The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was one of the definitive open-world games of the past decade. It introduced us to dragons for the first time in anElder Scrolls game, as these intimidating beasts could appear at any time, in any place.

Alongside the dragons came the game's signature new mechanic: dragon shouts. These granted players the ability to use their character's own voice as a weapon. The effects of these shouts were incredibly varied and ranged from summoning a dangerous thunderstorm to forcing enemies to flee. Let's now take a look at the 10 best shouts fromSkyrim.

Updated on February 12th, 2020 by Anastasia Maillot: Shouts are among the strongest powers in Skyrim, and with the DLCs a ton of new ones were introduced into the game that were previously overlooked. Some of these bring in brand new game mechanics that aren't found in the base game of Skyrim.

With that in mind, we decided to include some of the best shouts from Skyrim's DLCs as well, namely from Dawnguard and Dragonborn.

15 Fire Breath

Dragons are most well-known for their ability to breathe fire, even in Skyrim. Their powerful fire attacks can really devastate an enemy even at long range, as the effects of the shout continue to burn the target over time. Well, now there's a shout that lets the Dragonborn do it too.

The Fire Breath shout not only sets everyone on its path on fire, but it also knocks enemies backwards. The damage done on targets depends on how many words are unlocked, and at highest it can dish out 90 fire damage.

14 Marked For Death

When facing particularly tough enemies, the Marked For Death shout can be surprisingly useful. It's definitely not best in terms of its statistics, but due to the weakening curse it applies on enemies for a full minute, it does have its uses.

Marked For Death basically lowers an enemy's armor rating and drains their health over time for 60 seconds straight. With the third word unlocked, the armor penalty is -75 per second and the health penalty is -3 per second.

13 Storm Call

While destruction magic does allow you to do cool things with sparks, there's nothing like calling forth an actual storm to destroy your enemies. With Storm Call, the Dragonborn can summon a powerful thunderstorm with random flashes of lightning attacking enemies all around them.

Each lighting strike does about 80 damage, and it doesn't discriminate between targets. Everyone from innocent bystanders, to followers, to actual enemies will take damage during the storm, so be cautious when using this shout, especially in public areas.

12 Whirlwind Sprint

While most shouts provide some extra damage through similar mechanics as destruction magic, there are also a few shouts that are simply there as part of a toolkit. The Whirlwind Sprint, which is learned during the main quest, is one such shout. Despite its lack of utility in combat, it's an essential ability.

Whirlwind Sprint pushes the Dragonborn forward quickly. It's a great way to jump gaps or avoid trapped hallways in dungeons. In combat, it can sometimes be used to either get in the enemy's face quicker or to find cover faster. For those wanting to just get to an objective quickly, it's also a nice mobility shout to use.

11 Bend Will

For those who have the Dragonborn DLC, one of the best shouts will become available during its main quest. Much like other shouts, learning all three words will grant you the full power of this ability, which is no less than to tame and ride dragons in the same way that Miraak does.

That being said, with only two words you already get a pretty strong shout which lets you turn enemies into allies for a short period of time. Anything that tames a hostile creature is always useful when fighting a group pf enemies, which is why Bend Will is so incredibly powerful.

10 Drain Vitality

Players who have the Dawnguard DLC installed will know that some of the Legendary dragons found in this version of the game have an extraordinarily annoying skill: drain vitality. Their ability to shout at the Dragonborn and drain magicka, health and stamina all at the same time makes them frightening opponents.

The good news is that the Dragonborn can actually learn this shout as well. The Drain Vitality shout at its best drains 5 points from magicka, health, and stamina per second for a total of 30 seconds. It may not be the strongest, but it can be devastating against enemies who rely on magicka and stamina, but have larger health pools.

9 Dragon Aspect

One of the more unique shouts in the game is the Dragon Aspect shout. Found in the Dragonborn DLC, once unlocked to its highest level it gives incredibly good bonuses: +25% power attack, +125% armor rating, -20% cooldown time for shouts and +25% resistances against frost and fire. Essentially, the Dragonborn becomes a tank for 300 seconds.

Even at its second level, this shout is pretty amazing. Once the Dragonborn is at 50 HP or lower, a dragon will come to help him in battle. Due to just how powerful this shout is, its use is unfortunately capped at once per day, but it's definitely worth the use against incredibly powerful enemies.

8 Disarm

While it might be a little unfair to bring a sword to a fistfight, that is exactly what this next shout lets you do. Disarm, true to its name, causes enemies to drop their weapons, leaving them largely defenseless to your attacks. They can either try to retrieve their lost arms or fight you head-on with nothing but their fists, but, either way, it will turn the battle in your favor.

However, this shout does only work on foes with weapons to drop. Any animals or automatons or dragons, none of which carry weapons, won't really be affected by this shout. It's definitely useful in specific situations, but not for every encounter.

7 Soul Tear

During the adventures in the Dawnguard DLC, the Dragonborn will learn a new shout from Durnehviir, an undead dragon. This shout is tremendously useful and deals immense amounts of damage. The Soul Tear essentially tears away a creature's soul, which dishes out around 300 points of damage when leveled to three words.

Moreover, if the enemy is killed through this shout, it will fill a soul a gem. The killed enemy will be resurrected and will fight on the Dragonborn's side, which is a pretty cool and unique feature. For those wanting to collect soul gems for enchanting and who like a bit of spice in their shouts, this is definitely a strong one to consider learning.

6 Dragonrend

Something that dragons have and humans don't is the power of flight, and, while there's nothing in theSkyrim that grants you wings—not counting expansions or mods—you can bring the dragons down to size. Dragonrend is a shout you obtain during the course of the game's story, and it lets you force any dragons to land for a while.

This can be very useful, as dragons do tend to fly around and hover in places, sending powerful attacks at you before they eventually land and can be hacked at with melee weapons. Obviously, this shout can't be used against any other enemy in the game, but it remains an incredibly handy power to have on hand when looking to take down a dragon.

5 Unrelenting Force

The signature shout fromSkyrim and likely the first one that players will obtain, Unrelenting Force is, quite literally a force to be reckoned with. At its fully upgraded level, it sends forth an overwhelming burst of power that knocks back anything and everything in its wake, from enemies to physics objects.

There's also just something inherently fun about hearing your character speak the iconic "Fus Roh Dah!" line and seeing things exploded out in front of you. Combine that with the damage it does, the knockback effect, and the hilarious ragdoll physics, and you have a great dragon shout.

4 Ice Form

While there is a Frost Breath shout inSkyrim, it operates more akin to the ordinary frost mechanics, damaging enemy health and stamina and not too much else. However, the Ice Form shout works a little differently. This power instantly freezes anyone in front of the player in a block of ice, completely immobilizing them.

Any number of foes can be paralyzed this way, from the humble roaming bandits of the roads to the giants themselves. From there, you can get in close and attack them while they're down. Even once the ice wears off, they still need to stand up before they can do anything, making Ice Form an incredible shout.

3 Call Dragon

With all the hostile dragons roaming the wilds, it can feel pretty challenging to take them all on as just a human—well, Dragonborn, but still. So the power to summon your own dragon to the fight is incredibly appealing. The Call Dragon shout is obtained by following the story and lets you bring forth a scaly ally of your own.

The dragon you summon is invincible and can't be killed, only downed temporarily. He'll do all the standard dragon things from flying around to breathing fire to swiping at your enemies with his sharp claws. When the fight is over, he'll leave until you decide to call on him again, which will probably be soon, given how awesome it is to have an entire dragon fighting for you!

2 Summon Durnehviir

Summoning just any dragon is one thing, but summoning Durnehviir is entirely different thing. This dragon is encountered in the Dawnguard DLC, and he's different from most other dragons. Durnehviir is actually decaying, he's an undead dragon able to summon undead creatures to his aid.

When summoned to help the Dragonborn in fight, he can use his summoning abilities as well. Moreover, he'll use shouts like Drain Vitality and Frost Breath rather than the normal Fire Breath attack. Durnehviir can be summoned every six minutes roughly.

1 Slow Time

Finally, our last entry and what we think is the best shout in all ofSkyrim is Slow Time. This shout is exactly what it says on the box; a power that makes everything move in slow motion for a while. Enemies move slower, projectiles hover in the air, and you can unleash a flurry of attacks that no one is prepared for.

The player is somewhat slowed by the shout, but not to the same degree that everything else is. This can be combined with all manner of other strategies, whether it's used to extend the effective duration of potions, deal a huge number of attacks in a short period of time, or charge up spells to blast everything away. No matter your play style, Slow Time is a must-have shout and the best one available in the game.

NEXT: Skyrim: 10 NPCs With Hidden Secrets You Didn't Know About