This is my first Elder Scrolls game i bought and i am currently loving every aspect of it. I am new to the game and also new to these forums. I am having difficulty choosing what race would be best for a destruction/restoration/one-handed/conjuration/etc battle mage. I have looked at other sites and they say breton is best for this type of battle mage because of its resistance to magic. I would appreciate any knowledgeable advice on the matter of what race would fit best for my play style. A destruction/restoration/one-handed/conjuration/etc type of battle mage. What other skills would compliment this type of battle mage?

My advise would be to choose the race you like most and simply play a battle mage without looking at the stats. I find non-standard characters most interesting in RPG's: Why not a Nord Thief? Argonian warrior? Khajiit battle mage? Aldmer archer? Bosmer necromancer? Breton Assassin or Dunmer Legionaire?

High elf could be a good candidate, since they start out with 50 extra magicka. As a battlemage you'll need all three stats, so you'll be spread a bit thin first off all. 50 extra magicka really helps with that.

High elves(who svck because they're elves) or Bretons(who svck because they're half-elves).

Imperial is the best way to go for a battlemage bar none

+10 to Restoration

+5 to destruction, heavy armor, enchanting, and one handed

The choice is obvious

As a Battlemage, by definition you're using armour. It makes sense to go for Heavy, as there's no point sneaking as a battlemage- you'll be forcing up your level with a skill that won't help you, making enemies harder for no reason, and there is no sneak bonus for destruction spells. So we'll stick Heavy Armour down to focus on, as it will give you better protection than Light Armour, and you'll reach the 567 armour cap quicker.

As far as combat goes, Archery isn't necessary or suitable as you'll be using ranged Destruction spells. This leaves us with 1H or 2H for close quarters. As you can't wield both a two handed weapon and a destruction spell, you'll want to use one handed.

Destruction will obviously be a key part of your setup, so we'll use that. Enchanting will be massively helpful for your magicka regen, health fortification, and damage output. Smithing will keep you safe via armour upgrades, and make your 1H weapons better.

Bearing all this in mind, the five skills you really need are Heavy Armour, Destruction, One Handed, Smithing, Enchanting. There is room for one or two more skills to focus on - any more, and your skills will be spread very thin, and make combat more difficult. Alchemy can be useful for its brief bonuses, Conjuration can provide an ally and capture souls for enchanting, Restoration can keep you alive. It's really your call.

If you want the best race for the job, either Breton or Altmer is the way to go. Both receive starting bonuses to magic skills, including the +10 (Bretons get +10 Conjuration, Altmer +10 Illusion). Altmer are the only race to start with higher stats - instead of the 100/100/100 splits, they start with 150 Magicka/100 Health//100 Stamina, giving them a great start. On the other hand, the Breton resistance to magicka can be seriously helpful.

That's a very good post Muzzy, very detailed. I fully agree on choosing 5 skills, any more and you'll spread your perk points too thin.

An alternative would be Heavy Armor, Conjuration, One Handed/Two Handed, Smithing and enchanting.
Summoned weapons will serve you very well throughout the game since they are as good as Deadric. You can replace them eventually with fully upgraded and enchanted Daedric ofcourse, but if level your crafting naturally that will be quite far in the game. The pets will be a great help too.

Just one thing: I don't think you can soul trap your own summons any more unless you use a mod for that. You can't on the xbox 360 in my experience.

Awesome post, Muzzy. I've been trying to figure out how to play a Battlemage or Spellsword which is new for me. I was a pure mage in OB and really enjoyed the power and not being afraid of anything. I'm not so sure being a pure mage in SK is going to protect me like it did before....

Thank you everyone for your advice. I really appreciate it!

I like using a Breton with the skills conjuration, sneak, one-hand, archery and lt armor.

Just choose what race you like the best. The skills after a few levels do not matter. One thing you can do is look at racial abilities. I always just choose a race I want then I choose any set up I want. You do not have to restrict yourself based on race.

Race powers are far more important than starting skill sets. Leveling is really easy to do in this game. Going from a 15 to a 25 takes no time. Also, actually starting lower gives you more headway into investing in an extra perk or two.

Pick the race you want to play, it really doesn't matter.