Maelstrom Staff Question

eMKa8

Hi 👋 All !

I have some indepth subjective questions about the maelstrom staff to be slotted as a BB weapon.

To give some background about my question.
I am a mag sorc and on my back bar i have 3 AOE abilities.
I also usually stay on my back bar by the way (so you could actually see it as my frontbar). I always have single target ok front and AoE on backbar.

That said : my question …

Is it still worth it to slot maelstrom lightning staff on my backbar (losing the 4th and 5th bonusses from spinner garment = 129spd +3490 offens penetration) instead of keeping my second spinner lightning staff on backbar as well

I do use wall of elements a lot , so i will benefit from the HEAVY lightning attacks withinh my wall of elements …

However …. Is it worth it , knowing i will lose penetration and extra spell damage?



What would be an ideal maelstrom (shock) staff build if not using the traditional 2 5-piece sets.

Or just in general… ir you are using maelstrom staff on an aoe bar and use it as a frontbar … what would then be a viable set up for the rest of the build ?

Thx all

ShawnLaRock

It is essential to know what your second 5pc set is - because usually you would slot the set you want to keep all bonuses up at all times, on your body - and the other set is usually one where you proc an effect, switch bars for the duration of that effect, and then switch back to re-proc.

Depending on what your second set is, why not move Spinners to all body pieces?

S.

Rugby_hook

Also depending on your helm and skills used, you could forgo a monster helm and use another weapon set for your front bar. For example if you use ele drain you could use the vateshrawn hollow staff on the other bar.

WrathOfInnos

The Maelstrom Staff should always go on the bar where you spend the least time, whether you call that front or back. This is because Maelstrom must be with Wall, and Wall is primarily used to proc off-weapon enchants (often infused Berserker). Your main weapon enchant will proc from light attacks, so wall on your primary skill bar is not necessary. Also, as you pointed out, you don't want the Maelstrom Staff to remove the 4 and 5 poece bonuses of one of your damage sets while on your main bar, it's ok to lose these momentarily while on the off-bar (especially with sets that continue working for a short duration while unequipped, like Siroria, Tzogvin, Advancing, Kinra or Burning Spellweave).

Oreyn_Bearclaw

Still very unclear how your sorc is setup. Sounds a little unorthodox, but nothing wrong with that in theory. For purposes of discussion, Back bar means where you spend the least time, front bar should be were you spend the most time and should be where your spam skill (Frags) is located.

I dont know what you mean by you use wall of elements "a lot". Like any DOT, it should be cast on cooldown, no more, no less. Unstable wall, can be spammed in AOE situations, but I wouldn't really suggest planning your main build around that notion.

It's important to know why we use the VMA staff. First as pointed out, you always want some sort of weapon ground DOT on your back bar, because they will continue to proc your back bar enchant. With a destro staff that is blockade (with a bow, it's hail, etc.). That means that the most classic way to setup a magic DPS character is with an infused destro staff on your back bar, with blockade/unstable wall. That way as long as your blockade is under an opponent, your back bar glyph will have 100% uptime. Most commonly this is a weapon/spell damage enchant. In other words, setting up like this gives you a lot of spell damage that is always there assuming your blockade is on the ground.

Next, virtually every high end parse will have LA damage at or near the top of it. Single target damage, is typically more important than AOE (if really min/maxing, you will build completely differently for pure AOE fights and swap between pulls). If you dont plan to switch all the time, build for single target. Because VMA staff buff light attack damage, and this buff will carry over to your front bar, so its an obvious choice to use.

Lastly, think about the gear you are using and how this all ties together. A set like spinners ideally is on your body. It is a flat stat bonus and will not carry between bars. Some sets, like Burning Spell weave, Siroria, Tzogvin, etc, will carry over to your back bar, so often people will use weapons and jewelry for these. Some items, like the VMA staff, will carry over to your front bar as well.

Therefore, the most classic way to build is to have your body 5 piece be a flat bonus that doesnt carry over, your front bar to be a proc type bonus that will go to your back bar, and a VMA staff on your back bar with blockade so that you are both buffing your LAs on both bars, and buffing your spell damage with the enchant. That leaves two pieces which is typicall either a one piece monster and mythic or a 2 piece monster set.

I am not saying you have to build that way. But if you arent, ask yourself why. If you deviate from that general approach, a VMA staff may or may not be worth it.

Very curious what your bar setup looks like on a mag sorc. Meta for single target looks something like this:

Front: Familiar, Tormentor, Frags, Wrath/bound armaments, Daedric Prey, Dawnbreaker.
Back: Familiar, Tormentor, Unstable Wall, Orbs, Trap, Storm Attro.

Absolutely you can make adjustments and nobody says you have to play meta, but you should know what it is and if you are making changes, why you are doing so.

Oh and Fire is more DPS than shock for your VMA staff, even on a sorc.

eMKa8

ShawnLaRock wrote: »

It is essential to know what your second 5pc set is - because usually you would slot the set you want to keep all bonuses up at all times, on your body - and the other set is usually one where you proc an effect, switch bars for the duration of that effect, and then switch back to re-proc.

Depending on what your second set is, why not move Spinners to all body pieces?

S.

My second set is “new moon acolyte”. Those dont proc anything.

So what would be a good set up knowing those are my 2 x 5 piece sets

eMKa8

Oreyn_Bearclaw wrote: »

Still very unclear how your sorc is setup. Sounds a little unorthodox, but nothing wrong with that in theory. For purposes of discussion, Back bar means where you spend the least time, front bar should be were you spend the most time and should be where your spam skill (Frags) is located.

I dont know what you mean by you use wall of elements "a lot". Like any DOT, it should be cast on cooldown, no more, no less. Unstable wall, can be spammed in AOE situations, but I wouldn't really suggest planning your main build around that notion.

It's important to know why we use the VMA staff. First as pointed out, you always want some sort of weapon ground DOT on your back bar, because they will continue to proc your back bar enchant. With a destro staff that is blockade (with a bow, it's hail, etc.). That means that the most classic way to setup a magic DPS character is with an infused destro staff on your back bar, with blockade/unstable wall. That way as long as your blockade is under an opponent, your back bar glyph will have 100% uptime. Most commonly this is a weapon/spell damage enchant. In other words, setting up like this gives you a lot of spell damage that is always there assuming your blockade is on the ground.

Next, virtually every high end parse will have LA damage at or near the top of it. Single target damage, is typically more important than AOE (if really min/maxing, you will build completely differently for pure AOE fights and swap between pulls). If you dont plan to switch all the time, build for single target. Because VMA staff buff light attack damage, and this buff will carry over to your front bar, so its an obvious choice to use.

Lastly, think about the gear you are using and how this all ties together. A set like spinners ideally is on your body. It is a flat stat bonus and will not carry between bars. Some sets, like Burning Spell weave, Siroria, Tzogvin, etc, will carry over to your back bar, so often people will use weapons and jewelry for these. Some items, like the VMA staff, will carry over to your front bar as well.

Therefore, the most classic way to build is to have your body 5 piece be a flat bonus that doesnt carry over, your front bar to be a proc type bonus that will go to your back bar, and a VMA staff on your back bar with blockade so that you are both buffing your LAs on both bars, and buffing your spell damage with the enchant. That leaves two pieces which is typicall either a one piece monster and mythic or a 2 piece monster set.

I am not saying you have to build that way. But if you arent, ask yourself why. If you deviate from that general approach, a VMA staff may or may not be worth it.

Very curious what your bar setup looks like on a mag sorc. Meta for single target looks something like this:

Front: Familiar, Tormentor, Frags, Wrath/bound armaments, Daedric Prey, Dawnbreaker.
Back: Familiar, Tormentor, Unstable Wall, Orbs, Trap, Storm Attro.

Absolutely you can make adjustments and nobody says you have to play meta, but you should know what it is and if you are making changes, why you are doing so.

Oh and Fire is more DPS than shock for your VMA staff, even on a sorc.

Wow OK 👍🏻
Thats a lot to consider , thanks

To give you an idea why i am a lot on my backbar aoe … is because its a lightning staff.
Hat i then do is hit 3 ground aoe s (wall/ orb/ ⚡️ Area)
And then i hit HEAVY ATTACK with my shock stave , which takes them all down.

Thats why i stay on my back bar because the shock stave is working well in public dungeons and so forth.


Is that a mistake ?

What would be a good option IF i want to use a shock staff?

If i use inferno staff for my wall … and 2 other aoe abilities …. Wont i then lose 8% free damage that i would have if using a shock staff (passive)

If using aoe skills on backbar on a shock staff and then switching to front bar …. Do i then keep the 8% free damage ? Or does that change the moment i go to inferno staff?

Thaaaaaaanks !!!

Oreyn_Bearclaw

eMKa8 wrote: »

Oreyn_Bearclaw wrote: »

Still very unclear how your sorc is setup. Sounds a little unorthodox, but nothing wrong with that in theory. For purposes of discussion, Back bar means where you spend the least time, front bar should be were you spend the most time and should be where your spam skill (Frags) is located.

I dont know what you mean by you use wall of elements "a lot". Like any DOT, it should be cast on cooldown, no more, no less. Unstable wall, can be spammed in AOE situations, but I wouldn't really suggest planning your main build around that notion.

It's important to know why we use the VMA staff. First as pointed out, you always want some sort of weapon ground DOT on your back bar, because they will continue to proc your back bar enchant. With a destro staff that is blockade (with a bow, it's hail, etc.). That means that the most classic way to setup a magic DPS character is with an infused destro staff on your back bar, with blockade/unstable wall. That way as long as your blockade is under an opponent, your back bar glyph will have 100% uptime. Most commonly this is a weapon/spell damage enchant. In other words, setting up like this gives you a lot of spell damage that is always there assuming your blockade is on the ground.

Next, virtually every high end parse will have LA damage at or near the top of it. Single target damage, is typically more important than AOE (if really min/maxing, you will build completely differently for pure AOE fights and swap between pulls). If you dont plan to switch all the time, build for single target. Because VMA staff buff light attack damage, and this buff will carry over to your front bar, so its an obvious choice to use.

Lastly, think about the gear you are using and how this all ties together. A set like spinners ideally is on your body. It is a flat stat bonus and will not carry between bars. Some sets, like Burning Spell weave, Siroria, Tzogvin, etc, will carry over to your back bar, so often people will use weapons and jewelry for these. Some items, like the VMA staff, will carry over to your front bar as well.

Therefore, the most classic way to build is to have your body 5 piece be a flat bonus that doesnt carry over, your front bar to be a proc type bonus that will go to your back bar, and a VMA staff on your back bar with blockade so that you are both buffing your LAs on both bars, and buffing your spell damage with the enchant. That leaves two pieces which is typicall either a one piece monster and mythic or a 2 piece monster set.

I am not saying you have to build that way. But if you arent, ask yourself why. If you deviate from that general approach, a VMA staff may or may not be worth it.

Very curious what your bar setup looks like on a mag sorc. Meta for single target looks something like this:

Front: Familiar, Tormentor, Frags, Wrath/bound armaments, Daedric Prey, Dawnbreaker.
Back: Familiar, Tormentor, Unstable Wall, Orbs, Trap, Storm Attro.

Absolutely you can make adjustments and nobody says you have to play meta, but you should know what it is and if you are making changes, why you are doing so.

Oh and Fire is more DPS than shock for your VMA staff, even on a sorc.

Wow OK 👍🏻
Thats a lot to consider , thanks

To give you an idea why i am a lot on my backbar aoe … is because its a lightning staff.
Hat i then do is hit 3 ground aoe s (wall/ orb/ ⚡️ Area)
And then i hit HEAVY ATTACK with my shock stave , which takes them all down.

Thats why i stay on my back bar because the shock stave is working well in public dungeons and so forth.


Is that a mistake ?

What would be a good option IF i want to use a shock staff?

If i use inferno staff for my wall … and 2 other aoe abilities …. Wont i then lose 8% free damage that i would have if using a shock staff (passive)

If using aoe skills on backbar on a shock staff and then switching to front bar …. Do i then keep the 8% free damage ? Or does that change the moment i go to inferno staff?

Thaaaaaaanks !!!

So what you are describing is a very simplified way to play a mag sorc. We often call it a heavy attack build, and sorcs are typically very good with those. Its an easy way to play, but you may find that at some point, you want to do more with it, because you will at some point run into a DPS ceiling. Now the reality is that ceiling may be more than you ever need.

Someone may come along with a more current or min/maxed version of a heavy attack build, but lets talk about some broad strokes. The main idea behind a heavy attack build is that you want to be able to spam lighting attack heavys and have the splash damage take things out. It also has the benefits of essentially removing sustain from the equation, because your heavy attack returns magic. I will also assume that you for the most part are looking for an easy and safe build for places like vet dungeons.

My first suggestion is likely going to be to actually back bar a fire staff (fire blockade is more damage) and to front bar a lightning staff. Lighting staffs boost AOE damage, Fire staffs boost ST damage, but for this type of build I probably wouldnt get caught up in the minutia. If you want to go double lighting staff, knock yourself out. If you dont have a VMA staff, back bar whatever one you get first.

If you are going to play a HA build, I am going to suggest that you run pets. They play to the notion of easy damage. If you run both pets, that gives you 3 skills to work with on each bar.

Back Bar (Infused VMA staff of whatever element you choose, but avoid Frost if you can): 2 Pets (volatile familiar, Twlight Tormentor), Blockade, Orbs, Liguid lighting, Ultimate (I would say either Storm Attro or Destro Ult)

Front Bar (Preceise Lightning staff from one of your 5 piece sets): 2 Pets, Daedric Prey, Crit Surge, Hardened Ward, Ultimate (Strom Attro or Dawnbreaker).

What this looks like from a rotation. Keep your crit surge up at all times. This heals and gives major Sorcery, (an important damage buff). From the back bar, cast your 3 ground DOTs, swap to your front bar, cast your daedric prey, your volatile Familiar, heavy attack a few times, repeat.

You have 3 ground/AOE DOTS ticking, you have 2 pets auto attacking whatever you heavy attack, you have prey to buff your pet attack damage, you are getting the AOE from casting Familiar (never cast twilight tormenter unless you do it pre-fight, just let it do its thing), and you have a shield for an oh crap button. Its a very easy rotation, you will do enough DPS for most vet content, and you will have very high survival.

Now of course, there are drawbacks. Your single target damage is not going to be earth shattering. You dont have a source of major prophecy, spell crit, so you would need to run potions if you want it (You should endeavor to have Major Sorcery and Major Prophecy at all times). It also may not really push you to learn a good light attack weave. Light attack weaving adds a of damage, so even on a heavy attack build, I recommend trying to LA between all your skills when you can.

Some changes to consider: one thing you could certainly do is drop the twilight tormentor. That frees up two bar slots. You could then back bar crit surge (probably where it belongs anyway), and add something like inner light to your front bar for Major Prophecy (you just need to slot it), and maybe look to add spam skill like Force Pulse or Crystal Frags or perhaps another skill like bound Aegis to further boost your stats just for slotting it. At some point you will probably want to go away from a full heavy attack build and start to play with a slightly more complex rotation, but these types of builds are a great way to get your foot into end game. On a sorc, I do recommend getting familiar with Crystal Fragments as its the main spammable for a more traditional rotation.

Another and perhaps better move, might be to keep both pets but drop Liquid lighting, back bar Power surge and Front Bar inner light. That covers you for major prophecy. Liquid Lighting is a fairly weak skill. Most sorcs dont run it. If you feel like you can drop your shield, add Bound Aegis to the front bar as well.

*Note on Inner Light and Bound Aegis: Both are skills that you run purely for passives they give just for slotting them. You dont actually cast them (same with dawnbreaker ultimate). BA gives the most max magic, but Inner light gives some magic AND it gives major Prophecy. If it comes down to one of them, it really depends on potions. If you get major prophecy from potions, run BA. If you dont, run Inner light. Nice thing about Inner Light and crit surge in combo is that you get both major sorcery and major prophecy without needing to run expensive spell power potions. In more advance content, you will pretty much always run potions.

In terms of Gear:

Back Bar is going to be an Infused VMA staff with a weapon/spell damage enchant (dont get too caught up as to what element). Setting up this way is going to ensure you get the full benefits of the VMA staff. Your blockade will proc your weapon enchant as long as its down (staff trait needs to be infused for 100% uptime), it will also buff your lighting heavys on your front Bar. On your front bar, you are going to run a Precise shock staff with a fire damage enchant. Note that we are trying to buff that lighting heavy as much as possible.

Buffs to your front bar Heavy Attack include:

1. The precise trait.
2. The VMA staff buff that carries over
3. Any skills you slot for passives on your front bar like Inner light, Bound Aegis, Dawnbreaker Ultimate,
4. The front bar enchant that will proc with the heavies, so basically you get both fire enchants and the spell damage enchant
5. Whatever 5th piece bonus you are running from a gear standpoint on your front bar.

This is why we dont heavy attack from the same bar we cast blockade. We are able to stack more buffs on the opposite bar and get the full benefit of the VMA staff to boot.

NMA and Spinners is a fine combo, but you may want to drop one of them for something with a little more crit (medusa, Mother's sorrow, tzogvins). Spinners is overkill on penetration in any decent group. With those two sets, it probably doesnt matter what you front bar. I would probably front bar NMA. Its crafted so you can make exactly what you want, and you wont have the increased skill cost when you swap. Also if you drop spinners for say Mother's sorrow, its an easy swap. You then would use some combo of NMA (3pieces) and spinners (5 pieces) to fill out your jewelry and body. You then have two pieces left for either a monster set 2 piece, or a mythic item and one piece of a monster set (usually slim craw as it gives the most spell crit).

Sorry for the wall, I tend to get carried away.

Edited: Added some stuff.

eMKa8

Ok thanks

If i have inferno on back bar and cast all my 3 aoe skills … and then go to frontbar which is lightning

Do i then have the 8% of the shock staff passive for aoe abilities?

Or is it only considering where the skill was casted from ? So the inferno in this case

Thanks!!!!!!

Oreyn_Bearclaw

eMKa8 wrote: »

Ok thanks

If i have inferno on back bar and cast all my 3 aoe skills … and then go to frontbar which is lightning

Do i then have the 8% of the shock staff passive for aoe abilities?

Or is it only considering where the skill was casted from ? So the inferno in this case

Thanks!!!!!!

Honestly, I am not sure. Some things matter where you cast from, others matter what bar you are on when it ticks. Not 100% sure on this one, and I dont want to give you the wrong info, but I think you get the 8% lighting AOE on the front bar when you swap to it. You certainly get it on anything you case from your front bar. Someone please chime in if they know for certain.

I am fairly confident that back bar fire will be more overall DPS. Front Bar lighting is pretty standard move for an AOE build, and if you want a heavy attack build, front bar lighting is certainly the way to go. Truthfully, the back bar element type is probably splitting hairs in this case.

In either event, for a heavy attack build, you want your VMA staff and blockade on one bar, and you want to be doing your lightning heavy attacks from the other. Building that way is way more damage than worrying about element types on your back bar for all the reasons mentioned above.

eMKa8

Thank you

WrathOfInnos

Yes, if you cast AoE DoTs with an Inferno Staff then swap to Lightning they will start ticking 10% higher. This is actually the best way to use Wall of Elements for area damage. Cast Fire Wall for 20% bonus vs burning enemies, then swap to Lightning front bar for another 10%. In group content it also gets an additional 10% from Engulfing Flames debuff and 5% from Encratis'. All of these effects combined end up much better than just casting Wall of Storms for 10% more AoE damage while holding the lightning staff.

The only reason players don't do this all the time is because Lightning Staff has weaker Light Attacks and you lose the Inferno's 10% damage boost to you single target DoTs and spammables on the main bar.

Oreyn_Bearclaw

WrathOfInnos wrote: »

Yes, if you cast AoE DoTs with an Inferno Staff then swap to Lightning they will start ticking 10% higher. This is actually the best way to use Wall of Elements for area damage. Cast Fire Wall for 20% bonus vs burning enemies, then swap to Lightning front bar for another 10%. In group content it also gets an additional 10% from Engulfing Flames debuff and 5% from Encratis'. All of these effects combined end up much better than just casting Wall of Storms for 10% more AoE damage while holding the lightning staff.

The only reason players don't do this all the time is because Lightning Staff has weaker Light Attacks and you lose the Inferno's 10% damage boost to you single target DoTs and spammables on the main bar.

If @WrathOfInnos said it, it's reliable. He is probably the best source for specific questions like this that you will find on the forums. Honestly, I almost tagged him when I wrote that response, because I knew he would know for certain. Haha.

oldbobdude

Excellent thread. Lots of useful info here. Bravo Zulu!

eMKa8

Hi 👋

Sooo , guess what happened.
I finally have the inferno Maelstrom Staff that dropped ! (Not veteran , but still ;-))

Why exactly is fire better than lightning in terms of damage from the wall ? Is that because burning enemies take more damage if in the wall ? Or is there another reason where fire just is higher than shock (despite the status effects)?

Anyway i changed my set up now and very curious to see how that works out!

Only frontbarring NMA is a good idea by the way ! That way i indeed dont lose the 5%penalty for skills magicka.

Thank you !!

Oreyn_Bearclaw

eMKa8 wrote: »

Hi 👋

Sooo , guess what happened.
I finally have the inferno Maelstrom Staff that dropped ! (Not veteran , but still ;-))

Why exactly is fire better than lightning in terms of damage from the wall ? Is that because burning enemies take more damage if in the wall ? Or is there another reason where fire just is higher than shock (despite the status effects)?

Anyway i changed my set up now and very curious to see how that works out!

Only frontbarring NMA is a good idea by the way ! That way i indeed dont lose the 5%penalty for skills magicka.

Thank you !!

Yes, Wall of fire does more damage to enemies that are burning, and most enemies are burning a good chunk of the time, LOL. There are also group buffs for fire that come into play, probably the most obvious is the 10% from engulfing flames if you have a DK in the group.

The bonus on Shock Wall is to set concussed enemies off balanced. This used to be a big thing because at one point there was a CP passive that gave I believe a 10% damage bonus to off balanced enemies, and if memory serves, you could basically keep an enemy off balanced 100% of the time. That is no longer a thing. There is a cooldown on off balanced and the passive no longer exists, so groups really dont build around it any longer. Back bar fire is the way to go for max damage.

Also, because its back bar, the extra spell pen from a perfected Maelstrom staff is hardly noticeable. If you get into situations where you are min/maxing your Spell Pen with your group, you are going to do it around your front bar, so in that scenario, its completely useless. Make sure your MA staff is infused with a gold weapon/spell damage enchant. It will give you a lot of spell damage.

eMKa8

For pve i was wondering. (Magsorc)

I have mother sorrow + new moon acolyte
Would it be better to use spinner garment ?

For pvp i have spinner garment + crafty alfiq
Should i use another set to increase dmg ?

My ideal set up would be for pvp
- monster set (maw or mighty chudan)
- Malacath band
- 5pieces front bar crafty
- 4 pieces icy conjurer FBar (so no 5set bonus)
- Blessing of potentates resto staff BB

Is this a good set up (the thing of icy conjurer?)
I think it might be perfect but want your advice on it

Are you playing on PC EU perhaps?
@Oreyn_Bearclaw

Oreyn_Bearclaw

eMKa8 wrote: »

For pve i was wondering. (Magsorc)

I have mother sorrow + new moon acolyte
Would it be better to use spinner garment ?

For pvp i have spinner garment + crafty alfiq
Should i use another set to increase dmg ?

My ideal set up would be for pvp
- monster set (maw or mighty chudan)
- Malacath band
- 5pieces front bar crafty
- 4 pieces icy conjurer FBar (so no 5set bonus)
- Blessing of potentates resto staff BB

Is this a good set up (the thing of icy conjurer?)
I think it might be perfect but want your advice on it

Are you playing on PC EU perhaps?
@Oreyn_Bearclaw

I am PC/NA.

For PVE, MS is likely going to be a better option than Spinners. If you are solo, spinner is probably more damage, but in any decent group, spinners is overkill on penetration. Once you are at 18.2K penetration in PVE, everything else is wasted. It's just not that hard to get there on a magic character with a decent group. Your tank should be giving your group quite a bit.

For PVP, the reality is there are a lot of ways to build. For mag sorc, I pretty much go with a max stat setup. Right now, I think the most stat dense setup you will find is as follows:

5 Piece Crafty Alfiq, 3 Piece ancient grace, 2 piece Trainee, 1 piece Domihaus (or magma incarnate), 1 piece Death Dealers Fete. If you dont have DDF, I would probably do one each of Domihaus and Magma or perhaps a ring of the hunt. Its not a terribly hard setup to get. DDF is a bit of a pain because one of the leads is behind DSA. Nothing wrong with replacing the AG and Trainee with a more traditional 5 piece like Spinners.

Mine is setup with Trainee Heavy Chest and Light legs. Ancient Grace Fire Destro (sharp)/Resto(defending) and Necklace (AG is only weapons and jewels, so you need weapons if you want to run with a jewelry mythic). Crafty is one ring, gloves, shoes, belt, shoulder (light), Mythic is my Death Dealers ring (also carry Ring of the hunt and can hot swap for easy getting around, could also run Malacths), I wear a medium monster helm (either domihaus for Max Stam and Max Magic or Magma Incarnate for Mag and Stam regen), but this could really be any one line bonus you want.

That way I get the 5/1/1 armor bonus, I have room for a mythic, and can easily swap my helm to switch between max stats and extra regen. I also carry a few extra pieces of jewerly, for a similar tradeoff. Most common setup is one infused tri regen piece of jewelry and two arcanes with spell damage, but sometimes I swap in a second infused tri regen piece. Basically the more solo I am, the more regen I go. I also go more regen when I am in no CP. In no CP, I run regen on all my jewelry.

When I am fully buffed, I am roughly 50k Magic, 30k health, and 22k stam (I run mostly tri stat armor glyphs). I also typically go with 7 pieces of well fitted gear so I can roll dodge a LOT, and block and break free are never really an issue. Roll dodge is the best defense in PVP. The real downside to 7 well fitted is you are more susceptible to bombs and ganks, because your crit resist is going to be low. This is another thing I micro manage a bit depending on what I am doing. Easy to carry a few pieces of the same gear in different traits. I usually run more impen in no CP. I would probably error on the side of more impen when first learning.

In PVE, you want all Divines on your body, so you really shouldn't overlap your PVE and PVP gear as a general rule. You also almost certainly want a fire staff front bar in PVP. Classic Sorc builds are about lining up burst damage to a single opponent, so you want the ST buffs from the fire staff. Not saying you can't build for a lighting staff, but I dont think its as strong.

eMKa8

What is your penetration & spell damage and magicka and health regenaration?

Thanks for the build info by the way!

Oreyn_Bearclaw

eMKa8 wrote: »

What is your penetration & spell damage and magicka and health regenaration?

Thanks for the build info by the way!

In PVP? I dont exactly know off the top of my head. Traditional way to build sorc is to stack max magic in PVP because it plays to both offense (damage skills scale off max magic) and defense (shield size). You tend to run with a little lower spell damage and pen then some other classes. I do run sharp front bar weapon, and sometimes, I swap a skill for ele drain (its better pressure than say mages wrath 1v1).

I have never paid much attention to health regen, only source of additional health regen is from sugar skulls food. As stated before, the two things I tend to balance/swap based on what I am doing are magic regen vs stats or damage, and Impen vs Well Fitted traits on my armor. So my magic regen is a little all over the place. Also remember that Dark Conversion allows you to run with lower regen than you may think you need.

When totally open world Cyro, I run pretty much all well fitted and chose the regen option on most things (jewelry enchants and Domihaus vs Magma Incarnate). When in events like MYM, I tend to take the damage option most of the time, and do a mix of well fitted and impen. In MYM there are more bombers running around (impen) and high lag means you dont need as much regen because your skills dont fire as often) In BGs or no CP, I run mostly impen (i still like 1-2 pieces of well fitted) and again, go back to mostly regen where I can.

Also no secret I use Malcolms builds as a baseline. Link below and he does screen shots of his stats for all his builds in his written guides.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWHcM5U-xeE

I think his sorc builds are really solid. My PVP sorc is a breton, so I usually go a little less regen than his stock setups, I also prefer Crushing Shock and Meteor to Ele Weapon and Overload, especially when the lag gets bad. I often tend to run Radiating Regen in open world PVP unless I am really playing alone. It leaches AP better than Healing Ward, lol. Lastly, I tend to run way more tri-stat glyphs then him. I just think they are too hard to pass up, even on mag sorc, because they are the most stat dense option, so I usually run them on just about every armor piece. I also have fairly deep pockets in ESO, so the cost doesn't bother me. I recommend them on your head, chest and legs at a minimum.

Gunner19K

Impressive. If not for these informative posts, where does one learn from the game which sets or skills work off FB or BB? And which procs/skills carry over or fall off with bar swap? Some of these bits are fairly technical in terms of which order the game server calculates effects and does not seem realistic to glean this through random playing. Especially those of us on PS4 that lack combat metrics. I have seen many posts with varying opinions on setup effects and those that are definitive don't give the "why or how" as was provided above. Are there ESO/ZOS sources of information in this? I can't imagine learning the ins and outs of build feature only comes from other players. Where did other players learn? I assume many of these elements originate in base game fundamentals that are characteristic of many MMO mechanics? For those if us where ESO I'd the only MMO ever played, I personally lack the background/jargon bandied as common knowledge. Suggestions?

WrathOfInnos

@Gunner19K There's not a great source of in game information. We know what works due to years of testing across hundreds of players. Maelstrom staff is a tricky one to see from the tooltip, but most single bar sets are more obvious because they state that they give a buff or deal damage for a certain amount of time. Sets that simply give a buff with no duration typically do not apply to the off-bar and should be kept on body/jewelry.

For specifics and questions, discord is a great resource. Check out the ESOU server for more info https://discord.gg/esou