Most under rated skill - Alteration

[blacknyt]

I think one of the most underrate skills is alteration. Most people I see only use it for the 'mage armor' when playing as mages. I find it an invaluable skill tree if you playing a loner (no ally through the whole game) and on harder difficulties. Light armor, alteration, archery and destruction is a awesome 1 man destroying force..

What is an underrated skill you guys use?

[skullclutter]

I use alteration quite a bit, and not just for the mage armor. I'm playing as a pure mage for my main character, and he prefers casting "candlelight" or "magelight" over using torches. I haven't really gotten much use out of Illusion, though. I think the spells in that school may be more suited to a stealth-based character.

[DikaSmausha]

Alteration isn't that useful when you can get your armor near the cap easily.

[Br3admax]

Besides Conjuration, Alteration is the most OP School of Magic.

[Emzi 43]

Mmm, easy to train though, and if you simply find a horker or trap and enemy and cast many, many armour/bound sword spells until you max out conjuration and alteration, then you're only around level 20 I think, with things like flame thrall and almost total invunerability. Sooooo, yeah, Br3ad's right, Overpowered. I don't really use this much because it feels pretty cheap to me

[dzio]

^You might want to let it rise naturally then, instead of grinding to 100 as fast as you can... Just a thought.

[Finn Wolfshorn]

Alteration isn't that useful when you can get your armor near the cap easily.

Except if you don't wear armour because you're roleplaying a, well, non-armour-wearing mage (extreme example: my Bosmer ranger/shaman/werewolf who used to run around in ragged trousers, a cloak and not much else; even mage robes would have been wrong for him, I'd have played him stark naked except for the fact that enchantments have to go somewhere). Without armour, alteration flesh spells often mean the difference between being able to cast another spell and being one-shot.

There's also Transmute which is incredibly useful for making money while leveling both alteration itself and smithing at low levels. Most of my characters have gone through the early routine of going to a mine, stuffing their pockets with ore, spamming Transmute on the way back to the nearest town with a forge, making and selling a lot of gold rings, rinse and repeat.

[DikaSmausha]

Yes, but if you aren't role playing, there is no point.

[Br3admax]

^You might want to let it rise naturally then, instead of grinding to 100 as fast as you can... Just a thought.

Even then the skill raises like crazy.

[dzio]

Yes, but if you aren't role playing, there is no point.

Luckily for me, I don't really see the point of playing the role playing games without role playing.

[Emzi 43]

Yeah, I roleplay, and on the characters that have actually used alteration it rises pretty fast, like at least a level every noticeable battle(Excluding wolves)

[DikaSmausha]

Yes, but if you aren't role playing, there is no point.

Luckily for me, I don't really see the point of playing the role playing games without role playing.

Neither do I, but how many players, out of all the people that have played Skyrim, role play?

[dzio]

Not many, you're right. And to the rest I say:

Hidden:

[Yaije]

alteration in the base game has two purposes. Armor enhancement and paralysis >.>

most underrated in my opinion? Mysticism... it got so down rated it got pulled from the game.

Spoiler:

alteration is overated in my opinion... what it does is done by 4 other skills (armor enhancing) can be rendered pointless by two depending on playstyle (illusion and sneak) and it's paralysis can be replicated by every weapon school or an enchantment

Now mod added alteration spells that do what alteration should do (ie. fundamentally alter the physical world) make things interesting. Yes... i miss oblivion and morrowind schools of magic

[BetaB17]

Meh, I never once saw it underrated. Sure, it's not as popular as Destruction>_> and Restoration is fundamentally helpful for all.. but both Illusion and Alteration to me seem even. Alteration is very helpful for mage based players, and can very much give that needed boost in defense. It also brings along a few luxuries like water walking or feather, but at the same time brings the deadly paralysis. Granted the later can be matched with an enchantment or poison, but for a pure mage, it does what it should.

Personally I find Conjuration the most overrated.. behind Destruction of course>_> simply being able to call up warriors to fight for you kind of breeds that cocky nature we all know. As for the most underrated.. not even Mysticism can be said so>_> it is truly Thaumaturgy. The name alone is difficult for many, and it is nearly forgotten by most. And even during it's time, it was pretty weak compared to it's siblings. Mysticism was indeed a bit underrated, but it acted as the force between all magic<_< in my opinion, it only made sense to add in with other schools, thus buffing up their strength while reducing the number of arts. Quality over quantity..

Now then.. we all can agree most of the schools can't fulfill their peak in-game, alteration alone holds little limits

[JDizzle]

I think alteration is a bit dull, it's hard to get excited about having a little bit more armour. In what it lets you cast it also doesn't seem incredibly thematically cohesive - detect life and magelight or candlelight as well as telekinesis all seem a bit out of whack in regards to making physical changes to yourself or other people - which is another point against it. I do like Alteration, but it ranks as my least favourite school of magic.

[Yaije]

Woops i forgot somethings about alteration... light (it's not from illusion), Transmute, and water breathing. No water walking or feather (at least as castable spells enchantments, potions, and bonus on a form).

So glad I switched to PC skyrim.

[Da_BossMaN69]

I wished they did more with Alteration, and allowed Telekinesis to be used offensively. I'd like it to be like the film Chronicle, just grabbing object around me and tossing them at my foes, ripping the shields from their hands and then beating them with it.

[BetaB17]

I wished they did more with Alteration, and allowed Telekinesis to be used offensively. I'd like it to be like the film Chronicle, just grabbing object around me and tossing them at my foes, ripping the shields from their hands and then beating them with it.

You mean like a potential disarm? Mmmh.. I like it but the spell should work in tiers of strength, from your classic.. to a farther range but slower.. to being able to catch arrows or projectiles.. then finally to where you can rip away a man's sword and toss it back at his head<_< The final really would work no different than what we see in Bioshock or Dead Space

[Da_BossMaN69]

That type of telekinesis should be a type of spell like an element, only in different levels.

A standard telekinesis, then a stronger one that throws objects harder and one at master level that just removes all weapons/shields from an enemy.

[Yaije]

would rather have multiple forms of it. the basic one for grabbing items. a stronger version of that that lets you hurl items like projectiles. then basically vampiric grip where you're able to move people around (master level).

And then some copy of fus ro dah basically in varying strengths

[Mattbott]

@ Yaije so a sort of jedi/sith type activity?

it would be very cool to force grab your sword after you have just been unarmed, instead of scrabbling around corners of the room looking for it

[Aranel]

Augh. I made a mage character, and I had her level alternation up early on. Worst mistake ever. >__>;
Telekinesis was a huge let down (I thought you'd be able to use it more defensively, somewhat similar to... BioShock, I guess?) and it used magicka up super quick, and when I found out about how heavy/light armor is basically always better than the cast spells, I was pretty disappointed. (Armor has a hidden stat of +50 or something, so it'll always be "better," so to speak).

I do like the magic resistance though, but I'm not too fond of magic absorption, because there is a glitch were conjuration spells may not cast right. I do like transmute since it is good for crafting (make iron ore silver or gold, smith it into jewelry, enchant it, sell it and wa-la - you're leveling up alternation, smithing, enchanting, and speech!), and the utility spells like candlelight.

I don't have anything against alternation in of itself, though it's something I don't think I'll try leveling up early on again - the really useful combat skills, imo, don't come into play until your skill level is at like... 65. Otherwise, for me, it leads to "over leveling" one skill at a time and then I get whipped around, but that might just be me.

[umber hulk]

Alteration is my most used school by a long way, i wear little armor and rely heavily on Dragonhide, also high magic resist, but even if that were not the case, i can't imagine ever reaching a stage where candlelight, magelight, detect life, and detect dead, are not useful. these spells never leave my hotkey list, and every other school i can take or leave.

as for my most underused skill - i haven't touched destruction since Morrowind, not sure why, maybe because my character in that game relied on it so heavily.

[Mattbott]

i havent touched alteration in Skyrim yet but am going for it with my new guy, tho am finding it difficult to rely on mage armour without the perks (current level is in the high teens at the moment and have been getting restoration and conjuring perked up)

i am looking forward to exploring blackreach with actual light spells though lol

in Morrowind, there was proper cause to use Alteration - water breathe/walk was vital in many circs, tk could be used to pick locks (and loot chests - great for the emptying the House treasuries in Vivec city lol)