One of the main draws of the Elder Scrolls series over other first-person RPGs is, most notably, the ability to fire off balls of fire and arcs of lightning from the player character's hands like it was going out of style. While there have been many different variations of these skills in the series, those found in The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim are the most accessible in terms of character builds.
Unlike past games, the player doesn't need to pick a specific class in order to build the character they want, and, instead, the focus is on combining the skills themselves rather than following a set path. That being said, this does mean that many newcomers to the series may make a few mistakes when it comes to playing as an all-powerful mage in Skyrim.
Updated on September 18th, 2021, by Anastasia Maillot: As the 10th anniversary of Skyrim approaches, fans might feel tempted to return to the game and challenge themselves with a pure mage build. Mages have always been known as the one specialization that received the short end of the stick when it comes to balance and leveling, but there are ways to make it work.
Newcomers in particular, and those who have never really specialized in magic alone, might find themselves seriously struggling with a pure mage build. Here are a few additional important mistakes to avoid when playing as a mage in Skyrim.
15 Forgetting To Buy New, Better Spells
This might sound like a no-brainer to a lot of players, but since Skyrim is beginning to show its age, it lacks a lot of the hand-holding from later games that remind players to upgrade their arsenal. In Skyrim, players are in charge of all these things, including buying new, better spells that correspond to their level.
While players adventure throughout the province, it's easy to forget that they've leveled up and can now use more powerful spells. It's a good idea to keep track of the level in the most important schools of magic and visit the many merchants in Skyrim that specialize in selling spellbooks. Always acquire the highest possible spells the player can learn, even if casting them costs quite a bit of Magicka.
14 Ignoring Crafting Skills
When building a mage character in Skyrim, it can be tempting to just put all the eggs in one basket and focus on two or three schools of magic. However, it's highly recommended to pick a crafting skill on the side, such as Enchanting or Alchemy. Both have pros and cons, and the easier one to get value out of is definitely Alchemy.
Alchemy allows players to create tons of Magicka potions to ensure they never run out of their main resource in battle. Moreover, other status effect potions like elemental resistance potions are incredibly useful when facing off against highly powerful magic users, so there's no excuse to ignore Alchemy, even as a mage.
13 Not Alternating Spells Of Different Tiers
Earlier, it was said that buying the highest, learnable spells was key for mages, and that does hold true. However, that doesn't mean the player should only ever cast the strongest spells. That's because the highest spells usually demand a lot of Magicka, allowing the player to only cast them a few times in combat before being out of Magicka entirely.
It's much better instead to open up with single high-level spells and follow it up with spammy lower-level spells that demand less Magicka. For example, open the fight with an Adept level spell, then pelt the enemy with Apprentice or Novice spells, until the Magicka regenerates itself.
12 Going To Battle Without A Plan
Since mages are extremely squishy compared to other builds and rely on a limited pool of resources to do damage (the Magicka pool), fights should be taken on with a plan in mind. Running into battle head first is a terrible idea for a mage that's unable to tank damage upfront.
Players should prepare for a fight with potions, summoning an Atronach or any other helper, as well as equipping the first spells they want to start off with, such as Oakflesh. These choices are heavily dependent on the schools of magic the player has unlocked, but in general, the player should have a plan for both the offensive and defensive.
11 Not Having A Follower Or Summons
Speaking of summoning creatures, since mages like to sit in the back and do damage from afar, they significantly benefit from having tankier characters and creatures take most of the damage for them and distract the enemy. The best way to do this is to invest in the Conjuration skill tree or hire a follower.
Conjuration lets players summon all sorts of creatures, like Atronachs, to fight for them for a set amount of time. Followers are also a fantastic option, and if they're marked as essential characters, they're even better since they're practically immortal. Mages should consider tanky companions that focus on One-Handed or Two-Handed, with Heavy Armor specialization. Followers who are mages or archers are terrible choices.
10 Only Using Elven Races
Every available race in Skyrim has some sort of blurb that describes the kind of class they are best suited for in combat, with human races generally being better at melee combat while the beast races are considered the best at stealth gameplay.
The elven races, particularly the High Elf and Dark Elf, are generally seen as the best of the best when it comes to creating a mage, though this isn't the case in Skyrim. While High Elves do have the Highborn ability that allows them to regenerate Magicka more quickly, Bretons, a humanoid race, has the inherent ability to resist all magic as well as absorb any incoming magic.
9 Relying Only On Destruction Magic
As cool as the Destruction skill is, it's not the most reliable in terms of damage output. While spells like Fireball and Chain Lightning can deal significant damage, the way enemies scale to the player's level, particularly at higher difficulties, means that these spells will do less and less damage as time goes on.
For the most part, it is best to combine Destruction with other Mage class skills, such as Conjuration or the school of Illusion, in order to make up for this lack of power at higher levels.
8 Not Experimenting With Unique Items
Many players who jump into the Mage class will try to use magic skills for just about everything and ignore the use of certain items, such as staves, shields, or weapons, in order to maintain a pure build. This is something that can be done in other fantasy RPGs, but in Skyrim, this will only set the player up for failure.
Powerful relics like the Staff of Magnus and Dragon Priest masks are great additions to any mage-centric build, as they can not only give the player another avenue of skills to use but also enhance the skills that they are more focused on.
7 Going Straight To The College Of Winterhold
Guilds returned in Skryim with some slight alterations on previous iterations. The Mages Guild and Fighters Guild are completely absent and, instead, are replaced with the College of Winterhold and the Companions respectfully.
While many players will make a beeline for the appropriate guild when first starting the game, this can lead to a few more game overs in the case of the College of Winterhold, as many of the quests will pit the player up against high-level enemies, including the Dragon Priest Morokei.
6 Not Having A Backup Weapon
Unless the player is late in their playthrough and has managed to enchant their gear so that their spells cost little to no Magicka, there is a very strong chance that they will, at some point, run out of Magicka while fighting due to the high cost of spells, especially those in the Destruction skill.
With this in mind, it is important for players to have a backup way of dealing damage, with the best options for a mage being the many staves that can be found around Skyrim, which allow them to continue dealing magical damage without using up their precious resources.
5 Using Armor
Because of how so many fights in Skyrim focus on melee combat, it can be very disheartening to play as a mage. The temptation to invest in great armor is almost immediately there, but for pure mage builds these are skill points wasted on something unnecessary which will only slow the character down.
It's much better to get powerful mage robes that make the Dragonborn lighter and more mobile during fights against slower enemies with Heavy Armor. Plus, these robes provide fantastic effects like increased Magicka regeneration and lower spell costs. The better way to defend oneself is to work on positioning, invest in Conjuration and hire a follower to take the brunt of the damage.
4 Using The Apprentice Stone
There are many Standing Stones around Skyrim, with a good number of them dealing with mage skills in one way or another. One of these, which should be left alone at all costs, is the Apprentice Stone, which is one of the weaker Standing Stone effects in the game. While it does double Magicka regeneration, it also makes the player twice as weak against magic damage of all kinds, which isn't something players should have in Skyrim.
Aside from there being a large number of mages in the game, particularly the Forsworn and various enemies encountered throughout the College of Winterhold questline, every dragon shout also deals magical damage, meaning the player is more likely to die against a random dragon attack if they have the Apprentice Stone.
3 Not Incorporating Shouts
Speaking of shouts, there is no reason why players shouldn't mix their regular spells with various dragon shouts in order to boost their damage potential, summon more allies, or as extra ways of casting Illusion spells.
Most notably for those heavily invested in Destruction, the Fire Breath and Ice Breath shouts both increase in damage when the Augmented Flames and Augmented Frost perks are taken, making them great ways of dealing large chunks of damage fairly quickly.
2 Mixing The Atronach Stone And Conjuration Spells
One of the best Standing Stones in Skyrim is the Atronach Stone, found in the southeast near Riften, which grants the player 50 extra points of Magicka while also granting them a percentage chance to absorb a spell without taking damage.
While this sounds great on paper, it has some unfortunate interactions with certain skills, most notably the Conjuration skills. While the Raise Undead spell and its variations will all still work normally, spells that summon Atronachs or other similar beings from Oblivion or the Soul Cairn may fail, as the Atronach Stone may absorb the spell instead of casting it.
1 Not Becoming A Vampire
While being a Vampire may seem like a good idea for a stealth build due to the inherent boost in the Sneak skill and the overall aesthetic, the best class for being a Vampire in Skyrim are mages.
Aside from gaining access to decent Absorb Health spells and some unique Conjuration spells with the Vampire Lord form, the Restoration perk Necromage, which increases the effectiveness of all spells on undead, also works on the player and will boost the efficiency of all spells, perks, and enchantments once the perk is taken.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim was released on November 11, 2011, and is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. As of November 11, 2021, it is available on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.