So, Hi, I am new here

I have just bought the game during the steam summer sale and have begun exploring the world of Skyrim. I am currently level 14, a mage and playing Master level. I realize belatedly that starting as a mage with no knowledge of the game is possible just asking for trouble, but is my character meant to be so terrible weak? I am currently roaming around Solstheim and have just completed the first part of the Miraak quest, and having Leah by my side down the rabbit hole was an eye opener... either she is overpowered or more likely my character is gimped. I am betting she was doing 90-95% of total damage.

Some random information about my character:

- Seeing as I wanted to be a caster I began early on to focus on Magicka when leveling up. I have added perhaps 30 points into health and none into Stamina.

- I had no idea that you actually had to use magic in order to level it. I was using a one handed axe for most of the early levels.

- I now have something like 40~ish destruction and have taken Dual Destruction along with Impact. But it does oh so little damage. Run and hide and strafe and recharge.

- My destruction skills still says Novice and 8 damage.

- I have found and bought various items and clothes that will help cut Magicka costs and allow me to regenerate it faster.

- Perks apart from destruction: restoration, conjure, alteration.

- I am not using any companions. I realize it would make things easier but that if my character is broken what is the point.

So, what am I doing wrong?

Lower. The. Difficulty.

I'd play on adept if playing as a mage but if you have the impact perk then Higher than adept is better.

1. Lower the difficulty (at least until you get a hang of the game)

2. Get out of Solstheim. It has significantly stronger opponents than the mainland.

If you're brand new to Skyrim just go to the inns and ask for work , it gives you Misc Objectives that are simply "go kill these bandits" and the bandits are significantly weaker than anything and everything (except for the Reavers, because those basically are bandits) that can be found on Solstheim . The Misc Objectives let you get a feel for the combat in the game while not really risking your life, and you get paid!

Mage on master right from level 1 is actually one of the hardest way to play the game.

Don't rely on destruction too much, it is more a complementary skill. I recommend to use conjuration instead.

And Solstheim is for higher levels, don't go there too early unless you know what you are doing.

Since you are a mage I'd suggest getting vampirism at some point, especially with the Dawnguard DLC. Its beneficial for mages. Get used to the vanilla game mechanics first then work your way through things.

http://images.uesp.net/c/c4/Fishystick.jpg

Mage on master is doable...even just a build that focuses on destruction. Not being able to augment the damage of destruction spells is a huge liability on legendary though

Thank you all for the suggestions ^^. It's nice to know that what I have been doing is not the easiest way to begin the game heh.

You probarly should get some new spells. You can buy them from court wizards like Farengar in Dragonsreach, or you could travel to winterhold north of your map and buy destruction spells there from Faralda. She is a member of the college of winterhold and the questline of the college has good rewards for mages. Good luck!

You definitely shouldn't be on Solstheim at level 14, especially if you're a level 14 mage.