...if it's to rely on overpowered gimmicks?

I mean, seriously, answer me that.

Being a mage blows in Skyrim. Also, it blows in Oblivion (at least in my experience). Such is life; on PC, there are numerous mods to fix this that will balance it out with the other skills,

I'm playing my first one and the point is the challenge, in my opinion. It is a completely different play style than the warrior or theif/cold blooded killer that I usually play. I did it just to keep things fresh and try something new. It has caused me to seriously alter my usual way of doing things.

I have never had to rely on overpowered gimmicks when playing as a mage, especially on higher levels.

You're probably doing it wrong if you made this thread.

If you have to ask that, then you're doing it wrong and should go back to your tinman warrior or whatever you play

My current character is a mage. I am playing on adept.
She used flames until she reached level 23 then she got the firebolt spell and will use it for the rest of the playthrough. She doesn't have the impact perk and has not struggled in a fight at all.
No cost reduction enchantments and only 160 magicka.

I am having no problem and I am not "cheating"
I love playing as a mage.

Roleplaying, challenge, diversity, etc.

I always play on adept unless I'm having some console command fun

Playing a Mage is quite the opposite of being overpowered in Skyrim. no idea what you're talking about.

I have no idea what an overpowered gimmick is. My first character was a mage, and probably is still one of my most favorite play-throughs. I used sturdy followers, conjuration, enchanting, alteration, alchemy and destruction primarily. Was pretty awesome, I thought.

My second character was a sneaky, backstabbing, archer, illusionist. Completely different play style from the first. Almost felt like two different games.

Play the mage! Don't be scared! Whatever gimmicks you had in mind... abandon them and play without them. It is challenging and rewarding, imo. Good luck!

That's ok OP. Not everyone knows how to play a mage.

OP is trolling, play a warrior without using any enchanting or alchemy and then come back and talk about mages using OP gimmicks.

He is not trolling.

^^^This. This is why I play as a mage. The challenge. To be able to wear cloth / robes and still have few problems with enemies. To be able to have helpers without a follower. To be able to wield a sword without carrying one. Or a bow. To be able to still sneak and mess with the enemies minds To send helpers out to do battle and still be able to defend myself. To be able to use the elements against the enemies. There is so much more.

But to play a mage is not easy and one has to be able to put the time into it for in the beginning, at low levels it is hard. I have played as a sword and shield, I have also played using a 2-handed weapon. I played as a thief, assassin, and a sneak. The best I have even played and enjoy is a mage who uses sneak.

People who think magic is all about stunlocking things with zero-cost destruction probably shouldn't play mages.. Magic is much more than that. You can control the environment, make two friends attack each other like they are the worst of enemies. You can stop people from attacking, you can make them flee in terror, you can paralyze things which fail to resist, you can turn yourself invisible.. Point is, there is so much that a mage can do. What can you do with a warrior? Bash them with your shield and slice them in two different ways? That sounds........ fun.......? Err.

There are only so many ways to play a warrior. 1-handed, 2-handed, shield, heavy armor to survive, etc. There are more ways to play a mage than can be thought of. So many different ways. If truth be told, a mage never really has to go into battle. Just send their helpers out. A totally different way to play.

I'd like to think of a mage as a passive class. If you really like close-up combat, you probably should play a melee class. A cloth mage isn't suited for up-close combat.

Even though I prefer playing a mage, I also sometimes enjoy senseless bashing and slashing with a warrior, or beheading with a giant axe ^^

You reminded me... My mage used conjuration and alteration, so at later levels when I was perked up in those two, I would mage-armor up to 80% resistance conjure up two bound swords and wade in if it suited me. In addition to my normal mage tactics. It was quite fun.. I think my next one will be a mage again, now that I am reminded of how fun it was!

This time, I will head to Solstheim sooner rather than later for the stylish Telvani robes! My first mage didn't get to wear them because it was before Dragonborn. Ah. A new character!

Take the mage test. Go to the middle of a Forsworn camp, dual cast flame cloak. Switch out spells and take out the archers and the distant enemies. By the time you are done doing that, you will have taken a few hits, and all the melee enemies will be dead due to the flame cloak. Especially if you dual cast it.

Not sure how wise that'd be, to be honest. I'd like to keep my health low so I can keep my mana pool high. A tradeoff, yes, but it pays off when you can cast more higher-leveled spells in succession.

^ This. Have you been abusing the crafting skills or something?

I never put any points into my health. They always go into mana. I wear the black vampire robes cause they fit my gal. Try it and test your mage.

He's not up for it yet, lol, he's just level 2

When he gets up there and gets the flame cloak spell, test him. What the dual casted flame cloak does, is not get stronger, but goes out further. By the time the melee enemies get to you, their health is below half, and most of the time when they get ready to hit you, they are on their knees and then dead.

The op asked why a mage. Here is a good example. No overpower, just pure power.

There's no point in playing mage above Adept unless you're using a Conjuration build with Twin Souls and Dremora Lords or a Vampire Illusion build. The reduction in damage is too much especially when the only way to overcome that damage penalty is with a potion. The other option is to get your magic regen less penalty up to 100%, that way you can cast indefinitely and you'll also need Impact. I don't find mage to be fun in higher difficulties, Adept is fine, anything higher and it'll turn into Impact lock.