Strengths and Weaknesses from Experienced Players - Nightblade vs Sorcerer Tank

GatheredMyst

Hello there!

Been a while since I've played the game on any of my tanking characters, and with all the changes that they've made, I figured i'd reach out to the community to see if they can help guide me on what the strengths and weaknesses of a Sorcerer and a Nightblade as a tank. What do they bring to the table? Where to they struggle?

One thing to note: I'm not looking for which is better than the other. This is entirely experiential. What do they play like? Strengths and weaknesses. Not "the meta says..."

I intend to play this character in Dungeons/Veteran dungeons. I don't have a Trial Group that I'm running with, nor is raiding really on the table for me right now.

Appreciate everyone's help

Mojmir

Nightblade has the survivabilty and mitigation,its their best feature, but most of its buffs are easily found elsewhere. i miss sap-tanking.

OneKhajiitCrimeWave

I have my Nord Sorc Tank that I absolutely love. It's tanked norm and vet dungeons as well as some vet craglorn trials.

Since we got silver leash to use like a DK's chains or a Wardens portals I feel that the gap between them thinned a little until you start pushing for harder content (trials, vet HM DLC dungeons etc)

One thing Sorc Tanks give you is additional damage as our armour buff deals shock damage which can proc status effects like concussion and off balance without specifically needing to run a shock staff (although I still do as mine is themed around being an "Elemental Guardian")

Another interesting thing is a cheaper warhorn/other ults, which makes the heroism buff from Heroic Slash amazing, as well as pairing well with sets that reduce Ultimate costs.

The most wonderful passive we have is that after blocking an attack the next ability has a reduced cost, which is so good for overall sustain on Sorc Tanks.

Our major flaws atm is probably the lack of a good immobilize to put on the bar, as Restraining Prison while useful is hard to justify a slot on the bar really.
Also, having to double bar the pet and Minor Aegis is BRUTAL on bar space. Like, the 8% max health and the heal is worth running the Clannfear for, but man does it make skill slots at a premium.

My current build spec I have planned for the new update is this:

https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Special:EsoBuildData?id=326886

This build for the longest time was running Alkosh but I decided to shelve that for now on this setup

As for NB Tanking, it's been a long time since I've looked at them to make a tank.

TheUndeadAmulet

OneKhajiitCrimeWave wrote: »

I have my Nord Sorc Tank that I absolutely love. It's tanked norm and vet dungeons as well as some vet craglorn trials.

Since we got silver leash to use like a DK's chains or a Wardens portals I feel that the gap between them thinned a little until you start pushing for harder content (trials, vet HM DLC dungeons etc)

One thing Sorc Tanks give you is additional damage as our armour buff deals shock damage which can proc status effects like concussion and off balance without specifically needing to run a shock staff (although I still do as mine is themed around being an "Elemental Guardian")

Another interesting thing is a cheaper warhorn/other ults, which makes the heroism buff from Heroic Slash amazing, as well as pairing well with sets that reduce Ultimate costs.

The most wonderful passive we have is that after blocking an attack the next ability has a reduced cost, which is so good for overall sustain on Sorc Tanks.

Our major flaws atm is probably the lack of a good immobilize to put on the bar, as Restraining Prison while useful is hard to justify a slot on the bar really.
Also, having to double bar the pet and Minor Aegis is BRUTAL on bar space. Like, the 8% max health and the heal is worth running the Clannfear for, but man does it make skill slots at a premium.

My current build spec I have planned for the new update is this:

https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Special:EsoBuildData?id=326886

This build for the longest time was running Alkosh but I decided to shelve that for now on this setup

As for NB Tanking, it's been a long time since I've looked at them to make a tank.

Basically this. Sorc tanks have ungodly sustain thanks to the conbination of persistence and dark deal, on top of great healing too. But compared to other tanks they have serious lack of bar space and Tankyness compared to more meta tanks like DK's.

jekyto

Be careful when youll use dark deal on sorc, because its a channel skill and you drop block for a ~second

Starlight_Whisper

I wish clanfear had a taunt

Krayl

TheUndeadAmulet wrote: »

OneKhajiitCrimeWave wrote: »

I have my Nord Sorc Tank that I absolutely love. It's tanked norm and vet dungeons as well as some vet craglorn trials.

Since we got silver leash to use like a DK's chains or a Wardens portals I feel that the gap between them thinned a little until you start pushing for harder content (trials, vet HM DLC dungeons etc)

One thing Sorc Tanks give you is additional damage as our armour buff deals shock damage which can proc status effects like concussion and off balance without specifically needing to run a shock staff (although I still do as mine is themed around being an "Elemental Guardian")

Another interesting thing is a cheaper warhorn/other ults, which makes the heroism buff from Heroic Slash amazing, as well as pairing well with sets that reduce Ultimate costs.

The most wonderful passive we have is that after blocking an attack the next ability has a reduced cost, which is so good for overall sustain on Sorc Tanks.

Our major flaws atm is probably the lack of a good immobilize to put on the bar, as Restraining Prison while useful is hard to justify a slot on the bar really.
Also, having to double bar the pet and Minor Aegis is BRUTAL on bar space. Like, the 8% max health and the heal is worth running the Clannfear for, but man does it make skill slots at a premium.

My current build spec I have planned for the new update is this:

https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Special:EsoBuildData?id=326886

This build for the longest time was running Alkosh but I decided to shelve that for now on this setup

As for NB Tanking, it's been a long time since I've looked at them to make a tank.

Basically this. Sorc tanks have ungodly sustain thanks to the conbination of persistence and dark deal, on top of great healing too. But compared to other tanks they have serious lack of bar space and Tankyness compared to more meta tanks like DK's.

I dunno my Sorc tank feels pretty tanky. Cleared all vet trials with it. Bound Aegis makes heavy attacks a joke, and you get your minor resist buff from slotting it along with extra mag. People make a big issue out of the bar space, but really it's one less slot and in exchange you get one of if not the best heal any tank has, along with an increase to your health along with 20% health/stam recovery just for having it slotted.

You also have access to major vitality from restraining prison, which will buff you with it whether or not the target can be immobilized and your class resistance buff also gives you a boost of speed on pull when you need it along with aoe lightning damage.

All your abilities cost 6% less, and your ultimates are 15% less. Oh and you can shred an extra 1000 armor if your group needs the extra pen.

I've cleared some things on a NB tank and while they have excellent overall passive mitigation, you're somewhat more reliant on your healers if you get in a pinch because your main heal is a heal over time. That can make trials like cloudrest pretty rough also.

Been running Pirate Skeleton on my sorc tank lately when I need to be extra tanky. Our burst heal is so good the minor defile or whatever it puts on you is negligible since you're overhealing yourself all the the time anyways.

The only real weaknesses I can speak of for a sorc tank is that you do need to be careful using Dark Deal, and the bar space/lack of magicka based chains is a minor inconvenience.You're also doing a little less to help the survivability of your group since you don't have igneous shields, however the option to swap in your bird instead of the clanfear to heal your group is nice to have.

Tommy_The_Gun

I think that if you are thinking of a PvE tank, I would pick sorc. They are just more tanky.
NB only "unique" feature as a tank is... providing invisibility to your group with an ultimate's synergy (that gets broken sooner than you will even notice lol). On my NB I pretty much do not use any of my nb's skills (ok, sometimes I use Leeching Strikes for sustain). But other than that, I use a mixture of weapon / guild / world skills, as those provide better tools than what NB has to offer. Literally any class is a better choice for a tank.

Thraben

GatheredMyst wrote: »

Hello there!

Been a while since I've played the game on any of my tanking characters, and with all the changes that they've made, I figured i'd reach out to the community to see if they can help guide me on what the strengths and weaknesses of a Sorcerer and a Nightblade as a tank. What do they bring to the table? Where to they struggle?

One thing to note: I'm not looking for which is better than the other. This is entirely experiential. What do they play like? Strengths and weaknesses. Not "the meta says..."

I intend to play this character in Dungeons/Veteran dungeons. I don't have a Trial Group that I'm running with, nor is raiding really on the table for me right now.

Appreciate everyone's help

StamSorcs are completely self- sustaining tanks. They don't need anyone. That's why some raids have started using them.

But don't forget the most important point: You can RP as conjuration sorc as a StamSorc Tank, and that's why this is my main class Also, your clannfear is a passable off- tank.

MellowMagic

I love my nightblade tank, you provide major expedition constantly along with a decent group heal from refreshing path, sustain is great with leeching strikes & the 15% extra recovery from the passives. Dark cloak is an amazing heal and lasts 8 seconds has added minor protection & keeps major resolve up. I use silver leash to pull and I use mass hysteria to fear enemies for 5 seconds. I use mirage to get major evasion and minor resolve keeping me at armour cap, major evasion is super nice on a tank cause those fire aoes punish way less. Besides warhorn I like using soul siphon as a oh crap wipe preventing ult.

GatheredMyst

All great stuff so far! I'm loving the examples. Keep them coming!

Also appreciate how people are being very civil. Making me appreciate the community quite a bit.

Stahlor

Thraben wrote: »

StamSorcs are completely self- sustaining tanks. They don't need anyone. That's why some raids have started using them.

That's more, that they don't need a sorc DD.

exeeter702

Tommy_The_Gun wrote: »

I think that if you are thinking of a PvE tank, I would pick sorc. They are just more tanky.
NB only "unique" feature as a tank is... providing invisibility to your group with an ultimate's synergy (that gets broken sooner than you will even notice lol). On my NB I pretty much do not use any of my nb's skills (ok, sometimes I use Leeching Strikes for sustain). But other than that, I use a mixture of weapon / guild / world skills, as those provide better tools than what NB has to offer. Literally any class is a better choice for a tank.

Then you are doing it very very wrong...

exeeter702

While not super strong, power extraction is still a fairly unique and hard to source mob debuff that NBs can bring.

Both bolstering darkness and soul siphon are great group ultimates when you arent on warhorn dury. Bolstering darkness is far more than a useless group invis th as a previous comment suggested. During high damage stack phases, group wide major protection + heal is very good. Unlike wardens offering of the same buff, bolstering is not bound by the aoe, once applied all group memebers maintain the buff, which is a nice perk if people need to spread out or away from the tank.

Soul siphon, while far better on magblade healers, is still a strong burst heal, hot AND gives 4 seconds of major vit, which can help healers in emergency situations.

Dark shade is now a far more reliable minor main applicator than even dk talons, with a very wide cleave aoe and far cheaper for its uptime. I dont believe sorcs have a source of minor maim.

Nb tanks also have on demand major evasion, which iirc no other tank has.

Sorc has to slot temporal gaurd for minor protection, whereas Nb gets it built into its primary major resolve enabler.

Siphoning attacks allows resource return mid block which is a nice perk for a tank to have.

Nb does not have a reliable mob control tool like talons or encase. The change to fear being a stationary stun helped a little, but other than that they have to utilize a frost staff.