What would you like to see from an Alteration Staff?

StoicSunbro

Despite ZOS's best efforts, Ice Staves still see niche usage. The skills and arena-weapons simply are not designed for support. The Heavy Attack taunt is clunky and prevents use by non-tank Builds. Even tanks sometimes avoid that passive so they can use stamina to block or not taunt the boss while off-tanking.

One solution I've seen suggested by the community for months is adding a new Alteration Staff line and reworking Ice Staves and Chilled for use by DPS.

I'd love to see a new purpose built support weapon for Group Buffs, Debuffs, and survival. It should be attractive not just for Tanks, but off-tanks, Healers, and PVP builds. It could fill gaps present in non-meta support classes.

If such a weapon were to be made, what sort of skills, passives, ultimates, or other features would you like to see?

StoicSunbro

I figured I would start with two example abilities and two passives. Possibly OP but they illustrate how you could make a weapon that would interest Tanks and Healers in both PvE and PvP.

Alteration Rune - AOE Ground Buff and Debuffs
Create a rune on the ground below you for 10 seconds that applies Minor Ward/Resolve to allies and Minor Breach/Fracture to enemies. These effects last for 16 seconds after leaving the rune.

• Defensive Rune
  Applies Major Ward/Resolve to allies instead of Minor versions. Additionally applies Minor Maim to enemies.
• Offensive Rune
  Applies Major Breach/Fracture to enemies instead of Minor versions. Also applies Minor Berserk to Allies. This morph can be aimed and placed at a distance.

The morphs are Olorime-inspired alternatives to Combat Prayer and Ice Fortress. The different morphs also stack. So two players running both morphs (healer & tank) can coordinate to provide these buffs to a stacked group. However this may not perform well in highly mobile or loosely stacked fights meaning existing sources may be superior

Telekinesis - Powerful Single Target Crowd Control
Modifies your Light and Heavy attacks: Light attacks pull the target to you. The heavy attack immobilizes and silences while held (enemies can break free)
Light attacks and each second of the heavy attacks cost 2500 magicka. Casting the heavy attack again within 7 seconds increases the cost by 30% which can stack.

• Enraging Telekinesis
  Both attacks apply taunt to hit enemies for 15s. While channeling you receive Major Aegis, reducing PVE damage taken by 15%
• Redirecting Telekinesis
  While heavy attacking an enemy, you redirect projectiles targeted at you to that enemy. This may happen twice per second.

This functions similarly to Mend Wounds but focuses on tanking. The heavy attack is incredibly powerful in all content but is incredibly costly to sustain and leaves the caster vulnerable.

Passives
Mystic Bulwark Reduces Block cost by 18/36%. Increases the amount of damage you can block from magic abilites by 10%/20%.

This is comparable to Sword and Board. One hand shield passive Deflect Bolts could be modified to favor blocking physical damage to add an tradeoff between the two weapon lines for different content

Lifter of Burdens Increases the healing and resources restored of synergies you create and receive by 15/30%. Reduces the stamina and magicka cost of abilities that provide synergies by 6/12%

SmellyUnlimited

I like the look of those. I think in light of the lack of Illusion magick, you could add some variant of NB’s Shadow Image.

Doppelgänger -Creates a replica of yourself that does no damage, but can take damage. Has half the health of the user.

Morphs:

**Ethereal Warrior: A taunt cast by the user taunts enemies to attack Doppelgänger.

**Comrade: Ability causes all enemies attacking you to instead attack Doppelgänger. Doppelgänger has Major Protection.

Sordidfairytale

Cool ideas.

ChefZero

Levitation of course. Immunity buff to ground AoE.

Less Fallspeed/dmg buff

StoicSunbro

ChefZero wrote: »

Levitation of course. Immunity buff to ground AoE.

Less Fallspeed/dmg buff

Very interesting idea!

Full immunity would need to be costly and brief as that would be very powerful in pvp and ignore pve mechanics.

It could also be the Magicka equivalent of Blade Cloak, a flat 35% mitigation. Or maybe even some combination of the two in a morph: brief 3s initial immunity, then 12s of extended mitigation.

SmellyUnlimited wrote: »

I like the look of those. I think in light of the lack of Illusion magick, you could add some variant of NB’s Shadow Image.

I'd rather see a full Illusion staff down the road. Fear, Rally, Frenzy, etc. Probably would be more PvP oriented.

More weapons means more build diversity.

Right now we have three magicka combinations: Double Resto, Double Destruction, Resto/Destro. A new Alteration Staff adds 3 more combinations. An additional illusion staff adds 4 more. That's 10 total, and then when you factor in classes that's 50 builds, versus the current 15 for pure magicka.

We have 4 stamina weapon lines and 2 magicka weapon lines. Let's even them out.

I'm also not against more Stamina weapons, although they might be more time consuming due to all the motifs. Staves use existing Art.

BejaProphet

Serious dedicated crowd control.