Just started Skyrim for the first time in about a year (and now on X360 with much smoother runtime )

I chose dark elf, and am basically a hybrid of magic and stealth. Using archery, obviously. Opting for robes/flesh spells over armor. I know I definitely need illusion and conjuration for distraction, obviously need destruction for damage, restoration over alchemy for healing, and alteration for my protection. Do I need the sneak, pickpocket, lockpick, or speech trees? Is this just way too many skills for one character? Haha.

Advice is appreciated! Thank you

Some might think you have too many skills there. But its up to you, not them. I personally think you're fine with that and yes I would definately add sneak.

Why do you need destruction for damage if you already have archery?

Like Dovah said, it's up to you. But imo lockpicking is a terrible waste of perks and pickpocket is very situational, so if you don't want to roleplay a thief I don't see the point in perking it (aside from Extra Pockets, which is useful to every character). Sneak will be useful, if only for increased bow damage. Speech... I don't know, it depends on how much money you need.

My third character was a sneak/archer/illusion/alchemy/enchant type with some smithing.

One of my all time favorites. Nothing like going invisible and sneaking up behind someone and backstabbing them for one-shot kills. Hehehe.

Check your six.

edit: the cool thing now, is that with the Legendary options you can easily switch up you focus later on, shifting from one play style to another without starting over. I like this quite well.

The best way to describe is "fail".

fail#1 You pick a hybrid sneak/mage class and as your weapon you picked archery. You have two ranged weapons but you can't use both at the same time.

fail#2 Destruction for damage

fail#3 Restoration over alchemy

fail#4 Pick sneak build with no sneak

Pickpocket, lockpicking and speech are all useless (pickpocket has that perk that allows you to carry more stuff kinda usefull)

Best way to go is to have sneak as main skill and specialize in daggers. This way you use spells and whack with your dagger at the same time (kinda pointless to use spells as sneak already gives pretty much everything). Shock is best.

Restoration is bad because you are squishy character with slow way to heal. Only reason to get restoration if you want to be a vampire too.

No. Restoration is less versatile than alchemy and needs more planning to be used effectively, but it's a valid choice as a healing skill. Moreover, unlike the archery/destruction problem, one doesn't exclude the other - you can still use potions when you're in a pinch even if you didn't brew them yourself.

The alchemy perks are more usefull. Pretty much all perks in alchemy are usefull but restoration has alot of pointless perks. Restoration is pretty much useless while in combat and if you are outside of combat nobody gives a gak.

I actually understand the archery and destruction, destruction is kind of a back up if you run out of arrows or want to use the spread spells in order to get rid of large groups of enemies or slow them down.

I'd invest in restoration over alchemy, but thats just me as Ive tried on numerous occasions to use alchemy and just cannot get into it. Aside from the obvious healing spells, you have all the different wards that fend off other mages along with dragon attacks. You have all the turn undead spells which are very useful against various undead. You have the recovery perks which help regenerate your magika quicker, not to mention respite which also recovers stamina every time you use a healing spell. And throw in ward absorb to regenerate your magika as an enemy spell hits your ward.

But yeah, I can see where restoration is totally useless in combat.

Only thing I think that svcks about restoratinon is in my opinion its very difficult to level. But its extremely effective once you do.

Well you could've found a less rude way to say it.....

In any case I am close to being on track. I will ditch restoration for alchemy (though I feel the faster magicka regen may be worth it). I was choosing destruction for close range combat, in lieu of one handed (daggers). Bad idea? I can't fathom being a Mage without having destruction spells lol. I'll also add sneak and not worry about pickpocket or lock pick.

I think if you focus mainly on Illusion and Conjuration, then most of the time your enemies wont get close enough to you to worry about it. But you can't go wrong with Destruction for up close, perhaps throw a cloak spell or rune. But then again, theres nothing wrong with daggers for close combat.

Thanks, yeah that's the last one I'm wrestling with. If I ditch destruction that's a lot of extra perk points I can spend in the other skills to advance faster. But my destruction spells are much much stronger than a dagger

I would stay with destruction then. I havent played a mage in a couple of characters but my last one I duel casted a flame cloak. Very powerful and very underrated.

Do your character your own way. This is what makes each character unique.

I have a character that doesn't use destruction. Mainly conjuration, alteration, illusion. Right now she uses a physical bow, but will be switching to a conjured one. The only thing she uses restoration for is heal other. Alchemy is perked and though she uses enchanting and smithing they aren't.

But thats my character if you want destruction use it. My characters, for the most part specialize in whatever. Warriors may only do 2h, light, smithing, archery, alchemy or restoration, that's it.

Have fun that's the most important thing.

If you've never checked it out, you should really look at the Skyrim Blog. There's so many different character and playthrough types. So many possibilities to keep you involved in this game for years.

Sweet, yeah I know it's up to me but since it's been so long I didn't remember how effective all the perk trees were, so I wanted some community feedback.

I think I will mainly focus on Archery, Sneak, Alchemy, illusion, Conjuration, and Alteration. I will prob do a little bit of Restoration for the magicka regen perk, and possibly Destruction for the runes. Just glad I decided this before I wasted all my perk points on destruction and restoration!

One of the cool things about the current iteration of Skyrim is the the Legendary features with regard to skills. This was probably not present the last time you played. Basically, if you have a skill at 100 you can reset it back to 15 and reclaim the skill points that were invested in that particular skill tree. So if you had Archery at 100 and lots of perks in archery, and later decided that you wished you went a different route, no problem. Reset archery back to 15, reclaim the perks and you are good to go.

Taking destruction for close ranged combat is pointless especially when you got archery (archery is just better in every way). Dagger is good because you can get silly amounts of sneak damage (yay for 3000% crits) and having destruction gives some ranged damage.

The thing you should know about sneak is that swadow warrior is so silly it's basically a cheat. If get it it makes everything irrelevant just ctrl yourself to victory.

Wow that sounds awesome! Does it give those 85 perk points back? Or just washes them?

This would be a "one-skill-at-a-time" option. It gives back the skill points you have previously invested for the specific skill that you wish to reset from 100 back to 15.

Oh duh. Not one skill level for each perk, it's one actual level per perk. Whoops!

Maybe he doesnt want to use daggers or one handed weapons for close combat. The point of being a mage is figuring out how to dispose of your enemy. Not as cut and dry as hacking away with a sword or dagger.
And there will be enemies that will get through your barrage of arrows so yeah i think runes is a good way to go.

Yes thank you. Nothing is pointless if you enjoy it

Word

Resto useless during combat? Hard to level? What is this craziness? Perhaps you guys are talking about "endgame" (whatever that means in the TES context). I use resto quite a bit on my conjuration mage in combat. That ol' atronach doesn't always attract all the agro, so I've got to survive that necromancer's skeletons (or whatever) until I've got the situation under control. I got resto to 40 via using the channeled self-heal spell alone, primarily in combat.