So I was thinking of starting a new character. It'd be a mage of some sort, but beyond that, I have no clue. Does anyone have any suggestions on this? Race, style of play, best perks, etc.?
Hmm... well Breton is always a solid choice for race, and if you are really going all out mage Altmer is also a tough one to beat (though of the two I prefer Breton)
If you are going destruction... well I'd pick one or two elements (personal recommendations are either fire and ice, or just shock) and have some fun, though be aware of the lack of damage scaling (and that NPCs are not limited by this at all)
I also highly recommend illusion, coupled with a bit of stealth (no perks needed in stealth) you can deal with almost any situation (just not dragons)
Conjuration is also an extremely powerful school, just pick atronachs or necromancy, not both. If you aren't using destruction for damage, the bound weapons can be very helpful too (especially if you perk em)
Alteration is a school I'd only recommend if you aren't going to wear any armor, but YMMV
I'd say that any mage worth his salt practices enchanting and alchemy though, as alchemy is one of the few ways to boost destruction's damage output and enchanting can allow you to get much more mileage out of your mana bar (if you really wanted it's possible to get two schools of magic down to 0% cost)
It triggers when you land a critical and your opponent is near death. But not always on the death blow itself. I often shoot my target and hit them, but they just keep charging at me. And because the critical animation means that I stand still, they can either get dangerously close, or if they have a ranged attack, they can fire back at me.
And that's just the opponent I'm hitting. If there's another opponent out there, they can attack freely while I'm busy locked into the critical strike animation.
As a mage and an archer, I've copped quite a few hits that way. Died more than once too.
I think it's AWESOME!
I've only gotten the critical animation when it's a death blow, though. One time, I got the critical arrow camera thing when I was clearing out the Valheim (or whatever you call it) Towers. You know-those two towers with the bridge over the waterfall? Anyway, I was on one of the towers, and a bandit was on the other tower. Quite possibly the longest range archery duel I've ever had. The critical animation took me all the way across the river, into the bandit's head, and then I got to watch his body fall right off the tower. I couldn't have scripted it any better.
But then again, I'm a two-handed warrior in heavy armor in addition to the archery, so I don't mind if they get close.
__________________
Avatar by the incomparable Herpestidae.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flickerdart
Fortunately, a Monk 1/Warblade 19 uses Iron Heart Surge to end the Monk character class, and the day is saved.
1.6 has been a little disappointing for me. I'm hoping it's just because I'm modmad and they're the problem, but my performance took a heavy hit and my animations got very screwed up - two handed uses swing animations about half the time and my character will just stop running (but not stop moving) when he hits the slightest bump. Horse combat is funny for all the wrong reasons: rather than having any animations, he just stands up on the saddle and does nothing - which was kind of amusing with the bow, whose string would stretch without him reaching for it.
The worst bit, however, is that I can't use spells right handed. I can swing right handed, cast left handed, and dual cast, but if I just hit the right mouse button nothing happens. As a greatsword/mage that was a crippling discovery.
Has anyone else seen these sorts of problems?
__________________
Ah, yes. "Art", an abstract term capable of turning products corrupted by laziness and arrogance into masterpieces that are not merely immutable, but inherently justified.
Didn't use a beta patch. Steam just downloaded it, meaning it was an official release.
__________________
Ah, yes. "Art", an abstract term capable of turning products corrupted by laziness and arrogance into masterpieces that are not merely immutable, but inherently justified.
I have exactly zero mods, so they're not interfering with the patch. And while I don't know when the animations are theoretically supposed to trigger, I have on two occasions critically shot down one enemy while being peppered with arrows and/or magic from another.
Those haven't killed me, I should note. However, a critical hit animation on, say, a charging bear or a saber cat that failed to kill the target? That has definitely killed my squishy mage on Master difficulty. As has trading long-distance shots with high-level archers. They take the hit, recover, and return fire before the critical hit animation has ended. I regain control of my character about one nanosecond before that ebony arrow enters my eyesocket.
Yes, a slow-motion shot of me blasting my enemy off a cliff with a bolt of lightning is cool. But it's not cool enough to make up for me zapping someone and then standing there like an idiot while they stand up and kill me a second later while I can do absolutely nothing to stop them.
__________________
...but of course that's just my opinion.
The most fun I've had with a mage was actually using Midas Magic, which adds more widely varied spells, combined with Altmer race and the Atronach stone. Combine ice spells for warriors and the spell absorbing for dealing with other wizards.
Incidentally, the two spells from Midas Magic you'll never want to be without, are Unlock, and Mechanical Luggage. The latter just plain has it's components thrown at you in the College of Winterhold.
The most fun I've had with a mage was actually using Midas Magic, which adds more widely varied spells, combined with Altmer race and the Atronach stone. Combine ice spells for warriors and the spell absorbing for dealing with other wizards.
Incidentally, the two spells from Midas Magic you'll never want to be without, are Unlock, and Mechanical Luggage. The latter just plain has it's components thrown at you in the College of Winterhold.
My personal favorite Midas spell is Elemental Bolt. Relatively affordable (Deathbell and Void Salts aren't too rare), economical on the magicka, and stylish. Of particular advantage is the fact that it counts as a frost and a lightning spell, so you can get four augment perks for to push the damage up there.
__________________
Ah, yes. "Art", an abstract term capable of turning products corrupted by laziness and arrogance into masterpieces that are not merely immutable, but inherently justified.
I was thinking Breton, Imperial, or Dark elf, actually, so are any of these drastically better? And I'm not sure about straight up mage, I was sort of thinking battle mage. Is that actually viable? As for enchanting, I've always had a ton of problems actually getting decent weapons and armor out of it, especially considering the cost. Tips?
If you want to get points in enchanting, save every soul gem you come across and spend money to buy low-level empty ones. Petty and Lesser, no higher. Then get the Conjuration perk that allows summoned weapons to automatically cast Soul Trap on enemies.
You'll get conjuration astonishingly high, astonishingly fast. If you use that tree, awesome; if you don't, free levels. But then, just go hunting up any creatures you can find. Spiders, wolves, goats, trolls, it doesn't matter, just get white souls. The easier to find, the better. Hell, kill rabbits if you like.
At the same time, hunt up any enchantments. Go in search of unique items for special boosts; in particular do the Wolf Queen questline in Solitude for the Shield of Solitude, as that has a Magic Resist enchantment that's different to the standard one, allowing you to double-enchant it and become immune to spells very easily.
Lastly, whack yourself up a buttload of iron daggers - quick and easy to make.
When you have a good stock of charged gems, iron daggers and enchantments, go to work on the altar. Make sure you have the Mage Stone perk active as well. You'll gain a level every couple of daggers for most of the time you spend doing this.
Total result, you'll be getting massive increases to One-Handed, Conjuration, Smithing and Enchanting. And the enchanted daggers you're making will sell from 100-300 gold each depending on your Enchanting and/or Speech skill, which is a very hefty profit.
It's a very, very good way to go.
__________________
...but of course that's just my opinion.
I was thinking Breton, Imperial, or Dark elf, actually, so are any of these drastically better? And I'm not sure about straight up mage, I was sort of thinking battle mage. Is that actually viable? As for enchanting, I've always had a ton of problems actually getting decent weapons and armor out of it, especially considering the cost. Tips?
Breton is the best, for the passive bonus to magic resistance. The temporary absorption is also nice for harder spell fights. Dark Elf is probably second best, the fire resistance will see a fair amount of use, though the fiery aura is kinda crummy. Imperial is kinda junk, the bonus cash is all but worthless, given how easy money is to earn in the game, and Voice of the Emperor is available too infrequently to really influence your play. But in any case, you don't need any racials to make an excellent and powerful character, so my best advice is go for what look appeals to you, that will improve your enjoyment far more than any particular racial bonus.
Beyond being dirt-cheap, enchanting is the most effective way of making money in Skyrim I know of. Simply buy up empty petty and lesser soul gems, and fill them, using your method of choice: Soul trapping weapon (my favourite), Soul Stealer perk, or just casting soul trap on enemies before they perish. Then, use those cheap soul gems to enchant daggers. Before level 22, you'll want to use either 'Paralyze' or 'Absorb Health' enchants for best skill/income per soul, and once you're 22, get the outstandingly expensive, but utterly worthwhile banish, which will make you rich beyond the dreams of avarice.
Finally, for your grand souls, accept no substitutes but Azura's Star. Being a mage, you'll likely want the unmodified Star, as it will let you conjure then soul trap your own Atronachs at will. If you're not a conjurer, go for the Black Star, it lets you trap humanoids, which are a plentiful source of Grand Souls.
Finally, for your grand souls, accept no substitutes but Azura's Star. Being a mage, you'll likely want the unmodified Star, as it will let you conjure then soul trap your own Atronachs at will. If you're not a conjurer, go for the Black Star, it lets you trap humanoids, which are a plentiful source of Grand Souls.
Actually, the Black Star is always better - despite what the game says, it can trap any souls.
Oh! Cool. Well, if you want the Priestess of Azura as a follower, you'll need to not corrupt the Star, I guess.
Of course, Aranea (said priestess) is one of the most powerful mage companions you can get in the game, willing and able to use several mid-range destruction spells.
__________________
Ah, yes. "Art", an abstract term capable of turning products corrupted by laziness and arrogance into masterpieces that are not merely immutable, but inherently justified.
That's true, but IMO, J'zargo is the King Kong of caster followers. Why settle for less?
He's good on paper, I see, but his overuse of sparks really limited his usefulness for me. The main reason I ignore him, however, is that he only is usable after becoming archmage. Aranea kicks nine kinds of ass, and you only need to get the white Azura's Star, which has a level requirement of 2.
__________________
Ah, yes. "Art", an abstract term capable of turning products corrupted by laziness and arrogance into masterpieces that are not merely immutable, but inherently justified.
You don't need to be Archmage. Once you complete Under Sarthaal, you get a quest from each of your three fellow students; J'Zargo will ask your help with J'zargo's Experiment where you have to risk killing yourself with malfunctioning scrolls. Assuming you survive, go back and tell him where he can insert his scrolls, and he'll be your follower thereafter.
He's actually really damn good to get. He'll keep levelling as long as you will, he has good spells, and he can be obtained after a fairly easy quest early on in the game. Particularly if you're not a mage, you can get him as a powerful spellcasting follower without much stress.
__________________
...but of course that's just my opinion.
Okay,
I am done with my Mod list. I THINK that Economy Of Skyrim is compatible with Weapon And Armor Fixes. If not, I will have to live without one of them.
Main game-changing mods are:
The whole ACE pack
Path Of Shadows
Economy of Skyrim
Also, to clarify: Proper Aiming is for 3rd-person shooting only. That is when your arrows land to the right of the crosshair, apparently.
Now I only have to decide what race my sniper will be.
Also... should I focus on Illusion and Bows / Sneak, or should I go pure Bows / Sneak? I like the idea of hedging my bets with illusion spells, but it makes leveling up thief skills takes longer.
The rest is cosmetics or tweaks to fix bugs.
__________________
"Sweet Haelga,
Last night was the most wonderful night of my life. The things you showed me... the things we did... I could never have dreamt that it was possible. Who even knew that someone could manipulate their body in that manner while wearing Daedric armor boots? You are a true master of the Dibellan Arts, my love... a credit to your religion. Perhaps we'll meet again soon but next time, allow me to bring the trout.
Your Secret Lover"
Last edited by Avilan the Grey : 06-13-2012 at 12:56 AM.
Now I only have to decide what race my sniper will be.
Also... should I focus on Illusion and Bows / Sneak, or should I go pure Bows / Sneak? I like the idea of hedging my bets with illusion spells, but it makes leveling up thief skills takes longer.
The rest is cosmetics or tweaks to fix bugs.
I'd suggest Wood Elf for this build. And Illusion is a lot of fun for screwing with your enemy, but it makes it hard to sneak without the right perks. (quiet casting, I believe)
So I think I'll make a Breton mage with a focus on conjuration and alteration. Is it feasible to use heavy armor as well?
I'd suggest Wood Elf for this build. And Illusion is a lot of fun for screwing with your enemy, but it makes it hard to sneak without the right perks. (quiet casting, I believe)
So I think I'll make a Breton mage with a focus on conjuration and alteration. Is it feasible to use heavy armor as well?
I have two problems with that. 1) Elves are... elves (I usually never plays elves in anything) and 2) in Skyrim they also suffer from Ulgliez. (I DO love that they are distinctive, I just don't like playing one).
I will look through the options though. I can go both ways with optimizations; keep in mind that my last thief / bowman was the girl in my Avatar, a female Orc. I have however now installed a mod that gives more power to the racial benefits (changing from just a higher starting skill to a permanent boost, so for example wood elves will end up with 110% archery skill). If I can make a female wood elf that don't look absolutely hideous, maybe. Otherwise I think I go Imperial.
As for your question: As far as I understand it, "Battlemages" (Mages in heavy armor) is one of the better builds.
__________________
"Sweet Haelga,
Last night was the most wonderful night of my life. The things you showed me... the things we did... I could never have dreamt that it was possible. Who even knew that someone could manipulate their body in that manner while wearing Daedric armor boots? You are a true master of the Dibellan Arts, my love... a credit to your religion. Perhaps we'll meet again soon but next time, allow me to bring the trout.
Your Secret Lover"
Last edited by Avilan the Grey : 06-13-2012 at 01:38 AM.
I have two problems with that. 1) Elves are... elves (I usually never plays elves in anything) and 2) in Skyrim they also suffer from Ulgliez. (I DO love that they are distinctive, I just don't like playing one).
I will look through the options though. I can go both ways with optimizations; keep in mind that my last thief / bowman was the girl in my Avatar, a female Orc. I have however now installed a mod that gives more power to the racial benefits (changing from just a higher starting skill to a permanent boost, so for example wood elves will end up with 110% archery skill). If I can make a female wood elf that don't look absolutely hideous, maybe. Otherwise I think I go Imperial.
As for your question: As far as I understand it, "Battlemages" (Mages in heavy armor) is one of the better builds.
Fun fact: Orcs are in fact a subspecies of Elves in TES.
I have two problems with that. 1) Elves are... elves (I usually never plays elves in anything) and 2) in Skyrim they also suffer from Ulgliez. (I DO love that they are distinctive, I just don't like playing one).
I will look through the options though. I can go both ways with optimizations; keep in mind that my last thief / bowman was the girl in my Avatar, a female Orc. I have however now installed a mod that gives more power to the racial benefits (changing from just a higher starting skill to a permanent boost, so for example wood elves will end up with 110% archery skill). If I can make a female wood elf that don't look absolutely hideous, maybe. Otherwise I think I go Imperial.
As for your question: As far as I understand it, "Battlemages" (Mages in heavy armor) is one of the better builds.
Racist. I never look at my character, so looks aren't really a problem. But semi-related good news for those who care: that new person in the Ratway that comes with Dawnguard.
Oy, mods. I wish my PC could run Skyrim purely for the mods. As it is, I still get Dawnguard a month earlier, so that's cool. Except that the bugs won't be fixed, and those bugs are inevitable.
Fun fact: Orcs are in fact a subspecies of Elves in TES.
Yeah, but in Skyrim they look Ugly Cool and not Ugly Creepy. And the girls can actually be made Hot in a Weird Way
Quote:
Originally Posted by Grue Bait
How does one "battlemage," exactly?
Heavy armor, high Destruction and Summoning skills and usually melee weapons.
Personally I always equip my mages (of the non-battle mage kind) with bows and arrows.
__________________
"Sweet Haelga,
Last night was the most wonderful night of my life. The things you showed me... the things we did... I could never have dreamt that it was possible. Who even knew that someone could manipulate their body in that manner while wearing Daedric armor boots? You are a true master of the Dibellan Arts, my love... a credit to your religion. Perhaps we'll meet again soon but next time, allow me to bring the trout.
Your Secret Lover"
Last edited by Avilan the Grey : 06-13-2012 at 01:55 AM.
Racist. I never look at my character, so looks aren't really a problem. But semi-related good news for those who care: that new person in the Ratway that comes with Dawnguard.
Oy, mods. I wish my PC could run Skyrim purely for the mods. As it is, I still get Dawnguard a month earlier, so that's cool. Except that the bugs won't be fixed, and those bugs are inevitable.
How does one "battlemage," exactly?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Avilan the Grey
Yeah, but in Skyrim they look Ugly Cool and not Ugly Creepy. And the girls can actually be made Hot in a Weird Way
Heavy armor, high Destruction and Summoning skills and usually melee weapons.
Personally I always equip my mages (of the non-battle mage kind) with bows and arrows.
Eh, I'd probably go with Destruction/Restoration/Illusion/Heavy Armor. Apprentice Stone, prolly an Imperial.
The standard spellcasting perks, Illusion and destruction dual-casting, Augment some kind of elemental damage, Juggernaut, etc.
Honestly, I'd stick with spells as my primary form of attack, but I'd keep a staff or one-handed weapon handy, for sure. And make sure to enchant your heavy armor to help boost your magicka or magicka regen.
You'll want a follower that can melee, so y'know, take your pick.
Hey what's the name of the mod that gives tougher dragons? I am in two minds of using it; on one hand by the end they are too easy, but on the other hand... they will wipe out entire villages just because they spawn where I walk by.
__________________
"Sweet Haelga,
Last night was the most wonderful night of my life. The things you showed me... the things we did... I could never have dreamt that it was possible. Who even knew that someone could manipulate their body in that manner while wearing Daedric armor boots? You are a true master of the Dibellan Arts, my love... a credit to your religion. Perhaps we'll meet again soon but next time, allow me to bring the trout.
Your Secret Lover"
Deadly Dragons is the mod. It's pretty complex to update now though. There's three different modules to it now.
Try out Ultimate Follower Overhaul, it'll allow you to have any follower learn magic, and if you don't like J'zargo using Sparks, you can have him lose all his spells and not teach it to him.
Deadly Dragons is the mod. It's pretty complex to update now though. There's three different modules to it now.
Try out Ultimate Follower Overhaul, it'll allow you to have any follower learn magic, and if you don't like J'zargo using Sparks, you can have him lose all his spells and not teach it to him.
Yeah I installed UFO. AND Followers Can Relax, just because.
__________________
"Sweet Haelga,
Last night was the most wonderful night of my life. The things you showed me... the things we did... I could never have dreamt that it was possible. Who even knew that someone could manipulate their body in that manner while wearing Daedric armor boots? You are a true master of the Dibellan Arts, my love... a credit to your religion. Perhaps we'll meet again soon but next time, allow me to bring the trout.
Your Secret Lover"
First, level conjuration up to the point of getting the perk for automatically binding when you kill something with a conjured weapon, and Alternation up to the point of being able to learn\cast the Transmutation spell.
While doing this, troll the merchants/vendors for magic items that are within your price range and disenchant them until you know most of the patterns (I *still* haven't found a Resist Paralyze item). You can get into the upper 20's/low 30's just from this. In particular, you want to get your hands on the Banish & Muffle enchants.
Then get your hands on the Black Star and stock up on petty\lesser soul gems. You'll also want to start stockpiling Iron Ore, Silver Ore, and Gold Ore. ORE, not bars.
Now, start killing things with conjured weapons. I did this primarily by wandering the countryside and skilling mudcrabs, deer, and whatever else got in front of me.
Check your inventory, and you should have a lot of soul gems now. Go back to your favorite place with an Arcane Enchanter and go to work. Make a ton magic weapons with Banish and magic boots of Muffle using your massive collection of petty & lesser gems and te occasional humanoid/something else large in the Black Star.
See, enchanting is based on the value of the item produced. Banish is the/one of the most valuable weapon enchants. Muffle has the surprising advantage of only occuring in one strength, so it's a good thing to use petty/lesser gems on.
Now, why did I mention the transmutation spell? Did you catch the part where I said the amount of Enchanting you learn is based on the value of the item made? User the spell to turn iron ore into silver ore, then silver ore into gold ore. Then use a smelter to make gold bars. Use the gold bars and the gems you find laying around to make jewelry. Use your Black Star/larger soul gems to make items using these.
Rinse, repeat. Get Enchanting to 100, get the perk to put 2 enchants on an item. Now the fun *really* begins...
==============
Battlemage
Your mileage may vary.
Mine started with Conjuration & One-Handed. I used the off-hand for spellcasting and killed things with the Bound Sword. I tracked down the stone that gave +15% training to everything. Early on I ground Illusion skill up to the point of muffling my spell casts, since I quickly learned that a badly-timed sword summon would bring the enemies running.
I went Light Armor, but then I was also going for Smithing (I'm a profession geek, in case you hadn't realized). I'm quite fond of that advantage that speeds up stamina regen in light armor, and you can pretty easily get to the point of capping Armor by improving it (especially with enough smithing skill + smithing enchants + smithing potions + Notched Pickaxe).
__________________
Sometimes, the knights are the monsters
The main problem with the world? So many grownups, not enough adults.
Pain is nature's way of saying you're not dead and the other guy is.
Current Project: Building a new superheroic campaign for the new generation of our old gaming group.
Last edited by TheEmerged : 06-13-2012 at 09:17 AM.
Okay, so having been playing Skyrim for a week (and half of that downloading mods and then dealing with mod issues. Yeah, I know they can be unstable, but some are just too darn good... ) And I have to ask:
Can anyone definitively state if the patch that Steam downloaded is the official one? It just seems like there was zero word that it was time for PC to get it.
Also, does anyone know what is the cause for CTDs with no error messages, appearing to be triggered by entering certain cells? I am 95% certain it is mod related, but I don't know what kind of mod to test... Maybe someone here knows mod compatibility well enough that, if I were to load my list, they could point at trouble spots?
All of this aside, I have to say, I'm loving Skyrim. And I can't wait for Dawnguard. Except, according to the UESP wiki, NPCs won't be hostile to regular vampires, only Vampire Lords. What?
RSS Feeds: 
Re: Skyrim V: Skyrim
) And I have to ask:
Former awesome avatar by Zefir.
