I am a newbie in Skyrim and i wondered when i should start enchanting and smithing. I started enchanting on my Mage at about level 5 and i did it for so long that i got about level 10 but i didn't invest my perk points into any other skills. I was weaker later because of this.
So the conclusion to this boring explanation is: When should I start enchanting to still stay strong? This goes for all class builds.
15 Answers
Generally speaking, spend 80% of your perks on direct effectiveness in combat until you get up around level 25 or so.
In other words, limit perk spending on all these non-combat skills (enchanting/smithing/alchemy/speech/lockpicking/pickpocket) to 5 perks before level 25. This gives you 20 perks to your main attack/defense/healing abilities.
Perks have a much stronger effect than skill levels, so I wouldn't worry much about exact skill levels (exceptions: magic skills not high enough limit your spell choices, all skills not high enough limit your perk choices).
You should enchant and smith as soon as possible and and it doesn't matter how much you get from it. You can't get to strong in Skyrim, mobs scale with your level. You can't be weak since your making your enchanting and making new stronger armor. Invest a lot of time in the beginning too as you done to level 10 or more if you like making your character strong. There is no wrong build in Skyrim, just experiment.
Now you said you were weak because you didn't put points into the tree. Well plan what you want to spend it on all the time. You gain a lot of xp from smiting with a exploit that you gain the same amount of xp making iron daggers which are 1 iron then making anything else. I got my smiting to 100 this way. If you gain 6 levels from smiting then you can spend 3 points on the combat skill of your choice.You level really quickly at the start of Skyrim so you should be ok.
1There isn't really a wrong way to do it, although getting decent combat skills makes the early going somewhat easier. That said, enchantment is better left until a bit later when you can find/afford/steal better soul gems. Spending a couple of perks on Smithing pays off pretty quick with better base damage weapons and armor and improving->selling loot, although you can scrounge most of that stuff too, bushwacking elves in the wilderness for example. As a Mage, you may want to spend one or two perks on alchemy before enchanting any more, potions are always useful and your companions can drink your healing potions, making them better.
Thinking it over, David's answer 5 perks out of 25 for non-combat skills seems about right, although perhaps I might go as high as 8 or 10 depending on how you want to proceed. Basically, what you think you need right now is what you should work on.
Feeling weak is part of the game, particularly for the first time around. If it starts getting really really tough then drop the difficulty for a little while. Also, in my opinion, pure mages have it really tough, getting one-handed or archery working a little can really help.
Smithing, enchanting, and alchemy are, in my opinion, the three most important skill trees in the game. With alchemy, you can create potions to augment your smithing and enchanting. With enchanting, you can enchant equipment to augment your smithing and alchemy. Combine the previous two and you can augment your smithing to insane levels.
The point at which you should decide to invest in these skills depends on your character build. Before investing in any skill, focus on first perking up your character's prime requisite (PR) skills whenever the opportunity arises. Prime requesite is a D&D term which basically refers to the primary skills that compose of your character's core build. The reason why you need to plug your PR skills first is because, as your character's level goes up (actual level, not individual skill levels), the world around you levels up as well. This essentially equates to enemies becoming harder to kill. If you're leveling up your character and spreading your earned skill points out across all other skill trees, the game difficulty increases, but your offensive and defensive capabilities leave little to show for all your character leveling because you've neglected your PR skills.
I am playing a Nord tank build right now. PR skills for this character are two-handed and heavy armor. I pour all my skill points into those two trees first. Whatever I have left over, I put into smithing, enchanting, and alchemy. Don't be all compulsive with your perk spending, though. If you're maxed out in all your PR skills and have a couple extra skill points to spend elsewhere, you should check to see if any of your PR skill levels are due for an increase soon. If so, hold on to the extra skill point, especially if your character level won't be reaching the next level any time soon.
At the beginning of your game, you should, as you level up, invest your perks in One-Handed or Two-Handed (which ever one you use more), Heavy Armor or Light Armor, Block if you use Shields often, Sneak if you want to avoid enemies sometimes, and Archery. LOOK EVERYWHERE for gold after your hands are unbound.
After you get out of Helgen, you should wait before upgrading Smithing, Enchanting, Alchemy, and all Magic. BUT if you want to be really good at smithing and upgrade it at the beginning of the game, which I don't recommend, smith things and Alvor's Forge. When you get better spells, like Firebolt, Ice Spike, and/or Lightning Bolt, upgrade magic, preferably Destruction, Restoration, and Conjuration if you have spare skill points and spells like Bound Sword.
Then, when you have better Soul Gems, an abundant amount of Smithing materials, and a good amount of ingredients, then upgrade Smithing, Enchanting, and Alchemy.
Trust me. I'm a Proffesional (Level 37 Orc with full Ebony Armor excluding Nahkrin and Ebony Mail with almost all Daedric artifacts :3)
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