I cannot get past the Draugr in the cavern just after the puzzles. I am level 11, about 33 in conjuration. I have fire spells (bolt and plain fire) and can con jure a Flame Atronach -- doesn,t work, we both get killled. Alternative is to slug with the axe of Whitrun but it is too slow.

I thought of luring him back to the puzzles and trying to flick the switch to drop the iron gate on his head but that will be tricky.

I also have a bound sword but that,s a useless piece of kit in my view. A shout knocks it off its feet but doesn't kill it.

Any ideas on strategy here ? Magic or wallop with the axe.

Try turning the difficulty down for the particular spot you are having issues at and try it that way... You can always turn the difficulty back up afterwards...

I'd recommend that you use whichever type of attack you are best at along with a summoned Atronach since you have the ability to summon one...

I found this quite difficult at first, too. Because I'm a newb and a knobhead at these sort of games, I assumed that as I was in the college I had to only use magic and spells or else I'd get told off by toldfir..
Turns out, no you dont.
So it might be best to use whatever form of combat you're best at, be it destruction or weapons. Generally it can be usefull to use your dragon voice to throw that boss off it's feet giving you the chance to get some blows in while it's still staggered.
Doesent toldfir throw spells at the thing occaisionally in your game? I found he did in mine, which gave me more opportunity to get in there and do some damage to the thing.
There are certain potions that may come in handy that boost certain skills for a certain amount of time.

Funnily enough, Toldfir is nowhere to be seen here. I'll try again, thanks for the advice.Seems that he regenerates quite quickly; sonofa[censored].

Already on null brain difficulty !

even before the game was released they said there would be places that are just too hard at lower levels and you have to return later when you are stronger. maybe this is one of those places for you.

or....just cop out and turn the difficulty down as mentioned.

I turned down the difficulty and then equiped sparks and flare and didnt even care how low my health got but that was at level 3 level 5 now... (i got annoyed after dying for the 6th time in a row if going rage mage failed i dont know what i would of done :/)

As a fellow newb and knobhead I'd highly recommend archery as an effective combat tool for draugrs. In sneak mode you get 2x damage and combined with any poison only the higher level draugrs require multiple shots.

Something to consider for future battles is to purchase some Fortify Destruction potions. Better yet, make your own. Fire is the damage of choice for undead so if you boost it with a potion you should be good to go.

Hide. Summon Flame Atronach. Make sure to be far away enough from the Draugr raqelord or casting it will cause him to spot you. I don't remember how the Saarthal layout looks like, but summoning your Atronach on a difficult-to-reach position will help as its primarily a ranged attacker.

Sit perfectly still as Flame Atronach and the Draugr duke it out.

When the Atronach dies, wait for your Magicka to regen(Draugr will preferably wander back to his starting position again by then) and summon another one.

Will take a while, but it's a certified way to kill things with Conjuration at low levels.

Then you are not at the hard part yet. If these are just run of the mill Draugr you are having trouble with then the best advice would be come back later, but I think you may be committed to finishing the dungeon once you pass the puzzles.

In general in a tough area. summon atronoch, fire arrow, switch to magic until it is gone, switch to hand weapon, use potions to regenerate. Run away.

Some good responses up there ^ ^ ^
Agreed, The undead really really do not like being on fire. If possible, try to find a weapon with an enchantment that causes burning and pain, and much pain!
If the undead were on Facebook, they would deffinately be a fan of not being on fire.

(That's an actual fan page on facebook btw)

Saarthal was the first time i hard time that seems to be a trend.

I just move around like crazy to keep him moving and give myself time to regen health and stamina and tried to choose my shots wisely. Lure him up the ramp to the top level, power attach him a couple times, then jump off the ledge and wait down the bottom somewhere for him to follow and hopefully give yourself some regen time, or take some potions, power attack him a couple times, run up the ramp, wait for him to follow, attack, jump off the end, wait for him to follow, attack, repeat?

I was on around lvl 7 dual weilding dagger/sword. No magic but used a few potions of stamina and the fortify + restore health potions made in alchemy.

I had a similar problem with a draugr deathlord in Labyrinthian who was one-shotting me with an ebony bow. Not sure how Saarthal is laid out, but in that fight I was able to run back into a corridor, laid out a double-charged fire rune on the floor, then crouched down and kept sending out flame atronachs to wittle down his health. Finally I peeked out and lured him into the corridor where the rune finished him off.

It was... invigorating.

If it really doesn't work, you may need to back out and retry at a higher level. I've done that on dungeons before. Of course try putting the difficulty level down.