I've always found the combat mechanics too clunky for this in the previous es games but I'm really digging it so far. But now that I'm trying to decide on gear/perk choices I'm not sure what to do. Is one type of armor substantially better? Are there perks that are definites or that should be avoided? Any other tips are appreciated!

This is how I did my spellsword

-1 handed blade (it's not a spellmace or spellaxe hehe)
-Heavy armor
-destruction - lightning, no dual cast
-Restoration - Ward recharge + extra healing / stamina healing
-Alteration - Armor spells + magic resistance perks + paralyze +detect life / death: again no dual cast but I did take stability

Basically
-Cast alteration buffs before combat (armor spells + detect, you won't reach armor cap for a long time, and this gives you a good chunk of extra protection on top of your heavy armor)
-Sword in right hand, lightning in left and have at it
-Switch to ward when you get into melee combat- it is not a "block" perse, but Heavy armor + Alteration armor spell + armor from ward gives you a nice hunk of damage reduction before you reach armor cap
-Switch to healing when you need to heal (duh) or restore a bit of stamina for power attacks

Alot of micro, but it is a more rewarding style of playing

You can throw in the crafting skills to augment your powers... but be careful of how you level, because you have alot of skills spread out that you need. eg: Try and keep all your skills at the same level to keep your versatility without making leveled monsters too strong... so adding in a couple of crafting skills ontop of this can throw this off.

Take some restoration perks, Necromage, Recovery, Respite for a start. If you switch from destruction or whatever to one handed and restoration when in melee, Respite means you don't have to level up stamina ever.
Armour, use heavy if you don't mind running more slowly, unless you want to get into smithing, when light will do.
For destruction, fire spells give the best magicka cost for damage return. Less important for a spellsword than a pure mage, but alchemy and magicka cost reduction really help with this school. Don't waste a perk on dual casting if you expect to spend a lot of time using spell and weapon.
Alteration's magic resistance can be invaluable, especially if you are not a Breton. And don't be afraid to use Flesh spells without the perks, any bonus on top of your armour could be the one thing that stops you getting one-shotted by a dragon or bandit chief.
If you want to use illusion, remember unlike other schools with less effectiveness against higher level enemies, illusion spells will simply cease to work at all against them unless you take all the appropriate perks. If you wish to use it, invest.

I actually did put a perk into dual casting before deciding I wanted to go this route. But I've put 8 hours on this guy... Please tell me its not worth rerolling him.

Ive done many spellsword builds:


Light armor: better end results, and better perks than heavy + your flesh spells can cover the protection gap
One-handed-blade: of course.
Destruction- as said above, lightning is best, but strongly consider rune master. Runes can delouse hiding enemies in coffins, and give free damage for a pre-battle investment of magica. (If you are on PC and have a destruction mod, then runes scale, and you can also mod it to place multiple runes at once)
Alteration: Flesh spells, detect spells, and paralyze. Take the perks here since they are great (magic resistance, or atronach if you want to go vampire)
Illusion: You can go the control route here (by which I mean calm/frenzy/fear) or you can go the utility route here (invisibility/silentcasting/muffle) The utility route is VERY strong with a spellsword since you can have invisibility at the ready in your offhand.
Restoration: Regen perks are nice here. Remember to get necromage if you go vampire. (which you should consider, since you will be using alot of spells as a spellsword)
Smithing: I always suggest just taking Arcane smith. It is not hard to get great damage and hit the armor cap without any specialized metal perks.
Sneak: I would recommend taking the RIGHT side of the tree. for the damage multipliers. If you do use invisibility/muffle in the offhand then you can IGNORE the left side of the sneak tree entirely and still work just as well as a thief... but you save 5 perks!
Enchanting: Always a good option
Conjuration: if you need helpers
Archery: All you need to take is the damage increase perks. zoom in and slow time are just fluff. 3 perks and you will have a viable 3rd form of offense (and a good poison delievery system)

Ive used this build for a long time now (masters) It is very fun to play because of all the options the offhand spells provide:
http://skyrimcalculator.com/#107383

Additional note: I noticed above someone suggested using wards. May I suggest NEVER using wards. When you use them in combat you loose almost all of your mobility for a small damage migitation. If you need protection from spells you are already in the alteration tree, get some there. The only thing wards are good for is absorbing dragon breath (which even an unperked lesser ward can do) I wished wards worked better, but they really don't.

Additional note: no need for a soul trap weapon, so you can save that on any enchants you make, just slap it in your offhand to collect your souls
Additional note: consider elemental fury.
Additional note: be sure to get silent casting!

I can try to help with any followup questions, I love spellswords- I consider them the most fun because you are constantly switching spells to match your circumstances. (It is good to have the extended favorites menu mod so that you are not pausing the game to peruse spells constantly)
When people look back with nostalgia for morrowind I would like to remind them that since you could not go (spell/blade) in each hand, spellswords really didnt work well at all back then.

Armour/Clothes - Wear Normal robes but mix it up with light Armour gauntlets and boots.
Weapons - One handed blades only.
Magic Schools - Alteration, Illusion, Destruction, restoration and enchanting.
Combat Skills - Light Armor and One-Handed.

Other notes - Don't limit yourself to one destruction element, spend points in all the first levels of the skills listed above and any you might want to use, use the Armor spells to make up for the armour rating of your robes and I think that's all(?).

Scrap a character you like over one perk? Never. It's just that if you are going to dual cast, it's inefficient compare to two single castings, unless you take impact as well.

Thanks for the responses all! Now I just have to make it through work so I can get back to it!

i also think there is no need to start over, actually dual casting is great, but only if you also get dual impact. you can stop dragons from breath weaponing on the wing with dual cast spells, just use dual cast in certain tactical situations, great against bosses like bandit chiefs to keep them locked down til you have whittled their health and then when magicka is getting low run up right after your last dual cast and power attack or sheild bash then a cupla regular swipes and that should do it for the bandit chief.

i also use a shield or torch with my spellswords hot keyed to slot one, shield is better, but if shield doesn't match your roleplay you can use torch then equip and unequip it real quick when you run out of magicka and want to start melee with a sword block option, or block and bash with torch.

I've scrapped characters over less....

Also, if you want to be a spellsword, lorewise you must join the legion. Spellswords are spellswords because of legion commando training, otherwise you are a battlemage or nightblade.

Don't forget to check the morrowind and oblivion class descriptions / skills and think about differences of class concepts of classes with similar overlap.

Nightblade = Self taught, magic focused Mage / Fighter with a magic emphasis on stealth / trickery (basically you end up this way for survival, think about having the apptitude for mage and warrior with only your own self-guidance for training... basically you replace "thief" skills with magic skills)
Battlemage = Generic term for any fighter mage with a focus on Magic (think mage stone + some warrior skills)
Crusader = Any fighter mage with a focus on combat (think warrior stone + some mage skills) and a cause
Sorcerer = Selfish armored mage / summoner who does what it takes (weapon skills like bow are derived from conjuration to suppliment magic skills... eg: Deliver poison to augment magic damage / unsummon enemy minions)

And it never occured to you that someone with Legion training could defect to the Stormcloaks? Many of them are Legion veterans. And while Nords do frown upon magic, it is still quite likely there exists some among his army. Ulfric is no fool.

Oooh my favorite topic. Battlemages.

Race: Breton
Armor: Heavy
Stone: Mage Stone, Atronach, or The Lord

Trees: One Handed, Heavy Armor, Destruction, Restoration, Alteration, Conjuration, Smithing, Enchanting

Your main offensive skills will be Destruction and Conjuration, with 1H for Close quarters fighting. Main Defense are Heavy Armor and Alteration. Along with the last 2 for better Armor/Weapons. It is a very fun class to run to be honest. If you've played Bioshock you kinda get a bit of nostalgia playing this way (Magic in Left Hand, Weapon in Right). And with the Heavy Armor and Alteration spells you can be a TANK (Big Daddy, )

Well, I'll bite. This is my Paladin (Which is very similiar to a Spellsword mind you):

Breton, Lord Stone

One Handed
Heavy Armor
Smithing
Block
Restoration
Destruction
Enchanting

Alteration
Alchemy
Speechcraft


If you want any specifics, go ahead and ask

Yeah, and you can do that in the game too... but the point is, Legion training is what makes a Spellsword... kind of like it's hard to call yourself a SEAL without SEAL training, despite your best effort self-training.

I'm playing with a spellsword too. What I found difficult is to increase all the three attributes at the same time.

After some though I decided to forego Stamina and concentrate on health and magica (50% - 50%)

My current build:
One handed
Block
Light armor
Sneak
Destruction
Restoration

I dual wield for sneak attacks or against the most powerful mages, use a sword and board or spell and board against HP sponges and dual spell casting the rest of the time. Restoration perks such as respite, recovery and regenerate are a must.

I don't have touched archery nor lockpick - The tower sign will do. I don't want to have too many skills raising at the same time. Having good equipment is essential but I refrain from using smithing or alchemy. I do horde all the potions I can get, though.

I originally started skyrim as a spellsword until I realised you take way to much damage.