Restoration loop—healing yourself to level it without going insane

[TamrielTactician]

I've been trying to actually use Restoration on a new playthrough instead of just ignoring it, and I keep hitting the same wall: the only "efficient" way to level it is to stand around casting heal spells on myself for like an hour. That's not a build, that's a chore.

But I'm wondering if I'm missing something. Are there perks that make this actually playable? Like, does the one that reduces spell cost help enough that you're not just draining magicka and waiting for it to regen? Or is there a playstyle where Restoration actually levels naturally without me deliberately grinding it?

I'm on Switch so no mods, if that matters. And I'm not trying to speedrun—I just want Restoration to feel like part of my character instead of a separate task I do in my downtime.

 

[WhiterunModder]

The cost reduction helps but not enough to make it feel natural, honestly. You'd need Magicka Regeneration and the perk that boosts it, plus maybe the Atronach stone, and you're still basically just... standing there casting. It's better than nothing but it doesn't fix the core problem.

The real issue is that Restoration doesn't level from taking damage the way you'd hope - it only levels from casting the spells. So unless you're getting genuinely pummeled in combat and healing yourself constantly, you're stuck with the grind. And if you're playing smart, you're not taking that much damage in the first place.

Your best bet on Switch is probably to just accept that Restoration will level slower and lean into the perks that make it worthwhile when you do use it. The one that lets you cast Restoration spells without breaking invisibility is actually pretty good for a sneaky character. And if you're doing a pure mage run where you're in melee range sometimes, you'll naturally cast healing spells more. It won't be fast, but it'll feel less artificial than the loop grind.

Honestly though, Restoration is kind of a trap skill on Vanilla. It's not bad once you get the perks, but the leveling experience is genuinely tedious compared to literally every other magic school. Mods on PC fix this by adding more interesting Restoration spells and mechanics, but yeah - that's not an option for you.