Quote Originally Posted by Aeson View Post
The spell that veti is using to kill Ogrims for 1 point of magicka is Bound [Weapon] on Self for t<20 seconds. Personally, I would call this much more of a demonstration of the power of a martial character with a good weapon and the skill to use it than a demonstration of the power of magic in Morrowind, but veti and I have disagreed over this before.
For me, it's a bad example because it's an outlier, and one so extreme that it doesn't matter whether you regen magicka or not: I don't think any other subset of spells come even close, not even summons. We're talking 170*2 damage / 1 magicka, with one of the easiest spells to cast. To make a comparison, a spell like firebite inflicts 15-30 dagame / 6 magicka, with touch range and the danger of failure and reflection. Bound spells are extremely effective, no doubt about it, but they are an exception (with the remarkable advantage of a good usability on the player's side). Compared to weapons, when used as a damage source, Morrowind magic is clunky, slow, faces a considerable number of resistances, and suffers from a mostly very small magicka pool*. It has its place early on though, as it helps you kill critters without swinging 1,000 times.

*but maybe that's just why bound spells feel so powerful. In the end, they are just weapons you don't have to carry with you or repair. Once you have daedric weapons, there isn't much reason to use the bound ones, unless you are strapped for inventory room.