Tips for first time wizard?

[x Princess Leliana x]

It's time for my yearly oblivion playthrough and this time I am doing something I have never done in an elder scrolls game, a wizard/spellcaster.

What are some tips that will help me? I mostly worry about how the hell I will survive on my own with little health and armour

[Bonus!]

DO NOT PICK THE APPRENTICE SIGN! Pick the mage sign! Trust me, only pick that one one if you're going to play as a mage. Signs aside, what are going to be your main schools of magic? Can't give much advice if I don't know that specifically.

[psychotron666420]

Originally posted by Bonus!:

DO NOT PICK THE APPRENTICE SIGN! Pick the mage sign! Trust me, only pick that one one if you're going to play as a mage. Signs aside, what are going to be your main schools of magic? Can't give much advice if I don't know that specifically.

I pick the apprentice sign all the time, and my mage characters have easily been the most powerful characters I've played.

[Bonus!]

Originally posted by psychotron666420:

Originally posted by Bonus!:

DO NOT PICK THE APPRENTICE SIGN! Pick the mage sign! Trust me, only pick that one one if you're going to play as a mage. Signs aside, what are going to be your main schools of magic? Can't give much advice if I don't know that specifically.

I pick the apprentice sign all the time, and my mage characters have easily been the most powerful characters I've played.

How? All it does is give you a early bonus of 100 points of magicka but then it makes you 100 weak towards magic, that doesn't even make sense. You would have to wear enchanted items to counter that when instead if you didn't have to counter that you could have had other enchanted items that would actually provide beneficial bonuses to you. That literally makes no ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ sense.

[x Princess Leliana x]

Whatever works really, I did some reading and everyone says to go illusion and max invis but that seems boring. I could do some conjuration but I pictured myself casting fireballs and lightning and all that kinda stuff.

[x Princess Leliana x]

Originally posted by Bonus!:

DO NOT PICK THE APPRENTICE SIGN! Pick the mage sign! Trust me, only pick that one one if you're going to play as a mage. Signs aside, what are going to be your main schools of magic? Can't give much advice if I don't know that specifically.

I was imagining going atronach and just using welkynd stones for magicka tbh

[RequiemsRose]

Atronach mages can be powerful, but difficult. They often pair well with builds that lean even further into the spell absorption effect. You may not regenerate your own magic, but you can steal everyone elses! Downside is that the earlier levels before you have much of anything set up and havent trained your magic efficiencies up yet are usually the hardest part of that build. Once you are more skilled/efficient at magicka, and have better absorption, you can absorb some of your own spells to, to a degree that it's actually beneficial to do so (at earlier levels you lose more magic than you gain from this, but mysticism is your friend here. Telekenesis spells tend to be highly efficient, like at 100 mysticism your remote manipulation will cost 5 magic but will absorb for 25). Be aware though that if going this route, it does mean you might be cutting out certain magic options because they count as casting on yourself, which you will always end up absorbing, so a few spells will become useless for anything other than that later level self-absorption tactic.

[Drunkenstein]

If you are really going for atronach then pick altmer as your race that way you will have +250 additional magicka in total.

[psychotron666420]

Originally posted by Bonus!:

Originally posted by psychotron666420:

I pick the apprentice sign all the time, and my mage characters have easily been the most powerful characters I've played.

How? All it does is give you a early bonus of 100 points of magicka but then it makes you 100 weak towards magic, that doesn't even make sense. You would have to wear enchanted items to counter that when instead if you didn't have to counter that you could have had other enchanted items that would actually provide beneficial bonuses to you. That literally makes no ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ sense.

Or you just live with the weakness. It's not that bad, hell I've used it with high elves many times (which have weakness with their race too). It's ridiculously easy to dodge enemy spells in this game.

[Bonus!]

Originally posted by psychotron666420:

Originally posted by Bonus!:

How? All it does is give you a early bonus of 100 points of magicka but then it makes you 100 weak towards magic, that doesn't even make sense. You would have to wear enchanted items to counter that when instead if you didn't have to counter that you could have had other enchanted items that would actually provide beneficial bonuses to you. That literally makes no ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ sense.

Or you just live with the weakness. It's not that bad, hell I've used it with high elves many times (which have weakness with their race too). It's ridiculously easy to dodge enemy spells in this game.

Ye fair point lol, one thing I hate about oblivion, everything moves mad slow, like I install a faster arrows mod for the arrows, it's a bow and arrow, not a feckin nerf gun lol.

[Bonus!]

Originally posted by Drunkenstein:

If you are really going for atronach then pick altmer as your race that way you will have +250 additional magicka in total.

^^
Thissss

[Melkolf]

Originally posted by Bonus!:

Originally posted by Drunkenstein:

If you are really going for atronach then pick altmer as your race that way you will have +250 additional magicka in total.

^^
Thissss

Altmer's size of magicka pool is useful eventually, yeah, but Breton has a couple of more useful things going for them, especially in early game too. With the vast quantity of potions, staves and stones available pool size has never swung it for me.

Just stay clear of Altmer or Dunmer Apprentices!

[Bonus!]

Originally posted by Melkolf:

Originally posted by Bonus!:

^^
Thissss

Altmer's size of magicka pool is useful eventually, yeah, but Breton has a couple of more useful things going for them, especially in early game too. With the vast quantity of potions, staves and stones available pool size has never swung it for me.

Just stay clear of Altmer or Dunmer Apprentices!

I know this is for Oblivion but I highly recommend Bretons for Skyrim.

[Poil]

Touch spells are more magicka efficient than ranged. Also a spell which deals for example 5 damage for 3 seconds is a lot cheaper to cast than one that does 15 damage in one hit.

The apprentice sign is fine, just keep moving and dodge spells flung at you.

[Skere Kaan]

i agree with the other guys that the apprentice birthsign is workable if you learn to dodge enemy spells.
the atronach works early game as well if you either scrounge up enough cash and buy magicka pots or are willing to do some alchemy to make magicka-regen pots (the swamp areas in the southeast have lotsa ingredients).
and i totally agree with the guy above that touch-based and damage-over-time spells are way cheaper than their counterparts.
since you want to specialize in destruction, i'd go with an altmer since they've got the largest magicka pool and get a 10 point bonus in destruction magic. especially since that magic school is a ♥♥♥♥♥ to level. takes (almost?) as long as restoration.

[Rivazar]

Argonian with mage sign. Cause alteration master is always happy to help fellow argonian