Ha, AI abuse is always lame. I personally don't see how people find it enjoyable. And Bethesda makes a terrible AI. Morrowind, Skyrim, Oblivion even Fallout all bad. Would be cool if the Two Hand Warrior ran out of range and waited for you to come down from your little rock ledge. Then skewer you on his sword!

I did, and I die a lot, especially to two-handed users...

As an archer/sneak assassin myself I was forced to raise my health since most tough enemies would kill me instantly. I also haven't healed my self for a single time so I am forced to carry a ton of healing potions with me

Fellow mage here and also didn't put a single point in Health or Stamina, everything pumped to Magicka.

Yes, a single misstep of a trap can be quite painful, and a huge bite from a saber cat can be near fatal, but i like it alot.

Forces me to really be alert in every combat situations.
Its not as bad tho, i have my Lydia and my atronachs to tank for me. If everything goes correctly, i don't suffer a single hit.

Glad to see a fellow pure mage.

I drop a few into health but only rarely, up to lvl 22 now, with just a few hp boosts, and as for the discussion running about concerned with AI pathfinding exploits, you clearly haven't tried it in this game, because if the AI can't get to you, they run away and/or get behind something, forcing you to come down if you want to continue the fight.

Playing on Master, currently level 11 with 100 Health and no combat/defensive perks. Pretty much anything bigger than a wolf or ordinary bandit one shots me, but if you play strategically, and use your potions/spells/companions it's definitely doable. I actually enjoy the challenge, though it means I die a lot. There's a lot of satisfaction to be had in playing a perfect game against a dangerous opponent. Requires you to use your wit and skill instead of just wading in hoping for the best.

You haven't put anything into health?! How do you defend yourself against those insanely tough mages that shoot lighting at you? I have like 200+ in health and they do me some real damage. Often one shotting me.

I put some in health and I'm going to put more in there and I'm also going to get good armor., My class battlemage is a hybrid class.

:D

I didn't on my mage until I realized how pointless magicka is since you still end up having to rely on redux gear. I don't need stamina, so I put the rest in health.

master difficulty + archer mob = this won't quite work.

I'm so awesome that I've unlocked the new "uber painful" difficulty level, three above master, and have used the console to reduce my health to just one point. I take on a dozen Forsworn Briar Hearts at a time armed only with a sweetroll and it's easy.

Oh alright, I actually invest most of my level-ups into health because I svck at combat. The few times I don't, I go for stamina; in spite of my intentions of being a bit more magely, magicka has been completely neglected.

Works just fine with armor spells and not running into the middle of a room. I've only ever been one-shot by unavoidable specials that NPCs can do (which makes me wonder why in the hell Bethesda didn't decide to do specials for mages; we have to spend 3 perks to get anything similar).

I play Dead-is-Dead, so not increasing health would be too risky.

I usually split between Magicka and HP, however I've been considering adding a few points to Stamina for zoomed-in bow shots as I tend to hold them for a while. Then again I also use Conjuration and Illusion, so it's not as vital to fire from extreme distances.

I worried about this at first but then I realised it really does not matter. Increasing skills WON'T tailor your character alone without spending perks in that category so simply ensure that the perk points you gain from these unwanted skill levels are only spent on the perks for the traits you do want. It's not like it prevents you getting the traits you do want to 100 and doesn't force you to use perk points for those skills.

My own archer assassin spent quite a lot of points into health. Had 400 HP at level 56. I also played on adept difficulty..

I did think of doing a non-armor, only base HP sneak character on master difficulty. (I wouldn't trigger the dragons!)

there are some pretty annoying hagraven and/or forsworn shamans who shoot huge frost-storms towards you, which are quite hard to dodge unless you start moving sideways instantly when you see one coming against you. No armor would help against that and unless you are a breton/nord, you are screwed with 100 health if you get hit

I'm a level 42 destro mage, and I have put one point into health. I've also leveled enchanting enough to make armor that gives me 100% reduction in magicka use for destruction spells. I'm working on Conjuration next, so I'll probably still be putting all my points into magicka so I can dual cast those Master spells.

If it weren't for stealth I'd agree. There were some miss steps in the beginning, but post stealth 50ish it is rare for me to be found before everyone is dead. For those asking about mages, I hot swap resistance gear as needed which will handle stray AoEs that I get caught in with my summon.(with a ward up it also handles dragons breath fairly well)

Armor with resistances certainly helps against it. You can even get enough to completely negate specific schools of magic if you have enchanting.

Also, there are perks in Alteration that block 10/20/30% of all magicka attacks. Obviously you wouldn't have these if you're a pure archer, but you can definitely get resistance gear.

I've been doing 2:1 Health:Stamina. But, then, I'm playing a Light Armor sword&board melee. (With some sneak and archery to scout the area and then get a starting shot or two off before melee)



Haven't found the Steed stone yet. But, then, I'm only lv38/60+ hours. :tongue:

Well any clothing with resistance would help against it with your logic sir And yes, you are right. But what i mean was more like the oakflesh effect and huge dragon heavy armor and such, that only works on physical damage.

My companion did manage to get quite a big elemental resistance, 100% frost resistance, 90% fire resistance and 80% shock resistance! (my own assassin used the atronarch standing stone for 50% absorb magic effect as his only magical defence).