I'd long been planning to make a build based around the Advanced Atronach Stone, ever since reading Mason's Obsidian Sentinel. I love the Sentinel, but I wanted something that revolved around zero magicka regen and the Advanced Atronach Stone a bit more, and that didn't need to grind crafting skills to achieve 100% magicka absorb. The answer came to me reading No Snakes aLive's Master Monk build, which introduced me to the "Werewolf Chat" glitch. That build used it to achieve 100% shout cooldown reduction and viable unarmed damage without crafting, but I immediately thought of using it to achieve 100% fortify restoration potions without grinding alchemy, which is one of my least favorite skills. I decided to make my mage hunter build mostly a warrior archetype, using only one school of magic despite having a huge magicka pool, and named it after the prestige class from Dungeons and Dragons, the Suel Arcanamach.
Also, I should note that this build uses minor Dragonborn content, although there shouldn't be any spoilers.
So enough of my rambling on how this came to be. I present to you my first build, and my favorite playthrough of skyrim so far...
The Arcanamach
The Arcanamach is the essence of the perfect mage hunter. Able to shrug off the strongest of spells, absorbing them to feed his endless hunger for magical energy, the Arcanamach's retaliation consumes the unlucky mage's reservoir of magicka, robbing them of their only means of defense. Then the Arcanamach's enemy's only options are to flee or be slain by sword or spell. The Arcanamach also holds his own against more mundane opponents, able to take even what little magical energy they have and use it to fuel devastating displays of arcane might. Few opponents can survive against a skilled Arcanamach at full power for long, whether are they incinerated, frozen, electrocuted, or simply cut or shot down.
Major Skills:
One-Handed: The Arcanamach's primary offensive skill when low on magicka or when magic is not needed. It does not matter what weapon you use. I used a swordbecause the faster attack speed meant I regenerated more magicka, but a mace or axe would work just as easily.
Destruction: The Arcanamach's other primary offensive skill. With a massive magicka pool, when at full power, the Arcanamach can cast for a long while before running out of magicka, able to keep opponents at bay easily once the Impact perk is acquired. You can specialize in any element you wish, but I wouldn't recommend using lightning often because it damages the foe's magicka, which the Arcanamach would rather absorb.
Archery: When Magic is not necessary or when low on magicka, the bow is the Arcanamach's weapon of choice against distant opponents, allowing him to recharge his energy from a range.
Enchanting: The only crafting skill used by the Arcanamach, enchanting is essential for creating the drain magicka weapons that are his signature, as well as bolstering his armor and contributing to his massive magicka pool.
Minor Skills:
Block: When fighting with sword or axe (or mace), an Arcanamach almost always has a shield or spell in the other hand, and while blocking and bashing are used heavily, it is not necessary to invest a great deal of perks in this tree, so it was delegated to minor skill.
Heavy Armor: The Arcanamach has perfect defense against magic; being heavily armored allows him to retain a high level of defensive prowess against physical opponents as well.
Sample level 30 build:
http://skyrimcalculator.com/299194
Race: Any. I chose Imperial because I prefer to play humans and stat wise they were a bit better than Nords or Bretons, but this choice is certainly not required. Altmer is a great race because of their +50 magicka, but I feel their Highborn power goes against the idea of being unable to regenerate on your own. Orc is also an excellent choice because of Berserker Rage, an amazing ability for any warrior.
Standing Stone: The Advanced Atronach Stone, of course. If you wish to use the Aetherial Crown, then I recommend the Steed stone until Conditioning is acquired, at which point the Lady is my preferred stone.
Shouts: Drain Vitality fits the theme perfectly, but sadly requires a patch to work correctly. Unrelenting Force allows for another way to display a spectacular show of magic without actually using up magicka, as do Storm Call, Fire Breath, and Frost Breath. Other than those I can think of no shouts that fit the theme especially well.
Quests: The Companions questline up until The Silver Hand is essential to become a werewolf and perform the Werewolf Chat glitch. The College of Winterhold is needed to acquire the Mage's Circlet, and makes sense from a Roleplay perspective, as the Arcanamach would want to increase his magical prowess, and evil Arcanamachs might use it to get close to mages so they can gain their trust, then betray them and drain their energy. Evil Arcanamachs might also join the Dark Brotherhood, and specialize in assassinating mages. The Dawnguard might be joined by good aligned Arcanamachs, since most vampires are mages and therefore easy prey for the Arcanamach. Alternately, the evil Arcanamach might join the ranks of the Volkihar to augment his already impressive prowess with vampirism.
Stat placement: 1/1/1 Magicka, Health, Stamina. All stats are equally important to the Arcanamach.
Equipment:
The Nordic Carved Armor with a Hood or Circlet looks perfect for this build. Before it is acquired, Wolf Armor also looks good. Use the most powerful mage hood you can find until you are high enough level to acquire the Mage's Circlet with +70 Magicka. At that point, the circlet still looks good and provides a better bonus than a hood. Enchant all your jewelry with Fortify Magicka, and another enchantment of your choice when Extra Effect is acquired. No specific enchantment for the armor is required, but I recommend enchantments that increase your combat skill or lower the cost of Destruction Magic. The one forbidden enchantment is anything that increases magicka regen beyond 0%. If you wish, you can substitute Ahzidal's Ring of Arcana instead of a ring of fortify magicka, since Ignite is an amazing spell.
For your sword, shield, and bow, any will do, really. I used the Nordic Shield to go with the armor, a daedric sword, and a glass bow. Enchant them with Drain Magicka, so your physical attacks will recharge your magicka, and later Drain Stamina or Health. I prefer Drain Stamina for the secondary enchantment on my bow to zoom longer, and Drain Health as the secondary enchantment on my sword to live longer.
Attaining the Advanced Atronach Stone...Without grinding alchemy:
First, enchant a plethora of equipment with Fortify Alchemy. Don't worry if the enchantments aren't very strong. So long as you have enough of it it will do. To be exact, you need a total of 479% Fortify Alchemy with 15 skill. If you use a Yellow Mountain Flower from Dawnguard, that number significantly drops, to 363%. Then join the Companions and become a werewolf. Next, recruit a follower. Any will do. I recommend saving your game before performing any exploit. Then transform and talk to your follower at the same time. It takes some practice to do consistently. If you fail, reload your save. Once you have succeeded, your follower's conversation menu should still be open as you transform. Wait until the animation finishes completely. Then, trade with your follower. Give them the fortify alchemy items, then go into their inventory and hold shift (if on pc; on a console use whatever button is used to equip things from containers) and equip all of the fortify alchemy gear. The glitch will allow you to equip multiple items in the same slot, allowing you to boost your alchemy to high levels without grinding it. Then wait an hour or two to transform back. next, collect any two the following ingredients:
- Abecean Longfin. Can be found in the water around the Lady Stone in the lake outside Helgen.
- Cyrodilic Spadetail. See above.
- Salt Pile. Can be bought from most general vendors.
- You can use a Yellow Mountain Flower instead of any of the above ingredients (Except for salt pile; Salt Pile + Yellow Mountain Flower produces a normal magnitude potion.) if Dawnguard is installed, which produces a stronger potion and thus requires less fortify alchemy gear.
Once the ingredients are collected, mix a fortify restoration potion and check the magnitude. If it's around 100%, you're good. if it's lower, equip more fortify alchemy gear with werewolf chat. If it's higher, unequip a piece or two of gear until the magnitude is around 100%.
Once you have your potion, find the Atronach Stone. Then drink the potion and select the stone. Check your stats. If your magicka is around 100 higher than before, then congratulations! You have the advanced atronach stone. If not, the potion wasn't powerful enough. Equip more gear and mix another.
It's worth noting here that some quests are glitched by 100% spell absorption. I'll start a list here of those that I'm sure are and those that I think are. If anyone knows of any others, please tell me and I will add them. I strongly recommend taking a different stone before doing any of the following quests, and changing back to the Advanced Atronach afterwards:
Quests that I'm sure are glitched by 100% spell absorption:
- Brelyna's Practice. Neither of the spells she casts on you will work, and thus the objective to wait for the first one to wear it off will never complete.
Quests that I think would be glitched by 100% spell absorption:
- Chasing Echoes. My theory is that if you choose to be soul trapped to enter the soul cairn, then the spell might fail, depending on how it's coded. Unsure of how this would affect the quest exactly.
Gameplay:
Start the battle at a distance with arrow or spell. Few enemies will be able to retaliate effectively against an Arcanamach striking from a distance, since you will absorb any spells they try to cast. When your enemies reach you, draw your sword, with a shield or spell in your off hand. If you have the magicka, a cloak spell can be used to augment your melee damage. Whirlwind Cloak is especially useful if you don't wish to continue the battle at close range. At that point it's standard sword and shield or spellsword gameplay. I recommend using Runes to damage foes as they approach you. The Runemaster perk is useful for this.
Roleplay:
The Arcanamach can be Roleplayed a variety of ways. I played mine as a warrior who'd been born on an auspicious night under the sign of the Atronach, twisting the effects of that sign and making him immune to magic and unable to regenerate it on his own. Other sample ideas include:
A power hungry warlord who relentlessly hunts down mages to absorb their energy.
A scholar/warrior seeking to learn the secrets of magic and why his special abilities exist.
A warrior who unexpectedly developed strange magical talents.
A priest or paladin of one of the Divines, blessed with the ability to wield the elements and absorb magic.
A mercenary who offers his services to adventurers expecting to fight mages.
A witch hunter of sorts who believes all mages are evil and hunts them using their strange talents, ultimately willing to use magic themselves to destroy their foes.
And so much more!
Final Notes:
Constructive criticism is very welcome. This is the first build I've actually written, though I have many others in the playtesting phase. I've lurked here for a while but only recently made an account.
I just want to say that yes, this build is playtested, and in fact I'm still playing my own Arcanamach character.
Special thanks to Vazgen, for providing the exact numbers to reach 100% fortify restoration, helping a bit with the images (because I suck at image editing), and providing helpful criticism, Mason for inspiring me to make an Atronach build, and No Snakes aLive for introducing me to the Werewolf Chat glitch.
And finally, thanks for reading!
I'd long been planning to make a build based around the Advanced Atronach Stone, ever since reading Mason's Obsidian Sentinel. I love the Sentinel, but I wanted something that revolved around zero magicka regen and the Advanced Atronach Stone a bit more, and that didn't need to grind crafting skills to achieve 100% magicka absorb. The answer came to me reading No Snakes aLive's Master Monk build, which introduced me to the "Werewolf Chat" glitch. That build used it to achieve 100% shout cooldown reduction and viable unarmed damage without crafting, but I immediately thought of using it to achieve 100% fortify restoration potions without grinding alchemy, which is one of my least favorite skills. I decided to make my mage hunter build mostly a warrior archetype, using only one school of magic despite having a huge magicka pool, and named it after the prestige class from Dungeons and Dragons, the Suel Arcanamach.
Also, I should note that this build uses minor Dragonborn content, although there shouldn't be any spoilers.
So enough of my rambling on how this came to be. I present to you my first build, and my favorite playthrough of skyrim so far...
The Arcanamach
The Arcanamach is the essence of the perfect mage hunter. Able to shrug off the strongest of spells, absorbing them to feed his endless hunger for magical energy, the Arcanamach's retaliation consumes the unlucky mage's reservoir of magicka, robbing them of their only means of defense. Then the Arcanamach's enemy's only options are to flee or be slain by sword or spell. The Arcanamach also holds his own against more mundane opponents, able to take even what little magical energy they have and use it to fuel devastating displays of arcane might. Few opponents can survive against a skilled Arcanamach at full power for long, whether are they incinerated, frozen, electrocuted, or simply cut or shot down.
Major Skills:
One-Handed: The Arcanamach's primary offensive skill when low on magicka or when magic is not needed. It does not matter what weapon you use. I used a swordbecause the faster attack speed meant I regenerated more magicka, but a mace or axe would work just as easily.
Destruction: The Arcanamach's other primary offensive skill. With a massive magicka pool, when at full power, the Arcanamach can cast for a long while before running out of magicka, able to keep opponents at bay easily once the Impact perk is acquired. You can specialize in any element you wish, but I wouldn't recommend using lightning often because it damages the foe's magicka, which the Arcanamach would rather absorb.
Archery: When Magic is not necessary or when low on magicka, the bow is the Arcanamach's weapon of choice against distant opponents, allowing him to recharge his energy from a range.
Enchanting: The only crafting skill used by the Arcanamach, enchanting is essential for creating the drain magicka weapons that are his signature, as well as bolstering his armor and contributing to his massive magicka pool.
Minor Skills:
Block: When fighting with sword or axe (or mace), an Arcanamach almost always has a shield or spell in the other hand, and while blocking and bashing are used heavily, it is not necessary to invest a great deal of perks in this tree, so it was delegated to minor skill.
Heavy Armor: The Arcanamach has perfect defense against magic; being heavily armored allows him to retain a high level of defensive prowess against physical opponents as well.
Sample level 30 build:
http://skyrimcalculator.com/299194
Race: Any. I chose Imperial because I prefer to play humans and stat wise they were a bit better than Nords or Bretons, but this choice is certainly not required. Altmer is a great race because of their +50 magicka, but I feel their Highborn power goes against the idea of being unable to regenerate on your own. Orc is also an excellent choice because of Berserker Rage, an amazing ability for any warrior.
Standing Stone: The Advanced Atronach Stone, of course. If you wish to use the Aetherial Crown, then I recommend the Steed stone until Conditioning is acquired, at which point the Lady is my preferred stone.
Shouts: Drain Vitality fits the theme perfectly, but sadly requires a patch to work correctly. Unrelenting Force allows for another way to display a spectacular show of magic without actually using up magicka, as do Storm Call, Fire Breath, and Frost Breath. Other than those I can think of no shouts that fit the theme especially well.
Quests: The Companions questline up until The Silver Hand is essential to become a werewolf and perform the Werewolf Chat glitch. The College of Winterhold is needed to acquire the Mage's Circlet, and makes sense from a Roleplay perspective, as the Arcanamach would want to increase his magical prowess, and evil Arcanamachs might use it to get close to mages so they can gain their trust, then betray them and drain their energy. Evil Arcanamachs might also join the Dark Brotherhood, and specialize in assassinating mages. The Dawnguard might be joined by good aligned Arcanamachs, since most vampires are mages and therefore easy prey for the Arcanamach. Alternately, the evil Arcanamach might join the ranks of the Volkihar to augment his already impressive prowess with vampirism.
Stat placement: 1/1/1 Magicka, Health, Stamina. All stats are equally important to the Arcanamach.
Equipment:
The Nordic Carved Armor with a Hood or Circlet looks perfect for this build. Before it is acquired, Wolf Armor also looks good. Use the most powerful mage hood you can find until you are high enough level to acquire the Mage's Circlet with +70 Magicka. At that point, the circlet still looks good and provides a better bonus than a hood. Enchant all your jewelry with Fortify Magicka, and another enchantment of your choice when Extra Effect is acquired. No specific enchantment for the armor is required, but I recommend enchantments that increase your combat skill or lower the cost of Destruction Magic. The one forbidden enchantment is anything that increases magicka regen beyond 0%. If you wish, you can substitute Ahzidal's Ring of Arcana instead of a ring of fortify magicka, since Ignite is an amazing spell.
For your sword, shield, and bow, any will do, really. I used the Nordic Shield to go with the armor, a daedric sword, and a glass bow. Enchant them with Drain Magicka, so your physical attacks will recharge your magicka, and later Drain Stamina or Health. I prefer Drain Stamina for the secondary enchantment on my bow to zoom longer, and Drain Health as the secondary enchantment on my sword to live longer.
Attaining the Advanced Atronach Stone...Without grinding alchemy:
First, enchant a plethora of equipment with Fortify Alchemy. Don't worry if the enchantments aren't very strong. So long as you have enough of it it will do. To be exact, you need a total of 479% Fortify Alchemy with 15 skill. If you use a Yellow Mountain Flower from Dawnguard, that number significantly drops, to 363%. Then join the Companions and become a werewolf. Next, recruit a follower. Any will do. I recommend saving your game before performing any exploit. Then transform and talk to your follower at the same time. It takes some practice to do consistently. If you fail, reload your save. Once you have succeeded, your follower's conversation menu should still be open as you transform. Wait until the animation finishes completely. Then, trade with your follower. Give them the fortify alchemy items, then go into their inventory and hold shift (if on pc; on a console use whatever button is used to equip things from containers) and equip all of the fortify alchemy gear. The glitch will allow you to equip multiple items in the same slot, allowing you to boost your alchemy to high levels without grinding it. Then wait an hour or two to transform back. next, collect any two the following ingredients:
- Abecean Longfin. Can be found in the water around the Lady Stone in the lake outside Helgen.
- Cyrodilic Spadetail. See above.
- Salt Pile. Can be bought from most general vendors.
- You can use a Yellow Mountain Flower instead of any of the above ingredients (Except for salt pile; Salt Pile + Yellow Mountain Flower produces a normal magnitude potion.) if Dawnguard is installed, which produces a stronger potion and thus requires less fortify alchemy gear.
Once the ingredients are collected, mix a fortify restoration potion and check the magnitude. If it's around 100%, you're good. if it's lower, equip more fortify alchemy gear with werewolf chat. If it's higher, unequip a piece or two of gear until the magnitude is around 100%.
Once you have your potion, find the Atronach Stone. Then drink the potion and select the stone. Check your stats. If your magicka is around 100 higher than before, then congratulations! You have the advanced atronach stone. If not, the potion wasn't powerful enough. Equip more gear and mix another.
It's worth noting here that some quests are glitched by 100% spell absorption. I'll start a list here of those that I'm sure are and those that I think are. If anyone knows of any others, please tell me and I will add them. I strongly recommend taking a different stone before doing any of the following quests, and changing back to the Advanced Atronach afterwards:
Quests that I'm sure are glitched by 100% spell absorption:
- Brelyna's Practice. Neither of the spells she casts on you will work, and thus the objective to wait for the first one to wear it off will never complete.
Quests that I think would be glitched by 100% spell absorption:
- Chasing Echoes. My theory is that if you choose to be soul trapped to enter the soul cairn, then the spell might fail, depending on how it's coded. Unsure of how this would affect the quest exactly.
Gameplay:
Start the battle at a distance with arrow or spell. Few enemies will be able to retaliate effectively against an Arcanamach striking from a distance, since you will absorb any spells they try to cast. When your enemies reach you, draw your sword, with a shield or spell in your off hand. If you have the magicka, a cloak spell can be used to augment your melee damage. Whirlwind Cloak is especially useful if you don't wish to continue the battle at close range. At that point it's standard sword and shield or spellsword gameplay. I recommend using Runes to damage foes as they approach you. The Runemaster perk is useful for this.
Roleplay:
The Arcanamach can be Roleplayed a variety of ways. I played mine as a warrior who'd been born on an auspicious night under the sign of the Atronach, twisting the effects of that sign and making him immune to magic and unable to regenerate it on his own. Other sample ideas include:
A power hungry warlord who relentlessly hunts down mages to absorb their energy.
A scholar/warrior seeking to learn the secrets of magic and why his special abilities exist.
A warrior who unexpectedly developed strange magical talents.
A priest or paladin of one of the Divines, blessed with the ability to wield the elements and absorb magic.
A mercenary who offers his services to adventurers expecting to fight mages.
A witch hunter of sorts who believes all mages are evil and hunts them using their strange talents, ultimately willing to use magic themselves to destroy their foes.
And so much more!
Final Notes:
Constructive criticism is very welcome. This is the first build I've actually written, though I have many others in the playtesting phase. I've lurked here for a while but only recently made an account.
I just want to say that yes, this build is playtested, and in fact I'm still playing my own Arcanamach character.
Special thanks to Vazgen, for providing the exact numbers to reach 100% fortify restoration, helping a bit with the images (because I suck at image editing), and providing helpful criticism, Mason for inspiring me to make an Atronach build, and No Snakes aLive for introducing me to the Werewolf Chat glitch.
And finally, thanks for reading!
+1
Also, you mention joining Volkihar, won't it interfere with you being a werewolf?