Fire, Ice or Lightning?

[LuChao]

Depends on character my pure mages go all three but my spell swords use just fire

 

[Daelon DuLac]

Fire. BURN BABY BURN! Just prefer it.

Ice/Frost is fine (it does cut stamina), but I tend not to use it very often.

Lighting/Shock, again, is fine, but I almost never use it (with the exception of chain lightening as i like to see people get tossed around and the lighting bounce from victim to victim. I just find that, while NPC mages use it without an issue, inevitably, when I try to use it they put up a stupid ward and it does nothing. It's also not very affective against anything except mages.

 

[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

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.

With the (Rume master perk) you can cast more then 1 rune?? I did not know that.

 

[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.

With the (Rume master perk) you can cast more then 1 rune?? I did not know that.

No, but you can place runes 5 times farther.
With the Frost Trolls I simply place a new rune when the troll steps on the first one, and then a third when it steps on the second one.

 

[LotusEater]

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!

And it stacks, dump 3 or 4 at an enemies feet and watch the health drop. I use Poison Rune with either Paralyze (almost unfair) or Miraak's Staff (frikkin hilarious).

 

[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.

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!

I am finding that destruction magic is more difficult to eliminate the baddies than I thought it would.

Now you mention that the mages are also depleting thier own magic as well as it getting it drained by shock, I cant believe I overlooked that i spose its just at my stage in the game im not draining enough magic for them to run out.

As a pure mage build im not giving my char any physical weapons so the enchantments are only for robes. But i do love the fact that 100% dest reduction gives me unlimited uses on some enchanted weapons. My other char, Incubus infinitly wielding harkons sword and my own soul incinerator blades sword is awesome!

 

[JoeReese]

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.

I enjoy the Rose. Try putting yourself and your follower in Daedric armor, then both conjuring Dremora. LOL (Warning: It's very much like an episode of Keystone Cops.)

 

[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.

I enjoy the Rose. Try putting yourself and your follower in Daedric armor, then both conjuring Dremora. LOL (Warning: It's very much like an episode of Keystone Cops.)

lol I can imagine. I have a full set of daedric armour. It's fun to stomp around Skyrim in. I sometimes put it on and take out my Daedric soul capture bow when hunting souls My every day armour is Dragonscale.

 

[Irishman]

As I suspected, every1 has a main preference or maybe 2types of elements they specialize in. So far no1 uses all 3 regularly? I can understand its a bit costly on the perks and if 1 or maybe 2 elements work effectively than whats the point wasting perks...?

So what iv gathered:

Fire positives=
Cost efficient
Burn damage stacks
Cheapest to buy
Lots of enemies weak
Very few enemies resist/immune
Fire negatives=
Only damages health
Intense flames isnt that great (it annoys me when they run!)
Ice positives=
Not bad magic cost
Deep freeze is cool sorry i had 2!
damages stamina
Slows most targets
Ice negatives=
lots of enemies resist It
Not very effective against mages
Cant hit plops with ice spike (thats prob just me)
shock positives=
instant travel time
looks awesome
damages magic and health
Only orchendor and storm atronachs are immune
Shock negatives=
high magic cost
Disintergrate will piss me off coz II'll end up turning a thrallable unique character to dust
Very few enemies weak against it except indirectly mages

Well that didnt help! All of them seem fairly on par... maybe there just isnt the right answer....

 

[JoeReese]

I agree...I usually perk the fire spells only up to 2/2 augmented flames. I don't really want them to flee, as then I've got to run them down to kill them. With the 2/2, I've found that the fire enchantment on my sword (fiery soul trap) goes from 10 to 15 damage, and then the secondary enchantment (usually fire) is way up there. If you use stahlrim swords, then it's worth doing the ice enchantment and destruction, as it holds a higher level.

Otherwise, I don't bother. While the destruction tree allows you to truly choose fire, shock, or ice; the enchanting tree forces you to take them "in order" making fire, as you mentioned, cheaper.

I've done a lot of experimenting with changing perks, using different weapons and enchantments, different spells, etc. I've found I can do considerably more damage with a highly smithed, highly enchanted bow than I can with any ranged spell...so I end up taking the perks only for the effect they have on my weapons.

With the fireball, incinerate, icy spear, and thunderbolt spells, one can have a pretty good time with mudcrab kill cams. When attacked though, even by the lowliest bandits, there's almost never a clean kill.

The master level spells, in my experience, take way too long to cast to be of much use to me. The attacker is already upon me, taking my health and, worse, interrupting my cast. Since the firestorm is an area effect on me, it's not very useful for sneak mode, and the lightning storm reminds me of the little fireman getting whipped around by the big hose. Yeah, it's neat and powerful and all that, but nobody stays still long enough to aim it well. With my finger on the trigger, I lose a lot of the finesse I'd need to aim with precision, especially when they're running around.

I've tried every combination of magic I can think of, and in the end I declared it "meh," and went back to one-handed and conjuration. I'll usually fire a sneak arrow, switch to sword which brings up my conjuration too, drop two dremora lords, and then usually stand around while they and Faendal run rampant.

Using even a steel sword, with 100s in smithing, enchanting, and alchemy, and the appropriate perks up to benefactor, one can create smithing gear, potions, and enchanters potions of sufficient strength to nearly double the effect of any destruction spell on the books.

Just my opinion, of course. The true test is what you enjoy using/seeing most.

 

[jarif]

Lighting for FUDGING win! Enough said

 

[Daelon DuLac]

Lighting for FUDGING win! Enough said

Fudging?

 

[jarif]

Lighting for FUDGING win! Enough said

Fudging?

A censored word for f***fing but none the less. Lightning!

 

[Daelon DuLac]

Lighting for FUDGING win! Enough said

Fudging?

A censored word for f***fing but none the less. Lightning!

I was being facetious.

 

[jarif]

Real men go naked and summon lightning like a lunatic! BUUUURN!

 

[Daelon DuLac]

Real men go naked and summon lightning like a lunatic! BUUUURN!

But "there's a nip in the air that won't be good for my crops..."

 

[xBadKarma]

My Female Altmer mage, Aurora, uses both fire and lightning (not frost since I ALWAYS come across a Nord and it takes forever to kill with Ice) and it is really devastating!

 

[Vaga8ond]

Each one has its strengths and weaknesses. I like frost because of it's ability to both slow and take away stamina which leads to less power attacks, however abraritions and machines are both totally immune, the undead, nords all have resistance to it. Lightning looks the coolest, has fewest resistance, but has the highest mana cost. It's also great against other mages but a bit weak against melee. Fire is the best all around but can be a bane if you have followers due to the cleave damage it leaves behind.

On my mage I just normally level up one school of magic as I would rather put perks into something else as its not like you can't still use another school it would just be not as powerful. It does become cumbersome when you have to switch between 3 different schools of magic based on the circumstances.

 

[Irishman]

I agree...I usually perk the fire spells only up to 2/2 augmented flames. I don't really want them to flee, as then I've got to run them down to kill them. With the 2/2, I've found that the fire enchantment on my sword (fiery soul trap) goes from 10 to 15 damage, and then the secondary enchantment (usually fire) is way up there. If you use stahlrim swords, then it's worth doing the ice enchantment and destruction, as it holds a higher level.

Otherwise, I don't bother. While the destruction tree allows you to truly choose fire, shock, or ice; the enchanting tree forces you to take them "in order" making fire, as you mentioned, cheaper.

I've done a lot of experimenting with changing perks, using different weapons and enchantments, different spells, etc. I've found I can do considerably more damage with a highly smithed, highly enchanted bow than I can with any ranged spell...so I end up taking the perks only for the effect they have on my weapons.

With the fireball, incinerate, icy spear, and thunderbolt spells, one can have a pretty good time with mudcrab kill cams. When attacked though, even by the lowliest bandits, there's almost never a clean kill.

The master level spells, in my experience, take way too long to cast to be of much use to me. The attacker is already upon me, taking my health and, worse, interrupting my cast. Since the firestorm is an area effect on me, it's not very useful for sneak mode, and the lightning storm reminds me of the little fireman getting whipped around by the big hose. Yeah, it's neat and powerful and all that, but nobody stays still long enough to aim it well. With my finger on the trigger, I lose a lot of the finesse I'd need to aim with precision, especially when they're running around.

I've tried every combination of magic I can think of, and in the end I declared it "meh," and went back to one-handed and conjuration. I'll usually fire a sneak arrow, switch to sword which brings up my conjuration too, drop two dremora lords, and then usually stand around while they and Faendal run rampant.

Using even a steel sword, with 100s in smithing, enchanting, and alchemy, and the appropriate perks up to benefactor, one can create smithing gear, potions, and enchanters potions of sufficient strength to nearly double the effect of any destruction spell on the books.

Just my opinion, of course. The true test is what you enjoy using/seeing most.

I realise the perks help a lot with enchanting and iv had a lot to do with the devastating effectiveness that a smithed and enchanted weapon with all the perks and skills in alc/smith/enchant has.

I just assumed that for a school called DESTRUCTION, it would be a bit more powerful. Without the perks its laughable how little damage it causes and from wht iv done and from what im reading, it doesnt really turn into the all powerful magic school that the name promises...

Perhaps instead of trying in vain to be an all powerful dest mage, my altmer should resort back to schools of magic that I know work well and a I can use them effectively. Good old conjuration and illusion.

Alterations paralysis is another spell I havent really got too heavily into using...

I must say I dont mind casting runes! Very go8d bit of advise Khasrin, Chadonraz and LotusEater

 

[LotusEater]

Chain Lightning

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!

I am finding that destruction magic is more difficult to eliminate the baddies than I thought it would.

Now you mention that the mages are also depleting thier own magic as well as it getting it drained by shock, I cant believe I overlooked that i spose its just at my stage in the game im not draining enough magic for them to run out.

As a pure mage build im not giving my char any physical weapons so the enchantments are only for robes. But i do love the fact that 100% dest reduction gives me unlimited uses on some enchanted weapons. My other char, Incubus infinitly wielding harkons sword and my own soul incinerator blades sword is awesome!

Magic Resistance is huge for a pure mage. Once you hit mid level you should have access to good crowd control spells, so melee is manageable meaning you shouldn't be taking many physical hits. Especially if you are in robes. Speed and quickness are big advantages. I don't have any school enchanted down to 0% so there are times when I just flat out run away. This is why I still invest in Magic Regeneration even though a lot of people seem to bemoan the fact that the regeneration slows during combat, while this is true, it still speeds it up slightly and sometimes it only takes one spell to turn the tide of a battle.

Imo, your biggest threat as a robe wearing mage are sniper archers, especially forsworn and deathlords. Also, if you don't mind foregoing summoning Atronachs, I would consider Atronach stone w/ Atronach perk. Absorption is a good way to work around slow magic regeneration. Unfortunately it affects your summons so beware.