Templar Skill Review & Suggestions (sans anger/complaining)

tinythinker

Hello. The premise for the suggestions given here isn't to completely tear the Templar class apart and start over, but to create more intra-class synergy and to make the following vision of Templars more viable options (h/t to @Solariken for the original list; I've re-written the last bullet point):

• A sun-wielding Spartan of fire and light, blazing around the battlefield smiting foes with a searing spear.
  
• A sun-calling holy monk, sniping and burning foes to a crisp from a distance.
  
• A heavy armor battle healer, mending wounds and raising allies from the dead while imbuing them with my righteous power.
  
• A rune-guarded healer, a robed light-weaver who buffs allies and weakens foes on the battlefield.
  

What follows in the sections below is my suggested list of mostly minor to medium changes to the existing skill lines and abilities to move Templars into a place where those options from the above list are (more) viable. The numbers are negotiable but look better than just using "x" or "y" all of the time. This is the culmination of a series of suggestions that have been developed over time (most clearly seen here and over here) and includes some great ideas proposed by other players. If you want to see some or all of these ideas in the game (or if you really, really don't), please leave your feedback. Thanks for reading. Oh, and yes Stamplars, this proposal includes more stamina morphs.


Note: If you want to express your disappointment in how the devs have handled the Templar class in the past or how upset you are about the changes proposed in PTS patch 2.3.x, there is already a thread for that. What is written here is about looking forward, not about complains about the devs. I don't expect that any devs will rush to implement any of these ideas (but if you are on the combat team and reading this feel free to borrow anything you like!), but I do hope this has positive feedback that is on topic, whether it tends more toward approval or constructive criticism.

Aedric Spear

The following proposed changes emphasize controlling and punishing opponents who try to enter "the Templar's house". They involve more CC and more synergy within the skill line. If Templars are to be slower and less mobile by design, then they need more threats to deploy against single and multiple targets trying to enter their space. The suggestions were considered for both PvE and PvP. The changes also help those who want to go for more of that offensive-minded sun-fired Spartan approach.

Ultimate: Radial Sweep

The Empowering Sweep morph works for being tanky in PvE on large pulls an the extra meter it will get as part of buff to the base ability is fine, but the other morph needs work. (Cinbri has suggested replacing the formula for the amount of damage mitigation for Empowering with Major Protection, which would have the advantage of always having at least 30% mitigation and requiring fewer calculations by the server. On the other hand, mitigation would always be capped at 30%, too.)

Crescent Sweep is meant to be a small burst+dot focusing on enemies in front of the player (66% more damage to enemies in front of the caster on the initial hit). It's more like a really strong AoE regular skill than an ultimate but that is probably tied to it being relatively cheap. Add Minor Berserk (+8% to all damage) to the caster for the duration of the ability (6 seconds) when outside of the ability's AoE range and give Major Berserk (+25% to all damage) while the caster is inside the area of effect. Thus it pays for the caster to try to protect her "house" but recognizes there is still often a need for some degree of mobility.


Active Skills

Puncturing Strikes

Drop the new snare added for 2.3.x and add either a bleed effect (fits with the spear theme), a burning effect (Templars do burning damage with some other skills), or a 2 second knockdown versus off balance targets. To repeat: only versus off balance targets. This fits well with the effect Toppling Charge already has on active casters and also with the proposed change to Blazing Spear described below. There needs to be more inter-skill synergy for Templar. I had written up the bleed vs. off balance targets idea for Piercing Javelin to give it more value, but it was too clumsy to work with this idea as it is a ranged skill. Strikes is the bread and butter ability of a "not in my house"/"stand tall" playstyle for Templars so it makes sense as the locus of a skill line synergy. The snare they gave Strikes in 2.3.x goes better with...

Piercing Javelin

The longer distance (and thus increased damage) for Aurora Javelin in 2.3.x is nice. I was one of those requesting this, so my thanks. But what if it also snared the target by 50-70% for 3 seconds. For the "not in my house" feel, such a snare would be a real boost, since keeping enemies at a distance and only letting them approach on your terms is valuable tool for that playstyle. Yes, Binding Javelin has a 3 second knockdown but Aurora still gets the bonus damage for distance traveled and now both can help dictate when to engage in melee range and offer an escape hatch if needed.

Spear Shards

Great ability. Let's talk the "not in my house" model, though. How about we have Blazing Spear still stun one target for two seconds but set 2-4 others off balance? Would work well with the proposed change to Puncturing Strikes above (Blazing Spear --> Strikes...Strikes...Strikes...). For Luminous Shards still have one target disoriented but snare 2-4 others by 30-40% for 4 seconds. As with the recommended change to Piercing Javelin, this helps control who gets near the Templar and gives more options for an escape attempt.

Sun Shield

Wrobel has mentioned that the dev combat team was planning on looking into tanky skills, and name checked Sun Shield. He said that they doesn't want to go back to the days of unkillable tanks. Fair enough. But if we are taking the "not in my house" approach to skill reviews, this needs buffed. Increase shield strength from 27% to 35% of caster's health for Sun Shield and its morphs. Either that, or, if there is concern about super-high health stacking tanks being OP, have it scale off of the highest stat between magicka and stamina or some combination of health and another stat. I prefer the tanky/health option, but whatever. That's just an opening thought, the real changes are just below.

Give a 35-40% increase to the damage done on activation for the base ability and for Radiant Ward, while stunning those caught in the blast of the activation of the latter for 2 seconds. So this ability gains value as something you can use for an opening stun and still be shielded for another 6 seconds, or you can use it to stun and run and still have the damage shield.

The other morph? A two second knock down for enemies who are in range of the AoE damage effect when Blazing Shield explodes. You want to play in a Templar's house? You play by the Templar's rules. These changes make the 6 second duration an asset rather than a liability for Blazing Shield, and Radiant Ward can stun again once CC immunity wears off, which would be only a couple of seconds after the max duration of the effect.

One of those morphs could be changed to a stamina-cost ability.


Passive Skills

Piercing Spear

Buff the bonus damage against blocking targets from 5/10% to either 7/15% or 10/20% and have the bonus work against shielded targets as well. This and the suggested change to Spear Wall below help to punish targets who stay close and fight and also helps to flesh out the Templar's distinctiveness. Players will start to actually think "Blocking/shielding up isn't going to work as well against Templars." This change also makes more of the slower moving/functioning Templar ranged abilities, such as those from the Dawn's Wrath skill line. This will push enemy players into wanting to dodge more and stay mobile.

Spear Wall

Add (a chance to) inflict Minor Maim, which gives a 15% damage reduction, to targets whose melee attacks are successfully blocked. If it is a chance-based proc rather than automatic the odds should be no lower than 25% and preferably would be 50%. But given that it's just versus melee, it ought to be 100%/automatic. If Templars are to continue to have limited mobility and fight in rune circles and healing circles and such while they defend their "houses", there needs to be more mitigation. If you hit a spear wall, it should sting. Get up in a Templar's face and you'll bleed. And if Templars are to be less mobile, how about a spear wall that blocks projectiles? Included ranged attacks in the 15% bonus.

Burning Light

A hat tip to Hymzir for suggesting that this passive-based DoT should proc on shields, and this, along with the above suggested change to Piercing Spear would help give Templars an edge as a shield buster class.

Balanced Warrior

This should be updated to include Physical Damage in the 1000/2000 resist bonus, especially in a melee-focused/area of denial setup for "stand tall" game play considering that melee weapons do, ya know, physical damage. To be fully "balanced", Spell Damage would need to be included in the 3%/6% bonus as well.

Dawn's Wrath

The following proposed changes emphasize debuffing opponents and throwing hard hitting attacks at those standing outside of the "Templar's house", and for those wishing to be that "sun-calling holy monk, sniping and burning foes to a crisp from a distance".

Ultimate: Nova

Great ability, great morphs, just drop the cost to the 200-220 range.


Active Skills

Sun Fire
I know there are builds that use the Reflective Light morph as part of a fire-damage DPS build, and it can be useful while leveling, so good. But Vampire's Bane? Making the DoT last longer or burn hotter as a single target skill is redundant. Just give that bonus to Reflective Light and do something else with Bane. And the snare for Bane fits better with Aedric Spear than it does with Dawn's Wrath.

How about having Vampire's Bane do one-shot burst damage that lowers the target's resistance to elemental damage for those seven seconds? Give it a 15% chance to proc for an extra 25-30% damage, like a magicka version of a Fighter's Guild skill. Vampire's Bane indeed. And the Enduring Rays passive would simply extend the lower resistance to elemental damage. I used to say for months to just swap "Major Sorcery" for "Major Prophecy" as the fix for VB, but with more time to think about it, I came up with and now favor the burst (into flame) damage fix instead. The elemental weakness goes well with the Burning Light passive from Aedric Spear and the stamina morph suggestion for Solar Barrage given.

Solar Flare
So close, yet so far away. So close, yet so far away. We dream of (hitting our targets) tomorrow, but we're stuck in today... Sorry, Hall and Oates moment, there. But I would trade the extra damage given in 2.3.x to Dark Flare to disorient a target upon impact. At least if you managed to hit with the first one you would have a better chance of landing a second. But that still requires a target not to dodge roll away from the first projectile as it slowly arcs across the sky with a tell sound that says "double tap a direction key". My suggestions for extra CC in the Aedric Spear line can create some new openings for Dark Flare, but it's unclear whether those will be enough.

That's why I still like the idea of having it chase you like a heating seeking missile. That makes up for the clumsy cast, high arc, long flight, clear warning sound effect, etc. A target could still block the projectile to reduce damage taken, reflect it for no damage, or absorb it for little or no damage. A target could even outrun its range and escape. But the target couldn't dodge roll out of it. Keep the defile and empower, dump the new damage boost for 2.3.x, and give Templars a target-lock missile that can debuff an enemy group if the target doesn't get some distance from allies. A DK or any player with a sword and board can reflect/absorb it, a NB or Sorc can take the first hit and either CC the caster or cloak/streak away, and a fellow Templar can pop Eclipse on you. Risk and reward, but better than the current model since the first hit, even if bounced back at you, will actually land where you intended.

With regard to Solar Barrage, I know a very few people who use it but I haven't since I first leveled up my magicka Templar a long time ago. It sounds great, a PBAoE that empowers your next attack. What a great skill to spam! But maybe there was a concern that would make it OP, so it's another "clunky instant cast" skill. At first I was thinking, "Why not give it Major Defile as well like Dark Flare? One is a ranged projectile that defiles nearby allies of the target, one is a PBAoE that could do the same thing at greater risk up close. If not defile, then some other buff, debuff, or status effect to make it a competitor with Impulse from the Destruction Staff skill line and Steel Tornado from the Dual Wield Skill Line." But why? Those abilities already exist. So, how about this instead...

Turn Solar Barrage into stamina morph that creates a circular AoE with a 3 or 4 meter radius that moves with the caster who is the center of this solar storm. All enemies in that radius would be afflicted with Major Defile for seconds (would last for 5 seconds even if they leave the radius) as well flame damage every half second. Another piece of the "sun-wielding Spartan of fire and light, blazing around the battlefield smiting foes" puzzle falls into place. Could also use Major Fracture instead of Major Defile.

Backlash

I haven't used Power of the Light since it became a stamina morph, at which point I switched to Purifying Light. I've used Backlash in one form or another when doing four person dungeons since I started playing a Templar, and it was always a nice DPS/HPS boost. I've heard some people say those boosts have been decreased with 2.3.x but I haven't tested that yet myself.

Eclipse

What I recommend if reflect is maintained:

OPTION #1 (in response to patch note changes from an old patch but still with good ideas)

Give Eclipse and Total Dark a penalty (like 3x normal damage that would otherwise occur at the end of the ability) for breaking free. Still only one target allowed at a time but it reflects all single-target spells, magicka or stamina (and given that it is expensive, limited to one target at a time, requires LoS, and can be popped right away this doesn't make it OP, just a way for a Templar to keep an opponent on their toes). This forces a human opponent to decide between using AoE/basic weapon attacks on the one hand and taking the extra damage by breaking free on the other. Bosses who are immune automatically "break free" and take damage, and the player has to wait the same period as a CC immunity timer to recast on a boss.

Unstable Core gets the bubble back, works like the 2.3x mechanics, but stuns the primary target upon exploding. The bubble keeps a human opponent from knowing which morph was used. The stun makes up for the lackluster damage and wait time. I really tried using it on the PTS but I had to kind of wait and slow down my fights for it to register before trash mobs were killed. Otherwise they died before it went off. Very lackluster. The stun also has some use in PvP, as that CC, rather than extra damage, is the break free penalty for players. Core also need to be added to the no fly list for Enduring Rays.

=OR=

Let Unstable Core remain bubble-less but up the damage of the explosion by a good bit, limit it to one target, and have it go off immediately/stun the target for two seconds if the target tries to use a gap-closer. Let the Enduring Rays passive continue to effect Eclipse and its morphs. But, have Total Dark's damage decrease over time from 3x its current value to its current value, so that the earlier an opponent pops the bubble the more damage they take. Have Core's damage increase over time and don't allow any kind of break-free.

What I recommend if reflect is replaced:

Base ability and both morphs get the bubble. The target has a 30% chance that any single target ability with hit an ally of the target (or miss completely if there are no allies nearby), what with the bubble of darkness obscuring the target's sight and all. Create a "whif" animation and sound effect to clue people whose character is affected by this miss chance in to the fact that, you know, they missed, if that is an issue. There is still AoE damage when the effect ends, and if the target breaks out early that damage still goes off but now the target and nearby allies take double what they would have if Eclipse had simply expired on its own. So unlike the old Blinding Flashes, this is single target and can be immediately removed by the target. Not OP. Just fun and useful. For immune NPCs like major bosses, they will automatically break free and take the early release penalty, and the player will have to wait the normal CC immunity period before re-applying it to that boss.

For Total Dark boost the chance to miss/hit the wrong target to 50%. For Unstable Core, the penalty for breaking out is now triple the normal end-of-ability damage. An enemy target has to choose their poison if they get tagged. No cheap/painless way out.

So, either way, either version proposed, it's good. Keep the reflect, swap it out, just make Eclipse have value.

OPTION #2 (a newer, better version of OPTION #1)

*

Give Eclipse and Total Dark a penalty (like 3x normal damage that would otherwise occur at the end of the ability) for breaking free.

A mob isn't going to "break free" and bosses can't be hit with either of these, so only players will be forced to choose if they want to wait out the bubble or take the damage. This makes their gaining CC immunity after breaking out a reasonable thing since they are in some since "trapped" now. There is PvE and PvP balance and the skill is useful to all.

[*]The damage for Eclipse and Total Dark decreases over time.

So you start off taking three times the current damage if you burst the bubble right away, but if you wait and let the bubble expire you take the current level of damage. This makes Enduring Rays work for the base ability and this morph.

[*]Add a stun bomb for Unstable Core for targets who activate a gap-closer.

Not much elaboration needed. If an enemy has Core active and tries to use a gap closer (Bolt Escape, Fiery Chains, Critical Charge, Shield Charge, Teleport Strike, etc. or the NPC equivalents) they trigger the ability early and explode for the damage already in place for this ability while also being stunned for two seconds.

[*]The damage for Unstable Core decreases over time.

This adds to a target's dilemma in PvP and boosts the value of the ability in PvE so that it's worth waiting for the payoff. To really make this shine, allow the caster to tap the same key again for the ability to have it detonate early.

Radiant Destruction

Radiant Oppression is great. Just add "healing effect increased up to 50% of damage done based on your current magicka" to Radiant Glory. If you want to add a stamina morph for this class execute, Oppression would make sense as long as magicka builds get the scaled healing buff just mentioned for Glory.


Passive Skills

Enduring Rays

Unstable Core, in it's 2.3.x incarnation and in my first option given here, needs to be one of the skills excluded from this passive. If Eclipse and morphs are changed to the second option given here (wrong target/whiff) it can still be beneficially boosted by this passive.

Restoring Spirit

I guess there is zero chance of every returning to the version of getting resources back per cast, even at a smaller percentage. So, straight buff it is the the cost reduction numbers to make Templars more competitive/appealing. I've seen various numbers tossed out, but anything would be a significant improvement.

Restoring Light

The proposed changes are intended to create more viable options for Templar healing buffing beyond the most commonly used abilities: Breath of Life, Repentance, and Cleansing Ritual. Those changes include a new animations and a unifying theme based on runes/sigils. They help those who want to be a "heavy armored battle healer" or a "rune-guarded light weaver".

As mentioned at the top of the post, there was a list of descriptions another player made about (potential/preferable) roles for Templar, which ends with this:

• I wanted to be a rune-hugging turtle healer, a light-slinging meat shield who "stands in my house" while the useful classes do actual work on the battlefield.

Clearly that last one was a jab at what Combat Design Team Leader Eric Wrobel talked about on the Feb 12th, 2015 episode of ESO Live. But I reworked it a little to make this:

• A rune-guarded healer, a robed light-weaver who buffs allies and weakens foes on the battlefield.

Now I think many players have suggested changes that would help bring the first three from the original list more forcefully to life. But that last one, the one I took from a snark to a decent-sounding option... it kind of inspired me. The quick run down on the new rune types (there are three) used in this revision of the Restoring Light skill line and how they would basically work in a mechanical and animation way are covered in the spoiler just below.

Writing that alternative description quoted above brought the idea of a rune-based skill line and associated images to mind. Images of spells that formed glowing runes on the caster as well as, in some cases, the ground. So let that kind of image sink in a moment. A caster with their armor marked and their face covered in wicked looking runes. Or a sphere of runes surrounding the caster.

Hey, in PvP enemies are gonna spot a Templar quick anyway so why not look cool and with style? And if our ideas for buffing Templar were ever halfway implemented those markings could server as a warning. And as for the technical issues of adding runes, they were discussed in another thread in the following comments: #1011, #1012, #1013, #1015, #1017, #1018, #1020, and #1022. Whether the runes are painted on a flat layer, dynamically rendered, or otherwise and how to achieve it is a technical issue I leave to the relevant developers should there be any interest in these changes.

Now as for the functional aspect--the mechanics--three types sprung to mind:

Type I: Body runes only that flash when you cast.

Instant cast, immediate effect, one off spells like Rushed Ceremony.

Type II: Body runes only that remain for the duration of the spell.

They are proximity based AoE "in waiting" spells that visibly "tag" players in need who come within range. That is, allies can run within range and get a blessing (buff and/or heal) or you can run to them. Closest thing currently in the game is the new Cauterize morph of Inferno for DK. I'm thinking it could be part of a revision of or a replacement for Healing Ritual (there would be no self-snare, it would be instant cast). This would also be the rune-type for Restoring Aura/Radiant Aura, whereas Repentance would be the first type (body runes that flash only when you cast). Rite of Passage would fit here as well, though with a much bigger range than the others.

Type III: Body *and* ground runes that remain for the duration of the spell.

They are active AoE spells, such as Cleansing Ritual and Rune Focus. Basically, you press a button to activate, and it has some effect over time. Press it again while in the AoE circle and half of the remaining total value of the over time effect(s), such as health recovery, magicka recovery, damage to enemies, etc are instantly granted as the ground rune flashes and disappears/the body runes quickly fade.

These "types" aren't something that will be in the tool-tip or that someone playing the game needs to go, but they are part of the new mechanic being introduced here so they need to be described to help explain the mechanic.

Ultimate: Rite of Passage
I rarely see either morph of this ability used outside of PvE. Sometimes I and some healer Templars will use Remembrance in group PvE play for bosses that have high damage phases, while others use Practiced Incantation and its slightly longer channel time (an extra two seconds). Perhaps Practiced Incantation could be altered to be the PvP-preferred version. For example, by extending the caster's immunity to crowd control effect to the allies being healed for the duration of the ability. The base ability and both morphs are Rune Type II.


Active Skills

Rushed Ceremony

This is one of three places in this skill line I will mention a suggestion by Hymzir, since they deserve recognition: Give BoL back three targets but have them all at the lesser value for secondary targets while making the base ability and both morphs prioritize the caster. Or, I would add, if the number of targets and the heal values are non-negotiable, keep the targets/heals the same but nonetheless have the fist heal prioritize the caster if it's meant to be a single-target healing nuke (Honor the Dead) or a single-target healing nuke with benefits (Breath of Life). The base ability and both morphs are Rune Type I.

Healing Ritual

I (and others) have had so many different ideas for this over the past couple of years, they are just all over the place. Click the spoiler to see some of my favorites others have suggested as well as favorites from my own list of ideas. Or totally ignore the spoiler and skip to the text below it, since the rune-based-skill-line idea has inspired something else entirely.

I'll start with some ideas other people have offered:

A version you cast before the fight begins from Faulgor

Healing Ritual: Cast restorative blessing on nearby allies. Restore 5% maximum Health every second for 30 seconds. 3 second cast time.

Lingering Ritual: Cast restorative blessing on nearby allies. Restore 5% maximum Health every second for 45 seconds. 3 second cast time.

Ritual of Rebirth: Cast restorative blessing on nearby allies. Restore 5% maximum Health every second for 30 seconds. 3 second cast time. Allies with less than 20% Health are healed back to 50%. Effect is removed thereafter.

These changes would offer a heal that fills an as of yet unfilled role.
- Strong buff that is designed to be pre-cast out of combat
- Offers an indirect tool for magicka sustain, because the damage "pre-healed" before combat doesn't have to be healed actively later
- Great utility for builds not focusing on magicka/spell damage, such as tanks and stamina builds

A Xivkyn Lacerator version from Leon119

Personally i would love if healing ritual worked like the xivkyn lacerators's in WGT heal.
Leave it as it is with cast time at base skill and when cast makes an AoE centered around caster that functions as a HoT
Make morphs something along the line of:
● grant regen
● larger radius
● longer duration
● no cast time
● ect

A "turn it into a lesser form of Rite of Passage" version (and replace Rite of Passage with something else) by Talyena

Bump it's time and heal back to where it was. Bump the range to 28m. Make it interruptible and make it stop channeling if you move (but don't take away the ability to move). So if you only get to cast it for one second, you get off half the heal. Have it cap at 4-6 targets and work out the costs and have it be group only.

A "make it into a mobile HoT with instant cast" from half the people talking about changing healing ritual

Make it a powerful hot that is instant-cast.

Here are my favorites from my own theorycrafting for your consideration:

"The Light"

In this new version of Healing Ritual, while you walk about praying and healing you are surrounded in a bright swirling glow as your healing energy pours out to nearby allies. You blind your foes, getting Major Evasion for two seconds (or Major Protection for two seconds or inflicting all nearby enemies with Major Maim for four seconds) starting when you press the button to cast the spell. The heal also begins instantly while you are doing a casting animation and still self-snared. The healing is reduced by 20% or so to compensate for the buff. For Lingering Ritual a smallish HoT applies to allies within the ability radius for 8 seconds after the cast time ends (centered on the caster who is no longer self-snared). Ritual of Rebirth restores one quarter of missing stamina and magicka to two nearby allies other than the caster over the course of three seconds. You still get 30% more healing from this spell.

"The Buff"

In another alternative I've also been considering, you still get the swirling light and self-snare cast time as per "The Light", but in this case the caster's allies gains Major Protection for 6 seconds or until the caster causes damage. Like "The Light", healing starts when casting begins, as does the buff. Basically the animation is for show not a delay in the heal. As with "The Light" the healing done and/or cost would be adjusted appropriately for balance. The morphs could stay the same as they have been since launch or could be tweaked. For example, Lingering Ritual could extend the buffs to 8 seconds, while Ritual of Rebirth could add Major Heroism or something similar alongside Major Protection. You still get 30% more healing from this spell.

"The Mover"

Basically, this is just like "The Buff" but it has no self-snare. So the heal still starts when you hit the button but you are as free to move as always. The base healing take a bigger hit to compensate, but, you are still giving those buffs to your allies while getting healed yourself. They can be the same buffs from "The Buff" or something else. You still get 30% more healing from this spell.

"The Toggle"

Most of my ideas for Healing Ritual have been based on keeping the cast time and the self-snare. This one doesn't. Rather than a specific number of health points that scale with spell damage, max magicka, and healing buffs, have it restore a percentage of their missing health, magicka, and stamina over time as a toggle. Toggling the ability on would drain health from the caster while restoring allies. The exact percentage of resources restored and the ratio of health drained to health restored would need to be based on internal testing to make sure it wasn't too strong or too weak. But given the risk and self-sacrifice, it would be a really big heal. There is still a risk, but not from the self-snare. Afterward the caster would have a reduction in healing received for a brief time to keep this ability from being abused.

Ritual of Rebirth would reduced the reduction in healing and buff health recovery. The Lingering Ritual Morph would give a delayed heal like it always has, but would be for a percentage of the healing done during the toggle.

At first glance, having a healer risk themselves by trading health for healing may sound like a death sentence for the healer, but again it would be balanced against doing a significant amount of healing to a fixed percentage of missing health. It would have a fast drain and tick for larger percentages of missing health over time. You could still run, sprint, and roll-dodge while saving a 12 player raid on the verge of wiping. And in any case, if you die you can always be rezzed. Hence the need to balance risk and reward to not make it a stealth easy mode mechanic where you just heal everyone to 100% while dying and get a rez after. Since the percentage of health restored goes up over time and since you can't cast anything else (other skills are locked out while channeling), just relying on this all of the time would be waste. It would be a great "Oh crap button", though.

The cousin to this concept is to drain magicka super-fast instead of caster health, but it's more boring and is like a dull group version of Dark Deal. But it might be workable with some tweaking.

"The Replacement"

If all else fails, just dump this ability and figure out something else to put in its place. Use your imagination and go nuts.

The base ability and its morphs are Rune Type II. I mention that *first* for this ability, rather than note it at the end like the others, because it's a key part of the redesign of how the way the ability works. There is no cast time (keep the animation sure but the effect starts when the player hits the button) and no self-snare to force the character into walking mode while the ability is active. The player can run, jump, sprint, whatever. There is still a somewhat smallish radius for this ability, but that is countered by a few things:

- it's instant cast (healing is available the moment you hit the button)
- the caster can move freely the whole time (no restriction)
- it's an AoE smart heal (just be close enough to the injured targets)
- it lasts longer than the original version(s)

You cast this and get your body runes, then you run toward or stand near your allies. If they are below 100% health, they will start to get a percentage of their health back for each half-second tick they are in range. The base ability lasts 8 seconds. So there is still a proximity-based aspect (it's part of being a Type II rune) but you can move around quick as you please and get kind-of near the targets who need your help. Unless it is a huge space or your allies just insist on being reeaaally far apart at all times, this still works as an AoE heal and there is still something of a choice/action required by the healer.

The Ritual of Rebirth morph now gives a much larger heal on the first four available ticks (i.e. over two seconds) but does much less for remaining ticks , while Linger Ritual lasts 12 seconds instead of 8. So if you are close to multiple allies in need RoR might be good to get a somewhat burst-like effect, whereas LR allows you to keep up steady heals as you move around the space in which you are fighting.


Restoring Aura

Repentance continues to be a good skill for many builds, while Radiant Aura continues to be a disappointment to many players. Change it to passively give allies the same buffs the Templar receives for slotting it: "Minor Fortitude, Minor Endurance, and Minor Intellect, increasing Health, Stamina, and Magicka Regeneration by 10%." For a bigger change, in addition have activation give different buffs like Minor Evasion (5% dodge chance), Minor Protection (8% damage mitigation), and Minor Force (15% bonus to critical damage) rather than more stamina, magicka, and health recovery buffs. With a 5% chance to dodge an enemy attack + 8% direct mitigation, allies are taking noticeably less damage, all the while having their stats regen faster (and not in conflict with tripots) and doing more damage. Subtle sounding? Yes. Helpful? Definitely. The base ability and Radiant Aura morph are Type II runes, whereas Repentance is Type I.

Cleansing Ritual

I would borrow and modify Hymzir's recommendation to give one cleanse upon cast and get further cleanses, as per morph tooltip, with a synergy activation for the base ability and both morphs. For extra firepower, Radburn suggests altering Extended Ritual to have enemies in its AoE take flame damage over time while they remain as opposed to having a morph where the circle lasts a little longer. Allies would still be healed.

I like the idea, and technically a good name for the flame damage morph would be Purifying Ritual, but well, you can see the problem as that is already the name of the other morph. So, good options instead for the damage would include Sanctifying Ritual, Chastening Ritual, and Cauterizing Ritual. I am partial to that last one.

Either way, the base ability and both morphs are Type III runes, so you and those within the AoE can get half of the health restore remaining (based on the duration the ability has lasted so far) for Purifying Ritual or half of the remaining healing/damage for Cauterizing Ritual if you activate the ability again while in the rune.

Rune Focus

I like this ability. I really do. I've been practicing fighting inside of it against things like the crossed-sword generals in the IC sewers. And it is *really* hard to stay inside of it: knockdowns that knock you back, AoE, AoE, AoE, targets zipping around, AoE, frontal conal attacks, AoE... the buffs the rune gives are awesome *if* you can stay inside of it. And even if you do, immoveable pots, Shuffle, and blocking only go so far for a magicka build. Meanwhile stamina builds need mobility to be viable.

So how about expanding the rune's radius a meter and extending the length of ability (16s for base, for 24s morphs). As per the suggestion by Hymzir, allow the buffs to be renewed if you get back in before the 8s expire. Hence the new durations in multiples of eight. Oh, and change the Restoring Focus morph to offer a stamina return.

Because this is a Type III Rune (body + ground runes appear), you can get half of the magicka restore remaining (based on the duration the ability has lasted so far) for Channeled Focus or half of the stamina restore remaining for Restoring Focus by activating the ability again while in the rune.


Passive Skills

Mending

Like many Templar healers, I would love to see this passive work on all healing abilities, not just Restoring Light abilities, like it used to do. But 2.3.x made using cast circles the way to boost all healing, so that's out.

Light Weaver

Let's make this passive better, like this:

Increase the value of critical heals by 10/20%.

Or possibly this:

Increase the value of critical heals by 3/6% for each Restoring Light ability slotted.

I do like the 12500 Armor and Spell Resistance while channeling Right of Passage that comes with the current version of Light Weaver, so if we go with one of the new versions proposed, just stick this protection buff under Focused Healing or better yet put in the the tooltip of the ability itself.

Master Ritualist
Soooo... this got nerfed with the Thieve's Guild update. But never fear. There is a fine replacement available.

Divine Sanction: Enemies within the area of effect of Cleansing Ritual or Rune focus have their magicka, health, and stamina regeneration decreased by 15/30%.

Solariken

I support a lot of what you have so far @tinythinker. I appreciate the effort you put into this. There are two passive ability additions that I think Templars sorely need, and I will continue to lobby for them until the end of days:

1. Minor Expedition (+10% movement) buff granted at all times while an Aedric Spear ability is slotted. [add to Burning Light?]

This buff would be completely unique to Templars, would fit nicely into the "crusader of light" persona, and would go a long way toward relieving serious mobility woes for both flavors of Templar. It would be a very mild counter to the speed achieved by other classes, all running around with Major Evasion in addition to their powerful escapes. It would be a desperately needed boon to the melee Templar. It keeps Templars less mobile than Sorcerers and Nightblades but slightly more mobile than Dk's, who have truly excellent CC for controlling enemies in melee range, thus have less need for mobility than Templars).

2. Minor Evasion (+10% dodge chance) buff granted for 4-8 seconds upon activation of a Dawn's Wrath ability. [add to Prism?]

This buff would also be completely unique to Templars, and would in a small way make up for the fact that Templars otherwise have to soak all of the damage thrown at them, whereas other classes have pretty reliable ways to escape damage.

Regarding your above post, here are a few thoughts:

Aedric Spear

Ultimate: Radial Sweep

The Empowering Sweep - I'm fine with this ability as it stands in 2.3.2.

Crescent Sweep - I think the Minor Berserk (+8% damage) buff would be a great fit for this ability and make it an attractive option vs. Flawless Dawnbreaker.

Active Skills

Puncturing Strikes

I feel that a snare is the perfect option for this ability, however the ideal implementation is a 1 second snare granted on the first AND last hit.

Piercing Javelin

I would LOVE for this skill to be the Templar execute! I would prefer to replace Radiant Destruction with something else and add the execute mechanic to this. How AWESOME would it look/feel! This skill is THE reason I rolled Templar when I first started the game.

Sun Shield

I like that the strength scales from health. They need to set the % at a comfortable level for both PvE and PvP and make it immune to the Battle Spirit reduction.

tinythinker wrote: »

Give a 35-40% increase to the damage done on activation for the base ability and for Radiant Ward, while stunning those caught in the blast of the activation of the latter for 2 seconds. So this ability gains value as something you can use for an opening stun and still be shielded for another 6 seconds, or you can use it to stun and run and still have the damage shield.

Cool idea!

Blazing Shield is mechanically really awesome. I prefer it as is, but the damage should be adjusted to a meaningful amount.



Passive Skills

Piercing Spear

tinythinker wrote: »

Buff the bonus damage against blocking targets from 5/10% to either 7/15% or 10/20% and have the bonus work against shielded targets as well. This and the suggested change to Spear Wall below help to punish targets who stay close and fight and also helps to flesh out the Templar's distinctiveness. Players will start to actually think "Blocking/shielding up isn't going to work as well against Templars." This change also makes more of the slower moving/functioning Templar ranged abilities, such as those from the Dawn's Wrath skill line. This will push enemy players into wanting to dodge more and stay mobile.

Love this!

Spear Wall

tinythinker wrote: »

Add (a chance to) inflict Minor Maim, which gives a 15% damage reduction, to targets whose melee attacks are successfully blocked. If it is a chance-based proc rather than automatic the odds should be no lower than 25% and preferably would be 50%. But given that it's just versus melee, it ought to be 100%/automatic. If Templars are to continue to have limited mobility and fight in rune circles and healing circles and such while they defend their "houses", there needs to be more mitigation. If you hit a spear wall, it should sting. Get up in a Templar's face and you'll bleed.

I love the idea of adding Minor Maim, but I think the chance should be small since you don't want to completely discourage attacking a Templar in melee.

Burning Light

tinythinker wrote: »

A hat tip to Hymzir for suggesting that this passive-based DoT should proc on shields, and this, along with the above suggested change to Piercing Spear would help give Templars an edge as a shield buster class.

YEUSSSS! (ggrlglrl drool...)

...to be continued when I have some time.

tinythinker

Solariken wrote: »

I support most of what you have so far @tinythinker. I appreciate the effort you put into this. There are two passive ability additions that I think Templars sorely need, and I will continue to lobby for them until the end of days:

1. Minor Expedition (+10% movement) buff granted at all times while an Aedric Spear ability is slotted. [add to Burning Light?]

This buff would be completely unique to Templars, would fit nicely into the "crusader of light" persona, and would go a long way toward relieving serious mobility woes for both flavors of Templar. It would be a very mild counter to the speed achieved by other classes, all running around with Major Evasion in addition to their powerful escapes. It would be a desperately needed boon to the melee Templar.

2. Minor Evasion (+10% dodge chance) buff granted for 4-8 seconds upon activation of a Dawn's Wrath ability. [add to Prism?]

This buff would also be completely unique to Templars, and would in a small way make up for the fact that Templars otherwise have to soak all of the damage thrown at them, whereas other classes have pretty reliable ways to escape damage.

Thanks, and sure, there are other things that could be looked at/added. I appreciate people mentioning them. I think with the snares I put into Aedric Spear abilities the Minor Expedition buff would mean more than it would with the current skill line set-up, but it would be good either way.

Just curious why you put Minor Evasion in Dawn's Wrath rather than Aedric Spear or Restoring Light? Not saying it's a bad idea, it just seems like something for offensive melee or defense/mitigation, whereas Wrath is largely ranged offense.

Solariken

tinythinker wrote: »

Just curious why you put Minor Evasion in Dawn's Wrath rather than Aedric Spear or Restoring Light? Not saying it's a bad idea, it just seems like something for offensive melee or defense/mitigation, whereas Wrath is largely ranged offense.

Two big reasons:

1. The Dawn's Wrath line has nothing defensive in it at all except Nova, which is very situational and very infrequent due to high ultimate cost.

2. Casting Dark Flare and Radiant Destruction can be very punitive and leave the Templar vulnerable to literally every incoming attack.

Minor Evasion would support the offensive caster playstyle the most, but it is needed by all Templar playstyles. Most Templar builds can find a good reason to use an ability from this line.

-

lucky_Sage

my first toon was a Templar I healed for a while then got tired of healing(I like pve healing but I pvp more but healing pvp isn't as fun as a templar) tried to do range mag dps in pvp doesn't work then tried jabing but its so boring its just unplayable to me so I made a mag dk which I'm enjoying but I like the Templars magic its the closes to nature magic so id like to go back to it if good changes are made.

I agree with most of what you say

I would like to see solar flare-dark flare become a channel because it would have to change completely to become viable in pvp so channel could be more viable since you would at least be able to get some damage out of it before they roll out.

since they want Templars to be stand still class they should give them some kind of cc immune spell instead of movement speed or evasion

healing ritual should become a instant cast and become a pure HoT and give it one stam morph

tinythinker

Solariken wrote: »

Regarding your above post, here are a few thoughts:

Aedric Spear

Ultimate: Radial Sweep

The Empowering Sweep - I'm fine with this ability as it stands in 2.3.2.

Crescent Sweep - I think the Minor Berserk (+8% damage) buff would be a great fit for this ability and make it an attractive option vs. Flawless Dawnbreaker.

Active Skills

Puncturing Strikes

I feel that a snare is the perfect option for this ability, however the ideal implementation is a 1 second snare granted on the first AND last hit.

Piercing Javelin

I would LOVE for this skill to be the Templar execute! I would prefer to replace Radiant Destruction with something else and add the execute mechanic to this. How AWESOME would it look/feel! This skill is THE reason I rolled Templar when I first started the game.

Sun Shield

I like that the strength scales from health. They need to set the % at a comfortable level for both PvE and PvP and make it immune to the Battle Spirit reduction.

tinythinker wrote: »

Give a 35-40% increase to the damage done on activation for the base ability and for Radiant Ward, while stunning those caught in the blast of the activation of the latter for 2 seconds. So this ability gains value as something you can use for an opening stun and still be shielded for another 6 seconds, or you can use it to stun and run and still have the damage shield.

Cool idea!

Blazing Shield is mechanically really awesome. I prefer it as is, but the damage should be adjusted to a meaningful amount.



Passive Skills

Piercing Spear

tinythinker wrote: »

Buff the bonus damage against blocking targets from 5/10% to either 7/15% or 10/20% and have the bonus work against shielded targets as well. This and the suggested change to Spear Wall below help to punish targets who stay close and fight and also helps to flesh out the Templar's distinctiveness. Players will start to actually think "Blocking/shielding up isn't going to work as well against Templars." This change also makes more of the slower moving/functioning Templar ranged abilities, such as those from the Dawn's Wrath skill line. This will push enemy players into wanting to dodge more and stay mobile.

Love this!

Spear Wall

tinythinker wrote: »

Add (a chance to) inflict Minor Maim, which gives a 15% damage reduction, to targets whose melee attacks are successfully blocked. If it is a chance-based proc rather than automatic the odds should be no lower than 25% and preferably would be 50%. But given that it's just versus melee, it ought to be 100%/automatic. If Templars are to continue to have limited mobility and fight in rune circles and healing circles and such while they defend their "houses", there needs to be more mitigation. If you hit a spear wall, it should sting. Get up in a Templar's face and you'll bleed.

I love the idea of adding Minor Maim, but I think the chance should be small since you don't want to completely discourage attacking a Templar in melee.

Burning Light

tinythinker wrote: »

A hat tip to Hymzir for suggesting that this passive-based DoT should proc on shields, and this, along with the above suggested change to Piercing Spear would help give Templars an edge as a shield buster class.

YEUSSSS! (ggrlglrl drool...)

...to be continued when I have some time.

Looking forward to it, and thanks.

(Oh, and the changes to Sun Shield are part of my goal to add much needed CC to Aedric Spear, and because Wrobel doesn't want the shields or associated damage to be too strong and risk having immortal/unkillable tanks.)

tinythinker

lucky_Sage wrote: »

my first toon was a Templar I healed for a while then got tired of healing(I like pve healing but I pvp more but healing pvp isn't as fun as a templar) tried to do range mag dps in pvp doesn't work then tried jabing but its so boring its just unplayable to me so I made a mag dk which I'm enjoying but I like the Templars magic its the closes to nature magic so id like to go back to it if good changes are made.

I agree with most of what you say

I would like to see solar flare-dark flare become a channel because it would have to change completely to become viable in pvp so channel could be more viable since you would at least be able to get some damage out of it before they roll out.

since they want Templars to be stand still class they should give them some kind of cc immune spell instead of movement speed or evasion

healing ritual should become a instant cast and become a pure HoT and give it one stam morph

Yeah I have Healing Ritual as an instant-cast. Might be some PvE-only Templars who want to keep Dark Flare as a projectile, but it's worth considering making it a channel. They might tone it down a lot though if it couldn't be reflected/lacked a cast time.

tinythinker

Updated:

• Added ranged attacks to blocking bonus for Spear Wall.
• Replaced Master Ritualist with:
  Divine Sanction: Enemies within the area of effect of Cleansing Ritual or Rune focus have their magicka, health, and stamina regeneration decreased by 15/30%.