Lowest reasonable level to take on giants? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate:
How do I kill a giant?

I'm playing a heavy Mage build. I'm at level 9, have my destruction skill level in the high 30s.

My standard battle tactic is to summon a flame atorach, buff Lydia, then support with lightning based spells.

Running around skyrim, I've encountered some giants. The above tactic ends in massive FAIL every time. A single giant will kill Lydia in about 2 hits, then chase after me and launch me into orbit. I think maybe he loses about 20% of his health.

What's a good tactic for defeating a giant at level 9? Or should I stop trying for now?

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3 Answers

I actually did the same exact thing you have @hvgotcodes. I am current a Heavy Mage build with most of my points ins Destro.

Quick tip: If you have the dual casting perk & Stun perk, put fire in both your left and right hand, and cast them together. It does great damage and stuns them: Kiting works great with that. I was able to take on my first 2 giants around the same level as you [ by accident] when I left the first city (Whiterun). Shadow wizard does brings up a good point. I actually like to do a sneak attack with arrows first while crouched and put as many as I can into the giants before kiting with my mage abilities.

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Mages should be able to do this easier than class.

As foxtrot says, once you get the dual cast perk and the staggering perk, it's quite easy to outrun the giants/mammoths, making it relatively simple.

This same strategy applies for all classes, where you simply need to be faster than them most of the time. The wind dash shout can help with this quite a bit.

A level 12 mage with Flamebolt and the +25% flame perk can take these on fairly easily. You shouldn't be far away.

Tatics:

Throw as many spells as you can until he is about 20' away. Then run past him turn around and do it again.