Why nobody builds pure Alteration and it's actually a shame

I've been doing a playthrough where I committed to Alteration as my main offense tree instead of just grabbing Mage Armor and calling it a day. And like, I get why people don't—the damage spells are weak compared to Destruction, the utility stuff feels niche. But there's something genuinely fun about leaning into the whole "reshape reality" angle once you stop thinking of it as a support school.

The perk that lets you paralyze with melee hits completely changes how you approach combat. Pair that with a good one-handed weapon and suddenly you're not just casting buffs between fights, you're actively controlling the battlefield. Throw in the perk that makes your Alteration spells last longer and you can stack buffs that actually matter instead of reapplying them every 30 seconds.

My problem is I have no idea if I'm theorycrafting into a wall or if there's a genuinely viable build here. Like, does paralysis proc often enough to matter? Should I be prioritizing Alchemy for poisons instead of leveling Alteration faster? Is there a standing stone or race that makes this less painful in the early game when your spell power is trash?

Anyone actually done a full Alteration playthrough past level 30 or is this just me tilting at windmills.

I've done something similar on a couple playthroughs and yeah, it's way more viable than people think—but you're right that early game is rough. The paralysis perk (the one that triggers on melee hits) absolutely matters, especially once you get it paired with a decent weapon. Problem is you're relying on melee combat to proc it, which means you're already in the thick of things rather than controlling from range like a traditional mage.

Where I found it clicking was treating Alteration less as "my damage school" and more as a control + durability layer. The paralysis is your crowd control, the duration extension keeps your buffs sticky so you're not constantly recasting, and then you supplement with whatever else—Restoration for healing, Destruction if you want some actual spell damage, even just a solid melee weapon. On Legendary it felt way more forgiving than pure Destruction because you're actively shutting enemies down rather than hoping your damage outpaces theirs.

Early game though, ngl, it's painful. I'd honestly suggest just grabbing a standing stone that helps whatever your secondary skill is (Warrior if you're leaning melee, Mage if you're still casting Destruction) and maybe do some light Alchemy work for poisons—paralysis poison on top of the perk can be nasty. Altmer doesn't help much here since the school bonuses are pretty modest, but if you're already committed to the build it doesn't matter.

The real question is whether you want pure Alteration or if you're okay with it being your main tool. Pure feels like it'd hit a ceiling, but Alteration-focused with one other school backing it up? Yeah, that works.