Level 21 now, have Enchanting at Basic 4/5 and Insightful Enchanter. Have 1-h at 1-h 3/5, Dual Flurry 1, Fighting Stance, Savage Strike. Conjuration: Novice, Mystic Binding, Soul Stealer, Summoner 1, Atromancy. Aleration: Novice, Apprentice, Mage Armor 1/1 Destruction: Novice Restoration/Illusion: nothing.

Right now i'm doing only clothing plus Alteration armor enchants but i die in like 2 hits from a lot of enemies. I start with a Flame Atronach (my highest), have a Mage follower also with me, shoot a few Firebolts from afar then try to move in with a conjured sword to finish them off. Anyhow, I'm a bit bored with this.

I'm eyeing Illusion and thinking that might be cool, and Paralyze down the road for Alteration. Also thinking the Ward spells in Restoration may be good to utilize. Another option would be to go Heavy Armor and forget the Mage Armor perk avenue and be more of a BattleMage type.

I enjoy using spells mostly, but just can't seem to get in close as I'm too squishy. Looking for some input on a few different types of (mostly Mage) builds that are fun and versatile, with maybe keeping 1-h. i can always reset my perks.

I was going to go 1-h/mage mainly but am finding this boring as its going so far. help

EDIT: I haven't done Dawnguard or Dragonborn DLC before but I have them. Finishing up College questline atm. Playing on expert, been years since I've touched Skyrim so just coming back.

Grab a melee follower instead and use them as a tank.

This.


However if you are like me and really just keep followers as pack mules, ordering them to stay put and come hither to collect items, then it isnt an option (plus my main builds are Mer based, and I like Mer companions for my Old Dominion Patriot RP...which limits me to like 1 guy who is an archer).


You pretty much named your options here already: Illusion or use armor.


I have done both and with about 5-6 levels of perks dedicated to one of the trees, you'll have a very sound character, and another 2-3 in another.


Now let me explain two builds I have made, one is my absolute favorite due to its uniqueness and I'm really proud of it: the Cryptstalker.


Race was Khajiit for nightvision purposes.


Primarily used Conjuration make a tank and Illusion to cause havoc. Essentially stay in the shadows and use Illusion magic to get enemies to fight each other and summon an atronach to double up on that. You can also summon the dead too if need be.


On top of this, you can eventually conjure a bow and strike from the shadows. With this be never needs to actually carry a weapon. Lastly, if you know how to make paralysis + lingering damage poisons with some alchemy bonus as an option, you have increased your lethality. RP wise, this guy became corrupt by dark magic after years of looting tombs. Never wants to fight straight up, and always runs when detected. He is a coward....but a cunning, sneaky and extremely lethal coward.


Second is my Aldmeri Patriot (typically an Altmer for magic bonus). Heavy Armor, uses a mace, uses a mace coupled with Restoration and Alteration Magic. His development is a lot slower, but once built up, he is a mace with a big club that can heal themselves. Enchanting is great for this character as you'll need throw some resistances on your armor. You could do Smithing, but I like enchanting more. This person also carries a shield just in case, an optionally a bow and some arrows.


This is a slow build that becomes uber powerful later on. The reason why is because you need to focus on health, magica and stamina almost equally (leans towards health) as you level. Something like a 4-3-3 split. Destruction is swapped out on the off-hand for ranged attacks but primarily restore spells there for constant healing. This is why bows are optional: if you focus a bit on destruction, you wont need archery.



Now I'm not saying that this two are directly where you should go, but rather give you an idea of generally how to get there and a look into the playstyle which imo ultimately should decide your path.


Good luck.


EDIT: 2 things -Cryptstalker doesnt wear armor and if you choose Smithing at all, you could go for Dragonbone armor when you max.

thanks guys for your input. I will definitely get a tank follower. If I do so, are atronachs/summons much less useful?

I was thinking about using Calm/Frenzy i think mainly - I've ignored Illusion on almost all my builds so far. Maybe Paralysis later on. I guess to modify what I said in my OP, I think I'm looking to use Magic in different ways than my usual Conjuration/Destruction focus.

Is Calm only useful for backstabbing though? Or are there other uses as well?

And can someone comment on how good (or bad) just wearing clothing and relying on the Mage Armor perks/stonexxx spells is - compared to just wearing heavy and enchanting it? ty

Afaik, mage armor is useful in not dieing when being struck a couple times. It helps keep you alive to run away.


As for Illusion, Calm is great for backstabbing but also to stop a fight or at least reduce enemy combatant numbers. Fury is one of the best spells early on because you can literally take out an entire room if you fury a couple guys from the shadows. They'll fight each other until only one is left standing giving you the advantageous 1v1. Also helps weakening bosses.


The one part where Illusion is weak is against the undead, except for Invisibility...invisibility for obvious reasons is a great spell.


When it comes to magic, most people agree that Illusion over time is the most powerful.

I play a stealthy no melee mystic archer who uses a bow for damage and backs herself up with illusion, alteration and conjuration. Not everyone’s cup of tea but I will share some experience-based opinions:

Paralyze is fine except that a great many foes are immune to it.

Illusion is magnificent, but for the mind control spells to remain truly effective, it takes a big investment in perks and taking the time to really learn how to optimize the spells. Dual casting to increase the level of foes they will effect. Limiting your character’s level to effectively limit the levels of foes – so your spells remain effective. The frenzy effect is fabulous as long as you have good range – so your foes target their pals instead of you. Fear is very useful if swarmed and you just need to run away to regroup – an effective panic button if getting overwhelmed. Pacify is too effective for my taste – you can simply cause foes to stand there calmly for a free shot at them. So I limit use of pacify to only stopping unintended fights and am pretty happy with that.

Conjuration can be quite helpful. Familiars are poor even at low levels. Flame atronachs are adorable and don’t get in the way but, as ranged attackers, they try to avoid melee. If you need a tank, they are a poor choice. Frosties are fine tanks but just too darn big so they get in the way all the time. Stormies are pretty good. They have nice ranged and melee attacks and don’t get in the way as much. Dremora Lords are super tanks. It takes a long time to get them, but they are as good a tank as you can get – fabulous. A wraithman from the Dawnguard DLC is also excellent for the same reasons. Remember that with the right higher level perks you can conjure two summons.

It sort of sounds like you want to bring your mage in close and cast from closer range. A pair of Dremora Lords should give you plenty of breathing room to do that wearing nothing but mage robes.

thanks Darksun and Acadian!

I've read that Illusion is only good if you invest heavily in it (I get it.) But, seems like Illusion does squat against Dragons also? Is that right?

I think I may wanna focus with Illusion and Destruction (with some Conjuration)- but they don't really complement each other, huh? too bad you can't do "sneak magic attacks." I like the idea of having the enemies confused (possibly paralyzed) while I whack away at them or burn them alive. I assume Fear isn't that good since they are running away from you? And can I cast invisibility after "confuse" so they can't see/attack me?

Just to ask again, is it better to just get Heavy Armor (and enchant it), or, can I make it work well if I go clothy-only with the Mage Armor perks and subsequent armor spells? I've read that you the latter way can't match the armor levels that physical armor gets you.

P.S. i sound like i'm rambling but I'm just looking for something more fun and interesting than my last playthrough where I just summoned 2 D. Lords, 2 thralls, had a follower, cast mega-nukes from afar and it was kinda easy street. I felt OP but wasn't that exciting. that's why i thought adding some 1-h to the mix might be good, but i just can't execute it well yet.

ty for more input.

When I play mages, I tend to avoid melee, rather than seeking it. You don't need armor quite as much if nobody is hitting you!

It's true that mage armor doesn't give you as much protection as real armor, but that's part of the deal, right? If you're playing a mage, you're probably also going with less health, and fewer protective enchantments, in order to maximize your magicka pool. So you have to take that into account in your approach to battle. Most of my mages don't even use mage armor, except when going into "boss battles."

A few things that might help... Staffs are incredibly useful, probably more useful than a bound weapon (other than the bound bow, which is far better than the other bound weapons.) Atronachs are most useful when "targeted"; the "Summoner" perks allow you to cast the spell at a distance, so you can sneak in, cast from the shadows, and then support your summon with a ranged attack, from a safe location. Atronachs also make a great "panic button" when you're suddenly attacked; cast it and then get behind it.

Also, use the magic that's most effective against the enemy you're facing. Shock against mages, fire against trolls and undead, frost against melee attackers. Shock is especially valuable as a ranged attack because it can't be dodged, and very few creatures are immune to it. I like to use lightning against enemy archers, who are really proficient at jumping around and dodging anything else. It's also the very best at hitting dragons "on the fly."

No problem, I love build discussions.


Well actually you can. It is part of the Illusion perk tree, Quiet Casting. All magic from all schools, and even shouts (ironically) are silent to others. Another reason why Illusion is so damn powerful.


I will respond to the rest of your post later.

Ok, I reset my perks (around level 26 now) and got out of 1-h and went almost full Illusion. I've been eyeing about Apocalypse spell mod but in my head I think sticking to Vanilla seems better, not sure why.

Is there any point in using a staff (i.e. Magnus) if I'm spec'd well in all schools? Gonna get some Restoration perks (+50% healing, +50% mana regen). I also was considering trying Calm/sneak attack with a dagger for high damage but if I do that I think I'm turning into another type of character. I guess I could still use conjured weapons and just not go down to 1-h/2-h or Archery line.

I've seen a couple of builds that have caught my interest:

Telvanni Wizard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFo55l9Skoo

Dark Summoner: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rxpyUvlNQU(paralyze, then roast)

Pure Mage build redone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgugpjMHnRE

Anyone tried these of have any other input? ty

To add to glargg's points on this issue, the durability you get from armor (magical, metal, or otherwise) really depends on your health. This is a multiplicative effect, not an additive one; a 400-health warrior, for example, will always have four times the durability of a 100-health mage with the same level of protection (magical or otherwise), meaning that enemies that can one- or two-shot the mage will just irritate the warrior. So, if you'd rather concentrate on Magicka than Health, you'll want to find ways of dealing with damage that don't involve simply "toughing it out." http://en.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Armor_Rating#Armor_Rating might explain how armor works better than I can.

That said, Alteration mages eventually get a spell that effectively renders armor obsolete, but that doesn't become available until Alteration 90 (I think?), and it still leaves you with the health-based multiplier issue anyway.