Returning player needing some help

WyldfireWyrm · April 2015

So I began ESO over a year ago at launch. Enjoyed the game for a few months before the hype wore off and I realized I didn't want to pay $15 dollars a month to play. Since learning the game has gone B2P, I've returned. I bought the $20 console copy for my Xbox One and I've decided to level some new characters in preparation for their transfer. Anyways, I'm looking for some helpful pointers on how to build a couple different characters.

So nightblade and sorcerer aren't really my style. I enjoy playing both DragonKnight and Templar very much. I like being a healer and DPS, but tanking isn't my cup of tea because I'm only mediocre at melee in this game. I prefer PVE content, but enjoy PVP from time to time.

So I have a few questions about gameplay:

Are DKs viable healers for endgame content?
If I go full healer on a Templar, will I have enough points to level destro staff and ranged Templar skills as well? (I'd like to be able to switch up my gear and skills to become more DPS oriented if possible for solo content and maybe some PVP.)
Is the DK fire mage still a powerhouse DPS build?
For magicka users (which I prefer), is it better to go 7 Light armor or 5 light/2 heavy for PVE and PVP?
Are there any weapons that work well with all magicka builds besides the two staff types? I'm most interested in the SnS or 2H for a fire mage to have a strong gap closer.

Sorry for the bombardment of questions. I have done some searching online, but can't find a definitive answer to these questions. Thank you all in advance. I appreciate all the help I can get.

WyldfireWyrm · April 2015

So I've decided on the first two classes (technically three) I plan to do. I'm going to make a character that does nothing but craft gear. I know I will have to level the character up to 25ish and then reset the skills to do this, but it saves me some skill points on my other characters.

The first character I plan to create is a pure healer Templar. The other will be a magicka based dragonknight DPS. So this eliminates some of my previous questions, but raises some others.

I can find plenty of info on abilities, so I don't think I'll need too much help there. What I'm mostly interested in are the optimal gear sets. Here is what I'm thinking of for my builds so far:

Breton DPS DK:
- SnS/Destro/Resto (SnS for utility abilities in PVP and Resto for off-healing in PVE)
- 7 light in PVE & 5 light/2 heavy in PVP (I've been told to do medium instead of heavy for stamina regen to escape CCs)

Altmer Healer Templar:
- Double Resto (pure healer for both PVE and PVP with some CC abilities)
- 7 light in PVE & Same 5/2 dilemma as the DK for PVP

Thoughts?

caperon · April 2015

Id use a Dark elf for DK magicka dps (fire damage) and a breton for a templar healer (cost reduction is very strong), in my opinion racials fits better.

caperon · April 2015

WyldfireWyrm wrote: »

Are DKs viable healers for endgame content?
If I go full healer on a Templar, will I have enough points to level destro staff and ranged Templar skills as well? (I'd like to be able to switch up my gear and skills to become more DPS oriented if possible for solo content and maybe some PVP.)
Is the DK fire mage still a powerhouse DPS build?
For magicka users (which I prefer), is it better to go 7 Light armor or 5 light/2 heavy for PVE and PVP?
Are there any weapons that work well with all magicka builds besides the two staff types? I'm most interested in the SnS or 2H for a fire mage to have a strong gap closer.

Sorry for the bombardment of questions. I have done some searching online, but can't find a definitive answer to these questions. Thank you all in advance. I appreciate all the help I can get.

DK are viable healers (Ive done veteran Dragonstar arena with one), but i think templars are better.

If you have a 3rd character for crafting, you will have more than enought skill points for all yuor class skills, 3 weapons, 2 armors and guild skills.

DK fire mage is strong, I have a guildmate than averages 13-14k dps in single target in trials.

7 light is ok for pve (you can use 5-1-1 for the undaunted pasive), using some heavy can help in pvp.

Dual wield gives you max spell power and 1 more set space, but you will use mostly class skills if magicka based, basically most people goes for destro-resto.

Cuyler · April 2015

DK magicka dps here....I'd skip Breton as the don't have any direct passive boosting damage (which is your intended effect). Plus the cost reduction passive is basically worthless now that the CS gives it.

Some better choices for magicka dps are Dunmer, Altmer or Imperial.

Altmer is arguably the best at everything magicka as it has the highest magicka increase, regen and elemental damage.

Dunmer specifically excels at the DK due to the fire damage. But again arguably slightly lower than Altmer because the max magicka boost is smaller and 2/3 passives has defensive properties with stam and fire resist bonuses.

Imperial just because the 24% increase to base stats allows you to put a lot of attribute points into magicka that normally would go into HP.

And tend to be leaning more towards Altmer myself at this time, because if increasing the damage is the goal it the one race with racials dedicated to that with zero defensive.

Cuyler · April 2015

To answer some of your questions:

1. DK healers I have no clue but I hear that they hit hard heals.
2. If you do quests, dungeons and skyshards for skill points then yes you should have enough to go with both.
3. Yes. I average 16k sustained single target. That's an average

4. The only time you want 5/1/1 is if you have "undaunted mettle" passive level 9. Until then 5 light 2 heavy is the way to go. with the heavy on legs and chest if possible.
5. I've been testing S&B. It's about the same dps as the inferno staff but only on one bar obv. Still need the inferno staff on one bar to do elemental drain and elemental ring.

WyldfireWyrm · April 2015

caperon wrote: »

Id use a Dark elf for DK magicka dps (fire damage) and a breton for a templar healer (cost reduction is very strong), in my opinion racials fits better.

Yeah, I've been thinking about the racial passives in regards to the Breton versus other races. I want to vary my races for my classes a bit and since I already have an Altmer, that leaves Dunmer, which I honestly don't like the look of.

caperon wrote: »

DK are viable healers (Ive done veteran Dragonstar arena with one), but i think templars are better.

If you have a 3rd character for crafting, you will have more than enought skill points for all yuor class skills, 3 weapons, 2 armors and guild skills.

DK fire mage is strong, I have a guildmate than averages 13-14k dps in single target in trials.

7 light is ok for pve (you can use 5-1-1 for the undaunted pasive), using some heavy can help in pvp.

Dual wield gives you max spell power and 1 more set space, but you will use mostly class skills if magicka based, basically most people goes for destro-resto.

I really enjoy healing because I feel like its an area I shine, which is why I'm curious about DK heals. I mained a bubble priest in WoW back in the day and Igneous Shield makes me think of DK healers in a similar way.

Do you mean dual wield like double one handed weapons or as dual Destro staves?

Cuyler wrote: »

DK magicka dps here....I'd skip Breton as the don't have any direct passive boosting damage (which is your intended effect). Plus the cost reduction passive is basically worthless now that the CS gives it.

Some better choices for magicka dps are Dunmer, Altmer or Imperial.

Altmer is arguably the best at everything magicka as it has the highest magicka increase, regen and elemental damage.

Dunmer specifically excels at the DK due to the fire damage. But again arguably slightly lower than Altmer because the max magicka boost is smaller and 2/3 passives has defensive properties with stam and fire resist bonuses.

Imperial just because the 24% increase to base stats allows you to put a lot of attribute points into magicka that normally would go into HP.

And tend to be leaning more towards Altmer myself at this time, because if increasing the damage is the goal it the one race with racials dedicated to that with zero defensive.

I had never thought of Imperial racial skills in that way. I think I'll have to give an Imperial DK a try since I already have an Altmer and I don't really like Dunmers (though their racials are definitely made for great DK DPS). Plus I think one or two of the DK shields are based off of max health, which makes a bubble healer sound even better.

I definitely like to play support roles more than DPS roles, so I'm not obsessed with maxing DPS through the roof (though pretty high is still a good thing). I can't get enough of a hang of melee combat to be a good tank. Maybe once the console version comes out I can see if I'm any better with a controller than a keyboard.

Cuyler wrote: »

To answer some of your questions:

1. DK healers I have no clue but I hear that they hit hard heals.
2. If you do quests, dungeons and skyshards for skill points then yes you should have enough to go with both.
3. Yes. I average 16k sustained single target. That's an average
4. The only time you want 5/1/1 is if you have "undaunted mettle" passive level 9. Until then 5 light 2 heavy is the way to go. with the heavy on legs and chest if possible.
5. I've been testing S&B. It's about the same dps as the inferno staff but only on one bar obv. Still need the inferno staff on one bar to do elemental drain and elemental ring.

Are you recommending that I use heavy in PVE as well, or just in PVP?

I'm also a little confused about the Undaunted passive. Is it 1% for each different type I have (i.e. 1% if I'm in all light armor, 2% if I mix two different types of armor and 3% if I have one of each type of armor) or is it 1% per armor piece (i.e. 1% increase to magicka per light armor, stamina per medium armor, and/or health per heavy armor)?

How important is Elemental Drain and Ring to DK magicka DPS if I want to have a few more support abilities instead of DPS ones?

Also, is single target or AOE more important to a DK? I know both are important since single target is for tougher bosses/mini-bosses while AOE cleans trash MOBs faster. But what area does the magicka DK really shine?

Any recommendations on a good DK or Templar build for PVP that is little more faceroll style (I don't like overly complex rotations/setups that make me mash a ton of buttons to win)? I don't partake in PVP all that often, but I like to play it occasionally. I'm not expecting to win every 1v1 battle, but I also don't want a class that always loses 1v1 battles (even against other noobish PVPers like myself).

Cuyler · April 2015

WyldfireWyrm wrote: »

Are you recommending that I use heavy in PVE as well, or just in PVP?

Yes for PvE too. The additional passive bonuses from 2 more Light armor aren't as important as having the base armor increase from 2 heavy. In addition your picking up the heavy armor passives this way.

WyldfireWyrm wrote: »

I'm also a little confused about the Undaunted passive. Is it 1% for each different type I have (i.e. 1% if I'm in all light armor, 2% if I mix two different types of armor and 3% if I have one of each type of armor) or is it 1% per armor piece (i.e. 1% increase to magicka per light armor, stamina per medium armor, and/or health per heavy armor)?

The bolded is correct. So first off, the "undaunted mettle" mettle passive has 2 ranks.

The first rank is a 1% increase per armor type (to each base attribute), therefore if your only wearing light you get 1%. If wearing light and heavy you'll get 2%. If wearing light, medium and heavy you'll get 3%.

The second rank is a 2% increase per armor type, therefore if your only wearing light you get 2%. If wearing light and heavy you'll get 4%. If wearing light, medium and heavy you'll get 6%.

WyldfireWyrm wrote: »

How important is Elemental Drain and Ring to DK magicka DPS if I want to have a few more support abilities instead of DPS ones?

Ring I'd say is very important. It's another DoT and we DKs love our DoTs. When/if you get the Valkyn Skoria undaunted set it plays an even bigger role as well.

Drain not so much as only one person in the group needs to run it, try convincing someone else to run it if your looking for more utility. That being said if your magicka management is good you may not need it at all for most encounters. It does reduce a big baddies spell resistance tho don't forget.

WyldfireWyrm wrote: »

Also, is single target or AOE more important to a DK? I know both are important since single target is for tougher bosses/mini-bosses while AOE cleans trash MOBs faster. But what area does the magicka DK really shine?

In the case of the DK it excels at DoTs. Those can be single target (searing strike, whip) and AoE (ring, ash cloud, engulfing flames). When in single target (bosses) I still use my AOE DoTs so I'm not sure how to approach your question. I guess single target?

WyldfireWyrm wrote: »

Any recommendations on a good DK or Templar build for PVP that is little more faceroll style (I don't like overly complex rotations/setups that make me mash a ton of buttons to win)? I don't partake in PVP all that often, but I like to play it occasionally. I'm not expecting to win every 1v1 battle, but I also don't want a class that always loses 1v1 battles (even against other noobish PVPers like myself).

From my limited experience in Cyro, magicka builds don't do that well and the stam builds tend to reign supreme. I don't PvP much either due to lag issues but hopefully some computer upgrades can fix that soon.

What I've been using is dragon leap, petrify, talons, green dragon blood, shield charge, obsidian shield. Basically try to bubble up and CC. It's the PvP meta.