User blog:Thewikilover/Shield Mage

Shield-Mage

Type: Defensive Mage

Race: Breton

Equipment: Shield and Spell

Armor: Heavy

Primary Skills: Block, Restoration, Destruction

Secondary Skills: Smithing, Enchanting, Heavy Armor

Optional Skills: Alteration, Illusion, Conjuration

Standing Stone: Lover Stone for leveling/Atronach Stone/Lord Stone

Shout: Any Defensive Shout

Follower: Any follower which can pick off enemies from a distance, while you’ll be soaking up damage with your shield. Jenassa or Faendal are good early choices.

Leveling: Go 40% magicka, 40% health, 20% stamina until stamina is at least 300

Shields: Spellbreaker, Max leveled Shield of Solitude (Get the Shield of Ysgramor before level forty to get max level) Shield of Resist Fire/Frost/Shock/Fortify Block

Apparel Enchantments: Helmet: Fortify Magicka and Regen Armor: Fortify Heavy Armor and Destruction Gauntlets: Fortify Block and Magicka Boots: Stamina Regen and Resist Fire/Frost/Shock Ring: Fortify Healing Rate and Restoration Amulet: Resist Fire/Frost/Shock (the one you did not use on your boots.

Block: In this class, your shield is the most important item you need to have equipped. Having shields with resist help against dragons and mages. Spellbreaker is also good with the Restoration perk Ward Absorb. All perk should be taken for defense and power bashes.

Restoration: You are able heal while blocking which allows some downtime. Healing spells are pretty much the only spells you’ll need, and no ward spells because that’s why you have a shield. You can use the Heal Other spell to help your follower if he/she gets overwhelmed. The perks I recommend are novice through adept restoration, Regeneration, Respite, 2 perks in Recovery (useful if you use the Atronach stone), and ward absorb if you have Spellbreaker.

Destruction: Destruction is one of the best ways to deal direct damage as a mage. I recommend going either frost or shock for a more defensive way of dealing damage, or you can go both. Cloak Spells are useful against warriors. The perks that you’ll need are novice through adept destruction, augmented of preferred element, and the perk after the augmented.

Smithing and Enchanting: You’ll want good armor and shields, and great enchantments to go on them.

Heavy Armor: I recommend getting the right side of the tree as they are more general. You can use light armor but taking advantage of the heavy Smithing for daedric weapons and dwarven looting is better.

The Standing stone for leveling should be the lover since you use magic and combat skills. The Atronach stone allows you to absorb magicka and the Recovery perk can counteract that. Lord Stone can also be used for more defenses.

Race: Bretons have a plus 25% resist magicka and Dragonskin ability allows you to soak up spells in a pinch.

Shout: Any defensive is recommended, but you can do an offensive shout if you want.

As a shield mage, you use your shield to bash warriors and defend from attacks while using destruction spells to whittle away health and restoration to heal. Heavy armor is recommended because the shields are stronger and you don’t need to go into alteration. Power bashes can stop warriors and pesky mages from becoming a problem.