Okay so every time I've made a pure (robe wearing) spellcaster combat boils down to this:

1. Spot target
2. Cast Oak/Stone flesh type spell
3. Run backwards trying to kill target with firebolt or lightning bolt whilst not trying to be hit.
4. Repeat step 1


Does going light or heavy armor change the gameplay enough so it does not become repetitive? I know with my light armor archer I can sneak and take shots, draw them out, or I can charge in and take them straight up.

Is being a pure spellcaster that straightforward or am I missing something or do I need to go spellsword (1 spell/1 weapon) or battlemage (armor + 2 spells) in order to keep things interesting?

Well. I had the same problem with mages so i dont roll pure mage. Adding armor, unless your going enchanting, makes you run out of mana ALOT faster, which forces you to run or go into combat, which keeps things a little exciting. HOWEVER, i found that destro could not keep up with my 1 handed weapon both from lvling and damage. So it lost its fun pretty quick. I thought about switching to conjuration or something to keep things interesting but by then i was pretty invested in the character and just dropped him. Will try a battlemage again some other time, but as of now, i just dont find much fun with magic outside of utility like candlelight. Although i am having fun with my resto duel weilder ^^ he's very priestly in that he does more support for followers then actually fighting. Its an interesting fighting style that i'm liking. I dont feel really overpowered. A matter of fact i'm close to death quite often, makes it interesting. imo anyways, hope that didnt kill your hopes or anything.

I only made one mage so far,but she would cast a mage armor spell then summon a helper then sit back and watch basically.
So yeah my mage was very repetitive.

I'm wondering if maybe a shield-basher mage (shield in one hand, spell in the other) is feasible?

I've actually been thinking of that myself. I didnt even realize it was possible until i did it by accident. I'll be trying it out soon. If you do it let me know what you find p.s. Using flames with a shield looks bad ass

I'd probably go Light Armor and maybe go Elven, so that I can have the lightest armor, and therefore the best mobility possible.

I'll go heavy for more defense ^^ we'll have to keep up on how it goes

Please tell me if my stealth archer is not repetitive? Spot target > Stealth > Sneak attack > repeat

What about my warrior? Spot target > Rush in > power attack or block till enemy dead > repeat

Oh no my warrior can do archery, my stealth archer can do 1 hand attack... why not a mage develop more combat pattern? Where is your rune? Why not trying conjuration? Why not also train up archery for some stealth kill? Why not illusion makes them kill each other? Well, i can tell you over 1 hour of game play, i already feel the repetitive.

1. A stealth archer does not always have to stealth. You can pick the off, sure, but you can also kite, or close in on them.
2. My sword/warrior can simply tank, sure, but I can also switch my shield out pretty easily and go dual wield


I see a lot of people complain about destruction, and the response always seems "do conjuration too" or "do illusion too" but rarely the reverse. Plus I can't stand casting a spell, and having skyrim AI fight Skyrim AI.


You do have a pretty valid point about the runes though.