Dremora Lords are way too easy and it completely breaks summoning builds

[EbonyWarrior]

Okay so I'm doing a pure conjuration playthrough right now and I just realized something. Once you get Dremora Lord summons, the entire rest of the game becomes a joke. They solo basically everything. I'm level 34, standing back casting spells while my Dremora Lord just obliterates dragons, and it feels broken in a way that even Illusion magic doesn't quite hit.

Like, I get that summoning is supposed to be the "lazy" school where you just let your minions do the work, but there's a difference between helpful and "I literally don't need to participate in combat anymore." The perks in the Conjuration tree are weirdly frontloaded too - once you grab the dual summon perk you're basically done investing in the skill and it's all downhill from there.

Makes me wonder if this is why so many people sleep on Conjuration as a viable school. It's not that it's weak, it's that it trivializes content so hard that people get bored? I'm considering just not using the Dremora Lords for the rest of this run and sticking with the weaker summons just to actually have to cast spells myself.

Anyone else run into this or am I just discovering something everyone already knew?

 

[RiftenWanderer]

I think you're onto something but maybe not quite the full picture. Yeah, Dremora Lords are absurdly strong - I've had the same experience where they just delete everything - but that's kind of the trade-off for how clunky summoning feels in actual combat, imo. You're spending magicka and a turn or two getting them out while enemies are already hitting you, and if they die (which they do against certain enemies) you're out that investment mid-fight.

The real issue is that once you get past that initial setup cost, there's basically no counterplay. A strong mage or archer build at least has to manage positioning and resources. Your Dremora Lord just... wins. So I get why it feels broken.

That said, ngl I think a lot of people sleep on Conjuration for a different reason - it's boring to watch, not because it's weak. Summoning is the "go AFK" school in a way that even top-tier Destruction or Illusion builds aren't. Those at least require you to be engaged. With summons you're just standing there.

Your idea of self-restricting to weaker summons is honestly the move if you want the playthrough to stay fun. The game doesn't balance around you not using your best tools, so if Dremora Lords are killing your engagement, just don't use them. There's no achievement for using the strongest summons available.