I completely agree. Bethesda made magicka more strategy based. I believe that was a good move.

Detect life for instance, I'd active it, and I'd walk around for the duration as it detected everyone and my magicka filled back up. Now, when Detect life is cast, I have to be aware of my surroundings and actually look around rather than be passive and allow detect life to do all the work as I mindlessly walk around. All the while, I also need to pay attention to my magicka level so as to no drain it too much. Sounds good to me.

i personally hate the idea, mostly because i usually play a nighblade-ish character, and it's pretty hard to be stealthy while holding a glowing ball of magic in your hand, so that's at least one playthrough that's been ruined for me.

Yes yes, ruined. Of course the ability to see people through walls even if it makes you kinda glowy for sure will NOT help you to be stealthy. Nooo, not at all indeed.

i am not only talking about detect life, what about night-eye which has always been the best alternative for sneaks, since a torch would light you up, and make you easier to spot, this will be pretty "useless" now that the spell will probably do the exact same thing.

Maybe so, compared to OB/MW. However, I still maintain that this is a far improved system and any spells that need to be 'held' should be counter measures or a defence. Therefore, if you're defending yourself whilst casting offensive spells, then surely it should be harder to do?

:yes: Well said. And as Todd stated, magic feels more like an arcane power now.

Great point. I always hated detecting life and spending all this time sneaking up on someone, only to find out they were friendly's

If these duration spells have now turned into "constant cast" spells requiring the active use of one of the hands, I'm going to be disappointed. It truly takes away from being able to create any combination of character you want, because if you're going to be a spell caster, you need to focus 100% on that. If I have to constantly hold down a button to hold a Summon cast, then that means that I can't be anything more than a pure conjurer, because I won't be able to go into battle alongside my summon, because I'll need to sit back, hold my summon, and let my pet go to battle while I sit back, watch, and hold the cast.

I don't think casts will work like that. I've said in the other thread on this that I don't know what's up with the Detect Life cast from the QuakeCon demo, but what we do know is that spells from the Destruction line have different types of casts. You can quick cast them for a set effect. You can hold them for a constant effect. There are different types of casts you can do, and I'm sure that other spells are no different.

I would venture a guess that spells like Detect Life, Light, Invisibility, and other "duration" spells are probably similar. You can quick cast them for a set cast of say, 30 seconds for example, or you can hold them down to keep them active as long (or short) as you want.

I just don't see them doing that to players who would want to play a combination of archetypes, as that's always been the point of Elder Scrolls games - Be any character you want. If I want to be a spell casting brute warrior, then that's the point, I get to do that. If I want to be a heavy warrior who sneaks around in shadows, then that's the point, I get to do that. I just don't see them screwing that up.

Not all spells will be like this.

Calm down there are still duration spells.

I think you're spot-on in regards to how spells will be implemented. So, by your logic, I don't think you should have to worry about summoning to require an active trigger hold. Much like the circle of protection, it was one pull and that was that.

I think people will be pleasantly surprised how Beth implemented spells. It sounds very intuitive and really gives spell casting a greater feeling of *magic*, where it really feels like an arcane power. That's how it sounds and looks.

I'm wondering how they'll use conjuration with creatures. In the Quakecon footage, the battleaxe could be summoned for 300 seconds. So, more than likely, they'll be doing conjuration the same way they had in Oblivion, but who knows, I still want to see if there's the possibility of a permanent conjure.

I love what they're doing with magic. Will it seem a bit limited? I hope so. I hated how "Godly" you became with magic when you reached certain levels. There was no challenge. I want that challenge. Instead of just blasting away with no restraint. I want more thought into magical uses instead of just laughingly setting things on fire, paralyizing, and basically making a joke out of the whole thing. I honestly hope they cut down on the amount of health/magika potions you're able to find/make. And no, I don't want this game to be impossible to play, but I want the balance of fun and challenge to be as equal as possible.

LOL he mad.
He's also obviously trolling, because that was probably the most absurd post I have ever seen on these forums. This system is actually like..you know..MAGIC now. In ALL previous TES games, aside from maybe the max level mage in Oblivion, magic using was a joke, and broken.
Skyrims magic seems like actual arcane presence that you are commanding. Also, this is not the only type of spell. There are other types, as shown. You're just clowning honestly.

guys, why are poeple saying that skyrim magic is worse than oblivion magic? theres a reason for that, oblivion magic was overpowered. it ignored armor, it did alot of damage in the first place, and you can spellmake an insane spell that can one hit KO mehrunes dagon.

i remember playing as a mage the first time i played oblivion, and i thought the game was too easy. later i tried being a fighter, and discovered i could no longer kill my enemies in 3-4 hits.

spellmaking was overpowered too. you guys are lucky there keeping enchanting.

I've never seen this "overpowered" magic that everyone is talking about.

I am a level 31 mage / warrior, and my magic certainly helps me, but in no way is my magic overpowered. I still struggle to get through Oblivion gates and certain types of dungeons.

Anyways, we're not complaining that it's overpowered, we're concerned about a possibly broken system that doesn't allow you to do anything else if you want to cast a spell that has a duration. That said, as I've said in a previous post, I doubt the magic ends up being that gimped. From what I've seen, the magic looks amazing. There are a couple questions I'd like to see answered, and hopefully I don't have to wait 3 months for the answer, but I'm liking what I'm seeing. I don't like what's being speculated, but it's just that - speculation - based off of incomplete, out of context information.

In the Kotaku review, the author finds a staff that summons a spectral wolf. It summons one for 60 seconds at a time. Even if he puts away the staff, the wolf sticks around. Staffs and magic may be slightly different, but combining that knowledge with the fact that the bound spells we saw had a 5 minute timer, I find it hard to believe that most spells will require you to hold the button down.

There are a good portion of spells that are better as a variable time: healing, fire/ice/lightning spray, clairv, detect life, drain health.