Skyrim Perks Ancillary: Restoration Tree (Part 2)

Respite-

Did I say ‘four-perk’?  I meant ‘five-perk’.  Respite is vital to a melee combatant, causing your healing spells to restore as much Stamina as they do Health.  This is an absolute must-have for warriors of all sorts, particularly if you lean on power attacks.  True mages will find it vastly less useful- once you have need of Stamina, you probably don’t have time to stop to restore it, because the thing chasing you is chewing the back of your neck.

Ward Absorb-

A must-have for mage versus mage combat, Ward Absorb’s restoration of Magicka will not only keep your wards going longer, but will refund you with resources you can immediately spend on killing that thing that’s forcing you to put up a ward.  This is sadly useless when facing a physical confrontation, but that’s what minions and Deep Freeze are for, right?

Necromage-

If you’re tired of being threatened by Draugr, this is your perk.  Despite being in the Restoration tree, it actually benefits every single spell you cast.  Anything you do via Magicka to an undead lasts twice as long and/or is 25% stronger.  Yes, that includes your Destruction spells.  And your Illusion spells.  So go on and set that Draugr Overlord on fire and then tell him to attack his buddy.  Fun times for everyone!

Avoid Death-

While most of the people who want it the most (warriors) have a hard time achieving the skill level necessary for this perk, it’s a powerful resource for any player.  It might even take you just as long to reach 250 health to begin with as it does to reach 90 skill in Restoration.  Regardless, that’s a huge chunk of life, and for many characters it will represent an automatic refill once per day.  Just keep in mind that whatever you’re fighting got you down to the last bit of your health to begin with- you might want to consider this an opportunity to run away and come back later when you’re stronger or better prepared for the fight.