt of flame that flies straight at the target. The bolt hits one enemy only, and it sets that enemy on fire. A burning target takes extra damage for a moment after the hit.

Trolls and other creatures that are weak to fire take extra damage from the blast. Incinerate is a poor choice against Dark Elves, who resist half of all fire damage, and against Flame Atronachs, which ignore fire.

The spell is expensive. Incinerate costs about seven times as much magicka as Firebolt for less than two and a half times the damage. Cheaper Apprentice spells give more damage for each point of magicka. Incinerate earns its place when a fight has to end quickly, such as against a strong mage or a dragon.

Like other fire spells, Incinerate can set off a Fire Rune or an oil slick from a safe distance. Pools of oil lie on the floors of many caves and crypts. One bolt turns the pool into a sheet of flame that burns everyone standing in it, the caster and followers included.

Draugr resist half of all frost damage but take full damage from fire. Incinerate is a better pick in Nordic tombs than Icy Spear.

Compared with Thunderbolt and Icy Spear

Each element has its own Expert bolt. Thunderbolt deals shock damage and drains magicka as well as health. It strikes the instant it is cast, so it never misses a moving target in range.

Icy Spear deals frost damage to health and stamina and slows the target. Many Nords and vampires resist frost, so Icy Spear is weaker against the most common enemies in Skyrim. Incinerate is the cheapest of the three Expert bolts.

Perks and Builds

The Expert Destruction perk halves the magicka cost of Incinerate. It needs a Destruction skill of 75. Both ranks of Augmented Flames are a must for a fire mage, since they raise the damage of every fire spell. Intense Flames makes badly hurt enemies run from the fight.

Destruction Dual Casting overcharges Incinerate into a much stronger blast. With the Impact perk, a dual cast also staggers the target. Dragons and Dwarven Centurions are hard to stagger. A dual cast Incinerate staggers them once the caster also has Augmented Flames.

Aspect of Terror in Illusion adds 10 points to every fire spell, or 15 points with both ranks of Augmented Flames. The Ahzidal dragon priest mask from the Dragonborn DLC adds 25% fire damage. Fortify Destruction gear makes the biggest difference of all. Four pieces at 25% each remove the magicka cost of every Destruction spell, Incinerate included.

Staves and Training

The Staff of Incineration casts Incinerate from its own charge. A warrior can use it to deal the same heavy blast without any points in Destruction. The staff is also a good backup for a mage who runs low on magicka in a long fight.

Faralda at the College of Winterhold trains Destruction to master level. Once the skill reaches 100, she offers the quest that unlocks the Master spells.

Cost and Damage

Incinerate has a base cost of 298 magicka. That is 45 points less than Thunderbolt and 22 less than Icy Spear for the same 60 points of base damage. Fire is the cheapest element at every rank of Destruction, so a fire mage gets one or two extra casts out of a full magicka bar.

A higher Destruction skill only lowers the cost of each cast. Extra damage comes from the Augmented Flames perk, potions and enchanted gear. Dual casting packs 2.2 times the power into one blast for 2.8 times the magicka. The stagger from the Impact perk is the main reason to pay that price.

Compared with Fire Storm

Fire Storm is the Master fire spell. It costs almost five times as much as Incinerate and bursts out from the caster in a wide ring. It hits every enemy nearby at once, and the closest ones take the most damage.

Incinerate stays the better answer to a single enemy at range. It reaches far across a room or a battlefield, while Fire Storm only burns what stands around the caster.

Gameplay Tips

The Augmented Flames perk raises the damage to 75, and to 90 at the second rank.
With the Impact perk, a dual cast Incinerate staggers the target.
The Intense Flames perk makes badly hurt enemies flee in fear.

Spell Categories

All Destruction Spells

Novice

Novice spells are the first a mage learns and cost the least magicka.

Name	Cost	Casting	Effect
Flames	14 per second	Concentration	A gout of fire that does 8 points per second. Targets on fire take extra damage.
Frostbite	16 per second	Concentration	A blast of cold that does 8 points of damage per second to Health and Stamina.
Sparks	19 per second	Concentration	Lightning that does 8 points of shock damage to Health and Magicka per second.
Choking Grasp	39	Fire and Forget	Absorb 8 points of health per second from target, for 3 seconds.
Elemental Flare	45	Fire and Forget	An elemental explosion for 15 points of fire damage, 15 points of shock damage, and half as much damage to stamina.

Apprentice

Apprentice spells need a little practice in the school.

Name	Cost	Casting	Effect
Fire Rune	234	Fire and Forget	Cast on a nearby surface, it explodes for 50 points of fire damage when enemies come near.
Firebolt	41	Fire and Forget	A blast of fire that does 25 points of damage. Targets on fire take extra damage.
Frost Rune	293	Fire and Forget	Cast on a nearby surface, it explodes for 50 points of frost damage when enemies come near.
Ice Spike	48	Fire and Forget	A spike of ice that does 25 points of frost damage to Health and Stamina.
Lightning Bolt	51	Fire and Forget	A bolt of lightning that does 25 points of shock damage to Health and half that to Magicka.
Lightning Rune	323	Fire and Forget	Cast on a nearby surface, it explodes for 50 points of shock damage when enemies come near.
Elemental Bolt	62	Fire and Forget	An elemental explosion for 20 points of fire damage, 20 points of shock damage, and half as much damage to stamina.
Strangulation	84	Fire and Forget	Absorb 16 points of health per second from target, for 3 seconds.

Adept

Adept spells are the middle rank and hit noticeably harder.

Name	Cost	Casting	Effect
Chain Lightning	156	Fire and Forget	Lightning bolt that does 40 points of shock damage to Health and half to Magicka, then leaps to a new target.
Fireball	133	Fire and Forget	A fiery explosion for 40 points of damage in a 15 foot radius. Targets on fire take extra damage.
Flame Cloak	289	Fire and Forget	For 60 seconds, opponents in melee range take 8 points fire damage per second. Targets on fire take extra damage.
Frost Cloak	316	Fire and Forget	For 60 seconds, opponents in melee range take 8 points frost damage and Stamina damage per second.
Ice Storm	144	Fire and Forget	A freezing whirlwind that does 40 points of frost damage per second to Health and Stamina.
Lightning Cloak	370	Fire and Forget	For 60 seconds nearby opponents take 8 points of shock damage and half magicka damage.
Whirlwind Cloak	338	Fire and Forget	For 60 seconds, opponents in melee range have a chance of being flung away.
Elemental Burst	96	Fire and Forget	An elemental explosion for 30 points of fire damage, 30 points of shock damage, and half as much damage to stamina.
Hangman's Noose	143	Fire and Forget	Absorb 26 points of health per second from target, for 3 seconds.

Expert

Expert spells are powerful and expensive to cast.

Name	Cost	Casting	Effect
Icy Spear	320	Fire and Forget	A spear of ice that does 60 points of frost damage to Health and Stamina.
Incinerate	298	Fire and Forget	A blast of fire that does 60 points of damage. Targets on fire take extra damage.
Thunderbolt	343	Fire and Forget	A Thunderbolt that does 60 points of shock damage to Health and half that to Magicka.
Wall of Flames	118 per second	Concentration	Sprayed on the ground, it creates a wall of fire that does 50 points of fire damage per second.
Wall of Frost	137 per second	Concentration	Sprayed on the ground, it creates a wall of frost that does 50 points of frost damage per second.
Wall of Storms	145 per second	Concentration	Sprayed on the ground, it creates a wall of lightning that does 50 points of shock damage per second.
Elemental Blast	144	Fire and Forget	An elemental explosion for 40 points of fire damage, 40 points of shock damage, and half as much damage to stamina.
Mara's Wrath	329	Fire and Forget	For 30 seconds, opponents in melee range take 16 points fire damage per second. Undead up to level 26 flee for 30 seconds. Swim unharmed in freezing cold water.
Touch of Death	316	Fire and Forget	Absorb 40 points of health per second from target, for 4 seconds.
Unbounded Flames	78 per second	Concentration	Casts a stream of long-distance fireballs in an arc. Impact creates a wall of fire that does 50 points of fire damage per second.
Unbounded Freezing	69 per second	Concentration	A freezing wind envelops the caster, knocking down nearby enemies and freezing them for 50 points of damage per second to Health and Stamina.
Unbounded Storms	69 per second	Concentration	Targets in melee range take 40 shock damage per second to Health, and half that to Magicka. Random lightning strikes deal an additional 30 damage.

Master

Master spells are the strongest in the school and need the most skill.

Name	Cost	Casting	Effect
Blizzard	1106	Fire and Forget	Targets take 20 points of frost damage for 10 seconds, plus Stamina damage.
Fire Storm	1426	Fire and Forget	A 100 point fiery explosion centered on the caster. Does more damage to closer targets.
Lightning Storm	138 per second	Concentration	Target takes 75 points of shock damage per second to Health, and half that to Magicka.