I've been playing an Argonian Pyromancer build for a while now, and I have to say it is the most fun, coolest build I've ever made, and I will definitely be sticking with it. The thing is, just using Fire magic, and punching any enemy that's immune/resistant to it just doesn't cut it. So I decided to pick up Lightning.

So I was wondering if I'm still a Pyromancer if I'm casting Lightning Storm on occasion. This isn't really serious, I'm just curious.

If it doesn't count I'll just get rid of the lightning, and have him use an Axe against Flame Atronachs, and stuff.

Yes, a smart Pyromancer will diversify a bit.

Now, if the question was "Are you still a Pyromancer if you punch fire-resistant enemies?" I'd say no, you're a thug with fire spells.

In one of the dungeons, I killed a high-level Ice Mage, and found a fire spellbook on him, so there is a precedent for elemental diversification.

Well... the Avatarverse considered Lightning to be in the purview of Firebending...

Well... yes, since lightning sets stuff on fire...

Yeah, I was thinking about that when I was making the decision.


Yeah, I can definitely see what you mean. But it just kind of feels weird, throwing lightning instead of Fire. I can see myself using an Axe Enchanted with Fiery Soul Trap, and Health Absorb though. Since I have a decent amount of HP, and I use Mage Armor all the time.

Getting in close combat isn't a life threatening situation for me.

I'm using lightning with disintegrate on one hand and conjuration a dremora lord on the other. So if you run across an enemy mage with lightning that's when my dremora comes in hand until he gets that mage's health real low then he disintegrates. The only bad thing about disintegrate is sometimes you can't find the enemy's ash pile, especially dragons.

I never even knew Dragons could turn into an ash pile.

Anyway I think I decided, I'll just use an Axe instead of Lightning. It'll give me a chance to make use of top tier weapons(Ebony Axe/Daedric Axe), and it'll help mix things up. Plus I have more Hotkey slots.

Thank you for posting.

Flame cloak + lightning storm = http://blog.thenewstribune.com/photo/files/2011/06/APTOPIX-Chile-Volcano.jpg

Ice is pretty much the only deal breaker. Schools of magic like conjuration (for permanent flame atronachs) and illusion (for aspect of terror) could prove useful as well.

Have you tried adding a Weakness to Fire poison to your fire-enchanted Axe?

No I haven't. I don't do Alchemy(too much of a pain), but I'll definitely consider buying some from alchemists. I didn't even consider using Weakness to fire, thanks for the idea.

If you're worried about breaking the RP nature then justify it as Mahnogard did to use lightning against fire-resistant enemies. You could also justify lightning against other mages to drain the magicka.

I don't really like the crafting skills, but Alchemy is worth it, with only a few perks you can make fairly strong potions/poisons.