Skyrim: Mage Build Guide

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Mages are one of the toughest builds to execute properly in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. That's because the game hasn't done a great job at balancing magic in the long run. Spellcasters tend to fare well early into the game but struggle later on as their damage tanks compared to other builds like the classic stealth archer and even two-handed warrior.

With how much close-range combat is included in the game, it can also feel daunting to even attempt playing a mage. That being said, there's a way to make things work and to even feel empowered as a mage. While it's not as gratifying as playing a high damage stealth archer or a tanky warrior bashing through enemies, it requires a lot of planning and strategizing which can feel surprisingly rewarding in the long run. Here's how to get started on your mage journey.

Updated on August 5th, 2021 by Anastasia Maillot: Building the perfect mage continues to be a tough one in Skyrim, due to the persisting imbalance that magic suffers from in the game. There's a lot of information to go through when it comes to a mage build, which is why this guide is among the lengthiest.

Due to this, the Skyrim mage build guide has been made easier to follow and read, with spells, perks, gear and trainers, and such listed out conveniently. A few fixes regarding Illusion perks were also made.

The Best Races For A Mage In Skyrim

Here are four races that are ideal for a mage build in Skyrim, thanks to their unique abilities, starting skills, and passive effects.

Imperials

Imperials are a decent choice. They have a free Calm spell, the Voice of the Emperor, which they can use once per day. It calms everyone in the vicinity for 30 seconds and is fantastic for mages that generally want to avoid getting overrun by enemies. Imperials also get a 25 point starting skill rating in Restoration, making them great healers.

Dunmer

The Dunmer are another good choice. They start with 25 points in Destruction magic, which is by far the most useful and versatile school of magic. Their race power, Ancestor's Wrath, which surrounds them in flames for 60 seconds, is another great way to keep enemies at a distance.

Bretons

The Bretons are the second most solid choice for mages. Not only do they have a 25 percent magic resistance, which makes them strong even against other mages, but their unique ability Dragonskin allows them to drain 50 percent Magicka from enemy spells for 60 seconds. They make excellent conjurers as well, with 25 starting points in Conjuration magic.

Altmers

Altmers are the go-to choice here and by far the best. They get +50 Magicka right off the bat. Their special ability Highborn lets them regenerate 25 percent of their Magicka per second for 60 seconds once a day. Moreover, they start with 25 points in the Illusion school of magic.

The Best Mage Skills And Spells

All five schools of magic are extremely powerful, and it all comes down to your personal preferences and play style. However, the mage build suggested here for Skyrim is one that puts Destruction magic as the primary skill, and pairs it with two secondary skills, Conjuration and Alteration.

Primary School: Destruction

Destruction is your bread and butter when it comes to high damage spells, particularly Frost and Flames. Frost is handy as it incapacitates and slows enemies down, preventing them from getting close to you. Flames on the other hand deals devastating damage over time. Shock is generally considered the weakest and is only great against enemies who depend on Magicka.

Recommended Destruction Spells

Spell Level	Spell Name
Apprentice	Ice Spike Firebolt
Adept	Fireball Chain Lightning
Expert	Incinerate

Secondary Schools: Conjuration And Alteration

Paired with Destruction, it's recommended to invest in Conjuration. Mages are weak when fighting at close range, so you want to have distractions like conjurable entities that can tank the front line of the enemy while you stand back. Some of the best Conjuration spells like Conjure Atronach or Raise Zombie can quite literally save your life in a pinch.

For defense and pre-fight, there's Alteration. This will be your main way of protecting yourself through powerful spells like Oakflesh. Mages tend to be weak since they wear no armor, but Oakflesh, and its later version Ebonyflesh, will help you tank a bit more damage when things get sticky.

Recommended Conjuration and Alteration Spells

	Conjuration	Alteration
Novice	N/A	Oakflesh
Apprentice	Conjure Flame Atronach	Stoneflesh
Adept	Conjure Frost Atronach	Ironflesh
Expert	Conjure Dremora Lord	Ebonyflesh
Master	Dead Thrall	Dragonhide

Optional Paths: Illusion, Restoration, And Enchanting

Illusion is the school you can safely ignore, if you'd like. However, if you're into stealth and would like to challenge yourself to be a sneaky mage, it's worth it simply for the sake of the powerful Muffle spell.

When it comes to Restoration, it can also be ignored in favor of Alchemy. Alchemy is much more versatile as a skill, since it allows you to craft potions that can make you tankier and help you regenerate your Health and Magicka in tough fights. Moreover, when faced with fellow mages, you can use potions of Resist Magic to further protect yourself.

Recommended Illusion and Restoration Spells

	Illusion	Restoration
Apprentice	Muffle	Fast Healing
Adept	N/A	Close Wounds
Expert	Invisibility	Circle of Protection

Some mage builds can also incorporate Enchanting instead of Alchemy. This allows you to craft gear with specific resistances and regeneration rates, some of which can be immensely powerful. It's more a matter of preference when it comes to choosing between either of these two, but what's certain is that you should pick either Enchanting or Alchemy, since every build benefits from a crafting-type skill.

It's not recommended to invest in any of the armor skill trees, simply because the mage robes do not count as armor and would therefore make any invested points useless. Unless you're planning on making an armored mage (which is a valid option, too, but not as powerful in terms of Magicka), just focus on your choice of magic schools and either Alchemy or Enchanting.

The Best Mage Perks In Skyrim

Now that you have an idea of what skill trees to level, let's look at perks recommended for each skill tree. For Destruction, the entire perk tree is worth unlocking, especially the spell level perks. In the Conjuration perk tree, perks that allow you to cast your summons further and that extend the duration and damage of conjurable entities are key. The ones you can ignore are perks related to bound weapons.

For Alteration perks, the entire tree is worth unlocking, especially since casting Oakflesh once at lower levels is usually enough to bump your Alteration by one level. Restoration isn't generally worth your time.

For the two crafting skills, Alchemy and Enchanting, the former is the recommended route. Alchemy's best perk is without a doubt Alchemist. You can ignore the rest as a mage and just invest in the first perk in the entire Alchemy tree until you reach level 80 and can create powerful potions.

	Recommended Perks
Destruction	Impact: spells will stagger enemies. Rune Master: cast runes as a crowd control strategy. Augmented Frost: increases damage by 25 percent Flames I and Flames II: increases damage by 25 percent
Conjuration	Summoner: increases summoning range. Necromancy: undead summons last longer. Atromancy: atronachs and dremora remain twice as long. Twin Souls: have two summons at the same time. Elemental Potency: increases the health pool of summoned beasts. Dark Souls: increases the health pool of summoned beasts.
Alteration	Stability: spell duration increased by 50 percent. Magic Resistance: negates 30 percent of magic damage.
Illusion	Animage: spells work on higher-level animals. Kindred Mage: spells work on higher-level people. Quiet Casting: all spells are cast silently. Master of the Mind: spells work on dremora, Dwemer automatons, and undead.
Restoration	Recovery: regenerates Magicka 25 percent and then 50 percent faster. Regeneration: spells heal you 50 percent more. Necromage: all spells are more potent against undead.
Enchanting	Enchanter: enchantments are 20, 40, 60, 80, and finally 100 percent stronger. Insightful Enchanter: skill-based enchantments on armor are 25 percent stronger. Corpus Enchanter: Stamina, Magicka, and Health enchantments on armor are 25 percent stronger.

The Best Gear For Skyrim Mages

Mage builds in Skyrim are known for being squishy. Primarily, you'll rely on your robes, as well as various accessories like amulets, rings, and circlets. Basic robes won't be hard to come by, and after you join the College of Winterhold, you'll receive a set from Mirabelle.

In random loot, there are three types of enchantments you should look out for:

Fortify Magicka: increases your pool of Magicka.
Fortify Magicka Regen: increases the rate at which your Magicka regenerates.
Fortify School Of Magic: increases your skill in a specific school of magic, like Destruction, Alteration, Illusion, and so on.

There's also an array of unique gear that is ideal for mage builds in Skyrim.

Item Name	Stats	Location
Archmage's Robes	The robes make all spells 15 percent cheaper to cast and grant you +50 Magicka points and +100 percent Magicka regeneration.	Rewarded for finishing the College of Winterhold questline.
Mage's Circlet	The circlet boosts your Magicka up to 70 points.	Rewarded at the end of the College quest titled Good Intentions. For the best version, wait until level 25.
Savos Aren's amulet	Gives you 50 additional Magicka points.	Rewarded at the end of the College quest titled Containment.
Necromancer amulet	Gives 50 additional Magicka. Spells are 25 percent cheaper, but your Health and Stamina regenerate 25 percent slower.	Found during the Blood On The Ice quest in Windhelm.
Amulet of Julianos	Increases Magicka by 10 points.	Found as random loot.
Nahkriin	Increases Magicka by 50 points. Destruction and Restoration spells are 20% percent cheaper to cast.	Defeat the dragon priest guarding the entrance to Sovngarde.
Miraak	Increases Magicka up to 70 points.	Defeat Miraak in the Dragonborn DLC.
Helmet of the Old Gods	Increases Magicka by 30 points.	Complete the quest No One Escapes Cidhna Mine and side with Madanach.

Standing Stones And Shrines For Mages

Standing Stones and shrines can be helpful to add a few passive boosts to a mage build in Skyrim. However, some Standing Stones do come with negative side effects.

The Mage Stone is the safest option out of the three. It can be found early on in the game as you follow the cobblestone path out of Helgen towards Riverwood, next to the two other Standing Stones. To get the most out of the Divine shrines, praying at the shrine of Akatosh and Julianos are the best options.

Shrine or Standing Stone Name	Applied Buffs
The Apprentice Stone	+100 percent Magicka regeneration, but you're +100 percent weaker to Magicka.
The Atronach Stone	50 Magicka points and absorbs 50 percent of incoming spells, but Magicka regenerates 50 percent slower.
The Mage Stone	All magic-related skills level up 20 percent quicker.
Shrine of Akatosh	10 percent faster Magicka regeneration.
Shrine of Julianos	25 additional Magicka points.

The Best Mage Trainers And Factions In Skyrim

It's not easy to level up magic. Skyrim's mage builds, however, rely on leveling skills fast. Alteration, in particular, can be tricky, since casting a single spell like Oakflesh takes a lot of Magicka early on in the game and can therefore only be used once in a fight.

In addition to seeking out trainers, it's recommended to join the College of Winterhold. The College is the go-to faction for any pure mage characters and can help you get a headstart on learning a bunch of spells. All schools of magic are accessible at the College as well, which makes finding trainers much easier.

School of Magic	Trainers and Locations
Destruction	Faralda: at the College of Winterhold. Wuunferth the Unliving: court wizard of Ulfric Stormcloak, found upstairs in his palace. Sybille Stentor: court wizard of Jarl Elisif, found in Solitude's Blue Palace. Garan Marethi: exclusive to the Dawnguard DLC, found in Castle Volkihar.
Conjuration	Phinis Gestor: at the College of Winterhold. Falion: around Morthal, usually found at night. Runil: in Falkreath. Talvas Fathryon: exclusive to the Dragonborn DLC, found in Tel Mithryn.
Alteration	Tolfdir: at the College of Winterhold. Dravynea: in Kynesgrove.
Illusion	Drevis Neloren: at the College of Winterhold. Atub: in Largashbur orc stronghold.
Restoration	Colette Marence: at the College of Winterhold. Danica Pure-Spring: in Whiterun, at the Temple of Kynareth. Keeper Carcette: in Hall of the Vigilant, only if the Dawnguard DLC isn't active. Florentius Baenius: exclusive to the Dawnguard DLC, found in Fort Dawnguard. Aphia Velothi: exclusive to the Dragonborn DLC, found in Raven Rock.

The Best Combat Strategy For Mages In Skyrim

Even with the proper gear, the right perks, and skills, playing a mage is tough. The most common mistake is to take too much damage and not use your speed and range to your advantage. With no armor, you have high mobility but the disadvantage of being weak.

Always go in with a plan. Use pre-fight as a time to cast spells like Oakflesh and drink potions that boost your regeneration rate and resistances. Cast any Conjuration spells to ensure you have enough meat shields to protect you against close-range enemies.

Get a follower as well. The tankier, the better. Any member of the Companions, with the exception of Aela, is a great choice, since they're essential characters and will never die, and specialize in one-handed or two-handed combat, along with heavy armor. This, in combination with one or two summoned creators, allows you to distract your enemies while you stay in the back and cast your Destruction spells.

Area of effect spells are also immensely useful, as are scrolls. Runes, in particular, can allow you to control a fight effectively, especially when you get overwhelmed. Shouts like Unrelenting Force and Whirlwind Sprint are wonderful when the enemy is getting too close to you, to push them away or to escape.

The bottom line for a mage is to never be fully aggressive. Relying solely on Destruction spells will get you punished. This is why having Alteration and Conjuration as your defensive secondary skills and Destruction as your offensive primary skill is a solid strategy.

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