You can change to the Lord Stone when you don't mind leveling more slowly in the magic schools. This can be early on or after you get enchanting and the other schools to 100, depending on what you want. I switched after I got enchanting, conjuring, destruction, and alteration to 100.

Thanks, this is what i did too. I found the Stone, read what it did, then thought about it. My abilities were strong enough, and i could do the majority of things i wanted to at the level i was, so it was worth taking.

I classify this as a destruction mage because I am using destruction spells 95% of the time. The reason I don't have more perks in destruction is because it doesn't improve the build at all. Also I chose to get conjuration to 100 first because it is the fastest to level, but one could just as well level destruction first instead. The benefit of having conjuration eventually is that if I want to switch fighting styles I am free to do so.

By your reasoning a healer class wouldn't be a healer if it had spells that don't heal

I noticed that you did not perk Illusion. Your destruction build could be improved by putting three perks into Illusion and picking up Aspect of Terror. Since fire based spells have a fear component, the Aspect of Terror perk will increase the damage of your fire based spells. I am getting 105 points of damage with my incinerate spells and I think something like 27 points with my novice level flames spell. Since the burning stacks, you can use flames in bursts and with two points in Augmented Fire and the point in Aspect of Terror, the flames spell remains useful late into the game. I have such a hard time hitting ice wraiths with anything else, I typically hit them with flames.

EDIT: Good explanation of the Restoration glitch, by the way. I have read a lot of posts discussion it and yours is the simplest explanation I have seen yet of how it works.

Haha yeah I can see why some people don't like it... I was only trying to offer help to someone wanting to level as quickly as possible. In the end we will each play whichever way is most enjoyable to us, right?

On a similar note, I can justify manual power leveling (like what I did to level destruction) because it kind of fits within the world - you see other characters in Skyrim practicing (ex: hitting target dummies), presumably to level their own skills, so why can't I? If you want to level more naturally that is up to you. Personally I get distracted from the story by wanting to improve my character - I'm always thinking "OK finish talking so I can kill things and level up!" but once I'm satisfied with my character I'm more able to enjoy the stories. Just completed the Companions questline. Truly epic! I love how they all run to Ysgramor's Tomb all the way from Whiterun, swords in hand hahahaha.

You bring up a great point. Aspect of Terror was something I was debating on getting. Do you know if the incinerate burning debuff stacks or is it just flames? I guess I didn't like the idea of switching from by expert level spell to the novice level haha. Also, how exactly do you use flames? "Short bursts" meaning a second in each hand or even shorter? Just tapping the mouse button? I played around with flames, trying to get that stacking effect, in the start and couldn't get it right.

Those who want to use fire I absolutely recommend getting Aspect of Terror perk in the Illusion tree since it is one of the few ways to increase your damage. I'll make an edit.

EDIT: Oh and thanks! I have never used the exploit myself so I just read up on it on the Skyrim UESP

That was a clear, concise build with descriptions and reasons. Thank you, famousjerky. I wish there were more build guides or even better, a collection of them that I could browse through when I should be working.

Edit: I just figured out how to use the Topic Tags at the top of this thread. Time to browse!

I don't know whether Incinerate burning effect stacks or not. I would assume it does but I don't know. Even if it doesn't stack, you still get the damage bonus. With Aspect of Terror, my Incinerate does 105, without it it only does 90. When I use flames I try to do a short burst (just a tap) followed by a two to three second burst, and then repeat that cycle. After the short burst, the longer burst does quite a bit of damage and you can see the enemies health declining faster than if you just did a sustained stream without the initial burst. I have also used frostbite on dragons, once they are on the ground, using the same process of alternating short and long bursts and the frostbite seems to stun them and stop them from breathing on me. You also get a cool graphic effect.

hahaha that made me laugh, thank you. I think there are good guides out there, they are just kind of difficult to find. Someone should really compile them and get it stickied on this forum. Here is an interesting thread I found for you to waste more time at work:

http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1333470-complete-character-design-freedom-damage-resist-caps-and-ridiculous-damage-thread-9/

talks about all sorts of things from damage reduction caps to weapon styles

I feel bad for posting this since you wrote so much, but getting a spell cost to 0 through enchants is extremely cheap and will of course be simple to take enemies down.

EDIT: I must tip my hat to you because, like others have mentioned, you go very in depth. Nice

This is the same as me. I like the effort put into this guide but the 0 spell cost enchanting feels very cheap.

Some people may decide they like the playstyle of having to manage their magicka, and that's fine because you should play the way you want. But I wouldn't say this is "cheap" because that implies it's not playing by the rules. The game developers very clearly wanted people with level 100 enchanting to be able to do this. Besides, it doesn't make you invincible, and I can't cast anything I want to. For example with my amount of mana I cannot dual cast ebonyflesh without my alteration gear on, so I settle for the single cast.

Seriously no offence to the OP as they've written a good post people will no doubt find usefui and however you play the game is whatever works for you.
But from a personal perspective I find it kinda baffling how some people treat the game like it's some kind maximum build efficiency management system. Particularly when you start tying rubber bands round your mouse. I just kinda play the game and stuff levels when it levels. I find it more fun to do what the character would do than conciously maximise their efficiency at everything.

I think people should play how they want. To me I find it's cheap (in my own code) and wouldn't use it as I like to manage my Magicka. If someone else was to use it I wouldn't complain or anything because it's their game and they can play however they like. Back in Oblivion I used to make all my characters overpowered. I made an assassin wear 100% chameleon clothes, my mage had basically unlimited Magicka because I could absorb a telekinesis spell to refill it and my master of everything character was immune to all damage, I had 100% Spell absorbtion and 100% melee reflection and what not.

I'll clarify since you asked. No, I was not speaking about the Fortify Restoration glitch, as you wouldn't really need to reduce the magicka of all schools when you can just have an insane amount of never ending magicka supply all in a single enchantment effect. If you haven't already realized it, I don't much care for the Fortify Restoration glitch. You might as well do tgm and call it a day.

Anyhow, moving on. I stated that you can technically get 100 percent reduction in all schools simply because you can. Even without the Fortify Restoration glitch. How you ask? Simple. You obtain the Steed guardian stone power. Makes what you wear weightless. Now you just do the mathematics (It's been a while, so bear with me), and make a set of armor/jewelry for each combination. If I recall correctly, it was around 7 sets.

Whatever type of item that you're wearing is weightless, including items that are not currently equipped. So 7 sets of Daedric cuirass'? All weightless. So theoretically, you can easily have all schools of magic cost 0 magic since you have sets of equipment for each possible combination of magic schools (Only two available at any one time with your left and right hand). I imagine on the console it would be a pain to be switching items about, but on the PC the customized favorites menu makes it a bit easier.

You can also just skip the middle man and console yourself the reduction since you technically have it and it wouldn't really be cheating, just cutting out the inconvenience of switching gear. Granted that means that you always have to be in armor because if you unequip it, you'll probably be overencumbered if it's something like Daedric armor that you did this procedure with. Just my two cents.

@JackBaldy I thought you meant you could get free casting in five schools at the same time. Making multiple sets and changing cloths mid battle, is easy enough to do I suppose (although I don't do it because it seems unrealistic to start undressing when there are enemies about).

Like I said, technically you can. Why? Since you can only ever have, at most, two schools of magic active in either hand, you do have free casting for all five schools at the same time. Technically speaking. There's many things that are not particularly realistic with Skyrim so I won't dive into that.

But yeah, it's basic mathematics. With the sets I mentioned, you technically never have to cast a spell that costs magicka. You have two hands that can each hold one school of magic and you have an equipment set that reduces the cost of two magic schools to zero. You change your hands? You change your equipment. So theoretically, you can do this and it's completely "legit". I've toyed around with this particular idea and it worked out pretty well with the customized favorites menu equipment set favorites.

While I didn't technically cut the middle man, thinking of it now, I don't see how it would change anything but convenience. I suppose if you're on the console you can also cut the middle man via the Fortify Restoration glitch while still lumping around 6 other sets of the same armor/jewelry (Helmet, Cuirass, and jewelry I think are what changes between your base set and the other sets, I forget) that you're wearing.