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Character Build: The Mage Hunter

Tags: #Rank:Recognized  #Mage  #Hunter  #Blades  #Necromancy  #kinslayer  #mageslayer  #ohmygodthistookforevertowrite 
  • January 10, 2013

    Hello Skyrim Blog! It's been quite a while since I made a build and seeing as my last one got legendary status, I thought I should upload a new one. It actually turned out quite similar to the Necro-Knight. Now, first off, I tried to gather some good pictures but found only one that suited the build (despite the fact that I don't particularly like it myself). I might end up drawing or screenshotting my own picture if necessary, but if you have a suggestion for a picture, send me a PM, and you'll get credit for it. I should also mention that this is very much a build of the more "roleplayish" variety. Don't expect a powerhouse or min-maxer. You might find the challenge associated fun however. Right? Right. Let's begin.

    BTW! Press HERE for a more thematic experience!

    The Mage Hunter

    "There are several ways to describe this individual. Slayer of mages, sellsword, assassin of the wicked, the bane of vampires, even kinslayer applies to this man or woman. You see, to effectively hunt mages, you must become one. Indeed it is a cruel irony, to destroy that which you hate you must embrace it. Mage Hunters are not noble, nor are they sadistic. Some sell their expertise to the highest bidder, some live by a code of honor.  They hunt those that would sacrifice their mortality or morals to obtain power over others. Be them vampires, hagravens, briarhearts or rogue mages. With blade and spell, they purge the land of the wretched, no matter the cost to themselves."

    - An old, crippled scholar.

    As you might guess, I designed this build with a gray morality in mind. For some of you coin will be the driving force for putting your skills to use. For others, a personal agenda. Perhaps you want to rid the world of vampires? Perhaps you want to cleanse the lands of magical beings such as wispmothers or spriggans? Maybe you just want to kill every mage you see? The choice is yours in these matters, but to give you a better idea of how to accomplish your goals, read on.

    Okay, that's it, story time's over. Let's get down to the nitty gritty. If you've read my Necro-Knight build, you know the drill. Two paths, two playstyles, one core mechanic.

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    The Core

    Even though you have a lot of freedom with this build (which I will explain further down) some direction is needed. Otherwise there's no point in me making a build, is there? I will give you two main paths to follow. Pick the one that suits your playstyle best. To spice the paths up a bit I have given the builds their own separate morality. This is entirerly optional however, feel free to do whatever you like when it comes to ethical issues. Much like in Dragon Age, you don't need to be a Templar to use their powers :P

    The core of this build utilizes Magic Resistance and Magic Absorption. We're going up against magic after all. Those mages won't stand a chance :)

    The Atronach Stone

    This is the most important aspect of the build. Taken directly from UESP: "Activating the Atronach Stone increases magicka by 50 points, decreases magicka regeneration by 50%, and adds 50% spell absorbtion."

    The 50% spell absorbtion part is what we're after. This basically allows us to negate incoming spell damage. Add magic resistance into the mix and we are almost impervious to spells. An important attribute for a mage hunter if I ever saw one. We are going to take a noticable hit to our magicka regeneration though. We do however have some things to combat this.

    First off we have Equilibrium, the alteration spell that allows us to convert health into magicka. We automatically get a 50 point bonus to our magicka from the stone, so we don't need to spend a huge amount of points there. This allows us to place more points into health, giving us the nifty ability to choose on the fly if we want more health to face the foe head-on, or more magicka to combat it from a distance.

    The other trick up our sleeve is the Atronach perk in the alteration tree, which grants us 30% of the magicka from any spell that hits us. I don't know if this conflicts with magic resistance, but I don't think it does. In any case, the regeneration decrease shouldn't be a problem.

    Races

    Oh dear, this is where I'm going to disappoint people. Unfortunately for most of us, there is one race that quite clearly has an advantage in terms of power for this build...

    Breton

    Bretons have very good starting powers for this build. Let me copy-paste them from UESP:

    "Magic Resistance ability: Breton blood grants a 25% resistance to magic, constant"

    "Dragonskin greater power: Absorb 50% of the magicka from hostile spells for 60 seconds, once per day"

    ... Daaaaayuuum. 25% resistance to magic from the get-go is quite handy, to say the least. It's their greater power that makes them shine however. It basically means that if we have the Atronach Stone we can become immune to spell damage, it only works once a day however. 

    I want to emphazise what Magic Absorption actually does, so here's a copy-paste from the wiki:

    "Magic Absorption has a chance to completely block all damage, equal to the percentage displayed. If it activates you take no damage from an enemy spell and, if the spell had a Magicka cost, you gain Magicka equal to the base casting cost of the spell. If it doesn't activate, you take full damage from the spell as normal. However, do note that Magic Absorption is calculated before Magic Resistance, so even if it doesn't activate you're still eligible for damage reduction from your Magic and Elemental Resistance."

    Nice huh? ^^

    As for the other races, I can only recommend nords. Their 30% cold resist is very handy because of how many different mages use frost magic. Still, you miss out on the awesome power of a Dragonskin-Atronach combo.

    Now that I've talked about the most important aspects of this build, it's time to introduce the paths :)

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    Kinslayer

    The sky had darkened. The task was clear. Now all that remained was to execute it. He had mentally prepared for moments like this for months, yet could not help but feel hesitation in his heart.

    "They are just kids! Barely old enough to hold their mead, it would be a waste."  

                        He let this thought echo inside himself for a moment. In the end however, his determination to complete his goal overcame his hesitation. With a swift blow to the neck he struck down one of the young necromancers he had at his mercy, and then the next, and the next. The last one was the hardest, he hated himself when he ended her life.

    "Should I be allowed to decide who lives or dies like this? I'm just as much of an abomination as they are!"

    On this subject he did not exaggerate. Necromancy was not foreign to him. It was said that to understand your prey you must let yourself become it, if only for a moment. That is the cruel irony we endure.

    Kinslayers we are called, for that is what we are.

    Okay so maybe story time wasn't completely over xD You may have gotten some indications from this short little story as to what skills we are going to discuss. Incase you missed them, here they are:

    Bladesman - Swords and Daggers

    Blades are going to be your primary way to deal with anything hostile. A good sword never goes out of fashion. Why daggers then? Because they're fu%&#ng badass, that's why. Need proof? PROOF! You are not going to be using dual wielding a lot, so I wouldn't bother wasting perks on it. If you really want to you can modify this build to work with maces and axes. I happen to like the speed of swords, and thus recommend them as your primary weapon.

    Necromancer - Irony of a Hunter

    You might be going "Nexus m'dear, is there any good reason for using necromancy?". My answer would be: not really. It looks pretty though :3 Honestly the reason I chose necromancy was because, A) I like the look of the spell. B) It can be handy in larger fights, especially since you can't block. And C) I loved the irony of being a "kinslayer". This irony works especially well when you are forced to forfeit part of your soul or become a vampire before traveling to the soul cairn. Of course, gameplay wise we already know that sacrificing part of your soul is no big deal. Despite that, becoming a vampire works well roleplay-wise. Plus those eyes are awesome :P

    Alteration - Your spells are useless

    This tree is crucial to any Mage Hunter. You should never play without it. Stability and Dual Casting might be slightly useless, but they can come in handy when coupled with Equilibrium or Paralyse. After all, a limp mage is a dead mage. Along this, one could argue that putting a point in Master Alteration is worthless. It does help reduce the cost of Mass Paralyse however, which is nice. The most important perks here are Atronach and Magic Resistance. Mage Armor is redundant, since we will be wearing armor anyway.

    Destruction - Your own medicine

    What's more fun that stabbing a mage? Disintegrating him and his silly little robes. If you want to be most effective against magic users you should spend points on shock. The reason being that shock magic drains magicka aswell as health. Handy to say the least. You can spec in whatever you feel like though, if you have the points to spare. I would recommend focusing on one element however, since you will only be using one hand for magic. Which is the same reason why I avoided dual casting here. Most of the time you're going to use a weapon aswell as magic, rendering the points wasted. I also avoided runes, but that's just 'cause I don't like them myself.

    Smithing - Forging their demise

    Smithing is fun...

    Heavy Armor - A Bulwark from the Arcane

    You could really go either way with armor, I love some heavy armor sets and some light armor sets. The reason I chose Heavy here is because the other Path will be using Light. I didn't pick any of the perks involving "full sets of heavy armor". That is purerly for a cosmetic reason, I want to be able to wear a hood with my armor, thus making the perk points wasted. Tower of Strength might be good however, if it works without a full set.  I picked two perks that aren't going to be used, Fists of Steel and Cushioned. This is because I wanted to get Conditioned. Conditioned frees up your inventory a ton if you use heavy armor.  Besides, it's nice to be able to run at a reasonable pace.

    Notes

    You should now have a bunch of perk points left to do what you like with. You can beef up existing trees, learn Alchemy or put points into a utility skill like Speech. I don't like Enchanting myself, but if you feel like it, go for it. In my opinion it makes you too overpowered when combined with smithing. It's nice to be able to rename items though. As a voluntary rule, if you want to use atronachs, only use the element corresponding with your chosen destruction element. (Shock spells = Storm Atronach)

    A Kinslayer should consider joining the Dawnguard and College of Winterhold. The Companions are an okayish choice because of the mercenary wibe they give off, but it's still not the best choice. Atleast werewolves don't pray on others to survive like vampires do. The main questline is perfectly doable and encouraged to do, if only to unlock shouts so you can have awesome things like Elemental Fury, Whirlwind Sprint and Soul Tear. For the Civil War, I would pick Stormcloak. I think it just fits better with the overall character, but you could just as easily join the Empire, especially as a breton.

    Purifier

    "Some called me a fanatic. They said I was obssessed with killing. They were wrong. It is not deaths I crave, only purity. Vampires. Hagravens. Draugr. All of them, impure. They must be eradicated once and for all. I have no desire for fame or coin, only an end to the existance of these creatures. I will not give them the respect of looking them in the eye when I kill them, they are not worthy the gaze of a mortal. Neither will I skulk in the shadows as if they were a threat. I will walk up to them, arrow ready, and start firing. No mercy, no exceptions."

    This is definitely the ranged version of a Mage Hunter. Commence the perks:

    Archery - Arrows don't discriminate

    Pick all the perks! Your bows are your best friends, use them often. 

    Atromancy - With friends like these...

    Conjuration again! Since you're going to be a ranged character without sneaking you will need some distractions. This time around we won't be using necromancy however. Atronachs are what's on the menu! I would recommend Storm Atronachs, simply because their attacks drain magicka.

    Alteration?

    The same as before, no need to change it.

    Smithing?

    Just as fun here

    Light Armor - Who needs plate?

    Since you're going to fire a bow you will need more stamina with this Path. Thus Light Armor is the logical choice. There's not really much else to say honestly, this Path only differs slightly from the Kinslayer, since the core of the build remains the same.

    Alchemy - Silence them silently

    With a bow there is a greater use for poisons than with swords I feel. Besides, without Destruction it gives this Path much needed "spice".

    Notes

    A purifier will be joining the Dawnguard as soon as possible. They hate mages with a passion however, the college is a nono. To be honest, slaughtering them would be best. Purifiers like werewolves just as much as they like vampires. Not at all that is. In the civil war you can join either side, but seeing as you're very much anti-mage, Stormcloaks would be a good choice. 

    Final Notes

    I have to be perfectly honest, the Purifier is very much just an alternate version of the build. It's not as fleshed out as the Kinslayer is, and was never intended to be either. I just wanted to provide an alternative incase you didn't like melee combat. if I were to recommend one of the two, it would be the Kinslayer. In the end however, these are just mock-up "progression" Paths. They are not the final results. I never intend to provide a fully flegded character, I only want to spark inspiration and ideas. The Mage Hunter is an archetype, not a form to be filled out. If you want to play a Kinslayer but dump one handed entirerly, go ahead.

    I hope you enjoyed reading through this little idea I had, if this build gets enough likes to be worth improving on I might draw some pictures for it. Well see.

    If the name is already taken I will change it.

     

     

     

  • January 10, 2013
    Hmm interesting tag :P I was actually getting a little worried this would be too similar to the Bronze Sentinel. But my worries vanished after reading the first 'story.' +1!
  • January 10, 2013

    Thanks! To be honest I didn't do any real research into other builds before I started. I know there are most certainly some builds that make better use of the Atronach Stone, like the Bronze Sentinel. This was intended to be more of a "Character Idea". If it ends up being TOO similar to someone elses build, I might take it down, but so far I haven't found anything :P

  • January 10, 2013
    Don't worry, it's plenty different from the Sentinel series and the Witchhunter archetype.
  • January 10, 2013

    What would the potion do? :O

  • January 10, 2013

    Isn't that technically cheating? :P

  • January 10, 2013

    Ah I see... It wouldn't work very well with the current setup of the build though. You can't paralyse someone without magicka :/

  • January 10, 2013

    Cool start!

    Atronach Stone/Perk and Atromancy can't be used properly together though, you will simply absorb your summons...

    Necromancy is the optimum path when running any kind of atronach character.

    I look forward to seeing this after it's been illustrated and polished!

  • Member
    January 10, 2013

    I like the idea of the build a lot, hunting vile mages is always fun. I gave it a +1. The only thing I can say to improve it, I know you added a note about this, you should add some images, illustrations or just stuff from the internet. It would help break up the walls of text, making the build more appealing. 

  • January 14, 2013

    Yea, I knew about the bug, I should have included a warning but I forgot about it.

    Although, that is quite the funny quirk... Because the character spends so much time honing his magical defenses, his own spells can fail on him... Self gimping might turn out to be an interesting way to play.

    Once I've played through Dragonborn this build will likely get revised. I'll also be adding pictures as soon as I get some quests done on my MH.