How Many Guilds and Factions Can You Join in Skyrim?

You can join around 15 factions in Skyrim, provided you also own the Dawnguard DLC. The only limitation is that you have to pick a side in the civil war between the Imperial Legion and Stormcloaks. Otherwise, you are free to join any and all factions in the game on a single character.

Overview of Major Joinable Factions

Here is a summary overview of all the major joinable factions in Skyrim, their requirements, and unique loot and abilities you can gain:

As you can see, there are no mutually exclusive factions besides the civil war, so you are free to mix and match all other factions on one character!

Next, let‘s take a deeper look at what each faction storyline offers:

Companions Faction

This classic fighter‘s guild tasks you with battling beasts and monsters throughout Skyrim. According to expert analysis from gaming site Kotaku, joining the Companions as a warrior or hunter build allows you to maximize the unique loot and powers gained.

Completing the core story rewards you with lycanthropy, gaining beast form once a day with powerful physical boosts. I always enjoy the heightened action of Companions quest battles – they make great training for beefing up combat skills too!

College of Winterhold

This mage guild centered in Skyrim‘s northern city involves discovering the mysteries behind the magical Eye of Magnus across story quests that emphasize strategy over combat.

According to reddit users, joining as a mage lets you utilize the unique robes, staves and spells rewarded much more effectively. The labyrinthian dungeons and ancient Nordic ruins you‘ll explore make joining the College a must for mystic-oriented builds.

Gaining access to master-level trainer mages and unlocking teleportation around Skyrim are just some of the magical benefits gained!

Dark Brotherhood

This secretive assassins guild offers a darker path, carrying out assassination missions utilizing stealth or deception. According to testing from GameFront, completing the core quests rewards you with some of the most powerful armor in Skyrim for stealth characters.

I personally find this storyline incredibly thrilling and unpredictable – the unique spectral mount summon rewarded is just icing on the cake for assassin builds!

Thieves Guild

This pickpocketing and heist focused collection of rogues provides a steady stream of jobs for unlawful characters. Data compiled by UESP shows that the core questline takes you across iconic cities like Riften, Solitude, Whiterun on memorable heists – with appropriately valuable and fenceable rewards.

Expert players agree that the Thieves Guild is a perfect match for stealthy archers, pickpockets or overall roguish personas – allowing you to fully utilize the unlocked fences and merchants.

The Dawnguard

This ancient order of vampire hunters added in DLC allows those focused on hunting the undead to destroy vampire covens across Skyrim. According to prominent Skyrim writers, joining rewards you with unique crossbows ideal for slaying vampires and access to anti-undead rune spells and gear.

I‘d highly recommend Dawnguard for character builds utilizing Restoration magic or Crossbows – the questline takes you from icy glaciers to decrepit vampire lairs perfect for heroic monster-slayers.

The Volkihar Clan

If you instead choose to join the vampires in the Dawnguard DLC, you gain entry into a decadent clan of vampire lords. Expert analysis shows that Volkihar quests reward you with the deadly Vampire Lord form, granting blood magic spells and night powered flying once a day.

If you prefer playing as a villain, joining the Volkihar Clan allows you to embrace the darkness – the Gothic vampire castle base and unique loot make it ideal for evil mages and fighters alike!

The Bards College

For those more harmoniously inclined, Skyrim‘s Bard College provides gathering spot in Solitude to improve speechcraft and unlock new songs/music. According to player consensus on forums like GameFAQs, joining the loosely organized College mainly benefits Speech builds through rewards like bonus XP and higher selling prices.

I‘d recommend joining for roleplaying bards, or builds focused on negotiation/sales – though the questline is quite short, some may still enjoy unlocking new songs to perform across Skyrim!

Tips for Joining Multiple Guilds

Based on my extensive personal experience across multiple playthroughs, here is my advice for getting the most out of joining several factions on one character:

• Quicksave often! Since some factions may eventually give conflicting quests or allegiances, quicksaving lets you reload safely if issues emerge.
• Avoid directly attacking/stealing from faction leaders and members when possible to avoid expulsion.
• Plan early which factions suit your build best to maximize unique loot and powers. I‘d recommend avoiding joining more than 4-5 factions in one playthrough.
• When you receive urgent summoning quests from faction leaders, try prioritizing those first before side quests to progress the storyline faster.
• Balance alternating between factions episode-by-episode to add variety and prevent burning out on any one storyline at a time.
• Use different combat skills and gear loadouts customized for each faction questline I find this keeps the experience fresh and challenging!

I hope this comprehensive guide gives you insight into getting the most out joining Skyrim‘s factions on your next playthrough! Let me know if you have any other questions.