@PaulEmmons, you want to make sure you can cast telekinesis without using any magicka.
That means a really good set of Alteration gear(4x25%, 3x35% or something along those lines) or having activated Secret of Arcana from black book Filament and Filigree. As far as an object to hold, I'm partial to Pine Thrush or Rock Warbler eggs but you can use whatever. When traveling from Riften, I like to stand on the flat area with wooden planks next to the boat behind Honeyside. I drop an egg out of my inventory onto the wood and pick it up with Telekinesis.
Then, while continuing to hold the cast key(Left or Right mouse button depending on if your character is using their Right or Left hand respectively) press the M key to bring up the map. You can let go of the mouse button now as the game is considered to be paused while in menu. I select the Markarth Stables and Travel there. Keep in mind that if Alteration is already at 100, you need to make it Legendary before you hold your item with the spell. When you get to the other side, checking your skill menu should show Alteration back at 100. You will have left your item at the point of origin, but the game counts it as you casting the spell the whole way.
For the reverse trip, I drop another egg from my inventory in the area near both Markarth Stables and the city entrance(some place fairly flat). I repeat the process, this time selecting Riften Stables on the map and traveling there. The egg I used the first time will be sitting on the wood next to the boat behind Honeyside. When I travel to Markarth stables again, the other egg I left there will be wobbling around on the ground right around my departure point.
I have tested this and it works in both the Legendary Edition and Special Edition on PC.
@Ifnsman Casting Bound Sword in both hands(with slight delay between) while in combat is much faster for raising Conjuration. Having Slaughter Fish mad at you while standing on shore is a safe way to do it.
Also, Dwarven bows give more XP per ingot, especially if you temper them while wearing a really good set of Smithing gear and under the influence of a really good Smithing potion.
Start in Dawnstar. Take the road south of there just a little bit(past where the caravan sets up shop when they are there outside the town) then take the road west. You can't miss it.
There's that. Also, there is the affect of Ancient Knowledge. It says it's supposed to buff Dwarven armor by 25% and speed the learning of Smithing by 15%, but by default it buffs all armors(light and heavy) by 25% except Dwarven and boost tempering by 15%(which can also increase the speed you level Smithing if you use tempering as part of the process). Ancient Knowledge used to affect all armors including Dwarven, but I think they tried to modify it in the last patch for the original version of the game(1.9) and only succeeded in removing Dwarven armor from the affected list.
Pretty sure that code carried over to the Special Edition and I doubt Bethesda has tried to change it(again). If you have the unofficial patch installed, Ancient Knowledge does what it says on the tin. One of the reasons I don't install the unofficial patch(or any mods). The original version of the quest reward is better(more broadly useful rather than just an early game thing). Dwarven armor is low mid tier and second only to Daedric in weight(tied with Blades armor though, but that can't be improved by default). Sure you can still hit the cap in it and mitigate the weight, but why limit yourself to Dwarven armor when you can hit the cap in anything(thanks in part to Ancient Knowledge. Custom Smithing gear and potions help a lot too, and Seeker of Might from black book Sallow regent. You might need little to no armor perks to hit the cap. Lower level flesh spells can temporarily cap off the crappiest of light armors)?
Maybe this is a stupid question, but are you taking the potion right before crafting your armor/weapons, or right before you temper them at a workbench/grinding stone? Smithing potions have no effect when you create and item. They only do their thing when you go to temper stuff.
Telekinesis fast travel(Markarth to Riften and vise versa). 15 to 100 in a load screen. Make legendary and repeat as much as you want. Cast master Illusion spell Harmony in a crowded area like the Riften marketplace during the day(help to be thane where you do this so guards don't attack you). Possibly 15 to 50 in a single cast. Helps to have zero casting cost gear for these(100 Enchanting well perked and 4 grand soul gems, maybe only 3 if Enchanting is buffed by Alchemy).
You can also use Secret of Arcana from Black Book Filament and Filigree in Kolbjorn Barrow on Solstheim. For 30 seconds once per day, spells cost zero magicka to cast. If you cast a concentration spell like Telekinesis, you can continue to cast after the effect wears off. Riften and Markarth are 25.5 hours apart, so the power will have reset after you get to the other side of the map. Not sure if 30 seconds is enough for Harmory(depends on where you do it and if you have any buffs like the Mage Stone, Lover Stone or rested bonuses. You can have up to 50% XP boost by having Mage Stone constant, Lover Stone on Aetherial Crown and putting the crown on after you sleep in relatively close proximity to your spouse). The basement in Blue Palace is pretty full after winning the war for the Stormcloaks. I believe the same is true of the Palace of the Kings upstairs if you win the war for the empire.
I've pretty much played through all the content in the game at least 5 times now(apprentice, adept, expert, master, legendary) and it was only about 100 hours or so(out of about 1,000) into my first play through that I gained a great appreciation for the Alchemy skill. However, I'm less of a fan of the grind and more of a fan of what it can do for my character, both boosting my other skills and for making tons of money. Given that, I'm more than happy to leave it at 100 once I get it there. If I want to make a skill legendary so I can raise it again(and again and again...) for more perk points and stats increases, I generally choose a skill which can be raised again with blinding speed like Alteration or Illusion(not counting the 17 or so times I raise Sneak at the start in Helgen while grinding 1H and Block most of the way to max or making Heavy Armor legendary after the early game to get back perks I don't really need after I've maxed my crafting skills. Or 2H if I accidentally get it to 30 or more by reading books while playing a Nord. Most or all of the 2H skill books are pretty interesting to read). If you don't know about the Telekinesis fast travel or Harmony methods of power leveling, try google. Zero casting cost gear and/or Secret of Arcana makes it practical.
Pre-existing muffle enchants in the game have a Magnitude of 0.5(reduce sound by half) but custom made enchants have a value of 1.0(totally silent). It's pretty cool one can do that with a petty soul gem as well. However, just because you can't be heard doesn't mean you can't be spotted. If you wear a set of very strongly enchanted Sneak gear, you can move around people in fairly well lit areas(like outside during the day)without being detected. I don't use the restoration potion glitch, but I've read of people who enchant a single item with such high levels of fortify sneak that they can move around pretty much any other entity in the game as though they were invisible(with the added bonus of not being heard, either). Since Silence in particular is a perk in the Sneak skill tree on the way to a better perk(Shadow Warrior), I make sure to have a set of gear enchanted with Sneak for occasions when I just don't want to deal with stuff I'd have to deal with otherwise when I'm not wearing the set.
In addition to hired help(bards, carriage drivers), stewards can also procure animals for your homestead. These include a cow and several chickens. If your cow dies due to an attack on your homestead(be it from wolves, bandits or a giant), you can talk to your steward to get another. They aren't that expensive. There is no option to replace chickens. Maybe they respawn over time, IDK.
You can also buy a horse for each homestead(requires a stable, cow and chickens require the animal pen), but since I pretty much always have a horse by the time I can purchase land I don't bother(I do build the stable as a place to park my horse, though). And horses are kind of expensive.
I never get Shield Charge because I understand it can become bugged and stop working after a while. I do get Quick Reflexes, Deflect Arrows, Elemental Protection and Block Runner right away.
Block Runner makes using a shield a lot easier. Combined with Elemental protection I can run up to an enemy mage, whack them in the face with my shield, and drop into a crouch which will activate Shadow Warrior and let met execute a 15x sneak attack to their face. Deflect Arrows actually caps at 85%(the block cap) and only works when arrows actually hit your shield, but the combo of bow and arrow damage can be some of the highest coming your way at some points in the game.
When Quick Reflexes kicks in(while blocking during an enemie's power attack) it's like being one of the heroes in The Matrix while everyone else is on pause. You can ran around the enemy and whack them from behind. The effect is extended if multiple enemies power attack at once(or say a forsworn /thief uses a dual wield power attack on you). You can run clear across a fairly large room and out a far door before anyone else even knows what is happening. That is pretty dang OP.
The armor cap is 80% damage reduction. The block cap is 85% damage reduction. They can be combined for a total 97% damage reduction. I personally level level block to 70, 1H to 80 and sneak to 100(after making it legendary many times first) in Helgen. I leave the first dungeon at level 80+ and by the time I get around to doing Dragon Rising most dragons are the Legendary variety. They, like other high level dragons, do 200 damage with their wings and 300 damage with bite/tail. That's 600 and 900 on Legendary difficulty. I level both health and stamina to 810 before investing anything in magicka. A dragon bite can still do 180 damage to me even if I'm armor capped. If I did Esbern's quest and drank his potion, that drops to 135. I can take 6 of those before dying. If I block before getting the potion I only take 27 damage(I can take 30 of those before dying).
You don't need Ahzidal's Helm to access Ahzidal's Genius, just the boots and any 3 other relics including his dragon priest mask. I personally leave his helm and Ring of Necromancy in a couple of Severin Manor's chests, give his armor to my wife Lydia and carry around the rest for easy access to Ahzidal's genius. The Ring of Arcana and its Ignite spell are pretty sweet, waterwalking is handy and fun at times, the boost in damage to my fire spells from the mask is more useful than the helm and while I rarely use wards(I prefer the effect on Spellbreaker instead) the gauntlets are fairly light compared to some of the other relics and round out the set.
If you combine this with max crafting skills and all the powers in black book Sallow Regent you can make 35% Alchemy/Smithing gear, 40% Enchanting potions and 158% Smithing potions. The combination of Enchanting potion and Ahzidal's genius on top of 100 skill means 150 skill in the Arcane Enchanter interface while the potion lasts. The actual 10% boost to enchantments from Seeker of Sorcery combined with 150 temporary skill lets you make enchantments ~40% stronger than merely having 100 Enchanting skill and all the relevant perks. 20% enchants become 28%, 25% enchants become 35%(enough to freely cast a couple magic schools with 3 pieces of gear instead of 4), 40% enchants actually become 57%(more than a 40% increase), and more. You can get up to 66% on elemental resists and 99 elemental damage on weapons if you dual enchant them and both elements have their Augments and Enchanting perks selected.
Regarding the Ritual Stone. I saw a video on youtube where this was used along with the Ritual Stone loaded on the Aetherial Crown. The corpes don't explode, just a icy explosion eminates from them. If you keep taking off and putting on the crown, you can use the Ritual Stone's power as often as you want without having to wait a day. Since corpses raised with the Ritual Stone don't turn to ash, you can grow an army of undead that mobs targets in melee range and sets off chain reactions of icy explosions to take down your foes.
I know this comment is way late(sorry if I'm necro-ing a dead thread) but elves use magic and Nords hate elves. Enchantments are a different matter. Ysgramor and his 500 companions seemed to have no issues when Ahzidal offered his services(and enchantments) to them so they could crush the local snow elf population in revenge for Saarthal. If you ever talk to expert Enchanting trainer Sergius Turrianus at the College of Winterhold, he has a few choice lines of dialog:
"The local Nords may not like us very much, but they don't seem to mind having access to enchanted weapons and armor."
"I think we could blow up half of Eastmarch, and people would still come to us for enchantments."
Well, with patch 1.9 once you get a skill to 100 you can make it Legendary(resets skill to 15 and refunds any perk points spent in the skill tree). Then you can raise it again for more xp. This can be done as many times as you want in as many skills as you want. The best method is to choose a skill that is very easy to level and just use that. Alteration and Illusion are probably the easiest without using the restoration potion glitch. Alteration involves holding an object with adept level spell Telekinesis as you fast travel across the map(requires either a set of gear that lets you cast Alteration spells for free or using the power Secret of Arcana from one of the black books on Solstheim). You can get the skill from 15 to 100 in the time it takes your system to load a new area.
Illusion involves repeatedly casting the master level spell Harmony in a crowded place(Riften marketplace during the day is one example, but helps to be Thane wherever you try this so the guards will stay off your back). This can raise Illusion from 15 to 100 in like 30 seconds to 1 minute. You may want to use a set of gear that make Illusion free to cast or possibly Secret of Arcana will work as well. Secret of Arcana is a once-per-day-Skyrim-time type of deal, but it takes 25.5 hours to fast travel between Riften and Markarth and you can just wait between casting sessions of Harmony. If you need the skill for these spells, here are some leveling tips.
For Alteration, buy Oakflesh from any court wizard(Farengar works) and travel to the Guardian Stones. Activate the Mage Stone and swim out into Lake Illinalta. Head for the island with the Lady Stone, hopefully getting some slaughterfish to follow. Once there, equip some mage gear like the Helgen cage hood and robes or Vigilant Tyranus' hood and robes(meet him in Markarth and agree to investigate the nearby Abandoned House. After things get a little crazy in there you will be able to take his stuff). Things like the Necromancer Amulet(Blood on the Ice in Windhelm. Sell the strange amulet to Calixto when he asks to buy it from you), the Atronach Stone or being an Altmer with +50 starting magicka also helps. So does getting the Novice Alteration perk(whether you end up actually using the skill for Magic resist or whatnot, you will be getting this perk point back later anyway). Repeatedly cast Oakflesh until your Alteration skill is 40. Then you can go buy Telekinesis from either Wylandriah in Riften or Tolfdir in Winterhold.
For Illusion, you can buy Muffle from any court mage and cast it repeatedly to get Illusion to 90 or 100(enough to start the Illusion Ritual quest with the master Illusion trainer in Winterhold). You can use some of the things mentioned above to boost your magicka and regen, allowing you to cast it more frequently(or at all, as it is kind of expensive for an Apprentice level spell). After you learn the Vision of the Tenth Eye spell, find the hidden books in and around the College(Google their locations if you are having trouble). You will get one master spell as a reward(not Harmony. I think Hysteria aka mass fear. You can sell it to the guy if you want and use the funds to help purchase Harmony).
If you want to go the route of free cast gear, you will probably want 100 Enchanting with a number of perks(and a Grand soul gem with which to enchant each item). You can raise the skill without enchanting a ton of stuff by killing stuff with soul trap enchanted weapons and using the Black Star to refil your weapon each time you kill an enemy. One guaranteed soul trap weapon is the Steel Battleaxe of Fiery Souls in the last chamber of Ironbind Barrow(leaning up against the back of Gathrik's throne opposite the word wall). Let the friendly NPCs along for this mini quest do the bulk or all of the fighting if you want, just grab the axe ASAP. Petty soul gems for enchanting your weapons with fiery soul trap should work fine(or just use the axe if you use 2H). Having the mage stone active and any kind of resting bonus will help level these skills faster.
If you need help with the Black Star quest(like the mages on the other side of deep water in Illinalta's Deep or the fire casting Dremora mages inside the Black Star), flame atronachs may come in handy(definitely inside the star, not sure about Illinalta's Deep). You can raise Conjuration much like raising Alteration. Buy Bound Sword from any court mage and cast it in both hands while "in combat". Novice perk helps. If you want 2 atronachs(apprentice spell which can also be bought from any court mage or possibly bought for only 30 gold when you first try to gain entrance to the College of Winterhold) you will need more perks in the tree anyway(the gear mentioned above and other bonus to raise your magicka will help in passing Faralda's college entry exam if you don't already have access to shouts). Another way to get through Illinalta's Deep pretty easy is to use Barbas from A Daedra's Best Friend. He won't follow you until after Haemar's shame is cleared out, though (which is filled with vampires of various levels, so beware). He is pretty much invincible and can distract the mages on the other side of the water while you chip away at their health with ranged attacks(bow or magic). Hope this helps.
Ahzidal's Genius actually works as long as you have his boots and any three of the other six relics equipped including his dragon priest mask and either ring. Equipping a fifth relic cancels the effect.
I know this because I collect all seven relics. I give his armor to my wife and follower Lydia(after tempering it to high heaven, of course) and store his helmet and Ring of Necromancy. I keep his boots(because waterwalking is awesome too), his Ring of Arcana(also awesome), his dragon priest mask(handy for the boost to flame spells sometimes) and gauntlets(I don't use wards often, but this relic is relatively light) on me at all times so I don't have to go looking through one or more containers to find pieces when I want to enchant stuff(which I always do in Severin Manor on Solstheim since I want to have Seeker of Sorcery from black book Sallow Regent active and I have Seeker of Might active most of the time because of the bonus to weapon damage). I pretty much always check to make sure Ahzidal's Genius and Seeker of Sorcery are working in my Active Effects list before I begin enchanting(as well as taking a custom Fortify Enchanting Potion) before I enchant anything(unless I'm trying to make a somewhat less powerful enchantment than possible for some reason) and this combination of relics definitely works. I've also tested with five relics equipped(so the boots, either headgear, either ring, the gauntlet and the main armo piece) and doing that causes Ahzidal's Genius to disappear from my Active Effects list.
another guarateed waterbreathing enchantment is the Deathbrand Helmet(Dragonborn DLC). You can't disenchant it like the ebony helmet or circlet, though.
Firestorm actually has the potential to do the most damage(works great against all manor of vampires and high level draugr at lower difficulty levels. Just use a word of Become Etherial before you start casting). I use lightning storm to pull stubborn dragons that seem to not want to engage in combat and just fly around in circles. This works well on all difficulties. The damage output of the Blizzard spell is affected by your own levels of magic resist and frost resist. If you have high levels of these effects on your charater, Blizzard will do next to no damage(that doesn't apply to only you, it applies to enemies and allies as well). I still get Blizzard so I can set it off in a place like Breezehome. Crap flies around everywhere. It's funny as hell. When I'm done goofing around, I take the easy route to tidying up the place by reloading the autosave from when I entered.
First get Enchanting to 100(easy if you get the Black Star, use a few petty soul gems to enchant your weapons with soul trap and refill your weapons with the Black Star after every kill). Then make a set of armor and jewelry that ruduces the cost of casting Destruction and Restoration to zero. Find a cave bear and hit it repeatedly with lightning rune. Heal yourself and the bear as needed to keep going. You can get destruction from 15 to 100 in a few hours. PS Cloak spells earn zero xp.