strategical magic question

[Clicka Mann]

I'm trying to figure out a way to do an instant death spell. I have Drain Attribute as an option, and I figured that if the enemies Endurance was completely drained, while i add a damage effect and a Drain Health effect (just to be sure) that it would completely kill the opponent since it would decrease their health by a ratio regarding their completely lost endurance. I tried it out, and it doesn't kill in one hit.

Why not?

[DM8954]

Well, endurance doesn't really do much to protect an NPCs health, so draining that won't help you toward your goal of a swift kill.

Endurance is the governing attribute for Block, Armorer, and Heavy Armor. It affects:

    * Fatigue = Endurance + Agility +Strength + Willpower (NPCs and player)
    * Base health = Endurance ? 2 (player only)
    * Health increase on leveling = Endurance ? 10 (player only)

I think that the 3 things to combine would be: weakness to magica (to make your spell stronger on whatever it hits), drain health, & damage. You can specialize it: Weakness to Fire, Fire Damage, Drain Health.

I haven't tried this sort of thing myself, but I imagine it's going to be pretty expensive. You might be able to afford to make the spell but once it's created, you might have trouble casting it. That's the problem with those sorts of power-spells.

[Blue Shift]

Most of the spells my current character uses kill instantly (or did back when he made them), and only have normal damage effects.  I'm an atronach, so I drain and store the enemy's magicka and release it in what is often a single devastating blow.  The problem with packing so many different effects into a single spell is that you don't really know which order they'll be triggered in.  What if their resistances or whatever it is that you're draining actually end up being reduced after the damage is already dealt?

[Clicka Mann]

^ Yeah, that's a good point. So does draining endurance effect an NPC's health whatsoever? I might just try power spells with a lv 1 character or something. lol It's really easy to be ridiculously strong at lv 1.

[DM8954]

It looks like draining endurance doesn't NPC health at all.

[Clicka Mann]

^ Yes, that seems to be true. So are there any other "swift kill" spells you might know of? I'm using a level 1 character, and I'm trying to create very powerful touch spells. I include the obvious effects like Weakness to Magicka, Weakness to Fire, Drain Health 100 Points For 1 Sec., Paralyze for 1 Sec, and the like. Anything I'm leaving out that would help me?

[Young Dragon]

Try poisoning or draining their fatigue to weakening then quickly

[DM8954]

Well, draining their fatigue only makes them pass out easier and do less damage.

If we're talking about a 1 hit kill spell, you need to do as much damage as possible. Paralyze won't help them die any faster. Using weakness to something should always be paired up with damage from the same something for maximum effect. Always go for drain health whenever possible.

If we're talking about effective magic battle strategies, then that opens things up a bit. You don't need to create combination spells that drain all your magica. Simple but potent spells in your strongest school will do the trick much more effectively.

Some spells can hit your target from long range without even alerting them to your presence, since they're not offensive. (You might want to verify this but I'm pretty sure.) I know charm, for sure, acts this way. Try a ranged weakness to fire spell from the shadows to see if they even notice you. If not, you could probably weaken a few enemies before you even attack... just be aware of the time limit on those spells. Weaken them to something, then use it against them.

Another approach would be to get a powerful on-touch spell and a dagger enchanted with paralyze. Paralyze with the mouse, then attack them with 'C' (cast spell). With a long enough paralyze and a strong enough attack, you can take on a larger group of enemies than you ever could with a one-hit-wonder spell that drains all your magica with the first use.

[Clicka Mann]

The paralyze helps damage a lot though. It allows for a full 4-second spell to take it's toll entirely, and also leaves the opponent heavily wide open for any other type of attack. Very cheap magic cost also, since it's only for 1 second. They'll drop right down, and it takes them at least 3 seconds to fully recuperate. I have all schools of magic mastered, and I have literally no problem at all effortlessly going through the game, I was just seeing if I could even further that with some even more ridiculous spells. lol I just think it's funny for a battle to initiate, music to kick in, you touch them with your hand, and they just die... and it's all over. lol

[DM8954]

The paralyze helps damage a lot though. It allows for a full 4-second spell to take it's toll entirely, and also leaves the opponent heavily wide open for any other type of attack. .... you touch them with your hand, and they just die.......

That's what I meant, though. Paralyze doesn't help them "just die" but it is extremely useful in helping other effects take their toll and giving you free hits in by other means. Paralyze won't add in any way to direct damage, so if a spell deals 250 damage then the only thing left to paralyze is a corpse.


I'm not big on using magic, so I can't think of any more tips for now.

[Clicka Mann]

Alright, well thanks. You helped.