Looking for mag sorc cyrodiil build

qwudd

Looking for a simple but effective mag sorc build for cyrodiil,no special preference regarding CP (what do you recomend?). Wont mind proc sets, purpose is to grind grand warlord as easily as possible.

My own thinking so far, from what i have grearwise is calurions, wrath of elements, to combine with something tanky. Maybe heavy armor? Maybe high health and ring of pale order, or malacaths.

Im not The greatest at pvp, clearly a pve player. but not totally useless.

Any suggestions or builds apreciated!

Oreyn_Bearclaw

Magic Sorc has actually been one of the most consistent Metas in PVP. Even a build from a few years back is going to work pretty well. Yes proc sets are currently meta, but if you are looking for something to get you started, sorc is perhaps the one class where I am going to suggest that you focus on raw stats. Mag Sorc really is the best class to focus on purely stacking magic because both your offense and defense benefit from it. I will talk no pet, but certainly pet builds are an option.

Sorc is also the best class IMO to break into PVP for a newer player because your offensive and defensive rotations are very binary and not particularly complicated. Especially for beginners, I like to think front bar is offense, back bar is defense.

Offense: Sorcs get kills from burst combos. The idea is to basically have your curse and frags hit at the same time, hopefully while your enemy is stunned. If this combo takes them below 20%, your execute can finish them. Curse, Mages Wrath, Spam/ultimate, Stun, frags, is the general order you are going for.

Front Bar: Crushing Shock/Elemental Weapon, Crystal Frags, Mages Wrath/endless fury, Haunting Cruse, Streak/Rune Cage (stun), Meteor/Overload.

Few options here. If you like overload, I think ele weapon is the better spammable. If you want to use meteor, I think crushing shock is the better spam. Streak is a better stun than rune cage and gives you mobility, but it does mean you need to get a bit closer to your target. When learning, you might do better with rune cage so you can stay at range, but streak is certainly a better overall skill

Defense: Sorcs stack shields, and you really have three to chose from, I would run 2. First you class skill of hardened ward is a no brainer. Other options are healing warded or dampen/harness magic (light armor). I like the light armor shield better. The other way they defend is with line of sight, and some passive heals. Therefore I would make room from Boundless storm (mobility and armor buff), Crit surge, and a maybe a flex. Crit surge is nice because it is long duration, can be buffed out of combat, and gives you major sorcery. This can be a flex if your dont mind running spell power potions, and want a more aggressive heal like Rapid Regen. I prefer a back bar resto, but sword and board also works.

Back Bar: Hardened ward, Harness Magic/Healing Ward, Boundless storm, Crit Surge/Rapid Regen, Flex (dark Conversion), Resto Ult (this is your oh crap button).

Gear: Dont over think it, and IMO, go light armor or you wont be able to kill anything. Stack magic (crafty alfiq). If you are in a group, go with a damage set. A proc set works well here, or something like spinners also works really well. Solo, especially if not a breton, go with a regen set, especially while learning. Seducer, Magnus, Lich, etc. I like Mythic items, so that leaves a one piece monster, I would recommend Domihaus for raw stats or maybe skoria for more spell pen. Impen on small pieces and infused on big pieces is pretty safe. I would run tri stat glyphs on at least your big pieces, all of them if you can afford the mats. I think the best food is Sugar Skulls, but you can go with something like clockwork Citrus or witchmothers.

If you have specific questions, would love to try and help. Practice the burst combo on a dummy a few times. Stack shields and find cover when being pressured. Personally, I think the best mythic item for a sorc is ring of the hunt, as you can get pretty close to the speed cap which really helps with line of sight. Not to mention, it is awesome for just getting around and chasing ticks.

qwudd

Thank you for your detailed reply Oreyn!

Well ok, that explains why im not finding many procset builds for magsorcs. Most builds seem to favour high sustain and raw stats, as you recommend.

Ive done quite alot sub 50 BGs, recently while levelling a second magsorc, and ive started to get the hang of that burst combo you mention.

My main is a highelf and i usually go with matron so Necropotence + Amber plasm + mythic then perhaps?

another question, Torc of tonal constancy, is that any good for sustain (maybe only for stamsorc)?

thanks again för your advice

jaws343

You really can't go wrong with any combination of: Alfiq, Bright Throat, Necro (If pet), Spinners, New Moon.

And Caluurians is actually a really strong set on a mag sorc if you want to run procs. It fits really well with the bursty nature of a sorc's skill set. I was running Caluurians and New Moon for a while at one point, with a defensive monster set. It was very effective.

Oreyn_Bearclaw

qwudd wrote: »

Thank you for your detailed reply Oreyn!

Well ok, that explains why im not finding many procset builds for magsorcs. Most builds seem to favour high sustain and raw stats, as you recommend.

Ive done quite alot sub 50 BGs, recently while levelling a second magsorc, and ive started to get the hang of that burst combo you mention.

My main is a highelf and i usually go with matron so Necropotence + Amber plasm + mythic then perhaps?

another question, Torc of tonal constancy, is that any good for sustain (maybe only for stamsorc)?

thanks again för your advice

I honestly just never felt like I needed Torc for sustain. Dark Conversion is a pretty amazing sustain tool, especially in larger battles where you can find some cover, cast a few times, and get right back in the fight.

Maybe Torc would be good for a pure 1v1 build, but I usually dont build like that for open world. I tend to build for high damage over sustain for Cyro. My biggest weakness is certainly a long drawn out duel, but honestly, if I can't kill someone by my third combo, I usually just move on.

If I know I am going to get into more small scale 1v1, 1vX, i will drop spinner (the damage set i usually wear) and RotH for Seducer and 2 piece Engine Guardian or Pirate Skeleton, and i can sustain for days. I pretty much always wear Crafty Alfiq these days (no pet). In BGs, you definitely need to build for more sustain than cyro.

I always keep 3-4 different setups on hot key, but I think my current favorite for derping around and nuking pugs in cyro is simply Crafty, Spinner (front Bar),1 piece skoria, 1 piece ROTH, back bar willpower resto. Very high in spell pen and max magic, but you need to be good with your back bar spell damage glyph and your major sorcery buff to keep you spell damage at reasonable level. With the changes to pen this patch, I might look to trade some pen for spell damage, but that would require them fixing the game first. This patch is a dumpster fire, and I havent been in cyro in a few weeks.

Also, once you play with a Ring of the hunt, you will feel like you are running in mud without it.

qwudd

Thanks again Oreyn,
Lots of food for thought there! Im definately looking to build something for derping around in cyrodiil.

As you say, i guess sustain might not be the primary asset there, rather the ability to nuke targets.

Im gonna try a few different sets with these principles in mind. Will definately try wild Hunt.

Last question: traits, how do you roll? How much impen is necessary? Viable to go divines?

Oreyn_Bearclaw

qwudd wrote: »

Thanks again Oreyn,
Lots of food for thought there! Im definately looking to build something for derping around in cyrodiil.

As you say, i guess sustain might not be the primary asset there, rather the ability to nuke targets.

Im gonna try a few different sets with these principles in mind. Will definately try wild Hunt.

Last question: traits, how do you roll? How much impen is necessary? Viable to go divines?

My current traits/glyphs are as follows, but I am not positive they are optimal. I run tri stat on all my armor glyphs, and I run infused on head chest pants (big pieces), and impen on the rest. I end up around 45k magic, 18.5k stam, and 26k health in cyro. I like a lot of stam for sprinting and dodging. Also, tri-stats are give the most overall stats per piece, so hard to pass up IMO.

Our base impen got buffed, but it is still important IMO with all the stamboys running around. Now granted, it's kind of useless if fighting someone with Malacaths band as they can't crit, so it is a judgement call. The reality is there is no such thing as optimal because the conditions always change. I would not go 7 divines unless playing a bomber, but that is just me.

I am running infused on both of my weapons. The front bar with a shock glyph (this gets more KBs than you might think) and my back resto with an infused weapon damage glyph. This really helps because as stated, my build lacks spell damage. You can also go with defensive on back bar to be a little more tanky.

I have gone back and forth with jewelry traits. Right now I am going two arcane and one bloodthirsty, but someone might come along and say infused is better, and they might be right. Because sheilds scale with magic, sorc is the one class were arcane is at least on par with infused. My RotH is bloodthirsty, but for a while I was playing with the stock trait of swift. I couldn't really tell much difference by dropping a swift trait in terms of speed, but I do think Bloodthirsty gets you a few more kills. I either go 3 spell damage or 2 spell damage and one magic regen. I use the mage Mundus for more max magic, and again, tri stat food (Sugar Skulls are best).

One thing to think about is that regen is actually very lag dependent. If it is prime time, you cant get skills to fire anyway half the time, so I dont run any regen. When the game is playing well and you are really casting skills on their global cooldowns, you definitely need a bit more. My PVP mag sorc is breton, so that also helps.

This build is not going to win a dueling tournament, but you are fast (well over speed cap out of combat, and about 87-95% of cap in combat depending on jewelry traits) and can do high damage from range. I think of myself as a speedy sniper, and I get a lot of kills and killing blows this way, and I can usually dip out if the fight turns against me. If you want to generally play solo, but arent the king of 1vX, and you want to be sure you can get to the ticks for GO, I think this build is really strong.

qwudd

Big thanks again Oreyn,
You've given me lots to start with!

Off to the bank then

cheers
Qwudd

FrancisCrawford

So if you single-bar two 5-piece sets, then the other 4 pieces should be: What? 2x monster + mythic + Trainee?

Recapitated

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aL2qn5f2CeQ&ab_channel=MalcolM

Pelican

You can always check out my build for greymoor on my channel, I would still use the exact same setup this patch (master inferno+ball of lightning). Or if you want a non master destro streak oriented playstyle check out MalcolM on youtube as well.

Araneae6537

This thread has been really helpful! I’ve tried PvP, mostly BGs, on occasion and have wanted to do more but had difficulty deciding on a character, class and build. I had avoided sorcerer when I started as I didn’t like the pets but there are really so many other options and as it turns out, I really like the feel of playing a magicka sorcerer especially!

Thank you so much for the detailed information, @Oreyn_Bearclaw! Now I have a clear goal that I’m working toward.

Oreyn_Bearclaw

Recapitated wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aL2qn5f2CeQ&ab_channel=MalcolM

@Recapitated
I gave that gear setup a run over the weekend. I was admittedly hesitant to go with 7 well-fitted on my mag sorc (I have been toying with the idea since the impen changes), but it is now what I would absolutely recommend. I am still able to get to 2500+ crit resist, which was generally about what I think most people used to agree you needed. The ability to dodge roll 3-4 times in a row and still be able to break free is pretty amazing for survival.

Also a big fan of Trainee+Ancient Grace. Really nice for raw stats. I did blow about 800k AP to get the weapons, but not like its good for much else. I am basically using the first build in that video but with Ring of the Hunt instead of Torc of Tonal Consistency. I would definitely swap to the Torc if I knew I was going to be in a long drawn out fight, or maybe for BGs, but for running around Cyro, I still prefer ROTH. I am Breton, and I can sustain just fine. I can cast 3 shields and a dark conversion essentially indefinitely.

I was already basically running the same bars, but I did change from rapid regen to healing ward. Now that we are guaranteed to get our heal if we are solo, I think it healing ward is the better option. Such a good change IMO. Still not sold that ele weapon is better than Crushing Shock in actual practice (lag, etc.), but I do get the argument on paper. I also love to interrupt people trying to Res. LOL.

Araneae6537

@Oreyn_Bearclaw Are your build and skill recommendations specific to Cyrodill? Would you have to go with more impen in BGs (since no CP) or would everything be entirely different?

I might just be terrible at it (well, probably am, but I am attempting to diagnosis all the problems) but having reached level 50, I am now killed sooo fast in BGs, even when focusing on defensive shields and wards, and by skills too, not just those gimmick proc sets.

Right now wearing Crafty Alfiq, Spinners, RotH and one piece of a monster set that gives +1k each to magicka and stam. Armor traits are mostly well-fitted with a few infused, divines and impen (the plan was to work on optimizing that as I find better pieces or transmute).

If there’s no build (at least no magicka sorc non-gimmick build) good for both BGs and Cyrodill, then I must just give the latter a try.

Oreyn_Bearclaw

Araneae6537 wrote: »

@Oreyn_Bearclaw Are your build and skill recommendations specific to Cyrodill? Would you have to go with more impen in BGs (since no CP) or would everything be entirely different?

I might just be terrible at it (well, probably am, but I am attempting to diagnosis all the problems) but having reached level 50, I am now killed sooo fast in BGs, even when focusing on defensive shields and wards, and by skills too, not just those gimmick proc sets.

Right now wearing Crafty Alfiq, Spinners, RotH and one piece of a monster set that gives +1k each to magicka and stam. Armor traits are mostly well-fitted with a few infused, divines and impen (the plan was to work on optimizing that as I find better pieces or transmute).

If there’s no build (at least no magicka sorc non-gimmick build) good for both BGs and Cyrodill, then I must just give the latter a try.

@Araneae6537
I don't play a lot of BGs to be honest. For traits, I have been playing 7 well fitted lately. You might want a piece or two of impen in BGs, or perhaps even some sturdy. Well fitted is very strong defensively, however. Dodge roll is probably the best damage mitigation tool in the game. So many people wear malacaths band, especially in BGs, that you might not need any impen.

I probably would drop the ROTH in BGs for either a second piece of a monster set, or Malacaths band. I would also suggest you drop spinner. Crafty is always solid, but in no CP, I would probably go for some extra sustain or maybe simply more raw stats.

MalcoM does have a BG build in his guide. I havent tried it though.

Araneae6537

Oreyn_Bearclaw wrote: »

Araneae6537 wrote: »

@Oreyn_Bearclaw Are your build and skill recommendations specific to Cyrodill? Would you have to go with more impen in BGs (since no CP) or would everything be entirely different?

I might just be terrible at it (well, probably am, but I am attempting to diagnosis all the problems) but having reached level 50, I am now killed sooo fast in BGs, even when focusing on defensive shields and wards, and by skills too, not just those gimmick proc sets.

Right now wearing Crafty Alfiq, Spinners, RotH and one piece of a monster set that gives +1k each to magicka and stam. Armor traits are mostly well-fitted with a few infused, divines and impen (the plan was to work on optimizing that as I find better pieces or transmute).

If there’s no build (at least no magicka sorc non-gimmick build) good for both BGs and Cyrodill, then I must just give the latter a try.

@Araneae6537
I don't play a lot of BGs to be honest. For traits, I have been playing 7 well fitted lately. You might want a piece or two of impen in BGs, or perhaps even some sturdy. Well fitted is very strong defensively, however. Dodge roll is probably the best damage mitigation tool in the game. So many people wear malacaths band, especially in BGs, that you might not need any impen.

I probably would drop the ROTH in BGs for either a second piece of a monster set, or Malacaths band. I would also suggest you drop spinner. Crafty is always solid, but in no CP, I would probably go for some extra sustain or maybe simply more raw stats.

MalcoM does have a BG build in his guide. I havent tried it though.

Thank you for the feedback! In retrospect, I see I was not utilizing my well-fitted, trying to cast extra shields etc. when I should have been dodge-rolling away from the nightblade or templar suddenly on top of me!

I can also see how RotH availed me not as I was constantly being hit by snares and knockbacks. I think I’ll try a monster set such as Maw of the Infernal or Engine Guardian.

Maybe Armor of the Seducer would be a better option for BGs as the magicka recovery and 10% reduced ability cost seems like it should help with sustain.

Oreyn_Bearclaw

Araneae6537 wrote: »

Oreyn_Bearclaw wrote: »

Araneae6537 wrote: »

@Oreyn_Bearclaw Are your build and skill recommendations specific to Cyrodill? Would you have to go with more impen in BGs (since no CP) or would everything be entirely different?

I might just be terrible at it (well, probably am, but I am attempting to diagnosis all the problems) but having reached level 50, I am now killed sooo fast in BGs, even when focusing on defensive shields and wards, and by skills too, not just those gimmick proc sets.

Right now wearing Crafty Alfiq, Spinners, RotH and one piece of a monster set that gives +1k each to magicka and stam. Armor traits are mostly well-fitted with a few infused, divines and impen (the plan was to work on optimizing that as I find better pieces or transmute).

If there’s no build (at least no magicka sorc non-gimmick build) good for both BGs and Cyrodill, then I must just give the latter a try.

@Araneae6537
I don't play a lot of BGs to be honest. For traits, I have been playing 7 well fitted lately. You might want a piece or two of impen in BGs, or perhaps even some sturdy. Well fitted is very strong defensively, however. Dodge roll is probably the best damage mitigation tool in the game. So many people wear malacaths band, especially in BGs, that you might not need any impen.

I probably would drop the ROTH in BGs for either a second piece of a monster set, or Malacaths band. I would also suggest you drop spinner. Crafty is always solid, but in no CP, I would probably go for some extra sustain or maybe simply more raw stats.

MalcoM does have a BG build in his guide. I havent tried it though.

Thank you for the feedback! In retrospect, I see I was not utilizing my well-fitted, trying to cast extra shields etc. when I should have been dodge-rolling away from the nightblade or templar suddenly on top of me!

I can also see how RotH availed me not as I was constantly being hit by snares and knockbacks. I think I’ll try a monster set such as Maw of the Infernal or Engine Guardian.

Maybe Armor of the Seducer would be a better option for BGs as the magicka recovery and 10% reduced ability cost seems like it should help with sustain.

@Araneae6537

Seducer is a very strong regen set. That is what I usually run in BGs with crafty, but admittedly, the last time I optimized a BG build was several patches ago. I would probably suggest a tanky set for a BGs monster set, but EG is to some degree. It might be enough sustain that you dont need to run seducer, and it can also help with line of site when the EG spawns. Chudan is nice if you don't want to run boundless for the Armor buff (you need it from somewhere) so it gives an extra bar slot, and Pirate Skeleton is actually very strong on sorc. Because sorcs primarily mitigate damage with shields, they dont feel the healing penalty from PS nearly as much as some other classes.

And yes, you don't want to spam dodge roll, but it should be part of your defensive rotation, and is very useful to help break line of sight. For example, Dodge cancelling Healing ward is a strong move because it will usually give you at least two ticks of the heal, even if under pressure. Because of the first on first off nature of shields, you generally want to use at least one shield to cover healing ward prior to cast. So for example, Hardened ward, Healing Ward, Dodge roll (maybe times 2) and you will be at close to full health. In Full well fitted, I can dodge roll i believe 8 times in a row (certainly less in no CP). Not that you should, but 1-2 in a row once in a while is very manageable to sustain. Most important thing about stamina management is to be sure you never go below the cost of break free or you will be dead.

Dracane

There is a big issue with elemental weapons. Nobody seems aware of it and it is surely a bug, yet I was too lazy as of now to write a bug report.

The Necromancer anti dot passive considers elemental weapons and crystal weapons a dot. So against Necros, you deal 15% less damage with it constantly.