I have a character at level 12, with Illusion as a major skill but my skill level is currently sitting at 28. I recently decided to do something about that; and upon examining the available effects under Illusion, I found that all the effects I really want to use require Journeyman level; specifically Chameleon, Invisibility, Paralyze and Silence. Now on a side note, those last three I can understand but I'm kinda peeved that Chameleon isn't available at Apprentice level. I'd have thought it'd make sense to have Chameleon at Apprentice, and then get Invisibility at Journeyman. But that's just me griping; what I really want to know is, what kinds of Illusion spells do you suggest I use to get up to level 50? Cos apart from those four effects I listed, the Illusion effects all seem kind of useless; or at least, they don't seem like I'd personally find much reason to use them in my day-to-day doings.

As for what my day-to-day doings are; in short, stealth and combat. In long: My character is designed/intended to be good at remaining undetected (I'm currently doing The Ultimate Heist, and recently snuck into Count Cheydinhal's bedroom at night without getting caught), but also highly able to hold his own in a stand-up fight when necessary. My other major skills are Blade, Destruction (mostly on-touch spells), Athletics, Alteration (mainly for defense), Marksman, and Sneak.

For example, I feel like I have very little use for Charm. As another example, Calm and Frenzy both seem like they could be useful in combat in theory; but seem as though they're "not good enough" to actually be worth using often.

So, to those of you who like using Illusion, what Apprentice-level spells do/did you find yourselves using all the time or as a matter of course - either in combat, or when sneaking up on / past people/enemies - which I could use to level-up my Illusion skill?

Thanks.

(BTW - Yes, I do have access to the Arcane University.)

I'm a pacifist, and it's a necessity to use Illusion, so it levels up quick. I use it in every battle (Frenzy, Demoralize, Calm).

As for you, it won't be used that much, so I recommend:

1.) Use a low cost, custom light spell to power level it.
2.) Acquire the Jone Stone, which allows you to use Invisibility in spellmaking, regardless of your Illusion skill.

Yes, just visit the Jone Stone, north of Skingrad. You only need a Renown of 10, and it gives you knowledge of the Invisibility effect. Make a custom invisibility spell of a duration you can cast at your level (it won't be long.)

If you have the Spell Tomes DLC, there's a novice-level spell you might randomly find, called "Blink." It's invisibility for 5 seconds. That doesn't seem like very long, but it's often enough time to disappear and run to hide in some shadows. So a custom spell of a few seconds should be quite helpful.

Just using a light spell while you're walking at night should level it up painlessly. Since the game counts casts, rather than anything proportional to the spell cost, a short-duration spell cast often is best for that.