Do I really need to have 3-4 different setups that I keep swapping to for dungeons/trials?

Vanchatron

I've wanted to rejoin ESO for a while now, having played it a lot a few years ago. The problem is, the meta builds nowadays seem overly complicated. What I mean by 'complicated' is that almost every site I look at for builds has 3-4 different setups where you have to switch your gear AND skills mid dungeon/trial depending on whether you're fighting adds, single targets, single target bosses, or bosses with adds etc.

When I used to play I basically had ONE build and ONE gear setup that would be viable for most of the endgame content, as it included AoE and single target damage skills, as well as self buffs. Now though it seems like you have to have a specific AoE build for when you're fighting adds or a boss with adds, and then a single target build for when you're fighting single enemies. This goes the same for gear as well. Is this really necessary though? It seems like a hell of a lot of micromanaging during a dungeon/trial, and to be honest just seems like a complete pain in the ass.

I guess the TOP high end content players have no problem doing this, as that's why they're the best, but for your average player who wants to take part in trials and stuff is there not a way to just have a viable build & gear set that can pretty much do it all? Granted, it probably won't be as high DPS as someone who's willing to switch their gear and build 3-4 times during a run, but will it really be THAT much worse if I just stick to one specific gear & build setup? I just don't want to get kicked from high end stuff because of that.

I really don't know where to even look for builds, as most of the ones I've seen suggest different setups for different encounters like AoE, single target etc. The only one I've seen that uses a "ONE build fits all" approach, which they say is viable for endgame content is AlcastHQ, but according to a lot of posts I've seen online it's actually NOT viable at all for higher end content. Not sure how true that is.

Janni

I think you sorta hid the answer to your question IN the question. Top end players do that to achieve the best possible score. No on else needs to. I sure don't. Heck, I haven't even changed the gear I use in the last 2 years and it still works good enough for anything I'd ever want to do on a more casual vet level.

Soarora

You can use one build for all content with adjustments when absolutely necessary (ex. Slotting a shield or self heal). I’ve considered making an AoE setup for trash multiple times but haven’t, spamming unstable wall works fine for me. You’ll be good.

Edit: Also, Alcast is really bad. But you can choose single target/aoe sets and just use them all the time. I use whorl everywhere but asylum sanctorium right now even though it’s “bad” in mobile fights. I still do top 50% of the dps or comparable dps /shrug.

Treeshka

Changing gear from trash fight to trash fight and boss fight to boss fight has been a thing for years now. So players are kind of got used to it, and raid leaders or guild owners sort of expect people to bring multiple setups for each part of a raid and actually puts this as a requirement. Some guild does not ask this though.

But with the Arcanist class you can actually make one build and use it everywhere without changing a single skill or gear piece and still do a lot of damage. Damage that is enough to get trifecta in all content in game.

For the build you just need Ansuul's Torment and Deadly Strike paired with Maelstrom Inferno Staff and Velothi Ur-Mage Amulet. One piece Light Slimecraw as monster set. Ansuul's Torment should be active at all times. Deadly front bar with Daggers with Nirnhoned and Charged trait. Poison and Flame enchants. Full stamina enchants on body pieces. If you do not have Ansuul you can also go with Coral Riptide as well.

Elemental Blockade, Anti-Cavalry Caltrops, Fulminating Rune, Inspired Scholarship, Camouflaged Hunter, The Languid Eye as back bar.
Cephaliarch's Flail, Quick Cloak, Exhausting Fatecarver, Barbed Trap, Camouflaged Hunter, Flawless Dawnbreaker as front bar.

You can also change dots depending on your play style and remove a few to add healing or shielding skills.

For rotation outside of keeping dots up you need to use Cephaliarch's Flail to generate Crux and once you reach three Crux you use Exhausting Fatecarver and Elemental Blockade from back bar to proc Berserker enchant.

Jaimeh

You don't need to have custom builds for different fights, these are mostly for top-end groups. You can get by perfectly well with a single build that can perform decently across different scenarios, though depending on class and skills slotted, you might need to manually swap out some skills between trash fights and single target fights. Having said that, even if you're using one build, it's a good idea to have some notion of what skills and sets are good to bring to a specific trial. If for example all boss fights include adds, then there's no point to have pure single target skills, or if the fights have multiple phases where the boss is unforgettable or there are a lot of mechanics that need to be done, then there's no point to bring sets that have proc relying on building damage stacks on the boss, or if it's a fight that has a lot of outcoming damage, then having a shield slotted might be helpful, and so on. Basically, what I'm getting at is that you can do fine with a single universal build throughout a trial and across different trials, but it's a good idea to know how to tweak it depending on which trial you're hopping in and what kind of fights this trial has. Even if you're just using a single build, knowing how you can tweak it for a given fight is a good ability to have as a player and that knowledge comes with experience. Also, if you are very familiar with a fight and an experienced player in general, you can bring almost any reasonable kind of build in a fight and still do OK (that is, assuming numbers don't matter for that run, and it's not in hard mode). TL;DR universal builds can be effective, especially if you are willing to perhaps do some very minor tweaking, and you are familiar with the fights.

Amottica

For PvE one needs only one or two builds and even then the one with some skill changes is sufficient. For solo play we may want some different skills than when we go into a dungeon or trial.

Ofc, a player who is engaged with competitive PvE groups may choose to have one or more builds for running trials. A very small portion of the player base is playing to that level. Most players do not need to get that serious.

fizl101

I suspect this is much more of a thing on pc where you can use addons to quickly swap gear even in vet trials. On console it may happen occasionally but isnt the norm

Tigeracer

A few people have mentioned that Alcast is bad. Why? I know his PVP setups are kind of trash, but even his PVE stuff?

wilykcat

I'm still learning the game so I keep what ever gear I got on. Any advice for getting better gear for stamina build melee dual wield templar dps? Specifically for a veteran dungeon build.

Also: I am learning so much about all things Elderscrolls on the forums.

Thanks 😊

Tigeracer

Hunding's and briarheart are always good for stamina DPS, regardless of class.
Monster set can be many different choices, depending on your sustain.
Arena weapons are pretty good too. Obviously depends on what weapons you want to use.

An easy setup for any stamina class would be 5 x night mother's gaze and 5 x hunding's rage. Caustic arrow backbar, night mother's gaze active only on front bar. 3 x agility for jewelry.

Necrotech_Master

Tigeracer wrote: »

A few people have mentioned that Alcast is bad. Why? I know his PVP setups are kind of trash, but even his PVE stuff?

i think i saw in a different thread that someone noted alcast listed relequen as meta set for arcanist build lol

for the OP, that kind of sweaty play is mostly for trifectas/scorepushers, it is 100% certainly not needed if your just going for vet clears

WrathOfInnos

It can depend on class. Templar for example changes almost nothing between trash and bosses (lay some ground DoTs, spam shards or jabs, beam low health enemies), and can reasonably make one build for both unless going for top scores. Arcanist and Necromancer are similar, in that they use a lot of AoE skills even for single target encounters, and don't lose much combining it into a single build.

I think this falls apart for Sorcerers, Dragonknights, Wardens and Nightblades. These 4 rely on strong single target skills for bosses, that would be fairly useless on trash. Their area skills are specialized for that, and best removed for bosses.

For gear, there are great sets specialized for certain encounters (like Sul-Xan for trash or Relequen for bosses), but you can run universal sets like Coral Riptide or Ansuul and get away with not swapping.

GrimStyx

Vanchatron wrote: »

I've wanted to rejoin ESO for a while now, having played it a lot a few years ago. The problem is, the meta builds nowadays seem overly complicated. What I mean by 'complicated' is that almost every site I look at for builds has 3-4 different setups where you have to switch your gear AND skills mid dungeon/trial depending on whether you're fighting adds, single targets, single target bosses, or bosses with adds etc.

When I used to play I basically had ONE build and ONE gear setup that would be viable for most of the endgame content, as it included AoE and single target damage skills, as well as self buffs. Now though it seems like you have to have a specific AoE build for when you're fighting adds or a boss with adds, and then a single target build for when you're fighting single enemies. This goes the same for gear as well. Is this really necessary though? It seems like a hell of a lot of micromanaging during a dungeon/trial, and to be honest just seems like a complete pain in the ass.

I guess the TOP high end content players have no problem doing this, as that's why they're the best, but for your average player who wants to take part in trials and stuff is there not a way to just have a viable build & gear set that can pretty much do it all? Granted, it probably won't be as high DPS as someone who's willing to switch their gear and build 3-4 times during a run, but will it really be THAT much worse if I just stick to one specific gear & build setup? I just don't want to get kicked from high end stuff because of that.

I really don't know where to even look for builds, as most of the ones I've seen suggest different setups for different encounters like AoE, single target etc. The only one I've seen that uses a "ONE build fits all" approach, which they say is viable for endgame content is AlcastHQ, but according to a lot of posts I've seen online it's actually NOT viable at all for higher end content. Not sure how true that is.

you can assemble the assembly through heavy attack from lightning staff with oaken soul ring, sergeant pieces, and storm master or Undaunted Unweaver it is universal and has stable damage up to 80-90k, you play with one panel and do not suffer from clicking like a pianist

Nestor

You see those Leaderboards over there? If you want to be at the top, you gotta do some things to get there.

You see that content over yonder? Wear what you got and go have some fun. If you need more something then go get a thing that gets you some of what you need.

Quethrosar

it is not worth it because the gear management add ons are so buggy they will leave you without the correct skills or gear on during switches.

BXR_Lonestar

No you don't. But then you need to accept that you won't be a high-end endgame player. Because there is no perfect setup for EVERY occasion, regardless if you are a DPS or support. You have to try to match your gear to the encounters you are facing.

Quethrosar

but high end doesn't mean much since the rewards aren't gear. so you can do all vet trials get all perfected gear without specializing. anything above that is just achievements and title and maybe a mount.
It's not like older mmorpgs where high end had best gear.