i'd like some help from more experienced players or hear you opinion on this...so far (around lvl 10) i have built up sneak/light armor and as attack types destruction and 1h weapon...until now this has worked really well...using a destruction spell for which the enemy has less resistance and then using it until the enemy gets close, power attack it to stagger it....back away a bit and roast it again with the spell... this has especially worked against melee foes cause they usually get hit quite good by magic. now around that level (just encountered the enemies from the companion quest for the shimmering cave - not spoiling anything) at least on that specific quest things didnt work out that well...cause i hardly do damage with the spells...bit better with melee but i die incredibly fast in direct combat, even when i try using a shield i get mostly staggerd from blows which isnt helpful...chaurus and boss enemeis are a huge problem - singles foes are ok but 2 at once and i have to rely on "soft-cheating"...therefore finding a spot they can't reach well and shoot em with arrows (and i didnt want to do archery lol)...

human enemies are a piece of cake but the rest - this lets me wonder since im only lvl 10 and i assume things will get more tricky, if it is a dumb idea anyway to combine attack spells with attack weapons and that you should rather rely on one attack style to have a bigger efficiency?

Do some other stuff to level up first then try again

Don't worry too much, go find some new spells, or level a bit more and you should be able to get by fine.

Maybe try branching out into another magic class like restoration to help protect yourself, or illusion to debuff enemies.

Conjuration or a companion can help take the heat off you while you regain magicka.

I'm playing as a warrior mage, spell in left hand, weapon in the other, heavy armor.

If it's the companion quest with the *major spoiler*, i catch your drift. I was lvl 20 and i basically used the Ice Form shout to cripple the boss, then my companion and i finished off his mininions. When the shout wore off, i just ran around in circles and casted fire runes while my companion was shooting arrows at him. Those runes do cost a lot of magic, especially at lower levels.

That lvl of that boss might adapt itself to your current level, so maybe you could get stronger and come back later?

well its actually 2 bosses if were talking about the same - big and small guy (smaller that heals himself) - i am around lvl 10 (dunno since i havent leveled yet) maybe this was the problem...

i should probably switch to heavy armor but i simply do not like how the heavy armor looks

the problem i have a bit with the weapons/casting combo is that spells get so freakin expensive if you dont go heavy in magicka and use the perks...and the lower end spells seem to get kinda useless against certain enemies (friggin chaurus)

Might be a different quest, i already did quite a number of quests so i can't recall.

Anyways, if you're playing destruction&one handed, you should really consider investing in some magic perks(more powerfull flames/frost and cheaper spells). The big benefit of this tactic is that you can weaken enemies from afar, and finish them off when they get close. Rune master perk is a good example of that. Also when enemies get close, i use a healing spell(also have a few restoration perks) and slash away with my sword.

Smithing(sharpening and improving armor) will also do wonders for your offence and defense. (it's pretty easy to level up)

I also did the "Forbidden Legend" quest, which gives you a pretty helpful reward. (I think it started by opening a book about Gauldur)

This tactic works for me anyways and i'm level 30 now. (i'm using heavy armor though).


Hope it helps

that quest is the hardest in the area, Just getting to the boss at your level can be difficult. On my mage I leveled up abit and went back later. Was able to complete it but it was still challenging.

i use lgiht armor cause i also dont want to miss out on sneak and i dont like the heavy armor looks so far...

but then again i also dont want to use a bow cause i dont like it...

my tactics is if possible, sneak up on an enemy and backstabb him, if thats not possible i try hitting him sneak-attack with a poisend bow that lowers resistance against fire, shoot em with fire until hes close and then i wheter use the flamethrower and try to dodge or i use shield + 1h altough shield seems kinda useless if youre not efficient with it...

problem i see for me is that it probably makes sense to wheter go into the direction of Sword+Magic+Heavy armor or Bows+Sneak...the combo im doing seems kinda getting difficult...

but then again since i didnt level up i was basically still level one when doing that quest, so maybe thats the reason...

Maybe you should consider dropping destruction. The sneak bonus doesn't apply on magic and the perk for silent magic is close to the end in a whole different tree.

Archery goes well with the other skills you chose, but it's up to you(that's what a TES game is all about, am i right? ). This way you don't have to drastically change your character set up and also don't need to switch to the ugly heavy armor.^^

After initial surprise attack I try to keep enemies behind each other or fight melee in choke points (1hand, archery, light, alchemy on hard so also squishy), and use fus ro dah when i need to "reset" the positioning, or whirlwind sprint to quickly reach that last archer when im almost dead. Then a nice stew gets health recharging faster for the next fight. Also a couple of emergency paralysis poisons help, and the ones that increase one hand damage for 60 secs (there are destruction ones too i think)

*humanlike" enemies that carry weapons are very easy to fight cause they have certain attack patterns, you can easily dodge (especially 2hander), can fry em, once their close shield up and block, counter power attack, back away and fry em again...works good cause you can use specific anti-magic....

i know bows would be better...i simply dont like bows... think its kinda boring...and a close up sneak kill is SO much more rewarding....and with sneak on lvl 30 me lvl 5, i can allready sneak up on pretty much everything - except its bright and their facing me....

the problems start with enemies that are uber-strong or have a simple "all-out" attack patterns like chaurus.... or enemies that have 1h/spell combo (like this one draugir type)....becaue they use the same strategy as i do (lol)....