Skyrim Battles - Skuldafn vs. Alduin, Karstaag, and the Ebony Warrior

Skuldafn is the ancient Nordic tomb that contains a portal to Sovngarde. It can be one of the toughest locations in the game because it's crowded with high-level draugr, including the devastating archers that can ragdoll and potentially one-shot you.
This episode is a sort of new concept. Instead of having relatively simple 1 vs. 1 confrontations, we get to see a few strong NPCs trying to conquer Skuldafn and beat all the draugr within reach.
All three rounds were difficult to record for different reasons. Alduin flies around and lands at random places. It's very hard to predict where to move the camera to record everything close-up. Karstaag often gets confused about how to reach the draugr and walks around aimlessly for a bit, making him very vulnerable to the arrows.
The Ebony Warrior is much better at that, but his round took a very long time, and it was really challenging keeping up a proper camera work throughout the whole fight. In particular, I wanted to capture bow shots, shouts and ragdolls, kills, and the Ebony Warrior's movements smoothly, without moving the camera too far away or into a wall. There are no cuts during the fights, so everything needed to work out from start to finish.
All the draugr in this video have spawned naturally. I did not add any myself. Some aren't even part of the battles because they're too far away to become aggressive, like on the topmost platform where the two neutral dragons and the portal are.
This is also the reason why Nahkriin isn't included here. I could have put him somewhere else, but he's certainly not needed to kill Alduin and Karstaag. The round with the Ebony Warrior is already very long with "only" the draugr, and I'm glad not to have to deal with the shitty Dragon Priest AI in a complex setup like this one. The main damage dealers by far are the four Deathlord archers anyway.
In the blooper clip, the Ebony Warrior's health dropped from 1504 to -1933, so the fall did 3437 damage.
Song: Aliaksei Yukhnevich - Empire on Fire (No Copyright Music)
Music provided by Tunetank.
Free Download: bit.ly/3fkwxO8
Video Link: • Aliaksei Yukhnevich - ...
Second song: Ragnarok by Earliri
Video link: • Light Canvas -Ragnarok...
Audiostock： audiostock.jp/audio/838574
下記のCCに基づき個人・商用問わずご自由に使用可能です。
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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If you'd like, feel free to join my Discord server for updates on my Skyrim battles, behind-the-scenes material and bloopers, and discussions about Skyrim and other things. 🎮
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[@daigonmocs0785]

The way the ebony warrior fights, makes him seem like more than just a sellsword seeking glory, but a truly skilled warrior giving his all in every fight, someone who truly wants to be the best he can.

[@lSlendermaster]

Very true! He utilizes different ways of fighting very effectively. He's probably the closest to the player among NPCs.

[@unslaadkrosis3489]

He’s basically a TES protagonist that has finished all the quests and wants to go out in a blaze of glory that only you are capable of giving him.

[@tangy3366]

Wow really?

[@drpiao6988]

The Ebony Warrior calculated everything

[@lSlendermaster]

Yup, he did really well!

[@thatskeletordude5271]

Spared the diapers to every contestant by not adding the whooping *4 leveled* Dragons that are also guarding the portal to Skuldafn !

[@lSlendermaster]

You really want the Ebony Warrior to die too, don't you? 😆

[@pathogenofdecay]

Oh wow. I forgot about all those dragons and they're leveled like all the Draugr?? Sheesh. lol Don't forget about that masked Dragon Priest, Nahkriin, too. lol

[@antiochrecords9283]

Wow! Just WOW! The ebony warrior cleaned up Skuldafn. I was actually expecting Skulfafn to win, but my expectations were wrong when ebony warrior showed up. Keep up the excellence in video production and quality 😎

[@lSlendermaster]

I was expecting that too! I've seen the Ebony Warrior die there before, but he had a good run here. 😎 And thank you!!

[@Stwoberri_]

The Ebony Warrior, Skyrim's Kratos... i though he would struggle a bit more but did quite fine hahaha i can be fine with the though that i struggled a bit there at the first playthrough.

[@kemalturgut9127]

Ebony warrior is the coolest character in video game history lol

[@lSlendermaster]

Worthy of Sovngarde for sure! 😎

[@mediumx3241]

I knew the fusrodah shouts of the draugr could be an issue but the ebony warrior being the badass that he is still prevailed in the end. It's also the first time I saw him use the disarm shout.

[@lSlendermaster]

The Ebony Warrior did well here, yes! I've seen him die several times, and there's always some luck involved. He doesn't use the disarm shout a lot, partly because opponents higher than level 30 resist it, so it's a rather rare sight. 😄

[@brandonlawrence2716]

Best ebony warrior vid yet. Really showing off his skills

[@kemalturgut9127]

Ikr. Finally a proper video which perfectly illustrates how OP he is

[@lSlendermaster]

Thanks! He performed very well here indeed 😎

[@howboutdemap1es225]

The Ebony Warrior is such a well rounded character. I figured once he actually started going melee he’d be fine since every swing would also heal him. Was there no time for Miraak or did the archers just rip right through him. Figured he’d also be an interesting fit since he has decent melee and ranged combat ability plus a little bit of healing.

[@lSlendermaster]

Agreed, I really like seeing him fight! Even the Ebony Warrior can die here, so Miraak wouldn't stand a chance, especially since he only starts healing when his HP is low. But the time was also a factor, yes. 😅

[@H.K.5]

The legendary eater of worlds can’t even beat a bunch of zombies with bows and arrows 😂 Karstagg and the Ebony Warrior kicked ass though, especially EW.

[@lSlendermaster]

Pretty funny, isn't it? 😂 Although meeting a Deathlord archer ourselves shows us why we should fear them. 😆 Karstaag went down surprisingly quickly, but the Ebony Warrior is balanced enough 😎

[@H.K.5]

⁠​⁠​⁠@@lSlendermasterYeah like someone else here said, Ebony Warrior is really well rounded. Karstagg is slow plus he can only fight at close range.

[@lSlendermaster]

@@H.K.5 Exactly! It's interesting to see the differences

[@Ian_Warden]

Wow, I forgot how much damage Karstaag did! Looks like he forgot how much damage the archers do! 😆

[@lSlendermaster]

Very true! 😂 Always fun to see those archers absolutely annihilating opponents!

[@MiltonRoe]

Meanwhile when I fought him with a level 70 with archery 100, I was doing zero damage with arrows. Karstaag is a glitchy boi.

[@puddingface1902]

I was actually wondering why the Draugrs didn't push him off and kill him with fall damage. Then you showed the bloopers lol. Ebony warrior is quick and has healing spell that's why he won.

[@lSlendermaster]

Yeah, I didn't want the fight to end this way, but it was too funny not to use as a blooper. 😂 Yes, indeed! Plus massive physical resistance!

[@AvengerAtIlipa]

Isn't the Ebony Warrior specifically immune to fall damage? I'm pretty sure you have to hit him with a weapon at least once after the fall and before the ragdoll ends in order for him to die.

[@puddingface1902]

@@AvengerAtIlipa No I think the ebony warrior is protected so only the player character can kill him so that's why fall damage doesn't kill but still damages. The protected tag was probably removed for vs videos.

[@krollflsp4868]

The Ebony Warrior is what a dragonborn should be. The hight, though. The toughest enemy

[@lSlendermaster]

He's the prime example of a good warrior! Only rivaled by Karstaag 😎

[@irontiger2622]

Makes total sense for Ebony Warrior to be there, considering he wants to go to Soverngarde so bad. But why they have to do him in like that, tho 😂

[@lSlendermaster]

True! 😂 That's really his finall challenge! I wish he actually were in Sovngarde if you kill him before 😐

[@irontiger2622]

@@lSlendermaster He deserves to be there. ……hmm…..Ebony Warrior vs all of Soverngarde?

[@thatskeletordude5271]

@@irontiger2622 that's been done before and it's pretty boring.

[@irontiger2622]

@@thatskeletordude5271 Ahh. Fair

[@lSlendermaster]

​@@irontiger2622 I have actually done Ebony Warrior and Sovngarde (including Tsun) vs. Karstaag, but the Sovgnarde heroes alone are not much of a challenge, because they're not meant to be fighting. 😅 They would be no match for the Ebony Warrior, but it might take a while because of a lot of stagger. So overall, I'm afraid it wouldn't make for a good public video 😅

[@ludrichvanstaden5239]

Those Bow deathlord draugr did massive damage, no wonder there troublesome. Great vid dude. Also First to comment 😮

[@lSlendermaster]

Indeed, they're brutal! Not to mention the ragdoll. 😆 Thanks! 😁 And congrats! 1⃣

[@RevanSTARKiller47]

As always, great cinematography, interesting fights. Ebony warrior really showcasing his versatility with the bow and durability with armor and healing spells. The other two simply didn't have enough defense.

[@lSlendermaster]

Thanks!! 🥳 Yes, you're right! The Ebony Warrior is the only one tanky enough, and he still didn't have an easy time 😎

[@JesusChrist2000BC]

Ebony Warrior Is Actually Him

[@lSlendermaster]

He's the one who truly deserves to go to Sovngarde! 😎

[@onizukasensei5321]

The ebony warrior is definitely suited the take them down Literally assassinated them

[@lSlendermaster]

He's perfectly prepared, and it was still a tough fight 😎

[@harleyleedavidson8751]

Imagine if the ebony warrior had conjuration magic

[@lSlendermaster]

I'm not sure if it would even help him much, considering how strong he is already. But maybe a Dremora Lord would be useful 🤔

[@harleyleedavidson8751]

@@lSlendermaster well if he had duel souls he could summon 2 storm atronachs when his health gets low

[@lSlendermaster]

@@harleyleedavidson8751 When his health gets low, it's better for him to heal. I've seen him die from frequent staggering way too many times, and any time he spends trying to use spells can easily be fatal for him 😅

[@harleyleedavidson8751]

@@lSlendermaster fair point

[@AgentGibbs]

@@harleyleedavidson8751 Actually EB does have a conjuration spell, Storm Atronach. This was glitched with the DB DLC because of the amount of magicka they gave him. In the patched version, this was fixed, after EB cast Ironflesh and Frost Cloak, he willl use Conjure Storm Atronach as soon as his magicka recharges enough while the other 2 spells are active.

[@sl9wdive]

I love how aggressive ebony fighting style is

[@lSlendermaster]

So do I!

[@gamesbreakerzone5771]

My ebony boi never dissapoint us😎its a pretty cool way to ser how much progress a player has to be to reach that point, exelent kind of "circuit trial" video friend B)

[@lSlendermaster]

Imagine if the Ebony Warrior could sneak around and do sneak attacks like the player. 😆 Thank you! 😁

[@gamesbreakerzone5771]

@@lSlendermaster Omg that the only thing the ebony boi Is missing cause beyond that its almost a player 😅

[@lSlendermaster]

@@gamesbreakerzone5771 Yes that would be truly OP! 😂 I've been wondering before what would happen if NPCs could do sneak attacks against the player. Would not end well 😆

[@ludrichvanstaden5239]

Almost 2k sub!

[@lSlendermaster]

Yes, getting closer!

[@spinningpig2347]

6:40 that arch basically saved the Ebony Warrior from a goofy death

[@lSlendermaster]

It really did! Lucky that he didn't fall off. I would have needed to reset the battle once again 😂

[@borosnueve2230]

Amazing fight

[@lSlendermaster]

Thank you!

[@Jarikraider]

Ebony "Fucking" Warrior

[@lSlendermaster]

Indeed 😂

[@Aegmos]

Ebony Warrior is like the perfect warrior, almost like the Jack Of All Traits.

[@lSlendermaster]

Indeed! I really like using him against all kinds of opponents, and it's always fun!

[@RtoonCa]

Эбонитовый воин просто зверь, его перки в сочетании с удачно подобранным стилем боя дают превосходный результат. Но на самом деле, он мог быть ещё сильнее, ведь у него кираса с 40% регенерации здоровья + перчатки и кольцо, дающие урон от оружия, а эти зачарования не работают у NPC

[@lSlendermaster]

Very true! I'm not sure why they gave him that kind of equipment. Maybe an oversight, or they wanted to nerf him a bit but provide good loot for the player. Either way, it's pretty weird 🤔

[@LICENFIREFEAR]

youre ways of editing and putting videos togheter has become ummatched🤩 great entertaining videos🤩

[@lSlendermaster]

Thank you very much!! 😁 I'm glad you think so! 🥳

[@HJHWolf]

Never expected to see Alduin defeated so easily. I'm surprised that Alduin could kill no one.

[@100notaweebo9]

Tbh, throughout the gameplay, only EW and Miraak can actually make me struggle, Alduin despite all the story hype, he’s only good for cinematography

[@onizukasensei5321]

It's only in the first fight he can be somewhat difficult In the second fight u have 3 decently strong ppl helping u and if alduin is unlucky and one of his meteor showers annoy tsun then that makes it even far more easier

[@lSlendermaster]

Alduin's main issues are pretty poor scaling (which was fine before the DLCs, but didn't get updated), as well as no physical resistance. 4 Deathlord archers can beat almost anyone with ease, and Alduin is a really easy target for them

[@gnac616]

And the Ebony Warrior said," Hold me beer Karstagg! Yer old and slow."😂

[@themanicman8458]

Okay I'm beginning to understand why dead thrall doesn't let us raise dragur

[@lSlendermaster]

Yup, imagine having several ones. They would clear almost every dungeon with ease 😂

[@dragonmagic9872]

Yet again, you make another masterpiece of a battle video, The Ebony Warrior absolutely Dominated all of the draugr like a freaking master of a boss, in the lore Alduin is supposed to be this huge threat that eats worlds, but in the game he just flat out sucks, Karstaag is very strong indeed, much stronger than the Ebony Warrior in a 1v1, however he doesn't do that good against ranged attackers, especially devastating enemy's such as the draugr deathlord archers who do a heck tone of damage with their bows, however usually when the ebony warrior pulls out his bow it's automatically game over, and ok this makes no sense, you can throw the ebony warrior off this huge mountain, and he doesn't have a scratch on him, however, push him off 2 small cliffs and completely delete his health.....what the heck? there is no way he could have died from that.

[@lSlendermaster]

Thank you! 😁 Yup, you're right! It's funny how weak Alduin is, especially compared to Karstaag and the Ebony Warrior. The only reason why you normally can't kill him with fall damage is because he's flagged as Protected, which means he cannot die from non-player damage. This includes fall damage, but also attacks from any NPCs. Because he would be unable to die in NPC fights due to this, I removed that flag from him 😄

[@pathogenofdecay]

At first I was going to say, "What? No Nahkriin?", but then I saw that EW had died from shout falling damage at one point, so I guess there's no point. lol

[@lSlendermaster]

Yeah, there are several reasons why he's not included here 😂

[@enemy-rogue]

banger content wtf

[@lSlendermaster]

Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it! 😎

[@killimolli]

Great fighting scenes, indeed. When i was lvl 57 and the main quests made,after that, The game went quite boring. So i used console command to summon mighty Ebony Warrior, while he was fighting with my maxed out Freya, i just shield bashing him. After 2-3 shield bashing him, he dropped all of his armor and then it was easy to kill him. And thanks to the game graphicians, mighty Ebony Warriors is wearing underpants :D

[@lSlendermaster]

Thank you! 😁 Wait, you removed his armor by shield bashing? 👀 I thought that only works with weapons! 😂 Was that a mod or did I miss something?

[@huugobingo5604]

Can You tell me, what is this mod that showing hp bar and lvl above npc?

[@lSlendermaster]

It's called Floating Healthbars: www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/28458?

[@huugobingo5604]

@@lSlendermaster very thanks very big. But this mod actually dont shows the lvl?

[@lSlendermaster]

@@huugobingo5604 You're welcome! You might have to configure it using the config file that comes with it

[@kevinnk5584]

How would one of the other modded creatures Hydra do here?

[@lSlendermaster]

Good question! Realistically speaking, the size of the Hydra would would be an issue here, and it couldn't navigate through the area. If I tried the battle in an open environment, the Hydra would get completely destroyed (mostly by the Deathlord archers). Most of the Hydra's damage isn't from melee but poison, which all the draugr are immune to.

[@submissionsniperfan]

Vanilla Alduin is pathetic. Also gotta give it to the draugr deathlords those guys are monsters just by themselves.

[@lSlendermaster]

I couldn't agree more!

[@H.K.5]

Bethesda had to nerf Alduin so he wouldn’t be too overpowered for the player. Doesn’t make sense though, he should be above the level of Karstagg.

[@lSlendermaster]

@@H.K.5 That was my thought as well. I think it would have made sense to make him scale higher and more efficiently though. For example, Miraak is good at that, so it should be possible, but Alduin falls behind a legendary dragon easily, even at his maximum level. 🤷

[@submissionsniperfan]

@@H.K.5 I get that, I think the lore is that if he reaches full power via eating mortal souls in sovngarde before we kill him he's literally invincible

[@judinatheargonianthief1385]

Hi Islendermaster 👋 oooh, I liked this little idea ^-^ Didn't you put the real Alduin? This one is not very strong. I'm quite surprised that Karstaag got beat. and Ew came out of it better, even if the fall is severe.

[@lSlendermaster]

Hi! I'm glad you like it! 😁 Yes, this is the real Alduin. Every other version in the game is much weaker. If you're referring to the one with over 6000 HP, he is weak because his damage output is the same as that of a level 10 dragon. He would survive longer but do almost no damage whatsoever. The Alduin here is the one you fight in Sovngarde. 😄 Karstaag was an easy target for the archers, he was almost helpless. 😂 The Ebony Warrior showing again that he's worthy of the Hall of Valor! 😎

[@judinatheargonianthief1385]

Okay for Alduin @@lSlendermaster In any case, you have to beat Karstaag while being at a distance and have three or four deathlord overlords to hold him back. Ew has always shown who can compete with any opponent.

[@lSlendermaster]

@@judinatheargonianthief1385 Yeah, it takes a lot to beat both the Ebony Warrior and Karstaag. 😄The Ebony Warrior himself really struggles against Karstaag though, especially with the ragdolls 😂

[@callumtorrance9180]

I haven't commented on this video! 😢 Well now thats fixed !😊

[@lSlendermaster]

Haha, appreciated! 😂

[@samantharobinson881]

Should do mirrak and harkon vs skulfudan

[@lSlendermaster]

Those two wouldn't stand a chance 😂

[@samuelele]

You guys think skuldafn is the hardest dungeon if played at a high level?

[@lSlendermaster]

Absolutely, yeah. It's the only location I know that Karstaag can't easily clear in a fair match (that is, with nobody invulnerable or in a place he can't get to)

[@samuelele]

I've lately leveled a new character, playing it on level 100 with 300health, 440 magicka, 550 stamina, redguard destruction build. (prolly could have gone for more magicka haha). I died about 10 times in this dungeon, it's insane. If you're cautious or stealth-arching, everything's possible. But the dragons kick a*s and the draugr one-shot you with the bow. I was astonished how hard it was, especially because I remembered playing through at low level. @@lSlendermaster

[@lSlendermaster]

​@@samuelele I completely get that! 😂 I was very surprised how difficult things get here. That's also the reason why I made this video; I rarely focus on a particular location instead of an NPC. I think this is still my only episode with that format. The archers are just relentless! I believe it's much easier at lower levels, although I'm not sure when the level 40 Deathlords start spawning. There's another place that I remember for being surpisingly hard: Arcwind Point. When I got there on a high level, I found a generic Dragon Priest, a Draugr Death Overlord, and 2 Draugr Deathlord archers (the ones with ebony bows). And on top of the arc above the Dragon Priest's sarcophagus, there was a Legendary Dragon. What's important to note: It's not a huge dungeon with a quest or anything. Just a seemingly random outdoors location, but it's nuts 😂

[@Browncurse]

What if The Ebony Warrior is actually a Nazeem that someone killed and turned into a dead thrall and gave him op equipment?

[@kemalturgut9127]

And where does his godlike combat abilities and shouts come from ? He is just a forgotten god :D

[@lSlendermaster]

Nazeem is useless even with good gear... unless he simply acts weak and we just don't know 😆

[@jasonsulham1979]

Do mirrak plus the graybeards plus the Dragonborn against this tomb/ location

[@lSlendermaster]

Way too many NPCs, too much chaos, impossible to get good camera work

[@charliesingh7919]

Karstaag is weak against rangers. This was his nightmare. Ebony warrior on the other hand is smaller and quicker. And he heals a lot more than Karstaag.

[@lSlendermaster]

You're 100% right!

[@jasonsulham1979]

I’m calling bs on them puny skeletons beating alduin

[@howboutdemap1es225]

It’s the archers. They do a ton of damage, there are several of them, and Alduin is a massive target.

[@lSlendermaster]

HowBoutDemAp1es, you've explained it perfectly!

[@metaouroboros6324]

Game mechanics. Perhaps the lore makes the world eater much stronger, but not in game.

[@theresaurus9820]

Yeah, no surprises here. Alduin is weak as s, Karstaag is slow and big thus easy game for archers, and EW would’ve stood a good chance against all the Deathlords even if they were to attack him all at once.

[@lSlendermaster]

True! 😂 Although I've seen the Ebony Warrior die quickly if the archers weren't blocked by anything. He had a nice round here 😎

[@theresaurus9820]

@@lSlendermaster Oh, ok. I guess I maybe overestimated EW there a little. I was going by how well EW did against the three Deathlord melees and three Deathlord archers in another video of yours.

[@lSlendermaster]

@@theresaurus9820 Ah yeah, I see what you mean! A single additional Deathlord archer already makes a big difference because those are the main damage dealers here. When I first tested the Ebony Warrior in Skuldafn, he actually died pretty quickly, which was the initial idea of using this location for a video 😂