Enchanted Fortify Destruction equipment + Destruction dual cast beats everything.

Impact > Ancient Dragon.

'Nuff said.

You, my friend, are awesome!!! Don't forget though, by increasing or properly scaling Destruction damage you make the game more mindless and simple, thus displeasing the minority hardcoe kids.

My character doesn't do a ton of fighting. A lot of reading and exploring, which comes with a little fighting. I never go out looking for a fight, very out of character. I have no other character experience to compare it to though. (Only been a mage. =/)

I bring a follower with. - usually Uthgerd or Lydia, since they prefer to run in and use their swords, while my mate stays back and throws lightning bolts at the enemy. Very effective. I also summon atronachs, and carry an enchanted dagger with me in case I run out of magicka. I find my mage dies far less than my warrior, actually.

You wonder how a mage can be powerful? Conjuration and Illusion combined can beat any area in Skyrim just as easily as a Warrior. I have a warrior, a destruction/conjuration mage, and a thief/assassin all at high levels now to compare to. My current mage is Conjuration/Illusion. Calm disables most enemies easily. If that fails I use fear. Groups can be frenzied into killing each other. While the first conjured helper is almost useless the second is a decent ranged attacker and the third, the frost Atronach makes a capable tank at the level it should be gained. By the time you get higher and aquired the Dremora Lord and the appropriate perks you can stroll into any situation and watch your enemies quickly be decimated. Anything that gets after you will be subdued quickly with fear or calm if you even become detected. Take sneak on top of those two spell classes and you are pretty much unstoppable by the time you get around level 25.

I even added health to this last character so I wouldn't be one shot all the time like my first mage was. With some magicka regen and reduction gear along with the appropriate perks, magicka isn't an issue. An illusion/conjuration mage also doesn't cast nearly as often as a mage relying primarily on destruction spells. If I want to do direct damage I conjure up a bow or a blade which I do quite often. The conjured weapon perks are also very nice especially for leveling enchanting. The main issues early on are those involving undead and dwemer machines were illusion doesn't work due to not having the perk available yet. Those I deal with by staying hidden and using my conjured helper or by raising the dead and letting them fight for me. I also used a couple of staffs I aquired during the college quests. Those were helpful for ranged damage until I got the conjured bow.

It's a fun class, challenging early on, but very rewarding as the levels go on and my talents improve. I will admit that my warrior was probably the easiest class I played because all I had to do was walk in and start swinging. There's no real thought or planning to it. It is fun but it's a different kind of brutal, head pounding fun that I like but not all the time. A mage takes some thought and planning to make them powerful and when it is successful it is very rewarding. It does take time to get used to and switching up spells a lot is mandatory. On the console it takes a lot more micro management which some will find displeasing considering on a warrior you can pretty much keep the shield and weapon, 2h weapon, or duel weapons equipped nearly all the time. Again the warrior is much easier to play but in some ways less rewarding for that same reason.

no doubt about it that these multi-skilled characters are super fun to play and i'm glad i stopped specializing like i did when i first started.

i can use all the great skill combos in a single battle and make-up for the lackluster overall combat system.

Wonderful post, OP, and I think I can help your situation. Forgive me if this is short, as my girlfriend is looking for a movie for us to watch (in which case I'll continue tomorrow--I really want to contribute to this!).




Your problem is that you're changing your innate playstyle. I had the same issue. Let me explain.

Your warrior, obviously, is very defensive: you use shields and the Lord stone, pour lots of points into health, Become Ethereal is your go-to shout, and you don't even use a lot of stamina in combat. You're a defensive player, and that's why you're enjoying that. Your mage, on the other hand, is offensive: Destruction (obviously offensive), putting all your points into magicka, and Alteration. Even though Alteration is apparently defensive, it's actually mostly useful for offensive mages who like to get into the fray; defensive mages will find themselves not needing it.

I had a similar problem. I prefer offensive playstyles. I love my Khajiit warrior (who I must have rerolled three or four times since 11/11) who uses light armor and dual-wields. He's not extremely durable, but he sure can run circles around his enemies with his weightless armor and tons of stamina while dealing enormous amounts of damage in 360 degrees around him. I had a Nord two-handed warrior, too, who used heavy armor, but that turned out to be the end of him; I didn't like being so sluggish. I even tried shields, but I can't come to like them. In fact, I think the highest my Block skill has ever been is where it is with my current mage (46 with no perks). I don't think blocking is badly done--quite the opposite, in fact--but the playstyle just can't suit me. I find it terrible.

I made a mage a few weeks ago who was defensive in nature. Just Destruction, Restoration and Alteration, meant to tank hits while he cloaked and runed his way to victory. It was the least fun I'd ever had with a mage, and it was very discouraging. Then I made my current build.

This build is aggressive, but in a controlling fashion, much like my Khajiit who is so agile on the battlefield that he rarely gets hit (I'm no PS3, so no speed mods, just honest light-warrior tactics). I'll share the build, and hopefully help you just like you requested. Mages can be incredibly powerful, more so than any warrior.

The perks on the calculator we all love:

Current build at level 42: http://skyrimcalculator.com/#112125

Goal at level 50: http://skyrimcalculator.com/#112126

The game is too easy as a mage. The Archmage's robes are amazing, as well as the Dragon Priest masks--all extremely powerful together. My current equipment is as follows:

-Archamge's Robes (15% cost reduction to all schools, +50 magicka, and +100% magicka regen rate)
-An enchanted pair of boots simply called "Boots" found in the Archmage's quarters (40% shock resistance)
-Switch between an Amulet of Talos (20% faster cooldown for shouts) and an Amulet of Akatosh (+25% magicka regen rate) as necessary, with the Gauldur Amulet as backup if needed (+30 each to magicka, health and stamina)
-A Ring of Recovery (I think that's what it's called, gives +100% magicka regen rate)
-One of three Dragon Priest masks at all times: Otar (30% fire, frost and shock resistance), Morokei (+100% magicka regen rate), and Nahkriin (+50 magicka, 20% cost reduction to Destruction and Restoration). I use Nahkriin the most.

I don't enchant any equipment (as you can see from my build); I use only Illusion, Conjuration, Destruction and Restoration.

Not that I ever run out of magicka in the first place, but if I do, I've got over 100 pounds of staves and dozens of scrolls to back me up. Among my scrolls are those for Firestorm, Blizzard, Mass Paralysis, Bane of the Undead, Guardian Circle, Conjure Flame/Storm Atronach, Fireball, Paralyze, and several others. I have four(!) staves of Fireball, two staves of Chain Lightning, one staff of Wall of Flames, one staff of Expel Daedra (can banish any enemy-summoned creature), and I just got Wabbajack. I've got SoulTrap and Azura's Star (white) to keep those filled, so I can pretty much attack with either magic or my staves with impunity.

I've got too many spells to list, but needless to say, I am unfairly strong. A simple Aura Whisper will tell me where everyone is, and from there they are mine to toy with. Literally every creature that can be detected at any range with Aura Whisper can be affected with the master level Illusion spells, so I like to clear dungeons with Mayhem. There is, at most, only ever one enemy left alive in any given cell at the end of that (and I can cast it several times if for some reason there's still baddies fighting each other after a minute), who I can easily dispatch with my Destruction spells. Enemies can be destroyed before I even reach the room they're in.

Other times, I like to use just Destruction. I felt like Dumbledore when I fouhgt Rahgot. I started out by dualcasting a Fire Rune at the entry (always have a contingency plan--a 120 Fire Rune is a great one), and then I let my magicka regenerate for a few seconds before I entered the room.

In my left hand, a Flame Cloak spell, and in my right, Wall of Flames. As the priest resurrected from his sarcophagus, I embodied myself in magefire and set the room ablaze, then switched to a pair of Fireball spells, healing as necessary. The battle lasted an excruciating minute, with draugr felled from the literal heat of battle for merely approaching me and Rahgot putting up a good fight.

There's hardly a tight spot for me to worry about, so I summon my atronachs for fun and profit, or if I just want to hasten a large-scale battle. Undead are weak against fire, but the stronger ones use frost magics, so either the Flame or Frost atronachs are good choices against them--and since I'm a master conjurer, sometimes both. Usually, though, I summon two of only one type of atronach so that I can use that element of Destruction magic with impunity (Flame atronachs don't mind me setting the entire room on fire). Against mages, dragons, enemies with multiple resistances, or when using Storm Call, I like to throw in a pair or Storm Atronachs. Lots of people argue in favor of the Dremora Lord's power, but while they certainly have it, they are killed too easily, either by the enemy or my AOE spells, so I prefer the elemental giants.

From an early stage, Restoration allowed me to heal almost all of my health at once. Fast Healing confers 75 points, which is useful for a young, squishy mage. Soon I found myself with the 150 point Close Wounds, and now with the 300 point Grand Healing that can heal my allies (and I only have 250 base health. High for a mage, I know, but more on that later). Beyond that, I can ward against enemy magic and dragonfire, repel the undead (but at this point, Illusion can do that), set them on fire and make them flee with Bane of the Undead (which I also have multiple other options for, obviously), and my personal favorite, Guardian Circle: it reserves an entire chunk of the battlefield for my Archmage, who heals 20 points per second while inside of it, and undead cannot enter it. Guardian Circle is a true lifesaver if I need it.

Altogether, I've only described my use of two shouts: Storm Call and Aura Whisper. Just like you, I can become completely invincible with Become Ethereal, except I can charge a master level Destruction spell while inside of it; one swing of your sword and you're vulnerable again. I have other ways to charge my master spells with impunity, so I honestly rarely use Become Ethereal. I didn't use Slow Time much, but it's getting fun, especially since I have two words now. Fus Ro Dah has obvious utility, as well as Fire Breath and Frost Breath (if I know an enemy's elemental weakness, those two shouts are its undoing). Ice Form, unfortunately, is something I only use for fun, but if I need to escape, I can use that. I can rip an enemy's weapon from out of his hand with Disarm (though unfortunately one of the words is quest-locked through the Thieves Guild), but I have never had a chance to do so, since enemies tend to die. I don't use a lot of shouts other than for fun, honestly.

My mage is an Altmer with 250 base health and everything else in magicka, amounting to 420 base magicka, 470 with the robes and 520 with Nahkrrin, the mask I use the most (well, really 370 base magicka, if you want to get technical, since Altmer have a permanent +50 buff).

Got Necromage, though not a vampire and I don't want to be, at least with this character. Lord Stone, usually, though I used the Steed once and may go back to it again, since I don't have any points in stamina and usually don't have companions (spells tend to kill them and I have summons). Given the aggresive style of build and the fact that I'm rarely hit for damage, the Apprentice is a perfectly useful stone for me. It's going to be a lot more viable when I get the Avoid Death perk, as those 250 points of instant healing will circumvent my magic weakness at least once daily (not to mention Otar's mask). The Lord just suits my playstyle right now, as it helps me shrug off magic and physical attacks just that much easier (my mage is freaking impossible to kill).

Magic regen is 50% from Restoration perks + 100% from the Archmage's Robes + 100% from my ring = 250% bonus regen, and with Morokei, the Amulet of Akatosh and the Apprentice, up to a whopping 475%. I don't really need it that big, though; I've found that 250% is a fine amount, especially given my large magicka pool and cost reduction bonuses. Speaking of which, Conjuration and Illusion cost 15% less to cast (which is perfectly fine with me), while Destruction and Restoration cost 35% less (with Nahkriin)--a good chunk that isn't unbalanced.

With this build at level 42, I can take down a pair of dragons, a dragon priest, and several high-level draugr (deathlords, I'm pretty sure) in mere seconds. My brothers and I have had a good laugh in the awe of this mage. I wasn't kidding when I said that oftentimes enemies have fallen before I even enter the room (and woe if I do!).

This is the basis of my build. There's a whole lot more to it, but I hope you get the point: the battlefield belongs to me, and it is a courtesy that I allow any to die on it.

I hope I helped!

/I can't wait for difficult expansions *shakes tiny fist*

Edited my post several times.

I hope I helped, OP!

Shame this isn't getting more views; I was hoping for a reply to my post, particularly from the OP.

Whoa. I-... Wha-... Just-... WHOA.
I came to this board with every intention of clambering into the 'warriors > mages' bandwagon, but now you've gotten me so unbelievably psyched to play a mage. You have no idea.

Most of the mages perks are spent on magic reduction if you dont want to use enchanting. Bogus! Instead of becoming a quality mage, you just become a quantity mage.

What does that have to do with anything?

Thank you People often tell me such things, and I'm thinking about just listing all my awesome compliments as a proud signature. Would you like to be the first added?

I don't see warriors felling two dragons, a dragon priest and several high-level draugr in ten seconds, preserving whole chunks of the battlefield, or entering rooms full of enemies who are already dead. In that respect, the perks are well worth the investment.

For that matter, don't warriors take perks to reduce stamina cost and improve damage? It could be argued that rather than being at 100% power and improving, warriors begin nerfed and are required to take perks in Armsman and Smithing perks to be useful. Really the same argument as what you proposed

Why, you little show-off! xD Haha, I don't mind. Go right on ahead.

Warrior perks tend to focus on increased armor rating and increasing weapon damage. For example, the first perk thingy in 1 and 2 handed in 20% damage increase. Magic focuses on cost reduction- there are only two perks that focus on damage. Magic is incredibly weak and terribly expensive by itself. A warrior using an Iron Set of armor and a Steel Sword keeps growing stronger with the heavy armor bonuses and the one handed bonus. The mage gets cost reduction. Yayy? Not to mention, mages have tiered spells, meaning once they reach a new tier, they must scrap the old spell. I love flames and Ice Spike very much, but I am forced to use the newer spell if I want to compete. At least with a warrior, I can use smithing and sharpen my weapon.

Wonderful xD I'm quite proud of the responses I've gotten from my longer anolyses, and I should have started doing this in the first place. According to the folks on these here forums, I've earned medals and an enchanted hood of +70 forum pwnsauce, but I have no proof since I didn't quote anyone D:

Mages have five tiers of cost reduction, and warriors have five ranks of weapon damage buffs--not to mention the extra "standing power attacks do 25% more damage w/decap" perks, the "less stamina" perks, and the critical hit perks, and that's all completely ignoring the fact that you have similar perks for armor and practically need Smithing, a whole extra skill. All that, and your only option for AOE--if it can be called that--is Sweep, which doesn't apply to everyone. Heavy Armor needs to be lifted, too, which takes massive inventory space without the Steed stone or several perks to get to Conditioning. And still, you cannot heal without magic, potions, or the Argonian Histskin. You also can't heal allies or restore stamina without Restoration or finite potions.

Also, that's just comparing to Destruction or Restoration. Atronachs and undead are invariably helpful to anyone who can use them, as well as banishing or taking control of enemy summons, controlling the ebb and flow the the battlefield with Illusion, resisting magic with Alteration, gaining hundreds of points of armor that doesn't impede movement or paralyzing someone (or everyone!).

I hope you read my earlier, longer post: as I've so clearly pointed out, mages are far from useless, and certainly not outclassed. I like to consider them all equal, especially since I know that no one is better armored or deadlier in close combat than a warrior.

I love assassins I have 100 sneak, about 60 light armour and alchemy and 68 one handed but to RP I use my dragonbane katana so I am kind of warrior likeish.

Great post, ResidentPianist! I have been trying to plan out my mage (my second character for when I don't want to play my nightblade/assassin), and I have come up with a similar build/playstyle to yours. I have one question for you though.. Without armor or Alteration, how is the survivability early and mid-game? Once you get Master of the Mind, you can control practically anything, so I can see how you could survive there.. but that is a very high level perk. Until then, did you have trouble being bum-rushed by a group of undead or dwemer machines? I am just wary of playing a lot of the game with no armor to fall back on and being very squishy I'm going to start him a little later today and save up some perks to see how it plays out. Thanks for your help!

I've found that it's all about maintaining a balance between the respective schools.

In tandem, they will make a successful mage. Just as heavy armor, block, one handed and two handed make a successful warrior.

Like I said, my mage has some health investment--base 250 at level 42, to be exact, and I don't think I'm raising it any higher. I started out by going straight into magic. At about 200-250 magicka, I poured points into health until I had 150. At 300 magicka, I invested in health until it was 200, and then at 350 magicka, brought the rest up. It's a pretty balanced way to go about doing so, I find. Subtract 50 magicka from those totals if you're not playing an Altmer.

NPCs and creatures, obviously, are easy to control even with low Illusion--the dual casting perk is available with 20 Illusion, only requires the Novice perk, and practically any race worth using magic with (Altmer, Dunmer, Breton) starts with at least 20 Illusion. That leaves only undead, machines and dragons, and machines can be especially tough since they resist magic. If you feel like doing it, you can control undead with Restoration, as well, but I never really cared for that.

To begin with, the Flame Atronach is going to be your friend for a long time. Undead are usually weak against fire (I don't know an instance where this is not true), and fire magic in Destruction is incredibly helpful, even Flames and Firebolt.

One strategy I used, even into mid/late game, is stacking fire damage: since enemies on fire take extra damage, combine Flames and Firebolt for great damage, especially against undead! Whip out your flamethrower with one hand and Firebolt in the other and set your target ablaze with Flames FIRST. While attacking with Flames, throw a few Firebolts at them. Firebolt will do extra damage to enemies already on fire, especially when those enemies are weak to fire. That, combined with your Flame Atronach, will get you through most draugr-infested dungeons until you become more powerful. This combo works well even with the adept-level Fireball. Obviously, heal and impact as necessary.

Allies help, too. Lydia makes a good early-game follower and tanks a bit if you outfit her with heavy armors you don't care for, but she starts to get in the way as magic gets stronger. Aranea Ienith is an excellent magic follower, but only if you complete The Black Star her favor (no prizes for guessing what I'm trying to not spoil). Most people don't care to complete that quest in her favor, but I generally prefer to. Finally, Marcurio is excellent if you can afford the 500 gold it costs to hire him.

Dragons are a cakewalk if you know your magic. They use either Fire or Frost Breath, and are 50% resistant(!) to the element they use and 25% weak to the opposite. Not only is this true for dragons, but most creatures with weaknesses: weak to one, resist the other. Just throw up a ward to figure out what the dragon is going to use without getting damaged and you should be fine. Turn and run to stay out of melee range, and you'll be pretty set. Flame Atronachs will, for a long time, be your only option against dragons, but that's okay: either they're completely immune to the breath attacks, or the dragons are weak to the Flame Atronachs attacks. Either is good for you.

Generally, you'll be at a distance and have an ally or two (summon + follower) to help tank enemies. Don't hesitate to impact your enemies or turn tail and run; the Fear and Calm spells have saved me from many a savage bear or sabre cat when I wasn't strong enough to fight them on my own (those guys are fast and strong). Calm might seem like a more attractive option, since you can end combat to regenerate magicka quickly and then kill the enemy, but consider two things: you're calming an enemy in the first place, which means they're too tough for you, and it's significantly more expensive than Fear. Fury is even less expensive, so resort to that any time you can.

Leveling strategies are as follows:

For a while, I didn't even think I'd need Restoration, but take it early: the Novice casting perk and Regeneration are absolute lifesavers. 15 points per second (30 with two hands) is a boatload for a young character, especially us squishier mages.

Get the Novice and Apprentice perks ASAP, obviously, and prioritize Destruction in that respect: it'll be the most frequently used school throughout the game, so cost reduction for it is vital.

For the most part, the only important perks early-game are the cost reduction perks, Regeneration, Illusion Dualcasting and a few in Destruction, namely Dualcasting and Impact. After that, you'll want to start buffing your damage; the length of your summons and a mere 25% boost to magicka regen can wait.

Start out with Augmented Flames for three reasons: fire tends to be most powerful (since it has DOT and makes enemies more susceptible to subsequent damage), Aspect of Terror makes a pretty big difference, and because it's your go-to element for most NPCs and all undead. After that, get Augmented Frost.

Frost is important for a few reasons. First, it counters any resistance an enemy has to fire, like against Dunmer or dragons. Secondly, it's important to use against melee-based enemies, as you can slow them to a snail's pace with proper application. Using Flames and then Frostbite will deal more damage and more stamina damage, or you can dualcast a frost spell. Even against Nords, frost might be a more prudent choice.

While most would advocate using shock and Augmented Shock since it's more neutral, I disagree. Firstly, it's the most expensive element, and that's already bad enough. Beyond that, it doesn't have the beneficial effects that fire and frost have; against mages, you're better off dealing lethal damage. Against all other enemies, you're better off with the guaranteed neutral or super-effective damage that the fire/frost combo will deal

Finally, don't be afraid to use staves and scrolls. They're there for a reason, and the Conjuration school has Soul Trap for you to keep staves happy.

That's all for now. I'm tired and have to do groceries. I hope I helped!

Yes restoration may seem wise early on but if you can manage to get past that early part without it you'll find the points better spent later on. My level 30+ mage has no need of restoration. By the time you go through a few dungeons you'll have plenty of potions and restoration ends up being a waste. I'd rather put the points elsewhere.

If you play on Pc I recommend the Truly Balanced Destruction Mod on Steam Workshop.\