I have seen a lot of complaints on this board about playing pure mage characters, but I haven't found this to be much of a problem. So I thought I would post my mage character (not quite pure due to Sneak) just in case it was of help to anyone. Please post any additional tips.

My mage is currently at level 45. I play on Expert.

I decided to play Breton because I figured I wanted to get good magic regeneration while my Magicka was low, and so I thought I would use the Apprentice stone, and use the Breton Dragon Blood ability to offset the disadvantage. I also thought the High Elf bonuses would become useless at high level, while the Breton ones would scale. But it is not a big deal which race you play. If you play something without good magic skill bonuses, you may find it worthwhile to grind spell-casting at the very start of the game to make up the extra points. Lately I have changed from the Apprentice stone to the Lord stone, because regen is no longer a problem. But it is worth finding ways to increase your regen when your Magicka pool is small.

I have put all my points into Magicka, so currently it is at 540 without gear. This means I can cast what I want, when I need it. I almost never run out. This also means I have to be careful not to be hit. This makes the game much more fun. Last night I fought an Elder Dragon in a small area with little cover, and died maybe four times. At the end of the battle, I saluted him as a worthy foe. To me, this is the fun of RPGs. I don't want to one-shot him and keep on walking.

My skills are currently:
Illusion 100
Conjuration 98
Destruction 92
Restoration 51
Alteration 100
Enchanting 100
Sneak 77

I don't use other skills. I started practicing Alchemy, but have not found a use for it, and if I take it up again I will have to grind it up by 50 points before it is of any use at all. (It is at 27.) I leave all locks unopened, and it doesn't matter at all. I still have 42,000 gold and all the gear and spells I need. Speech is at 47 but there is nothing you can do about that.

Illusion perks: Everything except Illusion Dual Casting and Master of the Mind. I haven't felt the need to get Dual Casting for any school. I don't want to get Master of the Mind, because my tactics would end up being the same for all kinds of enemies. I like it that there are some mobs that Illusion will not work on.

Conjuration perks: The left branch of Atronach perks, and the right branch of spell cost perks. I will get the Twin Souls perk when Conjuration hits 100.I have no use for any bound weapon perks or spells. I am not using zombies for role-play reasons.

Destruction perks: The spell-cost branch, and Rune Master. Just lately I have been getting the perks to power up Shock spells. I have not felt a lack of power in Destruction before now, but getting close to level 50 it is time for an upgrade. So far I just have the two damage-increase perks. Eventually I will get the disintegrate perk, and probably I will get Destruction Dual Casting and Impact after that. This will keep Destruction going up in power up to level 50, when monsters reach maximum level (I believe).

Restoration perks: I don't really use Restoration as I don't get hit (much) and my Health is only 100. So far I only have the Novice and Apprentice spell-cost perks, and the first Recovery perk (which is good to get). I'll get the next Recover perk, and then it won't go up further unless I start turning undead. I will probably do that at some point. I have not found a use for Wards as I try to avoid aggro, and they burn a lot of Magicka.

Alteration perks: I have all the spell-cost perks, the three Mage Armor perks, one perk in Magic Resistance, Atronach for absorbing spells, and Stability which I got once the skill hit 100 as it is counterproductive before then. I will probably get the rest of the Magic Resistance perks at some point. Catching a stray Ice Spike from a distant foe whom I haven't noticed is one way this character tends to bite the dust.

Enchanting perks: I only have the first five perks to make enchantments 100% stronger. This brings things up more or less to the level of loot that you find. This means that there is still some interest in finding treasure, which is one of the points of RPGs. I would prefer to use the other perks on spell skills, and keep loot interesting. But it is useful to have Enchanting just so you can make the specific pieces you might need, and it is also a good money-making skill. Not vital but kind of fun.

Sneak perks: None. I wear gloves and boots of +35% Sneak each, that I made.

Shouts: This character really only uses Become Ethereal, Unrelenting Force and sometimes Whirlwind Sprint for certain situations. You get all these ones very early on if you follow the first couple of bits of the main quest. Become Ethereal is absolutely essential, especially against dragons. If you have a few seconds of invulnerability you can turn the tide of battle. Unrelenting Force is just fun, but can be very useful if you can blow people off walls or hit a few at once.

Playstyle: This character obviously is an indirect fire character. I sneak all the time in dungeons. The idea is to attack from cover and avoid the attention of enemies. This means tactics, which is the fun of the character.

Spell usage, in the order it comes up on my screen. Only the useful ones:

Detect Dead & Detect Life: I think if you use these too much, it can take the fun out of getting jumped, so I only use them in special cases where I am searching for something.

Dragonhide: This is not that much use I suppose, but I forget to use it. You can cast it from within Become Ethereal if you have a tough fight in an enclosed space. Then just drink a Magicka potion.

Ebonyflesh: This is very useful, especially early on.

Magelight: I cast this on my summoned atronachs so that they are a portable light source, and also attract more attention (I hope).

Paralyze: Very, very useful for supporting atronachs, getting out of trouble, and breaking calm spells. Often I paralyze and then cast Wall of Storms over the poor guy.

Pacify: This is good cast from inside Become Ethereal. When you are using it on wild animals, you have to make sure not to cast it as they leap, or they will kill you then become very calm... It is also useful for grinding spells. You can make some poor bear or saber cat your test dummy. Also good when you need a few seconds to plan how you will attack.

Frenzy: This is fun to cast from cover on a room full of enemies or a castle rampart with bandits. Just hit one or two bad guys, keep hiding, and shut the door. Chaos ensues.

Invisibility: This is super useful and I have it up a lot of the time. Good for running through the wilderness and not picking up aggro from distant animals.

Muffle: Not sure how much this hides noise from a character in robes, but it seems to do some good. Possibly useful when Sneak is low, and good for grinding Illusion at low level to get to Invisibility.

Rout: Good for supporting your atronach.

Runes: These are lots of fun at mid level. You cast them silently from cover before you attack. Also, if you get chased, you can cast them in front of you as you run away. Then listen for the "BANG" and cast another one. Various opportunities for creative tactics.

Walls: You can also lay these ahead of time down corridors and such. If you know where a dragon likes to land, you can make him a bed of Wall Spells to sit in.

Other Destruction spells: All pretty obvious.

Atronachs: These are essential. Flame and Storm are for ranged damage, Frost and Dremora are for melee and blocking enemies from getting to you. The first two are useful when you first see a dragon, then the last two are good for keeping him on the ground so you can spam Destruction at him. If you can sneak, go invisible, or go Ethereal, enemies will usually transfer aggro from you to your atronach, which is kind of the point of this character's playstyle. Atronachs sometimes don't cast. Some people say this is due to the absorb magicka effect of the Atronach perk. I am not sure if this is correct. I haven't really tested it. It's rarely a problem, anyway. I've never died because an atronach didn't cast.

Expel Daedra: This is very good to have available.

Soul Trap: This is tricky to cast, but kind of fun because you have to get in close and aim carefully. I cast it when the enemy is pacified, paralyzed or fighting an atronach usually.

Fast Healing: This is the only Restoration spell I really use. Putting it in both hands heals you completely in a couple of seconds.

Anyway, that is how I play my mage and I enjoy it a lot. Every situation calls for different tactics, and you always have a few options. I probably die once or twice per dungeon, but I don't have any battles that are actually frustrating. I know I can beat anything if I think about what's going on.

I have a level 20 Altmer Destruction/Alteration Mage on Masters (second play-through) Destruction 68/Alteration65/Enchantment 63, I use the Atronach stone because to give my mage some magic absorption, I don't wear armor but use the fleshspells and perks for armor. The problems that many people are voicing are the damage scaling for destruction magic or the lack thereof. If you are using all of the schools of Magic you are going to have a much more powerful character. If you aren't going to dip into all the schools you have to choose which damage dealing magic you are going to use Destruction, Conjuration, or Illusion and Defensive Magic Alteration or Restoration.

I guess in a game that says that you can be what you want to be people were upset that you can't do it as easily. It doesn't bother me but my first run on masters using a sneak assassin was so much easier.

Thank you very much for this post, Mujokan.

I have several characters I enjoy a great deal -- a 2H-warrior and a true assassin especially -- but I have been both intimidated and intrigued by the idea of a pure mage.

I figured stealth would be a requirement, and that doesn't bother me. Even my heavy armor warrior walks with a light step when first entering unfamiliar (and likely dangerous) surroundings.

The fact that you made it to 45 on Expert tells me this is more than doable. Thanks!

I'm level 15 Altmer Destruction/Alteration no armour pure mage on masters. I'm a big fan of Detect Life and this is the basis of my gameplay style. I like to dip into illusion now and then as Fury is a very nice spell to clear enemies and Calm is good for the wilderness. I use my enchantments for Resist Magic.

The Summon spells are also great but slightly overpowered imho. At lower level you can just spam the Flame Atronach and it will do all the work for you, even on master.

Please tell me how you have leveled up Destruction. I am 62 hours in and only at Destruction 68. I have never used 1-h or 2-h weapons for the entire game (except rare bound weapon use for soul capture). I use Destruction magic exclusively and feel like it is taking forever to level it up. Since I am focusing on it completely, I think that it should not take 100+ hours to reach max level.

Am I just not encountering harder enemies? Do I need to up the difficulty level (currently at Adept)?? My problem with this is that I frequently get served when fighting groups or tougher opponents (Elder Dragons kill me in 2 seconds, literally). Conjuration is my "get out of jail free" card, but if I use that then my minions get most of the damage and then it takes even longer for Destruction to level up. I killed 2 giants last night (at the same time) by running backwards and hitting them with ice damage. My Destruction level didn't really change at all.

What can I do differently?? I really want to keep my character a straight Mage if at all possible, at least for now. I realize I will have to branch out if I want to keep leveling up (that's another discussion) but now I am focused on getting Expert Destruction spells and need to level that up.

Thanks!

The only way is to hit something, anything, with a Destruction spell. It doesn't matter how tough the enemy is. When I was at low level, what I would do is go out onto the plains of Whiterun, and put Calm in one hand, and Ice Spike in the other. Then, when I came across a Saber Cat, I would cast both at once. The Destruction spell is slightly quicker to hit, so it hits the cat, and then the cat is immediately calmed down. You can do this as much as you want, and then even heal the cat if you want. However, I think I probably only got ten points or so via this method.

Apart from that, I used Runes a lot. And lately I have been trying to use Destruction in support of atronachs as much as possible. But this character has never bought training in anything as far as I remember. I did dedicate some time to getting Enchanting up to 100, which often meant hunting mudcrabs outside Solitude, and for that I would use Destruction.

I've got one lvl 35 pure Mage. I'm hea of the guild, only wear robes, and elven accessories. I always change of from one tank follower to the next, I'm tryin to use necromancer as much as allows, atonarchs in a pinch, and a lot of various lightning. If I take a direct hit I might die, do I use flesh spells a bit, but I gave up on illusion after adept level. I do use courage and healing hands a bit, which is fun. I sank points in speech a bit to get good gear from merchants early without a grind. Now I'm a bit like batman with all my various lock pick and stealth gear. I'm working up to a dual enchant boots of muffle and fire res. I try not to abuse smithing and enchant as I think it's like an I win button. I chose high elf, the boost is cool and is more role playable than chugging 10 potions.