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ESO Classes

wilykcat
wilykcat
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I've been wondering which class is so far the most awesome, fun, playable, creative, and enjoyable to play. Which class is the best in PvP, dungeons, and/or PvE... Any suggestions or ideas to improve on current classes?
Edited by ZOS_Icy on 20 March 2023 18:29

ESO Classes 104 votes

Dragonknight
25%
theacefesAektannHeromofoTrinityBreakerL0KHIRRunefangbibik92The_Titan_TimPhoenixGreyWoppaBoemBugsyTheGodUrzigurumashXandreia_Jman100582IshtarknowsVolktairCast_ElKilianDermothZezinMidniteOwl1913 27 votes
Necromancer
6%
ADarkloreMonte_CristoAllegedParadigmRugby_hookFeljaxNoticeMeArkayjoebenz 7 votes
Nightblade
8%
hans.johansson1958b16_ESOCheloRaddlemanNumber7DeathgiggleMrGarlicrabidmyersSiantarAmerisesLykeion 9 votes
Sorcerer
11%
SheezabeastSheridanGroterdanmikemaconJierdanitjecks33Supreme_AtromancerEmilyElizabethESOAdamLADCaribou77Woke_Teameshuggah77 12 votes
Templar
11%
fleetingyouth_ESOGlassHalfFullTanis-Stormbinderxosaara137oxBlackbird_VAnti_VirusDiebesguthiziumFlameweaver1951SnaggelDreamyLuwilykcat 12 votes
Warden
17%
ElsonsoWolfchild07DestaiAzrael_1976carthalisRedBranchRivvqahItsNotLivingwashbernADespydemonology89ixthUAMesiteLordNramdropAndrorixLancer1602Zerin_1 18 votes
Other, future, new (please specify)
18%
BlueRavenchessalavakia_ESOKendaricFaulgorphaneub17_ESOHamfastRomoKaspymocapelocinsereNachoProblemAmotticaFeedbackOnlyJestirTaSheenLunaFloraCardinalJackGrimStyxMr_Jord_Joe 19 votes
  • TaSheen
    TaSheen
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    Other, future, new (please specify)
    I play all classes except necro, and they're all fun for me. I expect to enjoy the Arcanist too.
    ______________________________________________________

    But even in books, the heroes make mistakes, and there isn't always a happy ending.

    PC NA, PC EU (non steam)- three accounts, many alts....
  • Kendaric
    Kendaric
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    Other, future, new (please specify)
    I have characters from all classes except necromancer (which I dislike), though I very rarely put points into their class abilities and even then mostly to acquire the passives. Most characters I have are stamina-based and rely on weapon and guild skills only.
      PAWS (Positively Against Wrip-off Stuff) - Say No to Crown Crates!. Outfit slots not being accountwide is ridiculous given their price. PC EU/PC NA roleplayer and solo PvE quester
    • chessalavakia_ESO
      chessalavakia_ESO
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      Other, future, new (please specify)
      I'm not sure I would point to a specific best one as it can vary from patch to patch.

      I would however say that the Necromancer is probably the worst. I never really found a build for it I enjoyed playing that used many Necromancer abilities and they don't seem to be terribly effective in PvP on average builds with some niche exceptions (I believe the latest patch might have done some of those in).
    • phaneub17_ESO
      phaneub17_ESO
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      Other, future, new (please specify)
      If you break it down, they're all practically the same. They may have a few signature abilities, but for the majority its the same exact ability cloned on every one of them with a different flavor effect.
    • The_Titan_Tim
      The_Titan_Tim
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      Dragonknight
      Currently Dragonknight is king over everything.

      With that being said, I enjoy all classes for different reasons, and at the end of the day, you can be successful with any class, doing any content, it’s just a matter of aesthetic.

      Your class only begins to matter when you get to the highest skill level, as you start to notice some things overperforming.
    • Elsonso
      Elsonso
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      Warden
      Currently Dragonknight is king over everything.

      With that being said, I enjoy all classes for different reasons, and at the end of the day, you can be successful with any class, doing any content, it’s just a matter of aesthetic.

      Your class only begins to matter when you get to the highest skill level, as you start to notice some things overperforming.

      I pick classes that are fun to play, and am less interestedin damage numbers. Templar and sorcerer are fun, but I currently like warden. Nightblade and necromancer or at the bottom of my list on that scale.
      PC NA/EU: @Elsonso
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    • Hamfast
      Hamfast
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      Other, future, new (please specify)
      All of them are fun, depending on how I am feeling at the time...
      Of all the things I have lost, I miss my mind the most...
    • Androrix
      Androrix
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      Warden
      I know it is lame, but I have only ever played warden because it is the only class that interests me. I guess that means I find it to be the most awesome...sort of.
    • The_Titan_Tim
      The_Titan_Tim
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      Dragonknight
      Androrix wrote: »
      I know it is lame, but I have only ever played warden because it is the only class that interests me. I guess that means I find it to be the most awesome...sort of.

      I would be more into Warden if the abilities weren’t Vvardenfell themed.

      As a mystic, you should be calling local animals to fight with you, it’s very immersion breaking to summon Shalks or Cliffracers to aid while exploring any Non-Dunmer homeland.
      Edited by The_Titan_Tim on 20 March 2023 01:40
    • Faulgor
      Faulgor
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      Other, future, new (please specify)
      They all kinda suck.

      First, because they all play more or less the same.

      Second, because the themes and aesthetics are often too narrow. If you want to play a fire mage, you only get it on the same ticket as a poison/dragon magic knight thing. Frost mage, same thing with animal summons from a specific region and druidy healing. Lightning mage, enjoy your pets and crystal magic or be damned. And so on.

      If you just want to be good, that changes from patch to patch. Apparently DK is top right now.
      Alandrol Sul: He's making another Numidium?!?
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    • TaSheen
      TaSheen
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      Other, future, new (please specify)
      Androrix wrote: »
      I know it is lame, but I have only ever played warden because it is the only class that interests me. I guess that means I find it to be the most awesome...sort of.

      I would be more into Warden if the abilities weren’t Vvardenfell themed. As a mystic, you should be calling local animals to fight with you, it’s very immersion breaking to summon Shalks or Cliffracers to aid you while exploring any Non-Dunmer homeland.

      Yeah, while the class itself more or less makes me happy, the Vvardenfell slant isn't my cuppa. And from that you may rightly assume that the upcoming chapter isn't thrilling me at all.

      I don't like Morrowind period. I don't have any interest in Dunmer - or EP overall. I will probably like the arcanist class - unless it turns out to be so MW themed I just can't stomach it (PLEASE make it Mora slanted instead....)

      TESIII is the only one of the single player games I've never finished and never spent hundreds of hours in. Hours... probably less than 25 total. SO not my thing.
      ______________________________________________________

      But even in books, the heroes make mistakes, and there isn't always a happy ending.

      PC NA, PC EU (non steam)- three accounts, many alts....
    • rabidmyers
      rabidmyers
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      Nightblade
      i only play on 1 character and i have it reserved for a nightblade healer, been healing on one since 2016 so i do have plenty of experience on it and it's also tons of fun and very strong

      nightblade is also the only class i can enjoy being any role one such as stam and magicka dps, and tank (besides healer)

      i just really enjoy all of what their kit has to offer
      Edited by rabidmyers on 20 March 2023 03:22
      at a place nobody knows
    • Heromofo
      Heromofo
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      Dragonknight
      I play sorc main, but it's well known who the king/queen is lol and i don't know a time where it wasn't the case?.
    • MidniteOwl1913
      MidniteOwl1913
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      Dragonknight
      For pure fun it's hard to beat DK. I also like my Sorc, but the whole pet thing, flappy in particular makes it not as much fun. But that said as I have gotten better at playing I'm finding my nightblade a lot more interesting. Stil figuring out the best skills and build for me, but I think that might be my favorite soon.
      PS5/NA
    • DreamyLu
      DreamyLu
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      Templar
      It's of course purely a matter of taste.

      Personally, I prefer templar, because I play solo most of the time, and for the content I touch, this is for me the easiest class to manage (mainly thanks to the important self healing).
      I'm out of my mind, feel free to leave a message... PC/NA
    • Supreme_Atromancer
      Supreme_Atromancer
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      Sorcerer
      My major motivation is playing something that feels like an Elder Scrolls character.

      This is just my point of view, I love ESO a lot, its a great game, but I find the class system very unfulfilling.

      The original class system was peculiar, and didn't provide a toolkit robust enough to really handle emulating classic TES archetypes or power fantasies or whatever you want to call them.

      And for the classes that WERE strong answers to classic TES class systems, they were hobbled by an unnecessary, hard-baked-in, and very un-Elder Scrollsey Power Ranger's style energy type. Fire, Lightning and Healing, etc. They were conceptually redundant because you already had skill lines (weapons) that handled those things.

      The weapon system offered a way out of this, but so baked-in to the class toolkit was the energy type, so strong was the synergy between class passive and weapon choice, and so fundamental to the full kit were the energy-based skills, that you were forced, straight off the bat, to choose between raw power and what you want to play, creating an unnecessary values-based schism.

      However, things were still reasonably organic. Stamina and Magicka had distinct functional identities, for instance. And the Spellcrafting system highlighted in 2014 looked like a strong response to the concept shortcomings the class system had.

      Since this time, development has moved in the direction of not only making all classes capable of all roles, but all attribute specs equally capable for all roles. Because the class system was not robust enough to handle these things, in every instance, the mythology seems to have been treated by the designers as expendable, or not particularly important. Stamina became green magicka, and classes can fuel clearly magical feats like healing others and generating hurricanes with their "physcial capacity for endurance". The demand for all class kits to be capable of fulfilling the traditional PvE roles has forced in bizarre ideas like healing your allies with clouds of choking ash or lightning.

      And further, the pressure to develop truly viable hybrid characters has stretched the concepts so far that spell damage and weapon damage are almost completely decoupled from their presumed mythological idea.

      Mechanical soundness, balance, role diversity, and some form of hybridity have been largely achieved, but largely at the cost of a cohesive mythology. More than any other classes, the newer ones- Warden and Necromancer highlight the design priority- they're highly abstract and feel like a conversation between the developer and the mechanics, with little concern about the integrity of the mythology. I feel like that's why Necromancer feels so unsatisfying for people to play, especially now at the end of its cycle where the huge mechanical advantages the class had since launch have been finally reigned in to parity with other classes.

      I understand the HUGE importance of making a game that's playable and fun. I also sympathise that the developers have had to work with what they've got and have tried to make the class system work- responding to demand for balance and role diversity. For me, being able to build characters that feel and play like TES characters is a high priority, though. And it sux to see, instead of moving towards that, they mythology is beaten and poorly contrived into place to justify mechanical demands.

      I hope this comes across as constructive and fair.
      Edited by Supreme_Atromancer on 20 March 2023 06:21
    • Amottica
      Amottica
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      Other, future, new (please specify)
      TaSheen wrote: »
      I play all classes except necro, and they're all fun for me. I expect to enjoy the Arcanist too.

      Exactly.

      The poll cannot answer OP's question as it will vary from person to person and even then it can change from day to day depending on how we feel. It can vary depending on what we are going to do.

      Which class is best or king is not relevant to the question as the question is more about what we like to play the most.
    • FeedbackOnly
      FeedbackOnly
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      Other, future, new (please specify)
      Arcantist One must be a true fan without knowing nothing yet!
    • The_Titan_Tim
      The_Titan_Tim
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      Dragonknight
      Amottica wrote: »
      TaSheen wrote: »
      I play all classes except necro, and they're all fun for me. I expect to enjoy the Arcanist too.

      Exactly.

      …Which class is best or king is not relevant to the question as the question is more about what we like to play the most.
      wilykcat wrote: »
      I've been wondering… Which class is the best in PvP, dungeons, and/or PvE...

      There’s no variation whatsoever when you isolate the questions I quoted.

      It’s simply Dragonknight in every area except for Healer. Because the class is best at more things than anything else, it’s the obvious answer to that portion of the question.

      If you’re regarding the first half of the question…
      wilykcat wrote: »
      I've been wondering which class is so far the most awesome, fun, playable, creative, and enjoyable to play…

      It depends on your values. “awesome, fun, playable, creative, and enjoyable to play” for me, is synonymous to clearing content, supporting my teammates, and winning matches.

      Dragonknight yields the widest ratio of success out of every class, and is much more forgiving.

      The OP didn’t ask what our favorite class was, because my answer to that is Templar.
      Edited by The_Titan_Tim on 20 March 2023 06:45
    • LunaFlora
      LunaFlora
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      Other, future, new (please specify)
      i like most classes though warden and sorcerer are the most fun for me
      i am really excited for Arcanist
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    • washbern
      washbern
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      Warden
      Mostly in this game class does not matter as literally every class wears the same gear has mostly same skills and plays mostly the same. In tippity top endgame DK dps does a bit better because of a few aoe skills and slightly more group utility. Wardens are best healers. They are great at dps and their rotation feels a bit less clunky, I think. Dk is also a great tank. But best 3 classes are Necro, Dk, warden. Out of the three necro is much harder to competently dps on but has some of the best utility and support.
    • KilianDermoth
      KilianDermoth
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      Dragonknight
      The absolut best?

      That's not even a question, is it? It's dragon knight.

      1. Best tank since ever.
      2. Since a while best damage dealer in PVE.
      3. One of the easier / the easiest to play class at literally any role and situation.
      4. Class with he most buffs.
      5. Most broken class in PVP.
      6. Can be unkilleable at the same time while being able to kill literally anyone in a blink.
      7. Has abilities where the only counter is: "run away".
      8. Class where the whole toolkit synergizes with itself and with literally the whole rest of the game and with literally almost any set in the game.
      9. Best suited for the hybrid meta.
      10. Great single target.
      11. Great AOE.
      12. Absolutely overloaded / over buffed / broke.
      13. Unique Theme (that also still works)
      14. literally is the class that has literally anything and shines at everything.
      15. Gets buffed and buffed every patch, it's just so absolutely ridiculous, you wouldn't believe if you wouldn't pay attention what's going on.

      Except for group healing. There are some other classes that can fill the role better, but if you wish you can still heal on that class and be decent...

      On the other hand Sorcerer is the absolute opposite of that:
      1. Almost nothing synergizes well (except pets which are btw. even not that strong, reliable or even viable depending on content)
      2. Ok single target damage in optimal situation (but most classes can reach similar single target damage often more reliable, easier and with cleave), bad up to really bad if it's not about optimal situations or pure single target damage.
      3. Among the more difficult to play classes at more difficulty content (if you want to do more than just overland content).
      4. Has the least buffs of all classes.
      5. Mediocre damage dealer at best (through all content), mediocre healer at best, ok tank.
      6. One of the worst classes in PVP.
      7. Unreliable.
      8. Literally nothing in the game synergizes with the sorc or if it does it's just straight so bad that it's even not worth to use on a Sorc.
      9. They get nerfed literally every patch while they aren't even in a good spot since about 2 years or more.
      10. Literally nothing works well.
      11. The devs even tell people that "classes can't have everything" when it comes to Sorc (a class that has literally almost nothing).
      12. Has often to reliable on non class skills which any class has access to.

      The only thing they are good at are killing bad players, run away (= buy time but even here nightblades are better), tanking (still worse than dragon knights, nothing beats the king...) and pets...

      All other classes are somewhere in between (situationally more on the dragon knight end or sometimes on par with the sorcerer but at least they have a thing where they can shine...)

      With one exception: for the oakensoul onebar just hold the left Mousebutton down to win build, the sorcerer is actually best...
      Edited by KilianDermoth on 20 March 2023 09:39
    • Xarc
      Xarc
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      Ok, not in the order :
      • Necro clearly needs to be improved. All people abandonned it, it's sad.
        (my necro is one of my 3 main characters.)
      • Actually DK is too op and "easy", and it's fun how you can be tanky and do extreme damages. DK is leading all leaderboards pvp/pve this is the DK times.
      • sorc & templar & warden are at the same state
      • NB got too much nerf; still extremely fun but frustrating (when you know how it was before). NB is very op if you're decent player only but for most of people it's frustration to die fast when you're supposed to be a fast killer, in particular in pvp against the tanky meta.
        in PVP: in this tanky meta, it's not fun to play a tanky NB when the class is made to be be squishy but critically powerfull in 1vs1. This is a serious paradox. And the class is not made to be tanky at all even if it's still possible to juggle with sets. Main bonuses are focusing crits and damages, absolutly normal but this is hard to have fun forgeting the class identity
        in PVE : dps is based on dots and aoe which is clearly not the strong point of the class... So you have to forget your class identity to get the needed dps.
      Edited by Xarc on 20 March 2023 10:47
      @xarcs FR-EU-PC -
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    • ixthUA
      ixthUA
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      Warden
      For me its warden class. Separate skill lines for DDing, healing and tanking, so warden can do all 3 roles with a 1500 crown investment for the 3rd armory slot.
      Warden DD can heal well themselves and others (while DDing), so can que as a fake healer.
      Warden tank can stay alive without a healer and heal others well, so if healer ragequits - its still possible to finish the dungeon.
      Warden healer can DD with a frost staff, while still healing.
    • Lucozade85
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      Class identity isn't much of a thing anymore unfortunately.
    • ADarklore
      ADarklore
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      Necromancer
      As someone who mained a Templar for years, I switched to Necro and absolutely love it. I think a lot depends on what you want to do and the content you prefer. I tried going back to Templar and hated it because of how brain-dead repetitive it is. Basically just same few skills over and over and over again with no variety. Necro I can swap around numerous skills depending on what I want to do, which the option for variety makes things more fun in a class IMO.
      CP: 1930 ** ESO+ Gold Road ** ~~ Stamina Arcanist ~~ Magicka Warden ~~ Magicka Templar ~~ ***** Strictly a solo PvE quester *****
    • BlueRaven
      BlueRaven
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      Other, future, new (please specify)
      My main is a Stam NB, but I use absolutely zero class abilities 95%+ of the time. So…
    • Urzigurumash
      Urzigurumash
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      Dragonknight
      Remember when people used to say "DK needs entirely reworked"?

      Turns out a simple 5% Damage Done buff and an uncapping of Battle Roar was all it needed.
      Xbox NA AD / Day 1 ScrubDK / Wood Orc Cuisine Enthusiast
    • Urzigurumash
      Urzigurumash
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      Dragonknight
      I keep that in mind when people talk about Sorc and Necro these days. "It needs reworked", to me comes off as an admission of not having any clue how to improve the class, i.e. "Just throw it in the trash and remake it in the mold of the currently strongest class".
      Xbox NA AD / Day 1 ScrubDK / Wood Orc Cuisine Enthusiast
    • merpins
      merpins
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      Templar and Sorc are both in need of some major updates. Templar was fun, but with nerfs and the animation change to Jabs, it's not nearly as fun. Sorc suffered a similar fate as Templar, but it's always had a couple problems that have never been addressed. Both classes are still fun (?) kind of, I still play them more than any other class sans Warden.

      I'm hoping that Acranist will be fun. It looks like it might have a lot of channel and magic damage abilities, which I'm hoping for since I'd like to dust off my War Maiden's and Deadly sets again.
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