So mages are just underpowered ?

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aena68

New Member
I just tried a pure mage build, leaving helgen a full mana bar was just enough to kill a pathetic wolf (my barbarian killed them in half a second).

So i do wonder if mage are viable.

Since my barbarian was a breton (high conjuration) i tried the fire atronach a bit and i was not impressed at all. I mainly used it to shot at dragons (even if he was not much better than me).

I foresee a lot of problem with a mage build (assuming a non crafting build) :


- Item increasing weapon damage are common, but i never saw any increasing fire or magical damage. This means that mage to not scale.

- If i want high mana regen i will need to wear robes. This mean absilutely no armor. In other word it means that any silver hand using a two handed weapon is likely to kill me in 1 hit. This is even more true if i assume that I put a lot of point into magicka while leveling.

- Mage with high conjuration can summon powerfull daedra, but this only happen in the end game. My first toon completed the main quest with no skill at 100. His highest skill was around 80 (two handed), the 70 (smithing) and after skill on the 50s.

- A dual casted (with no perk) fire spell deal less damage than a two hander standard attack (using no stamina). But it uses mana
 

Locks066

Member
A pure mage profile takes a little to start kicking in.... But to really start of good you should be a high elf that gives you an extra 50 magika to play around with straight away.

Point 1: You do get more damage using the same spells you just gotta increase your destruction first

Point 2: Theirs an mage armor perk in alteration that makes the spells you use like ebonyfish up to 3 times stronger!!! but i recommend using armor until you get it but still wear robes only wear gaunlets and boots.

Point 3: conjuration isnt really that all good unless you are a high level mage that i agree with. But in saying that theirs alot better spells and schools to focus on like alteration and illusion.

Point 4: it may take a little more perks to boost your mage up like theirs perks so you do more fire damage. But they are certanly worth.

if you are a 2h most of the time and just dont see how to be a decent mage profile thn maybe being a mage just aint for you but all and all a pure mage profile to me is the hardest ive ever made

My 2 cents ;)
 

arsha

New Member
being a pure mage is fun. one thing I know for sure that a pure mage can't survive most battles without a follower. so, bring at least one powerful follower with you. :D


-get 100 destruction and use the 3x perks on your preferred spell and you'll see ;)

-remember that alteration spells like Oakflesh will take effects if you don't wear any armor. I believe you can get about 300 armor rating with ebonyflesh spell and Mage Armor perk. don't wear any light/heavy armor. just wear a robe, circlet, boots, glove, necklace and ring with any strong combat enchantments. :rolleyes:

-if you want to build a pure mage, the first thing you have to do is to complete CoW quests first, and then complete Arniel's Endeavor. by this, you can get the conjuration spell called Summon Arniel's Shade which cost 0 Magicka. Arniel's Shade can't be affected by physical attack. very useful against bandits or dragons.



dual-casting spells is great since it can stagger your enemy, even dragons, and it can give you some "time" to recharge your magicka before the enemy stands again.
ice spells can "cripple" those nasty bandit marauders since it can slow 'em down and reduce their stamina so they can't "power attack" you.
shock spells can roast them nasty mages since it can reduce their magicka points. Chain Lightning is also useful against many enemies at once.
:)
 

AS88

Well-Known Member
Staff member

Now tell me mages are underpowered :p
 

Locks066

Member
wow that video was cool and all.... but still being a mage pure is like pausing every 10 seconds in combat. It sucks at times when you just want to kill kill kill. I did like how he combined some of those spells and how he well almost just walked through. But i find it very well.... pusy like that he actually didnt kill most of the enemies..... Done magic once as a mage pure it was alright but id rather the good old shield sword or duel weilder personally.
 

AS88

Well-Known Member
Staff member
lol this is pure genius, I mean really.

that mage must have 100 sneak level I believe. I won't survive that with only 35.

100 Illusion. Muffle and Invisibility makes you pretty much silent and impossible to detect. That in turn boosts your Sneak, though.

They seem to have 100 Illusion and cost reduction enchants for Restoration, both of which are far from impossible :)

They're also a Vampire, which boosts Illusion and resist frost
 

aena68

New Member
Well the video is fun, but my barbarian is way more efficient (which indeed does not mean more interesting to play).
I don't think that toon has high mana cost reducing item, simply because he uses equilibrium very often.

The problem with the video is that the mage is probably high level, so it let open the early game problem open. In my experience the early game is by far the hardest part. As example sneak does not even start to work before you get at least 60 in it.

Anyway it's interesting ... i m surprised to see that paralyse can work on undead lord.

So i have a question : what are the level cap on Frenesy and Paralyze (if i remember correctly, using perks, one can increasse the level cap of some illusion. But that cap is not given explicitely.


BTW : equilibrium with high magic resistance is quite fun since the damage received becomes almost irrrelevant. Sadly it seems that to get it you need to almost complete the Winterhold magic school quest ;-(.

My other problem with that quest is that the final reward (archmage robe) is indeed not really good since you canot wear any hat with it. And a (self made) hat + an expert robe is certainly better that the archmage robe.
 

Locks066

Member
I actually heavily relied on the archmage robe.... I was only in my level 50's and i was using that with the mage's circut. They seem to be more then enough for me but mind you i hardly upgraded my health witch left me with like 600+ magika.
 

arsha

New Member
100 Illusion. Muffle and Invisibility makes you pretty much silent and impossible to detect. That in turn boosts your Sneak, though.

They seem to have 100 Illusion and cost reduction enchants for Restoration, both of which are far from impossible :)

They're also a Vampire, which boosts Illusion and resist frost

you're right, this guy is invincible! i just tried this muffle+frenzy+invisibility combo on my low sneak level mage and it works very well against the thalmors (Rescue thorald from thalmor quest), alone.

what are the level cap on Frenesy and Paralyze (if i remember correctly, using perks, one can increasse the level cap of some illusion. But that cap is not given explicitely.


My other problem with that quest is that the final reward (archmage robe) is indeed not really good since you canot wear any hat with it. And a (self made) hat + an expert robe is certainly better that the archmage robe.

my maximum level cap is about up to level 29 for the illusions (pacify)

archmage robe is very useful if you haven't unlocked Extra Effects perk from Enchanting tree. you can combine the robe with circlet though.
 

AS88

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Well the video is fun, but my barbarian is way more efficient (which indeed does not mean more interesting to play).
I don't think that toon has high mana cost reducing item, simply because he uses equilibrium very often.

The problem with the video is that the mage is probably high level, so it let open the early game problem open. In my experience the early game is by far the hardest part. As example sneak does not even start to work before you get at least 60 in it.

Anyway it's interesting ... i m surprised to see that paralyse can work on undead lord.

So i have a question : what are the level cap on Frenesy and Paralyze (if i remember correctly, using perks, one can increasse the level cap of some illusion. But that cap is not given explicitely.


BTW : equilibrium with high magic resistance is quite fun since the damage received becomes almost irrrelevant. Sadly it seems that to get it you need to almost complete the Winterhold magic school quest ;-(.

My other problem with that quest is that the final reward (archmage robe) is indeed not really good since you canot wear any hat with it. And a (self made) hat + an expert robe is certainly better that the archmage robe.

You're right about low-level being tedious for an Illusion mage, but you can quickly increase Illusion by casting Muffle over and over again. Also, I find Sneak to be way overpowered, especially with Muffle.

As said above, the Archmage Robes and the Mage's Circlet (both former property of Savos Aren) is all I've ever needed for those two slots. That still leaves 4 slots open to do what you want with, which should be more than enough considering what you'll have with the aforementioned items.

In terms of Illusion effectiveness, take a look at this. There is effectively no limit noticeable in game for the Adept-level spells if you perk correctly

http://skyrimforum.com/threads/quick-reference-for-affected-enemy-level-for-illusion-spells.14541/
 

aena68

New Member
Thanks for letting me know that circlet do work work with archmage robe, i was really quite upset when i found out that the robe hood prevented the use of a helmet or hood.
 

AS88

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Thanks for letting me know that circlet do work work with archmage robe, i was really quite upset when i found out that the robe hood prevented the use of a helmet or hood.


That's what we're here for!

Also, you can use Dragon Priest masks with the Archmage Robes, too ;)
 

Nighthiker77

Well-Known Member
I just ran several quests dual wielding, no destruction or archery, in my blacksmith apron and didn't even notice until I went toe to toe with a Draugr Death overlord. You can have plenty of damage reduction wearing robes if you are crafting. As soon as you have a displayed armor rating of 225 with 3 pieces, you are already equal to ebony flesh with all the mage armor perks. If you are casting it anyway and showing 125, the armor is already doing as much as the perks.
 

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