Do you create and use your own builds, use pre-existing builds, or a combination of both?

Hallothiel

A combination of both

Do both - not watching youtube or anything, more through discussing with guildmates who are good players.

Have a few that do (sort of) follow the meta, but only up to a point. It is an aspect of the game I dislike intensely, the (sometimes fanatical) adherence to the meta for certain parts of the game, such as vet hm trials, as it feels that it’s not me having any real input into playing the game, but that’s for another thread.

But have ones that are not the meta/copied, and have great fun with them - which is really the whole point!

Danikat

I create and use my own builds

I create my own builds because I enjoy doing it. For me it's part of the game. I enjoy learning how the skills work and finding fun and effective combinations and not doing that would be like skipping other parts of the game, like skipping to the end of quests to pick up the reward, sure you end up with the same thing but I wouldn't enjoy the process as much.

I also find I do better at the game having done that, because I know what my skills are doing, how they fit together and how they're supposed to be used so I can more easily adapt what I'm doing to the situation, whereas if I'm just copying someone else's build and trying to mimic how they play it's harder to know what to change and how when it's not working.

I did look up some builds when my first character got to level 50, to see what kind of things other people were using. But I found I'd have to adapt most of them anyway because builds for playing solo were generally focused on farming XP as fast as possible but not practical for anything other than large groups of weak enemies, and of course builds for playing in groups relied on the rest of the group (for example DD builds had no healing at all, because the healer would do that) so I'd have to change them anyway, and at that point I might as well just make my own.

Sarannah

I create and use my own builds

I play everything one-bar, so I have to make my own builds.

AzraelKrieg

A combination of both

Combination. For trials I do need to run what is best for the situation so guides are needed. For PvP and general overland PvE I just make something up and run it. If it works well, I keep doing it.

GreenHere

I create and use my own builds

Mostly all I do is look at a set and ask myself, "Which of my characters would this best fit on? Is it good enough to replace what they're wearing, or carry around in their backpack, compared to what they've already got?"

Personally, I don't allow any of my characters to use sets that "belongs" to other characters, mostly just for simplicity/organization's sake; with a few exceptions such as the odd 3-piece set (Trainee, Vengeance Leech, etc.) to fill in gaps, or Arena weapons, and Mythics, etc.

I just build around enjoyable character themes & having ~decent-to-good effectiveness. If a set isn't better or different enough to find a place in one of my characters' builds, then into the sticker book/scrap heap/whatever-player-asks-for-it's bags it goes!

fred4

I create and use my own builds

In no particular order:

Because I'm playing for 5 1/2 years and didn't know content creators existed in the beginning.

Because theorycrafting is a major part of the fun.

Because premade builds don't work for me or I don't find them fun to play. IMO your builds and your playstyle evolve together. This goes both ways. When I've given my builds or even tailored a build for others, they've often not worked well. (I guess that could also be a reflection on my inadequacy).

Because the headline items in a build, the two 5-piece armor sets you're wearing, tend to matter less than people think. Everything around it - the mundus, the enchants and so on - matters more, especially the food (which no build video I've ever seen mentions up-front, like they really should). You get a skewed sense of what's important, if you don't develop your own understanding of buildcraft.

Because the meta changes every 3 months. If you don't understand why you were running certain sets and skills, you won't be able to adjust your build.

I suppose there may be merit to a premade build from an endgame player in one sense. It may discourage bad habits. You're less likely to get stuck with a playstyle that later fails to scale up to the highest level of endgame. The flipside is that I see people taking up builds ill-suited to their current tasks. The typical example is the player who picks up a minimally modified group DPS build only to find they are too squishy for the solo content they're doing. The endgame player who created the build may breeze through that content in that build alright. That does not mean it will work well for you or will be enjoyable for you to play. For example, if you're talking overland questing, the more you understand about game mechanics, the squishier and high-damage a build you can run and the more trivial that content becomes. However, this tends to make questing feel less rewarding.

EDIT: I don't partake in highly organised content, such as vTrials and PvP ball groups. If this was the case, I might have picked the "combination of both" option. I am more of a solo player, though I will partcipate in PvP groups and PvE vDungeons, vArenas and nTrials from time to time.

SianTamzin

I create and use my own builds

I don't really play the game enough to need a meta build, I'm a casual player so most I do is questing, normal dungeons and sometimes Cyrodill.

fred4

I create and use my own builds

AzraelKrieg wrote: »

Combination. For trials I do need to run what is best for the situation so guides are needed. For PvP and general overland PvE I just make something up and run it. If it works well, I keep doing it.

Yeah, if I was running vTrials, I would have probably picked the "combination of both" option. There are also some PvP guilds who run tightly organised ball groups and require certain sets to synergise with each other.

Mythreindeer

A combination of both

I mostly make my own but gain inspiration from others.

I like Hack the Minotaur's builds the most as far as getting ideas, especially his one-bar builds.

Eccentric_Vampire

A combination of both

I use premade builds but change things here and there to suit my own playstyle. I don't think I know enough about the game to make my own from scratch yet.

caperb

A combination of both

I mostly make my builds myself, but I use references when I test. It would be stupid not to do.

What I usually do is theorycraft a build, make some variations in skillbar, sets and other variable stats and then test all these variations.

When this process is finished I compare to what other people did with their build when they wanted the same playstyle. I use this for further testing and insights, but I will always stick to what I find most useful for my playstyle.

Making a build is an iterative process. You theorycraft, compare, test, adjust and then theorycraft again for improvements.

I don't believe you can be fully effective if you don't take the time to combine both. Self testing is most important of course, but if you are too arrogant to use other people their data and insights then you will look over things.

Grianasteri

A combination of both

Its fair to say I have come full circle.

Early on, first year or two, I was out on my own, solo questing overland, dipping into dungeons and farming, grinding, having fun. At that time I was not even aware of the concept of a "build" per se.

As I got deeper into the game and more experienced, I discovered LA weaving, builds and started learning from numerous online content creators, and indeed these ESO forums. I deployed various "pre-existing builds" and these helped me and taught me a great deal.

Now, after 5 or 6 years of playing, I have progressed to a point where I tend to make my own builds, and actively enjoy the process of theory crafting, creating and experimenting with characters (though that has ground to a halt due to Zos ridiculous 18 character limit - one of the most enjoyable aspects of ESO, is now closed off to me). I understand more how things interact and what different build styles require or can use etc.

It is fair to say I will still check out pre-existing builds for ideas and inspiration, but usually I will see things I want to do differently either to suite my play style or a particular use, or more simply just for fun. Across my 18 characters there is a reasonable spread of builds based on pre-existing ones and also self created builds, some of which are purely for thematic/aesthetic fun, some of which are a genuine attempt to make a competitive build, all with varying degrees of success!
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Contaminate

I use pre-existing builds (YouTube, streamers, friends, etc.)

I’ll tweak things to work for me (ie an infused regen glyph over a dmg glyph) but damn man I work full time and play this to try to have fun. I’m not gonna spend hours testing gear combos every other patch when my setup gets nerfed.

BisDasBlutGefriert

I create and use my own builds

SianTamzin wrote: »

I don't really play the game enough to need a meta build, I'm a casual player so most I do is questing, normal dungeons and sometimes Cyrodill.

Exactly this for me also. My Family and work are my number one and two priority. Always.

Defiler - front bar
Defiler & unfathomable darkness - back bar

AyaDark

I create and use my own builds

I do and use my own builds.

Because I know what i want from it and how to get it.

Some times I look other peoples idea too.

Just to know what methods are possible too.

menedhyn

I create and use my own builds

I almost always (try to) create my own builds, but then I don't play particularly difficult content at the moment. My solo character is just that; it barely qualifies as a 'build' to be honest. That said, I have asked for and taken advice from some people I trust and value in the forum and elsewhere.

Taggund

A combination of both

I take some parts from builds, like some recommended skills, but for gear, it's what i can craft or have. I don't do dungeons, so I'm not going to have that gear. I also have no interest in Vampire or WW, so if a build indicates that use, it would not be something for me.

In the past I did just use a CP guide website for class/role, as I was not really concerned with fine-tuning it. For the new CP system, it's my selections, at least for now.

ixmike

I will always be a DC Imperial Nightblade with medium Skinchanger armor, with a bow and mace.

I don't care if it gets nerfed or buffed. That's my one and only toon for the past several years now, and I will never change it.

etchedpixels

I create and use my own builds

I mostly do my own builds. I find it both more interesting trying out and trying to totally subvert the alleged meta and also for overland and normal dungeons running deliberately silly builds to make it more of a challenge. Right now that includes an Orc DK healer, a Breton templar tank who does dungeons in underwear, an argonian warden tank in light armour, a shield based templar tank running tormentor/mother's sorrow with aoe taunt and at the moment I'm levelling a werewolf tank.

When I started out the suggested builds I tried were mostly useless because they were set up as if you had 300 CP and resists.

Tandor

I create and use my own builds

This is the nearest option in the absence of one for "I don't use builds".

I solo PvE and all my characters have a sort of structure to them but it would be stretching it to say I create builds for them. Having determined their race, attribute allocation between magicka, stamina, and hybrid, and balance of skill allocation between class, weapon and guild etc, I then just pick the skills and morphs appropriate to how I'm playing them.

Deep_01

A combination of both

I see a build I think will work and swap a set or skills for cheaper/easier-obtainable ones.

Giraffon

I create and use my own builds

For a while I tried other player's builds, but I couldn't find anything that was a good fit for my own play style. I have so many different characters that I wouldn't be able to adapt to them all being really different. For me the 1-2-3-4-5 buttons always do the same basic thing no matter what my builds are. 1-2-3 are always offensive. 4 is healing. 5 is defense or utility.

It works for me.

Odovacar

A combination of both

For sure a combo of both. As a console player we appreciate and rely a lot on the PTS players and their testing analysis (ty ty). Also, we generally have 2 weeks after drop on PC to hear even more feedback on what is working better or not bugs, etc.

Additionally, I like to test and tune off of what's "considered meta" and brainstorm with guildies on what will better serve the team. Sometimes what betters serves your trial team will be different to the masses...either way I think the community as a whole really works together to determine builds in this everchanging game we play.

BXR_Lonestar

A combination of both

I look to see what other people are doing, but at the end of the day, I try to adapt a build to fit my playing style. I also know what generic skills I like from playing other characters (generic skills being those from undaunted, fighters guild, mages guild, etc. that you can get on any character/class/role), so I try to incorporate those abilities I do like into all my builds.

driosketch

I create and use my own builds

I've looked at a guide once or twice, and I keep my ear to the forums to hear about what sets are good, but that's a far cry from saying it's a combination. I make my own builds, generally based a theme for each character. I tend to avoid using the same sets on more than 2 or three characters. And I have a rule, now post stickerbook, any sets I collect needs to be of use to one of my characters.

Starlight_Whisper

I create and use my own builds

Been playing long enough to just know

MurderMostFoul

I create and use my own builds

The amount of time I've spent browsing https://eso-skillbook.com/ and https://eso-sets.com/ is a little embarrassing.

Chrysa1is

I create and use my own builds

Because i'm not boring

Oreyn_Bearclaw

A combination of both

I have always prided myself in my ability to take a meta Build/Rotation (where I always start) and adapt it with subtle changes to meet my needs. My goal is generally to simplify the rotation with minimal DPS or Power loss.

Goregrinder

A combination of both

PVE is pretty cookie cutter since there are no unknown variables. The math has already been worked out, you need x=crit, x=health, x=recoveries, and the group should be doing around x=dps for x=boss fight yada yada. There are only so many efficient ways to DPS boss 3000, so I find a build that's already been tried and tested that I also have the gear for and use it as a template, then swap some skills around. EzPz.

PVP is a different beast though, with way more room for different builds. It's like jumping into the deep end of the ocean with what you can do to be successful in PVP. If I'm lazy and just want to test a build out, I'll follow someone else's setup then tweak it. But if I see a set I want to try and abuse, I'll theorycraft and begin to play test it until it does what I want it to do, how I want it to do it. Sometimes you have to pivot because you find a better way to achieve a similar result using different gear, but that's the fun part.