Helloooo people, so I am about to create my very first Mage, I have hesitated for a while now due to the amount of hate it seems to be attracting on these here forums, HOWEVER, I feel this hate is just whining and moaning, so I am turning to the community that has played thoroughly and can confirm Magic IS NOT broken.....

So.. I am thinking some sort of Arcane Warrior, a Mage which effectively dons Medium/Heavy Armour, and am wanting to focus on Illusion primarily, with some Conjuration, and Restoration as backup, I don't want to use Destruction at all if possible but this is why I am asking for help, what do you guys think would work well enough for me to enjoy right through and not get bored at level 10.

Thanks for the help in advance.

See my signature (Summoner), a link to the build is there as well. I'm currently level 27 and having an absolute blast.

Yeah, I wouldn't necessarily listen to most of the people on the forums, they're definitely fun and are definitely not weak. I was sceptical about it too because of all the complaints I was reading, but I finally made one and it's one of my favorite characters.

Was actually just taking a look at you before I made this post, I like some things and don't really agree with others lol, I certainly don't want to use Two Handed, probably One Handed, maybe not even a weapon at all, and I would almost certainly get the Summoner rank 2 for the Atronachs. Reassuring thing is you didn't invest in Destruction either...

I am playing a destruction mage currently and I am enjoying it very much....Mages really aren't underpowered like the complainers say. In RPG's from the beggining mages have ALLWAYS been weak at the lower levels....Ever try to play a mage in pen and paper D&D?

I see two problems for you to consider:

1.plan out how you want to spend your Perk points....with a mage type character it is very important to spend your Perks wisely since the best spells are the higher level spells...I haven't used Illusion much but you will need to Fill it up with Perk points to have spells that actually function against higher level enemies.

2.Robes are far and away the best equipment for a magicka user but they offer zero physical protection....why are they the best?
mostly because of the Magicka Regeneration and spell cost reduction effects. Mages are very hard to use when you can't regenerate your Magicka fast. However with Illusion style that factor may be less important than with my Destruction/Alteration/Restoration/Conjuration/Alchemist mage character.
I am not going to have enough Perk points to do everything that I wanted...poor planning.

Enjoy your mage.