How to get the most fun out of being a pure mage

[Aren_Direfrost]

And don't forget your garbage can (to hide in) and a follower that can act as your bodyguard. You are squishy after all. Oh! And learn to run!

I usually do just fine on adept by myself I use area damage spells so I always end up killing my follower so I just use Conjuration but that is a very valid tactic as well. It depends on your playstyle. I miss the shield enchantment from oblivion


Aren Direfrost... Witchhunter

 

[Daelon DuLac]

And don't forget your garbage can (to hide in) and a follower that can act as your bodyguard. You are squishy after all. Oh! And learn to run!

I usually do just fine on adept by myself I use area damage spells so I always end up killing my follower so I just use Conjuration but that is a very valid tactic as well. It depends on your playstyle. I miss the shield enchantment from oblivion


Aren Direfrost... Witchhunter

But how do you make it through the first 20 levels where you do not have area affect spells? Sure, being a mage is easy once you've access to the area affect spells, but don't tell me that flames, sparks, fire-bolt or lightning can actually save your but. Even then, you're magicka is not high enough for you to do real damage, especially at higher difficulty levels.

 

[Aren_Direfrost]

I get fire rune around level 5 or 6 because I focus on getting destruction to 20 as soon as possible it's an area of effect spell and if you let them group up by running backwards then it's very effective crowd control and with te apprentice perk you can usually cast it about 4 time with the gear from helgen and a couple points into magicka also I usually play high elf as a squishy mage the only issue I have before lvl 20 is archers I usually focus on killing them first


Aren Direfrost... Witchhunter

 

[Aren_Direfrost]

Also you need to make sure you support yourself with oak or iron flesh as well of course and have a flame antronoch at the ready in fire situations I usally go strait to the college ASAP and try to pick up a staff from the Conjuration school it's all about tactics but solo mage is very do-able


Aren Direfrost... Witchhunter

 

[Daelon DuLac]

Also you need to make sure you support yourself with oak or iron flesh as well of course and have a flame antronoch at the ready in fire situations I usally go strait to the college ASAP and try to pick up a staff from the Conjuration school it's all about tactics but solo mage is very do-able


Aren Direfrost... Witchhunter

Which, of course means that you have to head immediately to Whiterun upon getting out of Helgen to purchase them, which costs money. I cannot go through the game without a base of operations and, if don't spend my first few levels collecting at least 10K in gold, there is no way I can purchase Breezehome AND have the spells I need.

It's not so bad when you're playing an altmer since you already have such high bonuses in magicka, but just try doing it as a Nord.

But still. You need money. And you don't have any when you start.

Besides, to me, the robes are stupid looking, especially the black, blue and necromancer robes you can get right off. And if you're wearing those you have to use alteration and you don't have any magicka to after that unless you perk Alteration which means you have to wait for destructions, etc...

Just give me a friggin' ax and my flames, frost, sparks and I'll be fine.

 

[Daelon DuLac]

Sorry if I sound testy, but I've been through this whole schpiel with Drunken Mage before.

Being a mage is fine when you're above level 30, but, as a player who can't stand followers, companions, beings and hangers on, I just don't get the appeal.

It's also about the asthetics for me so why would I go around hooded and robed in shapeless gunnysacks so that I can never actually see my character. And what's with the stupid skull on the front of so many of the robes. I'll admit that, once you get master or expert robes you can look pretty cool, but, until then, you just look like some homeless person in a bathrobe.

I have my Altmer mage Den Moria and can only play him a couple of hours before I have to move back to a character I actually enjoy playing.

 

[Aren_Direfrost]

Well that's not squishy then XD and I focus on destruction first an only take one perk into alteration for novice I get novice apprentice and dual casting in destruction first but using the carriage you can go to solitude and buy college robes which don't look bad and enchant them my self and as far as money goes if you aren't playing role play you can alway raid the white run, dawnstar and markarth chests for gold fire rune at base speech only costs like 200 something gold and oak flesh costs like 150 and flame antronoch costs like 200 so one chest you can get those three essentials during role play I usually go on the bandit bounty hunts, pick crops at the farms surrounding white run and collect alchemy ingredients as I travel to make some money and use inns as base of operation until I can afford a house tho I usually get lakeview manor an pass up breeze home. As a squishy mage you aren't carrying heavy ass weapons or armor so you don't really need any where to store items at first


Aren Direfrost... Witchhunter

 

[Aren_Direfrost]

Also enchanting looted wepons and armor is a good way to make money but that's very hard to do effectively on a role play when soul gems are rare at first


Aren Direfrost... Witchhunter

 

[Daelon DuLac]

Well that's not squishy then XD and I focus on destruction first an only take one perk into alteration for novice I get novice apprentice and dual casting in destruction first but using the carriage you can go to solitude and buy college robes which don't look bad and enchant them my self and as far as money goes if you aren't playing role play you can alway raid the white run, dawnstar and markarth chests for gold fire rune at base speech only costs like 200 something gold and oak flesh costs like 150 and flame antronoch costs like 200 so one chest you can get those three essentials during role play I usually go on the bandit bounty hunts, pick crops at the farms surrounding white run and collect alchemy ingredients as I travel to make some money and use inns as base of operation until I can afford a house tho I usually get lakeview manor an pass up breeze home. As a squishy mage you aren't carrying heavy ass weapons or armor so you don't really need any where to store items at first


Aren Direfrost... Witchhunter

And pray tell, where do you get the money for all the carriage rides, training, spells, robes, etc... Yes. All in all it's ducky, but I'm talking about once you get out of Helgen. The first 10 levels. You cannot base yourself in inns. There is no storage. May I ask why you have no issue with robbing people blind and then picking crops for someone? That seems a bit weird to me.
I'm not being critical or anything, please don't take what I say as an insult. I just do not understand.
You're RP just doesn't appeal to me at all. You're not doing anything except busy work at all. I need adventure and action, not picking flowers and robbing people.
Like I said. I get pretty heated about this so don't take me too seriously. There have been others that have tried to convince me of the benefits of mages, but, frankly, every mage I meet in the game is a complete douche-bag, so why would I want to be one. (the exception would be the majority of the college members and court mages, but everybody else, douche).

 

[Daelon DuLac]

Also enchanting looted wepons and armor is a good way to make money but that's very hard to do effectively on a role play when soul gems are rare at first


Aren Direfrost... Witchhunter

I always enchant, but, perk points. Enchanting with no points is pointless. It's a great way to make money but you still have to collect the items to disenchant to learn it. Weight. And where are you going to store them until you get to an enchanting table?

 

[Twiffle]

Daelon, , for a magicka free follower tank i have 2 words for you my friend, , , , Atronach forge, ,

 

[Aren_Direfrost]

And pray tell, where do you get the money for all the carriage rides, training, spells, robes, etc... Yes. All in all it's ducky, but I'm talking about once you get out of Helgen. The first 10 levels. You cannot base yourself in inns. There is no storage. May I ask why you have no issue with robbing people blind and then picking crops for someone? That seems a bit weird to me.
I'm not being critical or anything, please don't take what I say as an insult. I just do not understand.
You're RP just doesn't appeal to me at all. You're not doing anything except busy work at all. I need adventure and action, not picking flowers and robbing people.
Like I said. I get pretty heated about this so don't take me too seriously. There have been others that have tried to convince me of the benefits of mages, but, frankly, every mage I meet in the game is a complete douche-bag, so why would I want to be one. (the exception would be the majority of the college members and court mages, but everybody else, douche).

I must have mis type or something I only pick vegetables and stuff if I am role playig I won't use the hidden chests but if it's just a hack and blast playthrough I will and I get the money for carriage rides of of doing work selling alchemy supplies I gather or crops I harvest or wood I chop or bandit bounties I take on an as far as the storages in inns a I said you don't really need storages at first because a mage you aret carrying heavy equipment



Aren Direfrost... Witchhunter

 

[Aren_Direfrost]

I always enchant, but, perk points. Enchanting with no points is pointless. It's a great way to make money but you still have to collect the items to disenchant to learn it. Weight. And where are you going to store them until you get to an enchanting table?

I only take what I can carry and use the enchanter in dragons reach after i take the frost salts I te alchemist for farengar an he's my frien and you get a frost enchantment from bleak falls barrow for weapons usually


Aren Direfrost... Witchhunter

 

[Aren_Direfrost]

And pray tell, where do you get the money for all the carriage rides, training, spells, robes, etc... Yes. All in all it's ducky, but I'm talking about once you get out of Helgen. The first 10 levels. You cannot base yourself in inns. There is no storage. May I ask why you have no issue with robbing people blind and then picking crops for someone? That seems a bit weird to me.
I'm not being critical or anything, please don't take what I say as an insult. I just do not understand.
You're RP just doesn't appeal to me at all. You're not doing anything except busy work at all. I need adventure and action, not picking flowers and robbing people.
Like I said. I get pretty heated about this so don't take me too seriously. There have been others that have tried to convince me of the benefits of mages, but, frankly, every mage I meet in the game is a complete douche-bag, so why would I want to be one. (the exception would be the majority of the college members and court mages, but everybody else, douche).

And as far as your attitude towards mages I understand I felt the same way until commuted to playig one and done right I found it way more fun than a warrior or thief and as far as adventuring to make money there are several bandit dens within walking distance of white run that you can raid to make money and have action they respawn every few game days usually



Aren Direfrost... Witchhunter

 

[JoeReese]

I almost always need storage, because I loot more than I can carry. There's almost always an urn, sack, chest, or barrel near the front of a dungeon. I've been known to backtrack and dump off loot, then pick it up at the end, once I've retrieved my horse.

 

[Aren_Direfrost]

I almost always need storage, because I loot more than I can carry. There's almost always an urn, sack, chest, or barrel near the front of a dungeon. I've been known to backtrack and dump off loot, then pick it up at the end, once I've retrieved my horse.

Well I do that too playing a regular playthrough but I don't loot everything as a mage when role playing because none of my mages are hoarders


Aren Direfrost... Witchhunter

 

[JoeReese]

I almost always need storage, because I loot more than I can carry. There's almost always an urn, sack, chest, or barrel near the front of a dungeon. I've been known to backtrack and dump off loot, then pick it up at the end, once I've retrieved my horse.

Well I do that too playing a regular playthrough but I don't loot everything as a mage when role playing because none of my mages are hoarders


Aren Direfrost... Witchhunter

I hoard profit.

 

[Aren_Direfrost]

Lol I make sacrifices for the sake of my role play there's nothing wrong with gimping your self even financially


Aren Direfrost... Witchhunter

 

[Nighthiker77]

Since I'm not using any bound weapons, my conjuration has been leveling really slow. Since I want to have fun with it, instead of grinding or taking weeks to get my conjuration up(I don't get to play much) I gave myself a tome of Spectral arrow.

It is really a shame that they didn't make this spell available in the console game. I never tried it before, partly because it isn't available without console commands, and partly because it just didn't look impressive with less damage than a firebolt and no casting cost reduction perk. After using it for a little while, it's actually really overpowered. It doesn't do much damage, but it casts silently by itself and staggers (seems like 100%). This basically gives you the benefit of quiet casting and destruction dual cast with impact, in a single hand, without ever leaving the school of conjuration. It is so cool I'm tempted to build a character around it.

It's like the Windshear of spells

 

[Aren_Direfrost]

Since I'm not using any bound weapons, my conjuration has been leveling really slow. Since I want to have fun with it, instead of grinding or taking weeks to get my conjuration up(I don't get to play much) I gave myself a tome of Spectral arrow.

It is really a shame that they didn't make this spell available in the console game. I never tried it before, partly because it isn't available without console commands, and partly because it just didn't look impressive with less damage than a firebolt and no casting cost reduction perk. After using it for a little while, it's actually really overpowered. It doesn't do much damage, but it casts silently by itself and staggers (seems like 100%). This basically gives you the benefit of quiet casting and destruction dual cast with impact, in a single hand, without ever leaving the school of conjuration. It is so cool I'm tempted to build a character around it.

It's like the Windshear of spells

Build a character that'd be pretty cool actually maybe an assassin who uses that spell and maybe a dagger in the other hand or something of that nature



Aren Direfrost... Witchhunter