Build ideas? :D

[Nocte Aeterna]

I have four characters I'm quite proud of at the moment. They are as follows:

- Ricard, AKA Skyrim's own Petyr Baelish. Breton who specializes in Sneak, Illusion, Destruction, and dual-wielding One-Handed.

- Naerwen, probably the most evil character I have ever conceived. Dark Elf/Dunmer who uses Two-Handed (Bound Battleaxe + backup), Heavy Armor, and Conjuration (necromancy).

- Matthias, my Nord axe-and-board archer hybrid. Obsessed with killing dragons and anything with decent meat inside it.

- Gau, a rather fun Khajiit to play as. He is modeled after the character of the same name from FFVI, and his name is one of the few words he can pronounce. Unarmed claw specialist with Heavy Armor and Enchanting perks to maximize his damage.

I'd like a fifth and final character to play as, and I'm drawing a blank on a specific build to follow. Suggestions would be appreciated.

Keep in mind that I do not own Dawnguard or Dragonborn yet.

 

[Konvoy]

You should build a straight up Mage or Spellsword because you've played most other builds except a squishy caster.

 

[Khaine]

Perhaps a non-combat thief type that specializes in in-direct methods of killing with a major focus on pickpocketing and making loads of money? Its actually a lot of fun to try and get through a dungeon solely by robbing everyone blind and poisoning them.

Then there's the Vampire Illusionist that focuses on Illusion, conjuration and restoration spells in order to turn enemies in on one-another. Personally, I like to use Imperials when I make Vampires for the mass Calm they get which is beyond useful in a sticky situation...and it really gives you another greater power that feels like something deserving of a Vampire. The extra gold is pretty nice too.

 

[Thorn]

I second the mage build, be it a "pure" mage or a battlemage/sorcerer. I have had a lot of fun with mine

 

[Nocte Aeterna]

I'm more partial to the mage build. Anything specific? Straight up destruction and alteration is fun and all, but it could potentially get old rather quickly. There aren't many other options that I've already tried as well, however. I think Ricard only dabbles in setting runes as far as destruction goes?

Destruction and Alteration mixed with something else, perhaps...

 

[Andre2807]

Madman: Conjuration, Speech, Illusion and Block.
Weapons: Wabbajack, Shield & Werewolf
Playstyle: This is a madman. Madman runs around in a loincloth. Can turn into a werewolf. Wields a Wabbajack and a shield. Conjuration is for Soul Trap and Raising the dead/having aid in battles. Illusion is for added fun. Lastly is Speech. Use Intimidate and Persuade at random. Go crazy and get Namira's Ring too. Feed instead of using potions.

I haven't tried it myself, but I think it could be fun.

 

[Psiberzerker]

First of all, I really like what you have so far, particularly:

- Ricard, AKA Skyrim's own Petyr Baelish. Breton who specializes in Sneak, Illusion, Destruction, and dual-wielding One-Handed.

- Naerwen, probably the most evil character I have ever conceived. Dark Elf/Dunmer who uses Two-Handed (Bound Battleaxe + backup), Heavy Armor, and Conjuration (necromancy).

Both of which I've done something remarkably similar, with some variations for personal play style (For instance, my Dunmer Arcane Axeman used Adept Destruction for Cloak Spells to enhance his damage in the melee, and Light Armor.)

I agree with Konvoy, you don't have a pure Spellcaster, nor Magic Hybrid like Spellsword, or Nightblade. Naerwen is a pretty solid Battlemage/Necroknight, but a Spellsword would be lighter, more maneuverable, and have one in each hand (Spell/Sword, it's a powerful combo.) Light armor is best, for Stamina, and Destruction for Range with secondary effects like DoT, Slow, and Damage Magicka. Alteration to re-enforce your Armor, plus perks (Magic Resistance, and The Atronach) to protect you from spells. Also Detect, and Paralysis are extremely handy effects. No Stealth, high Evasion, hit and run tactics with Critical Charge. Also, there's no reason you can't use a War Axe with Hack&Slash just because it says "Sword" in the name. On people, and Animals, the Bleed stacks on the Burn from Fire spells to keep killing them while you come around for another pass. Don't tank, though, you can't for very long.

Another personal favorite is a Shield Mage with Block, Destruction, Conjuration, Restoration (For Ward Absorb) and Alteration. No weapon skills, but you can use the Targe of the Blooded much like a War Axe with the Spellblade, only there's no Critical Charge. You can, however stand, and Stun with bashes while Summons, Walls, and/or Cloak spells wear them down in relatively little danger if you can keep them Staggered. About as unique a play style as I've been able to come up with, but it's slower than others because the DoT takes longer. (However, Wall of Flames does 1500 Damage over 20 seconds, and can be stacked with another Wall, or two, cloak, and whatever you do with Bleed/Burn.) Ward Absorb with the Spellbreaker allows you to completely block Dragon breath, and sometimes regain Magicka from it. This is similar to the Axe/Board fighting style, but with Thunderbolt, you don't have to be any where near the target, especially large ones like hovering Dragons.

Ice Storm can be used against massed enemies to Slow them, or Disintegrate with Lightning Weakens them before they close with either of the above builds, Disintigrate, Thunderbolt-Critical Charge is one of the most powerful combos for the spellsword. There's no reason you can't work/perk 1H, And Block, so you have Spellsword, Shield Mage, AND Sheildfighter tactics at your disposal. For instance, you can harry them with Spellsword, switch to Bash&Burn until your Magicka runs out, or you have the AoEs up, then pull the Sword (or axe) to mop up...

I have full builds, perks, and playthroughs (Quest order) for all three, if you're interested, but I'll wait until you ask before hijacking your thread.

 

[Nocte Aeterna]

I've used spellswords many a time, but I'm a bit more intrigued by the Shield Mage option. I've actually seen a couple screenshots of a Shield Mage around this site - it appears that the most common setup is a set of mage robes paired with the Targe.

It seems like the Shield Mage would pair reasonably well with the Atronach Stone, especially if I use an Amulet of Akatosh or robes to curb the regeneration deficiency. Plus, the spell absorption and additional Magicka would come in handy. It's indeed a unique build, and it would have a bit more staying power than a conventional purebred spellcaster.

As for race, any would do (obviously), but I'm leaning towards Redguard due to the boosts in Alteration, Destruction, and Block. Plus, I feel that Adrenaline Rush would allow for more bashes if I needed to stagger a particularly troublesome enemy. I'm also not one for repeating races.

Thank you for the well-worded and informative response, though. Sometimes being verbose can be effective. xD

 

[Psiberzerker]

I've used spellswords many a time, but I'm a bit more intrigued by the Shield Mage option. I've actually seen a couple screenshots of a Shield Mage around this site - it appears that the most common setup is a set of mage robes paired with the Targe.

It seems like the Shield Mage would pair reasonably well with the Atronach Stone, especially if I use an Amulet of Akatosh or robes to curb the regeneration deficiency. Plus, the spell absorption and additional Magicka would come in handy. It's indeed a unique build, and it would have a bit more staying power than a conventional purebred spellcaster.

As for race, any would do (obviously), but I'm leaning towards Redguard due to the boosts in Alteration, Destruction, and Block. Plus, I feel that Adrenaline Rush would allow for more bashes if I needed to stagger a particularly troublesome enemy. I'm also not one for repeating races.

Thank you for the well-worded and informative response, though. Sometimes being verbose can be effective. xD

LOL, that was the breif version. As I mentioned at the end of the previous post, I can fill a page with excruciating detail, but this time (Since I've done that a lot lately) I'll hold off unless you really need help. Add this:

to the list of Steamcaps. I will point out that though this is in the Dragonborn DLC, the only item which is unique to it is the Cultist's Robes, which are statistically identical to Necromancer's, but look cooler. (Also, Jenassa's sporting the Cultist mask.) This is the Unarmored varient, with the exception of the Targe,/Spellbreaker, and Morokei, neither of which interfere with the Magearmor Perks.

And yes, Spell Absorbtion is a major part of the build for me, because I don't Enchant for magicka free spells, and it's double duty. She's a Breton, more for the Dragonskin Daily (Until you can Get the Artonach Stone/Perk, not to mention Miraak's Robes/Boots) than the Magic Resistance. Also, they come with 15 in Block, and Destruction, which means 2 more Perks with the endgame build in return for relative weakness at the beginning.

If you like, I can run down the full build, quest order, and battle tactics, again, but for now, I'm going to update my "Builds du Jour" thread < Build du Jour | Page 2 | Skyrim Forums >with this one, to avoid redundancy. I've also got a preliminary rundown at the end of my Efficient Leveling< Efficient Leveling | Skyrim Forums > Guide.