Would need to select more perks in Shield Wall faster, and maybe grab Fortify Block equipment, because that Targe blocks a pathetic amount of damage without a Fortify Block enchantment. But damn if that doesn't sound like a load of fun!

[blockquote][b][url=/profile/Solyeuse]Solyeuse[/url] said:[/b]

You forgot Enchanter, Blacksmith, and Alchemist. There's a good build idea - the Polymath.

I didn't use regular staves that weren't Jyrik Gauldurson in this playthrough, but I definitely felt that the Staff of Jyrik fires slower than the character's standard Lightning Bolt spells.

As for backstory and RP, I'm definitely of the opinion that less is often more when it comes to backstory and RP. Every character is likely to have some roleplay intrinsic to it, but there often isn't a need to include everything or even most things. Of course in this sense every build is going to have to find its own balance - sometimes RP is quite crucial to the build, but other times it isn't, and often when it is it's not really the entire RP thing, just a few key points that enhance the feel of the build. In those cases I think I'd favour including nothing more than those few key points.

Obviously I'm not saying that RP and long backstories in builds are always bad. Especially for our current event Follow Me Follow You I think it's really important to have. But it is definitely my opinion (one that, judging by the number of RP builds on the side, isn't really shared by a lot of people, and I'm honestly fine with that) that less RP detail and no intricate backstories is often a good thing.

Not always, though. The Prodigy is one of my favourite presented builds of all time.

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Hmm, I guess we disagree on that point then, since I tend to favor strong RP in my builds. It is great, though that two viewpoints can both yield quality work, which your work clearly is.  I do pay attention to my gameplay though and often manipulate the tried and true, or come up with screwed up ones with friends to reinforce the RP. I need, however, reasons to do things. And with over 4000 hours in the game, they need to be compelling ones. :D I still find them, though and when I find them, that's where the builds come from.  But to me, putting a build that is the result of you having had a great time is the best kind of build. 

And you and I should collab on the Polymath, but only if we make him wear Daedric armor and adopt two children and live at Lakeview manor and have him marry like the nicest person in Skyrim and then say he wants to rule the universe and then add 150 mods to the game. :P And physics, one of the mods must be physics. 

[blockquote][b][url=/profile/LissetteLongChapper]Lissette Long-Chapper[/url] said:[/b]

Hmm, I guess we disagree on that point then, since I tend to favor strong RP in my builds. It is great, though that two viewpoints can both yield quality work, which your work clearly is.  I do pay attention to my gameplay though and often manipulate the tried and true, or come up with screwed up ones with friends to reinforce the RP. I need, however, reasons to do things. And with over 4000 hours in the game, they need to be compelling ones. :D I still find them, though and when I find them, that's where the builds come from.  But to me, putting a build that is the result of you having had a great time is the best kind of build. 

And you and I should collab on the Polymath, but only if we make him wear Daedric armor and adopt two children and live at Lakeview manor and have him marry like the nicest person in Skyrim and then say he wants to rule the universe and then add 150 mods to the game. :P And physics, one of the mods must be physics. 

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Oh my god, we can do a three-way collab. That build will hit legendary within a few hours. Incredible ideas, guys, keep them coming! Maybe we should make them do every quest in the game, get every item in the game, get a mod that allows us to have 20 followers at once, and maybe equip as much armor and weapons as we want at the same time!!! Wow, this is turning into something really special.

[blockquote][b][url=/profile/LissetteLongChapper]Lissette Long-Chapper[/url] said:[/b]

Hmm, I guess we disagree on that point then, since I tend to favor strong RP in my builds. It is great, though that two viewpoints can both yield quality work, which your work clearly is.  I do pay attention to my gameplay though and often manipulate the tried and true, or come up with screwed up ones with friends to reinforce the RP. I need, however, reasons to do things. And with over 4000 hours in the game, they need to be compelling ones. :D I still find them, though and when I find them, that's where the builds come from.  But to me, putting a build that is the result of you having had a great time is the best kind of build.

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It's not that I'm against the idea of strong RP in a build, per se. There are a hundred or a thousand RP-driven builds on the site, and obviously not all of them are bad. I just don't think it should be overpowering. It's difficult to explain, but perhaps this is a suitable analogy: I don't want to play your character. I want to play my character with your build.

Going back to the Prodigy that I mentioned a few posts ago - the build is very roleplay-driven; the character's backstory (former cultist of Miraak who broke free of his control) influences the choice of equipment (Cultist Robes) and combat style (Shout-heavy), which then plays on the character's skillset (unarmored Alteration and Sneak; Quiet Casting perk). RP is omnipresent in this build, but it doesn't suffocate the build, and to me that second half is essential.

I think it's a pretty delicate balance to get right, and obviously rather than risk getting it wrong here, I've elected to throw the entire thing away.

Add one more compliment to the growing list: This is great!

Like the others have said, something doesn't have to revolutionary to be interesting, the builder just needs to care enough about it, and it's obvious that you care about this build. While I'd like a little more in the Roleplay sectiom, saying what you did rather than what people could do (its your build after all), I can look past it as the rest of the build is proper good.

Oh, I could write an entire chaptered story about what I did in this playthrough... in fact, I just might. Then link to it from the build. There's an idea. Could be fun... in fact, I think I will do exactly that...

I did mention that my RP was as a Legionnaire, but that was a single sentence in the middle of a paragraph with no other information so maybe it doesn't count. That said, I would definitely find it quite challenging to add any part of my own RP because I feel that it doesn't contribute significantly to the feel of the build. Also I ran afoul of the character limit and had to cut more than a few paragraphs and sentences so that's preventing me from adding anything more, too. And, well, if you glance through the comments you'll find quickly that I'm not an extremely big fan of RP in character builds - that it shouldn't be overpowering or forced but just natural.

Thank you for the compliment!

A very well crafted build. +1 from me.
Only input from me is that, instead of piegon holing Staff of Jyrik to a secondary status, it can be used as a complement to the main weapon, in a backup scenario.

Just so you know, there is no "Charge" time for jyrik's staff...a simple tap of the mouse button will launch the attack, making it the fastest & highest DPS magical weapon in game, equivalent to a swing of a sword.

With such a combo, one can technically burn down an enemy, even with difficulty mods on legendary quite fast.
Be wary though, the soul gem consumption rate on Jyrik is high so you might want to invest some perk points at least in enchanting.
In particular, the perk that let's you get more Magicka out of your soul gem when recharging.

I really like this build, there's just something about it, it's so.. pure.

Thank you for the compliment, Elyrius! That's high praise indeed - I won't say that "purity" was exactly what I was striving for, but it definitely captures a lot of the essence of what I wanted while writing.

I've just tested the Staff of Jyrik Gauldurson. It does indeed have an incredibly fast fire rate - it's not instantaneous, so you can't spam your mouse button and fire five bolts in a second, but you're right - the audio is deceptively slow and this weapon does throw out a lot of lightning very quickly! I'd love to add this to the build proper... but I've run afoul of the character limit; even a single sentence is likely to put me over! (Managed to cram it in anyway.)