November 30, 2011 9:39 PM EST
Conjuration is amazing this time round. I found illusion only useful for the muffle spell, pretty handy for sneaking. Restoration is handy for obvious reasons, but Im at a high character level now (60's) where I can no longer repel the majority of encountered undead creatures with my restoration spells, so its kinda null at this stage. As for destruction, I'd agree with Brett, Fireball rules! I sometimes find it too powerful, damaging conjured creatures or followers, so i switch over to lighting bolt.
The master level destruction spells look great, but damage wise they are not all that more powerful. I find Lightening Storm (a continuous powerful stream of electricity) very good at killng dragons from a distance before they even get to land (they usually swoop over once with an aerial attack, but thats all).
I've had alot of fun with Alteration, how you may ask, telekinesis! But Alternation is mainly defensive in Skyrim, especially the perks, which I am extremely grateful for. I have it on Master difficulty, I use Dragonflesh (master spell) a lot before charging into a room, saved me more times than I can count, especially when one arrow/hit kills me without it protecting me!
Hands down, Fireball wins.