Skyrim Character Building » Discussions


Event Build: The Last Sorcerer Queen

Tags: #Character Build Spellsword  #Character Build Elementalist  #Character Build Battlemage  #Rank:Event Mythic  #Hall of Fame Build  #Event:Crossworlds  #Elysium 
  • Member
    February 23, 2015

    I gotta admit, this is not what I was expecting (like you said in closing notes, Illusion/buffing would be closer to the actual character), but I love it! Very well put together.

  • Member
    February 23, 2015

    Very cool! I like that you took influence not only from the source material, but also from the in-world lore. The Ayleids are fascinating (inb4 Henson).

    Speaking of Henson, I feel like you're the him of this generation of builders: It's incredible how you're able to churn out so many deep, unique, and completely different builds at this rate. Keep up the fantastic work, please!

    Not sure if you're aware of this, but Auriel's Sun Storm is actually one of the coolest things in the game IMO, when used against undead. James was going to discuss Auriel's Bow in his Taper Damage breakdown, but he never did publish that third installment in the series. However, the bow, when combined with Necromage, Sunhallowed Arrows, and a Fortify Destruction potion, will absolutely demolish undead enemies in truly unprecedented ways. We're talking hundreds or even over 1,000 damage per target here. The bow itself does Taper damage, as do the Sunhallowed beams. It's a force of the most pure, unadulterated awesomeness you can imagine.

    I also love the absorption trick. Adrik used it with the Sanguine Rose, which is something you may want to look into as well. It basically functions as a staff of Restore Magicka, which is super cool. I also like combining the Apprentice with the Atronach (another Adrik trick) -- more builds should do this! And the buffing poison is yet another awesome tactic that deserves more love. Kudos on really bringing these together nicely.

    Also, just FYI, you can grow Glowing Mushroom too. Nightshade + Glowing Mushroom is a Hearthfire aficionado's favorite Fortify Destruction potion -- throw in some Wheat for Fortify Health as well!

    +1 to Phil on the use of language and naming conventions. Did you make these up yourself or find them in the lore? If the former, I'm blown away by how authentic they sound.

    Pretty much the only criticism I have to offer is, on a personal level, I'm not a fan of grinding and perking Enchanting, then dumping the perks once you have your gear. I believe I mentioned this on one of your other builds as well, and the opinion still stands for me. I think this build would be plenty effective without Enchanting at all; you could buy or find generic random loot to keep a fair portion of those enchants, and even with unenchanted armor, I think this build would have more than enough ground to stand on.

  • February 23, 2015

    Elysium the Great... hmmm... I think I'll put the throne here and my subjects will stand over there....

  • February 23, 2015

    I have to admit, that made me lol. Yeah, it's actually incredible when you take a look at fantasy languages how complete a lot of them are.

  • February 23, 2015

    That was my concern, that people will be expecting something else, but I'm glad you're all enjoying it.

  • Member
    February 23, 2015

    Man, that picture never gets old.  I always LOL whenever I see it.

  • February 23, 2015
    You're not alone on that.
  • Member
    February 23, 2015

    For my own part, everything looks fantastic.  This is a build I'll have to look at as a potential playthrough in the near future (as if I ever thought I'd get around to playing DA:I in spite of buying it two or so months ago).  It's amusing, given that I'm not really a GRRM fan (I read through the first three books, but haven't bothered past that because I got tired of all the death just when a character started to get interesting), but Daenerys is one of three characters that actually kept my interest through what I have read.  An excellent build -- I wish I could do something like this, but I just have to give it time.  A definite +1.

  • February 23, 2015

    Wow, you and your long comments. Thank you very much. That's one hell of a compliment, and I find it interesting that Henson is considered a different generation than me (for all I know, he might actually be).

    On Auriel's Sunstorm, I knew the Fortify Destruction potion augmented everything else, but I wasn't quite aware of how much, since math in video games is really not my strong suit (as I think we went over on my Mane build), but I didn't notice the taper damage, actually. I'll make a point of mentioning it.

    Honestly, with my love affair with legendary-ing/respecing unneeded crafting trees and bugging out AI through pole-vaulting up dungeon walls and Fortify Restoration-ing Standing Stones to almost god-like effects, I find the Staff of Restore Magicka to be too cheesy. I lack the self-control necessary to use it responsibly, so I don't.

    As much as I'd love to say that I made up those names, I didn't. There's a UESP page on their lore, history, and language that I picked and chose from.

  • Member
    February 23, 2015

    Henson transcends generations. 

    The taper damage technically exists for all enemies, but Necromage greatly augments its duration and magnitude against undead targets. You can see some of that in James's first two discussions on the subject, in the T&T group. Like I said, he never published his findings for Auriel's Bow specifically, but both the bow's built-in sun damage enchantment as well as the Sunhallowed damage effect do have taper damage, and do tear apart undead if you're using the Necromage perk.

    I don't have specific numbers, but the difference is significant and readily observable. Like I said, one of the most badass mechanics in the game, IMO. And I think you may actually be the first to really use it with Auriel's Bow specifically, so extra kudos for you there.

    Also, no shame in taking the names from known lore -- it's still more than most builders bother to do, and it greatly adds some authenticity to the lore framework. I like it a lot whether or not the names were made up, I was just curious.