[Build] Magicka Sorcerer TANK

raasdal

As i have not seen any kind of similar build in-game, i thought i would share it, and spread the word that Sorcerers CAN in fact tank. Perhaps people will stop the whole "Sorcerer tanking? We need a DK" when looking for groups.

Anyways, some while back, i got fed up with the fact that Tanks where so much in demand and so low in supply, that running Dungeons with Tank-checks was near impossible. So i decided i would make my Magicka Sorc, which already had a secondary Healer build, have a Tertiary tanking build. In my opinion i have succeded. I have tanked almost all VET dungeons with this build, using the VR14 version gear of this build (except for Jewelry and Monster Sets) - including the vWGT. I have not tanked vICP, mainly because there is nothing in that dungeon i want, so i will rather try to farm for Molag Kena, which i am still looking to get.

The beautiful thing with this build, is that it is based on your Sorcerer to be main as DPS. So no need to reroll anything at all. It is just a change in gear and used skills. I use Wykkid to quickly change between my primary, secondary and tertiary build. Besides from the fact that i can fill out any role in a Dungeon (except not all dungeons can support only Resto healer), this build is REALLY handy in dungeons where some bosses does not need a Tank. Example is Planar in vWGT or Engine Guardian in Darkshade. For these, i will change to DPS, which is the main priority for this character.

But let's get to the build. The basic stats are;

Enchants and Points etc.:

All attribute points into Magicka
Mundus: Mage
CP Points (i have 180) into Bastion, mix between Magicka Recovery / Cost reduction, and then a mix of Elemtal Damage and Magic Damage. (Remember, this is a DPS character mainly)
All enchants on Gear is for Health
All enchants on Jewelry is for Magicka Recovery

Gear:

5 pcs. Whitestrake for the 5pc Shield. Works well for "oh *** that burst is bad" situations.
2 pcs. Monster set. Choose any you like - i use two different ones, each giving Health.
2 pcs. Willpower (one Necklace + 1 weapon) This is important combo with the Jewelry/Weapon
3 pcs. Endurance (two rings + 1 weapon) This is important combo with the Jewelry/Weapon

You can choose another 5pcs. set than Whitestrake. I use Whitestrake because i like the "oh ***" feature, and i THINK (not sure?) that the 5pcs bonus will stack with my points in bastion? I have been saved by it on several occasions. Also combos well with the Restoring Twilight heals at 35% health. Willpower and Endurance are important to get the stats for this build, and it is important to notice how the setup is with the weapons, to make sure correct bonuses are up always.

For this buld i use Purple V15 food for tri-stat buffs, and i use Magicka+Health potions (for really tough situations, tri-stat pots)

With V15/V16 gear, this build is standing at 28k Health, 28k Magicka and 14k Stamina. With V14, which IMO should be minimum stats for this build, you should hit 26k Health, 26k Magicka and 14k Stam. Notice, i have Tanked all the VET dungeons (again except for vICP) with this build, using the VR14 gear, which gave 26/26/14k in HP/MAG/STAM.

Skills;

Frontbar is; Pierce Armor, Boundless Storm, Clannfear, Twilight, Hardened Ward (Meteor)
Backbar is; Inner Rage, Boundless Storm, Clannfear, Twilight, Hardened Ward (Meteor)

There are two variations on the skills. These are my starting bars, and work well for any mobs. If we get to a boss that deliver very sustained damaged, and i need more personal protection, i will swap out for either Bound Aegis (if physical damage) or Harness Magicka (if Magic damage) or both. For example, almost entire vWGT i will run with Harness Magicka and only have the Clannfear out. On Molag Kena, i will use Bound Aegis and Harness Magicka. With those two and Hardened Ward, i can basically ignore all the mechanics of that boss, and just shield my way through. In general the pets are good for tanking mobs and delivering passive DPS. They both have special heals, and the clannfear is good for a 10k on-demand heal when unsommned or killed. But i honestly only rarely find myself using it. So swap out for Bound Aegis and Harness Magicka whenever you feel that you yourself is getting under pressure.

The Playstyle;

This tanking build is not supposed to be played like the average DK standing still and blocking, taking the pain straight on. Don't get me wrong - this build can facetank almost anything. But this build is all about NOT blocking. You have the shields for that. In many dungeons, i will not block a single attack, except for maybe some heavy power attacks from certain bosses. Primarily, i want to use my stam to taunt everything in sight, and keep them taunted. If i run out of stam, i will switch bar to my ranged taunt. But i do not want to stay there, since my magicka is needed for shielding. I use my solid magicka pool to make sure my shields are always up with at least 5-10k. This is the key of this build. I do not block. I shield. My Ward is about 16-17k strong on this build. Instead of blocking, i will be light or heavy attacking all the time, to gain ultimate and resources. With Harness magicka on top, i will have 20-30k shielding + 28k health, with 20-25k resistance. So i will basically just make sure my Boundless Storm and Shields are always up, taunt everything in sight, and just mash the light/heavy attacks on mobs and bosses alike. And that is it.

Downsides;

With very very heavy physical attack enemies i can get in trouble if i run OOM. In general, i dont want to run OOM. Also, i have difficulty managing alot of mobs, and keeping them taunted. I have never played DK so not sure if they have an AoE taunt. But this build could really use it. Also, this build can facetank alot of bosses - especially the magic ones - but in general many bosses will require you to kite a little, or at least avoid the red circles, whereas some DK tanks, can just sit there in it.

Also, the DPS help from this build is small, in comparison to what i have seen some DK tanks being able to pull.

Upsides;

As already mentioned - flexibility. For some dungeons, i would actually prefer to have a Sorcerer tank like this, instead of a DK, because this build can switch over to a 20k DPS build instantly with no respecs. Examples are Darkshade Caverns (Engine Guardian) and vWGT (Planar Inhibitor)

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So - what are your thoughts? Anyone have tips to improve the build?

Oh, and here is the mandatory image. If anyone wants a video, i can upload one of me running a random vet dungeon.

Petros

Can you do is SO with this?

Not dogging on the idea of Sorc tanking, I have one, but the question is, can you comfortable tank SO with that?

Anyone can tank dungeons in weird sets

usmcjdking

Good-bad-good sandwich incoming:

Good: It's obvious it took you a lot of time to get comfortable with this build and spent a lot of time maximizing your tanking ability between gear, success and failure. As a tank, it's exceptionally rough to test builds because if you die it's typically gg for some of the tougher bosses where you really want to stress your efficiency.

Bad: My only beef with sorcerer is that they really don't have the group utility of the other classes which make them subpar performers. This isn't an issue with your build though, just a gripe with the sorcerer class in general.

Good: Overall I love the concept, and had I a high enough level sorcerer, I would DEFINITELY give it a go.

Trihugger

I like the setup. What are your thoughts on the extra regen from Willow's Path instead of Whitestrake? Along the same lines, what do you think about the engine guardian monster set, as I realize it doesn't give you HP (nor does Willow's for that matter) but it does I think give you some leeway in stamina to do more things.

shugg

As a main tank there are a few things i always look for in a class. 1st the major armour buffs - boundless storm , second a aoe quick catch like talons which a sorc has, and the 3rd and most important a way to get stam back asap - i beleave its dark exchange. If you have these on your main bar alone with taunt and roll a magic tank you will do fine others can bring group support u bring the punching bag. U may need an oh crap button which you could take bone shield like i do on my np

MisterBigglesworth

If you are going to tank a Trial boss you're probably better off focusing on lots of Stamina and weapon crit, keeping Crit Surge, Thundering Presence, and Bound Armaments buffs up so you're always healing and always regenerating Stam. Probably also slot Evil Hunter if not getting enough crits.

Maybe do double sword/shield bars, so you have room for both Puncture and Defensive Posture.

Prospering

or you can max stack into magicka and cast a hardened ward

raasdal

Don't know if i could do SO, have not tried. But that is not the point of the build. It is to be able to Tank regular Vet Dungeons, which can be done by any class - yes - but this is a DPS char.

For Engine Guardian i would not recommenf it. I tried it out quickly, and found that i simply do not spam abilities often enough to proc it consistently. I spend most time light attacking and then weaving in some shielding every 3-4 seconds. So for my money, i would rather have the two different sets, giving 2k more health.

Willows Path might work well. It would increase the sustain of the overall build, making you able to go a little bit longer. Great if your group is low on DPS and need that extra time. Have not tried kt, but would surely work. Downside is, health rec is not needed in this build. So that is a waste. Think there are some even better magicka tank sets out there for this build. But prefer something crafted for ease of use.

raasdal

Oh - brands of the imperium. That would be a great choice here. Too bad it has an rng wall the size of china.

shugg

raasdal wrote: »

Oh - brands of the imperium. That would be a great choice here. Too bad it has an rng wall the size of china.

We farm wgt for a few months now, i have had no plate drops and my only 2 char are tanks - one stam dk and a magic nb tank.... Rng

Bnec

love this

Toast_STS

Nice build. I've been tanking with my magical sorc lately too. I've been running 5 piece morkuldin and 2 piece maw of infernal with ss and resto backup.

The Daedroth and morkuldin sword proc fast with resto or overload heavy attacks. The Daedroth can draw aggro which is nice but the sword is not targetable and unkillable. It's a good mix of tanking and passive dps but I don't think I could tank vwgt. The other vet daily dungeons have been challenging but doable.

xericdx

Nice build, I'm planning to try something similar myself.

However, to keep the "summoner feel'" I would add an Atronarch (which also helps tanking a bit) and, in general, I would not use boundless storm in both bars. I was wondering why that choice? Bar swapping should not be a problem in your build and the main buff has a good duration...Is because you want the +speed buff always available? For some bosses I really find Harness magika pretty useful, which also help sustain and I would rather have it on one bar and keep it up as much as possible.

jakeedmundson

I was looking at a build like this too.... nice to see it works for someone!

Just gives me a little more confidence in trying one out.


Question though....
Why keep boundless storm and hardened ward on both bars? These are taking up valuable bar space... you can cast these and switch bars without losing the buff... so i would fill these in with something like magelight or bound aegis... or a dps combo of something like crystal frag, daedric minefield, daedric prey (and pair that with the atro ultimate), liquid lighting and/or caltrops if you have that skill.
Or does using extra dps skills run you out of magicka from popping shields all the time?

EDIT: thinking about this again.... daedric mines might be perfect.... you heal 8% of max health when these deal damage... i would put that and daedric prey in those other two slots to help your pet damage.

xericdx

As mentioned before, I agree for Boundless Storm.

For the Ward, you can try to have a ward on one bar but you will find difficult to survive for long as a tank with some high burst damage bosses. A full magika sorc is too vulnerable after the Ward drops and even the short time of bar swapping (especially with another ability queued) can get you one shot.

raasdal

Thank you for the comments on my build here Will address some of the questions;

Maw of the infernal would be great with this build. If i had the headpiece, i would use that for sure!

For the double slot of Boundless and Ward, this has been for ease of use. I am currently mixing up different things on those bars. Especially some DPS skills like Lightning Flood is good to use here. But in this build, i am set up for focusing on staying alive. Using too much magicka on anything else than Wards, will quickly get you killed. Recently i have begun to slot Lightning Flood instead of Boundless on my backbar. Have also slotted Bound Aegis instead of the Matriarch. Next, i will be changing S/B on backbar to a restostaff, to get resources back.

In general i would recommend slotting Ward on both bars. This is ESSENTIAL. For the rest, you can slot depending on your style and the dungeon. But beware; If you use too much magicka on non-essentials or DPS, you will run out of Magicka.

The Atro is a fine choice, to replace Negate on the backbar. But i find myself using the Meteor more often, to get some DPS in there. It is also an AOE CC, so works almost as fine.

Would NOT recommend Mines. They are simply way way too expensive.

jakeedmundson

Tried this last night... did vet wayrest and normal banished cells.

Vet 5 high elf sorc (did vet scaled to 15 then 3 man'd cells at vet 5)
both bars had sword and shield
used 5p whitestrakes (all blue) and a few random pieces of the magicka furnace set
ended up with 30k magicka, 26K health and 23k for each resistance (resist is a little low but hardened ward adds an extra 15-20k to health bar)

skills
1 - pierce armor, clannfear, twilight, boundless storm, hardened ward
2 - inner fire, clannfear, tiwilight, entropy (for the heals), liquid lightning

I would buff up and make sure my pets were up... cast inner fire to taunt first in group then drop liquid lighting and spam my shield and taunt as needed... I rarely took damage and i hardly blocked (only a big hit once in a while).... the vet was super easy. I know it was just wayrest... but still it was easier to tank with the sorc than my dk... i did the vet pledge consecutively with each of the toons.

Not only can i tank better than my DK (by far) i can out dps the dk easily....
It almost makes me mad that the sorc is so much better at every job. It was fun to tank with the sorc... but it also makes a good point about balance in classes.

I know its been said many times lately... but Dks need a friggin buff.

Dracane

Oh OP you are so cute If I would post my tank build and show you what I am capable of.... My guild knows and my boyfriend knows
But I don't like making my tricks public.

jakeedmundson

Dracane wrote: »

Oh OP you are so cute If I would post my tank build and show you what I am capable of.... My guild knows and my boyfriend knows
But I don't like making my tricks public.

Yeah... why would you want to try to help the community succeed in an MMO.... where group play is necessary.... that would be just plain stupid, right?

You should change your name to DeSean Jackson.... plays for a team but considers himself a one-man army.
(FYI.... his team struggles more when he plays)

Dracane

jakeedmundson wrote: »

Dracane wrote: »

Oh OP you are so cute If I would post my tank build and show you what I am capable of.... My guild knows and my boyfriend knows
But I don't like making my tricks public.

Yeah... why would you want to try to help the community succeed in an MMO.... where group play is necessary.... that would be just plain stupid, right?

You should change your name to DeSean Jackson.... plays for a team but considers himself a one-man army.
(FYI.... his team struggles more when he plays)

I am an one woman army basically I hate to rely on others and that's what my builds usually represent. Being able to sustain and perform on my own. My tank build is no exception.

raasdal

@Dracane - I respect not wanting to share secrets, but those comments needs to be accompanied by at least a basic screenshot of stats. Otherwise your just trolling. Know you did not mean it that way, but that is how it comes off like.

raasdal

@jakeedmundson - happy it worked put for you. And yes, it is scary how well a Sorc can tank with a Magicka build. I enjoy stuffing the initial "lol a sorc tank wtf" down peoples throat after the daily gold went like a breeze

Dracane

raasdal wrote: »

@Dracane - I respect not wanting to share secrets, but those comments needs to be accompanied by at least a basic screenshot of stats. Otherwise your just trolling. Know you did not mean it that way, but that is how it comes off like.

Hm but that would already reveal the entire secret but I guess I could send you a private screenshot if you oath to keep it for yourself.

raasdal

Nah, dont worry about it

jakeedmundson

1

raasdal wrote: »

@jakeedmundson - happy it worked put for you. And yes, it is scary how well a Sorc can tank with a Magicka build. I enjoy stuffing the initial "lol a sorc tank wtf" down peoples throat after the daily gold went like a breeze

That's pretty much how it goes....