A recent thread on the use of wards has peaked my curiosity. I myself can't truly function as a battlemage without them. At least while my rp boots are on and laced all the way up. Got me thinking...

How often do you use wards and why?

I have in the more distant past used them rarely, but I've been using them frequently the last day or two. I think, in the end, that I might prefer using spellbreaker, but they are handy in a pinch.

How much does SBreaker weigh?

I usually find myself drawn more to the greatsword warriors myself, so no wards. Maybe I tried them before, but most enemies I fight end up being melee or archer bandits anyways so using wards was never a top priority.

It has a weight of 12, but I find that offset by the fact that it has an armor rating of 38 which is in effect as long as you have it equipped. Handy when you take unexpected arrows, especially when mounted.

I've got no qualms with a good bastard sword or two. I just really like challenging myself. I've hack and slashed since Dynasty Warriors came out on the Ps2. Need some flavor.

-Neil

The thing I dislike about shields is the feeling that I'm wandering too far from the paladin/spellslinger build I'm comfortable in. I don't think mages should clunk around in armor, anyway. A well placed bolt of lightning would fry most knights and soldiers alive.

Suppose I could replace the damage lost to a shield hand by holding a staff. That starts to feel a little too Gandalf-ish for me.

I like to think my mages have gone through enough war to know that armor and magic and weapons mean nada. If that glancing blow from a sword or flaming arrow is meant for your heart, it'll get there. They just skirmish. Like Paladin Skirmishers.

hmmm time to test it

Just pointing out, a 'paladin' is usually pictured with a sword and shield.

I'm saying that if I'm going to wield a shield, I'll need a good compensator for the lost damage.

And the 'skirmisher' aspect is why I wouldn't carry a shield. I want to be able to move quick.

I'm considering, plate armor, regular boots, a hood, dual wielding shortsword for unavoidable melee, with a ward on standby for unexpected mages.

I'm thinking, either Breton or Imperial this time.

Ritual stone. And a basic shortbow to hunt with.

To me the fus ro duh shout looked like a ward that was thrown...with your mouth.

Depends on the character for me. I have a long-running Destruction/Restoration specialist who basically sticks to those two magic schools, so Wards are an integral part of her arsenal.

I like limited characters (because they play differently from each other), so I usually avoid armor and weapons for mages, just as I avoid magic use for warrior types. That means I have three magic-school choices for Defense: Alteration shields, Restoration wards, or Conjuration meat-shields. I usually pick one of those for any given character.

Good poll, I've subconsciously been curious about the same thing.

Given the cost of maintaining a ward, none of my mages could really use them dependably. By the time they had enough magicka and cost-reduction gear to make the ward viable, they were almost unbeatable just on the basis of their offensive output.

I think someone commented about a mod that drops the cost of wards to something like a couple points per second. That seems more realistic as far as low, to mid, level characters go.

I have wanted to play an Alteration Mage with Restoration, but the mana drain early on makes this nigh impossible for me. Having to throw up "skin spells" and then wards from level 1-10 is nigh impossible without a cartload of mana potions.

Thus, my "pure mages" almost always start out with Light Armor, until I can get some nice mana regen/spell cost reduction clothes

If it fits the character, I loves me some wards. I use them with characters like spellswards, defensive healers, passive conjurers, and enchanters who can lower restoration cost. I love blocking shouts and dragon breath with them.

Hm, I've only used them a few times. I think they're sort of impractical to use. I think I would have used it more if it had been a magic shield (that you cast once, then it lasts for a while like the oakflesh/stoneflesh etc spells).

i, too, create very specific builds and, therefore, for those characters that use them they are staples.

I haven't used wards much. The biggest problem I have with them isn't even the mana cost, it's the fact that they take a second or two to reach full strength and that they stagger the caster when they break.

Glad to see so many voted. This really helps me appreciate my fondness for wards in all their underrated-ness, which is now a thing.

I personally do not think they are that underrated. They do good work against magic, but the problems are that they are situational and not that much of an "OH (censored)" thing the nord's battlecry or one word of become ethereal. Not to mention that if they break, you get staggered and possibly killed.