Recently I made an Altmer mage with the sign of the Atronach, with dreams of developing my character into the ultimate magi, Only to find that it is very hard to maintain mana. I have to constantly burn through the Welkynd stones and have to be constantly searching through Aleyid ruins, and be on top of my Alchemy.


I am pretty noob at this game (at times =D) but I am just curious how you play with the sign of the Atronach and if you have any characters who have flourished with said sign. How did you do it? Describe you're character! =D


Thanks!

Hi!

The atronach sign is actually very powerful when used right. However, it can be a bit of a bother at times.

You will really have to pair it up with alchemy to benefit from it fully.

A neat trick (don't know whether it still works) is to force a summoned minion to attack you with spells. This is a good way to maintain magicka.

All chapels offer mana top off. Once a day. However, if you've visited a wayshrine in the wilderness, you now have access to that altar in the chapel. You can use the big one, and come back the same day and use the smaller ones.

Restore magicka: Make potions. You can also eat ingredients. I keep a small stash of flax on me. You'd be surprised as to how much magicka you regain just by eating ingredients.

There is a glitch, that I do not use. Use a telekinesis spell, of any variety to regain your magicka... of course you need just enough to cast the spell.

The most important thing however, is spell absorption. Get it up as fast as you can. Sigil stones, your own enchantments, various amulets found in loot.

And don't forget will o' wisps. My archer sneak shots one, then stands fully in view, gets magicka back, then kills it with a nocked arrow when my magicka is topped off.

And Aeylid shrines.
It's tough in the early levels, but by about level 18ish, you should have a wealth of chances to keep it topped off. I carry two Welkynd stones. I use them for emergencies.

I can not add much as mpls Big Daddy has given all the great tips I know of but one can also use the staff of telekinesis for the same result. But Brathel a Bosmer Atronach Huntress spends alot of time near skingrad for harvesting flax seeds and visiting alchemy shops in every town for this problem and to find ingredients she can use in combat as poison. Also hording restore magicka potions is also key to survival. The primary goal is to get as close to 100% spell absorbtion as possible.

Haveing stated the following and if you can use mods (pc only) a good mod for being able to cast a spell of restore magicka is from Supreme Magicka. This is a great spell for early levels and a great holy cow save my butt for the atronach birthsign. Also makes magic a little more interesting and a pain at the same time. But one must use restoration alot to be able to cast this spell which Brathel doesnt use for the simple reason alchemy is her saving grace. It also grants mages the ability to use magic and sneak for the sneak attack which Brathel has made use of that sneak attack is nice when coupled whis conjuration. This grants the sneak attack for magic, marksman, and blade/blunt weapons giving a balance to the mages that till now havent had that state making sneak a skill of use for mages.

I think the Atronach is a very fun and powerful sign.

But it is somewhat tricky at low levels. It tends to become much easier at higher levels, I think. Because you run up against more spell tossers.

Getting the Spelldrinker's amulet and other spell absorption is great. Alchemy is important too. However you can find lots of restore magicka potions on enemies like necromancers and conjurers.

There is also a place in one of the cities where you can always get free magicka - I don't know if that is a spoiler so I won't name it here.

To conserve magicka at lower levels, you may want to consider waiting to heal vs casting restore health spells.

And as mentioned above, will of the wisps are wonderful and welcome sights for an Atronach!

IMO, the atronach is THE most powerful sign for any character. I have used it with all my characters since Morrowind. At lower levels it can be difficult if you don't prepare for it though.
Three words - self made potions!

Current 40th level Blademage has ~90% absorption. The best thing about this sign is that it gets more powerful as you level and more and more of your enemies start casting spells. The +150 magicka is just an added bonus.