Hello, everybody. First of all, I would like to apologize if this sort of question has been posted before.

I've just started my first character that utilizes magic. He's an Altmer, and I'm having a hard time deciding how many points I should put into my Magicka pool to be able to effectively cast the spells I need.

I know eventually I'll be able to make the Magicka cost 0 with the help of Enchanting, but until then...

I'll list the skills I plan to use for this character, if that helps.

Major skills: Destruction, Conjuration, Enchanting, One-Handed.

Minor skills: Heavy armor, Illusion, Alteration, Smithing.

My Altmer Mage only puts attribute points into Magicka. I don't do the 0 Magicka cost thing though so I cannot help sorry. I like knowing I can run out of Magicka but still have a large pool to cast a few (lower level at the moment) spells. I like knowing I'm a glass cannon (well more like glass without the cannon).

My Altmer mage puts everything into magika too.
Even at that, later on in the game when I do the thrall stuff I have just a wee bit of magika left.
With spells and potions you can make up for a lack of health and stamina temporarily.

Nothing beats a huge supply of magic for a Mage!

ETA: I'm not sure what the relationship between heavy armor and stamina is. I think you use more when you run and stuff. I'm sure someone knowledgeable will chime in about that. Or check the UESP wiki.

Thanks for the replies.

I just wanted to know, as I'll be wanting to put points into Health and Stamina as well, so I can fight with a sword, and not be a "pure" mage that can't take hits.

I play as an Altmer with a sword in one hand and a spell in the other as well. What I do is to use the +50 magicka bonus complemented with some enchanted gear (Mage hood etc.) to gain another +50 magicka. When I level up I spent the points equally among all three options (magicka, health, stamina). Thus I have alway 100 points of magicka more than health and/or stamina, which so far works rather well. I am not a complete glass cannon, I have enough stamina to fight with a sword and move in heavy armor, and enough magicka to cast spells (first destruction then healing as/if necessary). I guess it is all right for a battlemage build.

But do whatever feels right for YOUR character...

:my2cents:

Honestly, for a mage, the more points in magic the better. The other stuff are nice, but you'll need to invest a good bit in health for it to become more than a novelty, and the lack of armor greatly diminishes your ability to sustain damage on top of a low hit point base. If you've already invested in destruction and the like you'll be able to burst damage an enemy before he reaches you.(Cause a massive, but unsustainable amount of damage in a short time) and thus ignore the issue of low tolerance to damage altogether.

Spell swords have good results, but for a first time magic user I can't say its the best way to learn the magic system. Hybrids gives you a lot of options in combat, but you don't do great in either category.

I would put all into magicka to begin with, and later you could do 2:1 or 3:1 magicka to health. I wouldn't worry too much about stamina unless you are going to be going toe-to-toe with your enemies and using a lot of power attacks. If you plan on using mostly magic but use one-handed only if needed I would say all or most in magicka. If you will be splitting your attacks with magic and melee then you will need some health, imo. With Heavy Armor you can take some damage, especially if you suppliment it with flesh spells to boost AR.

Also, if you are concerned about Stamina you can carry potions and/or use cooking to help. I think it is vegetable soup that boosts Stamina regen (like 1 point per second) for a fairly long time and you only need 1 point left in your Stamina bar to get off a power attack. So every second you can do a power attack, theoretically, as you regen that 1 point you need.

It all depends on how you plan on playing your character.

Judging by npc statistics and my own experience with the game the intended ratio for the archetype seems to be about 50/50. However if you rely on destruction magicka will run out unless you have ~100% destruction cost in which case that attribute is pretty much useless. Stamina is completely useless unless you use physical weapons often.

Thanks for the replies, guys. I appreciate the feedback.

It seems the general consensus is hybrids aren't all that good, as opposed to specialists in a certain area, which is understandable.

I suppose I could always lower the difficulty if things get too hairy later on, when the enemies become super tough. (currently on Adept)