Helton said:
Training? Its unbalanced. I've never trained an active melee or armor skill. But magic? They just seem to go up so slow and I feel like an enormouse dick sitting there casting a fireball at the ground a thousand times.
That depends. If you want to make a jack-of-all-trades character then go for it and train at least to 30 so that you can do anything with the skill. On the other hand, the game seems more fun when you stick to a dedicated build. The last time I played MW I made a nord fighter who had alchemy and restoration as minor skills. I didn't use other spells aside from mark&recall and other essentials, and these you can cast even if your mysticism is at 10 (or you can buy items with appropriate enchantments). Galsiah comes with a mana regen system, so I just waited and tried until a successful cast.
It made the game more difficult and even - gasp! - somewhat strategic. I had to use various items and tricks to kill magic users or fighters more powerful than myself. I had a plan from the beginning that I can train one skill point at a trainer per level, so I got my Marksman skill a bit up to compensate for lack of spell artillery and tried to bombard enemies with throwing knives/stars before they could approach or nail me with spells. Also, I actually used alchemy to get fe. levitation, so that I could kill some more bothersome melee-based enemies.
A no stealing and no creeper playthrough makes te game really better as I had problems to get decent equipment. I used imperial templar armor for a really long time until some quest gave me a piece of ebony armor.
EDIT: Oh, I almost forgot: you should try "weapon fix" and "armor fix" mods. Try searching these names on PES, they should pop up. These mods make an attempt to rebalance weaponry and armor, and I really enjoyed these changes. For example, the glass armor is still very powerful, but it breaks down real easy, so you either have to be a decent armorer and carry hammers at all times or consider using some medium armor replacements. Same with katanas, they're powerful but have very small durability.
The crossbow shoots very slowly, but packs a big punch. If you deliver a crossbow shot while stealthing you have a chance to deliver an insta-kill.
Weapons are generally more lightweight, except for blunt weapons which makes them finally useful. Your typical mace delivers less damage than a sword, but it can make the enemy to stumble due to it's mass and thus you get two or three free hits. Warhammers are especially great, since they're very heavy and deliver decent damage.
Give these mods a try, they're definitely worth it.