I started out a thief with a bow, and after getting my but kicked by assasins (who I eventually killed) I decided that destruction magic and illusion magic are for me!

so I have about 4000 gold. and I made the long long long long trek to winterhold (was there an easy way? I am level 9 and sprinted the last bit)

so, I am looking for the various spells people have found to pack the most punch.

Firebolt and Ice Spike are pretty much the only ones I use, the overtime ones ( Flame and Frostbite ) are too weak towards level 10+. Make sure you dual charge often, very handy.

I am focusing on fire so for me it's firebolt and fireball

You get stronger spells as you level the Destruction and Illusion skills, respectively.

Flames and frostbite still have their use at level 20. Trying to kill high level mages with firebolt or ice spike just didn't work because the AI understand the concept of hide behind things and heal yourself. But if you can get into their face, you can just unload your magicka bar without taking much damage for some reason.

I've just unlocked the next tier of destruction spells and have found the Fireball to be really good, it does 50 points of damage in comparison to Firebolt's mere 25 points of damage.

How do you unlock the next tier of spells? Investing perks in apprentice/ Adept cost 50% less? Or leveling up to a certain level? Don't you have to still find or buy the spells?

I'm Lv41 in destruction but i only have the 3 started spells. I thought they got learned as you levelled up but i'm not so sure now!

I'm lvl 50+ in destruction.. And my favorite so far is chain lightning

U have to get the spills yourself... either buying it, find it or steal it

I knew it! I've been holding off on upgrading fire, because I want lightning. What about ice, doesn't it freeze the enemy?

Yes, my second favorite is ice storm.. It's great against multiple enemies

Fireball. It's so exhilarating compared to the Flames and Firebolt spells you would be constantly using, if you chose to stick with Fire, like me....but I'm stubborn, not the best idea, doesn't hurt to be more open-minded, quite the opposite, hurts to be stubborn, etc.

But Fireball, It's so nice. Especially with Fire Rune, you should pick that up too, if possible.

Dual Casting makes all fights much, much easier. Basically, a dual-casted spell with stagger an enemy. And then you can spam charged attacks til you blast them into next week while they are stagger-stunned. It's like Morrowind all over again.

Not sure about the other elements, only used them when fighting Fire-Immune enemies, but Shock is really nice for enemy casters, and Frost should prove useful for melee encounters.

That's it from me on Destruction, haven't dabbled in Illusion yet, but I'm sure it must be fun.