sjaeger172004rwb17_ESO wrote: »

Just wondering is the Sorceror class the best way to play a Ranger class with minions/pet? And was wondering about a lvling build.

Thank you

I do not play with pets (merely a personal preference) but when adapting to 1.6 I discovered that my stamina-based sorcerer was able to easily take on groups of mobs in Craglorn.

Granted, this is an end-game build, but here's the theory: my stamina sorc was originally made to be a scroll runner in Cyrodiil but since there's no longer any stackable speed buffs (there's no source of Minor Expedition) this doesn't especially work anymore (although she has 2 sets of armor that increase speed that most people don't have and aren't even aware of) so I've tried to get her to participate in endgame things like pledges (works semi-ok), Trials (works pretty well), but certainly not Sanctum Ophidia.

She uses dual wield and bow, which I picked up as an afterthought way later for PvP. since stamina regeneration is terrible for the sorc class, she wears 3 jewelry at all time with stamina cost reduction enchants, as well as something like 25 points into stamina cost reduction CP passives.

Also, she will almost always wear the Quick Serpent (6% stamina cost reduction) or Hircine's Veneer (5% stamina regeneration bonus for up to 12 party members, but only when grouped as it's much less powerful than the former Set).

Also, ALL morphs available with poison she has taken to work with the Viper's Sting and Poisonous Serpent set, as well as a Master's Bow (even the Undaunted spider skill synergy is a poison, not fear, morph for her) along with a lot of CP put into the "increase damage with disease, poison and magic damage" passive.

She tends to use Viper daggers (used to be needed for procing Critical Surge but now not so much) or the Serpent swords that do stacked armor penetration, with poison enchants obviously.

She also uses a wide range of movement and utility skills such as anti-vampire stuff in PvP, Lightweight Beast Trap, and procs the sorc crit passive with daedric mines where appropriate.

I have another configuration for her using blocking cost reduction Sets (Cyrodiil's Ward) and damage-reflection, such as Spiked Bone Shield, Dagger Cloak or whatever that new skill is called, and the Twin Sisters Set to make the times when she has to block (a stamina sorc MUST NOT block most of the time, as even before 1.6 it ate up a LOT of stamina and just got you killed, so you have to pay close attention to telegraphs such as archer's cones or charge-paths) work against her enemies when surrounded by particularly hard-hitting enemies (ordinarily, the Crit Surge suffices to self-heal through all out attack). You obviously need the stamina-returning morph Whirling Blades.

There's lots of archery options for when that's your focus, but I think Kyne's Kiss, which essentially makes it so you never run out of stamina while pew pew-ing, is the best for a stam sorc.

Then add in pets - they draw off enough aggro that you don't have to worry about the self-healing so much, can weave in more heavy attacks when you're running out of stam, and both pets can be toggled off for self-heal and magicka return (to, for instance, bolt escape away when necessary). It's workable, but it's best to have other toons who can collect ever bit of PvP and Trial gear for you instead of trying to use it as your main.