Destruction Mage and robes only

[JechtFayth]

so I've been trying to work with the perk calculator for a while now... and not sure what to do for a straight destruction mage.... but i dont know what to do for equipment... was thinking of doing robes only and use alteration spells for my armor....Was thinking of using wards and the ebonyflesh or dragonhide spells and use pure destruction... no conjuration or swords or bows...

so my questions are... am i going over my head with magic having to cast alteration and wards for every fight to then use destruction?

i dont know what clothing besides Arch Mage Robes are good for mages to make it so every spell i cast will cost 0 magic... potentially without enchanting...

also not sure weather or not it's worth having dual cast for destruction and restoration if im purely doing magic.. and also not sure if worth bringing illusion up to be able to cast invisibility and muffle if i have sneak all the way up to silent movement...

oh and are the alteration spells dragonhide and ebonyflesh really worth putting the points in to get them, or should i try to get robes that i can enchant?

PLEASE LOOK AT MY BUILD

here's my build so far on the calculator: Skyrim Perk Calculator - Plan the perks for your Skyrim character before spending them!


here's my build updated: Skyrim Perk Calculator - Plan the perks for your Skyrim character before spending them!


i do not want to use conjuration or any armor or melee.. purely robes and magic usage like restoration, destruction and possibly very little for illusion as well as alteration depending what you all say...

thanks for all suggestions and ideas...

trying to make a Mage Assassin and gonna have only mage followers and gonna be fire, ice and shock mage with up to expert restoration for grand healing and max out only left side of sneak as well as the sneak (5) and get quiet casting in illusion for sure. thats what i know so far..

 

[DdraigGwyn]

so I've been trying to work with the perk calculator for a while now... and not sure what to do for a straight destruction mage.... but i dont know what to do for equipment... was thinking of doing robes only and use alteration spells for my armor....Was thinking of using wards and the ebonyflesh or dragonhide spells and use pure destruction... no conjuration or swords or bows...

so my questions are... am i going over my head with magic having to cast alteration and wards for every fight to then use destruction?

i dont know what clothing besides Arch Mage Robes are good for mages to make it so every spell i cast will cost 0 magic... potentially without enchanting...

also not sure weather or not it's worth having dual cast for destruction and restoration if im purely doing magic.. and also not sure if worth bringing illusion up to be able to cast invisibility and muffle if i have sneak all the way up to silent movement...

oh and are the alteration spells dragonhide and ebonyflesh really worth putting the points in to get them, or should i try to get robes that i can enchant?

here's my build so far on the calculator: Skyrim Perk Calculator - Plan the perks for your Skyrim character before spending them!

i do not want to use conjuration or any armor or melee.. purely robes and magic usage like restoration, destruction and possibly very little for illusion as well as alteration depending what you all say...

thanks for all suggestions and ideas...

trying to make a Mage Assassin btw.

I have just started a character like this: no armor, no weapons, no followers, no shouts. So far using Flames and running way seems to work, but I am only at Level 4, so I don’t know how it will play out at higher levels.

 

[Dzibl]

I think that if what you are going for is a pure mage, then you're on the right track. I'll tell how mage build is so you can get an idea:
Destruction: I have perks up tu expert destruction (because master spells just take too long to cast). Also dual casting and impact are must. Then it's up to you to choose the path of flames shock or ice.

 

[Dzibl]

As far as alteration you should use ebonyflesh, with the correct perks it goes up to 300 armor rarting and can last over 3 min. If you want to get cost reduction you can get your enchanting to 100 and buy robes in the solitude store called radian raiment or something like that, and then enchant them. For restoration go with dual casting, necromage, recovery and up tu expert restoration to decrease the cost of grand healing once you can get it. For illusion I wouldnt add any perks besides the route to quiet casting. But then, its up to you, because if you want muffle and want to be a Mage then just train alchemy and make muffle potions. If you are having any mor doubts ask me again as a I'm new to this forum and it's the first forum I am registered at all. Hope it helped. If you want I can upload my Mage perks when I'm on the pc. Good luck, and. HAPPY DRAGONSLAYING

 

[JechtFayth]

As far as alteration you should use ebonyflesh, with the correct perks it goes up to 300 armor rarting and can last over 3 min. If you want to get cost reduction you can get your enchanting to 100 and buy robes in the solitude store called radian raiment or something like that, and then enchant them. For restoration go with dual casting, necromage, recovery and up tu expert restoration to decrease the cost of grand healing once you can get it. For illusion I wouldnt add any perks besides the route to quiet casting. But then, its up to you, because if you want muffle and want to be a Mage then just train alchemy and make muffle potions. If you are having any mor doubts ask me again as a I'm new to this forum and it's the first forum I am registered at all. Hope it helped. If you want I can upload my Mage perks when I'm on the pc. Good luck, and. HAPPY DRAGONSLAYING

should i go up to master in alteration to use dragonhide? or is that not even worth it? and i should put points into enchanting then to better robes for 0 magicka cost? and are invisibility and muffle necessary to have for a mage assassin if i already bring up sneak all the way and go up to silence in that perk tree? and you would also suggest putting skill into alchemy for creating own illusion potions then?

 

[JechtFayth]

I think that if what you are going for is a pure mage, then you're on the right track. I'll tell how mage build is so you can get an idea:
Destruction: I have perks up tu expert destruction (because master spells just take too long to cast). Also dual casting and impact are must. Then it's up to you to choose the path of flames shock or ice.

im going to be all three: fire, ice and shock mage and i believe i will go to master just cause they seem beast spells to use for kicks and be overpowered against weaker foes.

 

[Dzibl]

Master alteration and destruction have the same problem that all master spells have, which is that it takes at least 3 seconds to cast in which you can't receive damage. So in my opinion it's just better to cast 3 icy spears instead of just 1 master ice spell for example, and is one mor perk pointing to save. But it's your choice. As far as alteration I probably wouldn't go for master because with Mage armor and the resistances it should be enough. Casting ebonyflesh which will give you 300 armor rating is good enough for tour character as you will be sneaking and probably wot get caught to much an if get caught that rating should do it. You can go and bump points in illusion or alchemy it's pretty much the same it just depends on how you want to role-play your char. But both potions or illusion spells will be equally useful. For the robes I believe that a Mage must have their own enchanted ones because the ones you get are good for early game but then they are not that good and useful and with the enchantings you can suit your needs in a better way. Hope I helped

 

[JechtFayth]

Master alteration and destruction have the same problem that all master spells have, which is that it takes at least 3 seconds to cast in which you can't receive damage. So in my opinion it's just better to cast 3 icy spears instead of just 1 master ice spell for example, and is one mor perk pointing to save. But it's your choice. As far as alteration I probably wouldn't go for master because with Mage armor and the resistances it should be enough. Casting ebonyflesh which will give you 300 armor rating is good enough for tour character as you will be sneaking and probably wot get caught to much an if get caught that rating should do it. You can go and bump points in illusion or alchemy it's pretty much the same it just depends on how you want to role-play your char. But both potions or illusion spells will be equally useful. For the robes I believe that a Mage must have their own enchanted ones because the ones you get are good for early game but then they are not that good and useful and with the enchantings you can suit your needs in a better way. Hope I helped

and what of wards? should i put points into that if im using ebonyflesh? and to get the best enchanting, is it vital to bring up alchemy for getting the best use for enchanting? or am i going overboard on that...?

 

[JechtFayth]

Master alteration and destruction have the same problem that all master spells have, which is that it takes at least 3 seconds to cast in which you can't receive damage. So in my opinion it's just better to cast 3 icy spears instead of just 1 master ice spell for example, and is one mor perk pointing to save. But it's your choice. As far as alteration I probably wouldn't go for master because with Mage armor and the resistances it should be enough. Casting ebonyflesh which will give you 300 armor rating is good enough for tour character as you will be sneaking and probably wot get caught to much an if get caught that rating should do it. You can go and bump points in illusion or alchemy it's pretty much the same it just depends on how you want to role-play your char. But both potions or illusion spells will be equally useful. For the robes I believe that a Mage must have their own enchanted ones because the ones you get are good for early game but then they are not that good and useful and with the enchantings you can suit your needs in a better way. Hope I helped

also how much longer would i have ebonyflesh if i did dual cast it?

 

[Dzibl]

Wards aren't really that useful as they take some time to activate and they only block spells and not melee damage. With the alteration resistance perk and some resist maic enchantment in your gear should be enough. And it would become really boring and tedious to cast a ward every single battle in my opinion. You can go for Alchemy for the enchantments, except for the ones with cost reduction the others will get fairly better not much but around 10 to 40 % better. But keep in mind that you are going to be pretty late-in game by the time you get all this perks we are talking about. Also remember not to power level non-combat skills such as alchemy or enchanting, just keep them al little bit below your combat skills (for ex: if you have 60 destruction it will be good If you have 50 or 60 enchanting, but not 100) as the monsters would have leveled up in combat and will kick your ass. If you dual cast ebonyflesh, or any flesh spells the last double, and if you get the perk in restoration and the other one in alteration o don't remember the name right now, it goes over 3 min, which is nice as you aren't going to be needing to cast it all the time. Sorry if my English is bad, not my language see ya.

 

[Golgo_SPB]

i dont know what clothing besides Arch Mage Robes are good for mages to make it so every spell i cast will cost 0 magic... potentially without enchanting...

you can try the Diadem of the Savant, Sarthaal Amulet, and Nightweaver's Band with the Archmage Robe. Doesn't give you 0 magic cost, but it's the closest without enchanting I think

 

[Dzibl]

This is my build, though it may take you a while to get where i am, you can get the idea.

Skyrim Perk Calculator - Plan the perks for your Skyrim character before spending them!

Alteration: stability and dual casting increase the spell duration to over 2 min.

Restoration: necromage increases duration of alteration too. respite is good for when you get your hands on grand healing as you can get unlimited sprinting and recovery is a must for mages.

 

[JechtFayth]

Wards aren't really that useful as they take some time to activate and they only block spells and not melee damage. With the alteration resistance perk and some resist maic enchantment in your gear should be enough. And it would become really boring and tedious to cast a ward every single battle in my opinion. You can go for Alchemy for the enchantments, except for the ones with cost reduction the others will get fairly better not much but around 10 to 40 % better. But keep in mind that you are going to be pretty late-in game by the time you get all this perks we are talking about. Also remember not to power level non-combat skills such as alchemy or enchanting, just keep them al little bit below your combat skills (for ex: if you have 60 destruction it will be good If you have 50 or 60 enchanting, but not 100) as the monsters would have leveled up in combat and will kick your ass. If you dual cast ebonyflesh, or any flesh spells the last double, and if you get the perk in restoration and the other one in alteration o don't remember the name right now, it goes over 3 min, which is nice as you aren't going to be needing to cast it all the time. Sorry if my English is bad, not my language see ya.

i was considering the wards because in the restoration tree, when magic hits wards, it absorbs the magic regenerating any magic i was missing.. but dont know if thats really worth it...

 

[JechtFayth]

This is my build, though it may take you a while to get where i am, you can get the idea.

Skyrim Perk Calculator - Plan the perks for your Skyrim character before spending them!

Alteration: stability and dual casting increase the spell duration to over 2 min.

Restoration: necromage increases duration of alteration too. respite is good for when you get your hands on grand healing as you can get unlimited sprinting and recovery is a must for mages.

if i were to go into alchemy just to buff enchanting a little more.... would i have to go all the way up alchemy tree like you did or just up to benefactor?

 

[mcfrg]

Wards aren't really that useful as they take some time to activate and they only block spells and not melee damage. With the alteration resistance perk and some resist maic enchantment in your gear should be enough. And it would become really boring and tedious to cast a ward every single battle in my opinion. You can go for Alchemy for the enchantments, except for the ones with cost reduction the others will get fairly better not much but around 10 to 40 % better. But keep in mind that you are going to be pretty late-in game by the time you get all this perks we are talking about. Also remember not to power level non-combat skills such as alchemy or enchanting, just keep them al little bit below your combat skills (for ex: if you have 60 destruction it will be good If you have 50 or 60 enchanting, but not 100) as the monsters would have leveled up in combat and will kick your ass. If you dual cast ebonyflesh, or any flesh spells the last double, and if you get the perk in restoration and the other one in alteration o don't remember the name right now, it goes over 3 min, which is nice as you aren't going to be needing to cast it all the time. Sorry if my English is bad, not my language see ya.

No, I like the ward spell. It has helped me in many situations. What it does is block 100% of magical damage (or a large chunk if the ward is broken), allows me to divert attention from my followers, and simply let's the enemies drain their magica quicker. It's not that costly, and you don't have to cast it in every fight, because other tactics may be more suitable.

I think wards are best against strong opponents, like dragons and mages with much health.

Edit: What I like particularly about wards is that you don't have to dance around, run away and hide. You just take whatever is coming at you. So if you're not a sneaky mage, wards should suit your style of play as well.

 

[Dzibl]

You can just go with benefactor. It will do it. For wards yes, it's pretty much your choice they are useful but I just can't fit them In my playstyle and just don't like casting them but it's your choice and it won't be a dump of perks. But take into account that they consume large amounts of magicka until you get enchantments or a pretty big magicka pool. But it's your choice and if you enjoy it or found them useful go for them. Besides you are not going to know until you try it yourself. Good luck

 

[JechtFayth]

You can just go with benefactor. It will do it. For wards yes, it's pretty much your choice they are useful but I just can't fit them In my playstyle and just don't like casting them but it's your choice and it won't be a dump of perks. But take into account that they consume large amounts of magicka until you get enchantments or a pretty big magicka pool. But it's your choice and if you enjoy it or found them useful go for them. Besides you are not going to know until you try it yourself. Good luck

and using alchemy will get me the boost for the best enchantments? or is that really worth it? cause thats 7 perl points gone just into alchemy alone just to boost enchanting... just wanting to know if it makes a difference where the boost from alchemy would more benefit you and allow you to make better enchantments to survive much longer versus the best enchantments through enchanting alone with no boosts from alchemy and that is more than enough to survive?

i hope that last sentence makes sense

 

[Dzibl]

Alchemy will improve quite a bit your enchanting, but you should spend those perks when you have got all the others or the most important covered. I mean you must put perks into destruction before investing any perks in alchemy. I hope that answers your question. But take into account that alchemy won't just boost your enchanting but you would also be able to make really strong health potions which always comes handy.

 

[JechtFayth]

Alchemy will improve quite a bit your enchanting, but you should spend those perks when you have got all the others or the most important covered. I mean you must put perks into destruction before investing any perks in alchemy. I hope that answers your question. But take into account that alchemy won't just boost your enchanting but you would also be able to make really strong health potions which always comes handy.

i'll would be using alchemy solely for enchanting since i would have my healing magic and followers with me so i wouldnt need to make potions for anything else...

can you give me an example of an enchantment thats just from 100 enchanting and then same enchantment but had help from alchemy and the differences between the two?

 

[Dzibl]

I will have to test to be sure (not home right now) but doing maths I have reached to:
For example a resist frost enchanting would normally cap at 47% using a fortify enchanting potion it would make the frost resistance cap at 59%
so there is the difference. Pretty huge in my opinion.