So I'm currently working on my tank/jugg build where I max out my magic/elemental/physical damage resistance the most efficient way I can.

Magic resistance: 25% (default) + 15% (Agent of Mara) + 20% (Magic resistance, Alteration perk) = 60%

^So that's what I'm going for DEFINITELY. What I'm wondering is what stone I should go for. I'm trying to decide between the Steed or the Lord. If I had the Lord, I'd max out with only 2/3 in Magic Resistance but without the Steed, I'd waste 3 perks going for the perk Conditioning (using heavy armor as a Jugg).

If I took the Steed, I'd save myself 3 perk plus I'd get the 100 extra carry weight. But I'd also waste a shield enchantment on magic resistance, taking away from my health enchantment.

TL;DR: +3 perks, +100 Carry Weight OR -3 perks, +70-80 health

The Lord is the most important standing stone if you're going for a tank.

I've only done a tank build wherein I pour points into Heavy Armor and Two Handed with secondary skills in Block and Smithing, and that didn't really leave me at a want for extra perk points since I had the bare necessities down.

Go for The Steed, mainly because you already have tremendous magic resistance that could be boosted as needed with potions. Easier to compensate for that side of the tradeoff.

If you accept been a vampire, 100% magic absorption can be achieved by getting the Necromage perk, becoming a vampire, get the Atronach perk and finally the Atronach guardian stone. The order is fairly important. But in this build, Bretons are actually subpar because magic resistance becomes pointless. Altmer or Orc becomes the top choice.

If you dislike being a vampire, the most effective is to still get Atronach perk and standing stone, plus 3 levels of Magic resist perk. All magic damage, on average, is reduced to (100% - 70%) x (100% - 80%) 6%, while naked.

I usually do Lord stone in the beginning, and switch to Steed stone when I feel sturdy enough. Steed stone is very addictive. Once you go steed stone, you can't go back.

Steed accomplishes his goal of being a tank by... how?

If he chooses lord instead he will max his spell resistance. If he picks steed he can die from a mage, but have 100lbs spare inventory slots on his corpse.

If he maxes out elemental resistance, 60% is plenty good enough. It's 97.5% (85% & 85%) magic damage reduction vs. 94% (60% & 85%). It's still ridiculously good. Too good still, perhaps. The game might be too boring against magic users. And he can still choose the remaining 10% magic resistance perk in alteration tree.

The weight benefit is not just 100. it's 170 or so (100 + weight of the armor) This is worth 6 perks. 3 in heavy armor and 3 in pickpocket.

phone post

Maxing elemental resistance is not an optimal option. You need 5 to 6 enchantment slots to do that. You lose a massive amount of power and utility.

You can easily max out both magic resistance and elemental resistance. Perhaps not optimal for you, but it's quite feasible. OP has indicated in his original post that he wants both magic resistance and elemental resistance.

Look at Domalisa's famous minimal reference build, for example. With no alchemy and using only 20 perks.

http://skyrimcalculator.com/#24358


Elven Armor, Elven Warhammer
Lord Stone, Agent of Mara, Two Alteration perks
Necklace; Resist Frost, Resist Fire
Ring; Resist Shock, Resist Magic
Helm; Waterbreathing
Chest; Fortify Light Armor, Resist Poison
Gloves; Fortify Block, Fortify Two Handed
Shoes; Resist Shock, Resist Fire

DR; 80%
Block; 85%
MR; 82%
Frost; 85%
Fire; 85%
Shock; 85%
Poison; 42%