Hi

thearchivist95

Hai. I'm new and wanted to say hello to everyone. I've recently (this year) got into TES, and I love MMOs, so ESO seemed like a no-brainer to pick up. I really enjoy healing and tanking, and was also wondering something: a sorc with a frost staff can tank, correct? I know it's not that simple, but a frost staff is a viable tanking weapon for them? I've been reading a lot and trying to wrap my head around character building.

Yzalirk

Hello and welcome!

I believe the Frost Staff is decent for Magicka Tanks but I cannot say for certain. I stick to One Hand & Shield for tanking for the bonus stats and extra damage.

jedtb16_ESO

hi and welcome.

frost staff? you may want to rethink that.

MarleyRain

Yes it will taunt but you also have to be prepared to take the damage.

thearchivist95

jedtb16_ESO wrote: »

hi and welcome.

frost staff? you may want to rethink that.

I have very little knowledge about this game, so I have no idea exactly what you mean. Why? And what should I do instead?

heaven13

Yes, you can tank with a frost staff. It might not be the best option, but you can do it with the tri-focus passive so your heavy attacks taunt. Some tanks will use sword and board on front bar and then frost staff on back bar.

What server/platform do you play?

jedtb16_ESO

thearchivist95 wrote: »

jedtb16_ESO wrote: »

hi and welcome.

frost staff? you may want to rethink that.

I have very little knowledge about this game, so I have no idea exactly what you mean. Why? And what should I do instead?

frost staffs can be a bit underachieving, maybe flame instead?

Charliff1966

Welcome!

thearchivist95

heaven13 wrote: »

Yes, you can tank with a frost staff. It might not be the best option, but you can do it with the tri-focus passive so your heavy attacks taunt. Some tanks will use sword and board on front bar and then frost staff on back bar.

What server/platform do you play?

I'm on PC. And will flame work? Basically I just want to be a mage tank, cuz I've never been able to do that in any MMO, and it would be amazing. A magey feel, but a tank. Help me, enlightened vets.

I should also mention that I probably won't be going for super hard core trial runs. I like to raid, but I'm not much a max meta guy. I like to perform well, but I don't like to sacrifice fun for being in the top 1%.

Luigi_Vampa

jedtb16_ESO wrote: »

thearchivist95 wrote: »

jedtb16_ESO wrote: »

hi and welcome.

frost staff? you may want to rethink that.

I have very little knowledge about this game, so I have no idea exactly what you mean. Why? And what should I do instead?

frost staffs can be a bit underachieving, maybe flame instead?

They said they like tanking, so... Frost staff will be fine for most of this games tanking requirements. Especially once Summerset hits.

Anyway, welcome to ESO!

Kodrac

thearchivist95 wrote: »

jedtb16_ESO wrote: »

hi and welcome.

frost staff? you may want to rethink that.

I have very little knowledge about this game, so I have no idea exactly what you mean. Why? And what should I do instead?

For tanking? 1H and shield. I wouldn't touch a frost staff with a 10 foot pole. It has a niche but that's it.

VaranisArano

Frost Staff can certainly be viable for tanking with the trifocus passive that makes the frost staff heavy attack a taunt and makes blocking with the staff cost magicka.

However, the morph of the Puncture taunt from One Hand and Shield, Pierce Armor, has a better debuff, so most tanks still use One Hand and Shield.

I run a sorc tank/DPS in normal dungeons with just Inner Fire from the Undaunted line so I can use a fire/lightning staff instead for more DPS.

thearchivist95

How strict are tanking requirements in this game? Everything seems super open ended, which is both really freakin' awesome, but scary.

heaven13

thearchivist95 wrote: »

heaven13 wrote: »

Yes, you can tank with a frost staff. It might not be the best option, but you can do it with the tri-focus passive so your heavy attacks taunt. Some tanks will use sword and board on front bar and then frost staff on back bar.

What server/platform do you play?

I'm on PC. And will flame work? Basically I just want to be a mage tank, cuz I've never been able to do that in any MMO, and it would be amazing. A magey feel, but a tank. Help me, enlightened vets.

I should also mention that I probably won't be going for super hard core trial runs. I like to raid, but I'm not much a max meta guy. I like to perform well, but I don't like to sacrifice fun for being in the top 1%.

Flame does not taunt. You can sword and board with flame backbar, but only frost staves have taunting built into the passive.

I'd suggest practicing with it since sword and board (or the ranged taunt from Undaunted) works by firing a skill and frost staves have taunt applied through a passive on your heavy attack. The Puncture skill within One Hand and Shield is gonna help your group out by applying some debuffs to the enemy, which is why I suggested using it front bar. So they work a little differently and you'll want to be aware of that and what each of the skills brings to the table.

Practice. And practice some more. Preferably with people who won't melt bosses super quick so you can get a feel for what you're doing (because if you can handle it then, you'll do fine with top tier DPS).

thearchivist95

Also should I do heavy armor? My immediate thought is yeah, obviously. But again, I don't know a ton. A heavy armor sorc with a frost staff?

Luigi_Vampa

thearchivist95 wrote: »

How strict are tanking requirements in this game? Everything seems super open ended, which is both really freakin' awesome, but scary.

You really only need a super sturdy tank for vet trials (12man raids) and some vet DLC dungeons. Normal dungeons you don't really need a tank, but it us a good place to practice.

Eyro

thearchivist95 wrote: »

How strict are tanking requirements in this game? Everything seems super open ended, which is both really freakin' awesome, but scary.

Once you learn the ropes, normal content can be very open ended. But once you move into vet content things narrow down. It isn’t as bad as it is in a lot of games, but it isn’t as free as it seems.

Also just because you use a shield and sword that doesnt make you a non mage. Im not a tank expert but I think a lot of tank set ups have a fairly equal mix of stam and magika.

xeNNNNN

jedtb16_ESO wrote: »

thearchivist95 wrote: »

jedtb16_ESO wrote: »

hi and welcome.

frost staff? you may want to rethink that.

I have very little knowledge about this game, so I have no idea exactly what you mean. Why? And what should I do instead?

frost staffs can be a bit underachieving, maybe flame instead?

well he enjoys tanking and as frost staff taunts trash mobs and bosses :P....underachieving in damage isn't what hes going for I think, he wants to tank with a frost staff if its viable. Sort of like a battlemage tank.

At least this is how im understanding what he asked.

geonsocal

nice to see a verified, certified anarchist join our forum...

thearchivist95

xeNNNNN wrote: »

jedtb16_ESO wrote: »

thearchivist95 wrote: »

jedtb16_ESO wrote: »

hi and welcome.

frost staff? you may want to rethink that.

I have very little knowledge about this game, so I have no idea exactly what you mean. Why? And what should I do instead?

frost staffs can be a bit underachieving, maybe flame instead?

well he enjoys tanking and as frost staff taunts trash mobs and bosses :P....underachieving in damage isn't what hes going for I think, he wants to tank with a frost staff if its viable. Sort of like a battlemage tank.

At least this is how im understanding what he asked.

You understand me PERFECTLY. A staff-wielding battlemage! \o/

VaranisArano

thearchivist95 wrote: »

How strict are tanking requirements in this game? Everything seems super open ended, which is both really freakin' awesome, but scary.

Basic tank: hold boss aggro with a taunt, stay alive,
Good tank: hold boss aggro with a taunt, stay alive, hold boss more or less still for the DPS aoes, crowd control mobs, debuff the boss, buff the group,

For normal dungeons, you can bring a full tank or a tank/DPS. I find that I learned best with a full tank but as I got more comfortable with mechanics, a tank/DPS made the normal dungeons go faster, since holding aggro and keeping the boss still helps everyone.

thearchivist95

geonsocal wrote: »

nice to see a verified, certified anarchist join our forum...

Archivist*

heaven13

thearchivist95 wrote: »

geonsocal wrote: »

nice to see a verified, certified anarchist join our forum...

Archivist*

lol, I think they meant the fact that you're going against meta to use a frost tank. (could be totally wrong though)

kargen27

As you are leveling your character I would suggest leveling destruction staff, restoration staff and sword/shield skill lines. You will have plenty of skill points to do this and then later in the game you have more to choose from. You can choose destruction staff on both bars or have back bar be restoration or sword/shield. Also level up your class skill lines. The more choices you give yourself the better chance you have of building a character that is fun for you. Since you want to tank you need to start leveling the undaunted line as soon as you can. You are probably going to want that taunt.

And don't worry if you assign skill points or attribute points wrong while leveling. It doesn't take much gold to be able to change those when you finally decide how you want to play.

On an aside I always suggest new players not get into a rush leveling their characters. There is a lot to do and see in this game. Spend some time going off the beaten path enjoying all there is out there. The leveling will kind of just happen as you run about doing things. Oh and if you think you might want to try PvP start getting your horses speed up right away. A slow horse in Cyrodiil isn't much fun.

efster

Yes you can tank with a frost staff. You will not be as effective as with a sword and board, and frost staff tanking is most effective if you are a Warden. But yes, it is a viable way to play as long as you aren't trying to go into veteran trials with a frost staff full time (though there are times when a backbar frost staff can serve you well even in trials).

If you're just playing in normal dungeons, you will be fine as long as you can keep aggro and stay alive. Plus, sorc tanking is fun as heck. Welcome to ESO, have fun!

Respect4Elders

AlienatedGoat

H-hi.

geonsocal

thearchivist95 wrote: »

geonsocal wrote: »

nice to see a verified, certified anarchist join our forum...

Archivist*

anarchist, i says...

our company librarian is super cool...the first time she referred to herself as an archivist - it made me smile...pretty cool title actually...she has a bit of a rebellious spirit, so, i've always enjoyed referring to her as our corporate anarchist...

well then, i will let you archive away in peace...

MilwaukeeScott

Hi and welcome!!

Tasear

@troomar this one is for you. Advise them.

Tasear

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/349428/sorcerer-healers-collection-dragon-bones-updated/p1

For healer dreams you mentioned.

But yes you can tank with frost staff. In what 12 days be better to do. It will allow 2 handers to count. Well on point frost tanking is mostly Magicka tanking
You will use Magicka to block. It also comes with a free shield and range taunt. Some people balance it between stamina and Magicka blocking for perfect sustain. Either way it's a popular thing in some parts of end game, but perception in general population in bad because some dps tried to use frost staff when it's for tanks.