I love the magic system, but as it is the magic is WAAAYYYYYY underpowered compared to just bashing things.

There are only two things I think need to happen to make a pure magic character as viable an option as a pure melee/archer character.

1- Allow for critical hits with magic just like with weapons, even if it requires perks, I'd take them.

2-Have spells scale in power with character level. Flames, Frostbite and Sparks, I'm looking at you especially.

You take away spellcasting, at least throw us casters a bone. Flames is a great spell and no other spell duplicates its effects. But after a few levels the damage is worthless.

Anyone else have other ideas for improving magic?

spells shouldent scale with character lvl, just more damage the higher your ''destruction skill'' are,
and instead of have one perk for 'fire,frost and lightning extra damage, it should be one boosting the hole destruction tree, 20% in 5 steps ,as one handed

I was planning on making a mod to make spell magnitudes scale with skill levels. Depending on how the CK handles perk adjustments to damage, it could be very simple to do.

I was thinking of making this at first, but I've seen quite a few requests for it so I'll get to work on it when the CK comes out. It'll be my first real mod, since all I did with the construction set for Oblivion was tweak some scripts/items to my liking. So if someone else comes out with something better, then more power to them.

Cool LordGrievous! I would volunteer to playtest it when you've got it done.

Fartless, I agree, I wish there would be perks to just enhance all of destruction damage. But keep the final perks for each type separate, I think (disintegration for lightning, freeze for frost, etc.)

I agree with some sort of improved flames/sparks/frostbite for higher levels, but beyond that I think magic is pretty well balanced. I've been playing through on master as a pure mage and I really haven't had much trouble so far. Things began to get especially easy once I picked up fireball/chain lightning (although the frost one seems pretty useless so far) with enemies dying much quicker. I feel that if you buff the damage output of these spells too much, it will make other schools useless as you'll just be walking around one-shotting everything (as I assume I'd be able to do right now if I were playing on normal).

edit: oh and I don't have a companion

I too love the new magic system. But I've also been thinking of what could make it even better.

Some of the things I'm considering:
- Weakness to Magicka spell. This seems to be missing and would be a way to give a bonus similar to the sneak attack bonus if it was consumed by the next destructive spell to land. Maybe it could only be cast on enemies who are not in combat.
- Critical hits. The frequency of critical hits could be based on the player's skill and the resistance of the target, or maybe targets with low stamina would be more susceptible.
- Give restoration a perk that causes damaging spells to heal you for a percentage of the damage dealt.
- The ability to charge a spell with some sort of extra effect. The purpose would be to give a similar effect to attacking with a poisoned physical weapon. Maybe you could apply poisons to a soul gem, and that gem would be consumed by the next destructive spell and would apply the poison effect to the target.
- Scale up low level spells, or add higher level versions of the same effect. For example, the "cone" effect of the flames spell is useful for groups, but isn't damaging enough. If it scaled, or if you could buy an advanced version of it, it would remain useful. Its scaling would have to take into account that it can hit multiple targets though.
- Area denial spells. Something that would place a barrier in front of or around the player, preventing enemies from passing it for a short time. Would be useful for kiting, or when fleeing is required, or to give you a way to break up groups.
- Meditation. A way to regenerate magicka at an accelerated rate. I'd imagine it being something you cast and it makes you highly vulnerable to damage and also blinds you. So, it'd be something you cast after seeking cover. Might be a power or something, so it can't be used very often.

We really need MORE spells, the ones we have are just not enough. There should be higher levels of Flames, Frostbite and Sparks.

That will definitely happen. Have you seen the spell mods for Oblivion?

The problem is that mages pay for their power by having a more limited resource with which to use their abilities and are very squishy health wise. However, warriors in this game do significantly more damage than mages, especially on higher difficulties. I've been playing on Expert, and I can say that despite my massive magicka boosts I run out of magicka before a lot of targets die if I use fireball, and firebolt just seems too slow. If I use fireball in large fights, I usually have to summon an atronach in order for my magicka to regenerate. Are mages terrible? No, not really. But they have very slim advantages over warriors and many drawbacks. Enemy mages, in contrast, can kill me in two to three hits, and can keep their wards up almost forever. I'm beginning to think enemy wards are bugged actually, because hitting them with another spell immediately after I shatter their ward causes no damage.

I'll probably expand the mod to affect all schools of magic so that destruction isn't incredibly overpowered in comparison, though, and maybe reduce the base damage of the spells slightly.

Those are all great ideas. I also like the idea of a barrier spell and critical hits with spells. I mean, an ice spike is essentially a giant harpoon made of ice. How is that much different than shooting an arrow or stabbing with a sword? A well-aimed ice spike or fireball etc. ought to do more damage like a critical hit with a sword.

Scaling flames, sparks etc. would be fantastic. They were my favorite spells at low levels, and still are helpful against mobs of weaker draugr and stuff. But they would be so great if you could empower them more to make them viable against dragons and such.

What i really want to see:

All destruction spells should scale from skill level: lesser damage on lower level, but higher damage on higher levels, and if you skill talents like Apprentice Destruction should also reduce the magicka-costs of Novice Destruction spells, even if you already skilled Novice Destruction: If you skilled Expert Destruction, you should no longer need an great amount of magicka for Novice Destruction spells. The same for all other magic schools.

Fire should be more about damage over time: It's nice that if you cast a firebolt on the floor, the floor burns and the enemy gets fire damage; but the damage over time is way to low and don't last long enough.
Ice should be about critical strikes: The spell does moderate damage, but the critical hurts much. This should be used against enemys that can heal themself.
Lightning is fine (if it scales like the others), but it should do more lightning or additional fire damage on players who use metall armor and a small chance to disarm people with metal blades. Also on Glass Armor Lightning should do way less damage.

All spells that improves me like oakflesh should be a little bit better with higher skill level, but they should last much longer I don't really like to cast this spell all 60 seconds, this should last on 100 at least 15-30 minutes.. Also spells that are channeled like the Ward spells in the restoration tree should cost way less magicka when channeled and absorb more damage and increase the armor way more, but if you absorb damage, this should drain your magicka. And if the Ward breaks because of too much magic damage, this should decrease your magicka

Actually all spells should cost way less magicka.

I don't used all spells yet and i'm far away to know all spells yet, but because they don't scale, they really feel weak now. Yes, a Novice-spell should not be used against high-level-enemys, but they should burn the lowies at least more than now, and they should be a good alternative, if you are low on magicka.

And what somebody told in another thread: Enchanting armor and smithing armor and robes that increase magical effects and damage.

Many of the things mentioned are accomplished already with the improved damage perks. Maybe add two more ranks for +100% extra damage?

I am mote used with what mods can or not do but here is what i'd like to see beside most things people posted above.

After doing the first quests I got the option to become a werewolf, I didn't accept cuz I thought I could get another option later more "Mage oriented" (but I was wrong)

What would be great would be the possibility to become an elemental for 60 seconds.
It could either be a spell (100 destruction) or a book you find after being the archimage of he university. It would be a passive that could be turned on.

I do not know if it will be possible to add visual effects, but since there is already "spell effects" on us when we're hited by spell it. Like we're burning, all covered of ice and blue with lot of sparks.

- casting a barrier of ice/fire/lightning transforms you into the appropriate elemental.
U'd get either bonus damage to this school ( and maybe less for other school ?) or new effects.

-fire
+50% fire damage
+50% fire resistance
- burning effect improve

Ice
+50% ice damage
+ 50 ice resist
+ 100 armor

Lightning
+50% dmg resist
Lightning burn twice more mana


Maybe a -25% less dmg from other schoolcould be applied to compensate. But the goal here is to have something cool visually, cuz being a werewolf is quite useless to mages now.



I also find illusion school terribly boring. Would it be possible to have te spell "mirror image". I duplicate myself, it doesn't do dmg, it's just here to bait.
A greater invis could be great too

Let me ask you this, what level is your destruction at? Because there are what amounts to higher level versions of each of those spells in Fire, Frost and Lightning Wall respectively.

I don't agree that magic is currently underpowered. It's scaling is somewhat boring though because it doesn't increase in damage. Most of its scaling, believe it or not, comes through gear. Stack equipment with -% magicka cost in a given school. It stacks additively, not multiplicatively, which means that it is entirely possible to make your spells cost no magicka at all.