TamrielTactician
New Member
I've been doing a playthrough where I committed to Alteration as my main offense tree instead of just grabbing Mage Armor and calling it a day. And like, I get why people don't—the damage spells are weak compared to Destruction, the utility stuff feels niche. But there's something genuinely fun about leaning into the whole "reshape reality" angle once you stop thinking of it as a support school.
The perk that lets you paralyze with melee hits completely changes how you approach combat. Pair that with a good one-handed weapon and suddenly you're not just casting buffs between fights, you're actively controlling the battlefield. Throw in the perk that makes your Alteration spells last longer and you can stack buffs that actually matter instead of reapplying them every 30 seconds.
My problem is I have no idea if I'm theorycrafting into a wall or if there's a genuinely viable build here. Like, does paralysis proc often enough to matter? Should I be prioritizing Alchemy for poisons instead of leveling Alteration faster? Is there a standing stone or race that makes this less painful in the early game when your spell power is trash?
Anyone actually done a full Alteration playthrough past level 30 or is this just me tilting at windmills.
The perk that lets you paralyze with melee hits completely changes how you approach combat. Pair that with a good one-handed weapon and suddenly you're not just casting buffs between fights, you're actively controlling the battlefield. Throw in the perk that makes your Alteration spells last longer and you can stack buffs that actually matter instead of reapplying them every 30 seconds.
My problem is I have no idea if I'm theorycrafting into a wall or if there's a genuinely viable build here. Like, does paralysis proc often enough to matter? Should I be prioritizing Alchemy for poisons instead of leveling Alteration faster? Is there a standing stone or race that makes this less painful in the early game when your spell power is trash?
Anyone actually done a full Alteration playthrough past level 30 or is this just me tilting at windmills.