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Is vampire trash currently?

  • Jeremy
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    FrankonPC wrote: »
    Vamp is solid because of undeath and mist form. Some skills need a rework imo, namely mesmerize. The ult is good.

    Overall vamp is a B, could be better but pretty beneficial on quite a few specs.

    Mesmerize is great for stunning ghosts during Harrowstorms.
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  • Vevvev
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    Jeremy wrote: »
    FrankonPC wrote: »
    Vamp is solid because of undeath and mist form. Some skills need a rework imo, namely mesmerize. The ult is good.

    Overall vamp is a B, could be better but pretty beneficial on quite a few specs.

    Mesmerize is great for stunning ghosts during Harrowstorms.

    Indeed it is! My magDK wouldn't be able to really solo them so efficiently without it. Time Stop is too slow to cast to be as effective as it, but I still wish Mesmerize functioned liked Skyrim and Oblivion's Vampiric Charm where it didn't require them to be looking at you.
    PC NA - Ceyanna Ashton - Breton Vampire MagDK
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  • VampireLordLover99
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    Jeremy wrote: »
    FrankonPC wrote: »
    Vamp is solid because of undeath and mist form. Some skills need a rework imo, namely mesmerize. The ult is good.

    Overall vamp is a B, could be better but pretty beneficial on quite a few specs.

    Mesmerize is great for stunning ghosts during Harrowstorms.

    Wow, one whole niche use for it?

    Really selling it there.

    In my experience all classes have better CC available to them that actually does more than just CC.
    Edited by VampireLordLover99 on January 15, 2021 1:27AM
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  • VampireLordLover99
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    Vevvev wrote: »
    Jeremy wrote: »
    FrankonPC wrote: »
    Vamp is solid because of undeath and mist form. Some skills need a rework imo, namely mesmerize. The ult is good.

    Overall vamp is a B, could be better but pretty beneficial on quite a few specs.

    Mesmerize is great for stunning ghosts during Harrowstorms.

    Indeed it is! My magDK wouldn't be able to really solo them so efficiently without it. Time Stop is too slow to cast to be as effective as it, but I still wish Mesmerize functioned liked Skyrim and Oblivion's Vampiric Charm where it didn't require them to be looking at you.

    Wouldn't lava rune or the destro staff CC be way better than mesmerize for doing that? Because then it'd also help damage the ghost too.

    Edited by VampireLordLover99 on January 15, 2021 1:32AM
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  • Vevvev
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    Vevvev wrote: »
    Jeremy wrote: »
    FrankonPC wrote: »
    Vamp is solid because of undeath and mist form. Some skills need a rework imo, namely mesmerize. The ult is good.

    Overall vamp is a B, could be better but pretty beneficial on quite a few specs.

    Mesmerize is great for stunning ghosts during Harrowstorms.

    Indeed it is! My magDK wouldn't be able to really solo them so efficiently without it. Time Stop is too slow to cast to be as effective as it, but I still wish Mesmerize functioned liked Skyrim and Oblivion's Vampiric Charm where it didn't require them to be looking at you.

    Wouldn't lava rune or the destro staff CC be way better than mesmerize for doing that? Because then it'd also help damage the ghost too.

    Lava rune only procs once and the ghosts are spread apart,which can be an issue since it takes time for the rune to arm. Could theoretically use Flame Clench but that's 3 casts. I don't agree with Jeremy on everything but we both know despite Mesmerize being a horrible stun it has niche uses. Also works against charging ball groups in PVP and getting people chasing after you.

    PC NA - Ceyanna Ashton - Breton Vampire MagDK
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  • VampireLordLover99
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    Vevvev wrote: »
    Vevvev wrote: »
    Jeremy wrote: »
    FrankonPC wrote: »
    Vamp is solid because of undeath and mist form. Some skills need a rework imo, namely mesmerize. The ult is good.

    Overall vamp is a B, could be better but pretty beneficial on quite a few specs.

    Mesmerize is great for stunning ghosts during Harrowstorms.

    Indeed it is! My magDK wouldn't be able to really solo them so efficiently without it. Time Stop is too slow to cast to be as effective as it, but I still wish Mesmerize functioned liked Skyrim and Oblivion's Vampiric Charm where it didn't require them to be looking at you.

    Wouldn't lava rune or the destro staff CC be way better than mesmerize for doing that? Because then it'd also help damage the ghost too.

    Lava rune only procs once and the ghosts are spread apart,which can be an issue since it takes time for the rune to arm. Could theoretically use Flame Clench but that's 3 casts. I don't agree with Jeremy on everything but we both know despite Mesmerize being a horrible stun it has niche uses. Also works against charging ball groups in PVP and getting people chasing after you.

    What about Dark Talons? It too damages enemies and works in an AoE around you, not needing to be faced. You also have Ash Cloud which reduces the ghost move speed by a crap ton and Petrify for hard CC.

    I don't really think mesmerize is that much better than all these other options magicka DKs have available to them.

    And I do agree with the niche PvP use as I've witnessed it do some rad things in that regard. Doesn't make it a good ability, though, so I'm not even sure why we're discussing its niche uses when it being changed would be very beneficial to everyone?
    Edited by VampireLordLover99 on January 15, 2021 1:34AM
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  • Vevvev
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    Dark Talons does not stun therefore it's worthless in Harrowstorms.

    Edit: Also Fossilize, like all other DK abilities, is super expensive. Why would I use a 3,400+ magicka single target stun when I can cast a single less than 2,800 magicka stun and go back to DPSing the pikes?
    Edited by Vevvev on January 15, 2021 2:19AM
    PC NA - Ceyanna Ashton - Breton Vampire MagDK
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  • Ryuvain
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    Vevvev wrote: »
    Dark Talons does not stun therefore it's worthless in Harrowstorms.

    Edit: Also Fossilize, like all other DK abilities, is super expensive. Why would I use a 3,400+ magicka single target stun when I can cast a single less than 2,800 magicka stun and go back to DPSing the pikes?

    Can't even say a single good thing about vampire without everyone saying its trash instantly. Even the small uses or few good abilities.
    That one khajiit obsessed with werewolf behemoth and vampire lord. Lady Thorn is bae, dont @ me.
    Werewolf behemoth=vampire lord>blood scion>werewolf>vampire.
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  • Vevvev
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    Ryuvain wrote: »
    Vevvev wrote: »
    Dark Talons does not stun therefore it's worthless in Harrowstorms.

    Edit: Also Fossilize, like all other DK abilities, is super expensive. Why would I use a 3,400+ magicka single target stun when I can cast a single less than 2,800 magicka stun and go back to DPSing the pikes?

    Can't even say a single good thing about vampire without everyone saying its trash instantly. Even the small uses or few good abilities.

    I have a few glory stories regarding Mesmerize and it's morphs, but even I can see room for improvement. The devs did get some things right like with Mistform and the passives (excluding Feed), but the line as a whole is very dysfunctional.

    I personally believe it stems from that one statement from the creative director saying Blood Frenzy was what ticked all the boxes of what It meant to be a vampire. When I first heard it I actually felt like the dude was joking, but he wasn't. Vampiric Drain ticks all the boxes of what it means to be a vampire and Blood Frenzy is quite literally the exact opposite of that. This is why the Ring of the Pale Order makes vampire feel vampiric. Because it corrects the skill line in that it needs to be siphoning your enemy's health, not your own.

    This is why I voted other on the poll. It can work, but it's really backwards with how it should be.
    Edited by Vevvev on January 15, 2021 6:27AM
    PC NA - Ceyanna Ashton - Breton Vampire MagDK
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  • pod88kk
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    Personally I love to roleplay so sucking the life out of mudcrabs makes all my dreams come true
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  • Ryuvain
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    Vevvev wrote: »
    Ryuvain wrote: »
    Vevvev wrote: »
    Dark Talons does not stun therefore it's worthless in Harrowstorms.

    Edit: Also Fossilize, like all other DK abilities, is super expensive. Why would I use a 3,400+ magicka single target stun when I can cast a single less than 2,800 magicka stun and go back to DPSing the pikes?

    Can't even say a single good thing about vampire without everyone saying its trash instantly. Even the small uses or few good abilities.

    I have a few glory stories regarding Mesmerize and it's morphs, but even I can see room for improvement. The devs did get some things right like with Mistform and the passives (excluding Feed), but the line as a whole is very dysfunctional.

    I personally believe it stems from that one statement from the creative director saying Blood Frenzy was what ticked all the boxes of what It meant to be a vampire. When I first heard it I actually felt like the dude was joking, but he wasn't. Vampiric Drain ticks all the boxes of what it means to be a vampire and Blood Frenzy is quite literally the exact opposite of that. This is why the Ring of the Pale Order makes vampire feel vampiric. Because it corrects the skill line in that it needs to be siphoning your enemy's health, not your own.

    This is why I voted other on the poll. It can work, but it's really backwards with how it should be.

    Yeah, I voted other as well. Not saying the entire line is good, just that I found some uses for some of the skills. Blood frenzy I wanted to like, but it's far too dangerous and unreliable.

    I think vampire drain was supposed to be health sustain but it doesn't work due to being a channel leaving you wide open and unable to use any other skill. Nb strife feels great with vamp on the flip side. What if drain acted like strife instead?
    That one khajiit obsessed with werewolf behemoth and vampire lord. Lady Thorn is bae, dont @ me.
    Werewolf behemoth=vampire lord>blood scion>werewolf>vampire.
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  • RiskyChalice863
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    From a PvP perspective, I think it’s good. You lose some sustain, but Undeath is really strong. You can basically just add some sustain to your build to make up for the higher cost abilities, and what you get for it is being quite a lot tankier. That is often worth it, IMO. This can basically allow you to go with light armor and be as tanky as if you’d gone heavy armor.

    Not to mention Elusive Mist and Swarming Scion. For certain classes—such as Magplar and MagDK—Elusive Mist is the best escape ability they have (not to mention some cheese builds with mist form). And Swarming Scion is a good ult in PvP IMO. It is not only a fight reset ultimate that heals you to full instantly, but it also makes you do considerably more damage. So it’s quite good as an ultimate that allows you to turn from defense to offense and completely flip a fight.

    For me, on the main build I use these days, level 3 vampire is a no-brainer. My health recovery is low either way and my sustain is so naturally good on the build that the higher cost abilities don’t matter. Meanwhile, Undeath increases my tankiness a massive amount, and I use both Elusive Mist and Swarming Scion.
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  • AvalonRanger
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    Vampire skill line is useless for me. I gave up vampire build.
    Because it kills health regeneration. And become after "vamp stage2", you can't use merchant.
    Super inconvenient mechanic.
    My playing time Mon-Friday UTC13:00-16:00 [PC-NA] CP over2000 now.
    I have [1Tough tank] [1StamSorc-DD] [1Necro-DD] [1Real Healer]
    But, I'm Tank main player. Recently I'm doing Healer.

    2023/12/21
    By the way...Dungeon-Meshi(One of Famous Japanese fantasy story comic book) got finale...
    Good-bye "King of Monster Eater".
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  • Vevvev
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    Ryuvain wrote: »

    Yeah, I voted other as well. Not saying the entire line is good, just that I found some uses for some of the skills. Blood frenzy I wanted to like, but it's far too dangerous and unreliable.

    I think vampire drain was supposed to be health sustain but it doesn't work due to being a channel leaving you wide open and unable to use any other skill. Nb strife feels great with vamp on the flip side. What if drain acted like strife instead?

    I did make a Nightblade blood magic healer build that took advantage of that very ability. Can find it at this link and it's mostly experimental to see just how many blood themed things I could stick together. https://en.m.uesp.net/wiki/Special:EsoBuildData?id=300182 .

    Another good ability that functions how I'd wish Vampiric Drain to function is Burning Embers. Burning Embers deals half a spammable's worth of damage before applying a damage over time that is equal to 1k damage per second on a DPS build without it's sets and buffs proced. It heals for 75% of the damage it dealt when it expires, and reapplying it gets that heal early. It's what I use in Vampiric Drain's place and is used on every single one of my magDK builds due to it's usefulness.
    PC NA - Ceyanna Ashton - Breton Vampire MagDK
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  • Vevvev
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    Vampire skill line is useless for me. I gave up vampire build.
    Because it kills health regeneration. And become after "vamp stage2", you can't use merchant.
    Super inconvenient mechanic.

    Stage 4 is the only stage with the mechanic that stops NPCs from speaking to you. Wish Mesmerize worked on the minor NPCs as well as the merchants so I could speak to them as well.
    PC NA - Ceyanna Ashton - Breton Vampire MagDK
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  • Jeremy
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    Jeremy wrote: »
    FrankonPC wrote: »
    Vamp is solid because of undeath and mist form. Some skills need a rework imo, namely mesmerize. The ult is good.

    Overall vamp is a B, could be better but pretty beneficial on quite a few specs.

    Mesmerize is great for stunning ghosts during Harrowstorms.

    Wow, one whole niche use for it?

    Really selling it there.

    In my experience all classes have better CC available to them that actually does more than just CC.

    Thanks for changing your post from saying I was overselling it, because I thought that was kind of unfair (at least that's how I first remember reading your post). So I appreciate that bit of effort on your part.

    Anyway, I was just trying to be "productive" and give you an example of when the skill could be used effectively. It's just a cheap stun, and like all stuns, it's going to be situational. I'm sure there are better CC out there. But they probably cost more as well.
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  • VampireLordLover99
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    Jeremy wrote: »
    Jeremy wrote: »
    FrankonPC wrote: »
    Vamp is solid because of undeath and mist form. Some skills need a rework imo, namely mesmerize. The ult is good.

    Overall vamp is a B, could be better but pretty beneficial on quite a few specs.

    Mesmerize is great for stunning ghosts during Harrowstorms.

    Wow, one whole niche use for it?

    Really selling it there.

    In my experience all classes have better CC available to them that actually does more than just CC.

    Thanks for changing your post from saying I was overselling it, because I thought that was kind of unfair (at least that's how I first remember reading your post). So I appreciate that bit of effort on your part.

    Anyway, I was just trying to be "productive" and give you an example of when the skill could be used effectively. It's just a cheap stun, and like all stuns, it's going to be situational. I'm sure there are better CC out there. But they probably cost more as well.

    What can I say, I am not an unreasonable guy.

    And that's fair enough. I do acknowledge and accept that it does have some very niche uses.

    I just don't want people giving this ability too much credit because all they did was move the CC from vampiric drain to a standalone ability. Which is the most uncreative way to handle it. If mesmerize did anything else but just cc I'd give it a pass.

    I'd hate for ZoS to get the wrong idea and think this skill is actually good.
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  • Jeremy
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    Jeremy wrote: »
    Jeremy wrote: »
    FrankonPC wrote: »
    Vamp is solid because of undeath and mist form. Some skills need a rework imo, namely mesmerize. The ult is good.

    Overall vamp is a B, could be better but pretty beneficial on quite a few specs.

    Mesmerize is great for stunning ghosts during Harrowstorms.

    Wow, one whole niche use for it?

    Really selling it there.

    In my experience all classes have better CC available to them that actually does more than just CC.

    Thanks for changing your post from saying I was overselling it, because I thought that was kind of unfair (at least that's how I first remember reading your post). So I appreciate that bit of effort on your part.

    Anyway, I was just trying to be "productive" and give you an example of when the skill could be used effectively. It's just a cheap stun, and like all stuns, it's going to be situational. I'm sure there are better CC out there. But they probably cost more as well.

    What can I say, I am not an unreasonable guy.

    And that's fair enough. I do acknowledge and accept that it does have some very niche uses.

    I just don't want people giving this ability too much credit because all they did was move the CC from vampiric drain to a standalone ability. Which is the most uncreative way to handle it. If mesmerize did anything else but just cc I'd give it a pass.

    I'd hate for ZoS to get the wrong idea and think this skill is actually good.

    I miss the stun on Vampiric Drain too. So if that's the source of your discontent, I can relate.

    I used to have a lot of fun going in and out of stealth stunning/draining people. The amount of hate whispers I received as a result suggests that the fun was one-sided, however. I got more death threats for doing that then probably anything else I've even done in PvP on this game. So I'm guessing that's why it was removed. I doubt it had anything to do with Mesmerize.
    Edited by Jeremy on January 15, 2021 6:59PM
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  • Eirikir
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    Ok so bare in mind, I'm a long time werewolf. But last week I wanted to clear all my vamp achievements on my ww so I switched over for the day. Granted I'm a stam build but, it seemed so bad. I'm likely plating it wrong but the skills seemed useless except the become invisible when running thing, and the no health regen was very noticeable to me. I didnt like it was was very happy to get my fur back. It seems not great.
    Server: PS4-NA
    PSN: Eirikir
    Name: Eirikir "Erik" Kololf
    Alliance: Ebonheart Pact
    Race: Nord (Lycanthrope)
    Class: Dragonknight (Range DPS)
    Playstyle: Crafter, PVE, PVP, Roleplayer
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  • Jusey1
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    Personally, I have cured vampirism on all of my vampire toons and now only have one vampire toon who uses it for the sneak buffs (who is a nightblade too). So, I do think vampirism is pretty awful right now.
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  • Vevvev
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    Jeremy wrote: »

    I miss the stun on Vampiric Drain too. So if that's the source of your discontent, I can relate.

    I used to have a lot of fun going in and out of stealth stunning/draining people. The amount of hate whispers I received as a result suggests that the fun was one-sided, however. I got more death threats for doing that then probably anything else I've even done in PvP on this game. So I'm guessing that's why it was removed. I doubt it had anything to do with Mesmerize.

    Don't we all. I remember it going unchanged for years until one day the game took a 180 on how stuns should be. Suddenly Drain became the last long range instant stun in the game, and once everyone realized this they jumped on it. Then we saw the skill getting changed due to its immense popularity and the stun was put on the end of the channel, now.... its just gone. :disappointed:

    Sure they buffed the healing Drain gives, but they also nerfed the damage and didn't give it something to make up for the stun getting ripped off. Drain really needs some love.
    PC NA - Ceyanna Ashton - Breton Vampire MagDK
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  • VampireLordLover99
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    Jeremy wrote: »
    Jeremy wrote: »
    Jeremy wrote: »
    FrankonPC wrote: »
    Vamp is solid because of undeath and mist form. Some skills need a rework imo, namely mesmerize. The ult is good.

    Overall vamp is a B, could be better but pretty beneficial on quite a few specs.

    Mesmerize is great for stunning ghosts during Harrowstorms.

    Wow, one whole niche use for it?

    Really selling it there.

    In my experience all classes have better CC available to them that actually does more than just CC.

    Thanks for changing your post from saying I was overselling it, because I thought that was kind of unfair (at least that's how I first remember reading your post). So I appreciate that bit of effort on your part.

    Anyway, I was just trying to be "productive" and give you an example of when the skill could be used effectively. It's just a cheap stun, and like all stuns, it's going to be situational. I'm sure there are better CC out there. But they probably cost more as well.

    What can I say, I am not an unreasonable guy.

    And that's fair enough. I do acknowledge and accept that it does have some very niche uses.

    I just don't want people giving this ability too much credit because all they did was move the CC from vampiric drain to a standalone ability. Which is the most uncreative way to handle it. If mesmerize did anything else but just cc I'd give it a pass.

    I'd hate for ZoS to get the wrong idea and think this skill is actually good.

    I miss the stun on Vampiric Drain too. So if that's the source of your discontent, I can relate.

    I used to have a lot of fun going in and out of stealth stunning/draining people. The amount of hate whispers I received as a result suggests that the fun was one-sided, however. I got more death threats for doing that then probably anything else I've even done in PvP on this game. So I'm guessing that's why it was removed. I doubt it had anything to do with Mesmerize.


    Yeah, miss the stun on vampiric drain. Mesmerize has everything to do with it, in fact. As the design process was very obviously: "Remove stun from vampiric drain and make it a standalone ability"

    Meanwhile we got a slap in the face with the NPC vampiric drain being a way more cooler and balanced version of vampiric drain. It still stuns the target, but it locks the vampire in place while it plays the animation. If they had done this for vampiric drain and made it deal decent damage and heal, the skill would be quite unique. Instead they simply used the simple effect of 'stun' to create a whole new ability that the class quite frankly doesn't need.

    Mesmerize could very easily be tacked onto the base vampirism passive in the skill tree, enabling a unique dialogue option for NPCs. This would simply allow the vampire to mesmerize them and potentially the devs could have some unique interactions there.

    Basically, what I'm getting at is Mesmerize has no need to be an ability by itself in its current stun-only state.
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  • VampireLordLover99
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    Eirikir wrote: »
    Ok so bare in mind, I'm a long time werewolf. But last week I wanted to clear all my vamp achievements on my ww so I switched over for the day. Granted I'm a stam build but, it seemed so bad. I'm likely plating it wrong but the skills seemed useless except the become invisible when running thing, and the no health regen was very noticeable to me. I didnt like it was was very happy to get my fur back. It seems not great.

    You are not wrong. Even playing a magicka werewolf feels better than playing a vampire. Speaking as a long time vamp player doing the same thing with werewolf to get the achievements.
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  • Paradisius
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    Got mentioned on this thread so I figured id give my 2 cents.

    Vampire as it is now is an all-round "okay" if you dont do group content and/or a more casual player. Its not going to help you or make public dungeons/delves/world bosses a breeze, but if you run it you wont immediately fall over (assuming you ignore like..1/3 of the kit lol) I dont agree with the direction theyve taken it, yes it is most definitely an upgrade in terms of identity compared to old Vampirism, but the cost for said identity is alot of anti-group play (in an MMO ironically) and abilities that dont compliment the playstyle thats being forced. Imo things like a rework of Vampiric Drain and more Vampiric cost reduction would be great steps to buff the playstyle more.

    In group content you should only ever be actively using the kit if you are the 1%, the ones who have made a team comp centered around the fact that people will be rapidly draining their health while needing to self sustain. Its not impossible but the average player will more likely than not be deadweight trying to imitate it.

    If you want to use it then by all means be a Vampire! And, as the devs say, "play how you want". Just remember the catches that come with playing one and change your build/stage/gear accordingly
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  • Raideen
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    Starlock wrote: »
    Raideen wrote: »
    I agree with many of your points, but its not easy to "experiment" and not cheap either, unless one does all of this on the PTS.

    Yeah, I was originally pretty excited about the set collections system because it would make doing fun things a bit easier. As a console player I don't even have access to PTS to test anything, so I basically have to just look at everything manually and hope it works out OK in practice. Usually it does, sometimes it doesn't. Overall, because with how much the developers tinker with this and that, I'll focus on nailing a particular character concept and getting it to work well enough and not sweat the small stuff. A lot of what works and what doesn't is tied to player preferences and what we do in the game, which the OP did not specify for the discussion. I tell my story in part to point out that vampire can and does work fine and is not unqualified "trash." Could certain things be better? Oh, for sure, but it's not really up to me so I work with what I've got.

    Fair points. I just downloaded the PTS yesterday to see if I could build easier, but I am not sure how to get the gear easy. In WOW there are vendors that sell the gear to test with, I have not seen any so far with ESO.

    My issue with vampire ATM is that there is little synergy with any given build, unlike werewolf that can give a bonus just by slotting the ult.

    One of my first and favorite characters when I started playing ESO was a vampire dragon knight (magicka). He is currently shelved. I really dislike seeing an entire build to go trash or become unplayable and that is what happened to mine. I'd have to rebuild him in such a way that does away with the idea of what he was in the first place. I purchased the fire skin for him, and my GF gifted me the fire horse mount for his theme. 40 bucks spent and not even being used. That is my issue.
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  • Jeremy
    Jeremy
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    Jeremy wrote: »
    Jeremy wrote: »
    Jeremy wrote: »
    FrankonPC wrote: »
    Vamp is solid because of undeath and mist form. Some skills need a rework imo, namely mesmerize. The ult is good.

    Overall vamp is a B, could be better but pretty beneficial on quite a few specs.

    Mesmerize is great for stunning ghosts during Harrowstorms.

    Wow, one whole niche use for it?

    Really selling it there.

    In my experience all classes have better CC available to them that actually does more than just CC.

    Thanks for changing your post from saying I was overselling it, because I thought that was kind of unfair (at least that's how I first remember reading your post). So I appreciate that bit of effort on your part.

    Anyway, I was just trying to be "productive" and give you an example of when the skill could be used effectively. It's just a cheap stun, and like all stuns, it's going to be situational. I'm sure there are better CC out there. But they probably cost more as well.

    What can I say, I am not an unreasonable guy.

    And that's fair enough. I do acknowledge and accept that it does have some very niche uses.

    I just don't want people giving this ability too much credit because all they did was move the CC from vampiric drain to a standalone ability. Which is the most uncreative way to handle it. If mesmerize did anything else but just cc I'd give it a pass.

    I'd hate for ZoS to get the wrong idea and think this skill is actually good.

    I miss the stun on Vampiric Drain too. So if that's the source of your discontent, I can relate.

    I used to have a lot of fun going in and out of stealth stunning/draining people. The amount of hate whispers I received as a result suggests that the fun was one-sided, however. I got more death threats for doing that then probably anything else I've even done in PvP on this game. So I'm guessing that's why it was removed. I doubt it had anything to do with Mesmerize.


    Yeah, miss the stun on vampiric drain. Mesmerize has everything to do with it, in fact. As the design process was very obviously: "Remove stun from vampiric drain and make it a standalone ability"

    Meanwhile we got a slap in the face with the NPC vampiric drain being a way more cooler and balanced version of vampiric drain. It still stuns the target, but it locks the vampire in place while it plays the animation. If they had done this for vampiric drain and made it deal decent damage and heal, the skill would be quite unique. Instead they simply used the simple effect of 'stun' to create a whole new ability that the class quite frankly doesn't need.

    Mesmerize could very easily be tacked onto the base vampirism passive in the skill tree, enabling a unique dialogue option for NPCs. This would simply allow the vampire to mesmerize them and potentially the devs could have some unique interactions there.

    Basically, what I'm getting at is Mesmerize has no need to be an ability by itself in its current stun-only state.

    I think the stun was removed from drain because it was considered too "trollish" or easy to abuse in PvP. At least that's what I was told. So that's what I was getting at in my post. And based on my own experiences, it did seem to anger (and I mean really anger) a lot of players.

    We'll have to agree to disagree about Mesmerize, because I don't really have a problem with it. I'd rather it be in the game than not be in the game, because it does come in handy sometimes. But we do agree that drain losing its stun effect did suck.
    Edited by Jeremy on January 19, 2021 9:53AM
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  • Jeremy
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    Vevvev wrote: »
    Jeremy wrote: »

    I miss the stun on Vampiric Drain too. So if that's the source of your discontent, I can relate.

    I used to have a lot of fun going in and out of stealth stunning/draining people. The amount of hate whispers I received as a result suggests that the fun was one-sided, however. I got more death threats for doing that then probably anything else I've even done in PvP on this game. So I'm guessing that's why it was removed. I doubt it had anything to do with Mesmerize.

    Don't we all. I remember it going unchanged for years until one day the game took a 180 on how stuns should be. Suddenly Drain became the last long range instant stun in the game, and once everyone realized this they jumped on it. Then we saw the skill getting changed due to its immense popularity and the stun was put on the end of the channel, now.... its just gone. :disappointed:

    Sure they buffed the healing Drain gives, but they also nerfed the damage and didn't give it something to make up for the stun getting ripped off. Drain really needs some love.

    I've been able to stack it with Dark Cloak to get a mediocre return. But as a stand alone heal in PvP it just seems really bad right now. Which is odd, because before Greymoor it was actually a pretty effective heal in PvP, especially if you had a large health pool.

    I'm guessing the general healing nerfs in PvP countered the healing increases it got? That or all the proc damage increases in PvP have just overwhelmed the healing increases it received. I still use it sometimes in PvE, but in PvP it's really hard to use to get your health back no doubt about it.
    Edited by Jeremy on January 19, 2021 10:23AM
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  • MaleAmazon
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    Voted 'nay'.My main character is a vampire (and a medium armor stamina skill user) and I just like the line. It´s pretty well designed. They did kind of go overboard with the drawbacks however.

    Vampire is a bit too niche though. It´s like they went "oh, people will probably be able to create very strong builds, so let´s not make the skills too spectacular...but oh hell, let´s leave the drawbacks, time for lunch anyway".

    Most of my problems with vampire has to do with PvP. I solo PvP and probably have a death / kill ratio of 50:1, but the sneaky vampire nature just doesn´t work well in Cyrodiil as opposed to "just play NB". I get hit when invisible because of lag / sync, the invisibility doesn´t seem to register, my stealth escape pots get insta-reversed by delayed attacks all the time, and everyone runs tanky builds anyway. And I hate it that the ultimate running out seems to stop movement, I wish they would make it so you basically morphed back to normal but kept running as well as the invisibility (cant check it for sure exactly how it works now since servers are down).

    It´s very nice to be able to stalk people while sprinting and invisible though, and I´m sure there are several imbalanced builds you can do with a tanky vampire (Tankire? Vank?).

    And if nothing else, you can speedrun all the overland dungeons without having to mow down mobs along the way...
    Edited by MaleAmazon on January 19, 2021 10:16AM
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  • Michaelkeir
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    Same. I'm still there casually for friends, but I'm not spending any more IRL money on crowns until they actually make this better. It's a shame too. I used to love spending money on the game, but now it's really hard to justify it. Vampire's one issue, the blatant neglection of performance is the other.

    I also really hate how they did necromancers in this game. So, for me it's mainly the horrible design of vampires/necromancers driving me away.

    The worst part? Their NPC counter parts are x10 better designed and zos would save so much money and time if they just copied skills from them.

    I want to be able to summon skeletons, zombies, flesh atronachs, bone colossuses. Wraiths that actually attack....shades, or even spirits. I want to be able to use that cool channel-beam attack necromancer npcs have that empower a summon.

    I also don't think necromancers should have a heal/damage/tank skill line. They should have a damage/debuff/undead summoning line.

    Meanwhile for vampires, all the NPC skills just destroy what we got as players. Summoning Blood-form Bloodknights, imps, and gargoyles? using various blood magic and bat swarm attacks? Having a drain that actually looks cool and lifts people up into the air (but in turn locks the vamp in place)?

    Your thoughts mirror my own on the matter. I hate how they implemented necromancers and now vampires. They basically tried to be unique with necromancers and botched it. The 3 skill lines DPS/heal/tank skill trees is just a waste. Necromancers skill trees should be focused on summoning/buffing pets/draining enemies. Instead we got a mobile dot (summon) that last a few seconds that we truly can’t utilize as a SUMMONING class. It’s borderline silly. Vampires should use their claws and blood magic in Scion form. I can’t tell you how stupid it looks to me turning into a big beefy monster and still slashing with a tiny knife. It’s border line stupid design choice and takes away the unique feel of the character for no apparent reason. And not to forget playing as a stamina vampire is just non existent.

    True be told I still play both of vampires and necromancers and have built them as best I could to play as pure as I can, but it’s taxing. But my patience is wearing thin and the only reason I still play is because currently no other game out now allows me to play as a vampire or necromancer and as soon as one does come along I’m out.
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  • Michaelkeir
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    JanTanhide wrote: »
    It depends on your build and what skills you use. I've seen some pretty decent Vampire DPS builds for PVE (don't know about PVP).

    I have cured all but two of my 16 Vampires and am just now playing a bit with the Skills. It is definitely a challenge for PVE content if you utilize the entire skill line. But some have figured it out and do very well with it.

    But overall I think most players will avoid Vampire builds after trying them. Still, it's a fun challenge and I'm going to get a build working with Vampire skills....eventually. :smiley:

    If by Vampire dps build you mean "slot blood frenzy and eviscerate" then yeah sure, I guess those are decent "vampire" builds. Not too sure if I'd call them full vampire builds though. Or if I'd say that means theyre doing 'really good at it's lol.

    If you intend to use all vampire skills as devs intended, you'll come to find out there's a reason no build utilizes all the skills or only focuses on the stat overloaded ones. Because the skill line is trash.

    I again agree with you on this. I actually tried building with a full bar of vampire skills and feeding to stay at stage 4 and I’ll tell you what I learned. It was horrible. Trying to do Vet dlc dungeons or trials is a pain and hurts your overall DPS and prevents you from being healed. I’ve built around the skill cost increase and play as a night-blade since that class seems more suited for a vampire play. But the only skills I find on my bar are the melee attack, stun, and the ultimate. Don’t really even need the stun since night-blades have a better in class stun but I use it mostly for flavor and for vendors who refuse to talk to me.

    The drain is just pure trash. Barely heals and even less damage. Night-blades again have better (more vampiric) in class heals. Even on my pure vampire tank the vampire drain is pure trash and is outclassed by other heals. Blood frenzy is just a self kill button in most vet dlc content where damage is constantly incoming and you need heals from the healer who can’t heal you by the way due to this skill. Might have some use in pvp on a ganker but I’ve yet to try it. And mist form is ok in pvp, but not needed in most Pve content especially on my DPS and my tank has other ways of surviving tuff situations.

    So I guess my question to people is, how can you use all vampire skills and still be somewhat competitive in vet dlc content without putting strain on your group especially your healer?
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