Returning player need some helps.

Pleasebean

Hello everyone, thank you for your time in advance.

So after a really long break i've decided to give ESO another try this time with my friend
- First is i want to know the situation of all classes in ESO, how well they perform in all kind of contents and what about the meta as of now if i want to step foot in Endgame ?
- Second i want to start fresh and this is somewhat related to the first question because i really don't know which class to pick, i do have a warden and i can see he is doing well, i do play all kind of gamemodes PvE/PvP and will mostly Solo this time.
- Funny enough, i bought the xpack with Necro but never played it so i'm leaning on this one but i heard that they are clunky but idk what kind of or how "clunky" it can be ?, its holding me back from necro.
- I'm only interested in stamina build so magicka is out of question, which is the most played stamina build/class rn according to the meta ? And if it's you guys what is your fav stamina class/build ?

Thank you.

WordsOfPower

These are big questions with complicated and variable answers.

Furthermore, it will differ depending on PvP and PvE.

Bow is under powered in PvP whereas it will be the staple backbar for most Stamina builds on PvE.

Have a look at the content creators on YouTube for your type of content. Nefas and Xynode do good PvE builds, and TheRealGodzilla and Deltia do good PvP builds, often with lots of explanation

Nestor

Are you planning on playing on the Bleeding Edge of Min Max? Or building a character that can handle most content, even Vet Trials? (Maybe not certain achievements)

For the second, just pick a class you like, a compatible race and go have fun. Almost any reasonable combo will get through any content in the game. If you have a good rotation. That is more important than any build.

Unless you are chasing the top of the leaderboard.

Necrotech_Master

some of the necromancer skills can be clunky (such as blastbones), but if your aiming for a stamina variant for pve then it shouldnt be too big of an issue, its more clunky when using blastbones at long distance or in pvp

i feel like stam necro has a lot better options for building as a dps or a tank, and work reasonably well in pvp too

El_Borracho

I'll echo what @Necrotech_Master said. Its clunky and different and relies on blastbones and the tether, but once you figure it out, it a DPS machine. And a necro tank is a fun break from the normal DK/Warden tanks. I actually really like the Beckoning Armor pull and Empowering Grasp CC. I also have the Werewolf ultimate on the DD for the sustain, not to actually transform.

I'd say its fairly similar to the stamblalde in terms of the learning curve

fred4

Pleasebean wrote: »

Hello everyone, thank you for your time in advance.

So after a really long break i've decided to give ESO another try this time with my friend
- First is i want to know the situation of all classes in ESO, how well they perform in all kind of contents and what about the meta as of now if i want to step foot in Endgame ?
- Second i want to start fresh and this is somewhat related to the first question because i really don't know which class to pick, i do have a warden and i can see he is doing well, i do play all kind of gamemodes PvE/PvP and will mostly Solo this time.
- Funny enough, i bought the xpack with Necro but never played it so i'm leaning on this one but i heard that they are clunky but idk what kind of or how "clunky" it can be ?, its holding me back from necro.
- I'm only interested in stamina build so magicka is out of question, which is the most played stamina build/class rn according to the meta ? And if it's you guys what is your fav stamina class/build ?

Thank you.

You say you're going to play solo. What does that mean? Overland / questing? Queuing solo for dungeons? Solo PvP? Solo arenas? There are pretty massive diffences, not least in difficulty.

Also: The game is going in a pretty hybrid direction. Playing "stamina" is starting to verge on the meaningless. It might be more relevant, if you tell us you like to play melee or a particular weapon type. You can mix stamina and magicka skills in the same build now, they scale with your highest stats. You're still limited by your resource allocation and sustain, but using a skill such as Molten Whip on a DK is becoming quite common for stam DKs in PvP, for example. I've also made a nightblade that has very high cloak sustain and Concealed Weapon, but uses stamina skills for the remainder of the attack rotation. A true hybrid.

My very personal, very biased rundown of the stamina classes:

• Stam DK is solid. Recently been buffed and mag DK got most of the glory, but you can do some interesting things with stam too, e.g. mix Molten Whip with stamina skills.
• Stamblade. Also solid and going in some hybrid directions. Caluurion has become a standard set for stamblades and magblades alike in PvP. If you want to play solo PvP, play a nightblade or a sorc.
• Stamsorc. I love my stamsorc PvE tank / solo carry build and, on the DD side, Crystal Weapon is getting a pretty outsize buff, next patch. Fun to play. Not the strongest, but extremely good for solo play, due to Crit Surge self-healing and Dark Deal sustain. Also decent for solo PvP, due to Streak. I play this class a lot at present as a tank and solo PvE character.
• Stamplar. The class I can't get to grips with. Since the hybridisation of sets, for example the availability of Deadly Strike on both variants, I see no good reason to play this class. Magplar is just better in every way and feels very stam-like to play. Can do a lot of damage, I suppose. You might want to get a second opinion from people who do dummy parses.
• Stamden. I can only give you my very biased opinion on magden. It's not a good class. Very focused on a rigid rotation at the expense of situational skills. Any of the orginal classes are better than this, with templar and nightblade being particularly straightforward, more direct and more engaging to play. However, since you're playing stamden, that class should be decent and ameliorate much of magden's issues. You don't even need to fire Subterranean Assault every 3 seconds anymore, but only every 6 seconds. I just fail to see what's special about it. Wardens make good healers, but as a DD - and I'm talking mostly PvP here - they are generic. What outstanding skill does stamden have? None. DK has Leap and Fossilize. Nightblades have Cloak and Shadow Image. Sorc has Streak and Dark Deal. Templar - magplar - has just an all round good toolkit, Sweeps and Cleanse being the highlights. The new classes? Meh.
• Necro. Haven't played it. Seemed like a warden clone, so I never bothered. If you search for solo class ranking videos on YouTube, of which I think at least two have been made recently, you'll find necro and warden at or near the bottom, with magplar at the top. I personally think the top magplar ranking is not deserved, at least not when you have endgame gear. A Brawler build on a stamsorc is exceptionally strong, plays like a magplar, and beats the crap out of it for survivability. That said, whether you need such survivability depends on your ESO career path. Magplar is more beginner friendly and perfectly fine, even in the long run. What I'm talking about is soloing veteran dungeons and carrying groups.

All classes are viable. Necro is viable. It's just a question of whether you find complex rotations enjoyable (necro / warden) or whether you prefer classes with more direct skills. I personally have a clear preference for the 4 original classes. Templar - magplar - is particularly easy to play, but due to having a gap closer, execute and other situational skills - Extended Ritual in PvP - it is also an engaging class to play. This makes it a win / win for me, whereas magden in particular is completely caught up in playing by rote. It's all about your buff rotation on magden, which I find boring. The payoff is not there to justify the effort either. That said, I recently caught a stamcro on video doing some impressive PvP. The class has been strong in PvP for a while, maybe not in the most recent patches, but the current patch allows for some mixed stamcro / magcro gameplay that may be working well. You should definitely get a second opinion on warden and necro. I can only judge those classes by what works for my playstyle.

Let me also just repeat this: I'm talking some personal stuff here and I'm talking about the far side of endgame. I'm hoping this will be of interest, if you ever make it that far. If you are talking overland, delves, dungeons and trials with groups, solo arenas, PvP, anything, then use any class you enjoy playing. You'll be fine. Ultimately the game is not that difficult, outside of PvP and vet DLC trials that is. I suppose if you want to push scores in a trial progression group, then maybe look for what kind of group compositions are recommended for that. This is where you get into the nitty gritty and class / race choices really start to matter. On the other hand the meta changes every 3 months. You want to keep up with the meta long term, you may want multiple characters.

I'm not an organised group player. I like exploring what I can do as a solo player, including soloing stuff not designed to be soloed, such as veteran hardmode dungeons. When you push into that direction, only certain things work and this is how I can confidently say that, despite everyone recommending magplar as the top solo class, it is not the best class at the highest level of solo play. Then again, there is no one build that does everything. There are people who do more difficult stuff than I do, such as vet Scalecaller. That particular dungeon has been done on a lightning staff heavy attack DK build. I think it is not possible on a melee build, such as a magplar or stamina Brawler build.