no actually the master spells svck the expert spells are better and the expert spells are pretty bad at 30+ also another thing is that unlike warriors with smithing the only way to increase dmg is alchemy which only lasts like 30 secs enchanting only reduces costs of spells

Have any of you taken the time to actually play a pure destruction using mage?

Hmmm...do you use armor or only cloth? On my pure mage, using only cloth, on Adept(default) difficulty and with Ebonyflesh and the perks in Alteration I could still get 1-shot from a Deathlord and his uber bow of uber kills
So without using armor I find it really hard to play a pure destruction mage.
You can increase the damage the spells do by using Fortify Destruction potions (found/bought or crafted).

I haven't tryed making a mage yet If I do, I'll be sure to try this out.

I have played three mages on master. I use it as a crowd control technique. It should have higher damage capability. I started the first one planning on all destruction but quickly got sick of poking people/monsters till they died. That one started on default difficulty (my first character in Skyrim) before I realized how easy it was. Once again, while its powerful the damage is not why.

ONLY cloth I dont even use alteration spells for defense either. i am a PURE destruction mage. I just run away from enemies that get to close lol I "dance" around them while shooting them with firebolt. I also usually kill things before they get near me.

I tried it out today it's pretty good until you run into leveled monsters like ice wraiths and ice trolls I went into a a dungeon and a falmer one hit me when My spell barley effected him btw it was the same spell

Try playing it at level 50 on master... you literally have to spam 30+ incinerates just to kill 1 dragon, it's awful.

My next play through (whenever that is) a Breton Mage of some kind (I still working it over in my head whilst playing with my imperial character) and I will be other form of magic including destruction like Alteration, Illusion, restoration (maybe), conjuration (which for I is a must) and enchanting.

How?
I don't know.

I will try it with trial and error.
That is all I type.

This is going to be completely left field then my imperial I playing.
I played mages in Oblivion and its fun. Who needs a companion while I have conjuration.

Ater so many whinings about the game being too easy.......
Like wih all elder scrolls games, the real problem with Skyrim is the players.

You must be really good at dodging then. I find it quite hard to do that in this game.
But you should be careful when you get higher level 30-40. Those Overlords are my mages bane, and at higher levels they carry ebony weapons. With no armor whatsoever that is a sure 1-hit kill, even on Adept (I assume you didn't put a lot of health when leveling up). And if they come in more than 2....well....
They also can Fus Ro Dah you around.

This has nothing to do with difficulty...

destruction doesn't scale while other skills do leaving its damage fall behind in the higher levels and yeah most people who say the game is to easy abuse smithing and enchanting get to lvl 30 and are like why is the game so easy!! well most of got daedric which is 50+ gear and to enchants in their sword and difficulty doesn't really effect level scaling so there's a problem with people being OP smithing enchanting and UP destruction conjuration (at high levels 50 +conjuration is bad)

^

Spamming the same spell 30 times to kill something isn't challenging, it's just annoying as hell.

At level 21 he isn't meeting many/any Deathlords packing Ebony bows.

If you basically just level 1 combat skill and stay low level with a high primary skill you will be unstaoppable with any combat skill. If you make a character that even specializes in 3 skills, with a minor in 1 skill you will still be crazy powerful.

Basically because of scaling the lower you keep your overall level while raising your major skills the stronger your character will be.

Levelling up is not a hard and fast measure of power. Sometimes it can make you weaker.

Destruction is easy and viable but can get very monotonous. I can beat an Ancient Dragon on master difficulty using only destruction magic at level 50 but that involves spamming a dual cast spell and permanently staggering the dragon with the "impact" perk. I would actually say that it is the most powerful attack. Swords can do more damage but with destruction magic you can beat anything without getting hit.

this

Do these potions stack? So, theareticly, I could drink 5 potions simultaniusly and get a great damage boost?

This could all be solved if they make a free dlc that is spell making. This could all be solved if this simple concept was in the game. tsk,tsk,tsk Bethesda

Well i've been modding my magic so i kinda forgot how it was like.

I know that the damage svcked, though the impact perk was what saved me all the time LOL spamming firebolts at everything to stunlock them.

Bump......

I don't think that the lack of spell making in this game is what makes Destruction lackluster at higher levels, not is it even the best solution to that problem. The real issue, as has been mentioned, is the lack of damage scaling. You can use potions, and there are two perks per element. That is it for raising spell damage. Perhaps a perk allowing an overcharging of spells (hold down the cast button for longer than what it takes to cast), and let the channeled spells get stronger as more things start burning/freezing/being zapped.

Or just let the spells gain a damage boost based on the skill level (1% per skill point, maybe?), like the weapon skills.

I don't think they stack. Other fortify potions don't.

While i may not have played Destruction from the start nor maxed it out, i'm finding it unreliable.

I play a spellsword who specializes in two-handed weaponry with a bit of Restoration for those tough bits and Destruction to bring the heat (no pun intended).

This just is not working for me. The Restoration is fine, it heals me when I need it to, save for some high-end spells who's utility is questionable. It's the Destruction that is failing me. I would normally rely on two-hander's for the majority of encounters, but would use Destruction spells to pack a punch and make up for my otherwise lack of ranged attacks. Having a high magicka cost would be fine, so long as it really put the hurt on my enemies (and was worth the time it takes to equip/unequip during battle), something it fails at. Not only am I left with poor damage, but the magicka cost for any spell worth casting is tremendous.

This has left me with little choice but to level up enchanting a bit, and with a combination of the Destruction perks and and Dragon Priest mask, attain 80%+ reduced magicka cast for these spells to be worth the spamming they need to dish out damage.

Destruction is only viable if you abuse enchanting to grant you 0% cost on spells and do those enchants on heavy armor and then you can maybe play on Master.