Increasing magic attributes

Fanny Cradock

I was wondering the best way to level up on minor magic attributes. I've created a class that is basically a knight with some little adjustments. I want to be able to level up my minor skills - particularly alteration so i can get the "open" spell and mysticism so I can soul trap.

Currently, these are both in the low teens, and I think that 25 is the minimum to use most spells. It would seem to me that the only way of increasing the level is to train (expensive) or buy individual once off scrolls, which if I’m to go by the amount of times I have used heal on myself or fireball etc before a level up, would be impossibly expensive to achieve.


Thanks

funky penguin

For alteration, get a shield spell (or something simialr) and just continuously use it as you stroll around.

For any other attributes, do the same. Get a spell that you use on yourself and just keep using it. It won't work with spells like fireball, as they must make contact with an enemy for any experience to be gained.

Roen

What I did was find the cheapest, meanest, nastiest spell in the discipline I needed to train and just ran about the place spam casting it. For Mysticism I think I had minor detect life, I casted it until my magick was used up then hit T and rested for one hour, replenished my magick and started all over again.
For Alteration find a similarly cheap spell, but make sure that it's meant to be cast on yourself, not on an enemy.
If it's just a Soul Trap spell your are after just enchant an item with Soul Trap on strike and you won't have to worry about training up your Mysticism. And as for opening locks.....well there's a much easier way to go about that

Fanny Cradock

oh yeah??

this is the most frustrating part of the game for me.

Vegeta

Fanny Cradock wrote:

oh yeah??

this is the most frustrating part of the game for me.

yeah the minor detect life while not only being useful in dungeons is very cheap to cast so that'll do the trick

Yeah the game is very tough as a magic character only, i might try it at the end of the summer

No weapons, no armour just spells and enchanted clothing....HARDCORE

Mad Mike

If you are definitely not going to wear armour be sure and look out for gear with the shield enchantment. I play a light armor wearer and I picked up a ring and robe during my travels that had +18% shield each. I was amazed that wearing both of them (total +36% shield) seems to give similar protection against physical damage to a full set of Elven armor. A big plus of the enchantment is that it never wears out. The armor starts off great but degrades during a long fight.

Just to echo the words of previous posters - the best way to train magic is to use a really low level cheap spell that you can cast over and over again. Ther doesn't seem to be any advantage to using hard spells to train - youll just run out of mana more quickly.

Zillah

Roen wrote:

If it's just a Soul Trap spell your are after just enchant an item with Soul Trap on strike

You can only enchant spells you can cast.

superfly

you can soul trap creatures you summon
also to build up my sword and blunt skills i start picking fights with charaters that can't die but will go unconscious like Martin and when they wake up they are your friend again
does anyone else leap around like a fool building up their acrobatics?

Vegeta

hell yeah, i don't run anywhere i skip

funky penguin

I used to do that in morrowind, but I dont in oblivion. Don't know why, to be honest.

Vegeta

i just like the feeling, i think that i am moving faster and like some sort of acrobat gymnist ninja assasin

Sarn

If you work to get access to the Arcane university you can design spells to last for 1 sec only to boost your skills cheaply. Also, if you design a destruction spell but target yourself you can increase your destruction skill easily (not much fun though), just don't make it powerful!

Have to say, I've gone the shield enchanted clothing route, in addition to a helmet, shield (with shield) and gauntlets (to boost my armour skill).

Vegeta

Sarn wrote:

If you work to get access to the Arcane university you can design spells to last for 1 sec only to boost your skills cheaply. Also, if you design a destruction spell but target yourself you can increase your destruction skill easily (not much fun though), just don't make it powerful!

Have to say, I've gone the shield enchanted clothing route, in addition to a helmet, shield (with shield) and gauntlets (to boost my armour skill).

cool could you make a spell that damages and heals you on strike, that is a very good idea, will be doing that one.

Mad Mike

There is already a great spell in the school of restoration called absorb health. It grabs health off your opponent and gives it to you. It takes more mana than a pure damage spell from the school of destruction but a lot less mana than using a damage spell followed by a healing spell. For one on one fights this is awesome - allowing you to finish fights on full health while whittling your opponent down to zero. It doesn't work so well when going toe to toe with multiple opponents because they will probably damage you at a faster rate than you can heal. In this case my preferred method is to run around (God bless Speed) nuking the posse from a distance with area of effect spells.

Vegeta

no i meant a destructive spell (such as the fireballs) that strikes on self, it would take a small bit of health but help train destruction magic without having to hit an enemy. The second part of the spell would heal the tiny bit of health the destruction magic removed

if you played as a nord could you hit yourself with an ice based spell and still increase your destruction magic without taking any damage at all

Mad Mike

Aha - Now I see - you want to create a spell for power levelling. I must finish the mages guild recommendations so I can get into Uni to do some of this spellmaking myself.

Vegeta

Mad Mike wrote:

Aha - Now I see - you want to create a spell for power levelling. I must finish the mages guild recommendations so I can get into Uni to do some of this spellmaking myself.

DO IT...so handy

Mad Mike

I know, I know - its just too easy to get distracted in this game. I'm already at level 21 and I haven't finished any of the major quest series (unless you count the arena). I have decided to knuckle down for a bit though and complete the main quest - It just doesn't seem right to waste any more time finding people's lost wedding rings when the armies of Hades are massing to overwhelm us all.

funky penguin

Noooooooooooooo!!!! thats the whole point of the game! Get distracted! Go explore! As soon as you complete the main quest you get an empty feeling inside.

Well, I did anyway.

Zillah

True that. Once the main quest is finished it feels like a hollow mockery of a world.

Vegeta

Mad Mike wrote:

I know, I know - its just too easy to get distracted in this game. I'm already at level 21 and I haven't finished any of the major quest series (unless you count the arena). I have decided to knuckle down for a bit though and complete the main quest - It just doesn't seem right to waste any more time finding people's lost wedding rings when the armies of Hades are massing to overwhelm us all.

Don't man go around doing the other guild missions and every towns missions first, the lads are right, its not the same when the main quest is done

superfly

i have done the Arena, Mages quest, Dark Brotherhood quest and i'm halfway through the Fighters quests
the only reason i haven't gone further in the main quest is i'm stuck on the spies mission, i don't know where to find them, it says online that they are at a runestone called Hestra but i can't find it, any advice?

WhiteWashMan

i think ive finished all the other missions, and gave up around the 5th mission of the main quest.

havent gone back to it.

just like morrowind, got sucked in for about 6 weeks, and then suddenly gave up. bit like most of my relationships when i was at school really.
like sheila brookes when i was in 4 the year.... nevermind

WhiteWashMan

i think ive finished all the other missions, and gave up around the 5th mission of the main quest.

havent gone back to it.

just like morrowind, got sucked in for about 6 weeks, and then suddenly gave up. bit like most of my relationships when i was at school really.
like sheila brookes when i was in 4 the year.... nevermind

superfly

did she break your heart?

Vegeta

with a name like sheila brookes she sounds hot, maybe she could read the weather on some international television station......mmmmmmmm hot female weather readers. Sky news has like 2 of em

Mad Mike

Answer to Superfly's query

If this is the mission I think it is there are two spies. One is at a runestone (pointy up stone with green on it I think) half way between Bruma and Cloud Ruler Temple west of the road. The second is in the town - you have to talk to the captain of the guard who is in the barracks in the castle to find the second spy.

superfly

thanks for that Mike

Sarn

Vegeta wrote:

cool could you make a spell that damages and heals you on strike, that is a very good idea, will be doing that one.

Hmm, good idea, never thought of that. Wonder if you can put all the different schools in one spell and level all of them with one click.

Roen

Zillah wrote:

You can only enchant spells you can cast.

Not sure what you mean here but I have a sword that gives me Soul Trap on strike for 20secs. Not sure if I made it with a Sigil stone or in the Mages Guild.

Vegeta

if you want to enchant a weapon youself, you must first have learned/bought the spell.

You cannot put soul trap on a weapon in the mage's guild unless you have learned/bought the spell.

Roen

Ah, all cleared up now, cheers.

Zillah

I also thought that you had to be able to cast it. Which is much worse. You can buy Soul Trap 30 seconds but unless you have Illusion 50 you can't actually cast it.

But I've mostly forgotten by now...

Mad Mike

Yipee I got my last mages guild recommendation last night. Its off to Magic Uni for me. I just hope I don't bump into Harry Potter.

Vegeta

Mad Mike wrote:

Yipee I got my last mages guild recommendation last night. Its off to Magic Uni for me. I just hope I don't bump into Harry Potter.

congrats man, there are some nice benefits to being in the mages guild

superfly

yes the invisibilty spell is very handy
now where is Hermiones room again

Vodka Junkie

Mad Mike wrote:

I know, I know - its just too easy to get distracted in this game. I'm already at level 21 and I haven't finished any of the major quest series (unless you count the arena). I have decided to knuckle down for a bit though and complete the main quest - It just doesn't seem right to waste any more time finding people's lost wedding rings when the armies of Hades are massing to overwhelm us all.

The main quest is the last thing you want to do! Thats the ultimate challenge, the final task that's just over the horizon which everything else both builds up to and yet is meaningless by comparison. It's the challenge that hangs at the back of your conscience that always says "Right you may have a lot done, but you're still not finished yet." Don't take that away from yourself, You don't just owe it to you, but you owe it to Bethesda themselves to fully enjoy one of the greatest works of art there is in the gaming world....

Whoa I've been away from the game for way too long, didn't realise I missed it so much.