You'll generally see a lot of builds using pillar of Nirn, whorl of the depths, Relequen, and similar sets for dummy parses. They're great for single target fights with an enemy that doesn't move. Unfortunately, most content doesn't work that way.

The sets you run in actual content depend heavily on what you're running, such as whether you're in solo or group content, which trial/dungeon you're in, the difficulty level, or even which boss or trash pull you're looking at.

If you're going with just overland content, pretty much anything will work fine.

In trials, your group will generally supply you with enough penetration so you can run medium armor.

For dungeons, you need to worry more about your penetration, so light armor becomes more useful. Light armor is also helpful for sustain, which you'll need more in a 4 man group with fewer supports.

Some sets that may be helpful include:
- Deadly is awesome for a templar and it's usually my starting point when making a new gear setup. Good damage boost without having to do anything to maintain it. You'll almost always want to pair it with a trial set for minor slayer.
- Ansuul is also a decent damage boost if you're looking for something to "set and forget," but gets better if you can work in some interrupts for additional damage.
- Azureblight in fights with lots of enemies close together such as trash packs or Reef Guardian in Dreadsail Reef. Used to be only 1 person would run it, but that's changed recently. Arcanists really make this shine, but templars can at least get use out of it. We used to be awesome, but jabs no longer add stacks like they used to.
- Sul-Xan is amazing if enemies are dying frequently enough to keep the buff going. This is generally my standard first set for trash fights. Some bosses also work well with it if they have lots of small adds.
- Relequen is nice if you're good at light attack weaving while in combat to keep your stacks up. Best for single target fights.
- Pillar of Nirn is good if you can proc it on cooldown reliably. It does have a tiny AOE, so it's best for single target fights to focus your damage on the priority target.
- Whorl of the depths is great, especially as a light set, but it relies on enemies remaining within the AOE to take damage. If you're in a mobile fight, it becomes much less helpful.
- Bahsei is powerful if you can keep it going, but I don't like the upkeep. I've used it in Cloudrest, but not many other places.
- Order's wrath is one of the best craftable sets out there, and one I still use in dungeons. Because it's crafted, you can get it in either light or medium depending on what you need. It's also another great "set and forget."
- Kvatch Gladiator is an option in fights where you need to burn through execute quickly, such as boss 1 and 3 in Sanity's Edge. It's another crafted set, so you have options for light or medium.
- Burning spellweave and mechanical acuity are phenomenal for burst fights where you need to nuke something fast, though you wouldn't want to wear them both together. Mechanical acuity is another crafted set.

I also tend to default to a mythic, generally either Velothi or Mora's, and 1 piece Slimecraw, rather than using a 2 piece monster set.

If you are looking for a monster set, that also depends on the situation.
- Nerien'eth was my go-to, though it's less reliable when jabs went from 4 to 3 strikes per cast. It's still pretty decent for a single target fight.
- Zaan is best for single target fights, and will even work on dragons and Taleria in Dreadsail Reef. You'll want to keep your light attack weaving up to get the best use out of it.
- Stormfist is another decent single target set, though I haven't run it too much.
- Kjalnar is nice, but generally only one person can run it in the group.
- Balorgh is fantastic for a nuke. I use it in some boss fights in the archive and it's done really well.

To finish it all off, I use an arena weapon on the back bar, typically a maelstrom inferno staff.

Nilandia wrote: »

You'll generally see a lot of builds using pillar of Nirn, whorl of the depths, Relequen, and similar sets for dummy parses. They're great for single target fights with an enemy that doesn't move. Unfortunately, most content doesn't work that way.

The sets you run in actual content depend heavily on what you're running, such as whether you're in solo or group content, which trial/dungeon you're in, the difficulty level, or even which boss or trash pull you're looking at.

If you're going with just overland content, pretty much anything will work fine.

In trials, your group will generally supply you with enough penetration so you can run medium armor.

For dungeons, you need to worry more about your penetration, so light armor becomes more useful. Light armor is also helpful for sustain, which you'll need more in a 4 man group with fewer supports.

Some sets that may be helpful include:
- Deadly is awesome for a templar and it's usually my starting point when making a new gear setup. Good damage boost without having to do anything to maintain it. You'll almost always want to pair it with a trial set for minor slayer.
- Ansuul is also a decent damage boost if you're looking for something to "set and forget," but gets better if you can work in some interrupts for additional damage.
- Azureblight in fights with lots of enemies close together such as trash packs or Reef Guardian in Dreadsail Reef. Used to be only 1 person would run it, but that's changed recently. Arcanists really make this shine, but templars can at least get use out of it. We used to be awesome, but jabs no longer add stacks like they used to.
- Sul-Xan is amazing if enemies are dying frequently enough to keep the buff going. This is generally my standard first set for trash fights. Some bosses also work well with it if they have lots of small adds.
- Relequen is nice if you're good at light attack weaving while in combat to keep your stacks up. Best for single target fights.
- Pillar of Nirn is good if you can proc it on cooldown reliably. It does have a tiny AOE, so it's best for single target fights to focus your damage on the priority target.
- Whorl of the depths is great, especially as a light set, but it relies on enemies remaining within the AOE to take damage. If you're in a mobile fight, it becomes much less helpful.
- Bahsei is powerful if you can keep it going, but I don't like the upkeep. I've used it in Cloudrest, but not many other places.
- Order's wrath is one of the best craftable sets out there, and one I still use in dungeons. Because it's crafted, you can get it in either light or medium depending on what you need. It's also another great "set and forget."
- Kvatch Gladiator is an option in fights where you need to burn through execute quickly, such as boss 1 and 3 in Sanity's Edge. It's another crafted set, so you have options for light or medium.
- Burning spellweave and mechanical acuity are phenomenal for burst fights where you need to nuke something fast, though you wouldn't want to wear them both together. Mechanical acuity is another crafted set.

I also tend to default to a mythic, generally either Velothi or Mora's, and 1 piece Slimecraw, rather than using a 2 piece monster set.

If you are looking for a monster set, that also depends on the situation.
- Nerien'eth was my go-to, though it's less reliable when jabs went from 4 to 3 strikes per cast. It's still pretty decent for a single target fight.
- Zaan is best for single target fights, and will even work on dragons and Taleria in Dreadsail Reef. You'll want to keep your light attack weaving up to get the best use out of it.
- Stormfist is another decent single target set, though I haven't run it too much.
- Kjalnar is nice, but generally only one person can run it in the group.
- Balorgh is fantastic for a nuke. I use it in some boss fights in the archive and it's done really well.

To finish it all off, I use an arena weapon on the back bar, typically a maelstrom inferno staff.

Very informative, cheers. I’ll give orders wrath clothes and deadly jewls and staff a go

I wrote a lot because the simple answer is, "It depends."

There is no single best build for all content, or even single best build for bosses or trash (sorry, base pop). It's also helpful to know why certain sets will work and why others won't for certain situations. Game balance changes will still happen, but being able to recognize what works will help in future changes.

Nilandia wrote: »

... "It depends."
There is no single best build for all content ...

Totally true. Magplar can even pull off a perma shield build when SOLOing super hard content, like EA Arc4+. With Hexos Ward, Prayer Shawl and Iceheart. I love that one.

But that is so far away from META single target Boss setups, like Pillar, Deadly, Zaan +Kilt.

Wilkesy91 wrote: »

Luckylancer wrote: »

People wrote a lot for a simple answer.
Overland, normal difficulty content: Sul-Xan's Torment + deadly + slimeclaw + wild hunt ring
Soloing stuff (bosses): relequen + deadly + slimeclaw + pale order
Proper content trash: Sul-Xan's Torment + deadly + slimeclaw + harpooners
Proper content boss: relequen + deadly + slimeclaw + harpooners

Use these and you are covered up for 95% of the content. Just drop Sul for always releq or order's wrath if you want.

I think he copypasted from Alcast's site.

Sul and deadly are both medium aren’t they? What a light alternative for sul for trash usage like for dungeons/trials…

I don't know why overland content is even an issue, as you can wear trash and be okay, but the old "medium for stamina, light for magicka" rule has been loosened with hybridization and the changes they made to armor over the last 2 years. While light is probably optimal for magicka, its not devastating to a build to wear medium.

If you are looking for a light armor set to go with Deadly jewels and weapons, I'd go with Whorl. Alternatives are Bahsei's (have to play the low magicka game) or Master Architect (if you are in a group without a ROJO healer).

Wilkesy91 wrote: »

Sul and deadly are both medium aren’t they? What a light alternative for sul for trash usage like for dungeons/trials…

Wearing medium assumes you have enough penetration to overcome enemy resistances. That's usually taken care of in trials with coordinated supports, so you can usually get away with two medium sets in trials, but not so much in dungeons. Plus, light armor can help with sustain that will likely be tighter in dungeons.

If you're running deadly, you can try whorl of the depths so you have minor slayer, but it isn't as helpful in very mobile fights. Bahsei can work and also provides minor slayer, though you need to have low magicka for it to be worth it and templar sustain is notoriously bad. Order's wrath is a crafted set so you can have it in light, but it won't provide minor slayer.

El_Borracho wrote: »

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

El_Borracho wrote: »

Wilkesy91 wrote: »

Luckylancer wrote: »

People wrote a lot for a simple answer.
Overland, normal difficulty content: Sul-Xan's Torment + deadly + slimeclaw + wild hunt ring
Soloing stuff (bosses): relequen + deadly + slimeclaw + pale order
Proper content trash: Sul-Xan's Torment + deadly + slimeclaw + harpooners
Proper content boss: relequen + deadly + slimeclaw + harpooners

Use these and you are covered up for 95% of the content. Just drop Sul for always releq or order's wrath if you want.

I think he copypasted from Alcast's site.

Sul and deadly are both medium aren’t they? What a light alternative for sul for trash usage like for dungeons/trials…

I don't know why overland content is even an issue, as you can wear trash and be okay, but the old "medium for stamina, light for magicka" rule has been loosened with hybridization and the changes they made to armor over the last 2 years. While light is probably optimal for magicka, its not devastating to a build to wear medium.

If you are looking for a light armor set to go with Deadly jewels and weapons, I'd go with Whorl. Alternatives are Bahsei's (have to play the low magicka game) or Master Architect (if you are in a group without a ROJO healer).

while you can wear medium armor on a mag build, it will seriously hurt your sustain for your primary spammable (lack -cost to mag abilities, -mag recov while wearing medium armor)

It can, and I have seen the effects on Magplar and Mag DK. But if you are building for an organized raid group with shards and orbs, it can get by. I run light armor on mag, but that's just a personal preference thing.

yeah in say a trial group, its usually not a huge difference

if your in a small group (dungeon, archive, or solo) it makes a huge difference without the outside sustain help