Sword and Shield DPS Kicked in Normal Dungeon

Solarverse · 5:22AM

Was kicked for playing as a Sword and Shield DPS, the build revolves around Bash (almost 10K Base Damage) and Killer's Blade. The two AoE that I use are from the Scribed Soul Burst with Frost as Base damage with DoTs on secondary with Minor Breach. The second AoE I use is Arctic Blast. So, nothing special, but IMO (and I thought most other's) good enough to run as DPS in Normal Dungeons to pick up a daily here and there. I have 20+ characters, that is one I built that goes outside the box. So should I just stop playing him? I mean, if I am going to be getting kicked from some basic no skill required dungeon, which is all I really intended for him, I guess there isn't much point in playing him. I just get sick of playing the meta build all the time and like to try new things. Anyway, opinions? Thanks.

Soarora · 5:28AM

Honestly, you might just want to grab a taunt and queue as tank. No one will question it* since you have s&b and a taunt and you can keep playing him with the bonus of a faster queue. It's normal, people shouldn't kick imo.

*okay, some people might question your health not being high enough but again... it's normal...

Solarverse · 5:32AM

Soarora wrote: »

Honestly, you might just want to grab a taunt and queue as tank. No one will question it* since you have s&b and a taunt and you can keep playing him with the bonus of a faster queue. It's normal, people shouldn't kick imo.

*okay, some people might question your health not being high enough but again... it's normal...

I just wanted to do something outside the box. Honestly I am getting pretty board with the game and this is a way that I was trying to keep it interesting. But, if my outside the box ideas are just going to get kicked, then there isn't much point. Oh well, the drawbacks of MMO's...other players, lol. Thanks for the feedback.

Vulkunne · 5:40AM

Solarverse wrote: »

Soarora wrote: »

Honestly, you might just want to grab a taunt and queue as tank. No one will question it* since you have s&b and a taunt and you can keep playing him with the bonus of a faster queue. It's normal, people shouldn't kick imo.

*okay, some people might question your health not being high enough but again... it's normal...

I just wanted to do something outside the box. Honestly I am getting pretty board with the game and this is a way that I was trying to keep it interesting. But, if my outside the box ideas are just going to get kicked, then there isn't much point. Oh well, the drawbacks of MMO's...other players, lol. Thanks for the feedback.

That's not a bad idea at all really. I've thought about setting up a similar build. I've done other similar things that worked out great both in form and function yet if someone in the group disagrees then yeah, they will cause a scene over it.

One time while everyone was picking up quest, I had my DPS Tank start working on the first mobs: Not a boss, not running ahead aggroing everything, just the first few mobs. And this person got real nasty over that. I mean just hating on the fact my Tank could do DPS and was being proactive and that I needed to stay with the group. It really made no sense whatsoever because the people getting their quests didn't ask and they were doing as they pleased, as they always have done.

Its real frustrating. I tried explaining to this person in detail why my approach works best for a normal run and they stopped accusing me after that. It was still pretty disgusting and makes me not want to PvE as much anymore though I still do it.

Solarverse · 5:49AM

Vulkunne wrote: »

Solarverse wrote: »

Soarora wrote: »

Honestly, you might just want to grab a taunt and queue as tank. No one will question it* since you have s&b and a taunt and you can keep playing him with the bonus of a faster queue. It's normal, people shouldn't kick imo.

*okay, some people might question your health not being high enough but again... it's normal...

I just wanted to do something outside the box. Honestly I am getting pretty board with the game and this is a way that I was trying to keep it interesting. But, if my outside the box ideas are just going to get kicked, then there isn't much point. Oh well, the drawbacks of MMO's...other players, lol. Thanks for the feedback.

That's not a bad idea at all really. I've thought about setting up a similar build. I've done other similar things that worked out great both in form and function yet if someone in the group disagrees then yeah, they will cause a scene over it.

One time while everyone was picking up quest, I had my DPS Tank start working on the first mobs: Not a boss, not running ahead aggroing everything, just the first few mobs. And this person got real nasty over that. I mean just hating on the fact my Tank could do DPS and was being proactive and that I needed to stay with the group. It really made no sense whatsoever because the people getting their quests didn't ask and they were doing as they pleased, as they always have done.

Its real frustrating. I tried explaining to this person in detail why my approach works best for a normal run and they stopped accusing me after that. It was still pretty disgusting and makes me not want to PvE as much anymore though I still do it.

I tried talking to the kicker as well...after the fact of course. However, I just got condescending remarks and ultimately just dropped it and let it go. I even explained that it's just a Normal Dungeon, but they didn't care. I agree with you though, a Normal Dungeon is not that serious, but some players treat it like it's the real end game stuff, doesn't leave much room for outside the box ideas to have fun.

Erickson9610 · 6:04AM

I remember wanting to make a sword + shield damage dealer in another MMO. I asked people there for advice and they told me that I must play a tank with that setup, that playing a damage dealer simply wasn't possible.

Then, I remembered how ESO, unlike other MMOs, actually encourages you to play how you want to play. While it does still slightly bother me to play with a suboptimal build, I can't deny that the roleplay fantasy of being a knight with a sword and shield is still very fun.

I'm glad ESO allows players to run what they want with very few limitations. I'm sorry you encountered a group of people who didn't want to see you running that, though.

Gabriel_H · 6:32AM

A sword & board (or resto to a greater degree) dps build will always be behind other weapon builds as they lack the damage boost in the passives.

HOWEVER - if geared, skilled, and CPed right it's still a viable damage build for most VETERAN content nevermind normal.

Nothing wrong with trying something new, don't let the naysayers get you down.

Auberon1983 · 7:23AM

Man...

That's so lame. It's a NORMAL dungeon, for crying out loud! I'd understand if it was something like vRGhm, but for something like nWS1 I'll take anyone that can press buttons!

If you are on PS (PlayStation) NA (North America) @Solarverse send me a PM. We have a few S&B DPS, and tanky brawler DPS in our guild that have run normal trials with us and done just fine

Solarverse · 8:18AM

Auberon1983 wrote: »

Man...

That's so lame. It's a NORMAL dungeon, for crying out loud! I'd understand if it was something like vRGhm, but for something like nWS1 I'll take anyone that can press buttons!

If you are on PS (PlayStation) NA (North America) @Solarverse send me a PM. We have a few S&B DPS, and tanky brawler DPS in our guild that have run normal trials with us and done just fine

I'm actually PC, but I do appreciate the offer. I have no intention on gimping groups with him on harder content, I play him for the fun of it and because he is so decently geared, I end up out DPSing a lot of players who are also DPS. I mean, my shield bash I have seen crit for 30K if not a lot more regularly. Then once the enemy is down to 25%, I finish them off pretty fast with Killer's Blade. I felt as long as I restricted him to lower tiered content that it wouldn't be a problem. Sadly, this individual waited until we downed the first boss (with ease) before kicking me, saying in group chat, "Sword and Shield is not DPS." Apparently enough people on the team agreed with him, otherwise that vote to kick wouldn't have passed. Not much I can do about it other than blow it off, get a few opinions on these forums and move on.

I appreciate everyone who replied. Even more, I appreciate the feedback. Thank you very much.

Radiate77 · 10:16AM

Set “Hello.” to a macro and just hit it every time you enter any group content.

Sounds weird, I know, but when strangers see each other as people, rather than helpers, they tend to be a lot more accepting when the help isn’t what they wanted.

Radiate77 · 10:29AM

Also want to add, congrats on making an S&S dps build! I’ve been wanting to for the longest time but I hate how un-synergistic the skills are.

The skill line has two spammables, Reverb and Deep Slash, yet Reverb eclipses the skill completely, then you also have two stuns, in Invasion and once again… Reverb.

I really wish that the skill line would stop stepping on it’s own toes, and I’d love a revision to their passives, with the choice to convert S&S into a damage weapon fully, sort of like an inversion of the Frost Staff passive.

Monte_Cristo · 11:00AM

Radiate77 wrote: »

Also want to add, congrats on making an S&S dps build! I’ve been wanting to for the longest time but I hate how un-synergistic the skills are.

The skill line has two spammables, Reverb and Deep Slash, yet Reverb eclipses the skill completely, then you also have two stuns, in Invasion and once again… Reverb.

I really wish that the skill line would stop stepping on it’s own toes, and I’d love a revision to their passives, with the choice to convert S&S into a damage weapon fully, sort of like an inversion of the Frost Staff passive.

Why not use power slam instead of reverberating bash?

Cruxanero · 11:04AM

The only thing I'm annoyed about (as a S&B tank) is if someone other than me runs a taunt as well. It happened frequently with the frost staff passive, but I was never advocating for a kick but instead explained it and asked them to reskill for their next dungeon (since it was always accidentially). So if I'd see you as S&B in my vet pug (I don't run normal dungeons) I'd raise my eyebrows at first and prepare to be annoyed about fighting you for aggro, and if there was no taunt from your side, I'd be relieved, congratulate you for the thought you clearly put into the build, and then move on with my day.^^

Gabriel_H · 11:23AM

Cruxanero wrote: »

It happened frequently with the frost staff passive

Ah those were the days ... "For the 500th time, stop heavy attacking the big nasty boss with a frost heavy attack!!!"

robwolf666 · 11:26AM

Solarverse wrote: »

Was kicked for playing as a Sword and Shield DPS...

Kind of hit the nail on the head for why I don't do group content - other people try to tell you how to play, rather than enjoy the experience how you want to play, with your build, not theirs or some meta they believe is the "only way".

If you insist on doing group content, try to get your own group together, arrange with everyone in advance.

spartaxoxo · 11:29AM

Slot a taunt and queue tank. You'll never have to listen to it again and you'll get faster queue times. Don't slot defensive stuff. Use almost the exact same setup just use taunt as a flex spot. A lot of people can't handle change. Such people won't even question it if you're in tank slot while throwing a fit in the DPS one. And you're build is fine for normal content. Normal dungeons are too easy to stress about builds.

Tommy_The_Gun · 11:34AM

As a 40K HP tank with 1h & shield I was once kicked after being accused of being a "fake tank" since I was doing more dmg than both DPS (they were really bad at it & it took forever to kill anything). Some one just had an add-on that "showed them" nuff said....

CalamityCat · 1:32PM

Honestly, I wouldn't worry about occasionally being kicked. Some players have really strange ideas about who belongs on their team. If a player is on their feet and trying, I'll fight with and heal them all day long. Template is irrelevant. It's sad in a game with numerous classes and skills, that players get snotty when you're not playing how they think you should.

It might be worth asking guild mates to run dungeons with that character, even if you just queue with one or two and you're crown.

liliub17_ESO · 1:35PM

Unfortunately there are far too many min-maxers who have no understanding whatsoever of subtlety.

Play your sword and board! There aren't enough around, in my opinion, who know how to play the iconic combination. But either do as the others suggest (equip a taunt to placate the kids) or better yet, get your own group together.

wolfie1.0. · 2:30PM

The irony, is that in IRL sword and shield were a more common weapon set up than dual wielding, and the most common weapon in IRL is missing from the game: the spear.

valenwood_vegan · 2:38PM

It's a bummer but playing with randoms is going to lead to this kind of thing sometimes - some people are rude, selfish, stubborn, all of the above, or just have incompatible ideas about how to play the game. Forming a group of friends, guildies, etc., does take more effort initially, but can lead to a reliably better experience.

(Or if that's not a good solution for whatever reason, I'd just brush it off when something silly happens in a random and try to think of it as a dice roll - you got a bad roll this time but chances are the next one will be fine. Though in this case, playing as a sword and board dps, you're going to run into more issues than normal because this falls outside of many players' expectations and some people aren't willing to accept that).

JaxontheUnfortunate · 3:07PM

Might as well just fake tank it. I have lost count the number of times I have queued as a tank to have a healer run ahead started to aggro bosses that I now just run a dps build and will only swap builds if the group asked for a real tank. Also I am sick of seeing beam builds it’s so boring and unimaginative.

tomofhyrule · 3:41PM

People are annoying. And in a normal? Ugh. That's the reason that a lot of us aren't into running randoms in the first place.

However, I am putting part of the blame on the game as well. The current balance is such that "off meta" builds are leagues behind the meta means that players are empowered to make judgements like "if you aren't bringing an Arcbladeplar, you can't sit with us."

Varana · 4:22PM

In the end, I wouldn't think about it too much.
Just statistically, you're bound to run into idiots eventually.
(Looking at the state of the world, it's a surprise it doesn't happen more often.)

Sluggy · 4:51PM

Tommy_The_Gun wrote: »

As a 40K HP tank with 1h & shield I was once kicked after being accused of being a "fake tank" since I was doing more dmg than both DPS (they were really bad at it & it took forever to kill anything). Some one just had an add-on that "showed them" nuff said....

Eeeeeyup. That was around the time I stopped pugging vet dungeons. I'd get kicked for playing a real tank when they wanted another DPS and I'd get kicked for playing a 'fake' tank that was entirely capable of tanking while running a two-hander.

I do recall one time making a quip that *I* thought was pretty funny though. Something along the lines of, "Of course I'm a tank! You you think I have 35k hp for my health?! Er wait..."

Ilsabet · 6:05PM

Vulkunne wrote: »

One time while everyone was picking up quest, I had my DPS Tank start working on the first mobs: Not a boss, not running ahead aggroing everything, just the first few mobs. And this person got real nasty over that. I mean just hating on the fact my Tank could do DPS and was being proactive and that I needed to stay with the group. It really made no sense whatsoever because the people getting their quests didn't ask and they were doing as they pleased, as they always have done.

I can understand taking issue with someone pulling mobs while people are trying to pick up the quest, because in some dungeons just aggroing anything will prevent people from starting the quest. There was no reason for the person to be nasty about it, of course, but I can understand asking someone to hold their horses if it's obvious that there are people trying to talk to the quest NPC.

To the OP: Most people won't care what you bring to a normal dungeon as long as you're at least nominally doing your job. So I wouldn't let one stinker drive you away from playing a character that you find fun. The advice to throw on a taunt and queue as a tank is a good way to get around potential issues, or just figure that the good runs will outnumber the stinkers and go on your merry bashing way.