Hi again...

After reading the manual etc... Im still a bit confused on the "on touch" spells... How do these work exactly? Do I literally have to go and feel up a monster for these spells to work? Or will bashing the monster with my sword be considered touching lol?

Thanks in advance...

If you hit something/someone with the enchanted weapon, it'll work.

"On Touch" spells require you to touch your target in order for them to have an effect.

You're thinking about "On Strike", not "On Touch".

For spells you have to "go feel up the monster".
For enchanted weapons being within the weapons range and swinging to connect a blow is good enough.

Having to go feel up a monster is why most whimpy mages prefer ranged attacks.

Does the On Touch spell work if you are merely within a certain radius of the target? Or do you actually have to be "physically" touching the target? This has always baffled me as well.

It works within a very small radius. Most of the time you will be touching the target, but I've had touch spells work slightly out of reach before. Don't plan on it though.

Seriously? You actually have to touch them?

That seems stupid, I could understand if you could touch them with your sword or staff or whatever but literally touch them seems stupid...

Thanks for the heads up, Ill stay well clear of the on touch spells then lol.

Touch spells cost less magicka to cast which is why they're used. They're very useful if you want to buff a summon or heal an ally.

I also use them for when my ranged attacks haven't taken down the enemy, and they charge right up to me.

Well, yeah. That's why it's called "On Touch". If you didn't have to reach out and touch them, it wouldn't be an "On Touch" spell, would it?

The benefit of "On Tough" vs "On Target" is that the touch spells take less magicka to cast. For instance, a spell that does Fire Damage 10 points for 10 seconds on touch has a base magicka cost of 142. An "On Target" version of that same spell has a base magicka cost of 214.

On Touch spells are great for a stealthy mage. If your stealth is high enough that you can sneak up behind them and touch them without them seeing, it's worth the magicka you save. I sort of see it like a Vulcan Nerve Pinch.

My avatar being an armor-and-physical-weapon sort of guy who tends to rely on all-but-restorative magic as little as possible, we like to think of Touch and Target magics in relation to their combat-weapon counterpoints. Touch magic is roughly equivalent to up-close-and-personal melee combat with blade or blunt weapon. Target magery more closely resembles ranged combat, which in vanilla Oblivion means archery.

A previous contributor is correct that, all else being equal, a Touch spell has the advantage of requiring less magika drainage from the caster. This makes perfect sense. A spell whose effects occur at close-range is not subject to intensity-loss due to distance traveled before reaching its target.

-Decrepit-

I imagine they also cost less than on target spells because theres more risk involved. You have to actually get up close to an enemy to damage them, meaning you could take damage yourself. On target spells are safer, so require more magicka to balance it out.

Not sure if this works but you could try making an on touch spell with an area of effect,like say 5 feet or so.It could be that in that case you would only need to be within 5 feet of your target.
I don't play with magick all that much especially magick that requires me to get close to my opponents.
For the mages here,is that a viable option?Or would it even be cheaper to cast than an on target spell?

It's a lot more difficult to miss with an on touch spell when something's in your face.

Bein "touched" on, in previous posts. I will just add...

Don't underestimate the power, a pure mage possess. A skilled mage can become ANYTHING, in the game. Getting in close is a non-issue. Even if your Sneak Skill is only 5. Just cast a spell that fortifies that skill to 100.

Casting a Fort Sneak spell, to increase it to 100, prior to engaging the enemy, and you can crawl up his pant's leg before he ever knows you're there. That's close enough to pickpocket, stab or "touch" anything.

The same applies to CQC. A mage can cast a powerful Shield Spell, to compare with any Armor, in the game. Plus, the Sheild Spell doesn't degrade, like summoned Armor.

Need a weapon? Bam! Summon one.
Need a door opened? Bam!
Need protection? Bam!
Need more health, run faster, jump higher, sneak, blow something up, run out of toilet paper...Bam! Bam! Bam!

You make playing a Mage sound like an episode of the Flintstones.

You won't be able to use all spell effects, then. In particular, the very powerful Restoration effect Absorb Health only works as a close range spell (it can be enchanted onto a melee weapon, of course.)

Also, be aware that targeted spells don't work under water; only touch spells there.

I found that Touch range spells work great with summoned monsters. Your summons keeps your enemy busy, then you step up behind it and blast away with the touch spell. Because its touch, you have a much better chance to hit them than with a ranged spell, as enemies in melee tend to move around. Likewise, you are much less likely to hit your summons (or other ally) with a touch spell then with a ranged spell. And far less then with a melee weapon (which seem to have a superpower to home in on friendly characters and always hit them).

If you are playing an archer, then touch spells are a fantastic way of dealing with anything that gets up close. You do not have to waste time changing weapons from your bow to something else, and you can give people a real wallop, as the lower magicka cost of touch spells means they have more mustard then the ranged versions.

Yes, I like this, too. Wild Elf uses an on-touch Absorb Health as her only form of melee. (She uses poisoned arrows, so by the time enemies get to her, they're usually getting pretty low on health anyway. )

That doesn't sound right...

The op's words,thats why it's in parenthesis.
I kind of thought it was funny.

Thanks guys good info...

So the on touch spells do have some merit...

Im still confused as to how to actually use them thought... So far Im running around with the Debaser sword which I think does something when I attack people...

So if I was to use the on touch spells, what do I do exactly? Do I cast it before I run in and then run up close and hope that I "touch" them... Or do I have to run up with fists and punch them or something?

Or do I have to cast them right when I want to touch them?

I think I need to find a NPC to practice on lol...

Thanks

You run up to the enemy and cast the spell when you're literally next to them. Your hands will extend, if you actually touch the enemy then the spell will have its effect, if you're too far away then it'll fail.

Ah right lol that makes sense lol... Cool thanks for the info, I was thinking it would be way hard like I have to unequip my sword or something...

The range of a 'touch' spell is exactly the range that is close enough for a foe's data to show up on your screen. Get your touch spell ready and sneak up behind a rat. As soon as the word 'Rat' appears on your screen, you are in range for your touch spell to work. EZ.