When I wanted to sit down and play Skyrim, I was told I could be anything I wanted. So I set out to do just this. In most games, I prefer a ranged approach, so a bow was an easy choice. However, I also love magic a la pew pew, not necessarily alteration/illusion. These don't combine very well, until I realized that using sneak makes it fit perfectly. Let me explain, since I didn't see a thread detailing this.
Not a guide for the number crunchers, but general tactics.
Skill Tree choices:
Smithing: Went the light armor path, naturally.
Light Armor: I generally carried an archery set and a destruction set and favorited both, allowing me to swap rapidly in case combat goes to hell.
Enchanting: Nuff said. Critical to be able to
Destruction: I chose the fire route for the lower magicka cost, but if I could go back and change it, I'd do shock. Given fire, I skipped the Intense Flames perk so that they wouldn't move. More annoying that helpful. I also went the Impact path. Though contradicting the aforementioned magicka cost, it helps when facing high level enemies via the stagger-lock
Sneak: Did not get the Assassin's Blade perk. Since I did not invest in one-handed skills, it's just an unnecessary perk in my opinion.
Archery
Faction choices:
Companion
Dark Brotherhood: in certain scenarios when not wanting to kill, combining the gained powers with sneak and Vampirism makes it a cinch to get around undetected.
College of Winterhold
Vampires - in certain scenarios when not wanting to kill, combining the gained powers with sneak and Dark Brotherhood makes it a cinch to get around undetected.
Thieves Guild
Tactics:
Sneak around, naturally. My main approach is sneaking with a bow and using Eagle Eye/Steady Hands to get headshots. Generally, I never need to go out of this, as with a sneak skill almost maxed out at level 48, I'm rarely detected. However, when I'm bum rushed by NPCs, I just overlook one, or I get bored of sneaking, I can switch to destruction. When it's just one enemy, I'll use fireball since efficiency doesn't really matter. When it's multiple enemies, especially higher level, I'll use flame cloak, lay down a line of wall of flames, and then kite the enemies back and forth through the flames using firebolt for mana efficiency. I used Light Armor to prevent myself from dying too quickly. Since I'm full smithing, I can upgrade all of my armor to have the best damage and max out the protection cap.
All around, a lot of fun to play and I never need to get up close and dirty.
Not a guide for the number crunchers, but general tactics.
Skill Tree choices:
Smithing: Went the light armor path, naturally.
Light Armor: I generally carried an archery set and a destruction set and favorited both, allowing me to swap rapidly in case combat goes to hell.
Enchanting: Nuff said. Critical to be able to
Destruction: I chose the fire route for the lower magicka cost, but if I could go back and change it, I'd do shock. Given fire, I skipped the Intense Flames perk so that they wouldn't move. More annoying that helpful. I also went the Impact path. Though contradicting the aforementioned magicka cost, it helps when facing high level enemies via the stagger-lock
Sneak: Did not get the Assassin's Blade perk. Since I did not invest in one-handed skills, it's just an unnecessary perk in my opinion.
Archery
Faction choices:
Companion
Dark Brotherhood: in certain scenarios when not wanting to kill, combining the gained powers with sneak and Vampirism makes it a cinch to get around undetected.
College of Winterhold
Vampires - in certain scenarios when not wanting to kill, combining the gained powers with sneak and Dark Brotherhood makes it a cinch to get around undetected.
Thieves Guild
Tactics:
Sneak around, naturally. My main approach is sneaking with a bow and using Eagle Eye/Steady Hands to get headshots. Generally, I never need to go out of this, as with a sneak skill almost maxed out at level 48, I'm rarely detected. However, when I'm bum rushed by NPCs, I just overlook one, or I get bored of sneaking, I can switch to destruction. When it's just one enemy, I'll use fireball since efficiency doesn't really matter. When it's multiple enemies, especially higher level, I'll use flame cloak, lay down a line of wall of flames, and then kite the enemies back and forth through the flames using firebolt for mana efficiency. I used Light Armor to prevent myself from dying too quickly. Since I'm full smithing, I can upgrade all of my armor to have the best damage and max out the protection cap.
All around, a lot of fun to play and I never need to get up close and dirty.
