Quick Question. Sharpened or Nirnhoned Lightning staff?

MercTheMage

This would be for my sorc in PvE running the classic Julianos and Willpower.

Betsararie

Nirnhoned

Nirnhoned back infused front. Sharpened is out for PvE mag sorc after nerf.

Ankael07

Blanco wrote: »

Nirnhoned back infused front. Sharpened is out for PvE mag sorc after nerf.

Why Nirnhoned for backbar? @Blanco

MercTheMage

Welp, I guess nirn then, TY ^^

Betsararie

Nirnhoned

Ankael07 wrote: »

Blanco wrote: »

Nirnhoned back infused front. Sharpened is out for PvE mag sorc after nerf.

Why Nirnhoned for backbar? @Blanco

Higher damage. Nirnhoned on back with spell damage enchant to buff your AoEs for trash packs. Supposedly will do so better than infused. Though I guess infused on front is better. This is the consensus, currently.

MLGProPlayer

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/359916/mundus-trait-and-cp-optimisation-for-pve-damage-dealers/p1

Sixty5

Nirnhoned

The better comparison is Nirn/Infused

Infused will give you more effective single target damage since you don't have any single target dots on your back bar, thus the boosted weapon damage enchant is more efficient.

However Nirn isn't much of a loss and gives you more AOE damage if you are using pretty standard bar setups.

Morgul667

Nirnhoned

Nirn

Vaoh

Nirnhoned

I'll explain it for you. I see so much confusion about he traits to use since they were updated. Infused and Nirnhoned are actually in competition with each other for the "BiS" trait.

For backbar staves, you will basically always have a Beserk enchant (increases you Spell damage for 5 seconds). Once you switch over to your frontbar, you will have about 2-3 seconds left of enhanced Spell damage thanks to this enchant's effect carrying over.
- Infused will enhance your enchantment, giving an obvious all-around damage buff
- Nirnhoned will increase your Spell Damage higher than Infused would but only while you're on that bar - the main reason to use this trait it is to buff the strength of certain DoTs (such as Destructive Clench, etc) for their entire duration. Certain skills base all of their damage dealt off of how your stats look the moment you cast it. If you have a DoT on your backbar that works this way, then Nirnhoned will be more beneficial to your DPS. To decide whether Nirnhoned or Infused is BiS, you need to know how much damage you gain from the Infused-buffed enchant vs the buffed version of the backbar DoT(s) you casted. Either way, the difference will not be very big.

For frontbar staves, you will basically always have a Damage Enchant. This means a Shock Damage or Flame Damage glyph. Shock is likely the better choice, but this really depends on which enchant you want to proc more. I'd say Shock Damage because it helps give higher Off Balance uptime in trials. An Absorb Magicka enchant works as well, trading damage for a bit of extra Magicka return. To put it simple, your trait depends entirely on what you are trying to do.
- Infused will grant higher single target DPS, and more debuffs to your enemy, but will only do this to one target
- Nirnhoned grants extra damage against all targets you fight, so it is more powerful in AoE situations, but loses slightly to Infused for single target DPS.

Other traits:
- Sharpened is the middle trait. It is basically always good, but never best. If you move gear between lots of characters and don't want to bother with the details, use Sharpened and you will always do well. Very nice to have a trait like this.
- Charged is best for solo or 4-player content if using Force Pulse. In more optimized settings (aka trials), Charged is simply outclassed by Infused..... unless you're a Healer who isn't focused dealing damage.
- Precise is basically a lesser version of Sharpened, but can outclass it if you're barely gaining any benefit from Sharpened due to overpenetrating the enemy by a lot
- Powered, Defending, Training, and Decisive aren't worth using

Hope that helped!

I also main a Magicka Sorc. My setup in Clockwork City will probably be:
2x Ilambris
5x Julianos or Necro (probably Julianos)
3x Moondancer (IA is basically the same thing, and Willpower is close)
1x Asylum Lightning Staff Infused or Nirnhoned (idk yet)
1x Maelstrom Lightning Staff Infused

****ZOS bugged the Maelstrom Staff again in Clockwork City.... it's the same bug as in the past. Only one player using the Maelstrom staff will actually gain benefit from its Crushing Wall effect when multiple players attack an affected target. Due to this, it is a good idea to not use this setup unless you're the only Magicka DPS in a group

skyhawk002

Vaoh wrote: »

I also main a Magicka Sorc. My setup in Clockwork City will probably be:
2x Ilambris
5x Julianos or Necro (probably Julianos)
3x Moondancer (IA is basically the same thing, and Willpower is close)
1x Asylum Lightning Staff Infused or Nirnhoned (idk yet)
1x Maelstrom Lightning Staff Infused

****ZOS bugged the Maelstrom Staff again in Clockwork City.... it's the same bug as in the past. Only one player using the Maelstrom staff will actually gain benefit from its Crushing Wall effect when multiple players attack an affected target. Due to this, it is a good idea to not use this setup unless you're the only Magicka DPS in a group

Why choose Asylum Lightning staff over lets say 4 IA or 4 MD.

How do you even choose between 4 IA and MD for solo content like vMA if going for 1x Maelstrom Lightning Staff Infused

Dymence

Infused/infused with fire/shock is BiS for magicka PVE

WrathOfInnos

Dymence wrote: »

Infused/infused with fire/shock is BiS for magicka PVE

This is the truth, go infused on both bars. Anything recommending sharpened or Nirnhoned is outdated.

I will point out that for AoE, and some single target rotations, a spell/weapon damage glyph can be best on one bar. Also when fighting undead/Daedra a prismatic glyph is far better than fire or shock.

Bevik

Use inferno (fire) and lightning (shock) staffs so you can proc both the Ilambris effects.

Vaoh

Nirnhoned

skyhawk002 wrote: »

Vaoh wrote: »

I also main a Magicka Sorc. My setup in Clockwork City will probably be:
2x Ilambris
5x Julianos or Necro (probably Julianos)
3x Moondancer (IA is basically the same thing, and Willpower is close)
1x Asylum Lightning Staff Infused or Nirnhoned (idk yet)
1x Maelstrom Lightning Staff Infused

****ZOS bugged the Maelstrom Staff again in Clockwork City.... it's the same bug as in the past. Only one player using the Maelstrom staff will actually gain benefit from its Crushing Wall effect when multiple players attack an affected target. Due to this, it is a good idea to not use this setup unless you're the only Magicka DPS in a group

Why choose Asylum Lightning staff over lets say 4 IA or 4 MD.

How do you even choose between 4 IA and MD for solo content like vMA if going for 1x Maelstrom Lightning Staff Infused

Perfect Asylum Staff is amazing and far more valuable than a simple Spell Dmg bonus. Unless you rarely Force Pulse, you have no reason to use a Moondancer or IA staff over this.
The imperfect Asylum Staff is pretty good too but not nearly as effective. This thing might not be as good as a 4-piece MD/IA stat but is likely not far off.

4x IA and 4x Moondancer are basically the same thing.... it really won’t matter which you use. Slot whatever you have at gold-quality with best traits. If you have to make a choice, I’d say to use Moondancer cause it looks and sounds cooler lol.

What do you mean by “going for 1x Maelstrom Lightning Staff Infused”? If farming Maelstrom use whatever works for you. Get.your desired weapon then retrait it. If you’re talking about swapping out your Maelstrom Staff cause of the bug there are numerous setups to build. None will beat the Maelstrom Staff though.

stevepdodson_ESO888

Vaoh wrote: »

I'll explain it for you. I see so much confusion about he traits to use since they were updated. Infused and Nirnhoned are actually in competition with each other for the "BiS" trait.

For backbar staves, you will basically always have a Beserk enchant (increases you Spell damage for 5 seconds). Once you switch over to your frontbar, you will have about 2-3 seconds left of enhanced Spell damage thanks to this enchant's effect carrying over.
- Infused will enhance your enchantment, giving an obvious all-around damage buff
- Nirnhoned will increase your Spell Damage higher than Infused would but only while you're on that bar - the main reason to use this trait it is to buff the strength of certain DoTs (such as Destructive Clench, etc) for their entire duration. Certain skills base all of their damage dealt off of how your stats look the moment you cast it. If you have a DoT on your backbar that works this way, then Nirnhoned will be more beneficial to your DPS. To decide whether Nirnhoned or Infused is BiS, you need to know how much damage you gain from the Infused-buffed enchant vs the buffed version of the backbar DoT(s) you casted. Either way, the difference will not be very big.

For frontbar staves, you will basically always have a Damage Enchant. This means a Shock Damage or Flame Damage glyph. Shock is likely the better choice, but this really depends on which enchant you want to proc more. I'd say Shock Damage because it helps give higher Off Balance uptime in trials. An Absorb Magicka enchant works as well, trading damage for a bit of extra Magicka return. To put it simple, your trait depends entirely on what you are trying to do.
- Infused will grant higher single target DPS, and more debuffs to your enemy, but will only do this to one target
- Nirnhoned grants extra damage against all targets you fight, so it is more powerful in AoE situations, but loses slightly to Infused for single target DPS.

Other traits:
- Sharpened is the middle trait. It is basically always good, but never best. If you move gear between lots of characters and don't want to bother with the details, use Sharpened and you will always do well. Very nice to have a trait like this.
- Charged is best for solo or 4-player content if using Force Pulse. In more optimized settings (aka trials), Charged is simply outclassed by Infused..... unless you're a Healer who isn't focused dealing damage.
- Precise is basically a lesser version of Sharpened, but can outclass it if you're barely gaining any benefit from Sharpened due to overpenetrating the enemy by a lot
- Powered, Defending, Training, and Decisive aren't worth using

Hope that helped!

I also main a Magicka Sorc. My setup in Clockwork City will probably be:
2x Ilambris
5x Julianos or Necro (probably Julianos)
3x Moondancer (IA is basically the same thing, and Willpower is close)
1x Asylum Lightning Staff Infused or Nirnhoned (idk yet)
1x Maelstrom Lightning Staff Infused

****ZOS bugged the Maelstrom Staff again in Clockwork City.... it's the same bug as in the past. Only one player using the Maelstrom staff will actually gain benefit from its Crushing Wall effect when multiple players attack an affected target. Due to this, it is a good idea to not use this setup unless you're the only Magicka DPS in a group

the traits you show for staffs seems to contradict what you just said...surely you want Nirn on your Maelstrom (which would be your AoE bar) and Infused on your Asylum (as mostly a single target bar)? Please explain as i am now confused

Deep_01

Nirnhoned

Running nirn lightning shock enchant front and infused inferno weap dmg enchant back bar

Edit: 5x Julianos front 5x Marital knowledge back. Farming vMA and vDSA atm.

Dymence

Bevik wrote: »

Use inferno (fire) and lightning (shock) staffs so you can proc both the Ilambris effects.

Only do this if you can afford to go firestaff on backbar if you don't need to provide your group with off balance. Otherwise go double lightning staff. Fire enchant on mainbar will give all the fire ilambris procs you need. Always have lightning staff mainbar as most of your damage is AOE.

skyhawk002

Dymence wrote: »

Bevik wrote: »

Use inferno (fire) and lightning (shock) staffs so you can proc both the Ilambris effects.

Only do this if you can afford to go firestaff on backbar if you don't need to provide your group with off balance. Otherwise go double lightning staff. Fire enchant on mainbar will give all the fire ilambris procs you need. Always have lightning staff mainbar as most of your damage is AOE.

Even for vMA?

Dymence

skyhawk002 wrote: »

Dymence wrote: »

Bevik wrote: »

Use inferno (fire) and lightning (shock) staffs so you can proc both the Ilambris effects.

Only do this if you can afford to go firestaff on backbar if you don't need to provide your group with off balance. Otherwise go double lightning staff. Fire enchant on mainbar will give all the fire ilambris procs you need. Always have lightning staff mainbar as most of your damage is AOE.

Even for vMA?

Nah not for vMA because fire heavies are too nice to 'pre-kill' spawns.

Betsararie

Nirnhoned

WrathOfInnos wrote: »

Dymence wrote: »

Infused/infused with fire/shock is BiS for magicka PVE

This is the truth, go infused on both bars. Anything recommending sharpened or Nirnhoned is outdated.

I will point out that for AoE, and some single target rotations, a spell/weapon damage glyph can be best on one bar. Also when fighting undead/Daedra a prismatic glyph is far better than fire or shock.

Since when has infused become more powerful for AoE? Did that happen in CWC?

Don't follow PvE as closely but prefer to stay updated.

Dymence

Blanco wrote: »

WrathOfInnos wrote: »

Dymence wrote: »

Infused/infused with fire/shock is BiS for magicka PVE

This is the truth, go infused on both bars. Anything recommending sharpened or Nirnhoned is outdated.

I will point out that for AoE, and some single target rotations, a spell/weapon damage glyph can be best on one bar. Also when fighting undead/Daedra a prismatic glyph is far better than fire or shock.

Since when has infused become more powerful for AoE? Did that happen in CWC?

Don't follow PvE as closely but prefer to stay updated.

Nirnhoned will still provide more AOE but by a very insignificant amount, whilst infused will give you a very significant boost to single target.

It's not worth it to min/max for trash when you miss out on a lot on actual bosses.

Betsararie

Nirnhoned

Dymence wrote: »

Blanco wrote: »

WrathOfInnos wrote: »

Dymence wrote: »

Infused/infused with fire/shock is BiS for magicka PVE

This is the truth, go infused on both bars. Anything recommending sharpened or Nirnhoned is outdated.

I will point out that for AoE, and some single target rotations, a spell/weapon damage glyph can be best on one bar. Also when fighting undead/Daedra a prismatic glyph is far better than fire or shock.

Since when has infused become more powerful for AoE? Did that happen in CWC?

Don't follow PvE as closely but prefer to stay updated.

Nirnhoned will still provide more AOE but by a very insignificant amount, whilst infused will give you a very significant boost to single target.

It's not worth it to min/max for trash when you miss out on a lot on actual bosses.

Oh ok good thing I still have a couple infused julianos lying around lul

Lightspeedflashb14_ESO

To the people saying sharp is now "middle of the road" and nirn is better, could you post some maths? Keeping in mind that most people will never reach pen cap and such.

IronCrystal

Infused BiS

OutLaw_Nynx

Vaoh wrote: »

I'll explain it for you. I see so much confusion about he traits to use since they were updated. Infused and Nirnhoned are actually in competition with each other for the "BiS" trait.

For backbar staves, you will basically always have a Beserk enchant (increases you Spell damage for 5 seconds). Once you switch over to your frontbar, you will have about 2-3 seconds left of enhanced Spell damage thanks to this enchant's effect carrying over.
- Infused will enhance your enchantment, giving an obvious all-around damage buff
- Nirnhoned will increase your Spell Damage higher than Infused would but only while you're on that bar - the main reason to use this trait it is to buff the strength of certain DoTs (such as Destructive Clench, etc) for their entire duration. Certain skills base all of their damage dealt off of how your stats look the moment you cast it. If you have a DoT on your backbar that works this way, then Nirnhoned will be more beneficial to your DPS. To decide whether Nirnhoned or Infused is BiS, you need to know how much damage you gain from the Infused-buffed enchant vs the buffed version of the backbar DoT(s) you casted. Either way, the difference will not be very big.

For frontbar staves, you will basically always have a Damage Enchant. This means a Shock Damage or Flame Damage glyph. Shock is likely the better choice, but this really depends on which enchant you want to proc more. I'd say Shock Damage because it helps give higher Off Balance uptime in trials. An Absorb Magicka enchant works as well, trading damage for a bit of extra Magicka return. To put it simple, your trait depends entirely on what you are trying to do.
- Infused will grant higher single target DPS, and more debuffs to your enemy, but will only do this to one target
- Nirnhoned grants extra damage against all targets you fight, so it is more powerful in AoE situations, but loses slightly to Infused for single target DPS.

Other traits:
- Sharpened is the middle trait. It is basically always good, but never best. If you move gear between lots of characters and don't want to bother with the details, use Sharpened and you will always do well. Very nice to have a trait like this.
- Charged is best for solo or 4-player content if using Force Pulse. In more optimized settings (aka trials), Charged is simply outclassed by Infused..... unless you're a Healer who isn't focused dealing damage.
- Precise is basically a lesser version of Sharpened, but can outclass it if you're barely gaining any benefit from Sharpened due to overpenetrating the enemy by a lot
- Powered, Defending, Training, and Decisive aren't worth using

Hope that helped!

I also main a Magicka Sorc. My setup in Clockwork City will probably be:
2x Ilambris
5x Julianos or Necro (probably Julianos)
3x Moondancer (IA is basically the same thing, and Willpower is close)
1x Asylum Lightning Staff Infused or Nirnhoned (idk yet)
1x Maelstrom Lightning Staff Infused

****ZOS bugged the Maelstrom Staff again in Clockwork City.... it's the same bug as in the past. Only one player using the Maelstrom staff will actually gain benefit from its Crushing Wall effect when multiple players attack an affected target. Due to this, it is a good idea to not use this setup unless you're the only Magicka DPS in a group

Thanks for being such a nerd and writing all of this @Vaoh ❤️

SoLooney

Blanco wrote: »

Ankael07 wrote: »

Blanco wrote: »

Nirnhoned back infused front. Sharpened is out for PvE mag sorc after nerf.

Why Nirnhoned for backbar? @Blanco

Higher damage. Nirnhoned on back with spell damage enchant to buff your AoEs for trash packs. Supposedly will do so better than infused. Though I guess infused on front is better. This is the consensus, currently.

nirnhoned is good for trash pack cause it buffs damage for all your abilities

infused only affects single target and pulls more dps.

if you can be bothered in trials to use infused on bosses and nirn for trash mobs

STEVIL

Sharpened

Vaoh wrote: »

I'll explain it for you. I see so much confusion about he traits to use since they were updated. Infused and Nirnhoned are actually in competition with each other for the "BiS" trait.

For backbar staves, you will basically always have a Beserk enchant (increases you Spell damage for 5 seconds). Once you switch over to your frontbar, you will have about 2-3 seconds left of enhanced Spell damage thanks to this enchant's effect carrying over.
- Infused will enhance your enchantment, giving an obvious all-around damage buff
- Nirnhoned will increase your Spell Damage higher than Infused would but only while you're on that bar - the main reason to use this trait it is to buff the strength of certain DoTs (such as Destructive Clench, etc) for their entire duration. Certain skills base all of their damage dealt off of how your stats look the moment you cast it. If you have a DoT on your backbar that works this way, then Nirnhoned will be more beneficial to your DPS. To decide whether Nirnhoned or Infused is BiS, you need to know how much damage you gain from the Infused-buffed enchant vs the buffed version of the backbar DoT(s) you casted. Either way, the difference will not be very big.

For frontbar staves, you will basically always have a Damage Enchant. This means a Shock Damage or Flame Damage glyph. Shock is likely the better choice, but this really depends on which enchant you want to proc more. I'd say Shock Damage because it helps give higher Off Balance uptime in trials. An Absorb Magicka enchant works as well, trading damage for a bit of extra Magicka return. To put it simple, your trait depends entirely on what you are trying to do.
- Infused will grant higher single target DPS, and more debuffs to your enemy, but will only do this to one target
- Nirnhoned grants extra damage against all targets you fight, so it is more powerful in AoE situations, but loses slightly to Infused for single target DPS.

Other traits:
- Sharpened is the middle trait. It is basically always good, but never best. If you move gear between lots of characters and don't want to bother with the details, use Sharpened and you will always do well. Very nice to have a trait like this.
- Charged is best for solo or 4-player content if using Force Pulse. In more optimized settings (aka trials), Charged is simply outclassed by Infused..... unless you're a Healer who isn't focused dealing damage.
- Precise is basically a lesser version of Sharpened, but can outclass it if you're barely gaining any benefit from Sharpened due to overpenetrating the enemy by a lot
- Powered, Defending, Training, and Decisive aren't worth using

Hope that helped!

I also main a Magicka Sorc. My setup in Clockwork City will probably be:
2x Ilambris
5x Julianos or Necro (probably Julianos)
3x Moondancer (IA is basically the same thing, and Willpower is close)
1x Asylum Lightning Staff Infused or Nirnhoned (idk yet)
1x Maelstrom Lightning Staff Infused

****ZOS bugged the Maelstrom Staff again in Clockwork City.... it's the same bug as in the past. Only one player using the Maelstrom staff will actually gain benefit from its Crushing Wall effect when multiple players attack an affected target. Due to this, it is a good idea to not use this setup unless you're the only Magicka DPS in a group

I have one question slightly outside the scope of enchant vs enchant - is infused frontbar with shock better than say nirnhoned and a double-damage poison (like say gradual ravage plus ravage) as far as overall damage and single target damage?

i recall for a while the double-D poison was better in some cases.

But i t may have been outdone now by the new infused.

Vaoh

Nirnhoned

OutLaw_Nynx wrote: »

Vaoh wrote: »

I'll explain it for you. I see so much confusion about he traits to use since they were updated. Infused and Nirnhoned are actually in competition with each other for the "BiS" trait.

For backbar staves, you will basically always have a Beserk enchant (increases you Spell damage for 5 seconds). Once you switch over to your frontbar, you will have about 2-3 seconds left of enhanced Spell damage thanks to this enchant's effect carrying over.
- Infused will enhance your enchantment, giving an obvious all-around damage buff
- Nirnhoned will increase your Spell Damage higher than Infused would but only while you're on that bar - the main reason to use this trait it is to buff the strength of certain DoTs (such as Destructive Clench, etc) for their entire duration. Certain skills base all of their damage dealt off of how your stats look the moment you cast it. If you have a DoT on your backbar that works this way, then Nirnhoned will be more beneficial to your DPS. To decide whether Nirnhoned or Infused is BiS, you need to know how much damage you gain from the Infused-buffed enchant vs the buffed version of the backbar DoT(s) you casted. Either way, the difference will not be very big.

For frontbar staves, you will basically always have a Damage Enchant. This means a Shock Damage or Flame Damage glyph. Shock is likely the better choice, but this really depends on which enchant you want to proc more. I'd say Shock Damage because it helps give higher Off Balance uptime in trials. An Absorb Magicka enchant works as well, trading damage for a bit of extra Magicka return. To put it simple, your trait depends entirely on what you are trying to do.
- Infused will grant higher single target DPS, and more debuffs to your enemy, but will only do this to one target
- Nirnhoned grants extra damage against all targets you fight, so it is more powerful in AoE situations, but loses slightly to Infused for single target DPS.

Other traits:
- Sharpened is the middle trait. It is basically always good, but never best. If you move gear between lots of characters and don't want to bother with the details, use Sharpened and you will always do well. Very nice to have a trait like this.
- Charged is best for solo or 4-player content if using Force Pulse. In more optimized settings (aka trials), Charged is simply outclassed by Infused..... unless you're a Healer who isn't focused dealing damage.
- Precise is basically a lesser version of Sharpened, but can outclass it if you're barely gaining any benefit from Sharpened due to overpenetrating the enemy by a lot
- Powered, Defending, Training, and Decisive aren't worth using

Hope that helped!

I also main a Magicka Sorc. My setup in Clockwork City will probably be:
2x Ilambris
5x Julianos or Necro (probably Julianos)
3x Moondancer (IA is basically the same thing, and Willpower is close)
1x Asylum Lightning Staff Infused or Nirnhoned (idk yet)
1x Maelstrom Lightning Staff Infused

****ZOS bugged the Maelstrom Staff again in Clockwork City.... it's the same bug as in the past. Only one player using the Maelstrom staff will actually gain benefit from its Crushing Wall effect when multiple players attack an affected target. Due to this, it is a good idea to not use this setup unless you're the only Magicka DPS in a group

Thanks for being such a nerd and writing all of this @Vaoh ❤️

Np. I didn’t learn any of this on my own though lol. I’d never even bother trying to figure this stuff out as a console player.

Vaoh

Nirnhoned

stevepdodson_ESO888 wrote: »

Vaoh wrote: »

I'll explain it for you. I see so much confusion about he traits to use since they were updated. Infused and Nirnhoned are actually in competition with each other for the "BiS" trait.

For backbar staves, you will basically always have a Beserk enchant (increases you Spell damage for 5 seconds). Once you switch over to your frontbar, you will have about 2-3 seconds left of enhanced Spell damage thanks to this enchant's effect carrying over.
- Infused will enhance your enchantment, giving an obvious all-around damage buff
- Nirnhoned will increase your Spell Damage higher than Infused would but only while you're on that bar - the main reason to use this trait it is to buff the strength of certain DoTs (such as Destructive Clench, etc) for their entire duration. Certain skills base all of their damage dealt off of how your stats look the moment you cast it. If you have a DoT on your backbar that works this way, then Nirnhoned will be more beneficial to your DPS. To decide whether Nirnhoned or Infused is BiS, you need to know how much damage you gain from the Infused-buffed enchant vs the buffed version of the backbar DoT(s) you casted. Either way, the difference will not be very big.

For frontbar staves, you will basically always have a Damage Enchant. This means a Shock Damage or Flame Damage glyph. Shock is likely the better choice, but this really depends on which enchant you want to proc more. I'd say Shock Damage because it helps give higher Off Balance uptime in trials. An Absorb Magicka enchant works as well, trading damage for a bit of extra Magicka return. To put it simple, your trait depends entirely on what you are trying to do.
- Infused will grant higher single target DPS, and more debuffs to your enemy, but will only do this to one target
- Nirnhoned grants extra damage against all targets you fight, so it is more powerful in AoE situations, but loses slightly to Infused for single target DPS.

Other traits:
- Sharpened is the middle trait. It is basically always good, but never best. If you move gear between lots of characters and don't want to bother with the details, use Sharpened and you will always do well. Very nice to have a trait like this.
- Charged is best for solo or 4-player content if using Force Pulse. In more optimized settings (aka trials), Charged is simply outclassed by Infused..... unless you're a Healer who isn't focused dealing damage.
- Precise is basically a lesser version of Sharpened, but can outclass it if you're barely gaining any benefit from Sharpened due to overpenetrating the enemy by a lot
- Powered, Defending, Training, and Decisive aren't worth using

Hope that helped!

I also main a Magicka Sorc. My setup in Clockwork City will probably be:
2x Ilambris
5x Julianos or Necro (probably Julianos)
3x Moondancer (IA is basically the same thing, and Willpower is close)
1x Asylum Lightning Staff Infused or Nirnhoned (idk yet)
1x Maelstrom Lightning Staff Infused

****ZOS bugged the Maelstrom Staff again in Clockwork City.... it's the same bug as in the past. Only one player using the Maelstrom staff will actually gain benefit from its Crushing Wall effect when multiple players attack an affected target. Due to this, it is a good idea to not use this setup unless you're the only Magicka DPS in a group

the traits you show for staffs seems to contradict what you just said...surely you want Nirn on your Maelstrom (which would be your AoE bar) and Infused on your Asylum (as mostly a single target bar)? Please explain as i am now confused

@stevepdodson_ESO888 I would use Infused in both as a Magicka Sorc. Mainly I would have Infused on Backbar with my Frontbar being a toss up.... both are good.

Nirnhoned provides a bunch of extra spell damage permanently while you’re on Backbar, but the enchant is weaker meaning you will have less buffed Damage when you swap bars. Infused gives less damage than Nirnhoned but will carry over a more powerful damage buff to your other bar.

Like I said, I main a Magicka Sorc. Infused is the better Backbar trait because I cast only two skills (Liquid Lightning+Blockade of Elements) before swapping to my Frontbar. My Frontbar is both my AoE and single target bar as a Magicka Sorc.

It’ll depend how you setup your character. Plain and simple, Nirnhoned gives more damage on the Backbar while you are on it. Infused will carry over a more powerful buff which is straight up better for a Magicka Sorc. For the Frontbar trait it is a choice between single target+extra off-balance procs (w/ shock enchant) vs. more AoE Damage. I’ll probably choose single target (Infused) tbh because my AoE is already so high. Not sure yet though since I need to test how big the difference actually is

Vaoh

Nirnhoned

STEVIL wrote: »

Vaoh wrote: »

I'll explain it for you. I see so much confusion about he traits to use since they were updated. Infused and Nirnhoned are actually in competition with each other for the "BiS" trait.

For backbar staves, you will basically always have a Beserk enchant (increases you Spell damage for 5 seconds). Once you switch over to your frontbar, you will have about 2-3 seconds left of enhanced Spell damage thanks to this enchant's effect carrying over.
- Infused will enhance your enchantment, giving an obvious all-around damage buff
- Nirnhoned will increase your Spell Damage higher than Infused would but only while you're on that bar - the main reason to use this trait it is to buff the strength of certain DoTs (such as Destructive Clench, etc) for their entire duration. Certain skills base all of their damage dealt off of how your stats look the moment you cast it. If you have a DoT on your backbar that works this way, then Nirnhoned will be more beneficial to your DPS. To decide whether Nirnhoned or Infused is BiS, you need to know how much damage you gain from the Infused-buffed enchant vs the buffed version of the backbar DoT(s) you casted. Either way, the difference will not be very big.

For frontbar staves, you will basically always have a Damage Enchant. This means a Shock Damage or Flame Damage glyph. Shock is likely the better choice, but this really depends on which enchant you want to proc more. I'd say Shock Damage because it helps give higher Off Balance uptime in trials. An Absorb Magicka enchant works as well, trading damage for a bit of extra Magicka return. To put it simple, your trait depends entirely on what you are trying to do.
- Infused will grant higher single target DPS, and more debuffs to your enemy, but will only do this to one target
- Nirnhoned grants extra damage against all targets you fight, so it is more powerful in AoE situations, but loses slightly to Infused for single target DPS.

Other traits:
- Sharpened is the middle trait. It is basically always good, but never best. If you move gear between lots of characters and don't want to bother with the details, use Sharpened and you will always do well. Very nice to have a trait like this.
- Charged is best for solo or 4-player content if using Force Pulse. In more optimized settings (aka trials), Charged is simply outclassed by Infused..... unless you're a Healer who isn't focused dealing damage.
- Precise is basically a lesser version of Sharpened, but can outclass it if you're barely gaining any benefit from Sharpened due to overpenetrating the enemy by a lot
- Powered, Defending, Training, and Decisive aren't worth using

Hope that helped!

I also main a Magicka Sorc. My setup in Clockwork City will probably be:
2x Ilambris
5x Julianos or Necro (probably Julianos)
3x Moondancer (IA is basically the same thing, and Willpower is close)
1x Asylum Lightning Staff Infused or Nirnhoned (idk yet)
1x Maelstrom Lightning Staff Infused

****ZOS bugged the Maelstrom Staff again in Clockwork City.... it's the same bug as in the past. Only one player using the Maelstrom staff will actually gain benefit from its Crushing Wall effect when multiple players attack an affected target. Due to this, it is a good idea to not use this setup unless you're the only Magicka DPS in a group

I have one question slightly outside the scope of enchant vs enchant - is infused frontbar with shock better than say nirnhoned and a double-damage poison (like say gradual ravage plus ravage) as far as overall damage and single target damage?

i recall for a while the double-D poison was better in some cases.

But i t may have been outdone now by the new infused.

I have no idea. None of the good players I know of use it so probably not worth slotting. Also it costs far more gold to maintain.

I’d say not to do it. Shock/Flame enchant is too good to pass up imo too

stevepdodson_ESO888

Vaoh wrote: »

stevepdodson_ESO888 wrote: »

Vaoh wrote: »

I'll explain it for you. I see so much confusion about he traits to use since they were updated. Infused and Nirnhoned are actually in competition with each other for the "BiS" trait.

For backbar staves, you will basically always have a Beserk enchant (increases you Spell damage for 5 seconds). Once you switch over to your frontbar, you will have about 2-3 seconds left of enhanced Spell damage thanks to this enchant's effect carrying over.
- Infused will enhance your enchantment, giving an obvious all-around damage buff
- Nirnhoned will increase your Spell Damage higher than Infused would but only while you're on that bar - the main reason to use this trait it is to buff the strength of certain DoTs (such as Destructive Clench, etc) for their entire duration. Certain skills base all of their damage dealt off of how your stats look the moment you cast it. If you have a DoT on your backbar that works this way, then Nirnhoned will be more beneficial to your DPS. To decide whether Nirnhoned or Infused is BiS, you need to know how much damage you gain from the Infused-buffed enchant vs the buffed version of the backbar DoT(s) you casted. Either way, the difference will not be very big.

For frontbar staves, you will basically always have a Damage Enchant. This means a Shock Damage or Flame Damage glyph. Shock is likely the better choice, but this really depends on which enchant you want to proc more. I'd say Shock Damage because it helps give higher Off Balance uptime in trials. An Absorb Magicka enchant works as well, trading damage for a bit of extra Magicka return. To put it simple, your trait depends entirely on what you are trying to do.
- Infused will grant higher single target DPS, and more debuffs to your enemy, but will only do this to one target
- Nirnhoned grants extra damage against all targets you fight, so it is more powerful in AoE situations, but loses slightly to Infused for single target DPS.

Other traits:
- Sharpened is the middle trait. It is basically always good, but never best. If you move gear between lots of characters and don't want to bother with the details, use Sharpened and you will always do well. Very nice to have a trait like this.
- Charged is best for solo or 4-player content if using Force Pulse. In more optimized settings (aka trials), Charged is simply outclassed by Infused..... unless you're a Healer who isn't focused dealing damage.
- Precise is basically a lesser version of Sharpened, but can outclass it if you're barely gaining any benefit from Sharpened due to overpenetrating the enemy by a lot
- Powered, Defending, Training, and Decisive aren't worth using

Hope that helped!

I also main a Magicka Sorc. My setup in Clockwork City will probably be:
2x Ilambris
5x Julianos or Necro (probably Julianos)
3x Moondancer (IA is basically the same thing, and Willpower is close)
1x Asylum Lightning Staff Infused or Nirnhoned (idk yet)
1x Maelstrom Lightning Staff Infused

****ZOS bugged the Maelstrom Staff again in Clockwork City.... it's the same bug as in the past. Only one player using the Maelstrom staff will actually gain benefit from its Crushing Wall effect when multiple players attack an affected target. Due to this, it is a good idea to not use this setup unless you're the only Magicka DPS in a group

the traits you show for staffs seems to contradict what you just said...surely you want Nirn on your Maelstrom (which would be your AoE bar) and Infused on your Asylum (as mostly a single target bar)? Please explain as i am now confused

@stevepdodson_ESO888 I would use Infused in both as a Magicka Sorc. Mainly I would have Infused on Backbar with my Frontbar being a toss up.... both are good.

Nirnhoned provides a bunch of extra spell damage permanently while you’re on Backbar, but the enchant is weaker meaning you will have less buffed Damage when you swap bars. Infused gives less damage than Nirnhoned but will carry over a more powerful damage buff to your other bar.

Like I said, I main a Magicka Sorc. Infused is the better Backbar trait because I cast only two skills (Liquid Lightning+Blockade of Elements) before swapping to my Frontbar. My Frontbar is both my AoE and single target bar as a Magicka Sorc.

It’ll depend how you setup your character. Plain and simple, Nirnhoned gives more damage on the Backbar while you are on it. Infused will carry over a more powerful buff which is straight up better for a Magicka Sorc. For the Frontbar trait it is a choice between single target+extra off-balance procs (w/ shock enchant) vs. more AoE Damage. I’ll probably choose single target (Infused) tbh because my AoE is already so high. Not sure yet though since I need to test how big the difference actually is

thanks for your reply, i appreciate it