Will ZOS ever make a Ice build Viable?

x_t7ink_x · April 2016

So there are plenty of fire builds, skills, armour sets, racial passives etc. The same for lightening and even poison to an extent with bows and armour (even new WW skills), however other than the ice staff and a comet there's nothing..

I don't know why I just think I'd like to see a new build, maybe incorporate it into a new DLC based in a snowy region like Solstheim in Morrowwind, or Winterhold in Skyrim. Obviously missed the boat with the Orsinium...

Lightninvash · April 2016

I agree though I can see ice being broken in this type of game. freezing and rooting it would all be about slowing the enemy ccing them and rooting them. which would be hard to factor in for pvp haha but I always was a ice mage in any game I could do it with. so I agree but I think it would be OP.

olsborg · April 2016

The perfect TES MMO game would have no classes. All spells etc would be into the different spellschools and skillschools. Spellcrafting etc, take a look at Oblivion.

x_t7ink_x · April 2016

Lightninvash wrote: »

I agree though I can see ice being broken in this type of game. freezing and rooting it would all be about slowing the enemy ccing them and rooting them. which would be hard to factor in for pvp haha but I always was a ice mage in any game I could do it with. so I agree but I think it would be OP.

Theres already CC's from dk's ash cloud slows players by 70% So it couldn't be any worse than that. I'd suggest a 2 second freeze or something similar to the sorcerer's 'cage' - something you can still break free from. Burn damage but from the cold instead of heat. A new set that increases ice damage, even DOT damage if they can implement some sort of ice cloud?

dday3six · April 2016

olsborg wrote: »

The perfect TES MMO game would have no classes. All spells etc would be into the different spellschools and skillschools. Spellcrafting etc, take a look at Oblivion.

Except doing that pretty much takes balance out behind the shed and clubs it to death. I guess that's just what some people want. The OP player aspect of a single player game mashed forcefully into an MMO...

x_t7ink_x · April 2016

olsborg wrote: »

The perfect TES MMO game would have no classes. All spells etc would be into the different spellschools and skillschools. Spellcrafting etc, take a look at Oblivion.

That would be a bit of an extreme make over though wouldn't it.. That would have to be TESO 2, not a new dlc update.

istateres · April 2016

I hope so, my character Chills-Your-Bones is looking for a good end game build!!!

CasNation · April 2016

Personally, I have thought for a long time that they could easily support a frost playstyle by changing the entire Sorcerer Dark Magic tree to frost damage. That and a recolor of the abilities and bam: frost mage. Most of the abilities are crystalline in nature anyways. Crystal fragments? Ice fragments. Daedric minefield? Frost mines. Rune prison? Glacial prison. Encase? Cone of cold (lol for generics). The only odd one out is dark exchange, but even that could be flavored up to work.

And all this with minimal effort, and even less balancing effort now that the Elemental Expert cp has been consolidated...sigh

NewBlacksmurf · April 2016

x_t7ink_x wrote: »

Lightninvash wrote: »

I agree though I can see ice being broken in this type of game. freezing and rooting it would all be about slowing the enemy ccing them and rooting them. which would be hard to factor in for pvp haha but I always was a ice mage in any game I could do it with. so I agree but I think it would be OP.

Theres already CC's from dk's ash cloud slows players by 70% So it couldn't be any worse than that. I'd suggest a 2 second freeze or something similar to the sorcerer's 'cage' - something you can still break free from. Burn damage but from the cold instead of heat. A new set that increases ice damage, even DOT damage if they can implement some sort of ice cloud?

@x_t7ink_x
I think you have to take a step back tho and look at ICE and separate it from weapons and clarify if you're asking ZOS to create new effects for existing skills or if you're asking ZOS to create new skills all together.

Is this for each class or weapons only?
*EDIT* and please don't say all, cause its not a response to me but I'm hoping ZOS staff will respond once you reply with specifics and examples.

Lightninvash · April 2016

x_t7ink_x wrote: »

Lightninvash wrote: »

I agree though I can see ice being broken in this type of game. freezing and rooting it would all be about slowing the enemy ccing them and rooting them. which would be hard to factor in for pvp haha but I always was a ice mage in any game I could do it with. so I agree but I think it would be OP.

Theres already CC's from dk's ash cloud slows players by 70% So it couldn't be any worse than that. I'd suggest a 2 second freeze or something similar to the sorcerer's 'cage' - something you can still break free from. Burn damage but from the cold instead of heat. A new set that increases ice damage, even DOT damage if they can implement some sort of ice cloud?

like a frost bite damage DOT that slows you for x secs while the dot is applied? haha

WillhelmBlack · April 2016

Check out Blobsky's YouTube channel. He's aiming towards getting a Maelstrom ice staff and 5 Winterborn. Trust me, it will be completely viable.

LiquidSchwartz · April 2016

olsborg wrote: »

The perfect TES MMO game would have no classes. All spells etc would be into the different spellschools and skillschools. Spellcrafting etc, take a look at Oblivion.

Lol the game originally had spell crafting announced in 2014 along with the second half of the justice system but zos kinda put an indefinite halt on that

Function · April 2016

I think it would be amazing if the type of damage skills do would change with the type of weapon you equip, for instance, if a dragonknight were to equip an ice staff, the ability now known as "fiery breath" would now be "frost breath" and do ice damage instead of fire.

On a side note, I was messing around with the winterborn set from maelstrom arena the other day and it was a ton of fun in PvP, I could see it be viable in aoe situations in PvE as well.

x_t7ink_x · April 2016

CasNation wrote: »

Personally, I have thought for a long time that they could easily support a frost playstyle by changing the entire Sorcerer Dark Magic tree to frost damage. That and a recolor of the abilities and bam: frost mage. Most of the abilities are crystalline in nature anyways. Crystal fragments? Ice fragments. Daedric minefield? Frost mines. Rune prison? Glacial prison. Encase? Cone of cold (lol for generics). The only odd one out is dark exchange, but even that could be flavored up to work.

And all this with minimal effort, and even less balancing effort now that the Elemental Expert cp has been consolidated...sigh

I love this xD

x_t7ink_x · April 2016

NewBlacksmurf wrote: »

x_t7ink_x wrote: »

Lightninvash wrote: »

I agree though I can see ice being broken in this type of game. freezing and rooting it would all be about slowing the enemy ccing them and rooting them. which would be hard to factor in for pvp haha but I always was a ice mage in any game I could do it with. so I agree but I think it would be OP.

Theres already CC's from dk's ash cloud slows players by 70% So it couldn't be any worse than that. I'd suggest a 2 second freeze or something similar to the sorcerer's 'cage' - something you can still break free from. Burn damage but from the cold instead of heat. A new set that increases ice damage, even DOT damage if they can implement some sort of ice cloud?

@x_t7ink_x
I think you have to take a step back tho and look at ICE and separate it from weapons and clarify if you're asking ZOS to create new effects for existing skills or if you're asking ZOS to create new skills all together.

Is this for each class or weapons only?
*EDIT* and please don't say all, cause its not a response to me but I'm hoping ZOS staff will respond once you reply with specifics and examples.

That's why I've opened this thread, get the ideas flowing, I like the idea of morphs on the sorcs to ice morphs as @CasNation suggested..

Solariken · April 2016

At this point I don't think we will ever see any new active skills. They will likely just keep ram-rodding new broken passives into every half-finished DLC.

AOECAPS · April 2016

Apparently you haven't seen those awesome maelstrom sets /s

Lucious90 · April 2016

dday3six wrote: »

olsborg wrote: »

The perfect TES MMO game would have no classes. All spells etc would be into the different spellschools and skillschools. Spellcrafting etc, take a look at Oblivion.

Except doing that pretty much takes balance out behind the shed and clubs it to death. I guess that's just what some people want. The OP player aspect of a single player game mashed forcefully into an MMO...

Agreed. While Oblivion still had "classes" which was determined by what you did during the tutorial mission IIRC. BUT what you run into with this set up as noted above is balance, this is almost impossible I feel in a MMO setting, as you would still have the same FOTM builds, skills that are just better than others.

On topic: Having even a frost skill line would be pretty sick, reminds me of playing frost mages in Wow and could very well be implemented

DRXHarbinger · April 2016

WillhelmBlack wrote: »

Check out Blobsky's YouTube channel. He's aiming towards getting a Maelstrom ice staff and 5 Winterborn. Trust me, it will be completely viable.

Winterborn is so underwhelming, got the staff and tried the set with nerenith too and crushing shock and comet and it doesn't really have a big enough aoe and does a very small amount of damage.

STEVIL · April 2016

In Wrothgar, ice sorcerer npcs often throw up an immobile ice wall shield to hide behind and blast from. I want that as pc power. Mechanically its a flavor of shield.

x_t7ink_x · April 2016

AOECAPS wrote: »

Apparently you haven't seen those awesome maelstrom sets /s

Hmm, not really what I'm after, yeah great one set but there's no ice skills not compared to fire or lightening just one ultimate.

Bring out a dlc with updated skills and ice damage passives on a race like dark elf has fire. Even armour/costume with fluff, everyone loves fluff xD

GreenSoup2HoT · April 2016

Ive seen a mean ice staff pet sorc build. I forget the guys name but he has it on youtube. It wrecks.

bertenburnyb16_ESO · April 2016

if they ever add a Litch/Necromancer world skill line alongside WW and vamp, I imagine it would be Ice/summon style

FortheloveofKrist · April 2016

dday3six wrote: »

olsborg wrote: »

The perfect TES MMO game would have no classes. All spells etc would be into the different spellschools and skillschools. Spellcrafting etc, take a look at Oblivion.

Except doing that pretty much takes balance out behind the shed and clubs it to death. I guess that's just what some people want. The OP player aspect of a single player game mashed forcefully into an MMO...

It's been two years. Balancing isn't going to happen. So on with the spell crafting...

WillhelmBlack · April 2016

DRXHarbinger wrote: »

WillhelmBlack wrote: »

Check out Blobsky's YouTube channel. He's aiming towards getting a Maelstrom ice staff and 5 Winterborn. Trust me, it will be completely viable.

Winterborn is so underwhelming, got the staff and tried the set with nerenith too and crushing shock and comet and it doesn't really have a big enough aoe and does a very small amount of damage.

It's working great in PvP, he got the staff I didn't realise. Using it right now on Twitch. blobseso

dday3six · April 2016

FortheloveofKrist wrote: »

dday3six wrote: »

olsborg wrote: »

The perfect TES MMO game would have no classes. All spells etc would be into the different spellschools and skillschools. Spellcrafting etc, take a look at Oblivion.

Except doing that pretty much takes balance out behind the shed and clubs it to death. I guess that's just what some people want. The OP player aspect of a single player game mashed forcefully into an MMO...

It's been two years. Balancing isn't going to happen. So on with the spell crafting...

Great idea. The stove is on fire so to hell with it, just burn the house down. HaHa...yeah, no.

luen79rwb17_ESO · April 2016

So am I wasting my time and bag space saving those winterborn drops?

DRXHarbinger · April 2016

luen79rwb17_ESO wrote: »

So am I wasting my time and bag space saving those winterborn drops?

It's crap. It does like 6k damage at an 8% proc, nerenith is 9k+ and 10% proc but winterborn also has a measly 2m radius, plus you have to run the weaker of the staves (ice) to benefit from it, not really sure if it's worth using over an inferno staff, also it looks nothing like the ice pillar the ogres summon, they get a proper one.

Asherons_Call · April 2016

Lucious90 wrote: »

dday3six wrote: »

olsborg wrote: »

The perfect TES MMO game would have no classes. All spells etc would be into the different spellschools and skillschools. Spellcrafting etc, take a look at Oblivion.

Except doing that pretty much takes balance out behind the shed and clubs it to death. I guess that's just what some people want. The OP player aspect of a single player game mashed forcefully into an MMO...

Agreed. While Oblivion still had "classes" which was determined by what you did during the tutorial mission IIRC. BUT what you run into with this set up as noted above is balance, this is almost impossible I feel in a MMO setting, as you would still have the same FOTM builds, skills that are just better than others.

On topic: Having even a frost skill line would be pretty sick, reminds me of playing frost mages in Wow and could very well be implemented

There were MMOs that pulled this off successfully. Open world open skills

srfrogg23 · April 2016

olsborg wrote: »

The perfect TES MMO game would have no classes. All spells etc would be into the different spellschools and skillschools. Spellcrafting etc, take a look at Oblivion.

The Secret World took a very similar approach to this. It didn't really do a whole heck of a lot in terms of build variety. Yeah, lots of abilities, different names, different looks - same purpose, same stats, homogenized effects. In short, pretty fluffy. Fun game, don't get me wrong, but the approach isn't quite as big on variety as it seems.

ESO may not have as big a pool of skills, but I can honestly say that with how it was done, 4 classes to combine with armor and weapon skills, it actually leads to quite a bit more build variety, imo.

I also think it might have even more build variety than the single player TES games. In those games, if you play long enough, your character can do pretty much everything. Good for single player games, not so good for MMOs I'm thinking.

If everyone can do everything with all the same abilities, well not only does the balance get a bit wonky, but actual variety goes down the tube too. I can only begin to imagine what it would do to the game if you were able to combine certain skills from different classes to form some OP combos that would basically break the game.

Usara · April 2016

I actually think the Dragon Knight could use a frost skillline. I know @Toraf would not disagree

In TES lore, Dragons do not only use fire, but also frost, poison and blood (depending on their color).
And if I remember well, Dragon Knights in ESO are supposed to be using some form of Akaviri magic. So why only fire ?