Is there such a thing as the "perfect" build?

lyx10679

Hello fellow ESO gamers!

I have been soloing on PvE for quite a while now. I have six characters, all of different classes and races that cover all alliances (i.e. I have 2 characters in each of the Covenant, Pact, and Dominion). All of them have reached Champion level with at least 444 CP. I am not try to show off here but I have reached a conundrum regarding builds.

I know everyone will recommend Alcast HQ and/or Dottz Gaming or some other guide for a guide to builds. I have already looked at them and used some of them. I have also played around with UESP's Build Editor. My first concern (for me at least) is that many builds are extremely detailed and they vary in many different ways such as allocating champion points differently or using the "most ideal" skill bar setup. I am getting frustrated when I see the that many builds have differing setup in the CP jump points like 10% vs 11% in direct damage or that I do not use their "ideal" weapon. An example is that Alcast has a solo PvE build for Stamblade using a 2H/Bow with Mooncalf at 100 while Dottz has something similar but with a Mooncalf at 75. However, I use DW on my Stamblade (personal preference) and not their 2H recommendation.

My second concern is that most guides recommend completely different builds for different types of PvE for each class. An example is that Alcast (and Dottz) will have build for solo PvE and dungeon/trial PvE. Both types of builds will have different setup such as the Stamblade will use 2H/Bow in solo PvE while they use DW/Bow in dungeon/trial PvE (obviously depending on role in a 4-man group).

After all that, I'd like to open a discussion and get your opinion about this. I am not looking for recommendations on the "perfect" build (i.e. telling me I should use a specific skill set or CP setup). Personally, I do solo a majority of the time mostly for exploration, story, lore, etc. However, I do on occasion will want (and need) to complete a dungeon/trial to farm for endgame sets. Yes, I do want to solo a dungeon/trial such as Wayrest Sewers, Undaunted, etc. I am not looking to do Veteran Dungeons/Trials at this time. I am not looking to do PvP although I know that Cyrodil is disputed territory and I might be ganked. I am mostly DPS with the exception of my Stamplar currently built as a tank (1H/S due to me just wanting to play like a paladin).

So is it perfectly alright to "mix" solo and dungeon/trial PvE builds to fit my playing style (i.e. using the "recommended" weapon from different builds? How much of the CP allocation should I follow to the smallest detail (e.g. allocating based on jump points 10% vs 11%)? Is there a more general guideline to what we should expect our character would want to be (i.e. the minimum change should be 10%)? Is there a more clear guideline to how to prioritize the allocation of CP after 300? I see too many builds say that at 300 put CP in these order and then it jumps to 810 with endgame results.

I hope there are some fellow gamers who have the same struggle and have a solution or encouragement they would like to share. I am hoping this discussion might help someone like me who might be too wrapped up on micromanaging these details and starting to fell that is taking away the fun. Thank you for your input.

WrathOfInnos

Outside of vet dungeons/trials and PVP you can run literally anything and be fine. Optimal builds are designed with those in mind. It’s rare that I would call a build perfect, and cannot think of a single example right now, everything is weighing options, and the game is balanced reasonably well so that several options give very similar results. In the past this was not the case, and certain builds were far better than alternatives, sometimes approaching perfection within the limitations set by the game.

kojou

There was a perfect build, but then the combat team nerfed it because it was too effective...

I wouldn't get too hung up on minor details such as using 75 points of mooncalf vs 100. In the "Blue" CP section there is a statistical best for damage, and on the "Red" CP section there is a statistical best for damage reduction for various trials. It probably makes a difference of a few %, but min-maxers gonna min-max.

It only matters if you plan to do the highest level content at the highest level. If you aren't even looking to do veteran dungeons then it really doesn't matter.

You can use the add-ons Combat Metrics and Constellations to track your damage and set your blue CP according to your skill rotation and call it a day.

Everest_Lionheart

I play several different toons myself and I solo all types of content. I don’t t use any particular build from any of the major players out there like Alcast, Dottz, HTM, Liko, Azreal, Skinny, etc. I have looked at how they constructed their builds and in time have come to understand how and why they use or slot certain skills.

Take for instance my Stamwarden has access to some of the best buffs in the game directly from its class kit. I’m able to get major brutality, major savagery, major resolve and minor protection with my prebuffs and those last 20 or more seconds each. Warden has a passive that gives minor toughness each time green lotus heals keeping that buff up as well. Now I combine that with a couple other weapon skills, I run 2H front and bow backbar. The 2H spamable I run is brawler which gives me a. Percentage based shield depending on how many enemies I hit with it. On the backbar I run blade cloak which gives me major evasion for a huge dmg reduction to AOE attacks. I also run barbed trap which gives my minor force and a further boost to crit. The rest of the skills are filled in with class staples like sub assault which gives huge damage and growing swarm which debuffs the enemy. I also run the 2H execute and slot an extra heal in case I need it. With pale order ring I don’t so I often slot bird of prey for minor beserk and an extra 5% damage boost.

That’s one build as an example but on MagDK I do something similar by running channel acceleration for minor force, molten armaments for major sorcery, slotting mages light for major prophecy which you can also get with flames of oblivion. DK also has access to major resolve and major fortitude which comes with one of the best self heals in the game. You can go from 2k health to 20k with the press of a button. The DK issue is sustain but can still be run using False gods, elemental drain from the destruction staff line and an absorb magicka enchant.

So read what all of the skills do and compare and contrast what each of the builds you are interested in running does. You will see a lot of them are the same so you have some freedom to stray from them provided you know how to play your build and keep your buffs and dots up much as possible. They all slot a heal or a shield as well but even though they look different on the surface many of them are the same once you dig a little deeper.

zvavi

Roll a mag sorc. Perfection.

Banana

zvavi wrote: »

Roll a mag sorc. Perfection.

Agreed. I was a mdk since release. I ain't going back. F#&@ melee

Gundug

You would do best by looking at the choices made for any build you are copying and understanding why those choices were made, rather than agonizing over a 1% difference between jump points in the CP system. Once you have a strong understanding of skills, passives and gear options, you will be able to create setups that work best for you.

Destyran

There WAS years ago it was 5 rattlecage 5 lich 1 VMA and skoria

Melivar

I tend to look at 3 or 4 different content creators set ups for builds that meet what I am looking for on a particular character for a basic guide to start and then make adjustments that will help me do the best I can in actual combat situations.

In my personal experience making adjustments that fit my play style normally give me 5-10% better DPS then using a specific set up that I as a player am not currently able to utilize the same way the top tier players and content creators can or plan for.

Oreyn_Bearclaw

For the content you are describing, I would not wildly over think it.

There is no such thing as a perfect build outside of perhaps a min/maxed DPS. What I mean by that is that if your goal is to maximize damage, and nothing else, there are objectively right and wrong answers for every decision you make when building. Now of course, that build may get you murdered in actual content, which is why I hesitate to use the term perfect, as player skill comes into the equation in terms of survival.

For the role of DPS, you can be optimally min/maxed for Single Target on a trial dummy. But even there, when you look how the best of the best play, they might change gear and skill loadouts half a dozen times throughout a single trial in an attempt to min/max each encounter.

Everything else is a judgement call. You can certainly make a jack of all trades build for soloing everything you described, but there a plenty of ways to go about doing that. There is no such thing as a perfect build for all content, as each encounter is going to bring in unique variables that you need to consider.

I would certainly have at least three builds for what you mentioned.

One would be my Overland/Questing Build. Personally, the most important things for me in here is Speed. 99% of quest encounters simply dont require much in the way of damage or mitigation. After speed is taken into account, I am looking for bursty AOE damage and and a reasonable self heal or shield.

Two, I would look for a solo build, by that I mean something more attuned for World Bosses, and any solo content you might want to undertake. You might also call this an arena build (think Maelstrom). You need to do a little bit of everything. Single Target damage, AOE damage, decent healing, and Decent mitigation, (Tank, Heal, DPS, all in one). I also need to focus more on sustain, as these encounters tend to last longer than overland. This type of build also works very well as a spring board into PVP.

Three, I would look for a Group role, likely DPS. This is what you will use for dungeons and trials in a group setting. This is going to be the most specialized, focused mainly on damage, with less thought to healing or mitigation (doesnt mean there is no thought) because you have people handling those roles for you. Sustain is something that needs to be balanced here with your group. You dont need nearly as much sustain in an organized trial as you do in a pug 4 man dungeon.

Xvorg

Destyran wrote: »

There WAS years ago it was 5 rattlecage 5 lich 1 VMA and skoria

Rattlecage good? It has never been top set. Something like Julianos was much better back in the day.
OP was Black Rose when paired with constitution and it was a stam set, at least in PvP, or 7th Legion with the old proc + fury + BS + old wrath passive

Oreyn_Bearclaw

Xvorg wrote: »

Destyran wrote: »

There WAS years ago it was 5 rattlecage 5 lich 1 VMA and skoria

Rattlecage good? It has never been top set. Something like Julianos was much better back in the day.
OP was Black Rose when paired with constitution and it was a stam set, at least in PvP, or 7th Legion with the old proc + fury + BS + old wrath passive

@Xvorg
Julianos hasnt always been in game. Rattlecage was one of the original MagDK meta PVP sets back when DK Vampires were essentially PVP gods if memory serves, but this was like 1.5-1.6 era.

Funny sorry. Desert Rose (not black rose) was the first setup that I spent 7 figures on in eso. I remember buying it as my in game Christmas present to myself, think I spent around 1.2 mill, and that was when that was a lot of gold. Got nerfed like 4 days later. I almost quite and never came back. LOL It was my first real experience in spending a lot on gear, and my first experience getting beaten with a nerf hammer, all within a week.

I want to say the build was Desert Rose weapons and Jewelry (light set), Rattlecage body (heavy set), and Grothdar Monser set. That plus Bats and you could take out zergs on a vamp DK. Might be wrong on the monster, but you get the idea. haha

Eiregirl

In my opinion and many of the online guide makers say this also...their guide is only a guide. The builds they make are what they have found that works well for them in the group composition they normally run in. The guides are perfect if you play exactly the way they do and in the exact same type of group that they do but their builds can be used effectively by just about anyone in various situations. Many of the guide makers will tell you...use the guide and tweak the build to fit you.

The perfect build for anyone is one that fits the skills they use and how they use them. Read over the tooltips for the skills and see how they interact with each other along with passives and CP's. Then select ones that compliment each other and fit how you want to play. Now find some gear that compliments your skills and what you want to do then develop a good flowing rotation and before you know it you have YOUR perfect build.

As for gear sets there are many good choices depending on your needs. Do you need gear to help you survive? you might would want something like Bahraha's curse, Combat physician and Iceheart (monster set) just as examples. If your skills keep you alive well enough then perhaps you want gear that gives you more crit, stam or magicka. Just crafted sets and overland sets are good enough to solo most dungeons especially normal and vet base game dungeons.

lyx10679

I want to thank @Oreyn_Bearclaw, @Eiregirl, @Everest_Lionheart, @kojou and @Gundug for their responses. You all explained the basics of building a viable build and gave advice on how I should look at what I am doing.

I like many other people usually try to look for a "cookie cutter" build that is a one-size-fits-all for everything. This comes from, at least for me, the frustration that every tooltip on ESO gives minimal or brief information that doesn't tell me the big picture. An example is that I never knew about animation cancelling until these past few days and found that it makes gameplay easier. Another ESO forum user in another thread said that "we should explore each skill for ourselves and not think about builds". While I agree to a certain extent, there are many things that I would not have "discovered" unless I read guides like Alcast or Dottz. I had been playing my own style for a long time but never thought about "switching it up" since I always thought I had to wait for the animation to finish or just thought this skill might work. I was into the lore mostly... Anyways, before I talk myself into Sheogorath's realm of Mania... Thank you all.

For the ones who posted that I "roll with" a certain class or that I should use a certain overland or monster set, thank you for your input although that was not my original question.

Dracane

Yes, Werewolves.