Skyrim Conjuration Spells: Master the Art of Summoning and Soul Trapping in 2026

Even after 15 years since Skyrim’s original release, the Conjuration skill tree remains one of the most versatile and downright fun magic schools in the game. Whether you’re summoning a Dremora Lord to tank that dragon while you chug potions, binding ethereal weapons from thin air, or turning your fallen enemies into temporary allies, conjuration offers tactical depth that few other builds can match. The problem? Most players barely scratch the surface of what this skill tree offers.

This guide breaks down every conjuration spell in Skyrim, identifies the best options for different playstyles, and shows you exactly how to level the skill efficiently, whether you’re running the Anniversary Edition on PC or replaying the game on console. By the end, you’ll know which spells are worth the magicka investment and which ones are vendor trash.

What Are Conjuration Spells in Skyrim?

Conjuration spells allow the Dragonborn to summon creatures, reanimate corpses, bind weapons and armor from Oblivion, and trap souls for enchanting. Unlike Destruction magic, which deals direct damage, or Restoration, which heals and wards, Conjuration is all about indirect combat power and utility.

The school splits into three main categories: summoning living entities (atronachs and Daedra), reanimating the dead, and utility spells like Soul Trap and Bound Weapons. Each category serves different tactical needs, and mastering all three makes you incredibly versatile in combat.

How Conjuration Magic Works

Conjuration operates on a duration-based system. When you cast a summoning or reanimation spell, the entity fights for you until the spell’s duration expires or the summon is killed. Bound weapons and armor work similarly, they appear in your hands or on your body for a set time, then vanish.

Magicka cost scales with spell tier (Novice through Master), but perks and enchantments can reduce costs to zero. The Conjuration skill itself levels when you successfully cast spells, not when your summons deal damage. This means you can power-level by repeatedly casting Soul Trap on corpses or summoning creatures outside of combat.

Summons have fixed stats that scale with your Conjuration level and relevant perks. A Flame Atronach summoned at level 10 is weaker than the same atronach summoned at level 50, even though you’re using the identical spell.

Benefits of Leveling the Conjuration Skill

Pushing Conjuration to 100 unlocks access to Master-level spells, which include the devastating Dremora Lord and the Dead Thrall spell that permanently reanimates NPCs. Beyond raw spell access, leveling Conjuration makes every summon tankier and more damage-efficient.

High Conjuration also enables powerful perk synergies. The Twin Souls perk at level 100 lets you maintain two permanent summons simultaneously, imagine two Dremora Lords carving through Draugr while you sit back and snipe. For necromancers, perks extend reanimation duration and allow you to reanimate stronger corpses.

Practically speaking, Conjuration turns you into a one-person army. You can solo content that would otherwise require followers or careful kiting. It’s also one of the best skills for reducing difficulty spikes, since your summons provide breathing room even when you’re under-leveled or under-geared.

Complete List of Conjuration Spells by Type

Skyrim features 29 conjuration spells (30 if you count the Conjure Arvak horse from the Dawnguard DLC). They’re divided into summoning, reanimation, and utility categories, each with multiple tiers.

Summoning Spells: Atronachs and Daedra

Summoning spells are the backbone of any conjurer build. These entities fight alongside you until their duration expires.

Atronachs:

• Conjure Flame Atronach (Apprentice): Summons a fire-based atronach for 60 seconds. Decent early-game tank with ranged attacks.
• Conjure Frost Atronach (Adept): Summons an ice atronach for 60 seconds. Tankier than Flame, with frost damage and melee capability.
• Conjure Storm Atronach (Expert): Summons a lightning atronach for 60 seconds. High DPS, but fragile. Best used as ranged support.

Daedra:

• Conjure Familiar (Novice): Summons a weak wolf-like spirit for 60 seconds. Only useful in the first few hours of the game.
• Conjure Flaming Familiar (Apprentice): Summons an explosive familiar that charges enemies and detonates. Niche use, mostly for laughs.
• Conjure Dremora Lord (Master): Summons a heavily-armored Daedra wielding a greatsword for 60 seconds. Deals massive physical damage and can tank dragon breath attacks. Widely considered the best summon in the game.

Other Summons:

• Conjure Boneman, Conjure Mistman, Conjure Wrathman (Dawnguard DLC, Adept/Expert): Soul Cairn-exclusive summons. Boneman is an archer, Mistman is a ranged caster, Wrathman is melee. All solid, but not better than Storm Atronach or Dremora Lord.

Many players exploring build optimization strategies rank Dremora Lord as S-tier for endgame content, while Flame Atronach serves early-game needs.

Reanimation Spells: Raising the Dead

Reanimation spells turn corpses into temporary allies. Duration and maximum corpse level scale with the spell tier.

Reanimation Roster:

• Reanimate Corpse (Novice): Reanimates a corpse up to level 6 for 60 seconds.
• Revenant (Apprentice): Reanimates a corpse up to level 13 for 60 seconds.
• Dread Zombie (Adept): Reanimates a corpse up to level 23 for 60 seconds.
• Dead Thrall (Master): Permanently reanimates a corpse up to level 40. The corpse doesn’t turn to ash, so you can re-cast if it dies.

Dead Thrall is broken in the best way. You can reanimate powerful NPCs like J’zargo (if he dies during the College questline) or Orchendor, giving you a permanent follower who doesn’t count against your follower limit. They keep their equipment and spells, making them far more useful than standard summons.

Soul Trap and Bound Weapon Spells

Utility spells round out the Conjuration toolkit.

Soul Trap (Apprentice): Forces the target’s soul into a soul gem if they die within 60 seconds. Essential for enchanters. You can also cast this on corpses repeatedly to power-level Conjuration without entering combat.

Bound Weapons:

• Bound Sword (Novice): Conjures a one-handed sword for 120 seconds. Base damage equivalent to a Daedric sword.
• Bound Battleaxe (Adept): Conjures a two-handed axe for 120 seconds.
• Bound Bow (Adept): Conjures a bow and 100 ethereal arrows for 120 seconds. Often considered one of the skyrim best conjuration spells for archers due to its Daedric-tier damage and unlimited ammo.

Bound weapons benefit from both Conjuration perks (for damage boosts and auto-soul trap) and weapon-specific perks (like Archery or One-Handed), making them insanely efficient for hybrid builds.

Best Conjuration Spells for Every Playstyle

Not all conjuration spells skyrim offers are created equal. Some shine in specific builds, while others are universally strong.

Top Spells for Combat-Focused Builds

If you’re running a melee warrior or tanky battlemage, summoning spells that can hold aggro are your best friends.

Dremora Lord is the gold standard. With heavy armor, a greatsword, and high health, it can face-tank nearly anything while you flank or heal. The Dremora also taunts enemies with voice lines, which helps pull aggro off you.

Frost Atronach is the budget option for mid-game. It has solid melee damage and decent health, making it a reliable off-tank when you can’t yet afford the 500+ magicka cost of Dremora Lord.

For pure DPS support, Storm Atronach deals heavy shock damage at range. Pair it with a tanky follower (or a second summon via Twin Souls) to keep it alive.

Best Spells for Stealth and Archer Characters

Stealth builds benefit most from summons that either provide ranged support or distract enemies without breaking sneak status.

Bound Bow is a no-brainer. It deals Daedric-tier damage, weighs nothing, and you never run out of arrows. With the Mystic Binding perk, it becomes one of the highest-DPS bows in the game. The only downside is the casting animation, which briefly exposes you.

Conjure Boneman (Dawnguard) is excellent for archers who want a summoned archer buddy. The Boneman uses a bow and prioritizes ranged targets, making it ideal for providing covering fire.

If you need a distraction, Flame Atronach or Familiar work well. They draw aggro without dealing so much damage that they steal your kills (and XP).

Essential Spells for Mage Builds

Pure mages have more magicka to work with, so they can afford to run multiple high-cost summons and utility spells simultaneously.

Dremora Lord + Storm Atronach (via Twin Souls) is a devastating combo. The Dremora tanks, the Storm Atronach nukes, and you focus on Destruction or Restoration as needed.

Soul Trap is mandatory if you’re enchanting your own gear. Pair it with the Soul Stealer perk to automatically fill soul gems when your bound weapons kill enemies.

Dead Thrall lets you permanently reanimate two powerful NPCs (with Twin Souls), effectively giving you two immortal followers. This is overkill for most content but incredibly satisfying.

For mages who want to avoid direct combat entirely, setting up with followers like those recommended in detailed companion guides and dual Dremora Lords turns you into a puppet master.

Where to Find and Learn Conjuration Spells

Spell tomes are the primary way to learn conjuration spells, though a few are locked behind quests or specific locations.

Spell Tomes: Vendors and Locations

Most conjuration spell tomes can be purchased from court wizards and the College of Winterhold.

Key Vendors:

• Phinis Gestor (College of Winterhold): Sells Apprentice through Expert conjuration tomes. After completing the “Conjuration Ritual Spell” quest at level 90 Conjuration, he sells Master-level tomes.
• Farengar Secret-Fire (Dragonsreach, Whiterun): Sells Novice and Apprentice tomes.
• Calcelmo (Understone Keep, Markarth): Sells up to Adept-level tomes.

General goods merchants occasionally stock lower-tier tomes, but court wizards have the most consistent inventory.

Random Loot Locations:

Conjuration tomes can spawn in boss chests, on mage corpses, or in dungeons with heavy necromancer presence. Locations like Fellglow Keep and Labyrinthian often contain mid-tier conjuration tomes.

Quest Rewards and Unique Spell Acquisitions

Some of the best conjuration spells skyrim has are locked behind specific quests.

Conjuration Ritual Spell Quest:

At Conjuration level 90, speak to Phinis Gestor to start this quest. You’ll summon and defeat an Unbound Dremora, then retrieve Flame Thrall, Frost Thrall, and Storm Thrall tomes from various locations. Completing the quest also unlocks Dead Thrall and Dremora Lord tomes for purchase.

Bound Bow (Dawnguard):

Found in Fort Amol prison or purchased from court wizards after level 30. It’s also a random loot drop in Dawnguard-related dungeons.

Conjure Arvak (Dawnguard):

Complete the “Find Arvak’s Skull” miscellaneous quest in the Soul Cairn to learn this spell, which lets you summon an undead horse anywhere.

Quest-locked spells are generally worth the effort, especially Dremora Lord and Dead Thrall, which define late-game conjuration builds. Resources like spell acquisition walkthroughs often detail exact coordinates and prerequisites.

Leveling Conjuration Fast: Tips and Strategies

Conjuration is one of the easiest magic skills to power-level, since casting spells (not combat effectiveness) generates XP.

Early Game Leveling Techniques

As soon as you escape Helgen, buy Soul Trap from Farengar in Whiterun. Find any corpse, dead wolves, bandits, whatever, and repeatedly cast Soul Trap on it. Each cast grants Conjuration XP, even on a corpse that’s been dead for hours.

This method is boring but effective. Equip magicka-regenerating gear and cast Soul Trap over and over while you watch YouTube or grab a snack. You can reach Conjuration 50+ in under an hour.

Summoning Spam:

Alternatively, cast Conjure Familiar or Conjure Flame Atronach repeatedly outside of combat. Summon, wait for it to disappear, summon again. This is slower than Soul Trap spam but feels slightly less cheese-y.

If you’re playing organically, just keep a summoned creature active at all times during exploration and combat. You’ll naturally hit level 50-60 by mid-game.

Advanced Power Leveling Methods

Once you hit Adept-level spells, switch to Bound Sword or Bound Bow spam. These spells cost more magicka, so they grant more XP per cast.

The fastest late-game method involves the Equilibrium spell (found in Labyrinthian) and Fast Healing. Equilibrium converts health into magicka, letting you spam expensive conjuration spells indefinitely. Cast Soul Trap on a corpse, use Equilibrium to refill magicka, cast Soul Trap again, and heal when needed. With this loop, you can go from 50 to 100 Conjuration in 30-40 minutes.

Trainer Exploit:

At any level, you can pay trainers (like Phinis Gestor) for five levels per character level, then pickpocket your gold back. This isn’t strictly necessary for Conjuration, but it’s an option if you’re in a hurry.

Essential Perks for Conjuration Mastery

The Conjuration perk tree is one of the most straightforward in Skyrim, but a few perks are absolute must-haves.

Must-Have Perks for Summoners

Novice Conjuration through Master Conjuration (5 perks): These reduce the magicka cost of spells in their respective tiers by 50%. Grab all five as you level. With enchanted gear, you can eventually cast any conjuration spell for zero magicka.

Mystic Binding (1 perk): Bound weapons do more damage. If you’re using Bound Bow or Bound Sword, this is non-negotiable.

Summoner (1 perk): Your summons last 50% longer. This effectively increases your uptime and reduces the number of times you need to re-cast during long fights.

Atromancy (1 perk): Summoned atronachs are 50% stronger and you can’t be harmed by your own summons. The second part is niche, but the 50% damage/health boost makes atronachs viable even in endgame content.

Twin Souls (1 perk, requires level 100): You can summon two creatures at once. This is the capstone perk for any summoner build and effectively doubles your damage output.

Perks for Necromancers and Bound Weapon Users

Necromancy (1 perk): Reanimated undead last 50% longer. This is huge for mid-tier reanimation spells like Dread Zombie.

Dark Souls (1 perk): Your reanimation spells can target higher-level corpses. This unlocks access to tougher enemies like Draugr Deathlords and Falmer Shadowmasters.

Soul Stealer (1 perk): Bound weapons automatically cast Soul Trap on targets. If you’re running Bound Bow, this frees up a spell slot and eliminates the need to manually cast Soul Trap.

Oblivion Binding (1 perk): Bound weapons deal more damage to summoned creatures and Daedra. This is extremely niche and generally skippable unless you’re specifically hunting Daedra or fighting other conjurers.

For most players, the Summoner branch (Novice → Master → Mystic Binding → Summoner → Atromancy → Twin Souls) is the highest-value path. Necromancers should branch into Dark Souls and Necromancy, while Bound Weapon users need Mystic Binding and Soul Stealer.

Synergies and Optimal Builds with Conjuration

Conjuration is flexible enough to anchor multiple build archetypes, but it shines brightest when paired with complementary skills.

Combining Conjuration with Other Magic Schools

Conjuration + Destruction:

This is the classic “battle mage” setup. Summon a tanky Frost Atronach or Dremora Lord, then nuke from range with Fireball or Lightning Storm. Your summon holds aggro while you deal damage safely.

For maximum efficiency, invest in magicka cost reduction for both schools via enchantments. The Atronach Stone (50% spell absorption, but 50% slower magicka regen) pairs well if you’re stacking magicka cost reduction to zero.

Conjuration + Illusion:

Illusion spells like Fury or Mayhem turn enemies against each other, while your summons clean up the survivors. This combo trivializes most group encounters and is incredibly magicka-efficient.

Calm and Pacify let you reposition or heal without drawing aggro, which is useful if your summon dies mid-fight.

Conjuration + Restoration:

Restoration keeps you alive while your summons do the heavy lifting. Close Wounds or Grand Healing provide emergency healing, and Circle of Protection wards off undead while your Dremora Lord chops them apart.

If you’re crafting gear to maximize survivability, pairing conjuration with alchemy-based enhancements ensures you never run out of health or magicka during extended dungeon crawls.

Gear, Enchantments, and Standing Stones for Conjurers

Enchantments:

• Fortify Conjuration: Reduces magicka cost. Stack this on helmet, chest, ring, and amulet to hit 100% cost reduction (you need four pieces at 25% each).
• Fortify Magicka: Increases your total magicka pool. Useful if you’re running multiple magic schools.
• Fortify Health: Summoners often play passively, but extra health prevents one-shots from dragons or mages.

Gear:

• Archmage’s Robes (College of Winterhold): +100% magicka regen and -15% cost to all spells. Excellent all-rounder.
• Morokei (Dragon Priest mask): +100% magicka regen. Pairs well with Fortify Conjuration enchantments on other slots.
• Aetherial Crown (Dawnguard): Lets you equip two Standing Stone effects. Combine Atronach Stone with Lord Stone or Mage Stone.
• Savos Aren’s Amulet (College of Winterhold): Reduces magicka cost of all spells. Not as strong as Fortify Conjuration enchantments, but useful early-game.

Standing Stones:

• Atronach Stone: 50% spell absorption and +50 magicka, but -50% magicka regen. If you hit zero magicka cost via enchantments, the regen penalty is irrelevant.
• Mage Stone: +20% faster leveling for all magic skills. Best for early-game skill grinding.
• Lord Stone: +50 armor and 25% magic resistance. Good for survivability if you’re playing a fragile mage.

For players invested in min-maxing their gear through crafting, combining conjuration enchantments with potion-enhanced smithing allows you to hit armor caps while maintaining zero-cost spellcasting.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Using Conjuration

Even experienced players stumble into a few conjuration pitfalls. Here’s what to avoid.

Ignoring Summoner Duration Perks:

The base duration for most summons is only 60 seconds. Without the Summoner perk, you’ll spend half your time re-casting instead of fighting. Grab that perk as soon as you hit the required level.

Over-Relying on Low-Tier Summons:

Conjure Familiar might get you through Bleak Falls Barrow, but it’s useless by level 20. Upgrade to Frost Atronach (mid-game) and Dremora Lord (endgame) as soon as possible. Don’t get attached to weak summons just because you’ve used them for hours.

Forgetting Soul Trap:

If you’re enchanting your own gear, Soul Trap is mandatory. Stock up on soul gems and keep Soul Trap on your hotbar. Missing out on filled grand soul gems means you can’t recharge your best weapons or create top-tier enchantments.

Not Using Twin Souls:

Once you hit Conjuration 100 and unlock Twin Souls, there’s no reason not to use it. Two Dremora Lords are better than one, always. If you’re running conjuration but ignoring this perk, you’re playing with one hand tied behind your back.

Summoning in Narrow Spaces:

Summons can block doorways and corridors, trapping you or your followers. In tight dungeons, position yourself carefully before summoning, or use ranged summons like Storm Atronach to avoid pathing issues.

Skipping Dead Thrall:

Dead Thrall is arguably the most overpowered spell in Skyrim. If you’re running a necromancer build and you haven’t reanimated a high-level mage or melee fighter, you’re missing out on free, permanent DPS.

Conclusion

Conjuration remains one of Skyrim’s most satisfying magic schools, whether you’re summoning a Dremora Lord to solo a dragon or quietly filling soul gems with a Bound Bow from stealth. The versatility is unmatched, conjuration fits into nearly every build archetype, scales well into endgame content, and can be power-leveled faster than most other skills.

Focus on the right spells for your playstyle, invest in key perks like Twin Souls and Mystic Binding, and enchant your gear for zero-cost casting. Whether you’re running the Anniversary Edition in 2026 or revisiting the vanilla game, mastering conjuration turns you into a one-person army backed by the forces of Oblivion itself.