I am trying to play as a straight mage for the first time. First off, it is nerver wracking not wearing any armor and constantly backpeddling during any fight.

What I find most frustrating, though, is switching up spells during the fight. Generally I play as an archer type with one-hand for close-quarters fights. Playing on the xbox I have the sword/shield combo hotkeyed to (1) and the bow hotkeyed to (2). That way I can easily switch between my two primary weapons without interrupting the flow of the fight. As a mage, however, I am running around with a summon spell in my left hand and a flame spell in my right. As the battle commences I toss a summons then have to go to my quick menu and switch the left hand to flames so I can dual cast. Going to the quick menu rather than hotkeying interrupts the flow of the battle. And if I find I am up against a mage, I want to switch from flames to sparks. Again, I go to the quick menu, again interrupting the flow of the battle. Also, when my summons either dies or expires I have to go back to the quick menu and reequip the summon spell, again interrupting the flow.

How can I get the nice easy transition I am used to when using bows and swords?