Help please? What build to use..

[x-INFERNO-FIRE-x]

I don't know what character build i should use.. i found the thief quite fun, and very powerful, but i get bored of that quite easily. I think mages are too weak, and when your a warrior it just gets boring hitting over and over, with no real variety in your kills. What do you think?

 

[Rofl of Mao]

Thiefs and sneaking are plain ol boring... But, what I suggest you do to step up the fun is to be a warrior mage! This will give your character the power and defense that you want. Powerful spells such as conjuration, destruction and restoration will definitely help out the warrior side which boasts the brute strength and skill to kill. Having daedric armor or dragon armour will also boost your character's defense and the enchanting skill will enhance the attack.

I say all this because that is what my character is! Try it out!

Note that the best possible race for warrior mage is Breton. This is because they have natural resistance to magic and heavy armour doesn't really counter that much magic! Hope you find thing helpful!

 

[Sparkz]

Mages may seem weak during there initial stages of the game but once you level up they acualy are quite fun to play.Just gotta stick with it.Past the initial hickup of low levels.

My character alone at level 15 can summon his adept undead pet with apprentice alteration armor and Illusion apprentice spells.This is just at level 15 imagine what you could accomplish with having a 30+ mage.

Mind you my character is a high elf.Who has +50 to intial mana + Highborn ability.Also putting points into mana/health in a 2/1 fashion.

With high level conjuration you can summon 2 permanent Thralls (Untill they die) and let them dish it out wial you sit back and just relax.Or Have Summoned weapons that look awsome.Imo

Illusion tends to be the mind bender of the schools but its still really fun to see a mob run away like its just seen a Giant dragon and that dragon is aiming for them.

Destruction Well this school is kinda self expanitory but the visal effects Look Awsome.

When it comes down to it..It is totaly up to you but i reccomend retrying a mage.

If you still cant decide i would reccomend the Archtype of Battle Mage they have the best of both worlds and dont have to conform to one specific roll.Even though this is still a mage archtype it can be really fun for people who cant conform to one specific roll.

 

[Train]

What difficulty are you playing at? I enjoy the typical hack and slash combat, it presents a major challenge on master difficulty, forces me to be creative since I have to get close to fight. Right now the only magic protection I have is 50% reduced frost damage from a sheild I found, and with the deflect arrows perk I can at least block every time an archer shoots. Let's just say a group of high lvl bandits or a handfull of Falmer are enough to force me to flee and fight another day...

 

[Sparkz]

Currently i play on Master Difficulty with a few restrictions

- Hud set to 0%
- Cannot Use Potions ( No exceptions )

Also a few others but these 2 restrictions puts quite a challenge on master difficulty.Makes you think instead of the rinse and repeate play style of a mage.

Also if you like the close quarter combat but dont want to be a pure warrior,like i said being a battlemage arch type would suit you well then.

 

[Train]

Woa, that's hardcore, no potions and you can't see your health? How do you know if an enemy's too much for you? Just take the death and try again until you realize you can't take them?....hmmm....sounds like a challenge...I'll have to try that sometime. Might be really hard as a warrior though, especially at low levels when all it takes to end it is sabre cat encounter. Still...could be fun...

 

[Flint firestorm]

look its kind of simple. mages to weak? warriors to boring? why not be a spellsword!

 

[The_Deadliest_Troll]

look its kind of simple. mages to weak? warriors to boring? why not be a spellsword!

This is what I was going to say. I got ninja'd! Or if you really like thief/assassin gameplay, but get bored of it, why not throw some magic in there? Illusion magic on a sneaky character can be soo satisfying!

 

[Flint firestorm]

This is what I was going to say. I got ninja'd! Or if you really like thief/assassin gameplay, but get bored of it, why not throw some magic in there? Illusion magic on a sneaky character can be soo satisfying!

ninja!!!! i was going to say battle mage but you know
"battle mage?hahahahaha! thats not a class it bearly counts as a hobby!"

 

[Siah]

look its kind of simple. mages to weak? warriors to boring? why not be a spellsword!

^ this. so far i've played a bit of everything - thief assassin, hardcore mage, boss warrior, and most recently and most entertainingly - spellsword. In this i'd go one of 2 ways - one with conjuration and one without. i personally like a bit of necromancy on the side for fun and the shiny swords are awesome but perks can be well spent elsewhere too, such as smithing and enchanting as it would be most necessary for this build. and getting chillrend at a high level is perfect for it ^_^

 

[Sparkz]

Woa, that's hardcore, no potions and you can't see your health? How do you know if an enemy's too much for you? Just take the death and try again until you realize you can't take them?....hmmm....sounds like a challenge...I'll have to try that sometime. Might be really hard as a warrior though, especially at low levels when all it takes to end it is sabre cat encounter. Still...could be fun...​

Ya its difficult at times.The way im building my char though tends to buffer most of the damage i should be taking and throws it off me and onto someone else or my pets.I Choose pets most of the time so followers/dogs/hirelings are usualy never following me around.

Determining if a mob is to strong for me comes down to what strategy i have to use to kill it and if there are more than 1 of them around.Then i make a mental note on which mobs to avoid and come back at later levels to kill it.Example Giant which can pritty much kill you in 1 hit if lower than 20 or not enuff hp.First I evaluate what mobs are around me.If say theres 3 bandits ( With perks they can last a long time/have a decent amount of hp.)kill the bandits with fury/fear/calm spells.Raise there corpses without looting anything so they have weapons/armor.If this is not enuff i try to kite the rest of his hp.Using Calm/Fear/ and a destruction spell of my choice.Although usualy by the time i have to resort to a backup due to current level and perks this shouldnt happen at all.If At All i take a death doing this that usualy means to me anways avoid this mob for atleast another couple of levels then comeback and kill or since i tend to save my perk points to a point...Put more perk points into the style of play your currently running.

Example

Illusion 30 Conjuration 50

Since illusion dosnt raise up as fast as conjuration thoughs perk points i would usualy spend on illusion would go to conjuration to make my summons stronger.

if i was playing a warrior or somthing ya i would revise and rethink my strategy but i usualy dont play one cause im a born and bread mage from the early days of rgs.

As for determining how much hp i have it comes down to the simple screen animation of getting hit.Big Blotches of red will appear on your screen the lower your hp goes the more will appear.Then i make my choice ither to kite or simply run away and replan my strategy.

As for determining how much mana i have available its quite simple.Upon level i make a mental note on how much mana i have with and without putting points into it.Then i plan out what spells i would be able to cast with and without perks into the corrisponding schools of magic.

Just takes some planing to play like this but eventualy you will pick it up and it will seem like a normal playthrough for you.

 

[Train]

Some serious planning there, Sparkz, you're no newb, that's for sure. Calm spells are great against single enemies, fury seems to work nicely against groups, but I'd imagine with a combination of the two you can take on a horde as long as there's enough magicka to go around.

Mages seem to be way overpowered at times, yet an arrow from a high level foe can put you in your place. Pure warrior is a different story, it seems to be the weakest, with no stealth or magic abilities, every move has to be calculated. For example, when facing a group, it's best to eliminate the weaker ones first, then you can take your time going back and forth with the tough one. I try to stand my ground in small doorways so I'm only fighting one at a time, and with block built up fairly high you can stand there and take a beating. Archers are the bane of anyone (except stealth chars since no one can see them), but it's a nightmare when you're trying to go toe to toe with a plunderer wielding a warhammer and his buddy is on top of a hill or something wearing down your health.

You should try it sometime, I understand you're a mage, but you might enjoy the extremely frustrating struggle of trying to get a pure warrior past level 20 (for some reason lvl 11-20 is really hard, mostly because all the easy stuff is done and you're too weak to fight stronger enemies). A warning though, don't go far enough into the mainquest to activate the dragons until you're at least 25-30...let's just say even a regular dragon can teach you a lesson . I use Bleak Falls as a testing ground right from the start for every character I create, and warrior has the toughest time fighting Restless Draugr. Nord and Dunmer are good to choose since you'll have some magic resistance, I guess you could also pick Breton and have all-around magic protection, but that just doesn't seem right for a pure warrior. Oh, and use heavy armor, but get the perks for light armor smithing until you get the advanced armors, that way you can craft and improve steel plate. I'm pretty sure steel plate is better than Orcish, I'm just not sure if it's better than Ebony, but it's almost on-par and you can get it a lot quicker.

Great tips on how to determine your health by blood splatter, thanks, I didn't notice it was doing that. I know you start breathing hard, but didn't realize there were other indicators as well.

 

[Sparkz]

Thanks for the rep.

Will definitly give a warrior a try after my current playthrough.Never really could figure out how to play one succesfully in all rpgs iv played to date.Lets just say its a foreign language to me.That and i have a love/hate relationship with mage chars.. Cant seem to get enuff of em but HATE waiting for there mana.In the end i tend to go towards mages cause its really all i know how to play efficiently.

 

[SkinnedLikeScum]

I don't know what character build i should use.. i found the thief quite fun, and very powerful, but i get bored of that quite easily. I think mages are too weak, and when your a warrior it just gets boring hitting over and over, with no real variety in your kills. What do you think?

First off i just like to say mages are NOT week . Any kind of character can be exploited. I would recommend when playing mage you should have a heal spell and a destruction spell in one of both hands for first few levels (a few is three) Then throw conjuration in there that is your life line. Its your meat shield. At that point you keep destruction spell at all times and alternate other hand with heal and summons, summon at start of a right, then switch back to heal till its over, or for a re-summon if your summon dies. I have a level 55 shock mage that can't even get hit by a ancient dragon on master they are not week .

Warriors i find the best when one-hand and shield. With Reflexes perk it makes things interesting with block slowing down time before power attacks. A Saber-Cat almost mauled me from a cliff above once and i blocked then it slowed down with its claws extended and teeth all nasty showing and i smacked that fool in the face. He fell straight to the ground i cut him up drove my blade through the side of his skull and kicked him off with my boot. That wasn't boring for me at all.

There you are two good reasons to try both those out. Any build sucks at the start because you don't have the good perks yet. Also any build can be exploited really so your limit-less. Sneaking in heavy armor. Mage in heavy armor or a nakie warrior with just a shield n a weapon, maybe even fist and shield. A robed battle-mage or armored w.e man be creative!

On top of all that the new 1.5 patch (pending on console, out for steam) Is going to give kill cams to archery and destruction which i can't wait for!

 

[Train]

You're welcome

Oh, one tip I picked up about mages, with enchanting enough apparel, you can reduce the amount of mana used for each skill. Eventually, using a specific spell type, no matter what the level, costs nothing; i.e. you can cast a master destruction spell nearly a thousand times without losing anything. Of course, for each school of magic you have to enchant a special set of clothes and jewelry, but with the Black Azura's Star that should be easy enough.

 

[Siah]

Thanks for the rep.

Will definitly give a warrior a try after my current playthrough.Never really could figure out how to play one succesfully in all rpgs iv played to date.Lets just say its a foreign language to me.That and i have a love/hate relationship with mage chars.. Cant seem to get enuff of em but HATE waiting for there mana.In the end i tend to go towards mages cause its really all i know how to play efficiently.

I know how you feel. I /always/ go mage in rpgs first or something of the like and then eventually move to a stealth character to mix it up. But I've always been best with mages and that style and enjoy the strategy involved and the options available. I've never really found warrior an appealing playstyle, but my trial with it in Skyrim surprisingly proved otherwise. I'm not sure I'd agree so much with Train about the difficulty proportionate to level as I got mine up to 30ish no problem. But in all truth I had a blast playing a simple sword and shield character with some beastly deadric armor

Also, I /love/ the decapitations and killing blows Actually that was what drew me to trying the warrior in the first place here ^_^

 

[Siah]

You're welcome

Oh, one tip I picked up about mages, with enchanting enough apparel, you can reduce the amount of mana used for each skill. Eventually, using a specific spell type, no matter what the level, costs nothing; i.e. you can cast a master destruction spell nearly a thousand times without losing anything. Of course, for each school of magic you have to enchant a special set of clothes and jewelry, but with the Black Azura's Star that should be easy enough.

Personally I'd hate to play a mage like that... the wait for mana/magika can be annoying at times, but it's half the strategy to use it wisely and manage your resources. I have yet to use enchanting at all really, and the only character I'll probably use it for is my spellsword type so I can get half decent magika regen and pool while wearing armor. Still, a personal opinion.

 

[Sparkz]

Personally I'd hate to play a mage like that... the wait for mana/magika can be annoying at times, but it's half the strategy to use it wisely and manage your resources. I have yet to use enchanting at all really, and the only character I'll probably use it for is my spellsword type so I can get half decent magika regen and pool while wearing armor. Still, a personal opinion.

i agree i dont like trying to overpower my chars just seems so unatural and not fun.Playing a mage who uses mana and acualy has to use it wisely seems to me anyways the better way to go.Pain in the but waiting for mana at times yes but thats apart of who a mage is at its core.Not some person who uses spells but not mana.

 

[Train]

Yeah, I get that, If I'm playing a mage, the only enchantments I'll use are regen, and by the time I have an uber powerful wizard it gets boring...which means I restart and play something a little harder. About the level/difficulty proportion, Siah, what happens to me is I stay near Whiterun until I'm level 13 or so and take bounties or quests from the locals. I'll have several hours total invested in the character before venturing any further than Redoran's Retreat or Valtheim towers, mostly because the more I travel, the higher risk of meeting a bear or sabre cat; and you don't stand a chance against them until you're lvl 17 almost. I'll often test my character by traveling to Rorikstead (staying on the roads); there's three cats along the way, and they're there no matter what your lvl. So my difficulty is trying to stay close to Whiterun and find enemies I can fight since all others are too strong (for the most part).

By the way, thanks, Sparkz, I found a few minutes last night to play, and decided to turn the hud off. Wow, that's crazy hard, you can't even see what direction you're going, or even what item you're picking up. I'm used to not having a cursor since I turned that off a long time ago, but it still told you what you're aiming at to interact with. Anyway, I wouldn't have tried if you hadn't told me about it, and despite the advanced diff. and disorientation, I rather enjoyed it. Almost felt like Morrowind since there's no compass.

 

[x-INFERNO-FIRE-x]

Im playing right now, and im not even going to attempt it with no hud.. i do like a challenge, but i prefer it if the challenge IS possible.. lol.