Hey guys!

So after being a die-hard Dark Souls fan I finally decided to give Skyrim another shot after being caught up in the Skyrim-Dark Souls war, and I am absolutely loving it!

The first time around playing I was a Battlemage but the build just wasn't doing it for me, so I tried a new build, a Thiefy Assassin, and am having a lot of fun with it this time around.

My only problem is, I'm not sure how to build it for late game potential. I want to use daggers for stealth attacks, and bows for ranged/dragons. Right now this is what I have planned for my build:

skyrimcalculator*com/357115

^Won't let me post links for some reason^

I feel content with my Sneak, Archery, One-handed tree but was looking for advice on mainly my Illusion and Enchanting tree.

With Illusion, I'm not entirely sure how to level it. Some guides are saying just to level up the dual-casting and novice, and others are saying level the whole thing, keep your illusions in one hand and daggers in the other. I would like to spend as little as possible in the tree but keep it effective for higher leveled enemies. I plan on using invisibility, mayhem, and pacify.

With Enchanting and Blacksmithing, I want to be able to makebest gear in the game and a lot of guides list these as pretty much necessities for most builds. I like enchanting anyways and have been using it as I level up but I want to make sure that it is set so that I can maximize my gear/weapons when I get to around level 50 or so.

As you can see from the tree I'm very,very conservative on what points I am willing to spend but I am open to all ideas if they will help me become a force for the late game!

Re links: Give it a little time, I think you have to be here for a little while (a few days to a week) and have at least 5 posts (I think)

Leveling Illusion is really very easy. Just about any spell will level it fairly quickly. personally, I tend to just use muffle to do that. Also, Illusion works best if you invest in the entire perk tree. By the end of the game, there won't be many NPC's that will be immune to your attacks.

Enchanting doesn't really need all the perks in tree to be effective. Only select the ones you will actually need/use...unless you have to burn one in order to get the one you really need.

Blacksmithing levels based on the value of what you create. No more spamming iron daggers to level it up. Eventually you will get to where you want to be.

^^^ Casting muffle is a great way to level Illusion while staying "in character" too. Grab quiet casting ASAP, and don't worry about maxing out sneak, one rank is enough. I'm running a robes only illusionist assassin, and love it. Good luck!

Don't underestimate the power of calm spells. Early on they're great for getting you out of a jam with bears and trolls and if you have a calm spell in one hand and a destruction spell in the other you can safely dispatch many enemies.

^^^^ good point with calm, I never used it at low levels and wish I had. The beasts you mentioned made my life hell for a while.

I'm just not sure if I should be dual casting Illusion or having it in one hand and my dagger in the other for QoL reasons so I wouldn't have to keep switching between.

I'm also not sure if it's worth it to level up Blacksmithing to get to the point to make Dragon armor. Is it worth it putting point in there to get to that? If not I was just planning on at most being able to improve magical weapons and armor.

I've played it where I took 2 smithing perks, steel & repair enchanted weapons & armor. On Illusion perks, I took novice casting, then climbed the tree that has gives you quiet casting, all the way to your illusions working on machines & the undead. Didn't bother with dual casting or casting the spells at half the magicka; most of the time I'm not in a combat situation when I cast illusions.

Dragonbone armor looks great on a mannequin, but pretty silly on a person. Dragonscale armor looks tons cooler. The weapons are nice.

I'd go spell/dagger, muffle at first for the effect and leveling, then invisibility when you get it, but that's up to you... As far as dual casting, save that for frenzy, or fury spells as their power increases ridiculously when cast...Make sure to enchant your gear for spell cost reduction as you like.