Elemental Explosion seems really bad...

randconfig · April 28

All spammables do like 14k dps, while I can only get about 8-9k dps using this ability... Is it because you miss out on light attack weaving during the cast time? If so, why isn't the ability buffed to be on-par with light attack weaving with a spammable?

(Note: this is on a <50 level character, just trying new things, which is why the dps is low in general)

ESO_Nightingale · April 30

it is really bad yeah, i know some people use it in IA but outside of that its so atrocious that i genuinely dont know why it doesn't do double its current dps

sans-culottes · April 30

Scribing was a huge missed opportunity.

Jestir · April 30

The long cast times on some of the scribing skills, like the one this topic is about, really hurts their usability/viability

LootAllTheStuff · April 30

A shorter cast time and/or a bigger hit would be fantastic. Right now, it only really works as an opening surprise attack on trash mobs, since you can fire it off at them before they alert (with stun). Anything tougher than a public dungeon mob, though, and you're really only tickling the targets.

randconfig · April 30

Yeah agreed with everyone here, I really wish it would have either one of three:

radius buffed by 2m
cast time reduced by 0.5s
damage buffed by like 33%

Cast time reduction would be the best change I think. I also think Torchbearer should be given the same treatment, the animation is just so slow....

fred4 · May 1

As far as I remember, my main gripe on release was that you select the target location at the beginning of the cast. It's a big issue in PvP. If the ground target selection was floating and only finalized at the end of the cast, that would improve the skill significantly for PvP and, perhaps, marginally for PvE. You might use the knockback option in PvP, for example to evict ballgroups from a keep wall.

BXR_Lonestar · May 2

randconfig wrote: »

All spammables do like 14k dps, while I can only get about 8-9k dps using this ability... Is it because you miss out on light attack weaving during the cast time? If so, why isn't the ability buffed to be on-par with light attack weaving with a spammable?

(Note: this is on a <50 level character, just trying new things, which is why the dps is low in general)

Elemental explosion is really bad. 2 second cast time means it has no use in a rotation other than an opener, which means against anything more than trashmobs, it is a DPS loss and a waste of a slot. In PVP, you can't cast it from stealth anymore and it doesn't do enough damage to justify the risk of casting it so - the only time you ever see it is if people are lobbing it down on you from up high on a well-defended keep.

I'd like them to reduce the damage and the cast time on it. It would be WAY more useful if you could cast it within 1/2 second and dispel all enemy shields in its radius. That would be way more devastating than any damage it can put out now given its long cast time.

Necrotech_Master · May 2

i see it used plenty in PVP lol

yes for pve its not that great outside of niche cases in the archive where you might have a vision/verse that buffs the bejesus out of it

its definitely a more situational skill, its more about burst dmg, which is why it tends to shine more in pvp

Stx · May 4

The cast time instantly kills this ability. I think it has some niche uses but I’m not sure. I think it might be used for the minor brittle in PvE.

CP5 · May 4

I use the ability a lot, mostly in the archive, for sure, applying 3 status effects to a group of enemies every other second is powerful compared to doing anything single target. But the 2s cast time does hurt its damage potential, it does a lot of damage, but that delay makes the skill clunky to use.

However, that's not the worse part. The worse part is that, about 10% of the time when using the skill, it locks up, preventing you from using it or other skills until you block, and even then it can block you from taking actions. That is what usually gets me killed, and needs to be addressed to make the skill more useful. The 2s cast time isn't *as* bad as people think because you can start channeling the next explosion right before the current one is fully cast, but that lock-up makes it horrible compared to something like fatecarver.

DigiAngel · May 4

This skill is AWESOME to slot as a healer. Shock damage, shock over time, and off balance...cast is as you approach groups of enemies and they go 1/2 health almost right away, and all are set off-balance...softens them up for the DD's

Joy_Division · May 4

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

i see it used plenty in PVP lol

yes for pve its not that great outside of niche cases in the archive where you might have a vision/verse that buffs the bejesus out of it

its definitely a more situational skill, its more about burst dmg, which is why it tends to shine more in pvp

2 second cast time means only can be used by light attack roof spammers, who will miss the 160% speed groups by about 30 meters.

ADarklore · May 7

Funny, I don't even use this for the DPS, I use it for the 5/second stun. Nothing like running around doing quests, and drop this on a group of enemies (who are almost always right next to each other). They're all stunned, and quickly all dead. Good times.

sans-culottes · May 7

ADarklore wrote: »

Funny, I don't even use this for the DPS, I use it for the 5/second stun. Nothing like running around doing quests, and drop this on a group of enemies (who are almost always right next to each other). They're all stunned, and quickly all dead. Good times.

That’s great for solo PvE questing, but let’s not confuse niche utility with universal viability. Stuns that feel satisfying in overworld questing don’t necessarily translate to high-end PvE or PvP, where immunities, diminishing returns, and group roles introduce complexity.

The problem isn’t that subclassing makes things “fun” for solo players. Rather, it’s that it does so at the cost of clarity and balance elsewhere. What works when fighting a mob of overland zombies doesn’t necessarily work when you’re trying to coordinate in a trial or survive in Cyrodiil.

YandereGirlfriend · May 8

This skill is in a weird spot because it doesn't actually take much to transform it from situational to turbo-busted and oppressive.

I use it in IA as the Minor Brittle alpha strike on mobs and it serves that purpose very well.

Hotdog_23 · May 8

It's my mudcrabs killer skill when I farm those things😜 one shots a group of them most of the time.

randconfig · May 8

YandereGirlfriend wrote: »

This skill is in a weird spot because it doesn't actually take much to transform it from situational to turbo-busted and oppressive.

I use it in IA as the Minor Brittle alpha strike on mobs and it serves that purpose very well.

True.. Maybe it could do an additional x amount of damage after 4 seconds, that way it would be somewhat similar to daedric curse, so it's not giga busted in burst damage, but deals enough damage over all to compete with other abilities?

ESO_Nightingale · May 9

Hotdog_23 wrote: »

It's my mudcrabs killer skill when I farm those things😜 one shots a group of them most of the time.

sure but you could also just use an instant aoe spammable to do the same thing. or like shalks or blastbones if you're playing warden or necromancer.

randconfig · May 9

ESO_Nightingale wrote: »

Hotdog_23 wrote: »

It's my mudcrabs killer skill when I farm those things😜 one shots a group of them most of the time.

sure but you could also just use an instant aoe spammable to do the same thing. or like shalks or blastbones if you're playing warden or necromancer.

Sure, but it would at least have a place for some builds instead of none, since you can customize the scripts.

tsaescishoeshiner · May 9

Elemental Explosion is so satisfying to use, but pointless in any PvE content where you might get staggered or need to do mechanics (aka ... any non-trivial PvE content) and not as viable in PvP (I'm sure there are fun builds for it).

It would be better if it was a shorter cast time but with a delayed effect or a longer travel time. Like that attack that enemies use where they send a fireball to a marked area over a few seconds (admittedly, the graphics for it aren't great). But you could select an area, and trigger a delayed explosion. They would probably have to reduce the damage for that, which would be too bad.

The two second cast-time locks you out of light attacks, which messes up sorcs, nightblades, Relequen's, reduces your crux building (you only get one crux over 2 seconds instead of 2 crux over 2 seconds), and more. A one-second cast time fits into current build options a lot better.

The main issue is being staggered or interrupted, which can't be avoided in a lot of content.

As it is, I can only use elemental explosion on a quester/daily quest character.

randconfig · May 9

tsaescishoeshiner wrote: »

Elemental Explosion is so satisfying to use, but pointless in any PvE content where you might get staggered or need to do mechanics (aka ... any non-trivial PvE content) and not as viable in PvP (I'm sure there are fun builds for it).

It would be better if it was a shorter cast time but with a delayed effect or a longer travel time. Like that attack that enemies use where they send a fireball to a marked area over a few seconds (admittedly, the graphics for it aren't great). But you could select an area, and trigger a delayed explosion. They would probably have to reduce the damage for that, which would be too bad.

The two second cast-time locks you out of light attacks, which messes up sorcs, nightblades, Relequen's, reduces your crux building (you only get one crux over 2 seconds instead of 2 crux over 2 seconds), and more. A one-second cast time fits into current build options a lot better.

The main issue is being staggered or interrupted, which can't be avoided in a lot of content.

As it is, I can only use elemental explosion on a quester/daily quest character.

Oh I absolutely love that idea! Reduce the cast time, but delay the projectile speed or when it hits the ground, make it glow and swell in size, then explode.

cuddles_with_wroble · May 11

Cast times don’t belong in eso, they never feel good they just feel clunky and out of place.

This skill should just be an instant cast aoe

YandereGirlfriend · May 11

cuddles_with_wroble wrote: »

Cast times don’t belong in eso, they never feel good they just feel clunky and out of place.

This skill should just be an instant cast aoe

They'd have to nerf it into the ground, then. It'd also be insanely redundant with Elemental Ring.

CameraBeardThePirate · May 13

Joy_Division wrote: »

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

i see it used plenty in PVP lol

yes for pve its not that great outside of niche cases in the archive where you might have a vision/verse that buffs the bejesus out of it

its definitely a more situational skill, its more about burst dmg, which is why it tends to shine more in pvp

2 second cast time means only can be used by light attack roof spammers, who will miss the 160% speed groups by about 30 meters.

This just isn't true at all. It's used a LOT in battlegrounds, as in 8v8s, there's plenty of chaos and combat going on to allow you to cast it unimpeded.

Joosef_Kivikilpi · July 23

I actually really love Elemental Explosion. Wish it had the floating counter as well to set where it hits at the end of cast time, but besides that....

The 2 second cast time allows you time to line other things up for some insane burst.