Yesterday I deleted my level 59 Bosmer because I got too bored with him, even though I haven't completed any of the main questlines. I wanted to try myself with a mage character. The rules with this guy is : no crafting. So that means no free spells in Destruction and similar stuff. Oh and no legendary skills for pumping up levels (maximum level that this character would reach is about 60 I reckon). I am playing with double damage to me and normal to enemies (custom difficulty mod). I made similar thread about this playstyle before and now I'm encouraged to give it a go, but before I do I need some advice :

Should I go with Breton + Lord Stone + 2 Magic Resistance perks (for 85 Resist Magic with Agent of Mara and 350 Armor), or :

High Elf + Atronach Stone + Atronach Perk + Miraak's Gloves and Boots (For 90 Spell Absorption).

I read somewhere that Miraak's Gloves and Boots don't interfere with Mage Armor perk, can someone confirm this?

High Elf would have +100 Magicka, while the Breton would have +50 Armor and +50% regenerate Magicka.

Also, my element of choice would be Fire, because it is the most cost effective, with just a few creatures with resistance to it.

Thoughts?

Breton for Spellsword.

Altmer for Pure Mage.

I like Breton mages. Their resistance bonus is great for any character, but particularly for a squishy mage. But you do as well with an elf. Just don't neglect your resists and think about taking those resistance perks in Alteration. My preferred destruction element is lightning. Easy, instant hits.

My breton 100 mage (for the moment) isn't do to badly. She's fun to play too. Resistance bonus is handy. Fire and lightening are her specialty.

My only pure mage so far was Imperial

I'm probably wrong person to have an opinion here, since I care more about what personalities pop into my head, than what race bonus are best for certain builds (and I almost never use the racial abilities anyway since I tend to forget I have them). My current Breton is some sort of barbarian spellsword (2H/Archery/light armor combined with Conjuration and Restoration mostly). I plan for a Breton who will combine 1H with Illusion and the noble art of Sprint Away From Danger, and I have an idea for a badass Altmer spellsword (classic 1H+Destruction, maybe some Conjuration/bound weapons thrown in the mix).

That said, Altmer are pretty much made to be mages, but Bretons seem to me more of allround types. Generally speaking. The more you level up, the less the race bonus matters, IMO.

Altmer. You can never go wrong.

I was mostly wondering because of the defensive side of the build. In the end I went with High Elf and Atronach Stone. Should have a good magicka pool like this, even without the crafting/legendary skills.