soul gems don't seem to last very long . . .

[ruvuk]

Hi everybody. :-)

 

I pushed to max-out my Enchanting skills and perks, as that seemed like a great way to toughen up my guy.

 

But lately I've been surprised by how fast my weapons use up their soul gem charges. I've gotten into the habit of constantly checking and recharging my weapons. (I usually don't notice the appearance of the empty charge bar when I'm fighting, and I've found myself fighting with uncharged weapons several times.) One of the mid-level fights clearing one of the larger sites almost always uses up at least half of my the charges in either my 2 swords or my longbow. Sometimes the fight will use up the entire charge in a sword.

 

[Aside: I use the Dawnbreaker about 95% of the time when I'm fighting with swords--partly because I said I would and partly because the Dawnbreaker has proven to be one heck of a great, fun sword! <lol> But I mention the Dawnbreaker *here* because I'm always impressed with how very little of the charge it uses. During the Civil War fight for Windhelm, I think I had to recharge my 2nd sword 3 or 4 times when I found it half-charged, but I didn't need to recharge the Dawnbreaker 'til the fighting was over.]

 

When I enchant a weapon, I always opt for the maximum enchantment power with the corresponding minimum number of hits per recharge. And I now have everything doubly-enchanted. So I understand that I'm putting a heavy drain on the soul gem charges. But, otoh, I *did* get the 2 enchanting perks that help with the soul gem usage.

 

Does this sound right to you guys?? Sounds crazy, but it seems like I go through Soul Gems now like potato chips. <lol> So I just wanted to ask.

 

Tx! :-)

 

 

 

 

[Georgiegril]

When you are creating enchanted weapons, are you using the high level gems (Grand or Black?) If not, that could be the cause of the fast drain.

[Sirropoo]

The damage level of enchants and Soul Steal time etc etc can be adjusted to give your weapons more "charges".

 

Just dont be greedy with the enchants ...dont reduce enchant damage to much tho.

[ruvuk]

@EvilLaughing-Cat and SirR-:

 

Thanks for your replies. When I enchant, I always use the Grands, just because I get stronger enchantments with them. (Sometimes, if I'm wanting get my enchanting skill level up in a hurry for something, I'll use a bunch of the smallest soul gems and a bunch of easy-to-forge weapons. Enchanting bigger weapons with stronger soul gems probably increases enchanting skill faster, but the petty gems cost almost nothing and still get my enchanting skill level up pretty fast.)

 

I'm guessing that my charged weapons are fine. Nobody added a post here telling me that what I was describing was crazy. <lol> I'm really a fan now of enchanting. I've even given up most of the smithing and armor perks just so I can get the enchanting and alteration perks (atronach perk!). A dilemma for me is figuring out how to compare the perks in one skill to the perks in another skill. But it's great fun to try the different skills when starting a new game. :o)

 

Tx for posting. :o)

[RatcatcherOfKvatch]

Strangely enoough mages make the most efficient warriors. The more cost-reducing gear you wear the less power your equipment uses, to the point that a 100% cost-reduction results in zero (as in nada-zip) cost to use a weapon. That's darn convenient, especially for a "pure mage" who if using a sword has no perks and is letting the weapon do all the work.

 

It sounds like you're not really a mage-type, but being a top-flight enchanter you can steal one of their tricks: if you can dual-enchant you can spare a couple of slots for Fortify Destruction and still have plenty of slots left over for what I consider mandatory in the competing equipment enchant slots, namely Resist Poison and Fortify Health.

 

So let's look at the numbers: there are 6 slots in the EXTREMELY IMPORTANT category; necklace, ring, armor = 3 x2 dual enchant = 6.

Your helmet will carry "Fortify Magic Skill" enchantments but can only carry one from any one school.

 

Put Fortify Destruction on your helmet (plus whatever else you want) and you don't give up any of the essentials at all. If one dose of Fortify doesn't take the edge off use up one of your "essential" slots and the Fortify effect stacks. That means the effect improves disproportionately: Fortify Destruction 40% is more than twice as good as Fortify Destruction 20%; likewise Fortify Destruction 100% is infinitely better than 80%, so the more slots you use the more effective the cost reduction becomes.

 

One of your slots, the helmet slot, is "free", but if you need more here's what it looks like:

Fortify Destruction / Free "Essential" Slots

0 / 6

1 / 6

2 / 5

3 / 4

4 / 3

 

Even if you use all 4 slots for Fortify Destruction you still have room for a Resist Poison and a Fortify Health. And you don't really need your weapon to be completely free, do you? Soul gems drop like candy after around level 20.

 

More recharging tips: I, too, play a Master Enchanter and to take full advantage always use a non-mage companion like Jenassa who can wield one of my masterwork weapons (or two one-handers plus a bow; Jenassa is truly frightening.)

However, I'm constantly recharging her gear and there's no way to "fix" that. There are some tricks to easing the pain, though. First, name your weapons with numbers. A "Fire Damage 126 / Shock Damage 126" enchant on a Skyforge Steel Sword (Legendary) should be named "126 FireShock Skyforge Steel Sword (Legendary)" or even just "126 Sword".

The reason for that is to sort it to the top of any list upon which it appears. That makes transfer for recharging easy.

The next trick is to hand off your own weapons, which actually cuts down the transfers by half. You can't recharge until you quit the transfer dialog, which means two dialogs for every recharge. Exchanging cuts that in half. Jenassa dual-wields so it's not quite as helpful in that specific case, but she uses her bow a lot so you'll still get some added convenience.

The naming is the biggie though. Name Jenassa's swords "Ysmir's Pride" and "Ysmir's Glory" and you'll spend hours digging around inventory lists trying to keep them charged. Use numbers for names and avoid the hassle.

 

Edit: One last thing: since I'm always a "pure mage" when I use a sword it draws from the Restoration school, not Destruction. Absorb Stamina is pretty important when one swing leaves you gasping and wheezing. Pay attention to what schools you're using on your weapons. That's all.

Edited June 14, 2013 by RatcatcherOfKvatch

[ruvuk]

@Ratcatcher: THANK YOU for a really terrific reply. Lots of material for me to study, so I'm psyched, as I really am wanting to get better with the skills I like. I'll need some time with your info because I know I won't really get it all until I at least give it a walk-through.

 

But, . . . I need to ask about something right off. . . . Your very first points was, as you wrote, "The more cost-reducing gear you wear the less power your equipment uses, to the point that a 100% cost-reduction results in zero (as in nada-zip) cost to use a weapon. That's darn convenient, especially for a "pure mage" who if using a sword has no perks and is letting the weapon do all the work."

 

I hope I'm just not reading this the way you wrote it because I honestly have no sense at all as to what you're telling me there. What, for example, is "cost-reducing gear?" My best guess here is an armor item that's been enchanted with something like "Destruction spells cost 25% less to cast." The only way I can see getting free Destruction magic would be to use 2 enchantments (25% off each) and the perks that let you cast the 5 levels of Destruction magic for half magicka.

 

Am I even on the right page here??

 

I think I'm probably *not* on the right page because soul gems get used up by enchanted weapons, and the enchantments that give 25% off the magicka cost get applied to the spells you cast (rather than the enchanted weapons). At least, I think that's how it works. <lol>

 

If you could get me pointed in the right direction here, I'd really appreciate the help. I'll be back later after I've had some time to think more carefully about what you've written. But two quick notes before I head out.

 

(1) About using numbers when naming enchanted items: Yes! I've even found that using symbols works even better for me--visually, I can find a group names with symbols much faster. Here's how my lists look (when I am still single-enchanting):

 

*Boots {frost.40}

*Cuirass {health.50}

*Helmet {archery.33}

*Neck {fire.42}

*Neck {shock.42}

*Neck {magRes.20}

*Ring {fire.42}

*Ring {archery.33}

*Ring {mag.40}

Apparel item (something picked up; not my own gear)

Apparel item

Apparel item

. . .

Apparel item

^Locks.35 {neck}

^Locks.35 {ring}

 

The symbols show up very distinctly in the typeset that Bethesda uses for the menus. I tend to enchant several rings and necklaces that I switch around during the game. The extra rings and necklaces weight almost nothing (unlike some of the armor items). I like to have the "specialty" items that I don't use much down at the bottom of the list where they're out of the way. The carat symbol (^) always gets listed at the bottom, which is really handy.

 

I keep my "smithing gear" in a chest by my anvil. I name those pieces a little differently.

 

#Smithing.20 {bracers}

#Smithing.20 {ring}

#Smithing.20 {neck}

#Smithing.20 {Trousers}

 

As you can see, I think your use of the numbered names is an excellent idea! :-)

 

(2) About followers, . . . I can't have them. I've tried, but I just don't have the right skills or mindset to make it work. I can't even manage a darn horse! <lol> Seriously, I *always* get them killed. Usually pretty darn fast, too. I kept going back to rescue Lydia (going back to the previous saved game, that is) because I felt like such a crumb for not taking better care of her. I *know* she's supposed to guard me with her life, but I don't think she meant a life that lasted all of 10 minutes. <lol> So now I just say hello to Lydia and head out; she spends the whole game parked at the Jarl's banquet table. <lol>

 

Eventually, I'll get better at this stuff and have the time/focus to work with followers. I had a GREAT time with ol' Barbaras, but he's been the only one; I really wanted to keep him. I didn't care so much about displeasing Vile, but Barbaras wanted to go home. (I'd have gladly traded that whopper axe and the Mask of Clavius Vile for Barbaras! It actually annoys me that so many of the bad princes of Oblivion think that I'll do anything for a fancy weapon. I now routinely throw away all of those weapons and dragon priest masks and the like. The ONE weapon I was really happy to get was the Dawnbreaker, and I've used it pretty much non-stop since then.)

 

OK, got to get out of here . . . <lol> . . . Hope you can clue me in on some of the enchanting info you posted for me. . . . Again, thank you for a really great reply to my original post. :o)

[RatcatcherOfKvatch]

First things first ... you're welcome!

 

Now to answer your most important questions: YES, "Fortify School %" reduces cost, and YES it applies to the items you use. The School Perks don't, at least I don't think they do.

 

Now to your question about calculations: "Fortify School %" adds together all identical effects to the final % applied to base cost up to 100%:

20% + 20% + 20% = Fortify School 60%

 

The School Perk applies 50% reduction to whatever is left. So it DOESN'T work like this:

20% + 20% + 20% + 50% = FREE SPELLS! <-- Wrong

 

100% - (20% + 20% + 20%) = 40%

40% * 50% = 20% <-- Correct cost is 20%

 

As you can see if you can hold out from taking perks in a school you intend to reduce to zero cost you save yourself a perk. That's why you'll never see me taking Adept in any school except Alteration. Alteration is the only school that requires school perks to access the really cool effects like Atronach and Stability.

 

You're a melee type if I understand you correctly. You need a follower who uses either a bow or the Staff of Magnus. Any mage can use the SoM and be very powerful, but the two standouts are Brelyna if you want stealth and J'zargo if you want toughness. Aranea is the most powerful mage follower with enough Fortify Magicka gear because she has the best spells, but the SoM will be the "go-to" weapon for anyone who has it.

 

Better than a mage follower is an archer. Since you can't use your skills to make staffs the SoM is as good as it gets, as well as maybe the late-game Staff of Paralysis. You can do better, but with a bow, not a staff. Put that elephant gun in the hands of Jenassa or Aela, make sure their melee weapon is a piece of crap iron dagger, and they'll always riddle your enemies with arrows, sometimes with frustrating efficiency (like soul trapping a cave bear -- you'd better be quick about it). In my current game I have Lydia's gear slightly tuned toward archery but with very powerful weapons either way. It's kind of tricky to get an archer with a powerful melee backup but it can be done with patience.

 

Finally if you don't mind a melee follower Mjoll can never die. You'll get tired of her repeating the constant stories over and over, but at least you'll never have to deal with "Survivor's Guilt".

[ruvuk]

Hi, again. :-)

I've been thinking about the suggestions and advice and info you offered earlier, and I'd like to ask some questions. (But no hurry on my end; I've got 100 things I need to learn, so it's not like I'm ever idled for want of anything I can work on. <lol> )

I'm going to number my questions just to help avoid some confusion. (I don't know how this post got so darn long, but it's really not anything heavy-duty. Mostly, I'm asking for a little more info to clear up the points where I get lost.)

(1) You wrote, "The more cost-reducing gear you wear the less power your equipment uses, to the point that a 100% cost-reduction results in zero (as in nada-zip) cost to use a weapon." I don't think I'm following you here. The big "cost" to using a weapon that comes to mind is the supply of soul gems needed for recharging. I have the enchanting perks that help minimize the number of gems needed, but I can't think of any other way to reduce the gem cost. Another "cost" related to weapons is the stamina drain. I think the only 2 weapons I use that need stamina are double-weilded swords and zooming the site on the bow. I could help with the stamina drain by adding enchantments that would fortify stamina or fortify stamina regeneration. Maybe that's what you're talking about??

(2) You wrote, " . . . a 'pure mage' who if using a sword has no perks and is letting the weapon do all the work." I keep wondering why a pure mage guy would ever waste time with a conventional worldly weapon. Only one of my guys ever reached a point where he had some serious magic to use--I think he may have had all of the Destruction perks, and I have to admit that using the magic could be a lot of fun. Plus, it always seemed sooooo much easier and quicker than fighting with a regular weapon. But I know that my guy's real strength was in his 2-handed sword. That damn sword was so powerful that it could kill a dragon with 2 hits. (I never got used to that, actually.)

(3) You wrote, " . . . there are 6 slots in the EXTREMELY IMPORTANT category; necklace, ring, armor = 3 x2 dual enchant = 6." Again, I'm not 100%-sure I'm following you here. When enchanting, I plan on adding 12 enchantments to the 6 things I can wear: armor, boots, gauntlets, helmet, necklace, and ring. (And, of course, I add 2 enchantments to each of the weapons I carry.) So I'm not sure why you're talking about just enchanting the 3 pieces you name. Are you saying that these 3 pieces are the only ones that will allow the enchantments that you've got in the Extremely Important category??

(4) If you don't mind, I'd be interested in looking at your whole slate of enchantments. I'm sure they'd be different from my own, as I've not yet learned how to play as a mage w/o much in the way of weapon perks. Here is my own list, if you're interested . . . and I've typed it almost exactly like the items appear in the game inventory . . . :-) . . . I've also got fortify Sneak in there someplace, but I've forgotten where I put it . . . <lol> . . .

@Armor {healthReg+armor} <--- fortify healing & fortify heavy armor
@Boots {shock+frost} <--- fortify resist shock & fortify resist frost
@Gauntlets {1hand+arch}
@Helmet {arch+mag}
@Neck {1hand+arch}
@Ring {magRes+fire}
@Ring {dragonFire} <--- fortify archery & fortify resist fire
@Ring {dragonFrost}
@Ring {dragonShock}

I have 3 extra rings that I carry. I use them mostly when fighting with the different sorts of dragons, but I use them at other times, too. I just found that it was easier to locate the ring I wanted when I just named them with the word 'dragon.'
Also, I don't use a shield, as I think I do better with 2 1-handed swords.

@Sword {shock+fire} <--- add shock damage & add fire damage
@Sword {shock+stam}
@Longbow {shock+fire}

I'm carrying some extra swords right now for special uses. I don't know if I need these, but I figure it's better to carry them than to risk finding myself wishing I'd been carrying them . . . <lol> . . .

@Sword {mag+absMag} <--- add magicka damage & add absorb magicka
(for fighting with mages like you)
@Sword {undead+shock} <--- the undead flee (haven't yet found a weapon
that I can disenchant for to learn sending
daedra back to oblivion)

I'm obviously not fighting with magic yet, and I have tough armor, so I can put a lot of my enchantments towards offensive skills. You may have noticed that I've got a disproportionate number of enchantments related to shock; I keep remembering how your skills in Destruction Magic will be stronger if you focus on one of the 3 (fire, frost, shock). Thinking very long-term, I'm hoping that I'll eventually be able to fight seriously with shock magic. I also like fire magic for the simple reason that I'm always sure when I get a hit--this is esp. true for the bow. I never have to stop and look to see if I got a hit when the bow has a fire enchantment. :-)

(5) As an example of a weapon that could use a better name, you mentioned this sword: "Fire Damage 126 / Shock Damage 126" enchant on a Skyforge Steel Sword (Legendary). Does that mean you're able to add an enchantment that does 126 points of fire damage?? I thought I'd maxed-out everything related to enchanting--I even scrounge for the potions to strengthen enchanting--but my fire and shock damage enchantments aren't even half of 126. If I'm missing something here, please clue me in, OK? <lol>

(6) Your notes on how you use your follower were crystal clear and really helpful. I'd never really stopped to think about how I could have fixed some of the problems I had with Lydia. Giving her a great bow and a lousy dagger to force her to fight at a distance is EXCELLENT. For me, anyway. Your advice on exchanging charged weapons for uncharged weapons with her is also really helpful. One question about that: How do *you* know when one of Lydia's charged weapons is about to run out of soul gem charge?

(7) Lastly, I'd like your opinion about something I'm considering. My Enchanting skills are up to 100, and I have all of the enchanting perks. My other strong skill sets are 1-Handed and Alteration Magic. (I like Alteration Magic because I want the 4 perks that add up to give 30% Magic Resistance and 30% Atronach ability. My Guardian Stone is the Atronach Stone, too, btw. I've always felt like my biggest weakness was resisting all the darn magic.) My sorta-good skill sets are Archery and Heavy Armor. Finally, I have solid experience but almost no perks for Smithing, Sneak, and Alchemy.

Enchanting is my No. 1 skill set. But I've reached level 38, and the new perks are coming painfully slow now. So I'm tempted to use the new Legendary button and reset my Enchanting skills to 15. I'd then have 13 perks to use for Archery, 1-Handed, Alteration, and Sneak. I only want a few perks in each of these areas, but they're all pretty major perks.

This would mean that it'd be a long, long time before I could seriously enchant again. (Experience is easy to get, but the perks would take forever.)

Because my ability to Enchant is maxed-out right now (at least, I think it is, but I'm waiting to hear what you say about that 126 Fire Damage!) . . . I'm thinking that I could enchant a bunch of spare copies of the weapons and armor I'm using right now and put them away for later when I might need them. Plus, I'd do some different enchantment sets that I would need if and when I could fight as a mage.

This all sounds reasonable to me, but I'm a little antsy about giving up my Enchanting perks. I hadn't thought about preparing enchanted weapons for a follower, so I guess I need to think about that, too. You thoughts about this would be very welcome. :o)

[AxeVII]

useful tips about starting object names with symbols like # or ^

 

i keep sets of stuff i use with the same beginning name for that reason

 

Blacksmith's gloves

Blacksmith's charm

Blacksmith's ring

Blacksmith's apron

 

so i can find it and equip it fast without cluttering up my quick menu

same thing for alchemy, fortify one handed, fortify two handed, sneaking, pick pocketing, lockpicking

make a suit for every occasion, keep the first word the same.

 

that's a neat little trick for organizing.

 

i may just start using the symbols, so i can get more creative with my names, and still keep them together in my inventory

 

followers can get pretty godly when every item you give them has fortify marksman or one handed/two handed. change that stuff to help your follower use the "right" weapon

Edited June 17, 2013 by AxeVII

[ruvuk]

@Axe: Thanks for your reply. :-) Funny that you'd note how followers might get "godly" when given too many enchanted advantages. I'd never thought about that. *My* concern with followers has always been that I'd get them killed. I tried having Lydia run with me twice, and the mercenary from Candlehearth Hall once, and neither of them lasted more than 5 minutes. I tried the guy from Morthal once, too, but only because he kept offering. <lol> He made it home, but I was fried from constantly looking out for him. Looking out for the followers takes a lot of my focus away from the quest.

 

I can't even have a horse or a dog because I get them killed so quickly. <lol> (I wound up making both horses and dogs invulnerable so that they'd have a chance the next time I tried one of htem.)

 

I also don't really understand the need for followers. The only bad guys I can't stop or can't resist (that I've yet encountered) are the Daedric Princes. The one in the abandoned house in Markarth is a good example. (I was really annoyed that I had no good option for dealing with him--I'd have chosen to die fighting rather than go kill the innocent guy. I refused to kill the guy. So I finally wound up saying goodbye to my character and starting the game over in Helgen. I've avoided that abandoned house ever since; I rarely even go to Markarth.)

 

Anyway, . . . I'm pretty sure that followers can't help me with Daedric princes. And I can do the rest on my own. Plus, much of the game feels to me like I'm preparing for my role fighting Alduin; i.e., I'm *supposed* to toughen up fighting the bad guys. And learn things.

 

The main reason I like the idea of having a follower (inc. a dog or a horse) is for the good company. It gets lonesome out there sometimes. <lol> The quest with Barbaras was *great.* I just wished he'd had more dialog. :-)