Talk:Destruction (Skyrim)/Archive 1

I was just wondering what the "half magika" is. Does it mean that the spell requires half less the previous amout of magika used?

The Half Magicka perks reduce the base cost of spells of that level by Half. Thunderbolt takes 180 Magicka to cast, with Expert Destruction, it takes 90. These numbers are the bases that "% less Magicka to cast" armor effects work off of. It *is* possible to lower the Magicka cost of Destruction (and likely all other spells as well) to zero.Ganthrinor (talk) 21:49, November 17, 2011 (UTC)

Is there any information on levelling destruction? It seems like you can only get xp by damaging enemies.

Yil (talk) 06:13, November 18, 2011 (UTC)

Destruction levels up as you use it on Hostile targets, yes. Generally speaking, the bigger the spell you use the faster the skill raises (bigger referring to both base Magicka cost and skill level of the spell).Ganthrinor (talk) 13:56, November 19, 2011 (UTC)

Tankmage?
Does wearing Light or Heavy Armour affect your ability to cast spells at all in Skyrim? It feels like it should, but I haven't noticed...

Armor has no effect on spellcasting apart from any enchantments it may bear. That said, I have never seen any armor aside from clothing (robes and the like) pre-enchanting with spell enhancing effects.Ganthrinor (talk) 13:56, November 19, 2011 (UTC)


 * I have found numerous examples of conventional armor enchanted with 'Fortify x' where 'x' is a school of magic (which reduces the mana cost of those spells). Everything from Hide to Daedric can have one of these random enchants, but they are no more common or rare than any other random enchants, so enchanting your own armor is highly recommended. Above all else, remember that if you choose to use conventional armor as a mage, do not waste perk points on Mage Armor from Alteration, as this perk will be useless to you. Incrognito (talk) 19:40, February 15, 2012 (UTC)

There is no effect on spells from wearing armor. Default magic boosting armor is plain clothes but you can use enchantment to make heavy armor that grants magicka regen or destruction cost reduction just as effectively. Combine it with magic resistance items to be a tank mage. Just remember that Heavy dragon armor is weaker then Daedric heavy armor. Taltamir (talk) 17:35, November 19, 2011 (UTC)

Dragonplate Armor is considerably lighter than Daedric Armor, which is something to consider if you haven't taken the Conditioning perk in the Heavy Armor tree. The Armor Ratings are also almost identical when improved, though Heavy Armor perks cause Daedric to pull ahead somewhat. However, the weight issue can be replaced by the effect of the Steed stone, which also gives +100 carry weight. Enchanting with dual effect allows two schools of magic to have 0% magicka cost with helm, chest, necklace and ring enchanted. While necklace and ring can be switched out easily to change the bonuses, carrying extra sets of heavy armor may prove frustrating when attempting to loot dungeons. Locusani (talk) 12:57, November 23, 2011 (UTC)

Forges
I was jumping in a forge (just for fun) and watching my health go down when (out of the blue) my destruction skill increased! Has this happened to anyone? 24.23.201.68 22:42, January 6, 2013 (UTC)

I have heard someone mention this and provide a screenshot of it on Reddit, but have not tried it out myself. (68.84.3.242 04:23, June 27, 2013 (UTC))

Top Tier Perks
The top tier Destruction perks do something to a target "if their health is low". For example shock will disintegrate them.

What exactly IS "low health" for the purpose of those effects? 10%? 25%? 1%? 100HP? 50HP?

Also, does disintegrate damage their equipment? Taltamir (talk) 18:03, November 19, 2011 (UTC)

"Low Health" seems to be around 20-25% remaining. I have the Fire perk to make enemies flee. I mostly only see it on dragons, because anything else is usually dead too fast or stunlocked from Impact perk. Dragons will start acting weird, sometimes they outright flee by foot and you have to chase them down, other times they just cower in place doing nothing. I haven't ever seen an daugr flee, but after thinking about how there's a perk to make Illusion spells work on Undead, Daedra, etc. maybe they are innately immune to fear inducing effects? --Gubatron

Disintegrate does not damage equipment, and has the same effect as the end of a raise dead spell. Lightning Storm, one of the final Destruction spells, appears to have the disintegrate effect active whether or not you have the perk. Locusani (talk) 13:00, November 23, 2011 (UTC)

Why is "Jumping up and down in a smith forge" here?
I've tested it, and no, it doesn't level Destruction in any way. Good way to level Restoration only.

It does for some reason level Destruction. In fact, nearby NPCs will comment on the use of fire spells. However, Destruction will level up much slower than Restoration. Confirmed on Xbox360.

Confirmed on PC with 1.4 patch. Very slow but it works for some reason. Louthar (talk) 16:02, February 7, 2012 (UTC)

Confirmed on Xbox 360. Another person's Youtube video with proof: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyLDtVf4K4s 68.59.126.206 00:00, March 31, 2012 (UTC)

Howmuch overcharged?
Does anyone have any data on howmuch stronger dualcasted spells are? Is it 50%? Is it more? Maybe add a section to each school to say the effects of dual casting. Like conjuration, longer summon time or stronger summon, how much stronger? Etc.

Dual Cast destruction spells do 220% of the spell's normal damage and comsume 280% of the spells normal Magicka cost. I tested this at 50 destruction with firebolt, ice spike, and thunderbolt; and they all appear to follow that same formula. Since I'm using the PS3 these are based more off of estimating for the damage, but if they're right, then dual casting is terribly innefficient except of course for Impact.FinaLLancer (talk) 03:11, December 11, 2011 (UTC)


 * I wouldn't say it is inefficient at all. 220% damage means that you get more damage than if you casted two copies of the same spell individually. And since you don't gain a better rate of casting from casting the two separately (not to mention it is much easier to manage two simultaneous clicks than alternating clicks). If you're referring to the almost 50% increase in overall magicka cost, remember that late-game players can reduce their magika costs tremendously with enchants, even make their spells free if they choose to specialize. Incrognito (talk) 19:47, February 15, 2012 (UTC)

Master Spells
Can anyone confirm that you can start the master destructions spells at skill 90? most other sources seem to agree on 100, and I just hit 91, and don't seem to be able to get the quest. 86.186.95.4 16:07, December 11, 2011 (UTC)

The quest doesn't come up automatically you need to talk to the guy who gives it to you. LordVukodlak (talk) 16:26, December 31, 2011 (UTC)

No, it doesn't start at 90. It starts at 100. Some of the others start at 90, but this one does NOT.

And who would the guy who gives it to you be?72.193.218.147 08:05, February 9, 2012 (UTC)

I believe it's Faralda. The female High Elf, if I'm correct. Cool fool (talk) 03:23, March 17, 2012 (UTC)

Fear
when a enemy is on low health and hit with flame spells they flee nothing is wrong apart from the fact that i haven't got intense flames perk yet anyone know whats wrong.
 * I don't mean to sound like a smart alec, but fleeing after being set on fire seems like a normal reaction to me. --— Deyvid Petteys  (bother \   stalk)  11:50, February 14, 2012 (UTC)


 * Yes but shouldn't i need the perk(remember this is a video game people aren't programmed to just run if they are why did most of riverwood run at a frost dragon with iron daggers)2.127.9.57 05:56, February 16, 2012 (UTC)

Damage Output
Does anyone know of any useful items besides potions/poisons that help increase damage output of Destruction spells? At level 23 I'm using dual-casted Lightning Bolts and it still takes about 4 shots average to kill an average enemy (i.e. Falmer Skulker). It takes around 15-20 to kill a dragon (just plain old dragon, not Elder or anything), which is rather inefficient. I've already got level 1 of the damage perk, but even with level 2, that would only be an addtional 25% increase. This seems unacceptable when I compare it to a similar level archer who can one-shot Falmer Skulkers with an iron arrow and decent bow (like a +12 fire damage (Flawless) Elven Bow). I'm not even talking sneak attacks here. Incrognito (talk) 19:51, February 15, 2012 (UTC)


 * I'll go ahead an answer my own question. I've figured it out, but perhaps others are disgruntled as I was. First, keep in mind that better spells will come eventually, and if they are dual-casted, some of them are simply devastating. Alchemy is also a lifesaver. Brew some Potions of Fortify destruction, you can increase your damage output immensely. Another possiblity is getting the Pickpocket perk Poisoned (as well as, obviously, the necessary Sneak skill or Illusion spells to get you close to your prey unnoticed. At this point, there are a whole range of nasty things you could do: paralyze them, weaken them to magic or a specific element (i.e. Weakness to Magic), stop them magicka or health regen, the possibilities are endless. My favorite technique is to paralyze them, dual-cast Lightning Cloak and Wall of Storms and then watch them squirm. Incrognito (talk) 00:17, February 21, 2012 (UTC)


 * This game is amazing but destruction is the biggest let down. I oftenly advise people to not go full destruction... its fun, beaitiful effects and all but it becomes useless very very fast. Like the dude said, destruction is only possible if you fully rely on other skills like alchemy, alteration, two handed... Now that we cant make our own spells we are stuck with the lame spells they sell in Winterhold wich are outdamaged by the spells of every single npc that can cast destruction magic in this game... including the atronachs 0.o
 * Of course, if you play on novice, maybe u can solve that issue and give destruction a decent damage.


 * I think the best way to maximize destruction is by optimizing all your "Augmented Flames/Frost/Shock" perks. This should also affect fire, frost, and shock-based shouts. Also the Dragon priest masks Ahzidal, Dukaan, and Zakrissos increase the damage of their respective type of destruction. Fully perked, and wearing one of the masks, this gets you up to an extra 75% damage. This works especially well with fire, as the Fire Within active effect gives you an extra 25% damage for Fire Breath (and it is affected by destruction augment perks), meaning you can get the shout up to 100% extra damage. As for the rest of the fire spells, the Illusion perk "Aspect of Terror" adds an extra 10 points of damage to your spells (not based on percentages like the others). This works especially well with the Ignite spell provided by Ahzidal's Ring of Arcana, which has a constant effect and lasts for quite some time. It propels the original measly effect of 4 points of damage per second up to 18+ DPS, which is respectable, especially if used upon enemies weak to fire, like undead. (68.84.3.242 04:46, June 27, 2013 (UTC))


 * Impact Perk and Dual-Wielding One-Handed Weapons

We know that the Augmented perks for the school of Destruction includes enchanted weapons for bonus damage. But I was wondering how the perks Destruction Dual-Casting and Impact affect dual-wielding one-handed enchanted weapons in any way. 108.226.32.101 21:10, February 23, 2012 (UTC)
 * I'm pretty sure they don't. Those perks are reserved for spells, not weapon enchantments. --— Deyvid Petteys  (bother \   stalk)  21:11, February 23, 2012 (UTC)


 * Answer: the best damage I can come up with is just using fire. Use the perk from illusion (aspect of terror) which adds damage to all fire spells (because they have a hidden fear effect, unlocked with that perk but the damage is there whether you unlock the fear effect or not). This gives fire an edge over the other 2. Also, you want to mix and match several fire spells. Wall of fire, fire shield, and flames is deadly for example (the shield spell does not do much -- it does NOT benefit from aspect and remains quite weak). I can kill anything in the game with my mage using the basic "flames" spell (this is not optimal past about level 30, however). The disadvantage of fire is that ranged spells can be dodged or miss, and you do not get the insta death chance of lighting (however the ash piles can mess up the game after a while anyway, or have in the past for some players, the save files become too big and areas can become too cluttered with them). Remember that targets on fire take a small bonus damage as well -- so light them up with wall of fire before anything else.

Recent Changes, Thanks
Wow, this page looks great now. Thanks contributors, this page is now worthy of a considerable measure of pride! Incrognito (talk) 17:27, February 27, 2012 (UTC)

Enchanted Leveling
Using four enchanted items granting a total of 100% off destruction spells and casting flames (double handed) on Shadowmere takes this long:

36-37: 34.3s

37-38: 35.6s

38-39: 37.4s

39-40: 39.5s

40-41: 41.6s

41-42: 43.1s

42-43: 45.6s

43-44: 47.7s

44-45: 49.8s

45-46: 51.9s

36-46: 7:06.9

After that:

50-55: 5:45

55-60: 6:50

60-65: 8:05

65-70: 9:25

70-75: 10:50

75-80: 12:20

80-85: 14:00

85-90: 15:45

90-95: 17:30

95-100: 19:25

50-100: 2:00:10

Use rubberbands or tape for PS3 and 360 or a stapler or paperweight for PC.

Staves and scrolls
Can anyone confirm if you can get destruction experience using staffs and scrolls?

I know having a higher skill level in destruction reduces the usage costs of these staves, but I'm fairly sure my destruction skill increased while using one as well.

End Times (talk) 12:29, January 7, 2014 (UTC)


 * Scrolls yes. Staves no. Jimeee (talk) 12:54, January 7, 2014 (UTC)


 * Thanks. Might I enquire about you information source? The Scrolls (Skyrim) page suggests otherwise. End Times (talk) 12:54, February 5, 2014 (UTC)

Potential Bug Regarding Master-Level Destruction Spells (PS3)
Upon learning the master-level spells for destruction and then marking the skill as legendary to reset it back to 15, I seem to have come across what could be a glitch. Although I can't yet determine as to whether it's just this specific spell or if all of the Destruction master-leveled spells have this issue, it is an annoying little problem.

You see, while most master-level spells in other schools can help you level up that particular skill fairly quickly, using the Lightning Storm spell (a master-leveled one) doesn't seem to increase the destruction skill level at all; I've tried on several occasions and, after wondering why it wasn't going up, checked and noticed that even the progress bar wasn't going up. Given that my Magicka limit is currently at 500, I haven't been able to test this with the other two.

This hasn't completely hampered my leveling, as I've been ranking up with lower-leveled spells since then. It's still annoying, however, to find out that this is could be the only magic class that doesn't increase its rank with the use of a master-leveled spell.

Max7345 (talk) 06:36, February 26, 2014 (UTC)

Spell Table on Page is Visually Broken
Hey, the spell table is visually broken. If you are trying to see which level a spell is ("novice", "apprentice", "expert", etc), there's no color or other distinction which associates the cell with the spell name to the cell on the left with the ranking ("novice", "apprentice", "expert", etc). It's all just black cells with white lettering. No visible borders, etc. BTW I'm using the default skin/color settings for the page, and using the latest Firefox browser.

Oh wait, if you zoom in there's a tiny little black cell border on a nearly black background. How worthless. Who thought black on black was a good color scheme choice?

TheRealJoeWiki (talk)

Bad info, can't change due to lock.
The article states that Destruction is the only school with direct dmaging spells. This is no longer the case as they added undead damaging spells to restoration in Dawnguard. I would change it, and tried, but the page is locked for some reason. Is there someone who can unlock and fix this? Reword could be changed from "... as it is the only spell school to cause direct damage." to " as it has a significant majority of the spells that cause direct damage." 174.98.165.52 01:06, June 14, 2014 (UTC)


 * I changed it for you. Fire Wolf Pup (talk) 01:18, June 14, 2014 (UTC)

When it says "extra damage" (for fire spells) does that mean damage over time, or they take more damage if I, say, hit them with fire and then stab them or something like that? 184.0.112.233 01:10, August 5, 2014 (UTC)

Overcostly Destruction
Something seems to have happened and now my destruction spells have goes up 8 times in their cost. Flames now cost 115 magicka per second and nothing seems to change the value, Cost reduction enchanted items, potions the perks. And it only affects my destruction spells. my others are still fine. Anyone know a way to fix this?