Hi Experts,

I chose High Elf as my race because I wanted to be a heavy magic user. This choice 'gifted' me with two spells one which is supposed to heal me and the other which is suppose to shock the foe. Well, I suppose they work, but they do so at such a trivial level that they are useless. I've had to have my character, which I expected to be a Mage, use melee weapons almost exclusively because trying to use magic just ends up getting me killed. So now I have a race configured for magic but a character with 99% of the practice as a melee / 2 handed expert. Thus I have a weak melee person with a good deal of Magicka all or most of which is useless.

This has landed me, at L8, at an utter dead end in any of the quests I'm involved with. I can't get the Horn of Juergen Windcaller because I get instantly croaked by some mages in that place. I can't get the Nettle Bone because two mages on the path to there kill me instantly as well. Finally, I can't finish the Master Vampire in Morthal because, as you may guess, the mage there instantly kills me.

Clearly what I need to even have a shot at surviving in this game is something ranged or about 10x the health points I current have (160). I tried a bow but the 8 hp damage each arrow does just annoys people before they kill me. I can't for the life of me find any ranged mage spells such as fireball.

I'm willing to start again, but not sure how to avoid this box I've gotten into. I once did play OB and likewise ended up at about L8 not being able to survive in any Plane. I did re-gen a character but for the life of me, I can't remember what I did to make things better.

Also, has anybody been able to apply a Perk to their character? I sure can't. I have all mine pending. I don't get the silly slipperly Perk screen at all. IMO, it's the worst implementation of a game UI I've ever seen.

maybe try conjuration you get an elemental to fight with you

First off, never rely on a single form of combat. Always have some sort of melee to fall back on. That being said, the spells get way, way better as you go on. At Adept level, you can get chain lightning spells, ice storms, massive fireballs, etc. And that's just a little more than halfway through. Starting off with magic is basically hardmode, but it's well worth it. As long as you don't neglect melee of course. Keep in mind that this isn't like Oblivion where you're stuck with one for life.

This game is not that hard.. no offense but you just svck if you cant kill [censored] with 'flames' at low level

Good to hear I 'svck' at this game. Why else do you think I posted, Justin? Good grief.

Storm: I'm guessing I need to start over. At L8 what I'm facing doesn't even blink at the flame spell. I need weaker foes, I suppose.

koby - I'm as far as summoning anything as I am finishing the game.

Nice thing about Skyrim is that you can dual-wield blades and spells. Just start off using flames to supplement melee, then gradually switch over to using magic supplemented by melee.

I haven't any idea how to use flames to supplement melee. Do I invoke flames in, say, my left hand and hold a one handed weapon in my right & then r or l click?

Edit:

Nevermind: I tried it and found out how. Thanks.

that's actually not true.someone that's relies on 1 form of combat can win .I only use bow +stealth and it always works .I never touched melee or magic(except magic for converting some iron ore into gold)

So you used bow from the get go? I found the hit of the arrows just annoyed the foes. Do you hit and run? Then return and hit again?

I use a hit and run back while using the slow motion thing.25% slower moving helps a lot. Also for dungeons I hit from stealth and back off.It's longer to clear dungeons that way but safer.And taking torches off helps too since it will make it harder for them to see you.Also running with your back while shooting and dodging helps me a lot as well.

edit: And yes I used the bow since the very beginning.No melee or magic used for combat.

Thanks, X. I really thought that bow / arrow would be useful if I could figure out a way to use it w/o being killed.

Get yourself a summon dremora lord or a fire daedra. They're great tanks and pack a punch. You yourself cast frost spells which slows down the enemy. You'll never die this way if you use your summons well. There's also alteration spells which saves you a lot.

Well if you want some hints for pure stealth assassin with bow,take the 25% slow time boost,max the critical ,max the damage increase for bow by 20% every time,get all the perks on the left side and also on stealth get the 3x bow damage.Trust me,it makes things MUCH easier.And don't hesitate to use potions,they are life savers in some situations(health or damaging potions). I play on master so it's the reason why I sneak and take them 1 at a time.Killing them when they are more is more difficult but possible by investing into stamina/health only and possibly taking advantage of the ancient shroud set+archer damage jewelry. Hope it helps

Snugs: I can't 'get' to summon anything.

X - I really haven't any idea what you're talking about. A 25% slow time boost? Max the critical? As to perks, I can't seem to apply any of them.

I don't wish to bother you further as you've been of great help. Can you just point me to a tutorial where I can learn what these things mean and how to use them? The perks are particularly bothersome and maybe you are talking about them. I can't seem to use any of the *#*#^Q#)(# things. How the *(** do you USE a perk? Clicking on them just makes them slide away. I'm on a PC> I really detest these perk things.

you do realise that for flames, spark, healing - you hold down the button right? Otherwise I can't understand why you didn't prosper with these.

xnd in stealth section.As for how do you use a perk. when you level up,you put the points in stamina or hp,then click on the skill and you'll see the perks.the zooming with 25% slower speed is actually a perk which works if you click to shoot ,hold and use the block button.It will zoom in and consume you're stamina.It's why high stamina is recommended.So just take all the archery perks except the 2x arrows found and the perk that gives you 3x bows damage when sneaking from the sneak section and you'll be fine.As for becoming a good archer it takes practice honestly.

Edit: as for a tutorial on where to learn this I don't know honestly.I'm used from Elder Scrolls:Oblivion+I have an official guide that helped me understand things faster.

Step 1: Use Fire.
Step 2: Target is Dead.

Um... I think thats how you start?

I really need to restart and see what I did wrong. It's been years since OB and my work with the game UI is worse than rusty.

Well, it's not obvious to me and it should be. Are you on a PC? Seems simple but it isn't to my eye. Maybe I am missing something stupid simple.

Push ?/ button to open the skills/level menu. Click on the name of a skill, wait for the image above it to show the constellation. Click on the bottom star, you will zoom into the constellation and the name of the perk will show. Make sure your skill (left number below the name of the perk) matches the required skill (right number). Click again (E might work too), then click yes. To get to a higher perk, just click the star for that perk.

Go to the Inn in Whiterun, brawl with the girl inside, then she will join you (or hire the chick in the Drunken Huntsman). Initiate a fight from sneak with a bow (this will do 2x damage). Follow your companion into the fight and use your spells to finish them off. Oh, and try to dodge their power attacks.

You can also wheel up and wheel down when in the skills/perks screen to move through the perk constellations.

It would appear to me this is where your going wrong. My high elf smoked everything in the beginning. Just hold down the mouse button till they are smoking on the floor.

no console.But menu is the same i guess.

Yeah, I got that. I can't answer why I did so poorly. Been a long time since I played OB so maybe it's just rust. I did the first character at random really, to get a feel for the UI again. My intent all along had been to try at least twice for a 'sticky' character. As one poster said earlier, I am not a good gamer. What seems obvious to many is opaque to me.