Is Being A Mage "Fun" : V - Skyrim

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 2:34 am

it should be noted that using Destruction as your main killer gets -very- difficult in close fights if only because of aiming.

with Archery you can miss any number of shots and keep on going despite it as long as you stocked enough arrows. With Destruction, you whiff with a few Fireballs and you're out of magicka and screwed and either must guzzle a dozen potions (which gets my vote as the single most overpowering element in the game; potion cooldowns please) or carry around a backup weapon like a staff

this is the crucial difference between casting and melee or archery. Even with no stamina you can still swing an axe or shoot an arrow. Not so with no magicka

Yes, Archery is easier to master.
Magic, Destruction is harder to master.
But you don't only use Destruction to fight your enemies as Mage, you can use Illusion (and there is plenty enough useful spells in that school to make Destruction very viable).
And the part where you said "must guzzle a dozen potions" is false, in my opinion.
I play on Adept and I have yet to drink any potion at all.

If you want to discuss\comment how Destruction is at higher difficulty level then Adept (normal), then I can't answer to that as I have never played above Adept.

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 4:18 am

I like being a magic user in games and I do enjoy being one in Skyrim. But it does slow the game down a bit and there is a lot of back and forth you need to do in the menus during encounters.

If you like a game to be more fast paced then don't be a magic user in Skyrim it will probably be to slow for you.

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 10:44 am

I find being a warrior in Skyrim to be far more fun than a mage is. Magic in Skyrim (IMO) isn't nearly as fun as it was in Oblivion...I mean seriously, weakness to magic + frenzy + Chameleon = fun times across Cyroliil...especially the mage's guild :ahhh:

. It's just not as fun anymore. Too much is gone now, that wasn't before.

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 12:19 am

Magic is alot of fun in Skyrim compared to past games. Tes 2 Daggerfall was great because everything felt so mysterious which gave it a sense of realism. In Skyrim magic is just as smooth and easy to get into as melee combat with a very intuitive feel. Its also not tedious. Just do the same thing you do as a warrior but with a mage focus.

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 2:03 pm

But you don't only use Destruction to fight your enemies as Mage, you can use Illusion

you still have to be able to tag the enemy with the spell which is what I mentioned in my previous post was the difficulty in the first place

And the part where you said "must guzzle a dozen potions" is false, in my opinion.
I play on Adept and I have yet to drink any potion at all.

enemies aren't any faster on higher difficulties so you wouldn't see any difference there, but Destruction's lack of scaling will hamper you quite a bit. Even if you have some crazy twitch-gamer aiming skillz you'll still need more casts to kill something despite how often you're hitting them on higher difficulties

all that aside, I find it hard to believe you don't use any potions when fighting something like an Ancient Dragon

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 12:33 pm

I get a good bit of fun out of a Breton with a Cleric/Paladin style play.... Once you get paralysis there aren't many fights that you are going to lose if any and the added heavy armor perks make my run and gun with spells better and with Respite from Resto I can refill my stamina and just keep on power attack with whatever flavor of melee weapon I choose to use. So mage type classes are pretty fun.... I tried pure mage and found that to be extremely lacking.... I'll try arcane archer next with just Conjuration, illusion, light armor and Archery...... I have a heavy armor Bosmer ranger but that is just stupidly one-sided just like shield and sword....

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 2:26 am

all that aside, I find it hard to believe you don't use any potions when fighting something like an Ancient Dragon

What kind of armor did you wear and what kind of spells did you use against an Ancient Dragon?

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 3:29 pm

I'm having more fun in this game than previous games I've played.

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 1:09 am

first time i dual wielded sparks I starting casting and screaming in real life at the top of my voice (and I sounded like Palpatin which is scary)

"POWAAAAAA UNLIMITED PPPPOOOWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"

yes its fun...

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 3:34 am

Are you not forgetting Illusion \ Destruction?
You can start the battle from the shadows, casting Illusion spells to make your enemies fighting each other, while you in hiding charge up some awesome Destruction spells.

Conjuration works better. When they're frenzied they'll fight anything including me. Destruction draws attention to me while Conjuration allows me to remain hidden. I had already gone the destruction route on an earlier character and even though I played that character to a high level I never fully enjoyed destruction because of its scaling issues.

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 9:47 am

I had already gone the destruction route on an earlier character and even though I played that character to a high level I never fully enjoyed destruction because of its scaling issues.

Which difficulty level did you play on?

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 1:02 pm

No need to put fun in brackets, this is a game it's supposed to be fun.

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 1:11 am

Which difficulty level did you play on?

The level is irrelevant because the problem is the same no matter what level you play on.

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 6:23 am

first time i dual wielded sparks I starting casting and screaming in real life at the top of my voice (and I sounded like Palpatin which is scary)

"POWAAAAAA UNLIMITED PPPPOOOWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"

yes its fun...

My Breton necromage Babd loves shock spells. When she uses them two handed I always hear her inside my head saying http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/subrosa_florens/Skyrim/Skyrim154.jpg. She will even blast people with lightning after they are dead. It actually pushes the bodies, which is rather cool.

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 7:50 am

Playing a pure mage, ala DnD, is great fun. Recommend several mods likes Midas Magic, Better Mage, and Phenrix's (sp) spell add ons. Challenging but very enjoyable. I am rping a dunmer mage in my current play through and I am loving every minute of it. For the ultimate mage challenge play dead is dead!

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 2:58 pm

if pausing the game everytime you want to switch your spell is "fun" then yes.

If you want a pure mage thats REALLY fun, i suggest oblivion.

If you're on a PC, you can hotkey spells, so you don't have to pause your game every time. Though I agree, that playing a mage in Oblivion felt much more satisfying.

Still, mages in the elder scrolls series have always been underpowerd when you compare them to other RPGs. Especially Bioware RPGs.

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 9:46 am

If you're on a PC, you can hotkey spells, so you don't have to pause your game every time. Though I agree, that playing a mage in Oblivion felt much more satisfying.

Still, mages in the elder scrolls series have always been underpowerd when you compare them to other RPGs. Especially Bioware RPGs.

John Irenicus in BG2 for example!

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 7:08 am

John Irenicus in BG2 for example!

That's a perfect example! :clap:Some of my best memories from BG2 were when my mage and enemy mage were casting Time Stop at the same time and I just knew that whoever casts it first, wins the encounter. These were some tense moments.

In Skyrim mages never felt powerful enough. If you're a master of conjuration, you can only summon two monsters for example and even dual fireballs don't have the same umph as the classic fireball from BG1.

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 9:11 am

I'm seriously thinking of giving up on my pure mage in Skyrim. I loved it in Oblivion but my magika just seems to deplete in about 3 shots in Skyrim. Obviously I'm doing something wrong but not sure what? If I get surrounded I'm pretty buggered - once my magika is down (if I don't have potions...) I'm as good as dead....

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 11:47 am

I'm enjoying my pure mage more than any other character I've played. I'd seriously give it a go - if you're anything like me, you wont regret it!
As has probably been suggested though, don't focus purely on destruction, as it gets difficult and you'll constantly be overwhelmed. I'd suggest conjuration or illusion to go with destruction. I certainly wouldn't leave destruction out of the mix though!

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 10:07 am

As has probably been suggested though, don't focus purely on destruction,

Yep - thats been my problem. :facepalm:

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 2:48 pm

The Destruction School of Magic... it promises power, and yet on its own all it can ultimately do is destroy those who wield it.

Clever metaphor by Bethesda, or clear sign of a broken system?

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 10:30 am

The Destruction School of Magic... it promises power, and yet on its own all it can ultimately do is destroy those who wield it.

Clever metaphor by Bethesda, or clear sign of a broken system?

I'd say it was done to encourage use of the other schools, rather than just shoot lightning bolts at everything as you waltz through dungeons. It was the reason I ended my first archer/Mage hybrid, unfortunately - her destruction spells couldn't keep up with her enemies.

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 10:06 am

I just can't get into the other schools though. Healing was actually hard to do, as I was either not ever hurt, or dead. You can't kill something by being invisible. You can summon something and then hope it's enough, but what fun is it to sit back and watch someone else do all the fighting for you? Destruction is nice, but it doesn't do jack to higher level creatures.

http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/imageshare/images/649591-1325687752.jpg

Overall I think it's just messed up.

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 3:06 pm

I just can't get into the other schools though. Healing was actually hard to do, as I was either not ever hurt, or dead. You can't kill something by being invisible. You can summon something and then hope it's enough, but what fun is it to sit back and watch someone else do all the fighting for you? Destruction is nice, but it doesn't do jack to higher level creatures.

http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/imageshare/images/649591-1325687752.jpg

Overall I think it's just messed up.

Try Illusion. If you get stuck, cast 'frenzy' on one of the enemies and watch them fight amongst themselves, or cast 'calm' to give yourself an opportunity to try a new strategy. Or conjuration, to give yourself an ally and to distract your enemies for a moment.