Who is the best Jarl in Skyrim?

Who is the Best Jarl in Skyrim? A Comprehensive Guide

Skyrim, the iconic Bethesda game, offers a richly designed world with a wide array of characters, quests, and politics. Amid the turmoil of the civil war between the Empire and Stormcloaks, the ruling Jarls play a critical role in shaping the destinies of their respective holding cities. In this guide, we’ll examine every pre-civil war Jarl in Skyrim and give you an insight into why they might be considered the ‘best.’

Ranking every Jarl in Skyrim – from worst to best!

To create a solid ranking, we’ve identified the following criteria: Strong Leadership, Military Capability, Economic Development, Loyalties, and Overall Character Consistency. Let’s briefly analyze each Jarl in turns.

1. Alduin the First Enemy: *Not applicable** (The World-Ender doesn’t rule any stronghold)
2. Grjalp: Unforgivably cruel, abusive, and power-hungry, Grjalp’s reign is a black mark on the record-books. *Not recommendet**
3. Karstag: This ambitious Dunmer Jarl prioritized himself over his people and lost control, making his legitimacy questionable. *Causes Concern**

4. Laila Law-Giver: While strong of will, Laila’s actions are frequently cruel and vindictive towards her subjects. Her Jarldom is shaky.

5. Museum of Artifacts Owner/Master of Whiterun Hold – Balgruuf the Greater: *Top Contender**, showing strength in leadership and commerce. He’s open but not too trusting. You might consider him ‘acceptable.’
6. Brina Merilis (Imperial Jarl) vs. Idgroc Ravencrone (Pro-Stormcloak Jarls): Both offer contrastingly strong and weaker leads, reflecting their distinct outlooks on the world wars.

7. Haafingar – Uriel Septim (Dragonborn’s Cousin + Jarl) vs Riften’s New Jarl – Snyk (Ridden-with-guilt)

   Jarl Attributes	Leaders	Economices	Lojalty	Whole Character Consistency
   1	+3	+1	-2
   2	( ) +2
   3 )
   4 (+2, +0+2	(5 3
   5 (++1	++

   • Table 1 for better visualization.

Let it be known that our rank ordering does not perfectly align with most popular opinions, though elements from our assessment reflect varying degrees of acceptance.
With these points in mind you now know that among nine pre-civil war (Jarl) choices your Jarl in the first instance would be – well – 1 Jar with an extra, which can only be held only in Skyrim. There never were Jarls outside here