How necessary is Conjuration?

[Daemos Avetorii]

I often find that casting shield spells, or enchanting clothes with elemental shields, gives just as good protection as conjured weightless armor.
I do not know if the Armor Rating of conjurated armor is local to the players' skill in either light/heavy armor, because also the conjured armor is not just all light or all heavy, but both. Taking hits when wearing it may result in undesired attribute points in endurance/speed. Those being of lesser significance to mages, compared to Intelligence, Willpower, etc.

Also, when conjuring creatures. Are they just distractions, or do you expect them to kill foes as fast as a mage him/herself can? Why not use the same mana on a destruction spell to kill the enemy with and be done with it. Does Conjuration have any discernable values that I have not noticed yet?

I suppose conjuring weapons may seem nice, as you will not need to repair them all the time, since you can just recast them. But it is very irritating when a weapon spell wears off in mid battle. So you'd either need a long duration spell that costs a lot of mana, and keep the weapon out all the time, or a shorter duration one that you keep casting. Is it worth it?

[BetaB17]

To be frank, conjuration is well valued. While true.. You can easily outclass bound armor via other defenses, and as you said bound weapons see to the convenience other alternatives don't offer. It's comforting sometimes to know that even if my blades lay busted and ruined, I can always summon a sword from air in my most dire times.

As for summoning creatures. Why do ppl use followers in Skyrim? Other than as pack mules, they help level out the heat or take care of the lesser foes you normally wouldn't spend your time on if desired. Yes they can be used for distractions, but they also can turn the odds when your out numbered or fighting a boss. Sometimes just casting for destruction doesn't meet the damage you need, or may be more magicka conserving for a pawn than multiple fireballs<_< you see my point, the aid of an ally isn't so minor. What do you do if you a pure Mage and your foe either is highly resistant to magicka or may reflect said damage back to you... Summon up a dremora, daedroth, or a bloody bear to naw that face off!

[Daemos Avetorii]

Good arguments. The value of playing usually as Altmer/Breton and going magic is useful. Even without it as a major skill. Conjuration is a very easy skill to level up.
It is one of the most reliable means of upping intelligence at level-ups. I'd just prefer to keep Conjuration, as well as Restoration as minor and instead use Mercantile and Speechcraft or something else.

[Chicken Slayer]

Conjuration is a worthwhile option in some cases. At maximum difficulty, it is easy to play a conjuration based game (good as a major skill), since weapons and destruction spells do 1/6 damage. Use Conjuration with the Skull of Corruption, Wabbajack, and a paralize staff and you can kill anything.

[Golden Sinner]

At max difficulty, my character only does 1/6 damage, but a conjured creature still does normal damage. I'll be able to summon a strong defender long before I can use a deadly poison, stack weakness spells or use command to win a battle. I also enjoy listening to my Dremora Lord berate an opponent.

[Red Guardian]

Bound equipment with zero weight, anyone?

[Daemos Avetorii]

Yes but my current guy is master of conjuration and bound sword is only 15 secs. I made a 30 sec version but it costs a ton. You'd think a master of conjuration could have a bound sword around for a minute for 100- magicka..

[BetaB17]

The issue with bound gear is your at the mercy of its limited duration>_> while good for a quick defense they are largely outmatched by alternatives, that or gear that over comes the weight via enchantments to the point of being more benefital at the cost of repair. Still, the aid conjuration provides is more than meager gear

[Daemos Avetorii]

Valid points. I did manage to make a Bound Dagger for 120 seconds for a mere 33 magicka, however, so my Warlock can sneak around Fort Istirus/Doubecross/Linchal and use that dagger spell to quickly kill all necromancers and then carry off with the loot. :3

[Red Guardian]

There's an exploit that makes your bound equipment last forever in your inventory. Powerful and weightless items are always welcome.

That's what I meant earlier. Thought someone knew about it...

[Daemos Avetorii]

Was that exploit not fixed with the latest patch?

[Red Guardian]

Whatever, you're on PC. There's always a way to make your life easier. Go nuts.

[Pilaf The Defiler]

Conjuration is really nifty, but I rarely use it for armor with my Nord Spellsword. It's useful for Turning the undead, and a summoned Clannfear can really take the heat off you even at higher levels.

[FrozenWolf150]

Here's another good use for Conjuration. As the game tips say, you can Soul Trap your own summoned creatures. Since I always play on max difficulty, I like to be prepared, so I go around buying up every last soul gem from every merchant who has them. (Refer to this page to quickly find which merchants sell soul gems, any that say "Magical Supplies" will have them.) Even after I have Azura's Star, it still helps to have extra soul gems on hand. Then I head to my home so nobody bothers me and fill up all my empty soul gems. This way, I'll have a steady supply to recharge my weapons for dungeons where there are a lot of NPC enemies and too few monsters. I'll either use Umbra or a custom Destruction spell that includes Soul Trap to kill the summoned creatures.

The best summons to use are the ones that don't have Reflect Damage, Spell Absorption, or Reflect Spell, and that lack the ability to block. A few examples:

Petty - Skeleton
Lesser - Scamp
Common - Headless Zombie
Greater - Daedroth
Grand - Gloom Wraith

It's a lot faster than trying to hunt down the appropriate creatures in their natural environment.

[Chicken Slayer]

With Umbra, you do not have to kill with it. The soul trap is 2 minutes in duration so all you have to do is run in, touch an enemy with it once and then let your conjured creatures (or poison) finish the fight.