Trial Roles (PVE) - Need Suggestions

Pirsius

Hey All,

Right to the point for those TLDR people. What roles do you specifically like playing in trials? What races, classes, gear, skills, etc. do you enjoy running during trials for each role? What do you believe is overpowered, what popular sets do you believe are under-performing, and what are your dark horse sets that you enjoy yet do not seem to find their way to fame? It would help to provide reasoning to why you like or dislike certain load-outs.

Reasoning: I am looking to compile a small guide to help educate those who are just getting into trials as to what the basics of running trials and the duties of each role within the group.

One of the unfortunate side-effects of primarily playing on consoles is the lack of add-ons, such as buff-timers and statistics, especially group statistics. Although, depending on the group, group statistics can create either a constructive or toxic atmosphere, I personally feel it is extremely helpful to developing group composition. Same holds true with helping to discovering the strengths and weakness of your build/rotation. As a result console players seem to be limited in their growth.

Although I consider myself an experienced player and enjoy running in experienced groups for veteran trials, I would much rather run normal trials and help teach those new to trials. Too often do I see tanks "fight" over aggro. Too often do I see a player, who should DPS, sign up as a healer because he has BoL on his back bar. Too often do I see DPS neglecting buffs, debuffs, and AOE abilities and choose to only spam one attack; yet consider themselves the best DPS in the group. 90% of this won't pose issues in 4-man dungeons and in trials that include experienced players to pick up the slack, but can cause issues in harder content. My inner optimist chooses not to believe that these people are hopelessly bad, but that they have room to grow.

Therefore, I am hoping to combat these issues where members of trial groups are unaware of the duties of their roles and what abilities/sets will help them grow and be even more of a valuable asset to the group.

What I'm Asking For:

• What roles do you play in trials? Please elaborate. (Ex. Instead of Tank, are you Main-Tank or Off-Tank)
• What race/class? Why?
• What are your favorite abilities/skills to use for your role? Why?
• What are your favorite sets to use for your role? Why? (All suggestions welcome, as many people have different play-styles and different experience. AKA not looking for just current best-in-slot)
• Any tips for those trying to fulfill those roles?

I appreciate any and all responses and if there are any posts or other documentation that could assist, please share. Thanks.

Pallio

Trials are 12 people - 2 healers / 1 or 2 tanks / dps.. the thing with dps is tricky range is better than melee, debuffes and buffs matter etc. There coordinated the stronger the team...

Pirsius

@Pallio I'm fully aware of what trials are and general group composition, I'm just looking to help others. In order to better do so, I would like to better understand other players' compositions and gather tips for those newer to trials.

So rather than a general "this-is-trials" statement. What roles do you play and how do you enjoy playing them, feel free to get specific.

Oreyn_Bearclaw

Tanks are DK's, Healers are Templar's and DPS is magic. Right now, Templar is king (Radiant OP), but next patch DK will be best melee and Sorc will be best at range. Stamina frankly holds your trial group back at this point. The goal of Tanks and Healers is to be ultimate generating machines. A good trial group is trying to cast warhorn about every 15 seconds. The goal of a DPS is to do damage and NOT die.

Races: Dunmer and Altmer make up 95% of races for DPS and Healers, tanks can kinda do whatever (imperial and Argonian are best IMO).

Gear:
-DPS: The most common 5 pieces are Burning Spell Weave and TBS and the most common Monster sets are Llambris (sorc) and Grothdarr (everyone else). TBS is getting nerfed next patch (as is warhorn), so time will tell how this plays out.
-Tanks: Tavas, Alkosh, Dragon, Ebon, are all solid sets. The goal here is to debuff the boss, buff your groups health, and generate ultimate.
-Healers: Spell Power Cure is required for both healers. These are typically paired with different sets, Worm, Aether, Twilight, etc. Next patch, Worm will prob be mandatory for at least one healer, as sustain took a hit. A healer should wear two 5-piece sets that benefit the group in some way.

Skills: The only Mandatory skill is Warhorn from your support and shields (annulment) from your DPS if doing Hardmodes. Every DPS is going to run a different build, so I wont go into each.

If you want anything more specific, I will do my best to answer.

Pirsius

@Oreyn_Bearclaw Thanks for the help!

Do you have any generalized tips to help increase group coordination? I'm hoping to gather info for my friends and guild-mates who are just entering the sphere of end-game content. Think of what I'm trying to get as a how-to guide for roles (Main-Tanking, Off-Tanking, Healing, Pure-DPS, etc).

BIS gear tends to be more flavor of the month (or update) so we'll see how the finalized changes for 13 next month fair in terms of gear. So, I'd rather not focus on coaching others that the only thing needed to be a viable member is to obtain BIS gear. Although, I do agree that it is important especially for vet trials, I'd rather them learn the fundamentals of 12-man groups and mechanics.

I know this is a tall order. I do not expect one person to divulge the entire bit, but rather get a community feel.

So personally, what is your primary role in trials, what abilities do you believe are crucial to your success, what issues do you see others, or yourself, having and how would you address them?

Thanks again.

SolarCat02

I love the healer role, so that is the one that I play. My healer is a Dragonknight, so very much not the meta, but there is room for a non-Templar healer as long as your other healer is a Templar. (I really wish other classes besides Templar had additional ways to feed stamina to the tank. Someday...)

Both healers definitely need Spell Power Cure (White Gold Tower). It will apply to up to six people, so you need two healers wearing it to hit a full group of twelve. It also applies over healing to a worthy cause to increase the damage of the group. Unfortunately, this means to be an effective Trials healer, you do need access to the Imperial City DLC as the set is Bind on Pickup.

You will also want a Master Restoration Staff (Veteran Dragonstar Arena). This restores stamina to those in the first tick of your Healing Springs. It really makes a difference, especially since there is no cooldown to receiving the stamina and no requirement to hit synergies (unlike shards), plus no requirements for dead bodies in the vicinity (unlike repentance). Warning: This staff has an appetite larger than a teenager in a growth spurt, and will really eat through your soul gems to keep it charged. The extra magicka it gives remains even if the enchantment is uncharged, and it does seem to still give some stamina uncharged, but for best results charge it before veteran Trial boss fights.

Other good sets include:
- Worm Cult (Vaults of Madness) - boosts the total magicka for up to twelve people, should be even more needed after the next patch per PTS
- Infallible Aether (Craglorn Trials) - debuffs enemies hit with a heavy attack, can be worn by a DPS instead of a healer, debate on its usefulness after the next patch is still up in the air due to some of the changes coming
- Twilight Remedy (Maw of Lorkhaj Trial) - allies using your synergies get a heal plus a boost to critical damage, some groups love this set and others do not, more useful for a Templar healer due to extra synergies like shards, can pair well with a tank wearing Alkosh

For skills:
Everything in the Restoration Staff line is good (except skip the Ultimate):
- Healing Springs (or Illustrious Healing if you have the resources/sustainment, both morphs of Grand Healing) is your bread and butter for the big boss fights, and even most trash mobs. You need this skill.
- Regeneration (either morph, it's personal preference) is another must-have. It's great for proccing Spell Power Cure while moving to the next fight, and you really want to keep it ticking in addition to Healing Springs whenever possible. It's also very useful for more mobile fights, or spread out fights like the Mantikora in Sanctum Ophidia.
- Combat Prayer is a great buff to group damage. On my Dragonknight I typically run Igneous Weapons instead, but frequently someone should be running this and I still have the morph available to add to my bar as needed/requested.
- Healing Ward is a good skill for those who don't have access to the Templar's Breath of Life. This really is a situational heal, for emergencies, and not a main heal. If you have a well-disciplined group you shouldn't need it much at all, as in those cases the group will take the majority of damage at high-damage phases where Healing Springs is better, rather than one or two people needing an emergency heal. Either way, keep it available to add to your bar if needed.
- Force Siphon is in Flux right now. Currently Spirit Siphon is a very important skill for Trials, but the magicka return will no longer stack with other skills like Elemental Drain after the next update, so this may still be the preferred morph, or Quick Siphon may be a better choice. It's still up in the air.

Other skills:
- Aggressive Warhorn us a MUST. You will want to keep a rotation of this skill.
- Elemental Drain from the destruction staff line is currently a requirement for Trials, but again, that is in flux now with the update, and subject to change.
- Any class-specific group buff is always welcome. Healing Trials is very much about buffing the group and providing group support.
- Orbs, from the Undaunted skill line. Some groups prefer their healers use the healing orbs, others want the extra magicka sustain from the damaging morph, but either way you will need the skill unlocked. Check with your group if they have a preference.
- Templar Restoring Light tree - the ultimate is not so great for Trials healers, nor is Healing Ritual, but the others are very useful to have available for use. Just don't rely on Breath of Life, it should not be your main heal, and is a bad choice in high-damage situations.

Honorable Mentions:
- Barrier - this is not a skill that should be on your bar regularly, especially since it only hits six people, but it can be useful in certain situations or less-than-ideal groups. For example, with the plethora of stamina dps these days, I use it upstairs in Hel Ra Citadel if we have too many stamina and not enough magicka dps.
- Pulsar - a potentially useful debuff for trash mobs. It won't work on bosses, and I don't recommend it for Maw of Lorkhaj unfortunately, but it does a nice debuff to the maximum health of anything susceptible to its debuff (not bosses). It is most useful in the four-man Dragonstar Arena "Trial".

Just some thoughts from me.

Pirsius

@SolarCat02 Wow, thank you so much for that. This was along the lines of the type of response I was looking for. This will help out a lot, thanks!

Pallio

My main "Pallio" is my trials healer, templar. I run with SPCX5, IAX5 and a 2x monster set. Mixed staff with flame SPC front bar and IA resto back bar. Templar has tons of heals to front bar and proc SPC. with elem.drain being the reason for flame staff. Both powered traits etc. Healing is my favorate roll keeping buffs/debuffs up as much as possible is fun and shard / balls for resources etc keeps you busy.. took a long time to get all the right gear etc.

SolarCat02

@Pirsius You are welcome!

I see you are also talking about teamwork skills for Trials groups. A few suggestions:
- Stacking versus Soft Stacking, especially for the dps. Sometimes you want everyone stacked heavily on each other so they are almost taking up the same space (Stacking) while other times you want to keep some distance so AoEs don't overlap while still keeping close enough that most people stay in the range of a single Healing Spring (Soft Stacking). Sometimes both are needed during the same fight (For example, the stone atronach in Aetherian Archive can be fought effectively by stacking tightly while he is pounding the ground, then soft stacking while he is throwing rocks, so he doesn't get a two-for-one deal)). Other times you want both at once (For example, the Mantikora in veteran Sanctum Ophidia will periodically open a hole in the ground to a miniboss, under the densest group. You want most of your group soft-stacked, with your four-man team including off-tank stacked directly on each other to maximize the chance it will spawn under them).
- Stationary versus mobile fights. Some fights, it's important to have as little motion as possible, where everyone stands in their spot and doesn't move unless mechanics decree otherwise. One example is the first boss in Maw of Lorkhaj, where you want your team soft stacked and relatively stationary. You want everyone as close to the boss as possible (because the pillars spawn on the person furthest away), but spaced (because of the curses he throws, and also the extra damage when he is shielded) and largely immobile (because the curses are contagious while being cast). Then move to cleanse curses or hide behind pillars before immediately running back to your position to stay put again. Other fights you need to stay mobile but in a tight area. An example of this is one method of defeating the air atronach in Hel Ra Citadel, where the dps and healers stay soft stacked and walk in a tight circle pattern in their spot to avoid standing in or stacking the gusts.
- Warhorn rotation! Tanks and healers should all be running Aggressive Warhorn, and should have a rotation to ensure Warhorn is active at all times during boss fights. If you have a rotation (Warhorn 1 = tank, Warhorn 2 = healer 1, Warhorn 3 = healer 2, Warhorn 4 = off-tank, or whatever makes sense to your group) and then call out the numbers as you cast them, you can keep tabs on who goes next. Certain fights the tank is exempt from this rotation, either due to being too far from the group to make an impact, or a need to use their ultimate for survival. (Axes on final boss of Aetherian Archive is a good example of this).
- Chat chatter. Too much chatter clogging the coms will decrease the effectiveness of your group, due to the potential for missed call outs. This seems to be the hardest part when learning a Trial, but it's tough for your tanks and healers to track Warhorns if they don't hear the last callous, and you don't want to be the guy who wipes half the team because you talked over the tank calling out to block the boss' power attack.

Oreyn_Bearclaw

Pirsius wrote: »

@Oreyn_Bearclaw Thanks for the help!

Do you have any generalized tips to help increase group coordination? I'm hoping to gather info for my friends and guild-mates who are just entering the sphere of end-game content. Think of what I'm trying to get as a how-to guide for roles (Main-Tanking, Off-Tanking, Healing, Pure-DPS, etc).

BIS gear tends to be more flavor of the month (or update) so we'll see how the finalized changes for 13 next month fair in terms of gear. So, I'd rather not focus on coaching others that the only thing needed to be a viable member is to obtain BIS gear. Although, I do agree that it is important especially for vet trials, I'd rather them learn the fundamentals of 12-man groups and mechanics.

I know this is a tall order. I do not expect one person to divulge the entire bit, but rather get a community feel.

So personally, what is your primary role in trials, what abilities do you believe are crucial to your success, what issues do you see others, or yourself, having and how would you address them?

Thanks again.

That is a broad question, but here it goes. First, I encourage people to not get too creative when it comes to builds when learing. Using a proven build removes a variable from the equation. The Meta Builds are pretty obvious for most classes. Yes they change each patch, but people figure them out pretty fast. Meta is meta for a reason. It works! This also goes for spending some time watching videos on strats. There are vids of every boss fight there is on youtube.

Second, this might get a lot of pushback, but I encourage anyone serious about PVE to spend some time in VMA. Yes the grind is terrible for weapons, but that place is an excellent training ground to teach you about your class. I made it my mission to clear it on every class combo, and I am a better player for it, no question.

Third, you need some way to communicate (teamspeak, discord). You also need a raid leader that has the final say on strats and tactics. I feel the tank is always in the best position to do that, as they tend to be the one controlling the battle field. Its like the catcher in baseball or QB in football. Someone needs to call the shots. Having 6 different DPS trying to call the fight or bicker about how best to do the next pull is never productive.

Fourth, start small and work your way up. There is a huge power gap between normal and veteran, but normal is still usefull to work out tactics and positioning. Don't run before you can walk. Same goes with attempting hardmode.

Fifth, dont burn yourself out. I am currently in a progression group that is working on VMOL Hardmode (we are so damn close). Keep your raid schedule consistent but call it when you can tell your group is losing focus. 3 hours tops IMO.

As for me, I primarily DPS in Vet trials, but I have been known to heal on occasion. I do want to try trial tanking now that I have one, but havent got around to it.

Also, every player should have Raid Notifier and Combat Metrics as addons if you are on PC. Combat metrics is huge for improving DPS as its usually pretty obvious what you are screwing up if you look at the numbers.

Edit: Said it earlier, but I would require shields of all my magic DPS when learning, no exceptions. These are insanely strong for survival in here. Every build can squeeze one in if needed.

Pirsius

@Pallio @SolarCat02 @Oreyn_Bearclaw Thank you so much guys!