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SargeMaximus

New Member
Hey guys, hope you're all doing well.

Decided to join presently because I need to know how to play as a mage who doesn't use weapons or potions. It's tough! On a grander scale I hope to be a part of a thriving elder scrolls community.

I first got into Elder Scrolls back when Morrowind came out on Xbox. I was a Halo junkie and my cousins had the only xbox. Every time they would come over we'd play Halo till one day they brought Morrowind. I was like "Why can't we play Halo?! I don't like this game." till I watched them play more of it and, well, when it was my turn, I played that game for over an hour and was hooked.

Since then I've played them all, though Morrowind still has that unmatched ambiance that the newer games don't seem to have. However, each Elder Scrolls has something I really like that the others don't. For Morrowind, the ambience, mystery, and water (still the best water I've seen in a game ever).

For Oblivion, the dungeons, Dark Brotherhood Quest, Vampire stuff (they did it right, creepy and powerful), and the Shivering Isles was astounding.

Skyrim has the better graphics and combat systems, and feels more complete, but they sacrificed a few of the things that made ES great imo.

Hoping the next one has all the good with none of the bad but we'll see.

Anyhow there it is. A bit about me: 31 years old. Self-employed, don't work for many hours so I spend my time (and money) on video games for the most part. I love video games, movies, traveling, reading (I have a library in my room just like I do in ES games, books strewn about and in large piles)

Anything else just ask, and please someone let me know how I can be an effective mage. I want to use the frenzy type spells to get bandits to kill each other and conjuration for my zombie support, destruction for anything that gets too close, but as I said I've noticed I still need to resort to the melee weapons and potions, which takes me out of the experience.

Oh, forgot to mention, I have a character story-arch I've been using ever since Morrowind. Sarge Maximus and Sarge Maximus II. Both Dark Elves. One the grandfather, the other the grandson. I have a large story arch and even wrote a fanfiction back in the early 2000's but now I just have it in my head. It's what I love about the elder games. But this mage is a new character. I want to have some new experiences and not just be the Vampire/assassin/archer anymore.

Thanks for reading, see you around!
 

Kohlar the Unkilled

Time for some ale
Tis not thriving, but I like to check back from age to age, as this place was once home to a great many.

I started my TES journey with Skyrim, and it remains my favorite- greatly aided by mods on console- and yet many features were 'dumbed down' compared to the other games, most notably Morrowwind.

Are you using mods? Assuming not, I found a pure mage prohibitively difficult early on. For me it's mainly about reducing the cost of magic, especially destruction and conjuration, with enchantments and perks. Add the strongest such enchantments to every item of apparel you wear. Something I like to do once I'm able, is conjure a frost atronach, then, using it as a wall, stay behind it and keep casting ice storm, (which will not affect the frost atronach) until your foes are obliterated. Not exactly something you can do early on though. It's a bit of a grind.

I've never utilized fury spells, and there are those more qualified than I to speak about pure mage builds. Hopefully they chime in soon. Welcome to these forums. :beermug:
 

Pete

Well-Known Member
Welcome. I think playing a straight mage in an unmodded Skyrim with no potions (for me) is impossible. If I was going to attempt it, that would mean retreating / entering dungeons multiple times so I could recover. The only way I would attempt it is with a tank follower.

Now, on the other hand, if you carefully choose only a few magic mods, it could be quiet enjoyable and immersive. I use mods that only tweek the schools to make them scale better. For example being able to raise more undead as you level up.

As for a great player class mod I recommend Better Vampires By Brennen. You can truly fear getting caught outside during the day, being discovered if you are starving and have the dawngaurd hunting you. I had to time my battle with Alduin to start of 7pm and it finished close to sunrise.

Thing is there are a ton of mods, so I recommend you only use a very few and try a test play thru. Things like Better Magic, Improve conjuration, etc.. These won't break quests. Better vampires is also lore friendly and doesn't break quests.
 

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