Hey all, just started another character. A mage this time... not my specialty. My previous mage mastered nearly all the magic schools and became quite overpowered. This time I would like to specialize in just a few magic trees.

Akara is a fire priestess who worships an ancient, nameless God that is scarcely known in Tamriel. Her highly secretive cult has sent her to Skyrim in order to spread their faith. She was promptly arrested and nearly executed for heresy. She, however, saw the dragon attack on Helgen as an omen. Her God of wind and fire has a purpose for her yet...

I want this character to remain at a lower level, around 20-30. She will only use Destruction and Illusion. Conjuration only for Flame Atronachs.

So here I sit at level 5. Before I left Helgen keep I grinded Destruction up to 40 on poor Ralof. I immediately went to Dawnstar so I could work on getting the Mythic Dawn robes (one of the few red outfits in the game). I am currently stuck in Nighcaller Temple. Some enemies are quickly burned to a crisp, others obliterate me. One orc invader dude is is one-shotting me and three-shotting Erandur. I quit for the night.

So here is the question... at about what character level is Destruction highly effective as your main skill? I want this character to remain at a level where any threat can be dealt with using Destruction and Illusion.

Thanks!

Hmm sounds a lot like my own lady of fire:

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=288862996

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=288621309

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=287591289

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=286230887

To answer your question: it depends on how you play. For my own fire elementalist I only use fire-based destruction spells and conjuration for flame thralls/summoned daedra and I don't have much of a problem. However, I am using Skyrim Redone which lets you FULLY specialize in the different elemental forms of magic. The Apocalyspse Spell mod also adds a bunch of nice spells to choose from.

Wow! Well your fire lady is way more epic than mine could ever hope to be. Props!

I am but a lowly 360 peasant. I can't even make her hair as red as I would like

I am too a lowly 360 peasant, but I had recently made a very awesome Fire (and Poison) Mage Khajiit.
Although he may not be too legit, I may have done some Glitches and other things not aloud to be mentioned here in his favor.

Thanks!

I used to play on 360 as well but made the switch over 2 years ago now. You can get a pretty stout gaming PC for $1k or maybe a little less.