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AS88

Well-Known Member
Staff member
As a mage with a low armour rating (and possibly low magic resists), ward spells are possibly one of the most underrated form of magic for a mage character. A decent ward can stop so many of this type of spell in its tracks, and you can even begin to absorb their power for your own use with Ward Absorb from the Restoration tree.
i never use wards cause the sacrifices you make to use them just aren't worth it, for example.. you can't duel wield a spell while using wards which means no staggering the enemies, this alone can get u killed but even worse the wards themselves use magicka so its very easy to burn out all magicka before even dealing decent damage, you could use the max enchanting method to make restoration unlimited but whats the point? even if they consumed no magicka their still not effective cause u can't duel wield, i just don't see the point to wards, i've tried using them, they just burn out my magicka pool and get me killed..

That's why it's important to learn how to use wards effectively, and have a plan on what you're going to do before running into the fray. Mages aren't supposed to go toe-to-toe with enemies. Ideally, you'd have a summon of some sort taking attention away from you while you move into a more strategic position. There's more to playing a mage than having 100% enchants and running into the middle, stunning everyone.
 

HappyFaceClown

PunkNation
As a mage with a low armour rating (and possibly low magic resists), ward spells are possibly one of the most underrated form of magic for a mage character. A decent ward can stop so many of this type of spell in its tracks, and you can even begin to absorb their power for your own use with Ward Absorb from the Restoration tree.
i never use wards cause the sacrifices you make to use them just aren't worth it, for example.. you can't duel wield a spell while using wards which means no staggering the enemies, this alone can get u killed but even worse the wards themselves use magicka so its very easy to burn out all magicka before even dealing decent damage, you could use the max enchanting method to make restoration unlimited but whats the point? even if they consumed no magicka their still not effective cause u can't duel wield, i just don't see the point to wards, i've tried using them, they just burn out my magicka pool and get me killed..

That's why it's important to learn how to use wards effectively, and have a plan on what you're going to do before running into the fray. Mages aren't supposed to go toe-to-toe with enemies. Ideally, you'd have a summon of some sort taking attention away from you while you move into a more strategic position. There's more to playing a mage than having 100% enchants and running into the middle, stunning everyone.
i agree to a certain extent but mage characters don't have to be played stealthly, i take out hordes of enemies toe to toe daily using nothing but destruction magic! the ONLY time i back up to spawn conjurations is when i see archers and even then i keep the pressure on them, the 2 hardest things to learn when fighting as a mage is timing and aiming, learning the exact time it takes to charge a spell and learning how to aim properly, both can be a bitch to learn but once u get it down you can jump into groups and wreak havok.. i take out entire imperial strongholds on a regular basis with my mage characters! trust me stealth is not the only way to play a mage. ;)
 

NENALATA

Last King of the Ayleids - RETIRED
if you're getting embarrassed that badly by ice based attacks you must not have any frost resistance at all.. this is why magic resistances are essential for any build, if u got no frost resistance enchants then sure an ice mage will freeze your character right in your tracks but even a mediocre frost resistance enchant will buy u enough time to get out of it before it completely negates your run, and with a higher frost resistant enchant u can more less take ice attacks out of the game. i just assumed everyone knew this, my mistake..


Well first of all, never assume anything because then you will be embarrassed. Secondly, I use the 30% MR from Alt and 15% from the Mara Quest Combined with spell absorb from the Atronach Shield and the 30% from Alt Mast. Since you seem to know so much, I'm rather surprised that you failed to mention Magic Absorption. At no point in any of your posts on this page was this brought up. Spell Absorption is the correct answer. Namely because it doesn't cap like MR does. MR caps at like 85% I *think*. Even still, it doesn't matter how much MR you have, underestimating the damage a Frost Mage can do is an epic fail. It's not like they have only one kind of attack, you could have 100% MR and a frost mage could slow you down enough to finish you with Claymore.

Now, Wards are usable under two conditions: 1) Max out Restoration spell eff as much as possible and 2) Get the Wards perk from the Res tree so that magic damage is absorbed. Again, the ability to Absorb Magic is the name of the game. Because there are spell that can weaken you to magic. So if I go against a Master Wizard somewhere with like 40% MR and he weakens that down 10% will some spell, then MR isn't going to do me a hell of alot of good. Unlike Spell Absord or a Ward, where I KNOW it can't be reduced in ability. Although true, Wards can be broken temp.

I usually hold off on Wards until I'm around lvl 10 or 12. Wards are not for every type of wizard. I'm a Spellsword. And my High Elf has a 25% Weakness to Elem Dmg. (I modded my Skyrim to restore as close as possible the Obl Racial traits). So, that said, power attacks and paralysis poison is my bread and butter. Not just magic. A Ward buys you time if you need to escape AND it allows you to get close enough to the enemy without taking damage. Ward is a "tactical" tool, it's not meant to just be one of those fire and forget spells.

Another thing too, there's an old saying: "Don't run to your death". So, having a thoughtful, Stealth-minded mentality is best, no matter who you are. And if you do have to run in, that will come from the heart so don't worry about it. All other times, you best watch yurself.
 

AS88

Well-Known Member
Staff member
trust me stealth is not the only way to play a mage. ;)

Never once did I mention sneaking. You're right about stealth not being the only way, though. The easiest way to fight hordes of enemies is Illusion and Conjuration, without doubt.

Spamming Destruction spells with 100% enchants gets far too tedious, far too quickly for me. I've built characters around it before, and it got old fast.
 

HappyFaceClown

PunkNation
if you're getting embarrassed that badly by ice based attacks you must not have any frost resistance at all.. this is why magic resistances are essential for any build, if u got no frost resistance enchants then sure an ice mage will freeze your character right in your tracks but even a mediocre frost resistance enchant will buy u enough time to get out of it before it completely negates your run, and with a higher frost resistant enchant u can more less take ice attacks out of the game. i just assumed everyone knew this, my mistake..


Well first of all, never assume anything because then you will be embarrassed. Secondly, I use the 30% MR from Alt and 15% from the Mara Quest Combined with spell absorb from the Atronach Shield and the 30% from Alt Mast. Since you seem to know so much, I'm rather surprised that you failed to mention Magic Absorption. At no point in any of your posts on this page was this brought up. Spell Absorption is the correct answer. Namely because it doesn't cap like MR does. MR caps at like 85% I *think*. Even still, it doesn't matter how much MR you have, underestimating the damage a Frost Mage can do is an epic fail. It's not like they have only one kind of attack, you could have 100% MR and a frost mage could slow you down enough to finish you with Claymore.

Now, Wards are usable under two conditions: 1) Max out Restoration spell eff as much as possible and 2) Get the Wards perk from the Res tree so that magic damage is absorbed. Again, the ability to Absorb Magic is the name of the game. Because there are spell that can weaken you to magic. So if I go against a Master Wizard somewhere with like 40% MR and he weakens that down 10% will some spell, then MR isn't going to do me a hell of alot of good. Unlike Spell Absord or a Ward, where I KNOW it can't be reduced in ability. Although true, Wards can be broken temp.

I usually hold off on Wards until I'm around lvl 10 or 12. Wards are not for every type of wizard. I'm a Spellsword. And my High Elf has a 25% Weakness to Elem Dmg. (I modded my Skyrim to restore as close as possible the Obl Racial traits). So, that said, power attacks and paralysis poison is my bread and butter. Not just magic. A Ward buys you time if you need to escape AND it allows you to get close enough to the enemy without taking damage. Ward is a "tactical" tool, it's not meant to just be one of those fire and forget spells.

Another thing too, there's an old saying: "Don't run to your death". So, having a thoughtful, Stealth-minded mentality is best, no matter who you are. And if you do have to run in, that will come from the heart so don't worry about it. All other times, you best watch yurself.
calm down m8, my goodness.. i never claimed to be the knower of everything Skyrim, just explaining how i play personally as advice. half of what you posted i have no clue what you're talking about, as for absorbing magicka i don't use wards cause it prevents duel wielding, if i need to escape thats what running is for "hence all that stamina investing i mentioned" and i have never once encountered an ice mage with any attacks aside from ice spikes, ice storm, and occasionally rushing me with a dagger, there is no "claymore" weapon on the game to my knowledge much less being wielded by mages who only carry daggers for melee weapons, sorry but everything about your post is confusing me, are you sure you're not mistaking this game with Dark Souls? :confused:
 

seeker23

Looking for the Snitch in Skyrim...
its simple, as a mage character you're going to spend a LOT of time running since so much can kill you so quickly and in case you haven't noticed AI archers never, EVER miss! i've literally watched their arrows hit 2 or 3 paces left or right clearly missing and it STILL registers as a hit, not fair but what can u do except run? therefor its essential to have plenty of stamina so your character can book it when swarmed by surprise parties, when i create a mage i invest every last upgrade into stamina and rely on enchantments to boost my health, this not only gives me plenty of "escape power" but also greatly helps me bank up gold cause i can carry so many salable items, in the long run this has always turned out to be an ass saving decision for me and should be obvious, of course i play on master diff so it may be different for others.. ;)
Awesome never thought of it that way. Yeah I know those archers. They are a pain. Thanks HappyFaceClown. I never would have seen Stamina as a useful tool to a mage.
 

NENALATA

Last King of the Ayleids - RETIRED
calm down m8, my goodness.. i never claimed to be the knower of everything Skyrim, just explaining how i play personally as advice. half of what you posted i have no clue what you're talking about, as for absorbing magicka i don't use wards cause it prevents duel wielding, if i need to escape thats what running is for "hence all that stamina investing i mentioned" and i have never once encountered an ice mage with any attacks aside from ice spikes, ice storm, and occasionally rushing me with a dagger, there is no "claymore" weapon on the game to my knowledge much less being wielded by mages who only carry daggers for melee weapons, sorry but everything about your post is confusing me, are you sure you're not mistaking this game with Dark Souls? :confused:


I am calm. Didn't mean to upset you. You sounded like you really understood how Magic Resistance works in Skyrim. But if this discussion has you confused, I understand. No need to try and change the subject. Never heard of "Dark Souls". That a ref to Azura's star perhaps?


25262.jpg
HappyFaceClown said:
its simple, as a mage character you're going to spend a LOT of time running since so much can kill you so quickly and in case you haven't noticed AI archers never, EVER miss! i've literally watched their arrows hit 2 or 3 paces left or right clearly missing and it STILL registers as a hit, not fair but what can u do except run? therefor its essential to have plenty of stamina so your character can book it when swarmed by surprise parties, when i create a mage i invest every last upgrade into stamina and rely on enchantments to boost my health, this not only gives me plenty of "escape power" but also greatly helps me bank up gold cause i can carry so many salable items, in the long run this has always turned out to be an ass saving decision for me and should be obvious, of course i play on master diff so it may be different for others.. ;)
Awesome never thought of it that way. Yeah I know those archers. They are a pain. Thanks HappyFaceClown. I never would have seen Stamina as a useful tool to a mage.


seeker23

Please tell me, how fast do you have to run to escape lightening? Have you ever sat and watched a squirrel or field mice try and run from an Owl?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning

Light travels at about 300,000,000 m/s. Sound travels through air at about 340 m/s. An observer can approximate the distance to the strike by timing the interval between the visible lightning and the audible thunder it generates. A lightning flash preceding its thunder by five seconds would be about one mile (1.6 km) (5x340 m) distant. A flash preceding thunder by three seconds is about one kilometer (0.62 mi) (3x340 m) distant. Consequently, a lightning strike observed at a very close distance will be accompanied by a sudden clap of thunder, with almost no perceptible time lapse, possibly accompanied by the smell of ozone (O3).


WOW! How much Stamina does it take to outrun the speed of light I wonder? Or a shout for that matter. Or a lightening shout... from a frost mage.

Nenalata don't run.
 

seeker23

Looking for the Snitch in Skyrim...
...Nenalata don't run.

Yeah I get what you mean(I think). Running in a mage fight would be pointless. I usually don't when I face off a mage. But what HappyFaceClown says has credit as well. In a situation surrounded by melee enemies I think a bit of Stamina won't hurt, even for a mage.

Oh well, what both of you say is true. I think I will enact a hybrid plan the next time I do a mage build. A bit of stamina and certainly no running.

Thanks for the advice from both of you. Appreciate it.
 

HappyFaceClown

PunkNation
calm down m8, my goodness.. i never claimed to be the knower of everything Skyrim, just explaining how i play personally as advice. half of what you posted i have no clue what you're talking about, as for absorbing magicka i don't use wards cause it prevents duel wielding, if i need to escape thats what running is for "hence all that stamina investing i mentioned" and i have never once encountered an ice mage with any attacks aside from ice spikes, ice storm, and occasionally rushing me with a dagger, there is no "claymore" weapon on the game to my knowledge much less being wielded by mages who only carry daggers for melee weapons, sorry but everything about your post is confusing me, are you sure you're not mistaking this game with Dark Souls? :confused:


I am calm. Didn't mean to upset you. You sounded like you really understood how Magic Resistance works in Skyrim. But if this discussion has you confused, I understand. No need to try and change the subject. Never heard of "Dark Souls". That a ref to Azura's star perhaps?


25262.jpg
HappyFaceClown said:
its simple, as a mage character you're going to spend a LOT of time running since so much can kill you so quickly and in case you haven't noticed AI archers never, EVER miss! i've literally watched their arrows hit 2 or 3 paces left or right clearly missing and it STILL registers as a hit, not fair but what can u do except run? therefor its essential to have plenty of stamina so your character can book it when swarmed by surprise parties, when i create a mage i invest every last upgrade into stamina and rely on enchantments to boost my health, this not only gives me plenty of "escape power" but also greatly helps me bank up gold cause i can carry so many salable items, in the long run this has always turned out to be an ass saving decision for me and should be obvious, of course i play on master diff so it may be different for others.. ;)
Awesome never thought of it that way. Yeah I know those archers. They are a pain. Thanks HappyFaceClown. I never would have seen Stamina as a useful tool to a mage.


seeker23

Please tell me, how fast do you have to run to escape lightening? Have you ever sat and watched a squirrel or field mice try and run from an Owl?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning

Light travels at about 300,000,000 m/s. Sound travels through air at about 340 m/s. An observer can approximate the distance to the strike by timing the interval between the visible lightning and the audible thunder it generates. A lightning flash preceding its thunder by five seconds would be about one mile (1.6 km) (5x340 m) distant. A flash preceding thunder by three seconds is about one kilometer (0.62 mi) (3x340 m) distant. Consequently, a lightning strike observed at a very close distance will be accompanied by a sudden clap of thunder, with almost no perceptible time lapse, possibly accompanied by the smell of ozone (O3).


WOW! How much Stamina does it take to outrun the speed of light I wonder? Or a shout for that matter. Or a lightening shout... from a frost mage.

Nenalata don't run.
Lightning based attacks are the fastest in the game but they also have the shortest distance they can travel, thats the trade off for lightning being so fast, if you can make it past that range it can't reach you anymore unless they get closer..
mister, i dunno if you're purposely trolling or just butthurt over something but seriously.. lighten up. -_-
 

HappyFaceClown

PunkNation
its simple, as a mage character you're going to spend a LOT of time running since so much can kill you so quickly and in case you haven't noticed AI archers never, EVER miss! i've literally watched their arrows hit 2 or 3 paces left or right clearly missing and it STILL registers as a hit, not fair but what can u do except run? therefor its essential to have plenty of stamina so your character can book it when swarmed by surprise parties, when i create a mage i invest every last upgrade into stamina and rely on enchantments to boost my health, this not only gives me plenty of "escape power" but also greatly helps me bank up gold cause i can carry so many salable items, in the long run this has always turned out to be an ass saving decision for me and should be obvious, of course i play on master diff so it may be different for others.. ;)
Awesome never thought of it that way. Yeah I know those archers. They are a pain. Thanks HappyFaceClown. I never would have seen Stamina as a useful tool to a mage.
when it comes to AI archers this is the only game i've ever played where the only explanation is "they cheat" and thats not being a sore loser its being dead honest cause it can be proven, not only do they never miss but sometimes it doesn't matter how accurate you are the game just forces you to miss, every time i play at least once i watch an arrow of mine fly directly into the enemies chest, disappear, and count as a miss, "the only way i could have been more accurate is if i took an arrow, walked up to the enemy, and shoved it up his/her ass" then as if to add insult to injury the enemy blind fires, and i watch their arrow wisp at least 3 paces past my head but stick in mid air beside me with a blood spatter somehow counting as a hit on me.. i get so pissed when this happens i literally have to cut the game off, its ridiculous! an obvious game flaw that should have been patched long ago. :rolleyes:
 

tx12001

I will not tolerate failure...
Oh ok. Say, you know of a mod or anything that brandishes a new look for the Altmer in Skyrim? Cause I played primarily an Altmer In Oblivion, and I've tried them in Skyrim but they look awful. Not quite as Noble as before. I've checked around and so far nothing. For your Altmer mage, are you going with Light Armor or as a clothy?
What kind of look are you ging for here? a physical Appearance look or attire look? New Elven attire or a Completely new facial Structure or more human like eyes?
 

NENALATA

Last King of the Ayleids - RETIRED
30811.jpg
NENALATA said:
Oh ok. Say, you know of a mod or anything that brandishes a new look for the Altmer in Skyrim? Cause I played primarily an Altmer In Oblivion, and I've tried them in Skyrim but they look awful. Not quite as Noble as before. I've checked around and so far nothing. For your Altmer mage, are you going with Light Armor or as a clothy?​
What kind of look are you ging for here? a physical Appearance look or attire look? New Elven attire or a Completely new facial Structure or more human like eyes?


@tx1200

Well, first of all thank you for the reply. So, yes, just a more realistic personal appearance. And what's up with the eyes? You know, you go playing the game for an hour and a half and my eyes look like they've been carved out. It's really quite bizarre. We got a fix for that anywhere? Thanks again! :)
 

NENALATA

Last King of the Ayleids - RETIRED
thalmor_by_hugoluman-d53rw58.png
No one.​
 

Irishman

Well-Endowed Member
Well, this escalated quickly.
ikr.. last time i'll ever give advice on a thread here. :/

awww dont be like that!
i appreciate your advice and value your opinion Happy Clown :D
some people either take thier grumpiness out on whoever pops up or dont know how to articulate thier thoughts and control thier emotions at times.
 

HappyFaceClown

PunkNation
Well, this escalated quickly.
ikr.. last time i'll ever give advice on a thread here. :/

awww dont be like that!
i appreciate your advice and value your opinion Happy Clown :D
some people either take thier grumpiness out on whoever pops up or dont know how to articulate thier thoughts and control thier emotions at times.
true but when multiple people agree with them just for the sake of doing it, and all you're trying to do is give advice it really makes you question why u even bothered..
 

Irishman

Well-Endowed Member
ikr.. last time i'll ever give advice on a thread here. :/

awww dont be like that!
i appreciate your advice and value your opinion Happy Clown :D
some people either take thier grumpiness out on whoever pops up or dont know how to articulate thier thoughts and control thier emotions at times.
true but when multiple people agree with them just for the sake of doing it, and all you're trying to do is give advice it really makes you question why u even bothered..

it makes for an interesting read though :p
 

Irishman

Well-Endowed Member
more on topic though, for my pure mage (altmer) i have put 5levels into mana, to make it 200, nothing in stamina (although i do run away a lot and our resident clown makes a valid (and entertaining;)) arguement) and everything else in health. im an acomplished enchanter and alchemist so mana reducing enchants saves me and i play on legendary, with only robes, so i need all the health i can get. its very difficult in the beginning due to my lack of mana pool, but it will pay off... i hope!
 

HappyFaceClown

PunkNation
more on topic though, for my pure mage (altmer) i have put 5levels into mana, to make it 200, nothing in stamina (although i do run away a lot and our resident clown makes a valid (and entertaining;)) arguement) and everything else in health. im an acomplished enchanter and alchemist so mana reducing enchants saves me and i play on legendary, with only robes, so i need all the health i can get. its very difficult in the beginning due to my lack of mana pool, but it will pay off... i hope!
i remember my first robes only mage playthrough and it was a nightmare, lots of rage quits and even a controller hail mary throw once or twice, and i was playing on master.. took me an entire summer to beat the main story like that but i'll never forget the feeling of badassery i felt when i had finally done it, good times.. ;)
 

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