Past few days I've been working on my Altmer. He was supposed to be a Nightblade, but now at level 54 he is pretty much a Pure Mage character. All Magic skills but Resto at 100.

So my experience thus far has been pretty well. I've been going on Expert/Adept difficulty. (Had to switch at lower levels.)

I thoroughly enjoy magic, I didn't find the amazingness that is Illusion until in the 40s, and I have to say that it is just awesome. Destruction and Alteration were my first 100s, in that order and within an hour of one another. The character didn't really start shining until around level 30 or so, after I had found a decent amount of destruction gear. Now I just run around with about a -60% cost reduction in every skill of magic and lay waste to anything that stands in my path.

Oddly enough my original plan was to mix up destruction spells, Lightning, Frost and Flame. But lately in the last 10-15 levels I've been using Incinerate non-stop. Only switching when I'm fighting a Firebreathing dragon.

I've attempted master difficulty and I have to say that it can be ridiculously hard. I have a 900+ Mana pool, with around 200 Health. I frequently get two or three shotted, and have had quite a few run-ins with enemies who can and will one shot me.

The only times I can survive is when I can get a bunch of Dual-casted spells in for the Stunlock potential. I'm only doing half damage, and coupled along with enemy Resits I find that I do ridiculously low damage in comparison to the mages whom I fight, and find myself out of mana before the fight is even over. The master spells are also ridiculously too slow to cast to become viable, and I get interrupted, Also the fact that they can't stagger enemies makes them not very reliable, or viable.

Now, as much fun as Destruction was at those lower levels, I've been thinking of approaching a magic based (60-80% Magic/40-20% Stealth really.) character a little differently.

Sticking with Alteration, (I really dislike the looks of most of the armours, and I find very little clothing that looks decent aswell. Am really hoping Dawnguard adds in some decent changes!) Illusion, and Restoration.

Although, this time branching off and grabbing Sneak and One-Armed, and using Archery.

Now, I refuse to take perks in the smithing tree due to how easy it is to make an overpowered character when utilizing the holy trinity that is crafting skills. Instead I always take Enchanting and Alchemy.

Now the Idea is to be fast and light on my feet, causing confusing amongst my enemies while in the shadows. My only problem with choosing a build right now is deciding between using:

Dual Wielding (Offensive)

+ Greater Damage output
+Very Fast Attack Speed

-Switching between weapon and Spells for healing. (A Heal over time spell would be awesome here.)
-No ability to block (I don't really do that anyways.)
-Low Armour (350 or so with maxed Mage Armour perk and Lord Stone)


One Handed + Spell (Defensive)

+ Not a lot of switching.
+Higher Armour (430 with the above perks + Lord stone and Greater Ward.)
+ Healing Capability

-Not as much damage.


Now, I could go for Dual Wielding and have my dagger set as my hotkey and a healing spell. This could somewhat make it more effective, as long as I have a lot of room to Maneuver.

For Archery I was also having a tough time between choosing:

Physical Bow (Hunting to Daedric) (Requires 8-9 perks)
+ Benefits from Smithing (Non-perked)
+ Less Perks (
+ Can be Enchanted

- Weight
- Bow damage varies from type of Arrows + Bow used.
- Finding the good arrows.

Bound Bow (Requires 11-13 Perks)
+ No Weight
+ Perked it does about as much damage as an Exquisite Daedric bow with Daedric Arrows at ALL times.
+ No need to find arrows.

- Required two to four more perks
- Can not be Enchanted (If perked it can Banish Daedra, and Soul Trap)
- Does not Benefit from smithing (Perked it gains +Damage)

Also, is the Ranger Perk worth it? The ability to move faster while my bow is drawn would be nice, but is it absolutely worth the two worthless points prior to taking it?

Sorry I don't have advice for you here, just wanted to say Alteration was also my first "100" this time around. It's a damn practical bunch of skills in there.

You might have read elsewhere that shouting "Become Ethereal" (one word) allows you time to cast a master spell. Haven't tried it yet for myself tho.

I like the perked up bound bow very much as it is also a workhorse toward the next level. I also have a glass bow that I've enchanted with absorb health, so I find myself grabbing that instead, especially after hitting some centurions and grabbing a bunch of daedric arrows. But I've made fortify conjuration potions to prolong the bound bow duration for long hallways of sneaking after bandits.

Looking at your choices, you might try the absorb health for your 1H; if you can double-enchant even better.

It seems to me you'd do well with all these options at the ready. I like to go into a quest/dungeon using mage armor and one setup (pure magic, magic/1H combo, or bound weapon especially with a folllower) all the way through.... it's nice to have nicely prepped options.