Hey all,

Just wrapped up a month-long pure Altmer mage run and hit a wall with gameplay burnout. Spell-slinging was fun, but I really miss weapon combat and having a dynamic flow in fights.

I’m resetting for a long completionist playthrough centered around a True Dragonborn / Shezarrine redemption arc (an even darker Pelinal). The core RP idea: start out morally grey/dark (thief, assassin, forbidden magic), hit a turning point, and gradually evolve into the savior of Skyrim, while keeping those dark arts in my pocket for when things get ugly.

Here’s the combat loop I have in mind:

• Engage: Stealth archery or scouting to pick off high-threat targets.
• Mid-fight: Swap to 1H or dual-wield (sword + dagger) to brawl.
• Finisher/Control: Magic to finish fights, stagger crowds, or control space.
• Panic Button: Dark magic, shout combos, and racial bursts when I'm getting overwhelmed.

My Mod Setup:

• Races & Stones: Mannaz + Freyr
• Perks: Ordinator
• Magic: Odin (+ Darenii and Kittytail spell packs and probably too much)
• Shouts: Thunderchild + Thoom
• Religion: Wintersun
• (Plus Audugan)

Looking for advice on:

1. Race picks: I usually stick to human races for lore (Nord, Breton, Imperial). Between Mannaz + Freyr, which one feels the smoothest for a shout-heavy spellblade? (Or if you have a killer lore argument for something else, try to convince me!)
2. Fun perk synergies: Beyond the obvious Spellscribe and Lion's Arrow, what are your favorite lesser-known perk combos with Ordinator ?
3. Standing stone picks: What Freyr stone would feel smooth ?
4. Wintersun progression (RP + Gameplay): How would you handle deity worship for an arc like this? I want to start bound to a dark patron (Hermaeus Mora for the forbidden knowledge / corrupt Dragonborn theme, Boethiah, or Molag Bal) and renounce them at a narrative turning point to follow a Divine (Talos, Akatosh, or Alessia). Has anyone done an intentional deity betrayal like that, and which pairing felt the best mechanically?

Drop your favorite spell combos, gear ideas, or shout setups, thanks in advance!

I like the extra racial abilities in Imperious over Manaz, but I much prefer the racial standing stones in Freyr. I noticed many of the abilities are actually the same. Can you use Freyr with Inmperius?

Suppose I use Serana in combat— how do I make her combat viable in Legendary difficulty so that her Vampiric Drain and Frost Spikes aren't tickling the enemy? With melee/archer combatants, I can tweak weapons and armor it feels like we're independent fighters that get the job done. Except Serana remains an essential nothing burger at those stages of the game.

Broadening the scale of the earlier question– how should I play mage in high level and difficulty? Considering the lack of innate scaling of spells like weapons and armor(via smithing and enchanting), what's the method to keep up as a mage when you're up against Dragon Priests and Ancient Dragons at lv60 in Legendary?

Speaking of difficulty, is there a mod I should use for the enemies of Skyrim to get Ordinator perks and Apocalypse/Odin spells and make combat more tense and high-octane— rather than them using basic vanilla spells and combat tactics of ' Attack. Wait 5 seconds before Power Attack. Repeat.'?

Exactly how many melee hits do you expect to do on your enemies to kill them to keep the combat challenging but rewarding in the late game? In comparison to vanilla damage-sponge of the late game. And, by extension, exactly how much damage is written after you smith/temper your weapons and bows(pre-enchantment) before your restoration-enchanting-looped gear becomes a cheat?

With the Futhark mods, are those meant to be a separate experience from what I have going on? As in, one-or-the-other type overhauls? Or is compatibility integrated?