Conjuration + melee without feeling like you're babysitting—perk order?

[TamrielTactician]

I'm on my second playthrough (PC, SE) and want to try a warrior build that actually uses conjured summons instead of just relying on them to tank while I smash things. My first playthrough I summoned an Atronach, got bored watching it fight, and went pure melee by level 15.

What's the actual perk path to make summoned stuff feel like a real part of your damage output instead of a distraction? Should I be leveling Conjuration first, or is there a perk order that makes it click faster? Also—does dual-summoning ever feel worth it or is that just overkill?

 

[WhiterunModder]

The issue is that vanilla Conjuration perk scaling is genuinely slow at the start. You're not imagining that boredom—summoned stuff dies fast until you get the right perks, so it feels like you're waiting for them to do anything.

Skip leveling Conjuration first. Instead, level it alongside melee while you grab the perks that actually matter. You want Necromage early (the perk that boosts all magic against undead targets), then the dual-summoning one (whatever it's called—the perk that lets you have two summons out at once). That's the turning point where it stops feeling like babysitting and starts feeling like you have a real squad. Before that, yeah, single summon + your sword is the move.

The problem with going pure Conjuration-first is you'll hit like a wet noodle in melee while waiting for the perks to unlock, and the game gets tedious. Better to be a solid warrior who summons stuff than a weak mage who summons stuff while dying.

Dual-summoning is absolutely worth it once you have the perks to support it. Two Frost Atronachs while you're swinging a greatsword? That's actually fun. Not overkill at all—you're still doing the heavy lifting in combat.

If you're on PC, honestly, grab Ordinator or a similar perk overhaul mod. The vanilla Conjuration tree is kind of a slog. Ordinator makes it feel way less like you're waiting around for your summons to justify themselves.