Skyrim Strategy: Slightly More Done (with our Battlemage) [Part 2]
Now that you’ve had the chance to explore the Skyrim Nexus and outfit your game with all the awesome-est stuff ever, let’s get down to the nitty gritty. I’m talking stats, perk trees, proper leveling of your battlemage build once you’ve maxed out the main skills. I’m of course talking about Conjuration, Enchanting, Restoration, One-Handed, Smithing, possibly Alteration and Destruction. If these skills aren’t at level 100, they should be close, and you should be approaching level 45-5o, if you haven’t already passed them.While there are likely still tons and tons of quests left for you to do, what good is expanding your character’s power if you don’t know what to max out next? This article plans to help you with that.
The five main perk trees to focus on after completing the basic battlemage build are as follows: Archery, Two-handed, Heavy Armor, Illusion, Sneak.
Disclaimer: Much of the information below is based only on the statistics presented in the trees and not based on real-time testing. I don’t have enough time in-game yet.
That bow’s just downright scary.
The first two perks on the list, Archery and Two-handed work great in tandem if you follow the right path up the perk tree. Do things right, and no enemy is ever out of your killing field.
One of the key downfalls of the battlemage build presented in my first two articles was its lack of effectiveness at range. Unless you favor Destruction spells, there wasn’t a good way to deal with those pesky archers that take half your health per arrow. If you have a bow, on the other hand, there is most certainly something you can do about them. Plus, whatever arrows they don’t use only serve to refuel your own stock.
When advancing through the Archery tree, you’ll want to go left, and stay left. Begin by leveling Overdraw to level two or three to increase damage, and head for Eagle Eye and Steady Hand 1. This setup, combined with whatever magic you bring to bear prior to pulling out your bow, will give you ample time to deal with any long range foes while your summons attack the enemies closest to you.
Power Shot allows for stun locking with the only real cost being a couple arrows, and if you don’t kill your intended target fast enough, you’ve waylaid him in a single place for your summons to clean up. As an added benefit, every arrow you fire that hits an enemy trains your archery skill, and if they don’t shoot back, you don’t need to worry so much about stopping to heal.
Bullseye is something of an expansion on Powershot, so getting it isn’t necessary. Quick Shot is far more useful if you plan to switch between your Two-handed weapon and your bow frequently. If you don’t mind the draw time, max out Overdraw and be done with the Archery perk tree.
And that there’s a big ole’ hammer/sword/axe.
I prefer the slashing action of the greatsword, and the fact it swings the fastest of all the melee weapons only adds to my desire to use it. I recommend the blade to you for that reason, but each Dovahkiin is different, so build him to your preference.
Regardless, my suggestions for the Two-handed tree are far simpler than Archery. The perks focus on the power attack, assuming that a two handed fighter will be less spell-based than his one handed counterpart. Since your mage has a healthy balance of Stamina, Health, and Magicka, your main purpose should be your maximum damage output, not necessarily any focus on big, hefty swings. For these reasons, I recommend the following in the Two-handed tree. Max out Barbarian, take Champion’s stance for the Stamina cost redcution, and then max out your chosen weapon’s perk.
That’s it. Your summons and/or companion can do a little work with you, and you can tank a little damage with full ability to back off and let magic do your work if need be.
Looking like a demon has its perks.
Daedric armor is the way to go, I think. Dragonplate is nice, but I want to look and feel badass, and the dragon armors don’t do the whole “look” thing for me. Regardless of my preference, much like Archery, you’ll want to go left when adding perks in the Heavy Armor tree. Well Fitted’s a nice perk to have, but other than it, I’d stay away from the right hand arm.
Take Fists of Steel only because you have to, and as soon as you’re able, go for Cushioned and Conditioning. Max out Juggernaut and be done with the Armor tree. The main benefit of Light Armor, faster base movement speed, is negated with Conditioning, and since your movement is completely free at just HA 70, you can go straight into the sneaky mage build. Heck, you don’t even have to focus on Archery or Two-handed if you don’t want to. Get to 70 in Heavy Armor, which should be easy enough just through wearing it, and move on to the next trees in line: Illusion and Sneak.
The ninjas have nothing on you.
The Illusion tree’s pretty simple: take up to Expert Illusion, and buy Invisibility. Coupled with Conditioning, the Muffle spell, and a high Sneak Score, you’ll be well on your way to assassinating bitches with anything and everything at your disposal.
For the Sneak tree, in contrast to the above trends, go right and keep going. Muffled Movement should be your only detour. The abilities granted down the left path are nice for a full on Sneak build, but because you’re a battlemage just filling out the rest of his perks, you’ll want damage first. By the time you reach Assassin’s Blade, only the biggest weapons fail you in sneak attacking. And you only need to get to level 50 sneaking. No long grind to 100 for the good stuff. Nope, daggers do fifteen time the damage, or thirty with the Shrouded Gloves, and you don’t have to waste four extra perks better used elsewhere.
So that’s it for now. As I continue to explore Skyrim in the weeks to come, you might here more, but for today, I think you’ve all got enough to chew on for some time to come.
Fus Roh Dah, and all that.
Note: If you know who to give credit for this battlemage wallpaper to, I’d be most appreciative.
