I need tips on how to handle being a mage at the start of the game.
I'm a high elf and I've just gotten to Riverwood.
What would you recommend I do?
- Do the Faendal level trick?
- Do the main quest up to where I get Unrelenting Force?
- Do the College of Winterhold questline?
Or does anyone know a better and easier way of doing this?
Also what skills should I level up and what should I choose the most between magicka, health and stamina?
Thank you.
Personally, this is the route I normally go:
Get to the College of Winterhold ASAP! And yes, pick high elf, that 50 extra magicka is a nice bonus to start off with. Go to Winterhold because as you begin to do the college quest, you get some nice attire with very helpful enchantments for a mage, like the Mage Circlet or Savos's Amulet (50 extra magicka). As you begin to level up, I normally invest in magicka and health, alternating between the two with each level.
Also, what schools of magic are you using? What normally helps me in fights since you are typically pretty weak in the beginning, is I use conjuration and destruction (I use sparks in the beginning). So I conjure up a flame atronach and then begin using sparks. So they'll be taking damage from the flame atronach and my destruction spells. If you are to run out of magicka, hopefully your flame atronach will pick up the slack. Also try and keep your distance to prevent from being hit as much. Some of the first perks I try to get are in conjuration and destruction to cut down my magicka cost for those spells.
Do not try to overcast yourself because you will run out of magicka. I saw a guy on another website who was constantly getting killed because he was attempting to cast magical armor (alteration), conjure an atronach, and then use destruction. You simply do not have enough magicka in the beginning to do all those things and you will be running away a lot or dying.
I normally wear armor, or get the Lord Stone (50 points added to your armor and 25% magic resistance added) to help you better take hits from enemies. If you do not want to wear armor, then you will need to invest in alteration. But I would hold off on that a little until you have more magicka, or else you will not have enough magicka to kill off your enemies without consuming a ton of potions, which is costly.
Always carry around some magicka potions. And NEVER forget your High Elf ability to regenerate magicka quickly, that's saved my ass a few times. Have fun!
Oh, and do you have dawnguard DLC? If so, will you be joining the vampire side? If so, do the quest to get the rings of ancient blood or whatever ASAP. Here's why: One of those rings is the Ring of Erudite or something like that. That ring gives you 100 extra magicka and helps you regenerate faster, and YES it does work even if you're not in Vampire Lord form. VERY helpful if you're a mage! Especially in the beginning. As a vamp you will also get a 25% bonus to illusion magic, if you're going that route. And if you get the necromage perk from restoration magic tree, your spells are even more powerful.