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9 The Battlemage Race: Imperial Gender: Male Statistic Focus: Magicka 60% / Health 40% Primary Skills: Destruction, Restoration Secondary Skills: Illusion, Heavy Armor Stone Ability: Apprentice Stone Essential Perks: Spellcasting Rank Perks Illusion Dual Casting Destruction Dual Casting Augmented Flames, Frost, or Shock Recovery Juggernaut Weapons: Spells, supplemented by staffs or a one-handed weapon as needed. Armor: Heavy Armor, ideally enchanted to increase your Magicka or Magicka Regen. Follower: As a spellcaster that can stand up to melee combat, almost any Followe r can complement your skills. Belrand or Stenvar are both good choices for a more aggressive melee companion. Archetype Advice: As an Imperial, you have the right mixture of magic and martial skills needed to succeed as a Battlemage. Long a respected profession in Tamriel, the Battlemage combines the mage s power a nd versatility with a warrior s durability. Though magic is your primary focus, you can endure the rigors of melee combat if needed . As a Battlemage, you can choose your own approach to any combat situation: Use Destruction spells to blast foes from a distance, or pull them in, where you can switch to a Dualcast spell to finish them off. Use Restoration spells to sustain yourself or strengthen your allies. Use wards to protect yourself from Mages, while countering their elemental magic with your own. Use Illusion spells to weaken and disrupt groups of foes at range. Dabble in Conjuration to summon allies or raise the dead, or try Alteration for an even stronger defense in melee. Without the benefit of enchanted robes, your Magicka will regenerate far more sl owly than a pure Mage s, severely restricting your spellcasting. You have options here, too: Take more Magicka bonuses when leveling up to increase your maximum Magicka. Invest in (or make) armor and items that fortify your Magicka or Magicka regener ation. Take Restoration s line of Recovery perks, which increase your regeneration rate. Draw on the Apprentice Stone s power to increase your Magicka regeneration rate, a nd offset the lower magic resistance with other items or wards. Keep staffs, scrolls, or a melee weapon as back-up, just in case. Destruction is your primary means of damaging your foes. Take new ranks in Destr uction as they become available, as well as any other Perks you can use increase your damage output. Restoration provides you with magical wards to supplement your armor, and healin g spells to sustain yourself and your allies. Illusion spells allow you to disrupt larger groups of foes, and to fortify your companions in battle. Heavy Armor is what sets a Battlemage apart from any other wizard. While the Jug gernaut perks are important, you will probably need to put spellcasting rank Perks ahead of the other Heavy Armor perks. If you find yourself surrounded, don t forget to use your Voice of the Emperor abi lity to pacify nearby foes, giving you time to make a

tactical retreat. You might also consider a different race: A Breton Battlemage can take the Appre ntice Stone with less of a penalty due to their innate magic resistance, while a High Elf Battlemage will have a higher starting Magick a and the benefit of their racial Highborn ability.