XP Grinding Character?

Guylon

Hello, I was wondering if anyone had any tips on what race/class/build to put into a 100% exp build? I want to make this character a skyreach running monster who has XP gain traits on all gear. Anyone know of what type of class/build can do this?

I am CP275 at the moment and am looking for something that I can just focus on grinding to 810 or maybe bringing some people along with me.



I know there are other ways of getting XP, but this is the path I am looking to go down.

Taleof2Cities

Before I give you some detailed info, @Guylon, I think it's important to give full disclosure first:

XP grinding is one of the most overrated concepts in the game.

Players put that on themselves ... under some misguided notion that their gameplay skill will somehow be "improved" with a full complement of champion points.

Having 300 champion points, for example, will enable a player to clear a very large portion of the game's content.

So, my recommendation is to enjoy the ride to the CP cap.


For a Skyreach Build, it's very important to always have a partner to maximize XP.

Going solo means you miss out on some key boosters (see below). Going in a group of three (3) or more dilutes the XP gain ... since more players are present in the group to share.

Your class/build should be DPS-focused obviously ... with training traits on all armor and weapons. Purple quality or better.

More important than the gear choice is stacking the XP boosts:

10% ESO+ Member
10% Group Party (2)
10% Ring of Mara (w/Partner)
70% Training Gear (Armor)
8% Training Gear (Weapons)
50%-150% XP Scroll/Psijic Ambrosia***

*** Scrolls and Ambrosia DON'T stack ... you can only consume one at a time. However, you may have some 100% or 150% scrolls laying around from past Crown Crates or rewards. You can also buy 50% scrolls in the Crown Store. OR, you can have an experienced crafter make Mythic Aetherial Ambrosia for a 150% boost. It's expensive, though, and only has a 30 minute duration. One more possibility is a one-time 2-hour 150% "power" codex by completing the Clockwork City main quest (bound to character). The codex also does not stack with regular scrolls/ambrosia.

Guylon

Appreciate the response, I will always plan on going in with a partner, but sometimes its just not possible. Do you have any recommendation on what class to use?

Emma_Overload

Templars are shockingly efficient at grinding. That "jabbing" spell does all the work!

Having said that, Nightblades are very good and Sorcerers are decent. I'm not impressed with DKs or Wardens for grinding.

Cadbury

Speaking from personal experience, I'd recommend magplar first with sorc and DK next.

Guylon

Thanks I am thinking between Magplar and Stamcro. Anything that not gear dependent?

Any of these builds work? I would have all the traits on training.

Magplar Builds:

https://www.xynodegaming.com/off-balance-templar

https://alcasthq.com/eso-magicka-templar-build-pve/

Stamcro Builds:

https://www.xynodegaming.com/harvester

Haquor

Stamina sorcerer with Vicious ophodian and hundings/briarheart. Surge, hurricane, deal and steel tornado.

Stamplar: same sets as above but repentence for heals/stam.

jlb1705

Magplar is great for what you want. Good AOE DOTs, shields, all the healing you could want, and fantastic sustain. When I started playing mine for something other than crafting I was shocked at how much easier it was to play than my stamblade.

I put my magplar in Julianos & Seducer gear - both craftable sets that allow you to get the training trait on the max number of pieces, while keeping 100% uptime on all of your set bonuses. Put them with the monster set of your choice. The main drawback to doing it this way is that it is material-intensive. Craft the jewelry as blue - purple and gold platings are stupid expensive. I used Xynode's build as a starting point, and made my own tweaks. I wasn't concerned with maximizing Off Balance procs like his build was, I just wanted to do as much AOE damage as I could and stay alive while maintaining a simple rotation. Single-target skills aren't helpful in Skyreach unless they provide you something else like healing, DOT, sustain, or buffs. Both Xynode and Alcast's builds include more single target abilities than you'll want because they are made for doing group content and fighting bosses. You need to build consistent, high damage on as many targets as possible, be because there are a lot of enemies than they are all hitting you at the same time.

Here is how I set up my bars:

Front bar: Inner Light, Degeneration, Purifying Light, Harness Magicka, Puncturing Sweeps, ULT: Destro Ult
Back bar: Inner Light, Radiant Aura, Elemental Blockade, Blazing Spear, Solar Barrage, ULT: Crescent Sweeps

My rotation: Start on the back bar and cast in the listed order, excluding Inner Light and the ultimate. Swap to front bar. Cast in the listed order again, excluding Inner Light, but at the end cast Puncturing Sweeps three times instead of just once. If your Destro Ult is up, cast it in place of one of the Puncturing Sweeps. Repeat. You overcast a little bit, but it's a dead simple rotation that is very forgiving. Use trash pots or the crown tri-pots that you get from daily rewards. Use blue food. Don't burn expensive mats on this.

This worked for me for grinding Skyreach SOLO. It's tougher and less efficient that way, but I preferred to do my runs independently. Doing it that way gave me a good sense of how strong I was and didn't allow me to be carried by somebody else. I've also run this build through countless vet dungeons by only switching out the gear and it still works decently. It's my go-to character for grinding monster sets. It also works well for grinding dolmens if you're grinding for overland jewelry and/or jewelry crafting. It works like a charm for getting Plunder Skulls from dolmens during the Witches Festival. Only the top 12 DDs at on that dolmen's boss get a skull drop, but with all the AOE DOTs you have you can drop them before the boss even spawns and get your damage in - even the busiest, laggiest Alik'r dolmens. Of course, you could just solo the dolmens with this guy/gal too.

I preferred lightning staves for the additional DOT uptime and splash damage. You can swap out Inner Light for a burst heal like Honor the Dead if you need an 'Oh sh*t' button. You can swap out Shooting Star is a better choice than Crescent Sweeps, but given that you're asking about the possibility of creating a new character for grinding, you probably wouldn't already have Mages Guild maxed out and doing that is a completely separate long grind.

Pay little attention to lectures you might see about grinding being bad. As long as you intend to be considerate of others and figure out how to play your role and follow mechanics in group play, there's nothing inherently wrong with grinding if you're up for it. For me, time is the biggest investment that one has to make in this game in order to enjoy it, and grinding was about making the best use of my time. I ground XP whenever there was a double-XP event on, because that provided the best return. I got sick of picking up worthless gear that you can't wear for more than ten levels, can't sell at a guild trader, that gives less inspiration when deconstructing and that returns useless mats too. I got tired of getting less gold for crafting writs. I got tired of not being able to afford bank and bag space because of all of this.

People come in threads like this and tell you that grinding is bad, and it can be if you're one of those people who grinds all the way up to CP cap then PUGs a Vet DLC dungeon or a trial without learning how to play their role and the mechanics before they get there. The truth is though, people who are inclined to do it that way are jerks and will probably find other ways to be jerks to their group besides that. People who are considerate can find a way to grind XP and learn to play the game effectively. It's a long grind after all, and if you're not bothering with it when there isn't a double-XP event there is plenty of time remaining to do things that help you learn how to play your class and refine your knowledge and skills.

TL;DR... Magplar is great for easy AOE DOT damage, self-healing and sustain. Play how you want as long as you're not an inconsiderate jerk when you enter group play.

RodneyRegis

I like stam for skyreach, as the extra mobility is useful. Front bar 2h with momentum and brawler. Bow with caltrops and hail, using surge on sorc (back bar) or repentance (front) on Templar. Jabs on front bar Templar too. Templar is nice as no need for heavy rotation with all those repentance corpses, just as long as you're not running with a necro. No need for repairing with those heals and shields.
Use vigor on front bar if required. Fill test of slots with whatever fits on back bar and direct damage/execute/gap closer/cc on front as you wish.

Guylon

Wow thanks guys really appreciate it!!

Muzzick

Nice info! Only thing I am gonna add here is if you use XP potions make sure to max out points in connoisseur passive in provisioning skill line. Pretty sure it extends the duration which is nice because they are expensive

FrancisCrawford

One thing about magplar builds -- make sure there's an Aedric Spear skill on each bar. If you're not running the ultimate, that means that Sweeps and Blazing Spear should be on different bars.

FrancisCrawford

Muzzick wrote: »

Nice info! Only thing I am gonna add here is if you use XP potions make sure to max out points in Medicinal Use passive in alchemy skill line. Pretty sure it extends the duration which is nice because they are expensive

Really? I thought they were drinks.

Muzzick

FrancisCrawford wrote: »

Muzzick wrote: »

Nice info! Only thing I am gonna add here is if you use XP potions make sure to max out points in Medicinal Use passive in alchemy skill line. Pretty sure it extends the duration which is nice because they are expensive

Really? I thought they were drinks.

Whoops! I meant connosoir passive in provisioning skill line! It's been a while since I tried grinding anything, thanks for the catch! Will edit

Guylon

Thanks guys been unable to play for the last 3 weeks... Going to start one of these characters tonight. What do you all think?

Magplar or Stamcro?

Guylon

jlb1705 wrote: »

Here is how I set up my bars:

Front bar: Inner Light, Degeneration, Purifying Light, Harness Magicka, Puncturing Sweeps, ULT: Destro Ult
Back bar: Inner Light, Radiant Aura, Elemental Blockade, Blazing Spear, Solar Barrage, ULT: Crescent Sweeps

My rotation: Start on the back bar and cast in the listed order, excluding Inner Light and the ultimate. Swap to front bar. Cast in the listed order again, excluding Inner Light, but at the end cast Puncturing Sweeps three times instead of just once. If your Destro Ult is up, cast it in place of one of the Puncturing Sweeps. Repeat. You overcast a little bit, but it's a dead simple rotation that is very forgiving. Use trash pots or the crown tri-pots that you get from daily rewards. Use blue food. Don't burn expensive mats on this.

Maybe its my rotation, when the mobs swarm me I die almost immediately following this. I have 17k Health and 34K Magica.

Things die pretty quick but I can only stay alive if I spam Harness Magika and Puncturing sweeps so far.