Get Started As a Mage in Skyrim
Mages are one of the most interesting, fun-to-play character builds in Skyrim. By relying on magic, rather than strength and agility, mages provide a truly unique playthrough. Certain spells are essential for the up-and-coming mage: finding these spells early can make your mage stronger and more powerful.
Contents
Steps
- Use Helgen. Play until you get into the caves. Once you reach the torturer's room, pick the cell with the dead body inside to get the Spell Tome: Sparks. (Lock-picks can be found in the sack on the small table)
- Get into the underground chamber with the bear inside. Hadvar will tell you about the bear. Once he's done, crouch into Sneak Mode.
- Take out your Flames spell (Sparks uses up more magic) and just hold the flame over him. This will train Destruction quickly. Use the perks you get on the magic school of your choice.
- When you are satisfied with your Destruction level, leave Helgen and travel Northeast until you see the icon for mines.
- Explore those mines and you should come across a locked cell door or two. Pick the one with the treasure inside.
- There should be a guard nearby who has the key to the cell doors here. If you killed him, search his body and get the key so that you don't have to lock pick the cell doors.
- Look on the table and hopefully there will be a Spell Tome: Clairvoyance.
- After leaving and doing what you need to do at Riverwood, go to Whiterun and from there take the cart to Winterhold.
- Join the College of Winterhold and talk to the teacher of the magic school you want to train.
- Understand the formulas. Destruction = Faralda, Restoration = Collette, etc.
- Spend money on new spell tomes or training that skill. You must read the spell tome in order to learn the desired spell.
- Explore Skyrim and collect expensive items you find. Sell them at Whiterun and then use the money you earn to train your favorite magic school!
Tips
- Don't complete the College of Winterhold storyline until you are at least level 25. The end rewards have the maxed out enchantments.
- Spend money only on the spell you will use. Otherwise, money is better spent on training.
- Using "Soul Trap" on most dead creatures will also raise Conjuration.
- If you want Conjuration training, buy Bound Swords and summon them repeatedly when around an enemy.
- Fast Destruction damage comes from charging both hands and shooting the spell rapidly, but power damage comes from repeated overcharge (requires perk).
- Level out Sneak to 100, but use perks in the school of choice.
- Arch-mage robes will be enchanted with a 70-80 fortified Magicka Spell.
- When using Flames or Sparks, use both hands to kill the opponent faster.
- Utilize Melee Followers as meat shields. Mjoll the Lioness is a great Melee Follower, and as a bonus, she can't die! As an essential character, she will only ever drop to one knee for a while to recover. Give her heavy armour and a two handed weapon!
- Conjuration is your best friend, if a fight is going south, summon an Atronach, and spend the rest of the fight looting nearby chests while your Follower and Atronach deal with the enemies.
Warnings
- Don't fight powerful bosses until you at least have an apprentice destruction spell like Firebolt or Ice Spike.
