Hi, can I get some tips on playing as a pure mage. I would be either a Breton or a High Elf born under the Apprentice birthsign.

How would you defend against magic adequately when necessary since I would have a great weakness to it?

There's the enchanting way, and you have to avoid a lot if you're gonna play that way. Avoid Necromancers/ Conjurers/ any mage. Steal Acquire Grand Soul Gems, then turn to Black Soul Gems. Fill it up with NPC souls, then enchant at altar. Your only way of survival.

Put Resist Magic/ Spell Absorption/ Reflect Spell.

I've played a couple of Altmer Apprentice pure Mages. Their fragility is what draws me to them, but with a little bit of thought it's no problem.

Use Illusion more. It's the most powerful school by far. I won't go into too much detail as I find the learning to be most fun, just experiment with Command, Invisibility, etc.

This being the general discussion thread, I'll try not to get into spoilers.

The best advice I can give, is to ask a Mod to move this thread into the other forum.

The simplest, and almost gamebreaking, strategy is to use Invisibility. But, you must be journeyman to use it. Conjuration is a great way to deal with mages, especially early game. At later levels you can use Reflect Spell and buffout with frie/frost/shock shield. Use things enchanted with Absorb/Reflect prior to battle with Mages. Also in early game, Command Human, is good. Frenzy is another one, when used as an AOE.

There are a few things available with Resist magic. But I find using Reflect to be the most efficient use of Enchantment slots. I'm currently playing a High Elf - Appr, and it's almost a waste to use those slots with Resist Magic. Chances are, you're going to die with one shot of magic anyway. With all the weaknesses, with a HE / App character, it's better to just not get hit. There is one ring that gives a 50 % Resist Magic. It can be found in random loot in early game. That one is helpful, but I still opt to use that ring slot to boost Magicka. With a huge magicka pool a Mage is very powerful.

Finally, DO NOT wear ANY armor! This really sux, as that a lot of great Mage stuff is found as armor pieces. :banghead:

EDIT : Got Ninjd

OK, if a mod is reading this please move this thread into the other section

There's some great tips there, thanks!

This kind of character can usually get by all right with Reflect enchantments until they run up against an opponent who also uses Reflect. Then they die.

Illusion, Alchemy, and Conjuration. Forget about Destruction; if you get Reflected, you're dead. Let your summon do the dirty work. Use a Staff of Paralysis. And always have a Potion of Dispel handy, and no more than three potion effects active at a time, in case somebody Silences you.

BTW, what is an AOE?

Area of Effect. Like the burst radius or diameter of an area spell's effects.

Area of Effect.

Two helpful stuff are Saviour′s Hide and Mundane Ring

To me, the beauty of playing with the Apprentice birthsign is the challenge of being a glass cannon and the super cautious approach it requires to avoid attacks due to one's vulnerability. If you want to equip such a character with magical defenses, it seems (to me at least) to defeat the purpose. In such a case, one is better playing as a Breton with the mage birthsign and a couple of fortify magicka items.

I agree completely. In any case, as I hinted above, the first time one encounters an enemy with Reflect, those magical defenses are fairly useless anyway. Best to learn how to use Illusion and a Meat Shield from the beginning, if you're going to play a fragile character.

My Altmer Apprentice Alchemist has a "panic button" spell on hotkey, and which is always ready to cast as she travels. It's a summon combined with Invisibility. Cast it and immediately move to safety.

A breton under mage is almost identical to elf under apprentice except the breton has less magicka and less weakness to magicka. Is that right?

BTW How does a high elf differ from a mystic elf?