Fire, frost, or shock?

I'm trying to save perk points, and figure I only need one method of arcane death. So can someone tell me their favorite destruction specializations, and why? And I already know Nords resist frost, so that's basically...everybody.

FullmetalHeart20 said:

I'm trying to save perk points, and figure I only need one method of arcane death. So can someone tell me their favorite destruction specializations, and why? And I already know Nords resist frost, so that's basically...everybody.

Click to expand...

I thought this over a lot before I made my Dual-wield destruction/summoner battlemage.

I specialized in only Fire/Shock and why? Basically half the world is resistance to frost, effective the stamina/slowing down effect may be, if its not doing much damage then you shouldn't waste your time.

I've always loved fire and you'll have a clear advantage over Trolls/Vampires which is great and when an opponent is on fire, they take a little more damage from all forms for a very VERY short time, but still its a great bonus.

Shock is great too, nothing is immune to it and its instant so no hassle trying to aim or "lead" your target. Its great against mages, which is a huge threat later in the game.

I chose 2, but if I only could pick one I would go with Shock. The fact that nothing is immune to it, its instant hit and mages are susceptible would make it the one to specialize in.

Frost is too easy to counter to be the one you specifically cater to and even some things are resistance to fire, Shock is interchangeable for any enemy.

despite half the population being nords, i would still go with frost, it might not do the most damage but the slowing effect it has for its victims is awesome... especily giants! i once killed two giants at level 4 using frostbite
and if the damage is too low for your liking... theres no reason why you can't daul wield frost with fire.

Honestly, Fire seems the best choice of the three, why?
Because, it does tons of damage, its the lowest magicka cost of the three, can set off the flammable liquid traps in nordic ruins, and most everything in Skyrim has a weakness to fire, besides what better destruction spell type to use in a frozen land then fire?

If you didnt want fire, I would suggest shock, because honestly, as much as I like frost, its weak in Skyrim because basically everything resists it. Besides, shock hits instantly, nothing resists it except the extremely rare Storm Atronach, and it does magicka damage as well as health damage which is nice. It does have the highest magicka cost of the three, but I'm assuming you dont care.

Honestly, Fire is your #1 choice, although some things in Skyrim resist it, basically everything else has a weakness to fire, meaning thats all the more reason to choose fire.
Although if you really want just 1 spell type with nothing that can resist it (except Storm Atronach) then choose Shock.

Ultimately the best way to choose a type of magic is experiment with each type, and see which one works well for you.

Shock. It is the least resisted damage type of the three. It drains magicka, which is useful on many enemies in the game that use spells. Most of all, lightning spells are instant with no travel time, which is helpful in hitting moving targets such as dragons. Frost and fire spells take time to reach the target to hit them.

If you want to go perk-wise I suggest taking shock .Shock will insta-kill enemies with health lower then 25%.This works nice since most of the time the mobs are left with a drop of health and you have to finish them off .You will not find anyone with natural resistance to shock , so the resistance may come only from items such as shields , necklaces or rings .Also , the ultimate perks for the other to elements are IMO weak . On ice you have a low chance to stun an enemy for 1 second if his health is under 25% hp .Same goes for fire ,where the enemy will start running instead of standing stil l.Shock will also level up your destruction the fastest since it takes you the most mana to cast shock spells .Also the range of the shock is broken.



Going damage-wise will lead you to fire .If you reach master level destruction you will notice that a fire storm(or what’s it called) will destroy anything @ you .Fire also have an increased DoT compared to the other and while the enemy is on fire you deal bonus damage(however the damage bonus isn’t big).Frost is good as enchantments for weapons however I find it stupid to go with frost even if you want to be a warrior-slayer.

One step with shock and frost that Bethesda should've taken would be with the traps like the oil for fire in dungeons. When they're in water, shock should harm much moreso while frost should cease their leg movement.

But when it comes down to it, if you're up against those with magic, shock is the best to go all the way, fire is good to weed out the weaker and the oil traps will be devastating. All in all, go shock/lightning, it's harder to dodge on the other end if at all possible and since most if not all characters have a base level of magicka, you deal damage in both. The Thalmor are the targets as well as dragons who both utilize magicka.