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ToddMcF2002
Leader of the Senate
Joined: 10 Jan 2005
Posts: 317
Location: Boston MA |
| More High Elf Mage (Mage Sign) Leveling Tips? |
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OK,
I created this guy and he has been OK so far, but I'm still a newbie and need a bit more help.
I started out with mainly destruction spells and "WillPower" had a multiplier when I levelled up. I'm trying to balance things out by using "Bound Dagger" now so "Intelligence" will have a multiplier for my next level up. I'm hoping that my small sword / dagger melee skill will rise as well?
I guess my question is this - is this the right approach for a Mage? Balancing Intelligence / Will Power and some Melee to back things up?
Some other questions - My experience so far is this:
I cleared out the accessable sections of the Dwarven Ruins near Balorma and got the key to the locked door there - and now I'm getting slaughtered. OK, so I'll go elsewhere and level up a bit first. So I rested and killed an assassin and got his armor.
Should I wear it? I have "Unarmored" as a major skill. I'm guessing I should sell it, its worth a pretty coin.
- Should I join the Mages guild?
- I bought "Summon Skeleton" but I've got a pretty crappy chance rating (32%) and it chews up all my Magika to get one.
Sorry for the blurr of thoughts - I just don't want to make bad decisions early on that will criple me later. Thanks!
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"For Innos!" |
Thu Jan 13, 2005 2:22 pm |
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ToddMcF2002
Leader of the Senate
Joined: 10 Jan 2005
Posts: 317
Location: Boston MA |
Jeesh nobody?
Well I made level 3 last night and upped my Intelligence and WillPower at X2. Kind of lame, I need to study the multiplier effect a bit better and avoid sleeping I guess. Kind of a pain. I'm leveling up too fast due to athletics. Is there a cap? Maybe it doesnt matter? I'm hoping the game doesnt punish me for leveling too fast with lower magic attributes.
One thing I'm perplexed on now - I have a Enchanted short blade with 50 charges. I used it and it went down to 7 charges left. Later I looked at it (maybe I rested?) and it was back at 50 but had some damage on it. How did it get back to 50??? How did it recharge??? I repaired it to get its condition back anyway.
I see only 5 people read my first post. Bummer. Is the community dead?
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"For Innos!" |
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Fri Jan 14, 2005 3:36 pm |
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cfmdobbie
High Emperor
Joined: 01 Jul 2002
Posts: 1859
Location: London, England |
| Re: More High Elf Mage (Mage Sign) Leveling Tips? |
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quote:
Originally posted by ToddMcF2002
I'm hoping that my small sword / dagger melee skill will rise as well?
You'll get better in any skill you successfully use. If you use Short Blade, then yes it'll get better. If you're not very proficient at that skill, it might take a while at first, and if the skill is one of your character's Misc skills, that'll cause things to go a little slower as well.
quote:
I guess my question is this - is this the right approach for a Mage? Balancing Intelligence / Will Power and some Melee to back things up?
Yes, that sounds good. But try not to get carried away with Intelligence/Willpower - a balanced character is better than a very tightly specialised one. In particular, a few extra points of Endurance at the start of the game will help out in the long run, and getting all your attributes except Luck up to at least 40 is always a good idea.
quote:
Should I wear it? I have "Unarmored" as a major skill. I'm guessing I should sell it, its worth a pretty coin.
Depends, really. Is your armour rating higher with it than without it? Look at the armour rating on your character, then put the armour on and check again. If your rating goes up, I'd keep it. You won't need more than one set, though - so if you happen to come across any more, sell it!
Alternatively, keep the piece that protects you the most (cuirass) and sell the rest. No point being a pauper if you don't need all your equipment!
quote:
- Should I join the Mages guild?
A noble guild, and also a good introduction to the area. Yeah, go for it.
quote:
Originally posted by ToddMcF2002
Jeesh nobody?
Hey now - give us a chance to respond! 
quote:
I'm leveling up too fast due to athletics. Is there a cap? Maybe it doesnt matter? I'm hoping the game doesnt punish me for leveling too fast with lower magic attributes.
That may be a problem. I always recommend taking Athletics and Acrobatics as Misc skills - they level very nicely on their own, and can overbalance things if you're not careful. However, it's not a wrong decision at all - you'll find they both get very useful at high levels.
There is a level cap, but not one you'll hit for a good while. It's different for every character (related to your starting skills) but is usually in the region of level 60-65. Even if you do hit it, there are ways to get around it!
quote:
How did it get back to 50??? How did it recharge??? I repaired it to get its condition back anyway.
Yep, enchanted items regenerate their charge slowly. As you use short blades, it might be worth carrying two enchanted weapons with you - when one runs out of charge, swap them over. The extra damage dealt is usually well worth the extra weight.
quote:
I see only 5 people read my first post. Bummer. Is the community dead?
Not dead, but a little slow. Morrowind's been around for quite a while now, and many people have moved on to other games, but there are still a few of us left! 
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Charlie Dobbie
=Member of The Nonflamers' Guild=
=Moderator of the Morrowind/Oblivion Forums= |
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Sat Jan 15, 2005 12:33 am |
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ToddMcF2002
Leader of the Senate
Joined: 10 Jan 2005
Posts: 317
Location: Boston MA |
I'm definately a bit worried about this athletic issue. Its a misc skill but it is constantly going up because I'm walking/running everywhere. It is the driving force behind my leveling up while my Magic progress is lagging behind - even though I'm using it constantly. At my last 2 level ups, I had a 5x multiplier on speed and 2x multipliers on Will Power, Strength and Intelligence.
If I level up with only 2x multipliers there - will my character be too weak? How exactly does the game work? Does it scale the opponents based on my level or are the opponents fixed like most games?
I liked the leveling system at first but now I'm thinking its somewhat flawed. I shouldnt be punished for exploring on foot.
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"For Innos!" |
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Sat Jan 15, 2005 3:18 am |
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cfmdobbie
High Emperor
Joined: 01 Jul 2002
Posts: 1859
Location: London, England |
Yes, I consider the Athletics/Acrobatics issue a flaw as well. It was also present in Daggerfall, so I find it pretty amazing that Bethesda didn't find a way to fix it in Morrowind. I guess we wait for Oblivion! 
The game scales challenges based on your level - a level 20 warrior with a Firey Sword of Smiting and 5x bonuses on each level-up faces the same random encounters as a level 20 mage whose spent his days eating plants and reading books. The basic idea is that everything you do prepares the character for the future - whatever it is, it's experience.
You have two options, and they are pretty diametrically opposed: stick with the character, or make a new one.
Elder Scrolls games do one thing better than any other game I've played - they allow you to design exactly the character you want to play. Morrowind isn't a very hard game, and people who go into it seeking a huge challenge or a spectacular ending are invariably disappointed - and that's because they've misunderstood the point of the game: making a character you like to play, and taking them through the world. So the two pieces of advice break down to the following:
If you like the character, stick with it! Put aside your concerns about levelling too fast, and instead make speed and agility part of your character's idiom. The game will pass at whatever rate you like - if something's too hard for now, avoid it and come back later.
Or, if you don't like the character, make a new one! You should never be afraid of throwing a character away and making a different one - designing a new character and seeing how they cope with the world is half the fun of the game. There's no point running through the game with a character you're not happy with.
So, those are the options. Which is it to be, adventurer?
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Charlie Dobbie
=Member of The Nonflamers' Guild=
=Moderator of the Morrowind/Oblivion Forums= |
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Mon Jan 17, 2005 7:21 pm |
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mazu
Protector of the Realm
Joined: 21 Nov 2004
Posts: 251
Location: Desert Camp |
I played for a while as a Dunmer mage but i got tired because i was more familiar with the one hit one kill long blade stuff. The spells are kind of powerful but i got killed by someone all the time because i'm not a very good mage.
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I really, really tried to figure out something clever here like "Life is a waterfall" and artistic stuff like that but no! I still cannot figure out a signature arrrr yarrr! Me bucko! Pirates! |
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Mon Jan 17, 2005 7:45 pm |
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ToddMcF2002
Leader of the Senate
Joined: 10 Jan 2005
Posts: 317
Location: Boston MA |
Thanks for the feedback guys.
After some marathon gaming I made level 8 Magic Guild 'Magician'.
I've got a few problems I'm trying to sort out.
1. Magika. I've made some pretty powerful spells that have helped out alot but I never seem to have enough magika. I kill a few tough guys and I need to sleep. I need to create a reserve via potions I think, but I havent quite figured out the recipe.
2. Soul Gems. I've got a bunch now - general, petty, major Jems etc. I have been casting the "Trap Soul" spell - enemies have been running around with smoke trails I'm assuming are the spell effects. When I kill them (under 60 seconds) nothing happens. None of the jems in my inventory seem affected and I cannot equip them. I'll try again tonight but its pretty frustrating!
3. Money. I've got a Soul Trap sword worth 11,000 and nowhere to sell it. I need more cash to buy potions and spells but this damn game is so stingy.
4. Gold in loot. Where is it??? More junk I can't sell. Errrr!
Overall, I'm definately having a love/hate relationship with this game.
On the negative side - I could Fireball the designer who thought Cliff Racers were a good idea. In fact, the respawns on travel routes I've cleared are a major annoyance. I wan't to get from A to B to clear something out, not get pummelled trying to get there. Mages are pretty imbalanced due to low Magika. The default spells you can buy are for the most part useless. Conjuring is kind of useless too - the conjured minion just isnt very effective and costs a ton of Magika.
On the positive side - the exploration and design is fantastic. I've gotten over the somewhat poor NPC dialog issue and now I'm really immersed. The buildings, weather and landscape are incredible. The Magic Guild quests have been a blast and I really like advancing. The main plot I've only touched but its pretty interesting. Freedom of exploration is fantastic.
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"For Innos!" |
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Tue Jan 18, 2005 1:57 pm |
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gdgrimm
Keeper of the Gates
Joined: 21 Apr 2003
Posts: 110
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| Re: More High Elf Mage (Mage Sign) Leveling Tips? |
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Some of my views don't seem to correspond well with cvmdobbie's, but anyway...
First of all, are you sure you're a Mage class? You can increase Athletics on a Mage by 50 points and it won't make you go up even 1 level as a Mage. Misc. Skills have no effect on when leveling up occurs, only Major/Minor skill improvements drive the level up process.
quote:
Originally posted by ToddMcF2002
I guess my question is this - is this the right approach for a Mage? Balancing Intelligence / Will Power and some Melee to back things up?
Yes, I think you are. When I played my Mage I focused on Int., Willpower, and Speed -- the three attributes associated with all the Major/Minor skills of a Mage. It worked well.
quote:
Some other questions - My experience so far is this:
I cleared out the accessable sections of the Dwarven Ruins near Balorma and got the key to the locked door there - and now I'm getting slaughtered. OK, so I'll go elsewhere and level up a bit first. So I rested and killed an assassin and got his armor.
The UESP site has a very nice run down of all quests. It also includes recommended levels for doing each part of the main quest. For the first Dwarven Ruin it recommends level 2 (http://www.uesp.net/morrow/quest/mq_caius1.shtml). Mages are hard to play, especially very early in the game and be somebody new to the game. So I'd double the level recommendation if I were you. After you get to level 4 or so, come back to the dungeon and should be much easier.
Also, the dungeon is quite a bit bigger than just the part you need to go through to complete the main quest mission. Most of the characters I used weren't good enough to completely clear the dungeon until mid-game. A level 4 High Elf Mage would find the deeper parts of the dungeon pretty tough.
quote:
Should I wear it? I have "Unarmored" as a major skill. I'm guessing I should sell it, its worth a pretty coin.
I'd recommend selling it, and then using the money to buy Mage things -- alchemy stuff, spells, a good Jinx Blade, and maybe some training..
quote:
- Should I join the Mages guild?
Definitely!! The easiest way to learn how to be a good Mage is to work with other mages. You may also consider joining house Telvanni - they're spell casters, too.
quote:
- I bought "Summon Skeleton" but I've got a pretty crappy chance rating (32%) and it chews up all my Magika to get one.
As you improve Conjuration, that spell chance will increase. You may have to stick with the Ancestor Ghost spell for a bit. IRT Magika, you need to get your Int. up. For a High Elf Mage with Mage sign, each point of Int will increase your Magika by about 4 or 5, IIRC. Also, higher Int will make it easier to raise Conjuration
quote:
Sorry for the blurr of thoughts - I just don't want to make bad decisions early on that will criple me later. Thanks!
It's really not possible to cripple a character. With some characters you may need to be higher level for some quests, but that's an easy thing to do. |
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Tue Jan 18, 2005 7:35 pm |
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ToddMcF2002
Leader of the Senate
Joined: 10 Jan 2005
Posts: 317
Location: Boston MA |
Thanks gdgrimm - if you read my most recent post I've been playing it fairly consistent with what you've said - in the Mages Guild as Magician at level 8.
One thing I'm considering trying tonight - is selling that soul trap sword and doing alchemy to raise cash to
train the heck out of Marksman. The logic there is to use Bound Long Bow. I'm thinking that might help protect Magicka reserves and boost intelligence during travel - not to mention take out those Cliff Racers without taking annoying losses.
I thought it might be a strategy that is consistent with Conjuring in the long run. I've got some powerful (60+ damage) Fire and Frost spells but the splash damage (with fire) is pretty severe taking out everything including the conjured. Arrows are precise. Also, being an elf, it seems like decent rollplay.
Doing some research today I realize the error of my ways regarding the Soul Trap - can't do NPCs.
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"For Innos!" |
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Tue Jan 18, 2005 8:06 pm |
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gdgrimm
Keeper of the Gates
Joined: 21 Apr 2003
Posts: 110
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Alchemy is a good way to raise cash and Intelligence. That IS one that you don't want to get to unbalanced with, though. It's pretty easy to run up the Alchemy skill. It'll help push Intillence (a good thing) but if you run up Alchemy 50 or 60 points without increasing any of the other Mage skills, you'll end up with a higher level Mage facing tougher creatures but not having the Mage skill set needed to deal with them (unless you figure out a few good potion based tactics). But if you keep the Alchemy improvements down to 3 or 4 per level up, it won't be a problem.
Marksman is more of a Wood Elf (Bosmer) thing than a High Elf, but go for it, if you like. Marksman improvements won't help you level up, though.
As you've found out, choose spells wisely after conjuring a creature. You don't have many choices early on, but when you conjure a skeleton, stick to the Frost attacks. Skeletons are quite resistant to them, so they are less damaged by the area attack. It's especially important to avoid situations like summoning a Skeleton to help fight a Dunmer NPC (which is what about half of the NPCs are), then casting Fire spells -- Dunmer are very resistant to Fire, so you end up wiping out your ally and hardly hurting your opponent at all. 
In the mid to late game, you can start conjuring the different Atronarchs (Fire/Frost/Storm) and can choose the ally and range spells that are most devastating to your opponents weaknesses.
My mage actually found all the mud crabs and racers fairly helpful. They made for good Unarmored and Blunt Weapon (I customized my Mage to use Blunt Weapon rather than Short Blade) practice -- bashing it out toe to toe with leveled creatures doesn't work for a mage, so it was nice having smaller prey to practice on. They also provide ample opportunity to trap souls and recharge enchantments to improve the Enchant skill, and the Racer Plumes make for wonderful Levitate potions. |
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Tue Jan 18, 2005 9:00 pm |
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ToddMcF2002
Leader of the Senate
Joined: 10 Jan 2005
Posts: 317
Location: Boston MA |
You are probably right about the bow.
What do you enchant? Your mace? I'm trying to avoid close quarter fighting since my guy gets clocked so easily - so I've created Frost (40 to 40 @ 20 ft) and Fire (60 to 60 @ 15 ft). Not sure what to enchant!
I could use the cash I'll raise to buy a better barrier or customize a shield spell and skip the Bow concept. It sucks there is no magic missle - nice and precise  . I could spend the rest training Conjuring which is currently at 43 or so, maybe buy Bound Boots to up speed.
Dunno. Just don't want to be so fragile. For example - using my high power Fire spell I killed the guard in the Foreign Quarter Vivec Sewer that was guarding a door - but inside the door was quite a different story.
Can you fight behind a Barrier spell like you can with shield?
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"For Innos!" |
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Tue Jan 18, 2005 9:20 pm |
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gdgrimm
Keeper of the Gates
Joined: 21 Apr 2003
Posts: 110
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quote:
Originally posted by ToddMcF2002
You are probably right about the bow.
What do you enchant? Your mace? I'm trying to avoid close quarter fighting since my guy gets clocked so easily - so I've created Frost (40 to 40 @ 20 ft) and Fire (60 to 60 @ 15 ft). Not sure what to enchant!
I could use the cash I'll raise to buy a better barrier or customize a shield spell and skip the Bow concept. It sucks there is no magic missle - nice and precise . I could spend the rest training Conjuring which is currently at 43 or so, maybe buy Bound Boots to up speed.
Dunno. Just don't want to be so fragile. For example - using my high power Fire spell I killed the guard in the Foreign Quarter Vivec Sewer that was guarding a door - but inside the door was quite a different story.
Can you fight behind a Barrier spell like you can with shield?
The Enchant skill is often overlooked in Morrowind. It'll never get high enough to allow you to make anything enchanted. This often makes people think the skill is useless. But I'd disagree with them.
Enchanted items (say a Jinx Blade) have a charge, say 50. The items charge works like a character's Magika. Each time the item's spell is cast, a certain number of enchant points gets deducted. Overtime, they recharge on their own, or can be recharged from a Soul Gem
But how much gets deducted and how quick it recharges is controlled by your Enchant skill. With a low enchant, you may burn 10 points every time you hit with the Jinx Blade and have it used up in 5 whacks. With a higher Enchant skill, you may only burn 5 points with each hit, and be able to do 10 whacks. That's where the Enchant skill pays off most.
It'll also help you use filled Soul Gems to recharge the more powerful enchanted items (like the Steel Blade of Heaven) which burn hundreds of enchant points each cast.
Bound Boots won't affect speed (IIRC). It just adds 'armor' to them. But I could be wrong on that.
Spells that you make always burn more Magika then ones you buy. So if you're having trouble with Magika levels, you may want to talk to as many spell merchants as possible and buy and use them whenever possible.
Ahhhh. So you've found the Daedric Shrine in Vivec. That's a killer for low level characters, and pretty tough for mid levels, too. You step in and are immediately attacked by 2 conjurors (who each summon something) and a sorcerer -- so you get outnumbered 5 to 1. Pretty ugly.
My Knight was able to hack and slash through it eventually, though I think he teleported out and healed once in the middle of the battle. My Witchhunter used a Scroll of Domination on one of the conjurors, cast Summon Skeleton, and then stayed out of everybody's way while he used his bow. That worked pretty well. The conjuror and his summoned creature both switched sides, so it quickly became 4 to 3 in my favor.
I don't think my assissin or mage ever went in. But if my assassin did, he'd turn into a werewolf and hack/slash through all of them easily - he's really high level. Not sure how my mage would handle it.
The spells sold as Barrier cast Shield. If you're a mage and you intend to get close, that's a VERY good spell to have up, since it acts like better armor, reducing damage when hit. Sanctuary is good to have up to, since it causes some melee attacks to miss completely. Chameleon I never found too useful in melee, but a good Blind at range spell cast before you get close will really turn the battle your way. You can make potions of Fire Shield, Frost Shield, etc, etc, which are similar to Shield, and add defense against elemental magic attacks. |
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Tue Jan 18, 2005 11:03 pm |
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ToddMcF2002
Leader of the Senate
Joined: 10 Jan 2005
Posts: 317
Location: Boston MA |
Thanks for the tips! I'm about to play so I'll report back how things went with Shield, boots etc.
Nice to know that the shrine is on the hard side of things - makes me feel better!
_________________
"For Innos!" |
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Wed Jan 19, 2005 12:24 am |
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ToddMcF2002
Leader of the Senate
Joined: 10 Jan 2005
Posts: 317
Location: Boston MA |
OK! Good 6 hours there  Best game session yet! Now level 12.
Bound Boots do indeed give you an extra 10 speed BTW. Nice and fast like a rabbit now at 60 with the boots.
I spent the night doing mixtures of:
- Alchemy for Boosting INT
- A little Conjuring training to get my skeletons without failure and boost INT
- Lots of good Destruction on Heavy Hitters combined with Conjuring
- Bound Short Sword action on Rats, Cliff Racers and stuff. Boosts melee effectiveness AND speed at the same time!
I found a ring of Constant Effect INT/WillPower +10. Big find!
My Intelligence and WillPower are nearing 100. My Short Sword Minor is getting very satisfactory at 45 (using Bound Short Sword +10) and boosting my speed big time.
So to NOT cheat I sold my 11,000 GP Soul sword for a measly 2,000 and the 5,000 GP 6th House Amulet of Drain Personality for 1,050. I also found a Bell Ringer Hammer (5,000 GP) and sold it for 2,000. I've started using Mark/Recall which is awesome. Thanks for that tip!
Wow. What a great night with alot of forward progress. I think I'm ready to get back to the main plot now. Well, maybe one more night of cave clearing and sword swinging Damn profitable without exploits!
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"For Innos!" |
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Wed Jan 19, 2005 6:27 am |
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Breton_mage
Head Merchant
Joined: 19 Jan 2005
Posts: 50
Location: Holland... Yeah where Peter Pan comes from..:D |
| I'll give you some tips!:P |
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Hi! i think i can help you with the problems u have at start...
So u want to get intelligence and willpower higher? Here's the tricks i learned!
Go to blamore to the fine alchemist. Buy ingredients from her untill you have very much of them. there is also a trick which makes her sell 100 of the ingredients u want so its faster but i wont spoil!
Ok if u got a lot of ingredients train your alchemy it's really handy (i think best skill in game) and u get lvls really fast. Then sell the potion u mad and buy ingredients again! after a while u even have a huge profit!!
2nd tip is that u sohuld make very easy spells of the skills u got so they only kost 1 mana they will have 100% and when u walk or anything just do them whole the time. But watch out with certain spells that you dont hit other ppl ! try spells like shield and things on touch and on self to be sure! 
cu! if u want to know the trick say it in forum or just mail me at reintjuh112@hotmail.com
Oh yeah im Breton and have only magic spells got an other char on lvl 65(wood elf) but MAGIC RULES!!!
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When the saga ends the spirit doesnt die.. when elder scrolls continues the saga i'll get addicted again |
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Wed Jan 19, 2005 8:07 am |
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