The
question for anyone who begins to play Morrowind is obviously; how can I be a truly
badass mage? Well, I have the answers as to how and I will share the simple
steps required for you to make the most badass mage you can.
Step 1: Racial Choice
The 10 races
available in Morrowind can be classified by their attributes, starting skills
and passives into the somewhat simplified Warrior, Thief, Mage and
Jack-of-all-Trades categories, though it is important to remember that none of
these determine what a race can do if you want to go for something unusual.
The Warrior
races are Nord, Orc and Redguard. The Thief races are Argonian, Bosmer and
Khajiit. The Mage races are Altmer and Breton. And the JoaT races are Dunmer
and Imperial.
Obviously,
the best races for spellcasters are Altmer and Breton… but if you want to make
the best magician you can, you should avoid those races. Ideally you should
pick a race with the lowest possible score of Intelligence, which is the
primary Mage stat. And the additional magicka multiplier the Altmer and Breton
have are useless racial passives.
My
recommendation are the Warrior races, perhaps especially Nords with their
incredibly useful passive resistances to Frost and Shock. This is because you’ll
have a good starting value in Strength and Endurance, which will give you more
carrying capacity and health.
Step 2: Class
The first
rule is simple; do not pick a mage class. You don’t need the magic skills. If
you’re picking from the pre-made classes, the Warrior, Barbarian and Knight are
excellent options if you want survivability and general badassery. Or you can
pick one focusing on Marksman or Sneak. Anything to give you an edge while you
build up your magic power.
If you make
a custom class, the only – and I mean ONLY – magic skill worth having on your
character is Enchant. Leaves the rest out of your class.
Step 3: Birthsign
“Ah,” I hear
you saying. “This is where we start to pick magic stuff, because you’re
thinking we’ll exploit the limitless training and grinding option to master our
magic skills.”
Nope, all
wrong. The magician (or more accurately Battlemage/Nightblade sort of thing,
depending on your choice of combat or stealth) I’m building for you does not
need to increase their magic skills at all.
Morrowind
have some truly powerful birthsigns. And some absolute garbage ones. For this character,
you should pick something that fills out your character, depending on racial
choice and class attribute bonuses. Attribute bonuses are great here.
For
example, take a Nord Barbarian. He has good values in Strength, Endurance and
Speed, but low Agility. So the Lover with its +25 Agility is an excellent
choice here. Or an Argonian Barbarian, who has low Endurance, so the Lady is a
great choice.
Do not pick
the Mage or the Apprentice. Their primary benefit is additional magicka, which
you will not need. You can pick the Atronach for the passive chance to absorb
magic directed at you, however, with no drawback. As you will not use magic,
you will not be harmed by the additional limits on magicka regeneration.
Step 4: Enchanted Items
Enchanted
items are the true power behind spellcasting in Morrowind. There is just no
competition between Spells and Cast When Used items. Here are the main reasons,
in no particular order.
Chance of
failure. Spells can fail to work, though this usually stops being a problem
shortly after beginning the game. Enchanted items, however, do not even have a
chance to fail.
Independent
resources. Each enchanted item has its own magicka pool to draw from, unlike
regular spells, which all share.
Regenerating
magicka. While your characters magicka does not regenerate just by the passage
of time, your enchanted items do. And most items regenerate reasonably fast. A
simple “Restore 10 Health” item will almost always be ready to go, which is
incredibly powerful early in the game.
Instant
cast time. Spells in Morrowind have 2-3 second cast animations. Enchanted items
are instant and without animation. So you can cast several fireballs with an
item in the time it takes for a “real” mage to do it once.
Custom
Enchantments and Soul Gems. You can make custom items containing spells (though
you have to know the effects, but you can just buy any spell for that) that can
have very significant magicka reserves. The soul of a Golden Saint, for example,
have an impressive 400 charge, while your normal max magicka is 100, plus any additional
magicka multipliers.
Conclusion
The best
mages in Morrowind are not the mages, but the Warriors, Barbarians, Assassins
and Thieves who carry around a fine selection of enchanted items.
