Morrowind - Explain Magic to me

[BustaMike]

Originally posted by Qilue
Constant effect items can virtually replace Alteration and Restoration. Water breathing, water walking, levitate, night eye, restore fatigure and restore health are expecially worthwhile.

An exquisite ring has enough space for 40 pts of night eye and 8 points of restore fatigue (I think, it's been a while since I played). Never get tired and always be able to see.

An expensive amulet with water breathing and you never have to worry about drowning.

An expensive amulet with 1 pt of levitate. Put on when you want to levitate and take off when you don't.

Another enchantment that I found extremely usefull. With the dwemer spear you find in the first Caius quest dungeon, enchant it with -
"Spell trap, cast on touch for 50 sec" (I named mine Soulcatcher)
Hit once and switch to a real weapon

Why? It's faster to change from a weapon to a weapon than it is to change from a spell to a weapon. Golden saints are very rude and wont wait for you to get a weapon ready.

All of that is true, but why would you want to waste your amulet or ring space on something as trivial as water breathing? Those spells are wasteful when used as constant effect enchantments. I would much rather use the Necromancer's amulet or the Ring of Phynaster than have constant effect water breathing and night eye or whatever else you enchanted onto it.

As for constant effect levitate, an exquisite belt can hold the 1 pt. you need with a couple pts. of fortify attribute (40 slots) instead of using an exquisite amulet (120 slots).

[Eli]

20 seconds.

20 seconds. This is the time that passed between my decision to give up on the search for Leles Birian and my stumbling stright into her.

[Solver]

Necromancer's Amulet is absolutely goddamn fantastic. NO item in the game can actually hold this much enchantment, and wow it helps me in battles! Spell Absorbtion, weapon resistance, AND health regeneration? Whew! Just don't forget to re-equipt it after using some other enchanted amulet.

On topic of more enhcantments. I found the Amulet of Shadows to be possibly the best item I own (you get in after a quest). It provides 1 (or 2?) minute Chameleon 80%, which is really, really a lot.I was training my Sneak skill a lot, and so that I had it at over 50 when I got the item. Well, use it and Sneak, and you can get anything. Now my Sneak is 65, I think, and I'm able to take stuff right from shopkeeper's table, or open a door 1 metre from some guy... awesome. Or, I can cast it before a tough battle, and most enemies will just be running around like idiots looking for me, while I can take them out with ranged spells.

Another enchantment I hold, on a belt. It's old good Night Eye spell, that has quite some points and duration. Simply put, no dark places.. Even the darkest of Dwemer caves are turned into not-too-dark places.

Weapons. As a mage character, I mainly rely on magic to do stuff for me, but I do keep a range of weapons with me, though. My main one is Short Blade, high skill. Secondary is anything ranged, decent skill. So, I walk around with a wide range of blades, and they're mostly pretty light, like a Glass Dagger doesn't really weigh much. So, they're enchanted with different damage spells, like Shock or Frost. Another blade has Damage Fatigue 20 and Absorb Fatigue 20 on it, quite useful. Of course, the good old jinxblade is in, too. Paralyze 20 secs, fortify attack 5 pts. Kinda overpowered on guys without reflect, because in 20 secs you can kill anyone. Souldrinker, a really light blade that does, nonetheless, have 30 second soultrap and some little frost, forget what, enchanted to it.

Bows... using a Dwarven Crossbow that does damn good damage, and also keeping quite some arrows with me all the time, but no bow. That's because the Bound Longbow spell is only 6 magicka, which is nothing for me. Much better to relieve myself of the extra weight. Gotta love conjuration... can create a weapon for myself, can create meat shields...

Oh, and finally my big, honking weapon. A Daedric Shortsword that has as much Shock Damage added to it as it can hold. Very, very formidable.

So, more enchantments for rings/amulets. Constant effect water breathing isn't a good idea, you can probably put a simple cast when used ring water breathing, and it will recharge quickly enough to allow you a few minutes underwater easily.

A real fun idea is to grab an Exquisite Amulet and put up quite some summoning spells there. Not exactly sure how many can be held, but something like summoning two Frost Atronachs seems a nice idea.

If you've got an extravagant ring, you can enchant it with a nice duration Summon Golden Saint, 20 secs or more. A good meat shield, and superb for getting souls.

This one comes from elsewhere... undead replusion. A shirt or something, Turn Undead 60 points on touch, maximize area... woo hoo, you've just created an area where those damn corpses fear to enter.

Remember that if you have a suit of armor, it's good to enchant it with constant effect, too. Sanctuary is some of the best to do it, and it adds up. So, two Pauldrons with 3 Sanctuary, and a shield with 10 sancrtuary will be 16 sanctuary... you get the idea ?

[Eli]

What sanctuary does?

And the Amulet of Shadows is great. I got him couple hours ago and it already helped me to win one tough battle against 3 Dremora Lords and some other human.
I couldnt defeat them using the conventional way, so I sneaked behind the human using the amulet... Bang, one hit with my Dwarven Hammer and he's dead. I ran away and repeated the procedure three more times.

[loinburger]

Sanctuary reduces the chance that you'll be hit in melee combat. 100% Sanctuary == immune to melee attacks. (I think it works against missile attacks as well, but I'm not sure.)

[BustaMike]

Sanctuary is good, but it doesn't mean immune. I don't know why, but against big enemies like Dagoth Ur or that Firemoth Lich or some later enemies from the Giants mod, even having over 100 sactuary will not protect you from all melee attacks.

I like enchanting a Daedric Tower Shield (225 slots) with 1-89 Sanctuary. Reequip it until the number is in the 80's and laugh as stuff tries to hit you and can't.

Hey, don't forget that you can get a good daedric weapon of your choice by going to the Vassir Disandat mine south of Balmora and then talking to that dude in the St. Olms Haunted Manor.

All this discussion actually made me start another game . I'm using Giants 2, Wilderness Mod, MW Advanced, etc. for new creatures. I also started using Drakonis' Voice Mod and it's great. I'm looking forward to becoming the head of the Imperial Legion so I can have personal guards following me around all the time. In the mean time, I've hired a mercenary from the Fighter's Guild. After I gave him a weapon with life steal (and upped his speed with the console so he keeps up) he's been great fun.

Here's me

[loinburger]

I think that if somebody has an enhanced Attack skill that it will negate some of your Sanctuary skill, so like if you've got 100 Sanctuary but a powerful enemy has a magically enhanced chance to hit in melee then your Sanctuary isn't completely effective.

[Dis]

anyone know how to get different spell effects? I can creat spells, but it only allows me to do fire and healing I think.

There is so much about magic I don't understand. I just keep casting fireball . But that isn't that powerful of a spell.

I have a fighter/mage so I'm mostly a fighter. I just use range attacks until the enemy closes in.

[Tuberski]

Originally posted by Dissident
anyone know how to get different spell effects? I can creat spells, but it only allows me to do fire and healing I think.

There is so much about magic I don't understand. I just keep casting fireball . But that isn't that powerful of a spell.

I have a fighter/mage so I'm mostly a fighter. I just use range attacks until the enemy closes in.

To get different spell effects, you have to buy the spell effect first.

For example:

If you want a custom Levitate spell, you have to buy the premade Levitate spell first.

ACK!

[Dis]

ahh thanks. I did see something about buying spells. I'll have to do that.

[Tuberski]

Originally posted by Dissident
ahh thanks. I did see something about buying spells. I'll have to do that.

If you want to make a spell that restores an ability, strength for instance, you only need to BUY one restore ability spell.

Same with increasing abilities.

ACK!

[pg]

are there any good mods for this game now that improve gameplay and difficulty significantly? btw, i don't know why anyone would want to be a mage in morrowind as using hand held weapon is much easier, and more powerful.

[BustaMike]

Originally posted by pg
are there any good mods for this game now that improve gameplay and difficulty significantly? btw, i don't know why anyone would want to be a mage in morrowind as using hand held weapon is much easier, and more powerful.

To answer the 2nd question - because the game is ridiculously easy and it gets boring. Being a mage changes it up a little.

To answer your first question here's the mods I recommend:

Giants
Wilderness Mod (by PumaMan)
Duncann's Atmospheric Sound Effects (version 4.0 is SWEET!)
Morrowind Advanced by WormGod

The Adventurers Plugin and SuperAdventurers mess with a lot of the game armor, spell, weapon, etc values making the game much more balanced but I don't like using it because it really nerfed some stuff it shouldn't have (Open Spells are worthless now, Daedric Weapon damage is nerfed, etc.). Also, all the new NPC's rape my framerate in places. You might give 'em a try though.

[Dis]

I'm not sure if the game is that easy for me yet. I was in a tomb the other day and these skeleton shooting arrows messed me up. Although I might have done better had I just started whacking him with my sword. I tried fireballs, but his magical arrows hurt me faster than I could hurt him.

There are a couple areas I have wandered in from the wilderness that seemed very tough. I was probably too low a level for those places. But I like to explore the countryside. I don't take the striders all that often. I like walking a lot.

[Solver]

I'm not sure if the game is that easy for me yet. I was in a tomb the other day and these skeleton shooting arrows messed me up. Although I might have done better had I just started whacking him with my sword. I tried fireballs, but his magical arrows hurt me faster than I could hurt him.

It's later in the game when it gets easy. When you're an uber guy with so much armor that you're tough to kill, have a huge Ebony Mace enchanted for more damage, and your skill at it is 80, and you have a ton of decent items with you... do anything you can .