J'zargo (Skyrim)

For other uses, see J'zargo.

J'zargo is a Khajiit apprentice at the College of Winterhold in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. He is a potential follower and is eligible to become a member of the Blades. When not accompanying the Dragonborn, he can be found at the College of Winterhold either in the Hall of Attainment or the Hall of the Elements.

Personality[]

"Oh, yes. J'zargo hopes to find things that will make him a more powerful mage here."

―J'zargo^[src]

A skilled mage, J'zargo is confident to the point of arrogance, offering few words of praise for the work of others. He is highly competitive and strives to be the best of the College's students, using any means available, including theft and reckless experimentation. Despite his great ambition, he has no qualms accepting that he still has a long way to go before becoming a powerful wizard.

Interactions[]

First Lessons[]

Along with Onmund and Brelyna Maryon, he criticizes Tolfdir for not teaching them enough magic during their first meeting, though depending on how the Dragonborn responds when Tolfdir asks them for their opinion, J'zargo or one of the others will respond accordingly.

Under Saarthal[]

He accompanies the Dragonborn in the Saarthal excavation along with Onmund, Tolfdir and Brelyna Maryon. He is tasked with checking to make sure they are the first arrivals and that no tombs have been tampered with.

J'zargo's Experiment[]

Agreeing to help J'zargo experiment with a batch of scrolls, the Dragonborn uses them on undead as instructed. Serving as a Flame Cloak spell, the scrolls deal extra damage to undead creatures, but upon coming into contact with undead also cause an explosion that damages the Dragonborn and any followers, which can cause the follower to turn on the Dragonborn. Reporting to J'zargo the results of the experiment opens him up as a follower. Afterward, he will ask the Dragonborn to test later iterations of the scrolls, eventually resulting in a working version.

Combat[]

Main Stats
Health	458-717
Magicka	325-450
Stamina	132-183
Archery	20
Block	15
Heavy Armor	100
One-Handed	100
Two-Handed	15
Smithing	15
Alteration	15
Conjuration	15
Destruction	100
Illusion	100
Restoration	60-100
Enchanting	15
Alchemy	20
Light Armor	15
Lockpicking	20
Pickpocket	20
Sneak	25
Speech	15

He is equipped with non removable novice robes and a novice hood and a hunting bow. However, if he is hired as a follower and provided with other armor, should he equip the new armor, it is possible to pickpocket the default one after dismissing him.

J'zargo equips one-handed weapons, heavy armor, and light armor if they are given to him, but in combat, he tends to use dual cast destruction spells until his magicka runs out. He favors shock spells. Despite being a mage, he has an unusually high skill in heavy armor as well as one-handed weaponry. Giving him the Nahkriin or Zahkriisos mask may be helpful. (Zahkriisos can only be obtained if the Dragonborn add-on is installed.) The former in general allows him to cast more spells, while the latter can significantly increase his damage output at higher levels.

While in combat with higher level foes, he appears to use more powerful versions of the normal spells that he uses, or a spell crafted for him; that gives an appearance as a normal destruction class spell. For example, when fighting dragons on adept difficulty or lower, he will do a significant amount of damage, often killing the dragon before the Dragonborn has the chance to inflict notable damage.

While in prolonged combat, he may run out of magicka and will use his fists regardless of any weapon or shield the Dragonborn gave him. While he does equip such items, dual-cast Sparks is equipped as soon as a combat is started. When he regenerates magicka after fist fighting for a few seconds, he will start casting fireball spells. At a long distance in the open, he will use Ice Spikes as his preferred spell.

While in combat with melee opponents, he will hold out for himself very well, backing up as he is casting rather than standing still; placing him in top tier heavy armor only improves his combat usefulness. However, he will not survive for long while fighting other mage class foes that cast magic.

J'zargo will always use a unique dagger like the Blade of Woe or Mehrunes Razor if it is given to him. He will also always use any bow with a lightning enchantment instead of his default hunting bow.

J'zargo's health is high and regenerates fast, giving the Dragonborn no need to heal him during combat. This is a reason for J'zargo's state as one of the most durable followers. It should be noted that unlike most other followers, he levels with the Dragonborn all the way to level 81 until patch 1.9, and he has no level cap after the patch. His only weakness is that he favors low level shock spells, hindering his damage performance.

Spells and perks[]

J'zargo frostbite — A ward being used to block Frostbite cast by J'zargo in the Hall of the Elements.

Spells	Perks
Firebolt * Flames * Frostbite * Fury Heal Other* Ice Spike * Lightning Bolt * Magelight Paralyze Soul Trap Sparks * Steadfast Ward * Turn Undead *	None

J'zargo knows a total of thirteen spells, but will only cast nine as a follower, and the others as a regular character in combat. Spells marked with an asterisk are the only spells he will use as a follower. Whether this is a bug or scripted behavior is unknown.