Mage vs Warrior

[NeonDX7]

You can always combine them into a Battlemage, or Spellsword, get the best of both worlds. Pure Mage (No weapons, nor armor) is the greatest challenge short of a pascifist. Plenty doable, and a lot of fun, but you have to think a lot more, while a warrior just runs in, and smashes. As for the vs matchup, Mages almost always win if they're both NPCs. As the Dragonborn, you can do a hell of a lot better with Shouts, and Smithing, but the AI never does that.

 

Heard being a mage is hard at first, but at the end, they're really overpowered, is this true? Never been a mage, lol.

[zakull]

On my first playthrough i went with shield and sword, and personally i loved it, once i got my shield of ysgramor i had no trouble killing mages, especially once i got the perk Shield Charge it was GG. Other than fighting dragons, pretty much everything in the world i can send them flying with my shield charge and just hack and slash at them while they were trying to get up and when did they get up i just shield charge them again.

[NeonDX7]

On my first playthrough i went with shield and sword, and personally i loved it, once i got my shield of ysgramor i had no trouble killing mages, especially once i got the perk Shield Charge it was GG. Other than fighting dragons, pretty much everything in the world i can send them flying with my shield charge and just hack and slash at them while they were trying to get up and when did they get up i just shield charge them again.

 

 

Jesus Christ, I just saw a video on the perk Shield Block, I honestly didn't know it was that good, I think I'm going to be a warrior with a shield, man. Thanks for telling me about it

[Brandy1123]

Once you learn attack angles, line of sight blocking, terrain navigation and movement, there are very few things in skyrim (or most any game) you ever need to wory about. Early on, a giant is the only real problem because of the reach and AOE of his club smash. Even harder dragons, OMG dragons, dragon lords, real dragons, is that even a dragon-dragon mods, dragons are a push over. They all circle, they all breath, they all pass over head. It may take longer and you can't stand still, but they fall easily. The longer a dragon lasts against your attacks, the better you get. It stays the same.

 

Early on a warrior will not kill a dragon without a missile weapon. Later on both are deadly but with all the perks, benefits and equipment, a mage is AT BEST against a warrior, about 15-20% effective. A stealth player is deadly at any level. With all the magic resistance, the element resistance and all the other bonuses you can place on items, magic use against a player become water off a ducks back. So, I believe a warrior would give a better game experience, but like someone said, after level 35, if you can't kill everything the game throws at you, you are playing under restrictive condition or really don't have enough experience playing the game.

[Lord Garon]

Not exactly sure what the OP is asking; the video pretty much showed the difference between the Mage and the Warrior in an all-out fight. Really, it just depends on which style is more fun for you. With some perk tweaking and a little enchanting, you could build a Stealthy Magic Using 2H Hammer Swinging Dragonscale Clad Assassin Archer and be done with it. ;)

 

As mentioned, the balance of Skyrim combat is somewhat broken. The fun for me is getting by with as little as possible, not with maxing out stats. I've tried a few things to make the game more "interesting" (Note that I'm playing vanilla Skyrim on Expert right now.); no weapon enchantments, no armor enchantments, no armor at all, no weapons (mage), only use 25/20/15 perks, only use perks in 5/4/3 skill sets, no perks at all, etc, etc. My favorite character so far is my current mage; no armor, only magic school and alchemy perks, found daggers only. She's a blast cause "we" really have to work at it. Poor melee fighter with only a "lucky" dagger and torch for a shield, but she can hold her own with some potions. Poor archer with only a bound bow and no archery perks, but she can put poisons on target. Lousy thief, but invisibility potions help. Devastating mage, though. Favorite passtimes are laying waste to Forsworn hideouts and collecting Dragon Priest masks.

 

Have had a lot of fun with previous Stealth and Warrior types, but the mages are most fun for me. Try one out, a whole different way of playing compared to the other types.

[Matth85]

As mentioned, the balance of Skyrim combat is somewhat broken.

Both yes and no. The combat can be broken in your favour if you want too, but otherwise it's fine.

I played 200 houres on my "adventurer spellsword" character. Currently level 68, explored about every part of the map I could before doing any quests. To make it more fun, I made a single rule: I am only able to craft gear I have previously found as loot, or bought.

Now, I am level 68 and have only found 6 daedric items and 1 dragonscale item. I am still using Ebony boots!

It makes exploring fun, the combat more balanced -- considering I was stuck with an ebony 1 handed before I got some Daedric artifacts and it gives you the awesome feeling when you find daedric items.

 

My character also uses perfectly divided stats. Currently 350 magicka, 340 Health and 340 Stamina, or something close to that. Hosting about 85% less damage from spells, and absorbing 30% of it, with capped armor, makes me quite sturdy: Yet an ancient dragon have killed me in 2 bites. Now, playing like this magic becomes useless, since even using the master level spells, and wither 70% of my magicka, will not take more than 50% of a normal enemy and 5% of a dragon. As a warrior I got enough stuff enchanted to hit 202 damage on my daedric warhammer, together with 35 points of fire damage and 30 absorb health. Even then it takes me one hell of a time to take down any hard opponent.

 

So, I am playing 200 houres in, can most likely do 200 more, I have barely touched quests, I am level 68 and maxed out most "hard" skills to level and the game is still quite hard -- even with double enchants on every piece of equipment.

 

If people don't abuse a system, they won't get a problem. Most people seem to do the standard;

- Get about 1k gold

- Buy soul trap and tons of petty soul gems

- Buy a weapon with soul trap, or banish, on

- Gather soul gems with soul trap, mostly mud crabs and critters around Whiterun

- Make iron daggers and enchant them, earning craptons of money and a quick 100 enchanting and smithing

* Mages get 100% less destruction cost, and powerlevel destruction.

* Warriors get 25% increase weapon damage on as many pieces as possible.

** alternate the player makes some weakish alchemy potions to loop for more power.

 

That kills both the game and fun of exploring. Of course it is not fun to go to your first dungeon, finding maybe Orcish gear at best, when you got fully enchanted top end daedric gear.

 

Now, to the OP:

 

Warrior: Strongest end game ( 40+ ), usually packs a lot of armor and can survive easier, it's awesome to stab something with a sword finisher.

Mage: Strongest mid game ( 20-40), got no prolems taking down packs of enemies, due to AOE abilities, if you don't got some health, ancient/elder dragons can, and will, oneshot finisher you, but nothing is more fun than blasting a room full of fireballs.

 

Personally, I say play a spellsword. It's versitile, and you get the strength of both sides. You can blast your enemies far away with fireballs, then rush in and poke them to death.

 

Matth

[Rooker75]

I've never tried to do a combat mage without maxed out Alteration for flesh armors. Seems like the archers should have turned you into a pin cushion.

 

Everyone having trouble against mages as a warrior, Become Ethereal and bash are your best friends. Shout, sprint right up to their face, bash and keep them stunned until they're dead.

[Matth85]

I've never tried to do a combat mage without maxed out Alteration for flesh armors. Seems like the archers should have turned you into a pin cushion.

 

Everyone having trouble against mages as a warrior, Become Ethereal and bash are your best friends. Shout, sprint right up to their face, bash and keep them stunned until they're dead.

 

Get alteration up for 30% magic resistance and, I believe, 30% magic absorbtion.

Next get the lord (?) stone for another boost.

If you are also a breton, you get another boost.

 

Oh, you are now about 80-85% magic resistance + 30% absobtion! That means:

- Spell does 200 damage originally.

- Spell does 30 damage before absorption.

- Spell does under 20 damage, and you absorb a bit of it.

 

Unless absorption counts before resist, at which you get more mana -- but you lose no more than 20 health either way.

 

Frankly, I am not even a breton and I use Dragon Priests on master difficulty as mana batteries while I fire storm whatever there is in the dungeon.

Also add on you can easily hit armor cap, which is late 500s I believe?, with no problems. Get full Ebony, upgrade it, and thanks to the same stone that gives you magic resist, you get a bonus to armor as well.

 

A little pre-planning goes a long way!

[Blackraptor31]

As mentioned, the balance of Skyrim combat is somewhat broken.

Both yes and no. The combat can be broken in your favour if you want too, but otherwise it's fine.

I played 200 houres on my "adventurer spellsword" character. Currently level 68, explored about every part of the map I could before doing any quests. To make it more fun, I made a single rule: I am only able to craft gear I have previously found as loot, or bought.

Now, I am level 68 and have only found 6 daedric items and 1 dragonscale item. I am still using Ebony boots!

It makes exploring fun, the combat more balanced -- considering I was stuck with an ebony 1 handed before I got some Daedric artifacts and it gives you the awesome feeling when you find daedric items.

You mean that the combat of skyrim isn't broken providing you self-nerf?

 

You have to deliberately choose not to do something otherwise it makes the game too easy, even on master.

 

Do what I did; download a combat mod, there are plenty out there although I prefer the "Athyra's Comprehensive Enhancments" as this fixes everything that was broken about enchanting, alchemy, and all weapons and magic whilst adding a ton of new features making combat more intuitive. Now fighting as a warrior is more than just smacking them until they keel over.

 

If the game is still too easy, download some realism mods. Freeze to death if you fall in icy water, and make sure to wrap up warm at night. Don't forget to eat and drink. Disable fast travel.

All these things help make the story better IMO. The game becomes about the journey, not how you managed to kill that dragon.

"The Hobbit" was a good book because of the journey. The overall plot isn't that far from Skyrim's (go and kill the bad dragon) but it is a literary classic because of how they got to the Lonely Mountain. Skyrim can be the same.

[Matth85]

You mean that the combat of skyrim isn't broken providing you self-nerf?

 

You have to deliberately choose not to do something otherwise it makes the game too easy, even on master.

 

Do what I did; download a combat mod, there are plenty out there although I prefer the "Athyra's Comprehensive Enhancments" as this fixes everything that was broken about enchanting, alchemy, and all weapons and magic whilst adding a ton of new features making combat more intuitive. Now fighting as a warrior is more than just smacking them until they keel over.

 

If the game is still too easy, download some realism mods. Freeze to death if you fall in icy water, and make sure to wrap up warm at night. Don't forget to eat and drink. Disable fast travel.

All these things help make the story better IMO. The game becomes about the journey, not how you managed to kill that dragon.

"The Hobbit" was a good book because of the journey. The overall plot isn't that far from Skyrim's (go and kill the bad dragon) but it is a literary classic because of how they got to the Lonely Mountain. Skyrim can be the same.

 

I don't know, the word "selv-nerf" is a little weird, if you ask me. Because the only way you can "self-nerf", is if the game was planned to be a rushfest. It was not -- every TES game is about exploring. So instead of rushing, you loot. I.E. It's not really "self-nerfing" as you'd put it.

 

And the other problem with combat mods for Skyrim, is that Skyrim isn't a combat game. As in, you can make monsters scale and/or make them twice as strong. In the end it does not matter: Either I get oneshot, I need to kite for half an hour, or I smack something on the head for 15 minutes. It isn't fun either way.

Most combat improving mods simply scaled enemies, then give them more toys to play with. Perhaps even get some perks and use their abilities. Now, that does not make it more fun for anybody. Now you either get oneshot by a dragon, or any archer in general, or you need to wither down half a million hitpoints.