Sorc 1.5: + and -

Blud

I've just finished getting my Sorc to VR1. It was the easiest character I've yet leveled, just AOE blasting through content with my destro staff or single-target blasting with ease.

A lot of people are complaining that Sorcs aren't good in pvp or in high end pve content. I wouldn't know, obviously with a VR1, but so far this has been the funnest and easiest class I've played compared to my VR14 Temp and VR3 NB. (I do have a level 28 DK, which is also pretty easy to play).

I've also seen a couple of really good Sorcs in Cyro, so I know not all Sorcs suck at pvp.

So what are Sorcs good at and what are they not good at? I'm interested in both pve and pvp. Or should I just park it at VR1 and wait for changes to the class before leveling up more?

TheLaw

If you already have a VR14, keep that sorc VR1 until 1.6. That way you won't put any champion XP to waste and you'll be able to work through all the abilities changes. I won't go into detail, so people don't have a heart attack. But what you've heard about sorcs seems pretty accurate (I have a V14 Sorc/DK/NB).

Blud

TheLaw wrote: »

If you already have a VR14, keep that sorc VR1 until 1.6. That way you won't put any champion XP to waste and you'll be able to work through all the abilities changes. I won't go into detail, so people don't have a heart attack. But what you've heard about sorcs seems pretty accurate (I have a V14 Sorc/DK/NB).

What kind of changes? It's okay, I won't have a heart attack.

Sublime

All I can say for PvE is that everything up to vet DSA can be done with a group of 4 sorcs. I haven't done trials that often so I can't say anything about them.

For PvP it really depends on if you are talking about group or solo play. In group fight, they are by far the best class, due to their very high AOE effectiveness. Conduit (Lightning Flood Synergy) does insane AOE dps, Streak has very good kiting potential and the only skill in the game that isn't an ultimate and provides an AOE stun. And, of course, Negate, the king of PvP. A good negate wins you a lot of fights, and the more sorcs you have the more fights you win.

They however have a rather big downpoint, in end-game PvP sorcs probably have the hardes learning curve, so don't get fustrated and keep training.

For solo PvP I'd say they are pretty much on par with other classes, they don't have an go-to skills like NB (Sap, ambush, cloak) or DK (GDB, Cinder, Battle Roar) but if played corretly, they certainly have a lot of potential.

I certainly recommend to get some help with theorycrafting, maybe join a duelling guild.

TheLaw

Blud wrote: »

TheLaw wrote: »

If you already have a VR14, keep that sorc VR1 until 1.6. That way you won't put any champion XP to waste and you'll be able to work through all the abilities changes. I won't go into detail, so people don't have a heart attack. But what you've heard about sorcs seems pretty accurate (I have a V14 Sorc/DK/NB).

What kind of changes? It's okay, I won't have a heart attack.

I was referring to the problems that sorcs currently face in PVE and PVP. Very few updated abilities have been released to the public. I can tell you that the sorc pet abilities are getting a fairly strong buff, though.

C0pp3rhead

I also have a VR1 Sorc, and I'm leaving him as is until 1.6. My main however, is a V14 Templar. The reason you have been hearing that sorc's aren't great in end-game content is because their dps is substandard. In some dungeons or trials, they are valued for their Negate ultimate. Unfortunately, dps is the name of the game in trials where you're hammering away at the boss while the tank holds aggro. The higher a group's dps as a whole, the faster you kill the boss. In some cases, it is necessary to kill the boss quickly. In dungeons, they do a fairly good job as their negate provides utility while their AoE abilities do fairly well against adds. However, a Templar can heal better than a Sorc, a DK can do crowd control better than a sorc, and a NB can out dps a Sorc on a single target. It's not that Sorcerers are bad. The problem is: other classes out perform them. They suffer some of the same difficulty as Templars - a lack of synergy within class skills and between class skills & weapon skills.

The standard magicka build for sorcs, at least from what I've seen, is called a crushing shock build. For this, you need an ability bar of single target damage spells (endless fury, shards, force pulse, critical surge, & magelight), and a 2nd ability bar of AoE damage, utility abilities. healing spells, whatever the situation calls for.

Septimus_Magna

Sorcs are pretty good overall but they dont excell in any area, which causes people to say they're the worst class. I do agree a good sorc is king in pvp but you need the personal skills to make it happen, its hard and it takes a lot of practice. For pve sorc arent bad either, negate is really good and crit surge ensures sustain, dps isnt super high though.

I have a similar situation with a vr14 sorc and vr2 dk. But I wont play on my dk for a while until 1.6 hits. You only get 70 cp and you miss out if you level 2 characters to vr14.

C0pp3rhead

Septimus_Magna wrote: »

I wont play on my dk for a while until 1.6 hits. You only get 70 cp and you miss out if you level 2 characters to vr14.

Right - better to enjoy that end game content & squirrel away some good gear/drops for later.

Septimus_Magna

Especially spell damage sets will be a lot better in update 6. I think the martial knowledge, adroitness necklace and cyrodiil's light rings will be quite popular.