High-Level Mage vs Skuldafn (Skyrim)

Expert difficulty, take a shot every time you hear Fus Ro Dah.
Character was level 62. Health was 300 and Stamina was never upgraded. Don't remember the exact values for Magicka, but through a combination of gear and Elsweyr Fondue, it was somewhere around 700-800. Seeker of Sorcery power, Arch-Mage Robes and Mentor's Ring (through the free Fishing Creation) gave all spells a 35% discount while the Circlet of Destruction gave an additional 25% to that school. Also had Gloves enchanted with +60 Magicka. Amulet of Talos and Blessing of Talos provided a 40% Cooldown for Shouts.
The following relevant skill trees were pretty much maximized: Alteration, Restoration and Destruction. Had a Magic Resist of 45% and a Spell Absorption Chance of 30%.

[@MadastheHatter13]

Using the become ethereal shout to prepare master spells... I feel like such an idiot that I never thought of that.

[@lesser8531]

Become Ethereal tends to "eat" certain spells. Fire Storm and Mass Paralyze work, but something like Blizzard and armor spells will often just consume Magicka without doing anything. You have to time it for after the effect of the Shout ends.

[@aLazyFairy]

@@lesser8531thanks for this tip

[@tomaszpawlik5091]

my fav way of setting ritual spells up is the quick reflexes perk from block tree - proc the slow, move back a little and kamehameha poor shmucks away.

[@smillphy4756]

​@@lesser8531 is it fixed by the unofficial patch?

[@lesser8531]

@@smillphy4756 I play with the Unofficial Patch, so doesn't seem like it.

[@Kyle.Billie]

"Go cast your fancy spells some place else!" -Guard

[@grate9]

"Destruction magic's fine, just don't go around burning down houses."

[@josequiles7430]

This is peak magic gameplay

[@revolutionishere]

No tf it ain't.

[@zulz1g]

​@@revolutionishere pls direct me to the one that is, if this isn't. I'm not arguing with you or anything.. just want to watch the video.

[@We_Have_Dragons]

@@revolutionisheresure pal.

[@servus_incognitus]

A lot of people are surprised to see Become Ethereal + Master Spell, but what really got me was Paralyze + Fire Wall.

[@AncientPoet]

Phenomenal, never really knew mage builds could be this badass. Great video man

[@silentj624]

Its takes patience and strategy.

[@BR-re7oz]

Problem is all that strategy and practice and know-how and it's still inferior to sword and board melee builds.

[@elegastboomverzorging810]

Cool to see someone actually use wards

[@BR-re7oz]

They always break and I get staggered by every hit. I'm using steadfast ward but I'm level 100 so I'm guessing every enemy attack now just breaks the ward and staggers no matter what. Makes them useless, it's annoying because ward in one hand and destruction spell or sword in the other should be a good combo.

[@harrabiwassim]

@@BR-re7oz I believe you are using them wrong. They need to be cast slightly before they get attacked so they "stabilize" and can therefore resist attacks. You should have paid attention in school! Tolfdir explains this in the very first College lecture!!

[@jessesanchez9998]

way more badass then i thought it was going to be 🤣

[@tobiaskadachi]

I probably never used half of Skyrim's magic (wards, alteration buffers, illusion, command daedra)

[@kingpingheedorah]

8:56 this moment was pure comedy

[@justinhill8280]

Tolfdir would be proud Also, that paralyze/wall of fire combo is really badass

[@silentj624]

You were just playing with those draugr and I LOVE it. My mage heart really enjoyed this video.

[@justplay2508]

Getting is those big fire scrolls early is actually really good

[@Cyrus_II]

Usually people are terrible at skyrim on youtube so this is refreshing.

[@funevids9683]

“No, I’m not a rebel you can’t do this!”

[@silentj624]

It takes more patience. I think thats why a lot of people avoid it.

[@The_radiodemon.]

So you know some spells should I be impressed -Guard

[@Parable_One]

"Remember, fireballs. You can never go wrong." -Festus Krex Jokes aside that was some great casting. Even though menuing is super annoying, mage is still my favorite way to play Skyrim. Cheers.

[@juhakeranen3225]

True mastering of ways of magic happens in legendary difficulty just saying

[@tomascernak6112]

Magic does not scale without mods, so it will be just even more annoying and tedious. Fact is, that without mods or exploits becoming mage with level over 60 extremely annoying. And over 80 unplayable.

[@silentj624]

​@@tomascernak6112speak for yourself. Ive only ever played vanilla and thoroughly enjoy my mage builds

[@periwinkle6676]

@@tomascernak6112Which sucks though. Playing as a mage in RPGs are my favorite but in Skyrim there's very few sources for boosting spell damage. There's perks that boost specific elements for at most 50%, then there's the fear spell perk glitch that improves fire attacks, there's potions, and there's two DLC masks. Which even combined doesn't do much in comparison to weapons that get a ton more (perks that give 100%, leveling up the skill improves damage while spells only get cost reduction, multiple armor pieces to improve damage with enchantments, potions, etc.). And like you said it becomes unplayable at higher levels due to piss poor damage. That's why for my mage runs, I never go past level 30.

[@ArthurHenrique-wb1ni]

@@periwinkle6676 U can just use a potion u know.... without any bug u can reach like +200% fortify destruction, which is enough to make mages playable

[@banaburalardamemoliderler4780]

this was the most impressive mage gameplay i have ever seen

[@Tostadaquemada1]

As a mage i love this video🔥

[@gojiberry7201]

Really good magic demo for sure!

[@yolkonut6851]

I am only surprised you didn't go full loot goblin mode after every kill

[@mnsrat5102]

This is so badass!! I always wanted to be a mage but it is so hard for me😅 You are really good!

[@user-wg7kn4ih9n]

This was awesome...earned a sub!

[@TheNitoGaming]

The only but I would give to this gameplay is the lack of vanish daedra vs enemy's atronachs.

[@Cornerguy007]

@lesser idk if you'll see this but damn man this really inspired me to start a new pure mage gameplay like you are. would be great to know how long it took you to make this build

[@DarthGandalftheBlack]

Wow… never have I seen such use of magic in Skyrim in my decade of playing 😱😱 Masterclass…

[@LycaonpictusGaming]

Pretty badass man!!

[@puddingface1902]

Awesome video. On PC it would be even more fun cause of the hot keys.

[@Khajiit_Assassin]

Oh, a mage who uses magical combat techniques, my respects 😼

[@thisisnotthechannelyourelo407]

It's funny the dragons have to land to play the death animation, it would have been really funny if they just ragdoll'd out of the sky like crashing fighter jets that ended in an elemental explosion 😂

[@OK-ws7ti]

my first ever character back in 2012 was a kajhit mage... this brings me back

[@HittokiriBattousai17]

Imagine having a lightningbolt channeled deathray that does less damage than 1 arrow.

[@TTSP907]

What?

[@obito7266]

I started as a mage and wanted to be like this but ended up being a dual wielding berseker 😐

[@Thoregor]

Even as nerfed as it is in Skyrim in comparison to the older entries, magic is still so cool.

[@boowoho762]

nice man

[@p4r4d0x3]

8:30 "mines bigger."

[@danielbr2310]

HARRY, YOU'RE A MAGE

[@divineintellect6420]

Yeah, but have you ever tried legendary dragonbone warhammer and elemental furry?

[@horsymandias-ur]

I wish poison had a greater effect in this game

[@clydealinas1914]

So excited to use a mage build on my 2nd playthrough

[@martyrsaint]

Ever think of pumping up enchantments? Without bugging out the game you can get quite a few good replacements for things like archmage’s once you unlock two enchantments per item

[@lesser8531]

One rule I had for this playthrough was to avoid Enchanting (apart from the gloves that had Fortify Magicka on it). I wanted an excuse to use unique gear and player-enchanted stuff tends to be way above the pre-existing stuff.

[@Ji-oo1tt]

@@lesser8531 this was cool to watch. i'm doing a mage build too, just got miraaks stuff the other day for a full 100% magic absorption restructo build. cheesiest i got was making a bonehawk amulet with fortify destro/resto by 28% and vampire boots for muffle and 75ish carry weight.

[@Delfano_Kados]

@@lesser8531what I’m sayyyin enchantment is cool and all but if you don’t use it it makes you have to use stuff you rarely use

[@hidden2world894]

Just learnt today that command daedra works on atronaches.

[@jacobover3933]

In a game I thought I k ew everything about ESPECIALLY THE MAGIC I learned several things!

[@buditmo]

what mods that make u can use a helmet while wearing arch mage robe?

[@lesser8531]

The Unofficial Patch adds a set of Arch Mage Robes without a hood to the Arch Mage Quarters. It was apparently meant to be in an unmodded game too, but the devs mistakenly added an NPC-specific tag to it.

[@SirEliteGrunt]

What ring were you using? All my pure mages like the Ring of the Erudite

[@lesser8531]

Mentor's Ring from the free Fishing Creation.

[@SirEliteGrunt]

@@lesser8531 oh I never thought about that ring before. What’s in your head slot?

[@lesser8531]

@@SirEliteGrunt Generic Circlet of Peerless Destruction (25% Fortify Destruction).

[@ethanbremner3356]

You can make Mage viable on legendary with alchemy potions increasing your damage and such

[@Sheeshening]

What level are you? What are your magicka and health values?

[@lesser8531]

Level was 62. Health was 300 and Stamina was never upgraded. Don't remember the exact values for Magicka, but through a combination of gear and Elsweyr Fondue, it was somewhere around 700-800. Arch-Mage Robes and Mentor's Ring (through the free Fishing Creation) gave all spells a 25% discount and the Circlet of Destruction gave an additional 25% to that school. Had an Amulet of Talos and Blessing of Talos for a 40% Shout Cooldown too.

[@lesser8531]

Oh yeah, also had the Secret of Sorcery Power from one of the Black Books for a total of 35% spell cost reduction for all schools.

[@Sheeshening]

@@lesser8531 yeah makes sense, looked like some insane pools. My expert difficulty mage experience is a whole lot of dying within a few hits and being out of magicka a lot at lower levels

[@The_radiodemon.]

The dragon priest is easy the trick is just to kill him before his walking animation is over

[@nyutas9818]

In my opinion, expert difficulty is the best for mages. Not too easy and not too hard.

[@xKingLx]

Me summoning a couple dremora lords and shouting dragons to the ground cause I got a golf game with the jarl balgruff in like 2 hours, but this is cool. LOL. kidding, good video.

[@YourFellowDovahkiin]

What level? I dot think you have conjuration up that much

[@Dyshnilaaa]

Are you a magician and you don't have a skuUI mod?! Why?

[@cloudexstrife1309]

how come you have a faster shouts cooldown?

[@lesser8531]

@Pietro.52 Actually no, it's the Blessing and Amulet of Talos together for a 40% cooldown. Under the effects of Dragon Aspect, it's even faster.

[@andreasherg]

I never thought about actually using all schools of magic at once, i only enchant all my gear to give me 100% magicka cost reduction to two schools and never level Magicka, only Health and some Stamina xD I also never use wards because they are so expensive. But i guess a basic mage playthrough with some planning is pretty cool. What is your gear and your rough perk choices?

[@lesser8531]

Character was level 62. Health was 300 and Stamina was never upgraded. Don't remember the exact values for Magicka, but through a combination of gear and Elsweyr Fondue, it was somewhere around 700-800. Seeker of Sorcery power, Arch-Mage Robes and Mentor's Ring (through the free Fishing Creation) gave all spells a 35% discount while the Circlet of Destruction gave an additional 25% to that school. Also had Gloves enchanted with +60 Magicka. Amulet of Talos and Blessing of Talos provided a 40% Cooldown for Shouts. The following relevant skill trees were pretty much maximized: Alteration, Restoration and Destruction. Had a Magic Resist of 45% and a Spell Absorption Chance of 30%.

[@andreasherg]

@@lesser8531 Very cool, i never play characters that far, i usually stop around level 30 when my build is done and i get bored and restart. Some Archmage dedication right here.

[@waylonp9862]

Nice

[@bard8903]

and people say that vanilla skyrim isn't fun

[@cavalcanti_]

your magicka regeneration is fast

[@lesser8531]

Arch-Mage Robes 100% + Regeneration Perks 50% + Elsweyr Fondue 25% = 175% Magicka regen. That's only when out of combat though, in combat it's like three times slower.

[@zulz1g]

​@@lesser8531 is there any logical reason they need to do that? The slower regeneration during combat. Is it to make the game not too easy, to give more challenge? Genuine question.

[@lesser8531]

@@zulz1g No clue. The developers might have thought it would have been unbalanced.

[@zymethamp6596]

Now add Alchemy and 1 shot everything

[@JDotS.]

Damn it, I was hoping there was something better than the Arch-Mage robes later on. Very nice video though!

[@CarlosLopez-wr5iz]

So how much mana does everything cost

[@lesser8531]

All spells had a 35% cost reduction from the Arch-Mage Robes, Mentor's Ring and the Secret of Arcana Power. Circlet added an extra 25% cost reduction to Destruction spells.

[@superlex2000]

Wth is that giant Lazer beam

[@kingdomofediting8816]

It’s called ‘lightning storm’ and it’s a master level destruction spell meaning you need to do a quest before it is available in vendors

[@zzzzz426]

What ring is that??

[@lesser8531]

Mentor's Ring from the free Fishing Creation, 10% cost reduction for all spells.

[@yashsharmaji]

This video likes matches your subscriber count :)

[@tomaszpawlik5091]

firestorm 2 hit killed draugr deathlord at the 2 minute mark. How? Drank a potion before the video? Also you should try running through this place with sun spells, even legendary looks easy

[@lesser8531]

Fire Storm deals more damage at close range than the description states. There are three separate damage values for the spell with them getting lower as the the target is further away from the caster. At the edge of the blast, only the lowest tier of damage is dealt, at the center, all three are applied. For example, with Augmented Flames 2. Fire Storm is stated to have 150 damage, but it doesn't mention the lower damage values for further away targets, which are 112 and 75. At the center, all of the damage values are applied to the target, so a single cast dealt 337 (150+112+75) points of damage to the Deathlord. The lowest-tier Deathlords have 1000 health and I think that was the one in the video. The two casts of Firestorm were also augmented by the Necromage perk to have just enough damage to two-shot them.

[@tomaszpawlik5091]

@@lesser8531ah forgot about necromage. Base firestorm does 225, which goes to 337 and possibly 382 if you took aspect of terror in correct order - that wouldn't 2hko even on adept

[@videofudge]

High Elf is good.

[@silentj624]

I want to see a 2 handed build with no followers do this.

[@zeropolicy7456]

Well, this is on expert difficulty. So it's perfectly doable.

[@salamsoyar1340]

can you show ur build next

[@lesser8531]

I'll keep it in mind next time. As for the build in the video, the character was level 62. Health was 300 and Stamina was never upgraded. Don't remember the exact values for Magicka, but through a combination of gear and Elsweyr Fondue, it was somewhere around 700-800. Seeker of Sorcery power, Arch-Mage Robes and Mentor's Ring (through the free Fishing Creation) gave all spells a 35% discount while the Circlet of Destruction gave an additional 25% to that school. Had an Amulet of Talos and Blessing of Talos for a 40% Shout Cooldown too. The following relevant skill trees were pretty much maximised: Alteration, Restoration and Destruction. Had a Magic Resist of 45% and a Spell Absorption Chance of 30%.

[@zulz1g]

​@@lesser8531 Where did that Magic Resist 45% and Spell Absorption Chance 30% come from?

[@lesser8531]

@@zulz1g 45% Magic Resist came from a combination of the Alteration's Magic Resistance Perks and the Agent of Mara passive. The 30% Spell Absorption came from the Alteration's Atronach Perk.

[@H83M]

Console?

[@H83M]

Special edition?

[@lesser8531]

@@H83M Yes and Yes,

[@pilligrimium]

эффектно, но треть игры проводить в меню выбора заклинаний - сомнительное удовольствие, на базовые хоть бы хоткей юзал

[@dylantorres-brown5976]

Your Damage seems a bit low. I can get my Thunderbolts to do 540 damage without mods or exploits using custom Alchemy potions. Even more with Lightning Storm

[@lesser8531]

It was on Expert difficulty, so enemies received 25% less damage. I did hoard a crap-ton of generic pre-made Destruction potions but decided not to use them as swapping spells in the menu already slowed the game to a crawl.

[@KinslayerOfDoom]

Meanwhile, warrior: gets sword, shield and Dragonrend ready. 5 minutes later, everyone's dead.

[@rungus24]

Yeah, but have you ever tried going into sneak mode and using a bow and arrow?

[@FirstnameLastname-rc8yd]

I did a spit take just here lol

[@Raycheetah]

Pretty flashy. =^[.]^=

[@JohnDoe-fn7ml]

Hmmmm I have a thume every 3 minutes and a sword! How the Hell is this guy doing all this crap!?? Xbox 2000???

[@someordinaryduck]

hahahahahaha 8:59

[@3amerMQ]

tbh its boring to swap spells every 1 second XD

[@matakos22]

Idk man, skyrim combat just feels so uninteractive. The pausing to switch spell every second really throws the pace off compared to other games like Souls games. Great gameplay tho

[@lesser8531]

It's better on PC, consoles/controllers only have two hotkey slots.

[@tomascernak6112]

Souls games are japan shit style. No strategy, no battle IQ, just pushing several buttons in optimal time or sequence to get basically frenetic action. On other side of spectrum stands american shit style named D&D, which is basically turn-based strategy. Skyrim is combination of both worlds. You can play as stupid slasher Kratos or as supreme strategist like in Baldurs Gate. Your choice. There are mods, which greatly increase number of hotkeys, but honestly, even vanilla skyrim is using like 40 keys, if you have survival mods and QoL mods, it is increased to 50 and you are practically out of keys If you are not using keyboard with numpad (which many laptops does not have). From video you can see, how many different spells, shouts, gear groups and items high-level mage need. I can guarantee you that with 60-70 keys, you will be totally lost and you will never learn to fight dynamically. I know it, I tried it in Kerbal Space program, end eventually I abandoned that approach. if you are not autistic then it is impossible to do so. Btw. souls games are using like 15 keys. Compared to skyrim, it is really more console hack&slash game.

[@martyrsaint]

@@tomascernak6112lol you sound like you just hate fun. Shitting on Darksouls for being relatively straight forward and then turning right around and shitting on D&D and Baldur’s gate for being too complex.

[@tomascernak6112]

@@martyrsaint No, it is that you lack IQ to understand simple comment.

[@Castoriahusband]

Souls games are boing