Improvement to skills and game mechanics by Xavier Louis - Suggestions for 2.4 and beyond

roigseguib16_ESO

I would consider myself a hardcore player having player over 4.8k hours and an average of 8+ hours a day of The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited since the first Beta. I have been in all stages of the game from the small PvE events in low level zones such as Anchor hunting to organised elite PvE raids to Hardcore PvP guilds including several emperorships and I have played all characters (Stam and magicka of all four classes). By now I know how most of the game works, although not all of it. Here are my thoughts in some changes that could come.

Suggestions for changes in Skills and mechanics.

1. Shield stacking and PvP concecuences.

Since we have a Major/Minor buff system for almost every kind of buff, I suggest we standarize shields as well and I suggest something as specific as:

A. Major Ward: grants (insert here a random number, maybe 30%) additional mitigation against magic and elemental damage
B. Minor Ward: grants (insert here a random number, maybe 10%) additional mitigation against magic and elemental damage
C. Major Shield: grants (insert here a random number, maybe 30%) additional mitigation against phisical and poison damage
D. Minor Shield grants (insert here a random number, maybe 10%) additional mitigation against phisical and poison damage

Have some skills to grand Major Ward (e. g. Harness Magicka) and some skills to grant both (e. g. Hardened Ward). Based on the complexity of the skill and the additional effects make it grant one or two of the effects and major or minor. For example: Fragmented Shield from Dragonknights: make it grant Minor Ward and Minor Shield since it already provides an interesting amount of bonuses (Major Mending or extra damage) or Blazing Shield having Minor Ward and Minor Shield as in comparison to the other morph that can maybe grant Major due to the loss of damage. This way you allow shield stacking characters to stack up to 4 shield types but only 2 per type of damage and prevent insane shieldstacking as happens at the moment (shields grow with magicka and are not crittable, therefore sorcerers can build on top of only investing in Magicka achieving 45k+ and they don’t need any type of Health or CP/trait investment against critical damage (e. g. Impenetrable or Resistant).
This change would be more responsive and coherent with the policy towards buffs and would make PvP more fair among classes (clear balance issues)

2. Templar Cast-type skills

Most of the damage skills available to Templars are casted - which would make sense if other classes had some as well. However the main damage skills for Magicka Templars are casted (and not short casts) and that makes PvP damage output be really diminished. Magicka Templars are useful in PvP due to their healing potential, however this healing potential requires hard CP investment and resource-sustainable builds so if a Magiplar aims to develop a damage based spec needs to count on cast dependance. How can we address this issue?

A. Make certain skills have an insta proc chance: Dark Flare. In comparision with Sorcerer skill Cristal Fragments, is a magic damage casted skill with a long cast and high damage, both with an additional effect (CF: knockback vs DF: healing debuff). However, aside from having similar cast times and damage, Cristal can proc an instant chance: well what about making that same mechanic for Dark Flare? Maybe remove the Trauma secondary effect when is instaprocced, but keep the damage increase and cost reduction of the instacast proc. This would agilize Magiplar damage output and maybe give something for Magicka Templars to move from the Healing spot (only spot where they had any type of advantage).

B. Decrease main cast times with Champion System. Make a new constellation to enshorten casts up to a 20% with 100CP this way some casts can be shorter. Maybe a good idea, maybe not.

C. Increase damage output of casted skills: what doesn’t make any sense is that certain skill is channeled but its damage is lower than other not-casted skills (Concealed Weapons vs Puncturing Strikes or Surprise Attack vs Biting Jabs).

3. Mobility Unbalance

Although it makes sense that stamina type characters have the cappability to run/move faster, healing makes more sense to be better developed by Magicka types and Rally-Vigor heals more than any healing combo by any damage magicka class, so movement should be granted to magicka builds as well. I suggest taking one undaunted skill that is not much used (webs, blood altar) or maybe an Alliance skill and move it to some sort of magicka rapid thing. Major expedition should be a disengaging tool available to all builds, not only stamina (that happen to be more tanky than magicka anyway).
Vampirism is an option however you can't sprint while having active Elusive Mist, the cost is pretty high so in comparision with Rapid (30% Major Expedition + 40% sprint = 70% extra speed) Elusive Mist is only 30% movement speed - less than half. An alternative would be nice.

Derra

Don´t like the shield concept at all. It would be an incredible buff for sturdy builds and an incredible nerf for squishy ones.

Why do you want to change the whole concept of how shields work instead of just making converting them to major minor shields resulting in non stackable shields.

Also a templar with 30% magica mitigation and access to breath of life still? No thanks.

roigseguib16_ESO

I understand your reasoning, however Magiplars have no mobility and have to chose Damage or Endurance, however any other class can still deal good amount of damage whilst being mobile and/or tanky.
Magiplars are very useful in next patch: master angler, crafting some provisioning, maybe even collecting Orsinium trophies!!!