So you want to be a mage. [Guide]

Same issue here, on master difficulty, and I too found Illusion to be invaluable early on. It's not the solution to every problem though, like in dungeons where it's practically useless until much later in the game, but otherwise it helps a lot. Fury is especially fun, but it works only up to level 6, however Calm is amazing. Before, I would get ambushed by a big cat, witness my merc die, and then be forced to run away with no magica left from trying to kill it and of course die soon after, but now a simple calm will do and I can move on. I think only 4 perks are needed for Calm to work most of the time too, which is nice. It almost feels like cheating sometimes, because no one will cast calm on me.

They are poisons, not potions, and you have to poison them with a weapon or perhaps using the Poisoner perk.

Thanks for the tips I always choose a warrior maybe I try something new

Thats basicly boring, i mean you want to have fun? be a mage or assassin warrior is just slash slash slash easy Pwn, i was always a warrior tankish guy unless some nice other options like on skyrim then i do them as i did LOVE steel claymores on oblivion but on skyrim meh magic/assassin better and archer.

This is good i'm trying to make a mage for the first time as my natural playing and role playing trait is to become Amoral Barbarian Tanks dripping in Deadric toys.

I'm finding it tricky to not just bashing everything i see but i think the challenge will be worth it. So thanks for the beginner guide i really need it.

I'm pretty much the same and am at around level 8-9 right now and going ok so far. I intend to use this guide to help me though. There's a few perks on here that I didn't think would help at the start but now I'm thinking they could turn out to be useful after all.

If I'm dead set on using robes, is it better to wear upgraded armor for the head, arms, legs w/ alteration spells (want to use Vokun masks) or is it better utilize the mage armor perks from an armor standpoint?

As a mage you really do not need armour of any sort. Don't get hit, use the magic left, right and back buttons to dodge, avoid or run. Gloves, boots and masks are suitable, but that's all you need

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Strafe... A LOT.

Always keep distance with your enemies. Frenzy, Pacify and Ice spell will help a ton. Conjure also Atronach for them to take the aggro.

if you do that, you won't get hit. So no need for "armor" per se. If you really want some protection, Alteration can give you some. Wards and resist Magic also. And put +Fortify Magic on clothes.

If you want to be good mage, you only need like, a few things. Impact. Stagger them, and when them come back up just hit 'em again. Also, the paralyze spell from alteration is AMAZING. It cost's a lot of magicka, but it's worth it because you regenerate magic during the time they're paralyzed.

And then conjuration. I usually summon 2 dremora's, and let them do close-up combat, while I either paralyze them or use destruction from afar. And even though paralyze doesn't work on all enemies, (automatons, dragons), you don't NEED it if you have good destruction.

ive cleared this game 3 times on master but damn when i was a mage it was hard on low difficulty i just kept dying over and over , so ive read this thread and im going to try again so thanks O.P nice one

Thank you OP! I've only played an assassin so far, and the practical insight you're sharing is very helpful to me. I also like the humor in it. I hope you'll come back soon and add more. *gives reputation*

tbh with u all i always am a mage and if its oblivion or skyrim, if theres a difficulty option like fallout had i would just make it the lowest and pretend it was master i can't do that difficulty so freakin hard. Message to all master users, omfg how do you do it must take u ages lawl

I'm not sure if you're still actively updating this guide but I just joined this forum a couple days ago and noticed you were missing a section on spells and effects of illusion and thought I could possibly help provide some info on those for you.

Spells
Courage- This is a Novice level spell that keeps the target from fleeing and increases it's Health and Stamina for a 60 seconds. You may find this useful to use on your allies to give them a little boost in combat to stay alive and use a few more power attacks. Rally is the Adept version of this spell that increase Health and Stamina by a greater value. Call to Arms, a Master level spell, is a lot like this spell but with the addition of increased combat skills and lasts for 10 minutes.

Fury- This is a Novice level spell that causes creatures and people up to level 6 to attack anyone and anything nearby for 60 seconds. Note that this doesn't exclude you. They will attack you too if you're nearby. An effective way to use this is to cast the spell on an enemy and make sure there is another enemy between you and the target. This will cause them to attack the enemy in front of them before you. Frenzy is the Adept version of this spell that affects higher level enemies. Mayhem is the Master level version of this spell that affects even higher level enemies and is AoE. You can increase the maximum level of the targets that can be affected using the perks mentioned under "Essential Perks".

Calm- This is an Apprentice level spells that causes enemies up to level 9 to just stop fighting as if they don't even see you and lasts for 30 seconds. Pacify is the Expert level version of this spell that affects higher level enemies and lasts for 60 seconds. Harmony is the Master level version of this spell that affects even higher level enemies for 60 seconds and is AoE. Again you can increase the maximum level of the targets that can be affected using the perks mentioned under "Essential Perks".

Fear- This is an Apprentice level spell that causes enemies up to level 9 to flee from combat just like a deer or elk would for 30 seconds. Rout is the Expert level version of this spell that causes higher level enemies to flee for 60 seconds. Hysteria is the Master level version of this spell that causes even higher level enemies to flee from combat for 60 seconds and is AoE. Yep, you guessed it, you can increase the maximum level of the targets that can be affected using the perks mentioned under "Essential Perks".

Utility Spells
Clairvoyance- This spell, while holding the cast button, shows a path to your current goal/quest. I find this especially useful when your quest target is around or on top of a mountain and it's just too much of a hassle to try and find your way to it. So don't fear, this spell will lead the way!

Muffle- This is a great spell to have ready when you might need to sneak around enemies. For 180 seconds, it reduces the amount of noise you make while moving. Note that this doesn't make you completely silent so don't try to just go prancing around enemies in heavy armor thinking they won't be able to hear you.

Invisibility- Ah, what a fun spell this is. It makes you invisible (like the Shadow Stone lets you do once a day) for 30 seconds. This will allow you to sneak by enemies or get you out of a tough situation. Note that using any attacks or activating any object (Having to press E, X, or A on PC, PS3, or XBOX respectively).

Effects
If you're the kind of person that likes messing with the minds of others, this is definitely the school of magic for you.

A brief overview of the Illusion school would be you can cause enemies to attack each other, stop attacking like they forgot what they were doing, or apparently turn you into a big ugly creature that makes even the fiercest enemies flee from you. Also, can assist allies by increasing their combat skills, health, and stamina. Finally, you can use illusion to change yourself making you quieter and/or completely invisible.