Introduction
The Magic Sorc has been on the receiving end of some pretty heavy handed nerfs since April of 2014. Bolt Escape itself has been nerfed over 7 times. Negate has been nerfed and partially buffed off and on (The current Negate still isn't as good as the 1.5 Negate was). Storm ATronach is probably the worst ultimate in the game because its the only ultimate that can be CC, its the only Atronach in the game that isn't CC immune, and its damage output is lackluster in PVP. While the Sorc may be OK in PVE(I got through VMA with it many times), in PVP its just simply not viable...a Magicka DK Vampire with Destro/Resto is better and has more survivability then Sorcs do right now in Cyrodiil.Of course these reason are not readily apparent, but they are facts because DK are strong to what Sorcs are weak against without shields which makes them better. Also, landing a 25k+ Heavy Fire staff attack doesn't hurt
Why is Magic Sorc in such a bad place?
The Magic Sorcs ENTIRE CLASS PREMISE is based on building up and timing "Delayed Damage". (Curse + Frags + Fury) Simply put Tag target with Curse, Tag Target with Mage's Wrath, and spam Crushing Shock till you get a Frag proc and then land that frag right around the time Curse explodes, and Fury will explode and thus kill most players....this is how Magic Sorcs as a class are designed to be played.
However, the Shield changes have rendered this simply unviable due to their 6 second nature. Anyone who says their sheilds never lasted more then 6 seconds in Cyrodiil wasn't playing the class right because i assure you 80% of the time my shields did last longer then 6 seconds because the minute i was pressured by more then 1 person I would streak to LOS, Reapply Shields, Drop Mines and back to dealing damage.
You can't do this now...Every 6 seconds you are FORCED to reapply shields or your dead....Even if you wear full Light Impen you are dead if those shields fall as Light Armor offers ZERO Armor at all due to penetration values. A Sorc's shields do not last long enough to fullfill the required burst(Curse+Fury+Frags) to kill someone reliably because Frags are based on RNG. In the time it takes you to cast 2 Crushing Shocks your shields are expired, You can't maintain consistent pressure against your opponent, and with no armor this leaves you wide open to be dead. Even if you front bar your Wards, your still losing too much pressure and can't do the delayed damage combo the class was built around.
Damage Shield duration was nerfed by 70% but no cost reduction to account for this duration was ever given this results in this change being the single largest nerf in the history of this game and has rendered the Light Armor Cast Sorc class as dead in PVP period. Sure you can still play your Magic Sorc, but your at a woeful disadvantage against any of the other classes, and against players of a similiar skill level the fight is theirs to win...they will simply wait till the count of 5 to hard CC and burst you with daw DAwnbreaker and the fact you have no armor - dead...Sorcs in their current state are nothing more then AP Pinata's and Negate machines for zergs.
What can be done to fix these issues
1.
Shield Duration needs to be increased from 6 seconds to 15 seconds. - 20 seconds was a bit much, but a 15 second shield duration is no more unbalanced then an Archer hitting you for 12-15k with a Lethal Arrow. Sorcs have no reflects, DK can protect themselves from this with Wings, but Sorcs are literally helpless....The 6 second Shield duration pigeonholes Sorcs into very specific sets(Seducer, Amberplasm) because they are the only class in the game forced to recast a buff every 6 seconds or die in 1-2 hits. Even if you wear full impen, Light Armor is less protection then paper, your entire life or death revolves around a 6 second shield and bar swapping that doesn't work reliably half the time. Every Sorc now is usually dead due to the inability to swap bars to shield cast, and are unable to maintain an advantage against any compentent opponent because of the need to constantly re-sheild or face death.
2. A passive needs to be added to the Expert Mage passive that removes the Bolt Escape Fatigue if wearing 5 or more pieces of Light Armor - The way the class is designed its meant to be ranged. Gap Closers right now are way OP compared to Bolt Escape. A Sorc needs a legit 50% chance to get out of Gap Closer range, but thats simply not possible due to the stacking cost increase. Combine this with paper armor and 6 second shields and its far to easy to just ride a Sorc's back to their death. Stam Sorcs allready get Major+Minor Expedition + the Meduim Armor movement passives, they don't need Bolt Escape anywhere near as much as a Magic Sorc does....Most Stam Sorcs use streak as an offensive mans to damage people, Magic Sorcs need it to reposition and even retreat...it Stam Sorcs can outrun everyone to retreat, Magic Sorc's should have a reasonable chance to retreat. We will still be squishy and die, it will still be possible to be gap closed down, just not so easily.
3. Storm Atronach needs to have a resource draining and snare mechanic added to its single target zap If the Storm Atronach is going to be the only CC ultimate in the game, it needs to be more capable of pressure an opponent with its single target zap beam. At rank 4 the Atronach should sap 2% of your max magic and max stam per second while he has the beam on you and snare the target 40%....the Atro damage in PVP is a joke,it needs the ability to pressure your opponent for such a costly ultimate, and it needs to be CC immune like every other Storm Atronach in the game is.
Conclusion
This is just a start. Destruction Staff needs some major re-working too as all the nerfs to Destro Staff over the last year(Crushing Shock losing 10% damage, Force Shock and Elemental Ring losing their 40% chance at applying a status effect, Fire Clench losing its Stun) This will at least bring the Sorc back up to a semi-reasonable and plyable level. Right now the class simply isn't competitive...You have a few diehards still playing it, but your literally better off with any other class combo....even Stam Sorc is miles head of Magic Sorc's and Sorcs are casters by Lore....
I really hope you will take the time to revisit the Magic Sorc before One Tamriel comes out...the class needs MAJOR help in PVP.....in the worst way. Even if that means nerfing Negate.
Sorcs are in worse shape now then they were in 1.5 when they were the worst PVP spec in the game.....Help us ZOS. Us Sorcs are out of options at this point.
Sincerely
Rinaldo