Quick question for going pure mage

[imsorrisuck]

So I am going Pure mage. I have access to the Arcane University and do I want to enchant all of my clothing with the shield enchantment?

I have two grand soul gems that I can use to enchant.

How do I get more and are they the best gems to use for enchanting? I'm kinda confused about the whole enchanting/soul gem thing

Thanks!

[ZombieMonkeyNZ]

Soul gems just hold the souls of the creatures you kill.
Each creature has a different level of soul, the stronger the creature, the higher level soul.
Example, a rat has a Petty level soul, whereas a Xiviai has a Grand level soul.

Don't worry, I still have a hard time getting my head around it.
As for the Shield enchantment, depends on how strong you can get it.

[Frost Mage]

Do the Soul Gems have souls in them? If not, you should go get a Soul Trap spell/scroll on a creature and trap their soul in the Soul Gem. P.S. Make sure you use the Spell/Scroll just before killing the creature, as to not waste it (i.e. They have time limits on how long you have to trap the soul in the Soul Gem). Hope this helps!

[imsorrisuck]

Yes 2 of my soul gems have grand souls in them, I stole them from the mages guild. So where do I learn this spell of stealing souls that I cast right before I kill something? So then when I kill a boss and take there soul there put into a soul gem? The better the NPC the better them soul? Where can I buy blank soul gems?

[Evil-i]

You should try to get Azura's Star. It's one of the handiest pieces of gear in the game.

[AeraDunmerMoon]

You should try to get Azura's Star. It's one of the handiest pieces of gear in the game.

If you enchant. Unless you're like me and too lazy to hunt down monsters with Grand Souls. I just convert Grant Soul Gems to black soul gems. Morally questionable, but nifty, since Oblivion Gates are chock full of expendable npcs(daedra) to begin with.

[Akiraka]

Well, I would say first of all, that if you're full mage, you should be making ample use of Illusion magic, and therefor the last thing you want to enchant your clothing with is shield. Even after all 8 pieces of possible clothing you'll have an 80% AC, sure, but you'll still have very little HP and you'll be denying yourself a much more useful some-200 magicka through fortify magicka enchantments.

I agree with the rest of the guys saying you ought to nab Azura's Star if you haven't. You can buy more Grand Soul gems though from Calindil at The Mystic Emporium in the Imperial City, I believe. Or you can dupe them... Duping filled soul gems can net odd things to happen (namely emptying them in my experience, but, that's okay)

You can find the Apprentice level Soul Trap spell from many many spell vendors http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:List_ ... #Soul_Trap
On how to create black soul gems: http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Black_Soul_Gem

Also, although Azura's Star is useful, you may want to do the extra work and get black soul gems, because many creature's soul levels scale with your level, whereas any NPC you kill at any level will always yield a Grand level soul.

[Pandamatak]

About grand gems being the best, no. Sigil stones can be up to twice as good. Just save before you pick one up and if it doesn't have the enchantment you want, reload.

Also, I recommend using fortify magicka instead and just create a powerful shield spell. The necromancer's amulet comes in real handy as long as you're not going to use melee.

[dtmwerks]

Neither are "the best". Sigil stones can be better for certain things such as feather (off the top off my head). Generally, grand soul gems are better for offensive enchanting and sigil stones better for armor items (sometimes). This is because for offensive enchantments using grand soul gems, you can create more powerful enchantments WITH multiple enchantments. Sigil only has one, but it will be weaker as well.

Compare fire damage from a sigil stone vs a grand soul gem for example.

[Akiraka]

About grand gems being the best, no. Sigil stones can be up to twice as good.

Neither are "the best".

Sigil stones for single affects tend to top out at a higher efficacy than soul gems yes, but, they're restricted to their single affect, and they're leveled. So it doesn't do him a lot of good if he's at a low level. Yeah at level 17 he can get a sigil stone that will give him fortify magicka 50, vs. a grand soul's 24... but that doesn't do him a lot of good if he's like level 5. Or just not level 17, heh. Though, if he's above level 9, the right sigil stone will net him 30 magicka.
OP, if you're above level 9, and feel like seeking out a sigil stone (if you even know what we're talking about), you can do as Pandamatak suggests, and save before picking it up, checking to see if it has a fortify magicka effect, and if doesn't, re-loading and picking it up again. You can then enchant your item with the stone, without even worrying about an alter/ cost/ buying a spell/ being able to cast said spell.

[imsorrisuck]

About grand gems being the best, no. Sigil stones can be up to twice as good.

Neither are "the best".

Sigil stones for single affects tend to top out at a higher efficacy than soul gems yes, but, they're restricted to their single affect, and they're leveled. So it doesn't do him a lot of good if he's at a low level. Yeah at level 17 he can get a sigil stone that will give him fortify magicka 50, vs. a grand soul's 24... but that doesn't do him a lot of good if he's like level 5. Or just not level 17, heh. Though, if he's above level 9, the right sigil stone will net him 30 magicka.
OP, if you're above level 9, and feel like seeking out a sigil stone (if you even know what we're talking about), you can do as Pandamatak suggests, and save before picking it up, checking to see if it has a fortify magicka effect, and if doesn't, re-loading and picking it up again. You can then enchant your item with the stone, without even worrying about an alter/ cost/ buying a spell/ being able to cast said spell.

Ok and I get them by closing the gates?

So I wanna do +magica for all my enchantments? No shields? Just make a +100 shield spell?

[imsorrisuck]

About grand gems being the best, no. Sigil stones can be up to twice as good.

Neither are "the best".

Sigil stones for single affects tend to top out at a higher efficacy than soul gems yes, but, they're restricted to their single affect, and they're leveled. So it doesn't do him a lot of good if he's at a low level. Yeah at level 17 he can get a sigil stone that will give him fortify magicka 50, vs. a grand soul's 24... but that doesn't do him a lot of good if he's like level 5. Or just not level 17, heh. Though, if he's above level 9, the right sigil stone will net him 30 magicka.
OP, if you're above level 9, and feel like seeking out a sigil stone (if you even know what we're talking about), you can do as Pandamatak suggests, and save before picking it up, checking to see if it has a fortify magicka effect, and if doesn't, re-loading and picking it up again. You can then enchant your item with the stone, without even worrying about an alter/ cost/ buying a spell/ being able to cast said spell.

Ok and I get them by closing the gates?

So I wanna do +magica for all my enchantments? No shields? Just make a +100 shield spell?

I'll wait till I'm level 17 to get those That way I get the best possible

[Akiraka]

Ok and I get them by closing the gates?

Yup :]

So I wanna do +magica for all my enchantments? No shields?

Yes, definitely.

Just make a +100 shield spell?

That may prove a little difficult. At journeyman Alteration, you'll be able to make a shield 50 points for 20 seconds. But, really, as a mage, your main goal should be never to get hit. Between invisibility, chameleon, frenzy, command, demoralize, etc., Illusion magic should help you amply in that endeavor.
Oh, and you won't want shield 100% anyway. The highest the game will actually let your shield get is 85%, even if you're wearing more than that in enchantments/ armor.

[imsorrisuck]

Ok and I get them by closing the gates?

Yup :]

So I wanna do +magica for all my enchantments? No shields?

Yes, definitely.

Just make a +100 shield spell?

That may prove a little difficult. At journeyman Alteration, you'll be able to make a shield 50 points for 20 seconds. But, really, as a mage, your main goal should be never to get hit. Between invisibility, chameleon, frenzy, command, demoralize, etc., Illusion magic should help you amply in that endeavor.
Oh, and you won't want shield 100% anyway. The highest the game will actually let your shield get is 85%, even if you're wearing more than that in enchantments/ armor.

Ok great! Thanks for all your help. I'm still new so when would Frezny, chameleon and demoralize come into play?

[imsorrisuck]

Ok and I get them by closing the gates?

Yup :]

So I wanna do +magica for all my enchantments? No shields?

Yes, definitely.

Just make a +100 shield spell?

That may prove a little difficult. At journeyman Alteration, you'll be able to make a shield 50 points for 20 seconds. But, really, as a mage, your main goal should be never to get hit. Between invisibility, chameleon, frenzy, command, demoralize, etc., Illusion magic should help you amply in that endeavor.
Oh, and you won't want shield 100% anyway. The highest the game will actually let your shield get is 85%, even if you're wearing more than that in enchantments/ armor.

Wait but I do want to use a shield spell for if I am fighting in close area's and can't run away. Something to take some damage on myself.

[Akiraka]

Wait but I do want to use a shield spell for if I am fighting in close area's and can't run away. Something to take some damage on myself.

As a last defense, yes, shield directly reduces the damage you take by a % equal to the magnitude of the spell. I.e, a 50 point shield spell reduces the weapon damage you take by 50%. Note, however, that it will not reduce magic damage, or fall damage and the like. Only melee and arrow damage. It would also be easier to snap on an invisibility spell and just book it, because generally enemies will lose track of your character the moment the invisibility spell goes up.

Ok great! Thanks for all your help. I'm still new so when would Frezny, chameleon and demoralize come into play?

Frenzy can be cast rather cheaply at range on a group of enemies to increase their likelihood of ignoring you and fighting each other (this pairs very well with invisibility).

Chameleon is like improved invisibility, in that you can continue to cast spells, attack, activate objects, etc. and you will remain invisible (normal invisibility wears off when you take an action besides moving), however, chameleon is very, very expensive. Short duration invisibility spells will serve you well as you move about the battlefield.

Demoralize does the opposite of frenzy; rather than fight you or each other, affected monsters and NPCs (note there is a separate spell for undead) will simply run away from you for the spell's duration. This pairs well with destruction spells and poisons that do little damage over a long period of time.

You can purchase many of these spells from the Bravil mages, namely Ita Rienus. She also sells the very useful, though expensive paralyze spell. One thing you can do though is buy the lowest level version, so you can create a 1 second in 10 feet ranged spell. Even though it only lasts for one second, affected enemies will still fall all the way to the ground, and then take a few moments standing up again.

Oh, and don't neglect conjuration! Any and all of these spells (especially, again, invisibility) pair perfectly with summoning a minion to attack while you sit back and watch while invisible, heal, sling destruction spells, etc.

[whoman69]

If you're going straight mage, I wouldn't worry too much about shield. You're not supposed to get hit if you do it right. I would work on resistance instead. Sigil stones offer better options at higher levels than even grand soul gems, but you may have more options with enchanting depending on your spells.

[Logius]

You won't always be able to avoid taking damage, however. As a just-in-case measure I would carry a sword or other weapon on you at all times. I say this because unlike armor or shields a weapon doesn't take away from your spell effectiveness but it can block incoming attacks.

Unlike most others I would recommend you enchant/find some items with shield spells, though. Especially early on in the game it can help reduce the amount of times you'll find yourself in trouble. Also, train up your Alchemy skill and don't be afraid to carry lots of self-made health/magicka restorative potions - at least 20 to 30 of each. If you need an extra boost during combat, just drink two or three at a time. Even early on that'll help restore your character pretty quickly.

[Akiraka]

You won't always be able to avoid taking damage, however. As a just-in-case measure I would carry a sword or other weapon on you at all times. I say this because unlike armor or shields a weapon doesn't take away from your spell effectiveness but it can block incoming attacks.

The shield will only dampen spell effectiveness if it's equipped with a one-handed weapon. An easy way to gain a free enchantment is to enchant a Fur Shield and equip it, but to use a weapon that takes both hands. I like hybrid classes, so I use a claymore, hah, but a more pragmatic choice for a full mage would simply be a staff.

[Burnasembers99]

Though I've never played a PURE mage too far, I have played a mage hybrid many times with a focus on magic. Illusion is your best friend, but until you can get those shweet Invisibility spells and the like, the basic Shield spell from Alteration as a major will do you well for the first few levels, as you *will* take damage from archers and when multiple enemies are on you. Shield is more of a warrior augment spell in my experience, so enchanting for it isn't all too useful as a pure mage.

And unfortunatly as a purist magicka user, you only have 4 options of clothing (Excluding jewelry) if you wear a robe, which I think has a better enchantment value though I wouldn't be so sure. Any armor ruduces magic effectiveness if you are not well skilled in that armor or the spell you wish to cast. It may be worth the effort to raise an armor skill a bit so you can one day take up a shield as an extra enchant slot.

One thing I found extremely useful when playing a "don't get hit" class early on is a dagger with Demoralize on it. I'm not sure if a Sigil Stone will have that effect or not, but a nice soul gem and a silver dagger or the likes will do just fine. Daggers are quick, so if something gets too close to comfort you can swipe em with the dagger quicker then getting off a spell, and they will make some distance.

If you are going from a warrior or stealth based class, a pure/heavy mage class is a whole new world that takes some practice. Once you get the hang of using Illusion, you will find the better uses for magic and wonder why the hell you never rolled this kind of class before. And I wouldn't skip Sigil Stones until 17, thats just poor judgement! Oblivion Gates are freakin' everywhere, you can't go from one town to the next without seeing at least 1. So plunder them. After awhile you will see that there are only like... 8 or 9 Oblivion Gate layouts, s you can start breezing through them with blinding speed. And they are also a wonderful place for higher level souls too, with each enemy usually the highest tier for your level, with exception of course.

[Vardark]

You won't always be able to avoid taking damage, however. As a just-in-case measure I would carry a sword or other weapon on you at all times. I say this because unlike armor or shields a weapon doesn't take away from your spell effectiveness but it can block incoming attacks.

One should note that carrying a shield does reduce your spell effectiveness. Since an enchanted shield affects you even when it's not drawn, you should absolutely have one, but you should not draw it. For your tactic to work, the sword would in other words have to be two-handed to prevent the shield from messing up your spells.