Just a note on Necro - you're throwing if you're still using Spirit Guardian over Intensive Mender. Mender was already the better morph and got buffed last patch to be an incredible off-heal for your group. Even solo, the buff helped as your self heal won't get "stolen" as often. On top of all that, Intensive has much better synergy with Deaden Pain, another skill that you should probably be using.

For another pro in Necro - Colossus is still second to none for group bombing on top of someone's pull.

divnyi wrote: »

CameraBeardThePirate wrote: »

On top of all that, Intensive has much better synergy with Deaden Pain, another skill that you should probably be using.

I prefer Necrotic Potency for huge boost in ult gain, especially if you build your necro as ult dumper.

Either way, Intensive gives you more corpses for it.

Bashev wrote: »

It looks like I will have to test the new changes.

But I think on the first look Arcanist took the short straw. They were tanky and now they will not be anymore and their mobility and damage is not existent. I think this class will be dead as Necro next patch.

NBs cloak nerf is nothing if the toggle work properly and is responsive. At least for the good NBs who does not perma cloak and panic.

Sorcs nerf should be tested too but I still think that it will be a top skill.

I am really surprised how Warden heal survived?

What was the point of nerfing my Arcanist but leaving sorc practically untouched? I don't think that measly 5% healing reduction is going to affect sorc that much.

Im going to try the other morph of Runeward.

All classes except sorc has about the same mobility since race against time exists. You could make a small case for shade but we all know most people don´t or can´t find bar space for it. Heck, you could even make a small case for arc portal on some builds but it´s too niche to be universally used.

You don´t compare classes purely from their class toolkit alone, that´s not how the game works and never has. Stamsorc is the peak example of this. Ever since stamsorc became a thing it´s never been in a bad spot. Yes proc sets dictated if the class was S-tier or A tier but ESO is a game where sets and non-class skills is as much part of "class identity" as the toolkit the class has itself, simply because certain skills and sets synergies better with certain classes (warden and blood for blood is another great example of this).

Regarding your list:
I´d personally but sorc and warden as the only S tier classes at the moment (controversial to not put NB on the pedestal I know). But as with everything, context is key and I´d say class balance can differ depending on whether you do battlegrounds or open world cyrodiil

CameraBeardThePirate wrote: »

Just a note on Necro - you're throwing if you're still using Spirit Guardian over Intensive Mender. Mender was already the better morph and got buffed last patch to be an incredible off-heal for your group. Even solo, the buff helped as your self heal won't get "stolen" as often. On top of all that, Intensive has much better synergy with Deaden Pain, another skill that you should probably be using.

From a throughput perspective, Intensive Mender is much better.

With that said, when I don't use Spirit Guardian, even in a 29k armor frontbar build, I feel noticeably squishier. A unique 10% source of mitigation is huge.

You might say "use Deaden Pain" but then that's 2 slots on the bars and Necro struggles with bar compression.

The other thing is that I've found that longer-running HoTs - even if the ticks are not huge - are great to pop pre-combat and they take the edge off damage and allow you to fight longer before having to burn cooldowns to heal. This is the case for me with Spirit Guardian, Templar's Rune Focus, Warden's Leeching Vines, etc.

CameraBeardThePirate wrote: »

Bashev wrote: »

It looks like I will have to test the new changes.

But I think on the first look Arcanist took the short straw. They were tanky and now they will not be anymore and their mobility and damage is not existent. I think this class will be dead as Necro next patch.

NBs cloak nerf is nothing if the toggle work properly and is responsive. At least for the good NBs who does not perma cloak and panic.

Sorcs nerf should be tested too but I still think that it will be a top skill.

I am really surprised how Warden heal survived?

Uhhh Arcanists didn't really lose much tankiness at all - you might be misunderstanding the Impervious nerf.

They're nerfing the secondary shield (i.e., the smaller shield). Spamming Impervious Runeward will still be just as powerful as it was, because the 20k tooltip shield hasn't been touched.

It's a significant nerf.

Today, you can cast Impervious Ward (1 sec global cooldown), then the next global cooldown follow with Runemeld to recover HP. With the nerf to the 2nd damage shield, your 2nd shield will likely break (it will be only ~2.5k shield with 35k HP and Battle Spirit) and you'll take damage at a time you are trying to recover HP.

The issue with spamming IW is that you typically get the heal on the 1st cast (assuming you had 1+ crux), but after that, if you're on the defensive, you're relying on Cruxweave Armor (5s cooldown) and Tome-Bearer's Inspiration for intermittent crux generation. So you get an initial heal on the 1st IW cast and then you're treading water HP-wise.

I do agree that Impervious Runeward is a balance issue today (like Hardened Ward), but a 56% nerf to the 2nd shield is too big an adjustment. But Arcanist in general is not OP in PVP (PVE is a different story) and I think nerfing 2 survivability skills by 50+% with respect to shielding or damage is excessive.

Meanwhile Hardened Ward is only losing 33% of its healing, and the healing was unneeded in the 1st place since that shield already has the best scaling in the game. A lot of people have made the reasonable suggestion to change HW's heal to a HoT - in that case it will like the Signature Affix script Sage's Remedy that people put on scribing shield abilities.

Syiccal wrote: »

Navaac223 wrote: »

CameraBeardThePirate wrote: »

Just a note on Necro - you're throwing if you're still using Spirit Guardian over Intensive Mender. Mender was already the better morph and got buffed last patch to be an incredible off-heal for your group. Even solo, the buff helped as your self heal won't get "stolen" as often. On top of all that, Intensive has much better synergy with Deaden Pain, another skill that you should probably be using.

For another pro in Necro - Colossus is still second to none for group bombing on top of someone's pull.

For group play, yes, this is a huge buff and spirit mender is better but for solo? You can't recast a skill once every 8 sec in a 1vX, especially when the other morph gives you 10% dmg reduction. Also, deaden pain takes 1 bar space. Most solo necros are forced to take off major brutality sources to slot mobility tools. This is to say that no solo necro can afford using it

And yet major brutality is expected to be cast every 10 seconds on plars, which means whilst on the defensive etc we lose out on 20% increase of spell DMG effecting heals also.
I will maintain the opinion that brutality and sorcery should not be tied to offensive abilities especially one that means that stamplars have to stop execute to include a jab potentially

Man I'd be over the moon if zos decided to give major brutality to skulls xD

taugrim wrote: »

Syiccal wrote: »

Navaac223 wrote: »

CameraBeardThePirate wrote: »

Just a note on Necro - you're throwing if you're still using Spirit Guardian over Intensive Mender. Mender was already the better morph and got buffed last patch to be an incredible off-heal for your group. Even solo, the buff helped as your self heal won't get "stolen" as often. On top of all that, Intensive has much better synergy with Deaden Pain, another skill that you should probably be using.

For another pro in Necro - Colossus is still second to none for group bombing on top of someone's pull.

For group play, yes, this is a huge buff and spirit mender is better but for solo? You can't recast a skill once every 8 sec in a 1vX, especially when the other morph gives you 10% dmg reduction. Also, deaden pain takes 1 bar space. Most solo necros are forced to take off major brutality sources to slot mobility tools. This is to say that no solo necro can afford using it

And yet major brutality is expected to be cast every 10 seconds on plars, which means whilst on the defensive etc we lose out on 20% increase of spell DMG effecting heals also.
I will maintain the opinion that brutality and sorcery should not be tied to offensive abilities especially one that means that stamplars have to stop execute to include a jab potentially

Major Brutality on a spammable IMO is fine. It's bar compression.

If all you're doing is spamming Radiant, honestly just unslot the spammable and use another ability that provides Major Brutality / Major Sorcery.

That's not the point I was making, in Pve you have to run pots for sorcery on magplar really, and switch to pots at execute on stamplar as brutality comes from jabs, your not gonna want to do jabs in execute phase. In PvP having brutality and not sorcery like offered to all the other classes on at least the base morph is bad design. If I had my way I'd move to something else away from jabs, maybe bubble I dunno as again you ain't jabbing when playing on the defensive in PvP either so lose out on 20% spell dmg

Just be thankful the game is more balanced than it was a decade ago, https://youtu.be/mbj8bQc8E_M?si=X544n-iBvSQWhHqa