Fire, Ice or Lightning?

[Irishman]

Bassically iv dabbled in destruction magic but up until now iv never used it as a main weapon. The main reason is that unless its against an enemy with an elemental weakness iv found that its too weak. On my pure mage currently iv been really trying to use destruction magic but when I get overwhelmed I resort to conjured weapons.

Im at the stage now where I can start branching into a specific element via perks but im not sure if I should specialize or stay as a broad 'right spell for the situation' kind of mage?

Iv looked a bit on the net but im interested to see what our resident mages have to say...

 

[Black Orchid]

For my Breton pure mage it has been Shock Destruction all the way. That coupled with Conjured Storm Atronachs/Storm Thralls to keep your enemies occupied while you blast away at them has worked really well so far. Once you get the 'Destruction spells cost 0 Magicka to cast' enchantments on your gear, you don't need to worry about taking the metamagic perks (e.g. Expert Destruction, Master Destruction, etc).

Destruction Dual-Casting, Impact, Augmented Shock 1 & 2, and Disintegrate along with a sizeable Magicka pool/regeneration (Recovery perks 1 & 2) are all must-haves if you wish to be a force to be reckoned with.

Lightning, Chain Lightning, Thunderbolt, Lightning Cloak, and Lightning Rune are the bread-and-butter Destruction spells of my build, along with the Storm Atronachs/Thralls for my summons.

The Disintegrate perk is surprisingly awesome, as more often than not it reduces enemies with 15% or less health to a harmless dust pile. I play on Expert, so an Ancient Dragon's health is potentially reduced from 3071 points down to 2612.

Spoiler

 

[Khasrin]

I prefer fire magic myself. The mage I always take as a follower has a mean lightning spell, though, so I can rely on him for the electrocutions. Without him I'd probably add a few lightning spells to my magical repertoire. Ice magic feels a bit weak to me in comparison, but it's good to have a ranged ice spell in your back pocket, just in case. So yeah, I find it's more effective to specialize in just one or two types of Destruction.

For perks, I go for Destruction Dual Casting and Impact, then work my way up the fire side of the skill tree (at least through both levels of Augmented Flames). Also, runes of all types are fun and I recommend them I find it's worth leveling up in Destruction if only for the runes...nothing like throwing one down and watching your enemies blunder over them. The Rune Master perk is also worth getting if you decide to go that route.

 

[shadowkitty]

My Khajiit uses Shock. Up to the perk that disintegrates enemies. She leaves little ash piles all over Skyrim
She also likes fireballs, as they are better at ranged attacks, with a larger damage radius. Her preferred conjured ally is the Dremora Valkynaz from the Sangiune Rose.

 

[Jader]

Cryomancer here.tossing ice storms left and right

 

[Irishman]

For my Breton pure mage it has been Shock Destruction all the way. That coupled with Conjured Storm Atronachs/Storm Thralls to keep your enemies occupied while you blast away at them has worked really well so far. Once you get the 'Destruction spells cost 0 Magicka to cast' enchantments on your gear, you don't need to worry about taking the metamagic perks (e.g. Expert Destruction, Master Destruction, etc).

Destruction Dual-Casting, Impact, Augmented Shock 1 & 2, and Disintegrate along with a sizeable Magicka pool/regeneration (Recovery perks 1 & 2) are all must-haves if you wish to be a force to be reckoned with.

Lightning, Chain Lightning, Thunderbolt, Lightning Cloak, and Lightning Rune are the bread-and-butter Destruction spells of my build, along with the Storm Atronachs/Thralls for my summons.

The Disintegrate perk is surprisingly awesome, as more often than not it reduces enemies with 15% or less health to a harmless dust pile. I play on Expert, so an Ancient Dragon's health is potentially reduced from 3071 points down to 2612.

Spoiler

oh wow i didnt know you could disintergrate a dragon!

Im playing on legendary and sometimes master and my mana pool runs out waaaay too quick but im really trying hard not to waste perks on spell reduction because im levelling enchanting. I cant wait till iv got the recovery perks though.

 

[Irishman]

I prefer fire magic myself. The mage I always take as a follower has a mean lightning spell, though, so I can rely on him for the electrocutions. Without him I'd probably add a few lightning spells to my magical repertoire. Ice magic feels a bit weak to me in comparison, but it's good to have a ranged ice spell in your back pocket, just in case. So yeah, I find it's more effective to specialize in just one or two types of Destruction.

For perks, I go for Destruction Dual Casting and Impact, then work my way up the fire side of the skill tree (at least through both levels of Augmented Flames). Also, runes of all types are fun and I recommend them I find it's worth leveling up in Destruction if only for the runes...nothing like throwing one down and watching your enemies blunder over them. The Rune Master perk is also worth getting if you decide to go that route.

I love my fire magic as well. Lots of enemies are weak against it (which i cant say the same for lightning) and not many can resist it.

i really should try runes more often! Iv heard good stuff about them a fair bit but for some reason i neglect to use em... got a fav rune?

 

[Irishman]

My Khajiit uses Shock. Up to the perk that disintegrates enemies. She leaves little ash piles all over Skyrim
She also likes fireballs, as they are better at ranged attacks, with a larger damage radius. Her preferred conjured ally is the Dremora Valkynaz from the Sangiune Rose.

Im a bit hesitant about the disintergrate perk to be honest (which is a reason im not all for lightning) for the sole reason that you cant raise a pile of ash. I know. Iv tried

i am of course talking about thralls. I plan to keep this character at a reasonably low level for a period of time to check out the thralls iv never had due to my high level.

 

[Irishman]

Cryomancer here.tossing ice storms left and right

I havent got ice storm yet but i use frostbite to good effect. Its really effective aggainst melee bandits due to the slowing effect. I cant stand ice spike, maybe im just a bad shot! Although it would be cool if you could ice spike out of sneak and get a bonus damage.

 

[shadowkitty]

My Khajiit uses Shock. Up to the perk that disintegrates enemies. She leaves little ash piles all over Skyrim
She also likes fireballs, as they are better at ranged attacks, with a larger damage radius. Her preferred conjured ally is the Dremora Valkynaz from the Sangiune Rose.

Im a bit hesitant about the disintergrate perk to be honest (which is a reason im not all for lightning) for the sole reason that you cant raise a pile of ash. I know. Iv tried

i am of course talking about thralls. I plan to keep this character at a reasonably low level for a period of time to check out the thralls iv never had due to my high level.

Understandable. My Khajiit has never been keen on reanimation, so she doesn't mind turning her enemies into ash. And yeah, if you can manage it, you can disintegrate a dragon.

 

[Mr Forz]

Fire is very powerful and practical, there aren't alot of creatures that resist it, the AOE's can be messy to handle but it still gives good results.

Frost has interesting properties such as slows and the stamina debuff, and Ice Storm is amongst the best AOE's you can have. (It's also very cool (no pun intended) to throw ice spikes/spears in the faces of your ennemies, being a good shot and all!) The main problem being that Nords, Draugrs, Vampires and Ghosts either resist it or are completly immune to it, and them alone make at least 85% of Skyrim's population.

Very few actually even resist Lightning, the damage is good, no travel time on projectiles, a bane to mages, the only little downside is that the AOE's tend to get lacking when heavily overwhelmed.

 

[LotusEater]

I go with flames first then shock.

 

[Rimfaxe96]

I tried Lightning but in the end it didn't do enough damage for my preferences. So I switched to fire and when I got that one fireball spell (the stronger version that kills most enemies instantly) I wasn't disappointed.
Hate frost though. To me it's almost useless.

 

[Irishman]

Damn I spose its not meant to be an easy decision! They all have +s and -s and I spose it comes down to the player, the character and the situation. Im seriously considering levelling (perks I mean) all 3 and just continue to use the right spell for the job.

 

[Irishman]

I tried Lightning but in the end it didn't do enough damage for my preferences. So I switched to fire and when I got that one fireball spell (the stronger version that kills most enemies instantly) I wasn't disappointed.
Hate frost though. To me it's almost useless.

I guess im trying to like lightning more than it being the practical choice just because it looks cool. I realise it works ok against mages and dragons due to the mana drain but realistically mages and im assuming dragons magic pool is way more than half thier HP.... soooo that means the 2:1 life:magic drain is bassically useless coz they will die b4 they lose thier magic...

Thats just how I interpret it.

 

[Khasrin]

I love my fire magic as well. Lots of enemies are weak against it (which i cant say the same for lightning) and not many can resist it.

i really should try runes more often! Iv heard good stuff about them a fair bit but for some reason i neglect to use em... got a fav rune?

I like the Fire Rune, mostly because if you have Augmented Flames, it increases the damage done by 25-50% (depending on whether you have one or both Augmented Flames perks). This is also the case with the Lightning Rune if you have Augmented Shock.

My absolute favorite is the Poison Rune, which you need the Dragonborn DLC for because it can only be purchased at Tel Mithryn. But if you're a rune caster it's worth going to Solstheim just to get it. It deals 90 points of poison damage altogether!

 

[NachyoChez]

I tried Lightning but in the end it didn't do enough damage for my preferences. So I switched to fire and when I got that one fireball spell (the stronger version that kills most enemies instantly) I wasn't disappointed.
Hate frost though. To me it's almost useless.

I guess im trying to like lightning more than it being the practical choice just because it looks cool. I realise it works ok against mages and dragons due to the mana drain but realistically mages and im assuming dragons magic pool is way more than half thier HP.... soooo that means the 2:1 life:magic drain is bassically useless coz they will die b4 they lose thier magic...

Thats just how I interpret it.

That would be true, except they're also using magic to throw spells at you and replenish their own life during the fight. Given that, it's actually really common to run them completely out of magic rather quickly; especially those who use conjuration (Atronachs be expensive!).

As for me... I actually hate destruction magic. It is, in my humble opinion, the weakest of the school of magic. Second only to Lock Picking for least favorite tree in the game! But, I once felt the same about illusion, so I'm currently trying my hand at a destruction-exclusive character. He's going Shock 100%

Fantastic damage which NOTHING in the game resists (Note: Storm atronachs are just immune to it, so watch out!) combined with supreme effectiveness against fellow mages. To top it off, there's a solid chance that anything less than 15% hp is just going to up and die, making it one of the hardest hitting magic out there. But, it might also depend on what you're doing.

Fire is excellent because it increases the damage a target takes from other sources. Spray a little on, then thwap with a hammer for silly amounts of damage. Perfect for making followers or your own sword more useful.

Frost, on the other hand, tends to be the better choice for ranged characters, as it helps to keep the fight at a distance while the arrows do the damage. Just a thought.


Side note: For enchanting weapons, Destruction is actually really nice. Having higher destruction reduces the cost for many of your weapon enchantments, so you'll need to recharge less often (and if you have 100% cost reduction from armor then there's no need to recharge at all!). Also, the perks from the destruction tree that increase damage from your spells increase damage from your weapons as well!

 

[Liger]

I normal go fire since it is the cheapest magicka cost wise, But I do like the shocks speed. no leading targets at a distence, the spelll hit fast

 

[seeker23]

During my lower levels I did a fire shock combination. I used apprentice level spells till I was able to access expert leveled spells. I wasn’t a fan of fireball, ice storm or chain lightening, because they used to make things hard with a follower. This was before the black books.
I play a breton, level 77. These days I mostly do a double incinerate, goes well for fights without mages. If it’s against mages I go thunderbolt.
But out of the master spells lightening storm has my heart. It is the best for me. Could disintergrate a dragon within seconds. It has a built in disintergrate, if you don’t want to get that perk.
So I am mostly a fire and lightening mage. Both suit me well. Haven’t used frost much. I prefer the other two over frost.

 

[Chadonraz]

I normal go fire since it is the cheapest magicka cost wise, But I do like the shocks speed. no leading targets at a distence, the spelll hit fast

I prefer Fire for the exact same reason.

I've never had a pure mage character, but my current and most successful one uses quite a bit of magic. Favourite spell is definitely Fire Rune, and I got the Rune Master perk just so I could use the spell more efficiently.
Nothing like placing three or four (I've been putting points in M/H/S in a 1/1/1 fashion, so only have a little over 300 magicka) in a Frost Troll's path, and then blasting it with Yol Toor Shul.