Returning Player where do classes stack up and Magicka vs Stamnia

SamAkira

I know this is quite a generic post, but I have severe OCD and will never be able to start the game properly without getting some information.

I haven't played the game since about 4 months into initial release, so it's been a quick minute.

I usually tend to play Magicka classes and I'll likely be playing solo. That being said, I'm not against playing Stamnia by any means it might even be a fun change.

My questions are. If I was to play a solo Magicka Class, how do each of the classes handle this, their pros and cons, what they offer that others dont that might make them more suitable in terms of mixing being able to solo and dealing good damage.

Ofc, I'm going to want to play dungeons, so I don't want to gimp myself. How is Magicka Warden for example, would I be pulling my weight in a dps capacity. I remember my first time round, I played a mix of solo and with a party, I soloed as a dps magicka templar and healed in groups. Can I expect something similar out of the warden, or do they carry themselves well in a damage sense?

Same above goes for Dragonknight. I've heard Magika Nightblade is great, so I'm less concerned about where they stand. Magicka Sorc, I don't have too much interest in and I normally like more unique magic types. Necro looks? Okay to me, unless someone can tell me that it's hella fun, I'll probably not try it out.

Stamnia. I haven't delved much in this. My only other char I've played this game with is a magic templar. The thing I didn't like too much about Stamnia builds was the lack of diversity and class specific skills used before, is this still the case? I don't like the idea of not using a lot of say warden or DK or whatever skills in my rotation.

You'll probably tell that I'm mentioning Warden a bit, I'm interested at least from a flavour point of view in this class. How does the Stamnia version go up against the Magicka varient in terms of dps? How do the rotations play out in terms of how involved you are, and overall, how fun it is to play.

Same question again for DK, Nightblade and Necro,

With regards to Stamnia, I don't really like using dagger, hammers or axes. Greatswords and bows and I spose one handed swords are fine however.

Last question is on Races.
I like some races over others, how much is it a detriment to say, choose Khajit as my Magic user as opposed to a clearly more optional Breton, in terms of end game viability and dungeons etc?

Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance.

mague

A lot changed in the stamina department.

You can play whatever you want. It all depends on how much you want to go to the top when grouping. From a certain point on you are forced to meta.

El_Borracho

Races only matter in min/max PVE. But basically, for DPS Redguard and Orc are the best options for stamina. Elves and Bretons are great magicka characters. For sustain, its Redguard and Bretons, respectively. Khajiits took a massive hit when they retooled races. They, along with Dark Elves are more suitable for PVP now. You can play them in PVE, but they are not as good as they once were

Nightblades: stamblades are still strong DPS characters. Magblades are much weaker than they used to be.

Stamina is arguably the better DPS route as a whole. Stam necros are probably the top dogs. Stamplars, stamsorcs, and stamblades are right beneath them. Magsorcs are still strong, with the non-pet versions being stronger. Magplars are strong, too. Wardens overall have improved in the PVE DPS area with the last few patches. I think magicka necros are still not very strong. Sadly, DKs are at the bottom. For DPS, there is no class that is by far better than all of the rest; however, you'd be hard pressed to make a case that DK is near the top.

Skill-wise, stamina has options, but they are class-based. There is some variance as to what you can do, but you are correct, most stamina builds have a standardized set of skills that does not really change. Magicka has more options, including heals and shields that stamina lacks (other than Vigor). DOTs took a hit, so naturally magicka-based characters got hit harder than stamina; although, that relegated the former go-to of Caltrops to the scrap heap for stamina characters.

Solo magicka class, I go with a sorc with the Twilight Matriarch and 1-2 shield skills. Haven't played as a magplar, but hear they are very good in soloing things. But if you are referring to overland content as "solo" content, everything works.

As for group dungeons, almost anything works. I typically run a stamblade, stam necro, or a magsorc in those with the stamina characters running in guild raids and the sorc in pugs.

Since you don't want to DW, you're in luck. 2H got a boost and is back to being a viable endgame build so you can run a greatsword/bow build. One absolute with PVE stamina characters: you MUST run a bow on your back bar to be effective.

Gilvoth

all depends on who you ask.

some groups believe magicka is far stronger and does more damage
and also has too much protection from their damage shields.

while others believe stamina has more damage output and more survivability.

you mentioned that you normaly play magicka, so i suggest simply following that as a Great start and watching to see if stamina does better than you.
however ...

the best answer is to play them both for "yourself" and get a feel for which is honestly better "in Your eyes"

Rory_FightingToFifty

It's hard to know exactly what you should try because there's so much variability and subjectivity.

If you wanted to dive into a stam build just to try, I might recommend stam wardens. I have so much fun with my stamden...they put out tons of damage and have an excellent class tool kit. This might be the best 'bridge' between magic and stam because a lot of their skills play a bit like magic even though they're stam. Examples - the scorching bugs put out mega damage, and are a bit magical IMO. They have a ton of stem-based heals. They have really good buff options. A stam warden doesn't need to use too many weapon skills - I like dual wield and bow for best results, but you're talking one skill per bar and you can go 2H.

A magic warden would play quite similar...many of their skills have paths for either resource. I personally have more fun w stam wardens, but if you lean magic you might prefer this option.

I'm not saying Warden is better that everything else...but based on your notes that's what it made me think of.

WrathOfInnos

Everything is closer than it used to be, but Necro seems to be the best choice for both stamina and magicka builds. It’s damage is at or near the top, and in group content it’s best to have at least 3 of them to provide buffs (where you really only need one of any other class). IMO Necro isn’t the most fun though, and there’s really no wrong choice these days unless you’re shooting for world record scores.

SamAkira

Perfect thanks for the response guys, this really helps me out -
I'll be trying stam and magicka warden and magicka sorc, I think they're going to suit me best. I don't care for leaderboards but as long as I can pull my weight in a group setting with a Khajit, that will be my go to class as I like the look.