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Character Build: The Aeromancer

Tags: #Character Build Shouts  #Character Build Spellsword  #Character Build Elementalist  #Rank:Mythic 
  • Member
    July 23, 2013

    This build (although very overdue) was the result of me trying to create a relatively unique character to play a while back. It started as an ordinary spellsword/paladin type character, but as time went on the idea began to change itself! But, instead of dragging on about why I made this, I’ll simply present you...

     

    The Aeromancer is a wanderer. He possesses the rare ability to manipulate Kynareth's winds to augment his own strengths and turn the tides of battle in his favor. The Aeromancer is on nobody's side but his own.

    The Aeromancer's playstyle is built around these three main spells/shouts that utilize the elemental force of wind.

    Elemental Fury is the first air-based ability, and it is used to counteract the natural slowness of heavy two-handed weapons, making them rival the one-handed weapons and still retain their damage and reach. It's essentially an offensive support skill.

    Cyclone is the second ability, and it's used as both a ranged attack and a defensive maneuver. Using all three words creates a cyclone that deals roughly 100 points of magic damage, and flings targets into the air, incapacitating them and inflicting fall damage.

    Whirlwind Cloak is the third ability, and it's different from the other two by being a magic spell rather than shout. This spell keeps melee attackers off of you, but isn't as effective against archers or mages. Use it in conjunction with flesh spells to create armor for yourself.

     

    Those three skills make up the core of this build, and everything else is built around them. Note that I didn't list Whirlwind Sprint with those three, because Whirlwind Sprint has nothing to do with the wind other than it's name.

    Also, Elemental Fury and Whirlwind Cloak, while they look amazing used together, aren't exactly compatible with one another. With Whirlwind Cloak up, Elemental Fury's effect won't be used to its full potential because the cloak keeps others away from you. To fix this, the Aeromancer uses two different 'stances' when dealing with hostility.

    The Build:

    Race: Any, but I would recommend Nord, Dunmer, or Breton for their resistances and some starting stat boosts.

    Stone: Lord, or Lover for leveling.

    Stats: Equal points into Magicka and Health. Stamina is mostly irrelevant because we have no armor and power attacks slow us down.

    Shouts: Elemental Fury, Cyclone, Become Ethereal, Dragon Aspect, Dragonrend.

    Major Skills

    Destruction: Whirlwind Cloak is (of course) a main feature to this build. It is essentially the only Destruction spell used. Even though there is a Destruction skill requirement for the quest to obtain it, you can do what I did and pay for skill training. Because of Whirlwind Cloak, the only key perk is Adept Destruction.

    Alteration: Wearing only clothes and robes means you’ll have to rely on the flesh spells for protection. Robes are weightless, and won’t slow you down, meaning you are more mobile and able to dodge. Alteration also provides perks to boost magic resistance, which is very useful when combating enemy mages.

    Two-Handed: Originally I wanted to use One-Handed for this character, but I quickly learned that I had a hard time hitting anything! Which is why Two-Handed was chosen, the extra reach of the larger weapons allowed me to strike enemies just out of the Cloak’s initial range. Greatswords were my preferred choice because they swing the fastest, but yet aren’t as insanely swift as the Longhammer.

    Minor Skills

    Alchemy: There is a lot of good things that Alchemy can bring to this build. It provides the Aeromancer with (albeit temporary) boosts to our skills via potions. Poisons can also be useful, especially since, unlike enchanted weapons, poisoned weapons don’t prevent the Elemental Fury shout from affecting weapons. Having more healing potions never hurts, either.

    Block: Not all enemies will be affected by Whirlwind Cloak or Cyclone, so you’ll need to have another way to defend yourself. Block will help strengthen your physical defense, which is great because Mage Armor is weaker than normal armor most of the time. The Quick Reflexes perk is key when fighting tougher opponents. Put in as many perks into Shield Wall as you can, to make sure you can still take hits.

    Enchanting: I didn't want to use a second crafting skill, but since the Aeromancer wears robes and clothes anyway, I took the first two ranks in Enchanter and enchanted my clothes with some useful effects then ignored this skill entirely. Don't bother enchanting your sword, it needs to be unenchanted so Elemental Fury works.

     I chose to take Deep Wounds because I wasn't perking Smithing and I was mostly going to use greatswords anyway. Sweep and Concentrated Poison work wonders together, you can inflict entire groups with a single poison, then hit them all again with another dose.

    It takes a lot of work getting Block high enough for Shield Wall 5, but if you can manage it, it's well worth the effort. Maxing Block means we won't need enchantments or potions to make up for it, so you can focus more on bolstering your other skills.

    Equipment:

    Head: Diadem of the Savant, Aetherial Crown

    Chest: Fine Clothes (Fortify Alteration)

    Hands: Gloves (Fortify Two-Handed)

    Boots: Pleated Shoes (Fortify Two-Handed)

    Ring: Ring of Peerless Health, Ring of Peerless Sure Grip

    Neclace: Amulet of Talos

    The green variant of Fine Clothes were chosen for the look of a citizen of Skyrim, but they're dirty and suggest that you've been adventuring in the outdoors. Apprentice Robes and Temple Priest Robes are good substitutes because they look great, but their magicka regeneration enchantments go to waste. The rings are found as random loot so before you find them, enchant your own rings until you come across better ones. An Amulet of Talos is necessary to reduce the cooldown times of Elemental Fury and Cyclone.

    Weapons: Glass Greatsword (unenchanted), The Longhammer

    Use the strongest unenchanted greatsword you can find. I stopped with the Glass Greatsword because it was both gorgeous and strong, and being available as early as level 27. The Longhammer is kept as a backup for when you need to go berserk on enemies.

    Stances:

    The Aeromancer's fighting style is divided into two 'stances', The Squall and The Tempest, which are suited to different enemy types. Generally, if one stance isn't working against an enemy, you'd switch to the other.

     The Squall

    The Squall stance excels in brute physical force aided by speed and agility. This stance is best used when facing a single, powerful opponent.

    At the beginning of battle, dual-cast your highest level Flesh spell, which ranges from Stoneflesh to Dragonhide. Then, pull out your weapon, and use Elemental Fury on it, increasing your swing speed.

    The result is an incredibly agile warrior. The onslaught of melee attacks coupled with superior agility and defense creates a force to be reckoned with.

    The staggering potential of your two-handed weapons and ability to block and dodge make this stance particularly deadly to singled out foes.

     

     

     

     

     

    The Tempest

    The Tempest stance specializes in spells used to incapacitate hostile threats. This stance is best used when facing groups of enemies.

    At the begining of battle, cast your Whirlwind Cloak in one hand and your second strongest flesh spell, which ranges from Oakflesh to Ebonyflesh, in the other.

    Then, you may take out your weapon to block, or keep to your spells. Use the Cyclone shout to cause additional damage and mayhem. Most of your damage output will be fall damage.

     

    In general, when the Tempest's tactics aren't effective against the enemy, resort to the Squall's tactics. Nearly every enemy in the game is vulnerable to at least one of the two stances, however some enemy groups require the use of both stances. For example, Giants are vulnerable to the Tempest's tactics, but their Mammoths aren't so much.

    Mixing the two stances is hard on your magicka reserves and your shout cooldown, but alchemical potions and poisons can help maintain your magicka and weaken your opponents. As some of you may have noticed by now, the Aeromancer relies on a lot of temporary buffs (i.e. Elemental Fury, Cloaks and flesh spells, potions) so by dividing your attention between the two stances can drive your resources too thin if you aren't careful.

    Potions & Poisons:

    Bee + Dragon's Tongue + Fly Amanita = Potion of Fortify Two-handed/Regenerate Stamina/Resist Fire

    This potions is especially useful for boosting your melee damage output, with some extra fire resistance thrown in as well.

    Blue Mountain Flower + Glowing Mushroom + Swamp Fungal Pod or Blue Dartwing = Potion of Fortify Health, Restore Health, Resist Shock

    This is a great potion to heal you and grant some temporary resistance to shock damage, very useful because shock magic is the most difficult to evade.

    Large Antlers + Creep Cluster + Salt Pile = Poison of Slow, Weakness to Magic, Damage Stamina Regen

    Probably the best poison to use, it slows their movement and saps their stamina regen, especially crippling to dual-wielders. Weakness to magic makes Cyclone deal more damage to them.

     

    And here is a video from the Tamriel Vault's own HeroicXCV.

    ~Special Thanks~

    Special Thanks go out to:

    Vazgen, who took amazing screenshots.
    Henson and Nelaf, who both gave me helpful feedback on the name.
    Nikolaj Poulsen, who helped me test some things, even if it didn't turn up good results.
    Matt Feeney, for proofreading.

    And thank you for reading. 

     

     

  • Member
    July 23, 2013

    Hey Chris, a few things here. The presentation was really nice and enjoyable to me, easy read, not to big, but in enough detail. I like the use of the Wind, I had a similar idea awhile back that I never went through with.The stances was something else I really enjoyed, cool idea. The only thing I see wrong is you do not specify the Health/Magicka ratio. Maybe add whether it's 1/1, 2/2 etc. Overall nice build, cool concept. +1

  • Member
    July 23, 2013

    You're right, this was similar to the Warden although had it's own unique fighting style relying more on shouts instead of actual spells. Also, I love unarmored two-handed characters. After finally getting used to the two-handed weapons I'm actually having a tough time putting them down and have been doing some playing around with them! Whirlwind Cloak + Two-Handed Weapons really is an awesome combination and I'm glad someone else thinks so too!

    Nice job, +1

  • Member
    July 23, 2013

    "Stats: Equal points into Magicka and Health. Stamina is irrelevant because we have no armor and power attacks slow us down." 

    - From the build 

  • Member
    July 23, 2013

    Yes I saw that, I just wasn't sure what he meant thats why I said 1/1 , 2/2. personal preference then   

  • Member
    July 23, 2013

    It's 1:1 in M:H, mate. No points into stamina. 

  • Member
    July 23, 2013

    I know, I just wasn't sure of the numbers 

  • Member
    July 23, 2013

    Finally! 

    Chris, does Cyclone do damage on it's own? Not counting fall damage

  • Member
    July 23, 2013

    Yeah, ikr? Took months (I'm slow), I hope the work pays off, though.

    I noticed that shout does seem to do damage even when it doesn't throw enemies. Around 100 points of magic (not sure if elemental) damage if you use all three words.

  • Member
    July 23, 2013

    I think you overlooked whirlwind sprint, it is another shout that deals with wind and will fit in with your build perfectly. You can use it to close the distance between you and your enemy!