Are Dwemer constructs vulnerable to shock magic?
I explore Dwemer ruins for soul gems, so am interested in any vulnerabilities that spiders/spheres/centurions might have. In many games, "robot" enemies are vulnerable to shock; does that apply in Skyrim?
Dwemer constructs do not specifically have a weakness to shock, but they have a 25% resistance to magic and are completely immune to poison and frost. So really they are the exact opposite of most games due to that fact that they have a resistance to magic. (shock and fire)
This is were I got my information. It has all the information you could want on Skyrim's creatures. =)
Dwemer automatons do not resist shock or fire. However, they do fully resist frost.
They are immune to poison and frost, and they have a 25% resistance to magic. So fire and shock will be 25% weaker against them due to the magic resistance.
You can boost your damage to compensate by drinking a fortify destruction potion. Bear in mind that drinking a fortify destruction potion will also boost your destruction enchantment damage. It is not limited to just your spells.
Physical attacks are another option. You can use a mace with bone breaker or a warhammer with skullcrusher to help bypass some of their armor. Though I can't seem to find the info on what their armor rating is so I don't know exactly how useful that will be.
Honestly physical damage may be the best option to focus on here. It makes sense as the dwarven automatons are magical constructs and thus would reasonably be more resilient against magic.