Does the Ranking of abilities mean anything?

Caroloces · July 2014

As you use your abilities, they rise in rank using the Roman numeral system (I, II, III, IV, etc). From what I can tell, the abilities don't change at all with this rise in rank. Only the morphing of an ability improves its effectiveness. If this is true, what is the point?

DeLindsay · July 2014

They do change and increase with either damage or healing. The issue lies in the tool tip, it's not always accurate.

Anastasia · July 2014

DeLindsay wrote: »

They do change and increase with either damage or healing. The issue lies in the tool tip, it's not always accurate.

*Giggles, yes DeLindsay the tool tips are not always accurate - that is sort of like the Death Recap is not always accurate and those mage pets aren't 'really' exploding twice... . Same issue I guess!

pema · July 2014

also to add to that, they will level up and go towards being able to get morphed. So you'll be able to "upgrade" them choosing between two different adds. All offcourse for a skillpoint.

Caroloces · July 2014

Thanks. I just realized after posting that I had 2 nightblade alts, 1 at level 18 and the other at level 28. I just went in and compared their class abilities, and from rank to rank there were subtle improvements, primarily in magic damage. One thing that was curious is that one particular ability, Cripple (under siphoning), actually had changes in damage in the same rank. The level 18 NB had Cripple I with about 10% of the bar filled and he was able to deal 140 magic damage over 8 seconds; the level 28 NB had Cripple I also, with about 50% of the bar filled and he was able to deal 235 magic damage over 8 seconds. So it appears to be a gradual improvement with the use of the ability.
A little odd, methinks, though there's no mistaking the dramatic effect when you get the announcement that an ability has achieved Rank ##.

I think a more compelling system might be to have ranks be more spaced apart, and have each rank signify a new morphing option, and even the option to demorph an ability in order to pursue a different morphing pathway, all dependent on skill points of course. I think that would be a better system than the current respeccing system that's now in place.

PBpsy · July 2014

charles.cavanaughub17_ESO wrote: »

Thanks. I just realized after posting that I had 2 nightblade alts, 1 at level 18 and the other at level 28. I just went in and compared their class abilities, and from rank to rank there were subtle improvements, primarily in magic damage. One thing that was curious is that one particular ability, Cripple (under siphoning), actually had changes in damage in the same rank. The level 18 NB had Cripple I with about 10% of the bar filled and he was able to deal 140 magic damage over 8 seconds; the level 28 NB had Cripple I also, with about 50% of the bar filled and he was able to deal 235 magic damage over 8 seconds. So it appears to be a gradual improvement with the use of the ability.
A little odd, methinks, though there's no mistaking the dramatic effect when you get the announcement that an ability has achieved Rank ##.

I think a more compelling system might be to have ranks be more spaced apart, and have each rank signify a new morphing option, and even the option to demorph an ability in order to pursue a different morphing pathway, all dependent on skill points of course. I think that would be a better system than the current respeccing system that's now in place.

The damage also depend on your magicka and spell power.
Your rank IV criple will do more damage if you have 1000 magicka than if you have 500.Your lvl18 NB probably has a lot less magicka than the level 28 one. No gradual increase from what I have seen.

Caroloces · July 2014

The damage also depend on your magicka and spell power.
Your rank IV criple will do more damage if you have 1000 magicka than if you have 500.Your lvl18 NB probably has a lot less magicka than the level 28 one. No gradual increase from what I have seen.

Are you sure about that? That seems a little counterintuitive because if an ability does 100 magic damage it seems (at least to me) that it doesn't matter whether you have 500 magic or 10,000 magic in your attributes, you still deal the same 100 magic damage.
When perusing my skill bar, I'll often do an estimated count of magic cost if I unleashed each ability one after the other, and then compare that to my total magic in my attributes. If all 5 abilities surpass my total magic, then it tells me that I need to slip in some stamina abilities from my weapons. The only other thing that might change this is the rate of magic regeneration which will probably be greater on a higher level character. This is something I'm not sure how to buff up except through potions and provisions.

Nestor · July 2014

charles.cavanaughub17_ESO wrote: »

Are you sure about that? That seems a little counterintuitive because if an ability does 100 magic damage it seems (at least to me) that it doesn't matter whether you have 500 magic or 10,000 magic in your attributes, you still deal the same 100 magic damage.

See the third post in this thread

http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/discussion/121899/spell-damage

Caroloces · July 2014

Thanks. It seems a bit more complex than I thought. Not quite sure what he means by base ability damage. I also get puzzled by the other entries on the attribute page of one's character. Spell damage, spell critical, spell resistance, for example, seem important elements but I'm not sure how you improve or enhance those elements. The basic ones, max health, max magic, max stamina are obviously tied into your leveling, but the others are puzzling.
I wonder if there is a good guide to this aspect of the game.

Srugzal · July 2014

charles.cavanaughub17_ESO wrote: »

The damage also depend on your magicka and spell power.
Your rank IV criple will do more damage if you have 1000 magicka than if you have 500.Your lvl18 NB probably has a lot less magicka than the level 28 one. No gradual increase from what I have seen.

Are you sure about that? That seems a little counterintuitive because if an ability does 100 magic damage it seems (at least to me) that it doesn't matter whether you have 500 magic or 10,000 magic in your attributes, you still deal the same 100 magic damage.
When perusing my skill bar, I'll often do an estimated count of magic cost if I unleashed each ability one after the other, and then compare that to my total magic in my attributes. If all 5 abilities surpass my total magic, then it tells me that I need to slip in some stamina abilities from my weapons. The only other thing that might change this is the rate of magic regeneration which will probably be greater on a higher level character. This is something I'm not sure how to buff up except through potions and provisions.

Yes, it does depend on Magicka and Spell Power, among other things--regeneration rates among them (Mundus stone, enchantments on armor/jewelry, other passives... a lot, actually).

Heavy attacks, for instance, vary with the degree of charge. The armor, spell resistance, and other stats of whomever you're attacking make a difference, too.

Have you tried using one of the combat stats/combat log addons like Foundry Tactical Combat, Recount, Combat Cloud, and others? That will tell you exactly what is happening, no guesswork required.

PBpsy · July 2014

charles.cavanaughub17_ESO wrote: »

The damage also depend on your magicka and spell power.
Your rank IV criple will do more damage if you have 1000 magicka than if you have 500.Your lvl18 NB probably has a lot less magicka than the level 28 one. No gradual increase from what I have seen.

Are you sure about that? That seems a little counterintuitive because if an ability does 100 magic damage it seems (at least to me) that it doesn't matter whether you have 500 magic or 10,000 magic in your attributes, you still deal the same 100 magic damage.
When perusing my skill bar, I'll often do an estimated count of magic cost if I unleashed each ability one after the other, and then compare that to my total magic in my attributes. If all 5 abilities surpass my total magic, then it tells me that I need to slip in some stamina abilities from my weapons. The only other thing that might change this is the rate of magic regeneration which will probably be greater on a higher level character. This is something I'm not sure how to buff up except through potions and provisions.

Yes .In this game the values for you resources mag/sta also act as your damage scaling stats (the good old str,dex,int). It is modern rpg design where everything is so damn streamlined that it becomes even more hard to figure out than AD&D2.2.1.233. Enjoy.

Anastasia · July 2014

PBpsy wrote: »

charles.cavanaughub17_ESO wrote: »

The damage also depend on your magicka and spell power.
Your rank IV criple will do more damage if you have 1000 magicka than if you have 500.Your lvl18 NB probably has a lot less magicka than the level 28 one. No gradual increase from what I have seen.

Are you sure about that? That seems a little counterintuitive because if an ability does 100 magic damage it seems (at least to me) that it doesn't matter whether you have 500 magic or 10,000 magic in your attributes, you still deal the same 100 magic damage.
When perusing my skill bar, I'll often do an estimated count of magic cost if I unleashed each ability one after the other, and then compare that to my total magic in my attributes. If all 5 abilities surpass my total magic, then it tells me that I need to slip in some stamina abilities from my weapons. The only other thing that might change this is the rate of magic regeneration which will probably be greater on a higher level character. This is something I'm not sure how to buff up except through potions and provisions.

Yes .In this game the values for you resources mag/sta also act as your damage scaling stats (the good old str,dex,int). It is modern rpg design where everything is so damn streamlined that it becomes even more hard to figure out than AD&D2.2.1.233. Enjoy.

And so incremental as to barely be noticed...

dylanjaygrobbelaarb16_ESO · July 2014

charles.cavanaughub17_ESO wrote: »

Thanks. I just realized after posting that I had 2 nightblade alts, 1 at level 18 and the other at level 28. I just went in and compared their class abilities, and from rank to rank there were subtle improvements, primarily in magic damage. One thing that was curious is that one particular ability, Cripple (under siphoning), actually had changes in damage in the same rank. The level 18 NB had Cripple I with about 10% of the bar filled and he was able to deal 140 magic damage over 8 seconds; the level 28 NB had Cripple I also, with about 50% of the bar filled and he was able to deal 235 magic damage over 8 seconds. So it appears to be a gradual improvement with the use of the ability.
A little odd, methinks, though there's no mistaking the dramatic effect when you get the announcement that an ability has achieved Rank ##.

I think a more compelling system might be to have ranks be more spaced apart, and have each rank signify a new morphing option, and even the option to demorph an ability in order to pursue a different morphing pathway, all dependent on skill points of course. I think that would be a better system than the current respeccing system that's now in place.

Your higher level toon will have higher spell power and therefore higher damage. Its not improving inside the tier.

Caroloces · July 2014

Your higher level toon will have higher spell power and therefore higher damage. Its not improving inside the tier.

Yeah. That makes sense. Is spell damage something that is increased with pure leveling? Or are there actions we can take to improve that? (Actually, I think this deserves a separate post).

Skafsgaard · July 2014

Some ranks give %s increments pr rank. Like magelight --> inner light will give 1% more spell crit pr morphed rank. That's a pretty huge deal, others maybe not so important, but max morph rank is always nice. I also recently noticed that morphs will have specific improvements on the spell toward the morph. Like purge --> effecient purge (morph to cost less mana about ½ reduction down from ca 650 magicka). The morphhed purge cost around 320 (i cant recall specific numbers) at morph rank I, and the new ranks in this morph will reduce magicka further. So yes they matter, but like most things in this games it's incremental, but all adds up.