Normally, I play as a mage who practices in all schools except for destruction. The most interesting part of becoming a mage is exploring the possibilities with creating different spells that can suit your personal needs. In Morrowind I would exploit the crap out of enchanting and alchemy and vary between casting spells using magicka and using enchanted rings and staffs. In Oblivion I would set custom spells on hotkeys and I can fight with a bow and cast without missing a beat. In Skyrim it feels like playing morrowind again, because we have to select our hands before casting. It feels like a step back.

Here's a brief summary of my experiences playing Skyrim.
My main is a Breton. He has 600 health and mastered all warrior skills but two-handed. He almost finished mastering stealth and archery to the point where he's actually s lot better than my thief. He is also a master enchanter and alchemist. So he's basically a jack-of-all-trades. I can have fun casting strong spells with him using all those staffs I found. I have over 100 hours put into this file.
My secondary is an Argonian. I spent every level up into stamina, and it's always high risk high reward with him. If I'm caught, I'm dead. He's an excellent assassin and will soon train to cast illusion spells. I spent 30 or so hours playing this file.
My third character is an Altmer. I spend most points in magicka, and I haven't spent much time using him. He casts lightning and heals constantly. I even hotkeyed my potions so I can constantly continue casting.

That said, now that spellmaking is removed I have little to no motivation in playing as a mage in Skyrim. It looks absolutely fantastic, and illusion spells work great for a stealthy build, but I haven't had any real reason to continue playing as a pure mage. Any suggestions?

-What is there to look forward to when advancing in different spell classes?
-Specifically, what fighting style should I go for as a mage?
-Would a hybrid of different techniques be better?
-What perks are more suitable for a strong build? Which are necessary?
-Are some schools terrible compared to others? Should schools/perks be avoided entirely?
-Would it be better to create a defensive or offensive mage?
-What are your thoughts on what they changed in this game? Should some other features be included while others removed?

yeah... thats gone. most of us have pretty much agreed that skyrim's magic is a pale shadow of what it should have been. if your really dedicated to being a mage, go conjuration. its pretty OP, as opposed to the worthlessness of every other school

That makes me sad.

I'll leave specific complaints about spell variety and individual spells to others. In a general sense I'd say some magic skill schools the upgrade is fairly meh. Others jump enough in potency that there is a nice wow factor. Though to get somewhat specific keep in mind stuff like Illusion requires some Perk investment to maintain that.

I've noted tested it yet but on the defensive side Wards seem to be pretty much worthless, how much the Ward Absorb improves this I don't know though given that even only really helps you against mage enemies the utility still seems subpar.

If you stick to cloth and want to still bother with armor rating become buddies with the Alteration perks and school. I'd argue that Illusion and Conjuration do more to protect you in the long run than that but I don't want to dictate play style to people.

And finally on schools understand that Destruction has some issues and that in the long run spell school cost reduction trumps mana regeneration enchants.

What does?


I noticed that, and it seems an essential alternative to light/heavy armor.


Thanks, I actually thought those could be awesome when powered up, assuming you could block physical attacks later on.

Being a mage is pretty boring. It looks fancy but thats it.

Spell variety is tiny, spell creation is gone, some schools are useless or bad, etc

Its fun for a while but dont expect it to last for very long. Only benefits are dual casting and some nice perks.

Last question: I overheard that the master spells in each school are amazing. What do they do and how much magicka do I need to cast them>

not really, and alot like 500+

Because you're a masochist?

I'm actually having fun playing a mage in Elder Scrolls games for the first time in Skyrim (always been a melee class before), I really can't understand what was so fun about spell crafting and all the useless effects (that are still in alchemy for some reason). Sure Skyrim needs spellcrafting but only to make spells more viable, but that could be done with just scaling.

Tell me what was so fun about being a pure mage before and i will try it if it sounds interesting enough.

They're all free if you master enchanting, and I don't see why you wouldn't.

OP, The mage class seems a little off in this game. I would put all level ups into health and simply carry around enchanted gear to make every spell free.

To sum them up: they are flashy, excessively expensive, painfully slow, and generally subpar.

I've got about 16 hours into my mage. He's level 15 and pretty underwhelming. It just seems like the spells don't really have much variety. I either use Flame spells generally, or Shock spells if the target is a caster. (I've upgraded both schools so far) I also conjure an atronach to fight with me.

So every fight is basically Dual wield Fire or dual wield Shock. Get's boring fast.

It might improve once I get some AOE spells but I don't know. Once I finish the mages guild, I might retire this guy. Magic seems okay, but being a pure mage gets old fast. Maybe I'll try it again with a hybrid character.

Better spell graphics I suppose would be about it.


There are 3 primary options.
Illusion - Control enemies, pit them against each other or stop them from fighting back.
Conjuration - Summon stuff to kill everything for you
Destruction - Blow everything up yourself


I would say different rather than better. Although it depends on what you consider hybrid. I still consider my full heavy armor wearing breton a pure mage as all he does is cast spells... many would not consider him a mage though. *shrug*


-Illusion requires very heavy investment and needs to be kept leveled up properly. Dual casting is EXTREMELY important.
-Conjuration... really doesn't matter just get twin souls at some point.
-Destruction needs impact.
Enchanting in general should be taken right up the middle(100% better enchants, +25% skill and stat enchants and extra effect).


This depends... if you are willing to use enchanting then you can avoid any and all "reduce magicka cost" perks except for those that are prereqs for other perks. Alteration right now is terrible, will be good again when they fix magic resistances though. Illusion and Conjuration are both good on their own but Destruction really requires you to reduce mana costs down to nearly nothing(if not nothing).


Both?


The loss of spell making is a hit to customization but unfortunately there is no need for it in the game as there really isn't any situations that require niche spells. You can just spam 1 spell all day long, it's very very watered down magic system. It's really disappointing.

My main mastered enchanting, so how would I cast these spells for free?


Aright, I'll pour my points into illusion and enchanting. Conjuration is always fun.
As I said, my Argonian will probably spend a lot of extra points into illusion, so I suppose I'll create a magic user that masters all schools so I can experience it all myself. If we can cast spells for free, then I suppose I'll spend all points into health instead of magicka.

Keep in mind you won't be able to cast spells free right away and at best can cast 2 schools for free(I went destruction+restoration). I find I still like to have 200-300 magicka.

Ah, so I'm assuming we can still enchant items to reduce the spell's effect past 100%. I should make multiple robes (hat, shoes, gloves, shirt) so I can cast whatever I wish. I will try this with my main, and if it's successful I will create a new character that will begin with enchanting perks. Azura's star should help him level up quickly. Should it be a breton or an altmer I wonder. (altmer just so I have race variety in my playthroughs)

I really enjoy my mage. I play all five schools, as you definitely need Destruction. I don't use any armor or weapons ever. I don't take points in any other skill except Sneak and Enchanting, not even from books or quest rewards. Oh, actually, I do a bit of Alchemy but just for fun. I'm playing a Breton on Expert difficulty.

I put all points into Magicka, and focus on having fast Magicka regeneration. Mage armor is a necessity, and I try to have it up all the time. My other hotkey is Summon Frost Atronach.

For perks, this is what I took so far
Spell cost for everything of course. No dual casting.
Illusion: Everything. This is probably your most important school.
Conjuration: Atronach branch
Destruction: Runes. Runes are very useful.
Restoration: Magic regeneration, Avoid Death
Alteration: Mage armor (very important), magic resistance

This character is very powerful at level 33, with loads of tactical options.

I will keep this in mind. Thanks everyone for your input. I'll start a new game soon after I test enchanting with my main.