The problem is, I've tried, but I've never been able to get into it long enough to enjoy it fully. All the characters I've made to this point have been specialized in one of the classic archetypes, rarely branching outside of it except for some skill here or there.

I'm dead set on making a badass battlemage, but I need some help.

I've made a Dunmer to my liking, came up with a cool name for him and dubbed him a member of the clan of Dunmer characters I played in Morrowind and Oblivion, so I have a little bit of back-story to him where, even though it has nothing of vale to the gameplay, I may enjoy him a little more. So far I've only gotten out of Helgen and selected the Mage stone, because combat skills level up fine with use while magic skills can be a little bit more tricky.

I plan on using magic in the off-hand to do a mix of things. I'd like to be able to use stealth as well, so I'm planning on getting a little bit of Illusion. I'll be using fire destruction a lot as well. I also plan on using alteration to make up for the fact that I'll probable not be a tank.

I'm thinking heavy armor as well, as I have my eyes on Bonemold armor. My Morrowind character was a member of House Redoran, so I'll be getting that Gah-Julan chest piece as soon as I can make it.

Should I go for the standing stone that levels up all skills rather than the magic one? And one of the main things I'm worried about is distribution between health, stamina and magic. Warriors are tough because of high health and stamina, Mages are powerful because of high magic, but I've never been able to make a battlemage with the proper distribution. Should I just forget about stamina for the most part and get health and magic?

Also, any reccomendations on armor and general tactics and useful ideas on how to approach this character would be greatly appreciated.

For me the hardest part about making a battlemage is the armor. The Heavy armor slows you down so much that I can't stand using it. I would recommend using the steed stone honestly because it gets rid of the speed loss from wearing armor. Plus being able to carry extra loot is always great.

Battlemage or Spellsword? Either way, maxing out Enchanting first and foremost would give you tons of room to be creative.


I have a Vampire Scourge Twohanded Battlemage build that utilizes summons and Illusion to create chaos before going in. It's mostly for roleplaying because it's a lot of redundancy.

I personally like the Heavy Armor Spellsword though. Also a Vampire Necromage build, which gives me a lot of added bonus just by being a Vampire Necromage. Nothing says pure terror like a giant Altmer with glowing vampire eyes, with flaming Daedric Armor and a bloodied mace on one hand.