I apologize if this has been covered in a different thread. I discovered a very good method for young characters to advance the attributes the full amount of 5, in some very important areas.
The first time I played the game I achieved level 20ish, and started really getting hammered. I focused on all the magic areas, except one, were I chose alchemy. On level ups, I was only getting 3 or 4 raises to intelligence and willpower. I never concerned myself with fighter’s areas, like endurance, agility and speed.
Naturally, it became much tougher to kill multiple enemies as the levels progressed. I began wishing I had more hit points, better run speed and the ability to jump up on rocks and walls and things to protect myself when in trouble.
After remaking my character with major skills I could actively control and making sure each attribute had 2 minor skills, I began again. Later, I stumbled onto a good method for increasing these minors. I like to get this part out of the way at the beginning of the level then go have fun, and not worry about getting the minimum 10 skill increases needed for those 5 points you want.
Put on a suit of light if you want speed, or heavy if you want endurance, or a mix if you want to work on both. Have plenty of repair hammers. I think everyone has the restoration spell for minor wounds, you’ll need it.
In this example I wanted to increase Willpower, Endurance, and Speed. Run out to the sandy areas around Imperial City. Get the attention of a Mud Crab (or maybe a wolf if you’re a little higher in level). Then just start letting it beat on you, casting minor wounds to stay alive. Jump up on rocks where you can’t be reached if you start to run out of magicka and need to have a breather. Or just jump around in general, to give yourself time. Even use a lot of blocking if you prefer, depending on your major skill choices.
You will get a lot of points in either Heavy or Light Armor, a lot of points in Restoration, and a lot of points in Armorer once you kill the crab and repair your gear. I suggest doing this until you have 6-8 points in your target attribute, then let normal adventuring take care of the rest.
I haven’t spent less than 5 points in any given attribute at any level doing this. This is for newer players like myself, and again, sorry if it’s common knowledge. Hope it helps newer players.