Any advice for becoming as powerful as humanly possible as a pure mage?

[Goblin]

I'm a pure mage meaning all my skills are magic related and I plan on only wearing robe with eventually no weapons whatsoever in this playthrough. I started my playthrough by becoming a member of the mage's guild right away. So what should I do next as a pure mage to keep becoming as powerful as humanly possible?

[JIK]

i think you know to get stats up including luck but the advise is to use those skills and spells don't rely on staff damage or weapon damage instead use potions to get mana if needed paralyze tough opponents and so on.

[momopovich]

stacking attributes to absurdly high values :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXVthV5hKPg&t=12s&ab_channel=Churchy

Permanently high magika with drain magika enchantment :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsqyBYwEKHU&ab_channel=KibblesGaming

[Hellstorm901]

If you want to be an OP mage make a custom spell which casts drain health, set it's casting method to touch, put its damage over time to 1 second but set its damage to the maximum

You basically have a spell which burns your MP but will instantly kill an enemy

[Empukris]

Originally posted by momopovich:

stacking attributes to absurdly high values :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXVthV5hKPg&t=12s&ab_channel=Churchy

Permanently high magika with drain magika enchantment :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsqyBYwEKHU&ab_channel=KibblesGaming

Dont do this. It break the game completely gameplay wise and it can corrupted your save also. Some stats are pretty much useless pass lvl 100 anyway. Another things to take note is that there is actually maximum amount of magicka and hp that you can have before it start to corrupt your game because the value spill over. So just dont do this unless you really sick of all that dumb kiting or want to close that stupid Oblivion gate asap or finish an ayleid dungeon. Or if you really want to do it do it in moderation.

As things to take note for master difficulty.
Stealth damage is useless in Master outside of dealing some extra damage but it is overall useless.

Conjuration is S tier in Master difficulty.

Alchemy is S tier also and any enemy can be killed with 3 poison to its face. Other than Argonian that is you need to find different way for them and some monster and undead is immune also.

Alteration is also A tier since you need max armor in Master so shield spell and elemental shield is really valuable.

Choose your birthsign wisely i recommend attronach or the lord.

Get the blessing stone major power asap. There are a bunch of them depends on your fame and infamy and also minor birthsign power.

As for the race Breton is obvious choice, shield power, magic resist and magicka boost is too OP for Master but you can choose other if you want more challenge.

Illusion is pretty good in Master difficulty you can consider the frenzy spell. It is very usefull when you are surrounded since most of the time 3 enemies = death. Just remember to level it asap, illusion getting weaker the higher you go.

So its all depend on your restriction in master but if you have dont much restriction in your playthrough.

Max alchemy asap
Follow by craft weakness to magicka spell combo
Follow by leveling to 20 and then do the quest sin of a father for etsucheon of chorrol.
Follow by dungeon farming if you manage to get another major reflect amulet the game is over. Since after this you can go to deepscourn player house and get the armor set there. This will give you 100% reflect plus if you have attronach or breton passive the game is pretty much over.

No glitch no cheat.

[momopovich]

Originally posted by Empukris:

Dont do this. It break the game completely gameplay wise and it can corrupted your save also. Some stats are pretty much useless pass lvl 100 anyway. Another things to take note is that there is actually maximum amount of magicka and hp that you can have before it start to corrupt your game because the value spill over. So just dont do this unless you really sick of all that dumb kiting or want to close that stupid Oblivion gate asap or finish an ayleid dungeon. Or if you really want to do it do it in moderation.

attribute stacking is unnecessary, resets on reloading the save but seems perfectly safe

drain magika enchant to get 10000s of magika is perfectly safe

[Empukris]

Originally posted by momopovich:

Originally posted by Empukris:

Dont do this. It break the game completely gameplay wise and it can corrupted your save also. Some stats are pretty much useless pass lvl 100 anyway. Another things to take note is that there is actually maximum amount of magicka and hp that you can have before it start to corrupt your game because the value spill over. So just dont do this unless you really sick of all that dumb kiting or want to close that stupid Oblivion gate asap or finish an ayleid dungeon. Or if you really want to do it do it in moderation.

attribute stacking is unnecessary, resets on reloading the save but seems perfectly safe

drain magika enchant to get 10000s of magika is perfectly safe

Anything below 30k is save yes but i just want to point out clearly since many dont know about this. Doing insane amount like 100k can and will corrupt your save.

[drakeloreroar]

Argonian as race for the 100% poison resist (and 75% disease resist, not as important but helps keep you from becoming a vampire)
Atronach Birthsign for the 50% Spell Absorb
Sorcerer's Ring for 25% spell absorb - generic loot at level 20+, extremely rare.
2 pieces of gear enchanted with a Spell Absorb Transcendent Sigil Stone (level 17+)
Do "Sins of the Father" with the correct ending after level 25 for the Escutcheon of Chorrol that gives 35% reflect damage.
Ring of the Iron Fist for 33% reflect damage - generic loot level 20+, very rare
Necklace of Swords/Amulet of Axes for 33% reflect damage - generic loot level 20+, rare

between these you will have 105% spell absorb and 101% reflect damage, the other 3 pieces of armor and your weapon can be enchanted with whatever you want. You will still be vulnerable to arrows with this build so I advise fire shield Transcendent Sigil Stone enchantments on clothes if you don't want to hinder your magic, I personally use permanently bound armor with Fortify Magicka +50 enchantments. 505 magicka, 84 defense when equipped with a weapon that allows me to use my shield, no head slot item equipped.

If you don't want to be THIS broken then only do the mages guild until you gain access to the arcane university and then wait until level 30+ to continue (you will get a spelldrinker amulet that gives +26% spell absorb, this along with the Sorcerer's Ring and Atronach sign will get you to the 100% spell absorb that is borderline required for a mage without using potentially save corrupting bugs.

To just become overpowered in general get restoration to 100. You can make custom spells to briefly boost your magicka to insane amounts then you can boost every single stat by 100 for 2 minutes. Stacking several of the same type of spell (but under a different name) will let you boost attributes significantly as well.

If you just want to deal damage 100 points Fire, Frost, Shock, damage health, drain health on touch for 1 second can be done by pretty much anyone with 100 destruction and will kill pretty much every single enemy instantly. (beware: spell reflect, don't try this on Flesh Atronachs).

[AsianGirlLover]

Don’t listen to the people saying that exploits will break or corrupt your save.

Exploit away, it’s perfectly fine, but you might CTD if you make a particularly OP spell.

[R3sistance]

Avoiding Cheating and Glitching, if you're goal were to become overpowered
1) 100% Chameleon, it's basically good game that point
2) Reflect Damage + Magic Resist build
- Choose Breton as your Race
- Choose Mage as your Birth sign
- Choose Endurance and Luck as your Attributes, At level-up Focus Willpower & Intelligence, Endurance is also good.
- choose whatever skills you want. Conjuration and Destruction are recommended as two.
Get the following Items:
Mundane Ring - most easily acquired at level 22+ from the Quest The Path of Dawn
- Gives Breton 100% magic Resist
- 35% chance to reflect spells on top
Bladeturn Hood - Acquired from Unearthing Mehrunes Razor (recommendation is level 20+ due to levelled items)
- This give Reflect Damage +Shield +Resist Normal Weapons.
-- You will also get the Spellturn Cloak, which for a mage is an okay cloak, again 20+ recommended
Ring of Iron Fist - 20+ RNG drop *Recommendation below
- Reflect Damage + fortify hand-to-hand, just need it for reflect damage
Amulet of Axes / Necklace of Swords, - 20+ RNG drop *Recommendation below
- Reflect Damage +Fortify Blunt/+Fortify Blade, just need it for reflect damage
Escutcheon of Chorrol - One of the potential regards of Sins of the Father (recommendation is level 25+ due to levelled items)
- you can "equip" this without equipping it, so long as you don't carry a 1-handed item/weapon, we just want it for it's Reflect Damage and Fortify Endurance
1 Wrist Irons - you literally start with 1, in total there is about 5 in the entire game.
- This is for enchanting as Robes do not take up the hands slot
any pair of shoes - many options
-This is for enchanting as Robes do not take up the feet slot

* The boss Blind Moth Prelate in the Temple of the Ancestor Moths is guaranteed to have an enchanted piece of jewellery which can be any of the jewellery pieces above (inc. Mundane Ring). Save in the area before the boss (do not enter the last area until you have saved!) Then go in and kill the boss. Check the jewellery, if it's good loot and go, if not then reload and repeat. If you enter the boss area then you'll have to kill them and come back 3 days later (you must wait over 3 days in another location before returning to the cell)

For Wrist Irons and shows, get a Transcendent Sigil Stone with Fortify Magicka for both (+50 each, +100 total)

This will give you 100% resist magic, 113% reflect damage, 35% reflect spell, 400 total magicka (at 100 intelligence), 17% Shield & +15% resist normal weapons.

With spellturn cloak this would go up to 50% reflect spell and include 15% spell absorption, alternatively get any generic robe and use a Transcendent Sigil Stone with one of the following on it: Fire Shield +25%, Frost Shield +25% or Shock Shield +25%, this would instead yield an armor rating of 42% and 25% resistance to relevant element, which resistance is mostly irrelevant as already immune to magic.

The only thing that can harm you is ranged attacks, traps and fall damage.

Most of this has to be done at 20+, for the full set of gear it has a minimum of level 25 thanks to the Escutcheon of Chorrol

[ZenithScript]

finishing the mages guild, crafting your own spells, using conjured units (personally use the frosty monster dude), save your soul gems for enchanting items - play the game as conservatively as possible at a high level difficulty. this will ensure you use the maximum amount of spells to kill enemies, allowing you to level up your respected spell type faster and more efficiently.

I've heard paralysis is a big one for mages, I personally found it more fun to conjure units and moving in fights to prevent death.

[R3sistance]

If using custom spells (which is recommended). spells that have weakness to magicka at the end are great as the effect ramps over multiple casts. I.E.

Drain Health 100 pts for 1 second
Damage Health 3 pts for 1 second
Weakness to Magicka 100% for 5 seconds.

If you hit within the 5 seconds you refresh the weakness to magicka effect and it increase the magnitude. If adding an elemental weakness add it before magicka, i.e.

Drain Health 100 pts for 1 second
Damage Health 3 pts for 1 second
Fire Damage 3 pts for 1 second
Weakness to Fire 100% for 1 second
Weakness to Magicka 100% for 5 seconds.