Destro vs. Resto

Eats-the-Cheddar

I'm a struggling solo sorcerer, around level 10, and I'm looking to add some survivability. Would it be helpful to switch from my destruction staff to a restoration staff? If so, which abilities in that weapon tree would be most helpful? Any suggestions would be very appreciated!

DenverRalphy

Personally, I stick to the inferno/flame staff. Simply because of the cheap knockback for cc/survivability. Saved my Resto staff for lvl 15 when I can swap in combat, and only use it in a pinch when solo PvE goes sour, or in a group. Once I hit 50, I will probably re-spec though... :shrug:

Eats-the-Cheddar

DenverRalphy wrote: »

Personally, I stick to the inferno/flame staff. Simply because of the cheap knockback for cc/survivability. Saved my Resto staff for lvl 15 when I can swap in combat, and only use it in a pinch when solo PvE goes sour, or in a group. Once I hit 50, I will probably re-spec though... :shrug:

I think that's my problem, I don't really have any CC or knockback on my hotbar right now. It's so hard for me to narrow down these skills to 5.

Nasuradin_ESO

Destructive touch, the first skill for destruction staff does knockback if your staff is fire damage, crystal shard, the first spell in the dark magic tree does knockdown on impact.

Having a pet out also helps if you are getting killed a lot, morphing unstable familiar, the first spell in daedric summoning to clannfear ups its survivability a bit.

It can tank something for you as you take care of other enemies. If you do switch to resto staff, know that aoe heals on the resto staff can heal pets too.

Eats-the-Cheddar

I'm going to stick with the Destruction Staff (fire). Right now, my bar looks like this: Crystal Fragments, Destructive Touch (will morph to clench), Velocious Curse, Mages Fury, Lightening Form with Summon Storm Atronach. I'm getting by for now.

temjiu

I would definitely drops one of those for the summon. It helps out a TON at lower levels. morph it to the upgraded lizard...the charge and tail swipe have saved my hide more times then I can count.

ON the flip side...I leveled resto staff on my sorc, up until 15 when i could do both. I'd switch out the resto staff for my destro staff (it was a lvl 1...only needed it for exp) when I would turn in quests. so killed with resto, turned quests in with destro. leveled them both up reasonable well...resto was only a few levels ahead of destro when I hit 15. I had been putting points into destro as well, so by the time i got to 15 i could switch at will..and had decent healing spells as well as decent destro skills.

So now i can heal for a group if needed, or provide decent DPS. I like the mix...but if you don't want to go in that direction, I'd still get the summon on your bar. he is your personal tank at the early levels.

drschplatt

I've been running a restoration staff because as a 100% light armor wearing sorcerer I got really tired of getting my but kicked all the time.

Sadly though the restoration staff's healing powers are more of a supplemental or damage control more than they are actual heals. You'll never get enough self heals as a sorcerer from a restoration staff to actually keep up with the damage. It just slows your death down long enough to hopefully kill the baddie before it kills you.

I think to really heal through stuff, you'd need to be a Templar.

Nasuradin_ESO

The biggest heal you can get from resto staff is from steadfast ward morphed into healing ward which will heal you for 100% of the shield's remaining damage absorb when it wears off, that is of course, provided enemies don't knock it off first, which is why pets on conjunction with resto staff can be helpful (though steadfast ward will not target pets, conjured ward will, and can stack with steadfast ward, but not sure if it adds to the healing of healing ward or not when it expires? probably not?)

Templars can do instant spike heals, but templar heals are magicka heavy and spamming will make you run out of magicka quickly.

bloodenragedb14_ESO

i would suggest starting with the flame staff for the CC effect. branch to resto when you hit lvl 15.

Thunder

Eats-the-Cheddar wrote: »

I'm a struggling solo sorcerer, around level 10...

This first 15 levels blow chunks, with any class, but perhaps this is especially true of sorcerers.

I have never found more healing to be the answer in any difficult challenge I've yet faced. What I have found most effective in descending order: crowd control > avoiding AoE and charged attacks > armor (including the mage armor in the storm calling tree) > staying as far away from the enemy as possible.

The first ability in the dark magic tree, Crystal Shards, is a highly effective CC ability. It's the only ability from that tree that I use, although Rune Prison looks good and I'm sure I'll eventually pick it up now that I'm headed into VR levels. I use Crystal Shards all the time, and it has definitely been the difference between victory and defeat many times.

Avoiding the worst damage is absolutely key. AoEs will kill you fast. Don't stand in the fire! Watch for wind up moves from melee, they start winding up, move out of the way.

I don't remember what the unmorphed second storm calling ability is called, mine is morphed into boundless storm. This is something I almost always have on every action bar setup. It literally turns you into a mage tank for the brief period it lasts, and when faced with multiple foes, can definitely be the difference between life and death.

Finally, keeping your distance is huge. Everything you do can be done from range, so take advantage of that fact! Engage enemies from the furthest possible distance and work your way backwards. Personally, I like to Streak through them when they do finally catch up, but you could just as well run away and start unloading on them again.

Life as a sorc just gets easier and easier from 15 on. Initially I clutched tightly to my resto staff as well, but it's been so long since I've used it now that I'm thinking about just having a separate destro staff bar to swap to.

NordJitsu

Combat Prayer is really boss.

Resto Staff in general is better for single target DPS. The passives make it increase all you damage and also give you magicka regen at the end of each heavy attack (and when you block.) Its also crazy fast for basic attacks.

Destro Staff is pretty much terrible except for Impulse and its two morphs. None of the other skills deserve a spot on your bar unless you're trying to level to get Impulse.

BrassRazoo

I had a few issue low with Sorc low as well.
But if using a Destro, like others have said, use the Flame for the knockback.
Also Silver Bolts (Level 1 Fighters Guild) came in handy a lot as it used Stamina, it an instant long range cast and also has a knockback / stun.
At level 15 it will become easier as swapping to Resto is all good.
I have leveled Destro and Resto to 50 now so just use Sword and Board on DPS side and still keep Resto and use Volcanic Rune, Daedric Mines, Healing Ward, Bound Armour and one other of your choice on second weapon for large mobs and emergencies.

TicToc

Getting the Unstable clanfear will help a lot with your survivability.

I actually use destructive touch with an ice staff for the freeze effect, which works pretty well for me. Though, I tend to be pretty mobile when I am playing. Knockback from fire might be better for some. Destructive Touch also does a nice bit of damage.

Eats-the-Cheddar wrote: »

I'm going to stick with the Destruction Staff (fire). Right now, my bar looks like this: Crystal Fragments, Destructive Touch (will morph to clench), Velocious Curse, Mages Fury, Lightening Form with Summon Storm Atronach. I'm getting by for now.

Similar to my setup, but I have Unstable Clanfear on my bar rather than Lightening form. Of course once i hit 15 I put lightening form on my secondary bar. At some point I am hoping to go petless, but for now it is a big help. I went petless for the first 10 levels or so, but then I started dying a bit more often than I liked. I am hoping that once i get a few more spells unlocked i can go back to that.

Feimerdre

To be honest... I never needed any healing ability on my sorc. All you need is some timing and faith in your skills.
Crystal Fragments, light attack, Endless Fury - this combination is likely gonna blow up any mob in your level range and even above. If it comes to end bosses I use Energy Overload as Ultimate - it kix ass. I started to play more defensively earlier, so I went with that knockback from Destro (Inferno) - found out it only sucks my Magicka. In the same time I use to knockback enemies I can pretty much effectively just KILL them
Never cared of "survivability" so far as I have Thundering Presence when too much is coming around. I took Resto as 2nd weapon with 15 and level it by switching weapons before ending quests. 16 so far on this alt and never died that rarely with any of my alts ;-)

Aballister

I have used the same loadout pretty much all of the time for pve.

Daedric Curse - Daedric Summoning
Crystal Shard - Dark Magic
Regeneration- Resto Staff
Unstable Familiar - Daedric Summoning
Winger Twilight - Daedric Summoning

If you open with curse, then the first attack from Twilight takes the mob aggro from you, then follow up with a shard, that's pretty much one mob dead.

I find this setup to be good for my playstyle, but everyones different, so I'd say experiment with a few combinations of skills until you find one which suits.

Enjoy

Pele

I'm a level 37 sorcerer and use sword and shield. The summons tank whilst I hack and slash. I've not had any problems leveling, and I've been running content 4 or more levels above my current level since I first started playing.

I have destruction staff on my second bar, but I never use it.

Feimerdre

Well I have that clannfear running with me too as it comes in handy from time to time. But I never relied on a pet doing the work for me. I want to dominate

Enteum

My main set up I am finding very effective.

Crystal shard (morphed)
Destructive clench (fire staff for knock back)
Wall of elements (morphed)
Clanfear
Twilight

Two pets are very helpful, knock back and knockdown are very effective. Foes do not usually get many hits in at all.

Also Storm atronach for ultimate.

If things do get hairy, as they sometimes do. I will kite and switch to restoration staff for healing while the pets hold things off for a while.

Feimerdre

There is the pet approach to sorc or the single target dd approach or the ae dd approach. This is all a matter of playstyle. If you prefer damage and dont rely on a pet you will find an ice staff much more reliable than the inferno staff. This is when you move destro staff attacks from you bar for a while
Might change later but for now this is giving me a blast.
I even started to go with Mage Light from mage's guild lately instead of any pet at all to get it morphed fast.

Eats-the-Cheddar

Wow, thanks for the feedback! It looks like I need to alter my set up, and I hate the wasted skill points. I don't feel like I'm ever going to use half the skills I've purchased. I don't mind starting over, because I can't really afford to respec. Hmmm....

Feimerdre

Dont give up on early. Get the skyshard addon and collect all shards on your starting zones. This will give you the neccessary skill points you may need to alter your setup. On early stage there is no such thing as a "false" setup - points will come pretty easy. Personally I did a respec at Level 10 or so because I did a wrong click when morphing a skill - it cost me 1800.

Artemiisia

Eats-the-Cheddar wrote: »

I'm a struggling solo sorcerer, around level 10, and I'm looking to add some survivability. Would it be helpful to switch from my destruction staff to a restoration staff? If so, which abilities in that weapon tree would be most helpful? Any suggestions would be very appreciated!

at lvl 15 when u get weapon swap.

ill suggest you using both

1 castbar for single target massive dps, self healing restro staff
2 castbar aoe nuke party destruction staff

that way you can switch during fights if you need heals, or single target, destruction of the masses.

and as a bonus, u get 10 skills to choose from and two different ultimatives

Artemiisia

and I havent used pets by the way since lvl 20, vr6 now

not saying thats the right way to do, I see some sorcerer do two pets at the same time also at my lvl

Feimerdre

It takes a while till you can effectively AoE. On low levels its all much crystal fragments/endliess fury spam. It doesnt matter much if you make low levels with a destro or a healing staff. The ice staff gives you some more CC maybe you need to not being harmed. Till you get the passives from Resto that bolster your damage you will be better off with destruction staff imho. But this is, as much in this game, a matter of personal preferences

Cry_Wolfe

i found i wasnt able to get into the playstyle for sorc, i've got a resto/siphon NB who does really well,
a fire destro/resto (dark elf) DK is currently my favorite,
fire wall, immobs, fire wall, light attack left overs. Destructive touch + fire wall also works out well.
Stone Shield and spike armor & dragon heal+regen solves most defensive issues. 5+2 (light/heavy) armor.

Arovan

At level 48 I am running with a destro staff on one bar with Impulse, Wall of Fire, Lightning Splash, Rune of Fire, and Inner Light for killing groups.

I use a Resto staff with Crystal Shards, Endless Fury, Mutagen, Grand Healing, and Inner Light for my second weapon for single target and champ mobs.

Summon spells have to be on both bars if you don't want your clannfear, twilight, bound armor, or magelight to stick around when you swap weapons.

Eats-the-Cheddar

Alright, so maybe I'll put this together: Crystal Fragments, Destructive Touch (will morph to clench), Wall of Elements, Mages Fury, Summon Clannfear, Summon Storm Atronach. I'll wear 5 light armor, 2 heavy, and try to level up the right crafting skills to keep me in good gear. Hopefully that will help!

Talmet

The only thing I haven't seen anyone talk about is armor.

You don't really need to wear all 7 pieces of light....and the difference between wearing 5 pieces light & 7 pieces of light is very small.

Your magicka regen should be at least soft capped either way (if not hard capped), so two pieces won't change that.

The spell cost reduction change isn't that big (at max lvl, it's a change of 6% for two pieces) which can be made up with rings/neck/racial skills/etc.

The spell resist, I'll talk about in a second. & you still get prodigy.

The spell pen is nice (at max lvl, 2 pieces is worth 12%)...but spell pen isn't that big of a deal usually (i.e. test weakness to elements, that's 40% spell pen & is barely even noticeable on most mobs in pve.)

So, for a small increase in spell cost (which can be made up) & a reduction in spell pen, you can wear 2 pieces of other armor. i.e. two of the bigger pieces of heavy armor (chest, legs, shoulder, helm)...increasing your armor by quite a lot = you no die as much. Also, you can pick up the +% spell resist passive from heavy armor, which will give almost the same spell resist as two pieces of light + more armor to keep you alive. At high lvls, mixing & matching armor can make some sets much harder to complete, but it makes you more survivable.

Eats-the-Cheddar

Talmet wrote: »

The only thing I haven't seen anyone talk about is armor.

You don't really need to wear all 7 pieces of light....and the difference between wearing 5 pieces light & 7 pieces of light is very small.

Your magicka regen should be at least soft capped either way (if not hard capped), so two pieces won't change that.

The spell cost reduction change isn't that big (at max lvl, it's a change of 6% for two pieces) which can be made up with rings/neck/racial skills/etc.

The spell resist, I'll talk about in a second. & you still get prodigy.

The spell pen is nice (at max lvl, 2 pieces is worth 12%)...but spell pen isn't that big of a deal usually (i.e. test weakness to elements, that's 40% spell pen & is barely even noticeable on most mobs in pve.)

So, for a small increase in spell cost (which can be made up) & a reduction in spell pen, you can wear 2 pieces of other armor. i.e. two of the bigger pieces of heavy armor (chest, legs, shoulder, helm)...increasing your armor by quite a lot = you no die as much. Also, you can pick up the +% spell resist passive from heavy armor, which will give almost the same spell resist as two pieces of light + more armor to keep you alive. At high lvls, mixing & matching armor can make some sets much harder to complete, but it makes you more survivable.

I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty new to MMOs and I really don't understand "soft cap" and "hard cap" outside of describing the mushrooms in Morrowind, lol.

Fissh

At Level 10 this conversation is WAY over thought out. You should play much more before deciding your spec. For me, things became clearer with progression. My suggestion, have FUN. Ultimately, as you near end-game, you will find that you can spec into ALL three class trees, couple armor types, couple of weapon types, mages guild...etc etc. Skill points are truly abundant and although there may not be enough to max all trees out in every catagory, there is enough to get most.
Considering the fact that you are new to MMOs, the advice so far is way to complex and/or overly opinionated, so again I say HAVE FUN and see where it takes you. Once you get a better understanding of your options, then comeback to forums for the complex solutions.

Eats-the-Cheddar

Fissh wrote: »

At Level 10 this conversation is WAY over thought out. You should play much more before deciding your spec. For me, things became clearer with progression. My suggestion, have FUN. Ultimately, as you near end-game, you will find that you can spec into ALL three class trees, couple armor types, couple of weapon types, mages guild...etc etc. Skill points are truly abundant and although there may not be enough to max all trees out in every catagory, there is enough to get most.
Considering the fact that you are new to MMOs, the advice so far is way to complex and/or overly opinionated, so again I say HAVE FUN and see where it takes you. Once you get a better understanding of your options, then comeback to forums for the complex solutions.

Solid advice. Thanks. I was not aware of the abundance of skill points, so that puts my mind at ease.