MidevalGuy

Whoa, calm down, cowboy. Reign in those fillies, OK? :wink: I am aware spray is a part of many first person shooters, but many times it is (was) over exaggerated to the point of absurdity e.g. Counter-Strike got the point you had to aim at a player model's feet to score a head shot. How is that in any way realistic, or skilled? I know you didn't specifically say you want that kind of rubbish spread, but this is what I was getting at in that some players prefer real life skill to determine accuracy more so than in-game skill even in an RPG and especially in a hybrid FPS like Skyrim is. You disagree and that's fine. But learn to disagree in a less defensive manner, OK?

The problem with adding an artificial handicap like inaccurate projectiles to arrows, crossbow bolts and even certain magic spells at low levels is everybody would complain there is no reason they shouldn't be able to hit something IF THEIR REAL LIFE AIMING SKILL is good. This happens all the time in first person shooters and Skyrim would be no different. It wouldn't just be so-called casual gamers, either. Skilled gamers would be the first to complain about how real world skill (accuracy) should determine in-game accuracy and not an arbitrary in-game skill level your character has. I agree with this type of game design (real world skill = in-game skill) because artificial handicaps that make a game "harder" are cheap and usually end up not as immersive as thought, originally.

Joan de Arc. Burned at the stake and a virgin. Great feminist role model ;)

Just a quick word of advice: BOSS is great for locating mod conflicts, dirty edits and out of date versions of mods, but be careful when using it to do these things. I never check "modify load order" because then it can do some funky things to your load order (obviously!). The reason load order is important beyond mod conflicts is some mods have specific instructions to place them above, or below other mods, but BOSS doesn't know this, so it just groups things according to compatibility. It also does things like put .esm's among .eps which is where a lot of CTDs can occur. So, just a quick heads up when using BOSS :wink:

Everybody has given sound advice given your current build. I just wanted to comment a lot of the "elite" players who brag about the game being easy are often the ones who exploit the Hell out of the game (enchanting/crafting loop) a good percentage of the time. So, of course, the game is a cake walk at any level because they broke the game's difficulty, more or less. This doesn't include everybody who thinks the game is too easy once you've played it for hundreds of hours... Myself included... But always be aware of who is saying the game is a cake walk and WHY (like I wrote, a lot of times it's to brag to the e-masses to increase e-penis cred & the fact they've never really played the game the way it was meant to be played, flawed as it is).

When you are in the inventory screen and filling up a magical weapon, or staff there should be a status bar that appears under the weapon that corresponds to the gem you are currently selecting. It should change for each gem you select, so you can estimate how much you are going to need. It's not an exact science, but the larger the soul gem (with soul) the larger the charge. You should also get the mod... http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/5312/? <-- Acquisitive Soul Gems This makes sure the right size soul is captured in the appropriate size gem. Be sure to update the USKP (Unofficial Skyrim Patch) as well since ASG was also updated to accommodate it.

Consider upgrading to a 680, or 770 that has more VRAM. Those mods combined are going to really tax an 650 since it only has 1 GB of VRAM... Most of which goes to frame buffering at higher resolutions & AA, already.

http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/8157//? <-- Artificat Disenchanting http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/8065//? <-- Removes enchantment restrictions and allows any enchantment on any item, armor piece.

@Matth85 You bring up a good point about getting too hardcore in play throughs because then it's not as fun, or exciting to watch. That's a very astute observation. We have to remember this is a game and even though there are a million ways to play it, there are certain limitations not even the hardest of the so-called hardcore would put up with like... Your player character having to relieve themselves every so often (I am surprised nobody has come up with a mod for this yet - LOL!). I can't imagine any game including such a feature, but then again, that's what game design is all about and I am sure somebody will put this feature in some game, somewhere down the line and I applaud them for their daring if they do ;)

Actually, I think Gopher is full of himself at this point, to be blunt. I don't have to give him respect just because you and others think he deserves it. I'm not trolling, I have a right to that opinion AND I have the experience of being a modder and YT producer, so I am not just talking out of my arse to get a rise out of people. It's hard work, but like I said, it's nothing anybody couldn't do if they took the time to learn how things work... Which of course, is why he is so popular. He takes simple things and makes them "extraordinary" for those who aren't that tech savvy. Let's be clear. I never stated I hate him... I don't even know him... Nor that I don't appreciate what he does. It's just that he often contradicts himself in a lot of ways and some of his play throughs aren't that creative. That's my opinion, I am entitled too it and I will not apologize for it even on the Nexus.

I covered this before (or maybe not?), but what will make playing a Mage and any other build that much better IMO is if you install mods that provide Locational Damage to characters. It makes the game more realistic, but not overpowered, and is just logical in nature e.g. If you hit an enemy in the head with an arrow they are going to go down, no questions asked. If you hit somebody in the leg with an ice spell, they are going to slow down (stagger). This is can help magic and melee users be more effective fighters because it's simulating logical feedback from various body parts you would get in real life such as... Sneaking up behind someone and lobbing a fireball at them is going to severely wound (weaken) them if you hit their back, or even kill them if you hit them in the back of their head. The only time LD becomes overpowered is with the Sneak perks that double and triple the damage for sneak attacks (with Bows) because that's an artificial inflation vs. just aiming for the most vital parts of the body like the head, or chest.

Gopher is also a hypocrite because he touts realism, then demands mods that make things even more UNREALISTIC just for his convenience... Yet nobody calls him out on this? He also caters to a lot of younger viewers who are impressed with his knowledge about how to install mods. It's not rocket science folks, but he's capitalized on people's ignorance and made a name for himself. I'm not discounting his passion, or ability to mod the game, or make videos. I just don't like the fact what he does is not that revolutionary, but people fawn all over him like the Second Coming. I FYI, I can make these statements because I used to have a YT channel for simulation franchise that catered to a truly hardcore crowd... Flight Simulation.... So, I guess the difference was the audience I had was a lot more mature (chronologically; Flight Simmers are 30-50+) and not as easily impressed with simple modding and being able to run a game correctly?

Everybody complains about companions, so you gotta use follower mods like AFT (Amazing Follower Tweaks), or UFO (Ultimate Follower Overhaul). The reason is they provide functions that take care of certain annoyances such as making all followers use stealth (turn invisible) and never attack anything unless YOU get attacked, or order them to. These mods also address things like character spacing, so they don't push you out of the way, or block doorways, follower speed so your party resembles an actual team in close quarters, etc.

I suppose the most obvious tip anybody can give you is to do the College of Winterhold Questline ASAP. You'll get a lot of magic gear that will boost your current stats, plus a special reward at the very end ;) It's also one of the more interesting (IMO) quest lines and you also gain access to fellow mage followers who will level the playing field in obvious ways if you're still struggling. J'Zargo is a battle mage and he has no level cap which means you can use him all the way until the end of the game and he'll keep up with you and scaled enemies. There is also a powerful mage in Riften, Marcurio, who you can hire as well, for the standard fee of 500 gold. Get yourself a magic posse and just roll through the game like a Boss ;) Be sure to install the restored (missing) quests before you enroll at the college: -Research Thief -Rogue Wizard -Missing Apprentices Also, if you really want to take your Magic play through to the very end, do the Expert Level spell challenges given by various professors once you reach that skill level (100).

Didn't realize this thread was almost four months old. Post retracted.