Best way to use Conjuration without feeling like you're just summoning meat shields?

[RiftenWanderer]

I'm on my 5th playthrough and trying to actually engage with Conjuration instead of just spamming Dremora Lords and calling it a day. Every time I try to make it work as a primary school, it feels like I'm either babysitting two summons or the spell costs are eating my magicka pool. How do you guys make it feel like an actual playstyle and not just "press button, summon tank, win"? Playing on Adept if that matters.

 

[ScrollsOfTamriel]

I think you're actually onto something legit here - the vanilla Conjuration tree really does incentivize the "summon and forget" playstyle, especially once you hit Dremora Lords. But there are ways to make it feel less like you're just pressing a button.

First, stop thinking of summons as tanks. They're better as force multipliers - use them to lock down one target while you're actually casting something else. Like, summon a Dremora Lord to tie up the big enemy, then you're free to cast Mayhem or just fling destruction spells at the rest. The summon doesn't have to solo the dungeon. You do the actual work.

Second, there's a perk in the Conjuration tree - the one that lets you summon two creatures at once - and honestly that's where it gets more interesting. Two weaker summons (like Atronachs) are way more engaging to position than one meat shield. They die faster, so you're actually thinking about placement instead of just... existing while they fight.

Third, the Necromage perk is stupid good and people sleep on it. Raise a corpse, cast a Dremora summon, and suddenly you've got a small army that's actually yours instead of just demons you borrowed. Feels more like commanding forces than babysitting.

Magicka costs are real though. If you're running out, you're probably not investing enough in Magicka itself or you're casting too many summons at once. The Atronach stone helps, or just... don't maintain three summons. One, maybe two. Cast something else with your magicka.

What difficulty mods are you running, if any? That changes the math a lot.

 

[EbonyWarrior]

Yeah, that's solid advice. I'd add that Skyrim's Conjuration really shines once you stop thinking about it as a solo school and start layering it with other magic. On my current playthrough I'm running Conjuration + Restoration, and the difference is huge - summon something, keep it alive with healing spells, and suddenly you've got this whole dynamic instead of just watching it die.

Also, the corpse thing can't be overstated. Necromancy feels way different than summoning Daedra because the bodies are there - you're looting a dungeon, raising what you find, and building a force as you go. It's got this weird tactical element that pure summoning doesn't, even if it's technically weaker. Reminds me a bit of how Morrowind let you summon and bind creatures at the same time - different systems, but that same feeling of actually assembling something rather than just pressing a hotkey.

One thing vanilla doesn't really reward is mixing summon types. If you had perks that made summons work together better (like frost atronachs and dremora lords synergizing somehow), it'd feel less like "pick your favorite summon" and more like "build a squad." But that's kind of a design thing Skyrim never nailed.

What level are you at? Magicka costs get way less brutal once you've got a decent pool and some regen gear.