I’d first like to say that for all of us, me, DeGroot The Editor, and Ylva Endran, this has been our first collaborative build (and Ylva’s first build overall) and we are all very happy with how it turned out. We all exchanged ideas, playtested, and contributed to the build as you see it. So, we are extremely proud to present our entry to the Team CB Event. . . .
The Archmagister
During the Second Era, Morrowind had its own Mages guild, known as the Shad Astula Academy. While it was known for insane, rigorous entry requirements and a curriculum designed to weed out the weaker mages, a prospective mage could learn more than from the Mages Guild, in half the time. While there have not been many students that have survived, let alone graduated, the finished product is a mage of almost daedric proportions.
One Mer of the Academy realized the corruptive ability of magical artifacts. Striking a
deal with Hermaeus Mora to seal all artifacts of power he finds in the waters
of Apocrypha, this former Archmagister of the Shad Astula seeks out
artifacts of power for the safety of Man- and Mer-kind.
The Build
Race: Altmer if you don’t care about Roleplay too much, for extra magicka and Highborn. DeGroot and Ylva went with Dunmer.
Stone: Lord + Atronach
Stat Placement: 3/2/0
Major Skills: One-Handed, Block, Restoration, Alteration
Minor Skills: Enchanting, Illusion
Equipment: Aetherial Crown, Archmage's Robes/Temple Priest Robes/College Robes, Archmage’s Boots, Gauldur Amulet, Dawnbreaker, Unenchanted Staff, Staff of Magnus, Miraak’s Staff
Shouts: Elemental Fury, Unrelenting Force, Battle Fury
Master of Staff, Sword, and Knowledge
The Archmagister has severed all ties to the Shad Astula, but has chosen to wander Tamriel and protect it’s citizens from dangerous, stray magical artifacts, and those who seek to wield them. He also keeps a loyal follower around, buffing them with Illusion and healing them with Restoration. Alteration is used mainly for Flesh spells, to provide a healthy amount of defense. Enchanting was very much a minor skill, I got by fine without it, and was playing on Master nearly my entire playthrough. DeGroot and Ylva used it a bit, for their boot/gloves/ring mainly. You’ll also notice that the stat spread is completely neglecting Stamina……“Not that strange” you tell yourself. Ah, but you likely failed to realize what this really means. For this allows us to use the pure concentrated awesomeness known as…….The Infinite Stamina Glitch. Now, by itself, this glitch is cool, allowing for infinite sprinting (and that damned perpetual panting that comes with it (free of charge)) and infinite Steady Hand. But when you take the ISG, and combine it with the Staff-bashing glitch, (which also works on PC, confirmed by Ser DeGroot) something amazing happens. If you’re unfamiliar with this glitch, basically you just put an unenchanted staff in your left hand, and with an empty right hand you can spam the attack button. You attack very, very fast, but around 40%-50% off all the attacks are normal bashes instead of fast attacks. But to improve on that, all you have to do is slap a one handed sword into your right hand, and suddenly, the staff-bashing glitch is still working. This is fairly cool, you think. Now you can do about twice as much damage without even using enchantments or potions. But oh, it gets better. Much better. The bat-shit insanity comes when you throw in a word or two of Elemental Fury, which, while not affecting Dawnbreaker, will work on the unenchanted staff. Now, start spamming that attack, and watch in awe and sheer joy as your opponent’s health bar literally melts down and disappears in no time!
Now, this staff-whacking sword-slicing wild old man can’t take too many hits. Magic resist will cap at 65% or so, along with 50% spell absorption. You’ll have an AR of 350 with the Lord stone and Ebonyflesh endgame, and with Block you have a fair amount of survivability. This doesn’t mean that you should charge in between two giants and stand under their clubs, though. Your follower will play a large role, and you can always fall back for buffing and healing and let them take the heat. We generally picked tanky followers, and gave them the best armor we could find or buy. Fights with mages and dragons is a great time to buff your follower, take out your favorite staff and a ward, and go to work. Miraak’s staff works beautifully against melee enemies, and you can spray some tentacles on the ground and heal your follower at the same time. For mage/dragon fights, the Staff of Magnus is perfect, grounding the dragons and bringing mages into close range for your follower to slaughter. Battle Fury was also very useful, increasing weapon swing speed by 70%, although you have to be within about 20 feet of your follower. This was perfect for dual-wielding Frea, who I used later in my playthrough, and who was using full Ebony armor and two Stalhrim war axes. While in your supportive mode, Turn Undead spells are great for helping out your follower, and even if the enemy is too high of a level to be turned, they will still be heavily staggered, presenting an opening for your follower. The sword and staff combo will be your main damage dealer, and it's great against melee attackers when combined with Quick Reflexes to give you time to avoid big attacks.
We all chose somewhat different gear, although the Aetherial Crown was used by all of us. DeGroot went with Temple Priest Robes, Vampire Gloves, Archmage’s Boots, an unenchanted Illusion staff, and a simple Elven Sword. Ylva used College Robes with Fortify Health Regen, Thalmor Gloves, and the Archmage’s Boots, and I used the Archmage’s robes (for that nice fuzzy look), Archmage’s Boots, Unenchanted Alteration Staff, and Dawnbreaker.
The Archmagister’s first objective is to start searching for powerful artifacts to either use, destroy, or hide away. Daedric artifacts are great candidates for this, and should be obtained no matter the cost. When you first start, you’re going to want to grab a follower (I got Uthgerd, and DeGroot got Lydia a bit later) and head over to Geirmund’s Hall to get your first piece of the Gauldur Amulet. Now, after gathering/buying enough ingredients to make 5 or so potions of Fortify Restoration, we can put Alastor’s mathematical skills to use. As he suggested (in the comments) on the Sapiarch build, simply get your Alchemy skill to 20 (I used Arcadia to train) and make a few Fortify Restoration potions. Make sure that you make at least 4 of these, as there will be several times when you have to take your amulet off during your playthough. You can always duplicate them later though (I used the follower duplication glitch). Then place a single point into Alchemist, and make a few more Fortify Restoration potions. So, drink the first one, which is 18%, and then the second, a 20%, and equip the Gauldur Amulet fragment. Now you’ve got infinite stamina only about an hour into the build! Next, you can do the Main Quest until the cultists come after you, and then go pick up a staff from Neloth. Getting a word of Elemental Fury is a good idea too, as well as grabbing a Silver sword, which is a perfect starting weapon against undead until you get Dawnbreaker.
The Archmagister recognizes the same energy and lust for learning in the students of College of Winterhold as he saw ages ago at the Shad Astula academy, and joins in hopes of establishing some friends among the mages there. He is also drawn to Solstheim, and soon discovers the extent of Hermaeus Mora’s influence there. Starting out, concentrate on the CoW quests for the Staff of Magnus and the Archmage’s Robes (If you’ve chosen to use them). The Black Star is perfect for recharging our charge-greedy weapons, as between Dawnbreaker, the Staff of Magnus, and Miraak’s staff, you’re really using up your soul gems. You’ll want to start Lost to the Ages early too for the Aetherial Crown, and afterwards complete Dragonborn and Lost Legacy.
About level 30 is a good time to start upping your arsenal. I picked up Dawnbreaker, which is, of course, an amazing undead-hunting weapon. I also got Frea, the final word of Elemental Fury, and got my Alteration to 75 for Ebonyflesh all about at this time. You can complete the Gauldur Amulet as well if you wish, for an extra 37 health and magicka. If you want a more . . . heavy hitting follower, however, go ahead and grab Mjoll. She’s essential, so cannot die, and has an enormous amount of health and stamina, plus what Courage and Rally add. What really makes this badass, though, is when you head over to Tumble Arch Pass Giant Camp and have Mjoll (who also happens to have perks in Two-Handed) pick up the Giant’s Club there. Then use three words of Battle Fury and she’ll slaughter anything in her path. Even at level 40 or so, she killed a Draugr Deathlord in about 5 seconds on Master! DeGroot chose Teldryn Sero (blade for hire) late game, equipping him with a set of Glass armor which he enchanted mainly with Fortify Health, Stamina, Magicka, and One-Handed.
Foe-Hammer - Readying and strengthening his flesh for a lengthy battle, the Archmagister imbues his weaponry with the winds, allowing them to strike with incredible speed and hit even harder.
Our ultimate move, Ebonyflesh will last for more than 3 minutes, giving you plenty of time to pile up the bodies before having to recast your armor. Dawnbreaker will cut through undead, sending even the strongest fleeing after watching the guy next to them explode.
Requires: Dawnbreaker, Unenchanted Staff, Elemental Fury, Alteration Dual-Casting, Mage Armor 3/3, Ebonyflesh
Artifacts and Immortality
In about 2E 600, Hermaeus Mora was summoned by an Archmage of the Shad Astula.
Expecting some fool or half-wit eager to procure his boons, Mora
found a mer of a different sort entirely. . . . .
"Teeeellll meee, moooortalll. Whaaat. . . .iis itt you seeeek most? Pooower? Fame? . . . . Maaagical prowwess? Aaaaaasssk, and you shaaallllll receive, for a. . . . priiiice."
"I wish for a boon, my lord. Give me the knowledge of immortality."
"Immooortality haasss aaa. . . . .steeeep price. Thaaaat knowledge. . . . wiiiiill cooosst you quiiiite deeeaarlyyy. Yooouu maaay eeeven neeeed to live forever. . . .juuuust tooo paaayy me baaack."
"Do this for me, and the waters of Apocrypha shall feed upon the knowledge found in the magical artifacts of Tamriel."
. . . . . . "Ittttt. . . . shaaaallll beeee sssoo."
Having secured his immortality, the Archmagister intends to keep it! So head out there any start grabbing anything that looks remotely dangerous, preferably in a magical sort of way. Nothing will stop the Archmagister from getting his hands on these artifacts, even the lives of innocents. He realizes that far more damage could be wrought if these items fall to the wrong people. Not that the weapon has to be Daedric, as Dragonbane, Auriel’s Bow, and Harkon’s Sword are all great things to toss into the murky waters. Some items he chooses to use for himself, such as Dawnbreaker, the Aetherial Crown, and the staves of Magnus and Miraak. These will aid him in gathering more relics to appease Mora and protect Tamriel.
The Archmagister is an extreme hater of undead as well, slaughtering draugr and vampires alike with his magical sword and his whirling staff. The failure of the haughty and overconfident Vigilants of Stendarr to suppress the Daedra only strengthens his resolve to gather their artifacts. He also kills Vigilants whenever he sees them, believing them to be weak, as they are hardly able to kill a mere Flame Atronach on their own. He hopes that in eradicating the weak, a stronger group might rise up to take their place and hold back the daedra, and sees great promise in a growing group of vampire hunters. . . .
Questlines - Main Quest, College of Winterhold, Dawnguard, Dragonborn
Side Quests - The Black Star, The Man Who Cried Wolf/The Wolf Queen Awakened, Waking Nightmare, The Book of Love, Forbidden Legend, Lost to the Ages, Lost Legacy, Daedric Quests
Credits
Firstly, we took lots of inspiration from Gandalf, also known as He Who Flies Fools. Gotta love that staff and sword fighting!
Credit to Alastor for first using the staff-bashing glitch in his Oracle build, and for getting those maths for the early Infinite Stamina.
Thanks to the hosts for having this awesome Event, and we of The New Day are all very excited to see what everybody else comes up with!
I’d first like to say that for all of us, me, DeGroot The Editor, and Ylva Endran, this has been our first collaborative build (and Ylva’s first build overall) and we are all very happy with how it turned out. We all exchanged ideas, playtested, and contributed to the build as you see it. So, we are extremely proud to present our entry to the Team CB Event. . . .
The Archmagister
During the Second Era, Morrowind had its own Mages guild, known as the Shad Astula Academy. While it was known for insane, rigorous entry requirements and a curriculum designed to weed out the weaker mages, a prospective mage could learn more than from the Mages Guild, in half the time. While there have not been many students that have survived, let alone graduated, the finished product is a mage of almost daedric proportions.
One Mer of the Academy realized the corruptive ability of magical artifacts. Striking a
deal with Hermaeus Mora to seal all artifacts of power he finds in the waters
of Apocrypha, this former Archmagister of the Shad Astula seeks out
artifacts of power for the safety of Man- and Mer-kind.
The Build
Race: Altmer if you don’t care about Roleplay too much, for extra magicka and Highborn. DeGroot and Ylva went with Dunmer.
Stone: Lord + Atronach
Stat Placement: 3/2/0
Major Skills: One-Handed, Block, Restoration, Alteration
Minor Skills: Enchanting, Illusion
Equipment: Aetherial Crown, Archmage's Robes/Temple Priest Robes/College Robes, Archmage’s Boots, Gauldur Amulet, Dawnbreaker, Unenchanted Staff, Staff of Magnus, Miraak’s Staff
Shouts: Elemental Fury, Unrelenting Force, Battle Fury
Master of Staff, Sword, and Knowledge
The Archmagister has severed all ties to the Shad Astula, but has chosen to wander Tamriel and protect it’s citizens from dangerous, stray magical artifacts, and those who seek to wield them. He also keeps a loyal follower around, buffing them with Illusion and healing them with Restoration. Alteration is used mainly for Flesh spells, to provide a healthy amount of defense. Enchanting was very much a minor skill, I got by fine without it, and was playing on Master nearly my entire playthrough. DeGroot and Ylva used it a bit, for their boot/gloves/ring mainly. You’ll also notice that the stat spread is completely neglecting Stamina……“Not that strange” you tell yourself. Ah, but you likely failed to realize what this really means. For this allows us to use the pure concentrated awesomeness known as…….The Infinite Stamina Glitch. Now, by itself, this glitch is cool, allowing for infinite sprinting (and that damned perpetual panting that comes with it (free of charge)) and infinite Steady Hand. But when you take the ISG, and combine it with the Staff-bashing glitch, (which also works on PC, confirmed by Ser DeGroot) something amazing happens. If you’re unfamiliar with this glitch, basically you just put an unenchanted staff in your left hand, and with an empty right hand you can spam the attack button. You attack very, very fast, but around 40%-50% off all the attacks are normal bashes instead of fast attacks. But to improve on that, all you have to do is slap a one handed sword into your right hand, and suddenly, the staff-bashing glitch is still working. This is fairly cool, you think. Now you can do about twice as much damage without even using enchantments or potions. But oh, it gets better. Much better. The bat-shit insanity comes when you throw in a word or two of Elemental Fury, which, while not affecting Dawnbreaker, will work on the unenchanted staff. Now, start spamming that attack, and watch in awe and sheer joy as your opponent’s health bar literally melts down and disappears in no time!
Now, this staff-whacking sword-slicing wild old man can’t take too many hits. Magic resist will cap at 65% or so, along with 50% spell absorption. You’ll have an AR of 350 with the Lord stone and Ebonyflesh endgame, and with Block you have a fair amount of survivability. This doesn’t mean that you should charge in between two giants and stand under their clubs, though. Your follower will play a large role, and you can always fall back for buffing and healing and let them take the heat. We generally picked tanky followers, and gave them the best armor we could find or buy. Fights with mages and dragons is a great time to buff your follower, take out your favorite staff and a ward, and go to work. Miraak’s staff works beautifully against melee enemies, and you can spray some tentacles on the ground and heal your follower at the same time. For mage/dragon fights, the Staff of Magnus is perfect, grounding the dragons and bringing mages into close range for your follower to slaughter. Battle Fury was also very useful, increasing weapon swing speed by 70%, although you have to be within about 20 feet of your follower. This was perfect for dual-wielding Frea, who I used later in my playthrough, and who was using full Ebony armor and two Stalhrim war axes. While in your supportive mode, Turn Undead spells are great for helping out your follower, and even if the enemy is too high of a level to be turned, they will still be heavily staggered, presenting an opening for your follower. The sword and staff combo will be your main damage dealer, and it's great against melee attackers when combined with Quick Reflexes to give you time to avoid big attacks.
We all chose somewhat different gear, although the Aetherial Crown was used by all of us. DeGroot went with Temple Priest Robes, Vampire Gloves, Archmage’s Boots, an unenchanted Illusion staff, and a simple Elven Sword. Ylva used College Robes with Fortify Health Regen, Thalmor Gloves, and the Archmage’s Boots, and I used the Archmage’s robes (for that nice fuzzy look), Archmage’s Boots, Unenchanted Alteration Staff, and Dawnbreaker.
The Archmagister’s first objective is to start searching for powerful artifacts to either use, destroy, or hide away. Daedric artifacts are great candidates for this, and should be obtained no matter the cost. When you first start, you’re going to want to grab a follower (I got Uthgerd, and DeGroot got Lydia a bit later) and head over to Geirmund’s Hall to get your first piece of the Gauldur Amulet. Now, after gathering/buying enough ingredients to make 5 or so potions of Fortify Restoration, we can put Alastor’s mathematical skills to use. As he suggested (in the comments) on the Sapiarch build, simply get your Alchemy skill to 20 (I used Arcadia to train) and make a few Fortify Restoration potions. Make sure that you make at least 4 of these, as there will be several times when you have to take your amulet off during your playthough. You can always duplicate them later though (I used the follower duplication glitch). Then place a single point into Alchemist, and make a few more Fortify Restoration potions. So, drink the first one, which is 18%, and then the second, a 20%, and equip the Gauldur Amulet fragment. Now you’ve got infinite stamina only about an hour into the build! Next, you can do the Main Quest until the cultists come after you, and then go pick up a staff from Neloth. Getting a word of Elemental Fury is a good idea too, as well as grabbing a Silver sword, which is a perfect starting weapon against undead until you get Dawnbreaker.
The Archmagister recognizes the same energy and lust for learning in the students of College of Winterhold as he saw ages ago at the Shad Astula academy, and joins in hopes of establishing some friends among the mages there. He is also drawn to Solstheim, and soon discovers the extent of Hermaeus Mora’s influence there. Starting out, concentrate on the CoW quests for the Staff of Magnus and the Archmage’s Robes (If you’ve chosen to use them). The Black Star is perfect for recharging our charge-greedy weapons, as between Dawnbreaker, the Staff of Magnus, and Miraak’s staff, you’re really using up your soul gems. You’ll want to start Lost to the Ages early too for the Aetherial Crown, and afterwards complete Dragonborn and Lost Legacy.
About level 30 is a good time to start upping your arsenal. I picked up Dawnbreaker, which is, of course, an amazing undead-hunting weapon. I also got Frea, the final word of Elemental Fury, and got my Alteration to 75 for Ebonyflesh all about at this time. You can complete the Gauldur Amulet as well if you wish, for an extra 37 health and magicka. If you want a more . . . heavy hitting follower, however, go ahead and grab Mjoll. She’s essential, so cannot die, and has an enormous amount of health and stamina, plus what Courage and Rally add. What really makes this badass, though, is when you head over to Tumble Arch Pass Giant Camp and have Mjoll (who also happens to have perks in Two-Handed) pick up the Giant’s Club there. Then use three words of Battle Fury and she’ll slaughter anything in her path. Even at level 40 or so, she killed a Draugr Deathlord in about 5 seconds on Master! DeGroot chose Teldryn Sero (blade for hire) late game, equipping him with a set of Glass armor which he enchanted mainly with Fortify Health, Stamina, Magicka, and One-Handed.
Foe-Hammer - Readying and strengthening his flesh for a lengthy battle, the Archmagister imbues his weaponry with the winds, allowing them to strike with incredible speed and hit even harder.
Our ultimate move, Ebonyflesh will last for more than 3 minutes, giving you plenty of time to pile up the bodies before having to recast your armor. Dawnbreaker will cut through undead, sending even the strongest fleeing after watching the guy next to them explode.
Requires: Dawnbreaker, Unenchanted Staff, Elemental Fury, Alteration Dual-Casting, Mage Armor 3/3, Ebonyflesh
Artifacts and Immortality
In about 2E 600, Hermaeus Mora was summoned by an Archmage of the Shad Astula.
Expecting some fool or half-wit eager to procure his boons, Mora
found a mer of a different sort entirely. . . . .
"Teeeellll meee, moooortalll. Whaaat. . . .iis itt you seeeek most? Pooower? Fame? . . . . Maaagical prowwess? Aaaaaasssk, and you shaaallllll receive, for a. . . . priiiice."
"I wish for a boon, my lord. Give me the knowledge of immortality."
"Immooortality haasss aaa. . . . .steeeep price. Thaaaat knowledge. . . . wiiiiill cooosst you quiiiite deeeaarlyyy. Yooouu maaay eeeven neeeed to live forever. . . .juuuust tooo paaayy me baaack."
"Do this for me, and the waters of Apocrypha shall feed upon the knowledge found in the magical artifacts of Tamriel."
. . . . . . "Ittttt. . . . shaaaallll beeee sssoo."
Having secured his immortality, the Archmagister intends to keep it! So head out there any start grabbing anything that looks remotely dangerous, preferably in a magical sort of way. Nothing will stop the Archmagister from getting his hands on these artifacts, even the lives of innocents. He realizes that far more damage could be wrought if these items fall to the wrong people. Not that the weapon has to be Daedric, as Dragonbane, Auriel’s Bow, and Harkon’s Sword are all great things to toss into the murky waters. Some items he chooses to use for himself, such as Dawnbreaker, the Aetherial Crown, and the staves of Magnus and Miraak. These will aid him in gathering more relics to appease Mora and protect Tamriel.
The Archmagister is an extreme hater of undead as well, slaughtering draugr and vampires alike with his magical sword and his whirling staff. The failure of the haughty and overconfident Vigilants of Stendarr to suppress the Daedra only strengthens his resolve to gather their artifacts. He also kills Vigilants whenever he sees them, believing them to be weak, as they are hardly able to kill a mere Flame Atronach on their own. He hopes that in eradicating the weak, a stronger group might rise up to take their place and hold back the daedra, and sees great promise in a growing group of vampire hunters. . . .
Questlines - Main Quest, College of Winterhold, Dawnguard, Dragonborn
Side Quests - The Black Star, The Man Who Cried Wolf/The Wolf Queen Awakened, Waking Nightmare, The Book of Love, Forbidden Legend, Lost to the Ages, Lost Legacy, Daedric Quests
Credits
Firstly, we took lots of inspiration from Gandalf, also known as He Who Flies Fools. Gotta love that staff and sword fighting!
Credit to Alastor for first using the staff-bashing glitch in his Oracle build, and for getting those maths for the early Infinite Stamina.
Thanks to the hosts for having this awesome Event, and we of The New Day are all very excited to see what everybody else comes up with!
