For me, it seems it's between:

Breton, mage sign, +100 magicka and +50% resist magic
Breton, apprentice sign, +150 magicka and -50% resist magic.
Breton, atronach sign, +200 magicka, 50% resist magic and 50% spell absorb. Not the best option with spell absorb, as you absorb 50% less.
Altmer, mage sign, +150 magicka, -25% resist magic
Altmer, apprentice sign, +200 magicka, -125% resist magic
Altmer, atronach sign, +250 magicka, -25% magic and 50% spell absorption. A good option with spell absorb, as you absorb 1.25x as much.

Not sure which one to choose for my pure mage, altmer atronach has such a huge boost but can't regenerate magic. How do people get on with the atronach birthsign? Breton magesign seems the 'safest' option, but they don't get the boost to destruction like altmer.

It doesn't work that way. You have a 50% chance to absorb the incoming spell, and if that fails, you then have a 50% chance to resist it.


Again, it doesn't work that way. If you fail the 50% chance of absorbing, you then take increased damage from the spell.


Atronach mages have to use potions, welkynd stones, ayleid wells, etc, to supplement their magic absorption. Plants with Restore Magicka as an effect are plentiful, so Alchemy is the usual method. Alchemy and Atronach work great together.

Ah okay the wiki is wrong then, it's the same as in skyrim, my bad.

Deciding between altmer atronach and breton mage.

The only annoyance here is right at the start of the game, before you've managed to reach any plants that can provide the Restore Magicka effect. There aren't any in the Tutorial dungeon, and few around the sewer exit, if any. So you'll want to grab any ready-made potions of Sorcery you can find. Resting doesn't help as an Atronach doesn't regenerate at all.

I usually have Atronach tanks, as they don't care about not casting for a while, and not being affected by all the spells makes their job easier.

Exactly, but even if you jump into the Main Quest, you pass an abundance of two different kinds of those plants conveniently before your first real " battle test".

I think I'll go with the mage stone, but which race, hmm.

-50 magicka for +75% magic resistance, Breton vs altmer. Do you think the extra magicka is worth it?

At level 17+, you can find sigil stones that give you +50 magicka - so a diff of 50-100 between starting mages is ultimately not a big deal.

Altmer Atronach has a nice synergy. Once this mage adds enough gear to boost the Atronach spell absorption from 50 to 100%, it completely negates the Altmeri weakness to the elements. The result is a very powerful mage with lots of magicka who is immune to magic. The downside is managing the stunted magicka (not terribly hard, but to some it is an undesired nuisance chore).

Breton Mage is also a wonderful choice. Once this mage adds enough gear to boost the Breton magic resistance from 50 to 100%, it renders this mage immune to magic as well. The result is a very powerful mage that is quite forgiving, easy to develop and requires less gear to get become immune to magic than an Atronach. The downside is slightly less magic.

I think the choice boils down to one’s feelings about stunted magic. Again, dealing with it is not hard and there are plenty of tricks, but it is, nevertheless another chore to ‘manage’. Playing an Atronach also encourages ‘magicka conservation’ – a concept I dislike, but some don’t mind. If you do try Atronach, the stunted magic becomes much easier to deal with as the character grows – so make sure and give it a full, fair shot before rejecting it. I have played both and, although I greatly respect the merits of the Altmer Atronach, I prefer the Breton Mage. That is just me though.

Altmer Atronach. Though a pain in the early levels, you will never want for magicka in later levels.
Current Altmer Apprentice could be favorite, we'll see. Pretty hardcoe, I wouldn't recommend this starting out.
Spell Absorption and Elemental Shield.
Altmer Mage is good to start out with. Good magicka pool, good birthsign. You will be very powerful . It will allow you to experiment with the mage's custom spells and get the feelings of the mechanics of the game, and then if you want more of a challenge the next time you go mage try Altmer Atronach, and then Altmer Apprentice. My two septims.

The Atronach is risky but if you can master it, it's an incredible birthsign. Mage is always a safe bet for any race. Apprentice is terrible, even for Bretons. Better off just picking mage and enchanting an item +50 Magicka later on or equipping Birthright of Astalion if your character uses Light Armor and isn't restricted to Robes.

Breton plus mage is my favourite combo here. Although high elf and atronoch can be fun to play if frustrating at times.

altmer atronoach is pretty fun, slap on a sword of absorb magicka for the early levels (and to help deal with those stupid crabs and rats) Probably one of the better styles to go through the main quest due to the abundance of fire atronoachs (fire salts, and they launch firey magicka restore ) also hit skingrad for all the flax you can hold and you'll be set on magicka potions. Would also recommend save scumming for absorb spell sigil stones or fortify magicka. Also making custom low damage spells over time is more magicka efficent, and doing the mages guild early quests so you get weak fireball to efficiently burn baddies

For your first pure mage, I would not recommend the atronach birthsign. It requires a very different mindset from any other playstyle, and can take a bit to get used to (not that it is bad mind you). For example, you will find yourself thinking "If I step in front of that fireball, I might absorb it and recharge some magicka". Which you would never consider with any other character.

The safest bet for a first-time pure mage is the Breton/Mage combination. Plenty of magicka, plenty of protection, no downsides. That is what makes it so popular.

An Altmer Apprentice gives you a very challenging game. You have lots of power, and lots of vulnerability. As Big Daddy said, it is not a good idea to try with your first pure mage. This is my personal favorite, precisely because of the challenge it poses.

The Atronach signs, like I said, are outside of the box as far as TES gameplay goes. A very different experience from any other kind of character. It is well worth trying once, but again, I would suggest wading into the water with the Breton/Mage first, before diving in the deep end with the Altmer/Astronaut. You might want to make your first Atronach character a warrior or hybrid spellcaster, so as not to be purely reliant upon magic. That gives you a relatively safe way to get the feel for what being an Atronach is like, and how to manage the inability to regenerate magicka.