Sorcerer Magicka Tank - Viability, Rotation and Gearing

RavenSworn · June 2015

Hi all!

Started leveling my sorcerer to be a tank on the Dc side and I wanted to know if I'm doing it right or going in the right direction. I understand as a tank, you need to have enough health and stamina to be viable in end gaming tanking, or at least the vet pledges. I have leveled a nb tank so I do know the basics just thought of sorcerer tanking.

Pierce Armor
Inner rage
Shattering Prison
Hardened ward
Bound aegis

Boundless storm
Daedric tomb
Volcanic Rune
Dark deal
Absorb magic

Absorption field
Greater storm Atronach

Now this is the build im going for but I find that using a sword and shield for both bars just makes me tankier but not much utility for the group, unlike the NB tank which can offheal and also maintain health on bosses if the healer is down.

While I can make use of the resto staff for extra healing capabilities, I dont know if I can help much with the group synergy. Thought of two hander, and while it is weird to have two stamina weps on a magicka build, it seems to me a much better fit.

The idea here to maintain the dark magic passive "blood magic" which heals me each time I hit an enemy with a dark magic ability. This would be shattering prison. I wanted to use the pet for emergency heals but taking up a slot for a heal while I have much better options seems a wasted slot. Also, was wondering id dark deal or dark conversion is much more useful for the build.

Hope to hear your thoughts!

Tadhg_Longhouse · June 2015

Be aware the bound aegis is a toggle so you would need to have it on both bars for it to work well.

I don't think volcanic rune and daedric tomb are particularly useful tanking abilities and you'll find shattering prison to be quite expensive as a heal.

I would consider using lightning storm to help get trash aggro along with shattering prison. Switch boundless storm with hardened ward as you're going to want to be keeping it up constantly for the extra damage mitigation. You also probably want to put Defensive stance on your main bar to improve your block.

I think putting a resto staff on the second bar isn't a bad idea. Use healing ward along with hardened ward to help suitability. Having a clannfear is probably a more useful instaheal than anything the resto bar offers. You could just have it on your main bar though and switch weapons to desummon.

Another idea I have had (not tested) is using a combination of Dark deal and balance (mages guild) to recover resources. You would use balance first a couple of times to build up your magicka pool, then hit dark deal to recover your stamina using your magicka pool (you'd need to rely on healer during this to keep your health up).

I'm not an experienced Sorc tank so take everything here with that in mind. Just some of my thoughts on the concept.

RavenSworn · June 2015

To me, Volcanic Rune and Daedric tombs are more control type of spells rather than just mitigate damage. I can provably mitigate better damage with hardened qard and healing ward for more survivability but in group work that's what a healer is for. If I can control the mobs, I can probably help the healer better since all I am worried now is mitigation.

If with enough magicka reduced cost in cp and also in jewellery help with shattering prison?

I like the idea of auto desummon my minion for the heal but that would mean I wont be able to switch weapons that often during battle. The Clannfear is a good oftank though in vet dungs, thats something im looking into.

Totally overlooked bound aegis as a toggle. Might change it up with defensive Rune.. Though structured entropy seems nice with the extra health slotted.

Emma_Overload · June 2015

Shattering Prison totally fails as a heal for two reasons:

1) It only produces ONE heal per cast, regardless of how many targets you hit.

2) You don't get the heal at all if you re-cast it on a target already affected by it.

If ZoS, fixed these two issues, then Blood Magic would be a much more viable heal.

RavenSworn · June 2015

Ah ok. That clears up things for me. Seems until that minor fix, bloodmagic passive is much better off used with defensive Rune or Daedric tomb I suppose?

Clannfear healing... Seems can't run from it. And matriach healing is so pitiful compared to rally even.
Is absorb magic useful for sorcerer tanks?

How bout the setup though? I understand gear will play a huge role so I was thinking of a leveling seducer / torugs pact or hist bark setup.

Magdalina · June 2015

Don't see much point for Bound Aegis to be honest(besides, as been pointed out, you'd have to have it on both bars for it to work), the armor/spell resist it provides is pitiful, 8% magicka is nice but not worth those 2 slots. I have Lightning Form - Hardened Ward - Medium armor active skill which name I always forget - Pierce Armor and something on my main bar when I tank usually. "Something" is usually Structured Entropy for 8% extra health. I'm still experimenting with sorc tanking, I know there're some really good ones out there but it's hard for me to get around not having a selfheal. I usually use an off resto staff. It's perfectly fine to let me survive most things if healer's around but if healer is down it's hit or miss if I can last til he's back up. It is interesting though.
Oh, and yeah. Blood magic sucks for healing unfortunately:/ I also REALLY wouldn't advice Dark Deal for a heal because it's a channel. It means you're pretty much helpless for 4(? Don't remember) seconds, can't block, dodge, anything(well you can but it interrupts the cast iirc). Any health you could recover with that you'll probably lose by not being able to defend yourself in the process(not to mention certain attacks just oneshot you if not blocked). Basically just accept sorc not having a class selfheal and try to work your way around it:P 2h selfheal, resto staff self heal and a lot of Hardened Ward spam could help to name a few.

RavenSworn · June 2015

Oh my thoughts on D a rk deal was not to heal, more for having enough stamina in exchange for magicka. This is so since magicka is not a big problem for sorcerer.

Of course this is in conjuction with hardened ward, Boundless storm then dark deal, regain stamina then more options to block cast.

FriedEggSandwich · June 2015

Magicka sorc-tank? Surely just stack shields and streak about hoping to agro something?

RavenSworn · June 2015

So back to the build:

Pierce Armor
Inner Rage
Boundless Armor
Unstable Clannfear
Hardened ward

Shattering prison
Dark deal / structured entropy
Absorb Armor
Unstable Clannfear
Daedric tomb / structured entropy / Volcanic Rune

My reasons for absorb armor on the second bar is two fold; one to increase my survivability while block casting, the other as a stamina dump to ensure abit of healing while having s.e for extra health.

Raionken · June 2015

Yo

,
I've been leveling a sorcerer tank aswell for the past few days and after doing some research and also testing some skills, this is the setup that i'll go for:

Weapons: Sword and Board, Restorarion Staff

Bar 1: Sword and Board:
-Piercer Armor(*)
-Bound Aegis
-Hardened Ward
-Defensive Stance or Absorb Magic (Pick whichever you like most)
-Boundless Storm
Ultimate: Suppression Field

Bar 2: Restorarion Staff
-Inner Rage(*)
-Bound Aegis
-Restraining Prison
-Heal: Healing Springs (+)
-Liquid Lightning( Aoe trash)(-)
Ultimate: Greater Storm Atronach

(*) There's no point on having 2 taunts in the same skill bar, it's a waste of one slot.

(+) You've a few diferent heals to choose from:
-Healing Springs: i find it to be the most useful in the long run, considering it gives both health and magicka.

-Unstable Clannfear: heals quite a bit but since it costs a lot of magicka to summon, i'd rather have a heal that i could spam more than 1 time in those situations when the healer dies.

-Entropy and Vigor: i haven't tried these yet so, i can't say anything about them...

(-) If u're looking for more CC, caltrops and volcanic rune aren't bad options either.

Emma_Eunjung wrote: »

Shattering Prison totally fails as a heal for two reasons:

1) It only produces ONE heal per cast, regardless of how many targets you hit.

2) You don't get the heal at all if you re-cast it on a target already affected by it.

If ZoS, fixed these two issues, then Blood Magic would be a much more viable heal.

It would be epic if they changed that.

RavenSworn · June 2015

Imo entropy is more for the buffs and slotted passive than heals. Its is a constant heal but not nearly high enough for a tank. Iim told vigour and Caltrops are also a game changer for tanks but I am not inclined for PvP unfortunately.

So im guessing with your bars your play is to mitigate and stay alive yes? Because I see not much control spells in your bar.