1. Full-on Mage. I don't know much about TES games, but from the little I've seen/read, I'd assume this would be going down the destruction path as well as some good healing magic. I'd put basically nothing into melee and wear robes all the time.
2. Archer/Mage. Weird combination, I know. But the reason I'm so excited to play this game is because it seems like you're free to play in whichever way I've you choose. I'd be focusing on the Archery and probably Destruction here (although I will probably try to read up on the schools to see which would benefit me most) and I'd probably wear Heavy Armor just for the hell of it. I've never cared about what is "good" in RPGs, just what fits the character I'm trying to RP.
3. Battlemage. Heavy Armor, Two-Handed Sword and a heavy focus on magic. I'd definitely be more Mage than Warrior with this build... sword and armor would basically be for looks.
Now I'd be happy playing all of these types, but what I'm curious to know is whether or not it's really easy to spread yourself too thin and just be horrible at everything. I'd definitely like to play some sort of hybrid, but if that would instantly doom me to failure, I'd like to know what I'm getting myself into beforehand. Honestly speaking, I'd still play the build if it gimped me... I'm just curious about the leveling in this game.
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If you wake up at a different time, in a different place, could you wake up as a different person? [HERO'S PLUNGE] http://img.imgcake.com/finegifdy.gif
Illusion magic to compensate for the heavy armor (noise muffling and invisibility), also train sneak, Stealth + Archery = awesome.
Well only if you want to!
Definitely. I was kind of scared that this would be a game where you were basically required to use melee. As much as I liked Dark Souls, I felt you were basically forced to rely on melee damage. I honestly didn't feel like much of a Sorcerer until I was about 40 hours into that game. Bows didn't seem viable for primary damage dealing in that game either.
From: LowCalorieH2O | #004 the game is totally easy it doesn't matter what you are.
On adept (normal difficulty), it is easy enough to play basically any type of character, yeah. Don't agree with it being that way on higher difficulties (unless "any type of character" includes smithing and enchanting on everything), but you shouldn't have a problem.
Archer/Mage with a focus on Illusion and Conjuration (or just a good conjuration staff) and sneak is really good. Almost too good once you hit higher levels, really.
I had the most fun with full on mage, probably. It's important to focus heavily on alteration magic if you're playing robes only, or you'll die really quickly.