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

Castagere

I create and use my own builds

I play solo so yeah I have fun creating my own builds.

GrimTheReaper45

A combination of both

Depends on the type of build and if its for pvp or pve.

kingsirdrmr

A combination of both

I use my preferred item sets either to match my playstyle or because I'm too lazy to farm certain places. I also use most of my own skills. The main reason I consult a guide is to learn which skills are strong, where buffs can be gotten to avoid redundancy, or for the CP setup because I didn't feel like doing math. The new CP system is much easier to understand, though. Once Cyrodiil goes back to normal and I have at least 1800 CP, I'll be revamping the builds for all my characters. I never run a full meta build unless I'm playing PvE or trying to work out a class's strengths and weaknesses after huge changes.

Uryel

I create and use my own builds

Personal builds only, in any game ever, for the past 20 years or so now.

Not a damn given to what anyone else says to be "meta", "best in slot", "best race for the role", and even had tro google the word "Alcast" once because some dimwit kept spouting that non senseover and over. Once I figured it was a name, and that of a popular build crafter that people loved to copy, I lost all interest in the word, the conversation, and the dimwit.

I'm not above asking for advice or even help with a design, but if you think you know better and just come at me on your high horses, all like "you have to / should / must play that way", then you earn an instant spot on my ignore list. Wipe your own bottom.

90% of the fun is coming up with an idea, and making it work. Even (especially ?) if making it work takes several tries, errors, and a few weeks. I really don't get people who just copy stuff to fit in a box, and then rush content, and then complain they're bored with nothing to do.

cynicalbutterfly

A combination of both

I always look up what the meta is for the build I want and go from there. I tweak the skills and the CP points to my play style. I'll go for the sets that are easy to give me a feel for what I want and build up to the harder to get sets. With the new system coming, most of my builds won't change much except for CP and a few armor changes. I will be copying a build from Alcast to get me started and get a feel for the new system. But after that, I'll tweak like I always do xD One thing that I'm looking forward to is dumping my monster sets in favor of something else. I never completed them anyway tbh.

Vevvev

I create and use my own builds

I create my own builds but I do take some inspiration from online ones. Sometimes it takes me looking at how someone set something up before the light bulb turns on and I change my build up to work better.

GreenHere

I create and use my own builds

Uryel wrote: »

Personal builds only, in any game ever, for the past 20 years or so now.

Not a damn given to what anyone else says to be "meta", "best in slot", "best race for the role", and even had tro google the word "Alcast" once because some dimwit kept spouting that non senseover and over. Once I figured it was a name, and that of a popular build crafter that people loved to copy, I lost all interest in the word, the conversation, and the dimwit.

I'm not above asking for advice or even help with a design, but if you think you know better and just come at me on your high horses, all like "you have to / should / must play that way", then you earn an instant spot on my ignore list. Wipe your own bottom.

90% of the fun is coming up with an idea, and making it work. Even (especially ?) if making it work takes several tries, errors, and a few weeks. I really don't get people who just copy stuff to fit in a box, and then rush content, and then complain they're bored with nothing to do.

Is @Alcast really such a "dimwit" for providing good builds and info to the people who want it? Dude provides a solid benefit and service to the community, and generally goes out of his way to help people in the lower brackets as well as the top-tier players. From what I can see, he's done nothing to warrant such an attitude. Quite the opposite.

Granted, random players can get a little over-zealous when preaching his builds/advice as though it were indisputable doctrine; but that's not his fault, that's on the "META OR GTFO" people, not Alcast himself.

Not everyone has the same time or energy to dedicate to the game as you do. Sometimes folks just wanna know what's good so they can jump in and have fun with their friends in the limited time they have available. No need to trash them, or the community members who help them, for that.

amm7sb14_ESO

I create and use my own builds

Uryel wrote: »

Personal builds only, in any game ever, for the past 20 years or so now.

Not a damn given to what anyone else says to be "meta", "best in slot", "best race for the role", and even had tro google the word "Alcast" once because some dimwit kept spouting that non senseover and over. Once I figured it was a name, and that of a popular build crafter that people loved to copy, I lost all interest in the word, the conversation, and the dimwit.

I'm not above asking for advice or even help with a design, but if you think you know better and just come at me on your high horses, all like "you have to / should / must play that way", then you earn an instant spot on my ignore list. Wipe your own bottom.

90% of the fun is coming up with an idea, and making it work. Even (especially ?) if making it work takes several tries, errors, and a few weeks. I really don't get people who just copy stuff to fit in a box, and then rush content, and then complain they're bored with nothing to do.

Well I wouldn't have said it with such aggression, lol, but that's basically how I feel too.

I hate "archetypes", and the reason why I was drawn to Elder Scrolls in the first place was the idea that any character, any race, could use any combination of skills, and there were no "classes" that were predefined. It never made sense to me in RPG's when items could only be used by "Druids Only", or "Paladins Only", or spell casters couldn't wear armor, or a certain class couldn't use a sword, or what have you. It has never made sense.

So when I found Morrowind and found out that I could take a Wood Elf and turn him into a heavy armor wearing, 2 handed sword wielding, necromancy spell casting type character, was a huge draw for me.

Unfortunately, ESO doesn't offer that same level of flexibility given the Tank / DD / Healer trinity the game system incorporates, but I can at least work within those parameters to customize my character to fit a particular theme or concept or playstyle. As a tank main, I've been told over and over by the ESO community (oddly enough, *NOT* by the guild that I tank vet trials for...) that I *MUST* wear Alkosh & Yolna, or I am not tanking properly. And I'm just like... "but I don't *want* to use those sets. I *don't like* those sets. Those sets do *nothing* for the type of character that I want to play". And then those same people (again, oddly enough, *not* people that I actually play with) tell me that I am not tanking right, and I am holding back my group. Yet... I can clear any vet content in the game, and my guild *trusts* me to tank and lead our vet trial runs, so clearly my Crimson / Grave Guardian / Lord Warden setup is doing *something* right.

I'd be lying if I said I've *never* referenced Alcast. But mostly when I was just getting back into the game, first dipping my toes in group content and end game content, and wanted to know what job duties I would be expected to fulfill as a tank.

*HOW* I fulfill those duties, *I* will figure out. I will not just slap on sets that Alcast, or anyone else tells me to use. And I'm pretty damn good at what I do.

But really, I do hate the attitude that sweeps through the ESO community, that tanks and healers should be sacrificing their fun and enjoyment, so the DPS can maximize theirs. I mean, as a Necromancer tank, I am already supplying you with AOE Major Breach & Fracture, AOE Major & Minor Vulnerability, AOE Minor Protection, Feared & Stunned mobs, and Empower, plus AOE stackable resistances from Grave Guardian and Lord Warden. If you can't make the damage and survivability work with that, that sounds like a *you* problem, not a *me* problem.

SirAndy

A combination of both

preevious wrote: »

I get inspiration from online builds, and then tweak them a lot to my preferences.

Same ...

Zodiarkslayer

A combination of both

I personally like creating my own builds. It is also a necessity. Nobody knows me like I do, after all.

But I can't deny that I take reference material from some youtubers, that stay sober and have solid information.
You can actually tell that the more flashier the video is, the worse the infos contained are.

I think quality assurance should be thing when it comes to YouTube build videos.

volkeswagon

My own. I do what looks and feels good to me. I find other people's builds clunky and Don't feel right to me

Lysette

I create and use my own builds

I play solo pretty much all the time and need to rely on myself - I'm neither a tank, nor a damage dealer nor a healer in the sense of it used in ESO, I don't fit any of these roles - I'm a bit of everything nevertheless and I can enjoy my builds, because they keep my characters alive and are fun to play - fun as in I'm having fun, if others would have to play with me, they wouldn't have fun, because I play slow paced and look in all the corners, listen to dialogues, often as well just watching what is going on around me - I dislike rushed game play and stress - most people are too stressful for my taste - I like relaxed adventuring.

That is why builds from others wouldn't match what I need - I don't want a "rotation" - my helicopter does enough of those per minute, here I don't want to rotate, but play relaxed and sometimes I fight a little, but most of the time I don't - I don't need a rotation or any stressful build others made for their kind of game play - it's not mine and so my builds need to be self-made.

Lysette

I create and use my own builds

volkeswagon wrote: »

My own. I do what looks and feels good to me. I find other people's builds clunky and Don't feel right to me

haha, you said it much more comprehensive than I.

aetherial_heavenn

A combination of both

I read a lot of builds and try to understand the maths and game play behind them. I use Code's and combat metrics and ESO logs to see what is going on/what I am doing wrong. Then I adapt them to 340 plus ping, arthritis and my preferred proactive playstyle. (I have to learn to anticipate mechanics rather than react to them. ie get out of world eater half a second before everyone else has to move). This is pretty common for us in Australia and New Zealand.

So, anything requiring Alcast's and other' streamer's Light Attack frequency of .98 is out, for example. Anything requiring 60sec ping to react is out. This means lot of DLC vet HM as DPS is not an option for me because of one shot mechanics...my character is out of red on my screen but the game thinks my hit box is still in red. The lasers in frostvault are a perfect example of the impossible: I am never going to do a no death run with Oceanic ping and older refelxes, but all the Vet HM craglorn trials and vet DLC dungeons with friends in voice (so someone can call the attacks before my screen 'sees' them) are doable.

In PvP I just try stuff that works with 400 ms ping and which still gets me some kills or lets me support my group somewhat. It is weird seeing 'you cannot repair at full health' on your screen as you ride into Ash farm after trying to repair the outer door some time before. On the up side my desync is so bad I can be untargetable sometimes

Red_Feather

I create and use my own builds

I like to collect things and make my own builds.
It is like magic:the gathering.
I first started doing it in guild wars 1 in 2005.
That was the first game that didn't have fixed skill builds.
And I loved it.