Hi all,

I am a lvl 50 high elf with 432 magicka (370 base magicka) and 370 heath. I use enchanted gear to zero the magicka cost of destruction and conjuration, but I still like to use other school sometimes.

At this point I am wondering: should I invest more in magicka or health ? Which magicka value should I aim for ?

Magicka: more spells from other magic schools (other than destruction and conjuration which are free for me). Maybe I should push it to 550-600 total to be able to cast master alteration spell (like dragonhide and mass paralysis) and master illusion spell (like call to arms) ?
Health: would be helpful to avoid dying too fast (I'm playing on expert difficulty and planning to go master at some point).

I currently wear no armor (just clothing).

Thanks in advance for your help !

EDIT: I already got the Expert Alteration perk. It would be possible to get the Master Alteration perk for 1 perk, but I would not be able to do the same with illusion as I only have novice illusion (although I do not use illusion much: is it really worth it for illusion alone ?).

I have a 4 to 1 ratio magic/health. With enchant's for health. My char's alot lower in lvl though.

80/20 magic to health

No specific target here.

100 health, zero magicka once you have gear to cast at 0 cost.

Since you can alredy make gear to negate the use of magicka when using skills focus on health.

Pure mage?

100% Magicka


I see a lot of min/maxing in this thread.

You can enchant gear so that ALL schools of magic cost nothing to cast?

Yeah you can, if you don't want to make one piece of gear THAT good, or don't have the patience, make an extra set for another school of magic (Ex: One set would negate Destruction and conjuring, another would negate restoration and illusion).

Im a level 53 mage, my health is 300, my magicka something like 700 with a lot of increase magicka enchantments. i havent used a single master spell yet (they seem to take so long to cast). ive read a few times that you can take your casting cost down to 0%, but i have no idea how to do it.

Do it like this, 1- increase your enchanting perk tree, so that enchanting is 100% stronger, 25% better on armor, and you can put 2 enchants on the same item.
2- Try to make some potions that increase enchanting power, go make and enchantment on an item to increase alchemy power, and keep doing this back and forth until your satisfied.
3- Prepare the most powerful enchanting potion you can with this, and go enchant your armor and acessories with magicka descrease cost on certain schools, and you'll forever cast without running out of mana.

You have to grind Enchanting to 100, take all the middle perks, then enchant 4 items with magicka cost reduction.

I did it, and it makes everything kind of boring, especially for destruction spells.

does this take a lot of time?

It can. 20% less time if you have the Mage Stone.

You also need a lot of iron daggers...and petty soul gems, in order to grind the skill to 100.

i already have 100 enchanting. im more worried about the alchemy side. i hate alchemy, i think its at 50 or so. would i need to get that higher?

Not necessarily...not if you want to use the restoration glitch / alchemy loop.

I am level 28. I pick Magicka on every level up. I am using the Atronach stone. I have 0 cost Destruction and Alteration through Enchanting.

Not really... just enchant some stuff to make your created potions better and then go and make an potion to increase enchanting so you can keep powering up on it.

and at which level do you plan to switch to a bit of health ? Do you play on expert/master ?

How do i make enchanting potions? im lvl 81 and still havent found out how lol.. whats the ingredents needed?? Thak you

I get to around 450 base (600+ with gear, more than enough), the rest goes to health. Sometimes I give to health before I get to my 'target'. There's no exact ratio, I just level what I might need at the time.

Do what you're happy with.

Generally it should be mostly magicka, with some health and stamina.
You should'nt skimp on health and stamina.
Or you'll die fast, a lot.
And not be able to carry enough.

So long as you've enough to power your spells you're fine.

My Pure Mages do not invest in anything but Magicka.
My Spellsword/Battlemages cap at 400 Magicka, then use Enchanting to reduce casting costs. My Warriors get enough Magicka to dual cast Oakflesh (I think it is 120 to 150 depending on perks?)

Here are the numbers:

If you are a vampire with necromage using two helmets to create the best fortify enchantment potion possible, the maximium cost reduction is 41%.

You have rings, amulet, two helmets and armor for a total of 10 enchantable slots.

Therefore all schools at zero cost is impossible without restoration glitch or jail glitch.

As for the OP's question, more magicka at lower levels and more health at higher levels. At 81 level, you should have spent your stats points in +400 health and +400 magicka.

Fortify Enchanting potions can be made from any two of Blue Butterfly Wing, Hagraven Claw, Snowberries or Spriggan Sap.