Thunderbolt

School	Destruction
Level	Expert
Magicka Cost	343
Casting	Fire and Forget
Delivery	Aimed
Effect	A Thunderbolt that does 60 points of shock damage to Health and half that to Magicka.
Duration	-
Perk	Expert Destruction (1)
Spell Tome	Spell Tome: Thunderbolt
Game/DLC	Skyrim

Thunderbolt is the Expert shock spell in Destruction and the big brother of Lightning Bolt. It deals 60 points of shock damage to health and half that to magicka. It strikes the moment it is cast, so moving targets are hard to miss. It belongs to the late game, once Destruction reaches the Expert rank, and Faralda at the College of Winterhold sells the tome.

Few enemies resist shock damage, which makes Thunderbolt a reliable spell against almost anything. Chain Lightning is the Adept spell for groups, and Lightning Storm is the Master spell that pours out a steady beam.

Spell Tome

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

How It Plays

Thunderbolt is a fire and forget spell. It needs a short charge, then it is flung at the target. Unlike fire and frost bolts, shock reaches the target at once. A mage never has to lead a shot against a running wolf or a dragon that swoops past.

Each cast lands with a crack of thunder and a shake of the screen. The sound makes the spell feel heavier than Lightning Bolt, though the two work the same way. Thunderbolt is simply the stronger and much more expensive version.

Shock damage drains magicka as well as health. Against an enemy mage this cuts the magicka left for wards and spells.

Compared with Incinerate and Icy Spear

Each element has its own Expert bolt with the same base damage. Incinerate sets the target on fire for extra damage, and it costs the least magicka of the three. Icy Spear drains stamina and slows the target. Thunderbolt is the most expensive of the three Expert bolts.

The shock bolt makes up for its cost with reliability. Nords and vampires resist frost, and Dark Elves resist fire. Very few creatures in Skyrim resist shock.

Perks and Builds

The Expert Destruction perk halves the magicka cost of Thunderbolt. Both ranks of Augmented Shock raise the damage of every shock spell. Disintegrate turns badly hurt enemies into a pile of ash, which ends the fight a little early.

Destruction Dual Casting overcharges Thunderbolt into a much stronger bolt. The Impact perk adds a stagger to every dual cast. Dragons and other large foes only stagger once the caster also has Augmented Shock. A mage with both perks can keep a dragon reeling with one dual cast after another.

Thunderbolt costs a lot of magicka for its damage. Fortify Destruction gear solves this problem. Four pieces at 25% each make every Destruction spell free to cast. With free casting and the stagger from Impact, Thunderbolt becomes one of the strongest tools in the game for killing dragons. The Dragonrend shout pins the dragon to the ground and makes this even easier.

The Zahkriisos dragon priest mask from the Dragonborn DLC raises shock damage by 25%. A Potion of Destruction gives a short boost to Destruction spells in the same way.

Staves and Training

The Staff of Thunderbolts casts the same bolt from its own charge. It lets a warrior throw a heavy shock attack without any points in Destruction.

Faralda at the College of Winterhold trains Destruction to master level. Sybille Stentor, the court wizard in Solitude, trains it to expert level. Once the skill reaches 100, Faralda offers the quest that unlocks the Master Destruction spells, including Lightning Storm.

Faralda and Enthir put the tome on sale once Destruction reaches 65. At higher character levels, the tome also turns up as random loot, most often in boss chests and on enemy mages.

Cost and Damage

Thunderbolt has a base cost of 343 magicka. Lightning Bolt costs 51 magicka for 25 points of damage. For each point of magicka, Thunderbolt deals only about a third of the damage of its Apprentice cousin. What it buys is speed, since one Thunderbolt hits as hard as two and a half Lightning Bolts.

A higher Destruction skill only lowers the cost of each cast. Extra damage comes from perks, potions and enchanted gear. Dual casting packs 2.2 times the power into one bolt for 2.8 times the magicka. On magicka alone that is a poor trade, but the stagger from the Impact perk often makes it worth paying.

Every Thunderbolt also takes 30 points from the target's magicka. An enemy mage with an empty pool cannot keep up a ward or heal in the middle of a fight.

Compared with Chain Lightning

Chain Lightning is the Adept shock spell. It costs less than half as much as Thunderbolt and hits for 40 points instead of 60. After the first hit, the bolt leaps to a second enemy close by. Against a group, Chain Lightning spreads more damage for each point of magicka.

Thunderbolt puts all of its damage into one target. That suits a single strong enemy with a large health pool.

Lightning Storm is the Master shock spell. It holds a steady beam on one target for 75 points of damage each second. Thunderbolt strikes once per cast instead, and a mage can switch targets between casts.

Enemy Casters

Thalmor wizards add Thunderbolt to their spells at higher levels. Their bolts reach the target at once, so dodging them is hard. Steadfast Ward blocks up to 60 points of spell damage, which matches the base damage of one Thunderbolt.

Gameplay Tips

The Augmented Shock perk raises the damage to 75, and to 90 at the second rank.
With the Impact perk, a dual cast Thunderbolt staggers the target.
The Disintegrate perk turns badly hurt enemies into a pile of ash.

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.