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I have been playing Skyrim since the release date back in 2011 and I have never once been able to see any effect from the Mage Armor perk in the magic skill tree. I thought that the Special Edition on Xbox one would have fixed this glitch, but I still see no noticeable difference and there is no effect difference in the status effects under the magic inventory screen. I have cast armor spells like Stone Flesh with light armor, heavy armor, clothing and various combinations including nothing at all and I still get the same effect under magic effects no matter what I'm wearing. I would just like to know from anybody if I'm doing something wrong or if this park is glitched out entirely

Weird, does it not show up on your armour rating?

What spell are you using, and what's your armour rating before and after casting the spell?

Just tested it myself, and it works for me. It only shows the actual effect through your armor rating (under Apparel), not your active effects. It also still works when you're using a shield.

Additionally and most likely unrelated, my armor enchantments persisted after I removed it all when I tested this on PS3. Weird.
Edit: It's because my armor had the exact same enchantment as my necklace, but when the armor was removed and my necklace was kept on, the active effect was falsely listed as coming from my armor.

Thanks to both of you, especially TingzOr. it was showing the bonus in the armor rating. kind of strange that having the perk and using the armor spell doesn't show the added bonus in the magic effects page. i guess i was looking too much into it. i never noticed a difference in the rating but i guess i wasn't looking hard enough. probably wasn't testing that theory accurately enough because i usually have pretty good armor by the time i use magic and i probably unknowingly compared an armor piece with (lets say 80 armor rating) to no-armor but (lets say stone flesh with added armor of 40 points (doubled to 80). could be why i never saw a difference. and with perk points being so valuable pre-dragon born end-game. i never invested in the higher tiers of that perk. so i gotta ask, is it viable to wear clothes and invest in that perk? or is it better to go with armor (usually equaling more pieces and thus more chances for enchantments)?

p.s. - i ramble

Honestly? I've never found shield spells too useful in normal gameplay. If you're a mage, you just handicapped your killing power; if you're a warrior, you're spending perks on a less than optimal skill tree.

The exception to this is if you're playing as a Werewolf or a Vampire Lord; with the help of those spells you can practically hit the armour cap (you have to cast them before you transform, and potions of Alteration help), so if you plan to play mainly in Beast mode, I do recommend them.

I never use the mage armor perk when I'm playing seriously. It's almost always more effective to wear armor and then boost it with a defensive spell. So unless you're roleplaying or trying to go for the werewolf and vampire lord achievements, it's just a waste of perk points.

One of my characters was a wizard who wore the Archmage's Robes. I like those because even with the hood you can still wear a circlet (and therefore a dragon priest mask). It was a fun build but certainly not as physically durable as the others. I have found that the main usefulness of the Mage Armor perks is that you can reach the armor protection cap as a werewolf or vampire lord. This can definitely be a difference-maker against harder hitting enemies.