I've been reading around these forums and I see quite a mix of abilities as far as players. I've seen some people claim to have killed 6-7 dragons on expert mode by level 7 or so...

I'm level 16... High Elf, mostly mage with some skill with the blade. I only have 3 shouts (I've seen some with way more). I just got Fireball and thought I'd be invincible.

I went on a little fun side mission to get a dude's helmet and I ran into a foursome of death. It took me several reloads to figure out a way to scraqe by and win... I won't reveal anymore... don't want to spoil anything.

Based on the treasure, it doesn't seem that these monsters should have been that tough to beat... sabre cat was one of them.

Is there some secret to fighting I'm not getting? As a mage, I mostly have healing on one hand and firebolt on the other... heal, fire, heal fire. I've noticed that I can kill most things much faster with a blade than I can with my magic once we're up close... I am trying to be "pure" mage, but it's hard. I noticed that while fireball does a little bit more damage (50 v. 31) and does area effect... I don't think it's worth it because it svcks my magika dry. I can cast virtually unlimited firebolts with one hand...

I'm just talking now. Anyway... tips on fighting? Or is it just whatever works? I'd like to be a bit more efficient. Cave bears still give me nightmares.

Anyone have any advice? How do topics get so far down the page so fast? I think the moderator needs to make more subforums to get more discussion on topics!

turn the difficulty on the game down
level up combat skills not things like speechcraft as enemies lvl up as u lvl up

Look at your perks.

As a pure mage, you don't want to be dual wielding two different spells the entire time. You get absolutely nothing from that, but you lose a lot. Take advantage of dual cast. Take advantage of impact in destruction. Take advantage of conjurations or illusions, as well.

As a mage, it would be to your benefit to have a companion like a fighter to get the attacker's attention. You can get one if you follow the main quest to Whiterun. I won't say more (spoiler). Dragons have different types of breath. Fire will not affect dragons that breathe fire, frost damage works best against them. Same with dragons that do frost damage, fry them with a firebolt. More than one attacker is tough if you are a pure mage at lower levels.

If all you're using magic wise is destruction and healing, you're gonna die fast. Conjure a companion, use fury to make human foes attack each other, etc. Even if you want to specialize in destruction, you can still use the other schools of magic.

No matter what your build you must use strategy. And like Tale says above, the real power of any build is in the perks. You can take perks that make that fire spell cost a whole lot less magicka. You can find or enchant items to increase your Magicka regeneration rate, or boost your total Magicak with Fortify Magicka.

For strategy as a mage, you have spells that increase your Armor score. You can set traps for enemies with runes and lure them in. You can Frenzy enemies to make them fight each other while you throw fire on everybody. You can Conjure a creature to tank the enemies for you while you stand in the back, etc.

Spamming one spell or just going for "most damage as quickly as possible" are going to get you in trouble. Think, plan, and prepare.

I haven't really done much dual casting for healing. I find that dual casting kills my Magika. I also read someone else said that dual casting doesn't really result in a benefit... not sure if that was disputed mathematically or not. I've been charging up the ladder of Destruction and Restoration... just need to keep pushing, I guess. Thanks!

you must be playing a dfferent game than I am, because theres plenty of spots where I one shot weak bandits and wolves, etc.

I have the same problem as OP.
The problem is the Destruction spell school.

All conjuration spells will outperform all destruction spells of the same level.

Without any perks at all invested in conjuration, and with all perks invested in destruction.

Conjuration can win you encounters without one single perk invested.
Destruction NEEDS other skills to be viable.

Conjuration may be slightly overpowered, but destruction is definately underpowered to boot.

I win more battles with just destruction than I do with just conjuration. Most casters can destroy conjurations you put out. And impact in destruction will destroy any single target you fight.

Frost Atronach is pretty awesome sometimes, though.

As you level destruction, you'll hit a brick wall eventually when you keep leveling because you damage never scales to keep up with everything else. Its better to just stop using destruction altogether because the skill is just bad.

Get magica fortificating equipment, level your destruction magic, after a while it gets alot better. Have a bow to a fall back on if you magica runs dry, melee combat is suicidal as a mage. I'm level 24 and I still get killed in 2/3 hits, I have 150HP. My strategy is to first summon something, than cast a few fireballs than summon a bow and use that (100 free arrows is awesome). Throw in shouts into the mix for tough situations. If an enemy is overpowered stay back in cover and play pick a boo with some spells. Don’t forget potions too.

Um, no they don't.

skill is only bad if you only use it by itself. partnering it with illusuion alteration and restoration (all important too playing as a pure mage) smooth things out
conjurations fun too!

^^ NO

All my character does is Archery for combat, and I have speech, alchemy, and sneak up almost maxed. You just need to learn how to hit and run and make enough money for potions