A Commentary on Templars

Ffastyl · August 2015

Templars are a jack-of-all-trades class, capable of both pure and hybrid builds. Having many support abilities, Templars are desired in virtually any group. Yet, they are near the bottom of the PvP ladder. Why? Templars are lacking in solo viability. Most of our abilities are group oriented, and to that end we are exceptional. But when it comes time to fight on our own, it takes careful planning and a skilled player to pull it off. The tweaks and fixes implemented in this Update add a couple tools to our arsenal but also weaken others. Our fighting styles will change but overall Templars are where they were in PvP - Great in groups and unwieldy solo.

Divided and subdivided by spoiler tags for readability, below is my commentary of the Templar class as of Update 7.
*Updated in last revision

Aedric Spear*
This tree supports solo Templars the most by offering many forms of CC, self-defense and a single hard hitting ability.

Puncturing Strikes -

Puncturing Strikes is the hardest hitting ability available to Templars, Radiant Destruction coming in second. This is thanks to the bonus +140% damage for closest target and 4 strikes, triggering 4 checks for the Burning Light passive (25% chance to deal extra damage). It is an conal AoE too, allowing multiple targets to be hit and serving as a close-range counter to Cloak. But because it is an AoE positioning and movement are key to ensuring it connects. A 50% miss rate for Puncturing Strikes is decent accuracy on the player's part.

Biting Jabs is the more well known morph and typically the harder hitting simply due to physical mitigation being less prevalent than magical mitigation. For a Stamina build, Biting Jabs deals damage just shy of Uppercut (or Wrecking Blow, the morph on death recaps everywhere). Including Burning Light, Biting Jabs can deal considerably (more than double) the damage of Uppercut. This is the bread and butter attack of Stamina Templars.

Puncturing Sweeps is the magical equivalent of Biting Jabs and it offers healing as its perk. Templars are able to attack and heal simultaneously with this attack, creating a highly self-sustaining build. The knockback reviled by many comes in handy here, allowing a follow up Puncturing Sweeps for additional healing and damage before the opponent can react.

The one second knockback, eliciting CC-immunity, is where many find fault with Puncturing Strikes. Without the CC-immunity it is child's play to stun lock opponents. Some call for it to be replaced by a snare, as it can restrict the target's ability to evade without inflicting CC-immunity. The knockback still has tactical advantage, as the target is essentially stunned for 1 second. A lot of damage can be dealt in 1 second -- Biting Jabs can be executed in 1 second!
But the fact remains that the CC-immunity is far longer than the potential CC Puncturing Strikes offers. Reducing the duration of immunity it offers or increasing the duration of the CC will make it less painful to use when there are other CC options available.

Piercing Javelin -*

Piercing Javelin is the only instantaneous hard-CC available to Templars. Take a look at all the other skills in each line... Piercing Javelin is the only one without a cast time, delay, or secondary condition. The damage has been buffed in Update 7, making it more bearable to use.
As an archer, this ability is a great replacement for Magnum Shot, offering the same knockback and tapping into the Magicka pool rather than Stamina.

Some Templars make creative use of Piercing Javelin with Critical Rush (Two-Handed skill), using Piercing Javelin to instantaneously create extra distance to earn more bonus damage on Critical Rush.

Aurora Javelin deals more damage at further ranges, which is counterintuitive to the reflexive use of this skill: to knockback someone getting too close. As a result, Binding Javelin is the favored morph for it extends the CC duration. Binding Javelin's CC is identical to Uppercut (knockback/down and 3.5 second stun), but without the cast time, high damage and has ~3x the range.

Aurora Javelin can be altered by reversing the damage bonus conditions. Grant more damage based on how close the target is to the caster. This rewards using it for the intended purpose of creating distance, however Magicka Templars also use this to maintain distance so which bonus damage condition is better is up for debate.

Focused Charge -

Focused Charge is the sole (effective) gap closer within the Templar's toolkit. It rarely deals notable damage to target and until recently was unresponsive and clunky. The bonus Focused Charge offers, beside closing the distance in an aesthetically satisfying manner, is interrupting casting targets. Toppling Charge adds a 2.4 second stun without auxiliary conditions, aside from the 3.5m minimum range requirement. Explosive Charge deals AoE damage on impact, which is decent in that regard as secondary targets take equal damage to the primary (no splash damage).

Piercing Charge is situationally useful and the time delay it takes to travel to target vastly shortens the window for interrupting casters, making it rare to get the full potential from this ability. It is still a Magicka based gap closer, greatly reducing strain on the Stamina pool as one attempts to hound a runner (or streaker). However the damage is lackluster, so it is only used to close gaps, if at all.

The off-balance debuff is inflicted so rarely in actual combat that it may as well not be part of the ability. Making the off-balance status guaranteed to trigger, or removing it in favor of increased base damage, will help add utility to Piercing Charge.
The ability to interrupt casters is unique, and while rarely achieved, is still an effect I have been thankful for in the past.

Spear Shards -

To allies it is a gift from the Divines, restoring 25% Stamina up front and continued restoration for an additional 10 seconds. Veteran armies mandate Templars use this ability, as near infinite Stamina is a priceless boon. For the Templar throwing these, Spear Shards is ranged a AoE CC that inflicts minor damage. The morph Blazing Spear adds a pulsing DoT, which helps counter Cloak and has a chance of proccing Burning Light. Luminous Shards adds Magicka restoration to the Stamina, which does not assist the Templar.

When well aimed, Spear Shards can be used to close gaps by stunning/disorienting the pursued. However the ability goes through 3 animations from button press before it hits the impact zone: the Templar throwing the spear upwards, the spear racing down from the heavens, and the spear fragmenting just above ground as the bulk impacts the target area. When lag is present, this can mean up to a minute before the spear lands. Consolidating the animations to 2 or less (throwing and impact) will reduce the delay and drastically reduce the potential delay to impact during lag.

The ability for Templars to use the synergy of spears they have thrown will add to solo viability. However, using the synergy unaltered is overpowered (the Templar can spam the spear to restore resources rapidly, even with 6 second cooldown between synergies) so the caster should receive a greatly reduced version. Either scrapping the instant 25% Stamina and receiving only the over-time restoration of resources or receiving a reduced version of both (e.g. 12% Stamina and 800 over 10 seconds or even weaker). This tweak will make both morphs useful to solo Templars and make morph choice harder as only one restores both Magicka and Stamina. Right now, the morph choice comes down to whether the Templar prioritizes group (Luminous Shards) or solo (Blazing Spear) play.

Sun Shield -*

"Sun Shield is what gives Templars their survivability."
In previous builds of the PTS, Sun Shield was severely hindered at protecting 15% of the caster's HP but has been improved to 29% in the current iteration. This is the sole damage shield of Templars and short of Major Evasion, escape tools or hyper armor, this is the best defense a Templar can get. Sun Ward is still lacking behind its counter-exploding twin Blazing Shield in overall effectiveness. The increase to shield strength and cost reduction are a step in the right direction, but not strong enough incentive compared to the 50% 'reflected' damage of Blazing Shield.

Templars are also lacking in AoE CC so Sun Ward could be improved by adding a disorient effect to the initial hit.

Dawn's Wrath*
This tree has exceptional DPS and debuff abilities in it, but they are largely group oriented, requiring allies or a very specific build to get the most use out of.

Sun Fire -*

The first ability in each class tree for every class is one that is used long after the upper tier abilities are unlocked. Look at Rushed Ceremony (Breath of Life), Puncturing Strikes (Biting Jabs), Mage's Fury, Cloak, Assassin's Blade, Strife (Funnel Health), Spiked Armor, Stone Fist, and Crystal Shard (Crystal Fragments). Each one brings something iconic to the class tree and is never outdated.

Sun Fire is abandoned as soon as Solar Flare or even a Weapon ability is unlocked.

It is a Magicka based snare, reducing strain on the Stamina pool, but most DoTs in ESO are negligible. Morph choice comes down to whether you want to snare multiple targets or a single target for a longer period of time. With the presence of gap closers and other sources of snare, Sun Fire has little utility.

Removing the DoT to give it higher up-front damage while maintaining the snare effect afterward would make it like a Magicka Flying Blade (Dual Wield ability); or a damage based HoT could be added, healing the Templar or an ally while the DoT is active for 10 to 50% of the DoT tick. e.g. 1000 damage up front followed by 2000 DoT over 6 sec, healing for 300 every 2 seconds (roughly half the DoT tick). Alternatively, making a morph Stamina based while increasing base impact damage is another way to improve this ability.

In combination with one of the suggestions above (or some other alteration), Vampire's Bane could be replaced with a "Sun Veil" morph, granting Major Evasion and dealing local fire damage as the Templar is cloaked in fire (I imagine it as the Templar becoming made of sun fire, like Akatosh's avatar (see spoiler)).

This would bring back the lost Blinding Light ability in a different form. Using the similar stats as above, "Sun Veil" deals 100 damage every second to nearby enemies and lasts X seconds. The damage and/or duration could increase with each rank.
Fans of Blinding Light would prefer duration, but the +20% duration from Enduring Rays (passive) needs to be taken into account. Currently Shuffle (Medium Armor ability) grants just Major Evasion for 23 seconds (and snare/root immunity for X*0.5 sec where X = worn # of Medium Armor pieces). Making "Sun Veil" similar in utility could be 16 second duration (for 19.2 with Enduring Rays) with small damage from the cloak or a larger damage tick from the fire and a shorter duration to compensate (e.g. 13 seconds and 200 damage per second or 8 seconds and 500 damage per second).

Sun Fire as is, is one of two instant attacks available to Templars and despite being the one intended for dealing damage, fails at its purpose.

Solar Flare -

Solar Flare is an ability which can be used by solo Templars who focus on Magicka and Spell Damage. It deals decent damage, grants Empower and can be morphed to inflict Major Defile too, making it desired in groups.

The gripe most people have with it is the time it takes to hit target after activating. There is a 1.1 second cast time followed by an arcing shot. This is actually fine as is, for Solar Flare's damage scales extremely well with Magicka and Spell Damage, hitting as hard if not harder than Crystal Fragments for Magicka focused builds. It just lacks the same oomph because it does not inflict hard-CC. Its visuals and audio may be a bit underwhelming too.

The alternate morph, Solar Barrage, is extremely weaker by comparison -- at first glance. The closest skill in function to Solar Barrage is Impulse (Destruction Staff ability). Impulse has a 6m radius and decreasing damage as the target is further from the caster. Solar Barrage has an 8m radius, grants Empower and deals more damage than Impulse. As some have put it: "It's like having Impulse on any weapon you want."

The issue with Solar Flare and its morphs is that the oomph they provide is not apparent from the visual and audio feedback, causing players without add-ons giving numbers to believe it is not hitting for much (we expect weaker abilities to hit faster, hence the call for no cast time on all morphs).

Backlash -

Backlash is a unique ability. Aside from the recent Magicka Detonation, this is one of two skills which are cast on a target and deal delayed damage (the other being Velocious Curse). It deals 33% of the damage inflicted on the target during the 6 seconds it is active, making it great for sudden burst but hard to time well. With a damage oriented build, it is possible to reach the damage cap on Backlash by oneself. Otherwise an ally is required to get the maximum damage out of Backlash.
For solo play it is hit or miss based on the damage a Templar is geared to deal within 6 seconds.

The damage cap was higher during testing for Update 6, scaling with Max [Resource] and Damage, which left caps of 10,000 damage not uncommon. It now scales with Max only, preventing the sudden 10k+ one-shots Templars might have become known for. But the current cap can be a little limiting when facing shield stackers or super tanks. Increasing the damage cap but reducing the absorption rate would be one way to tweak it (i.e. scales with Max and Damage but deals 25% of damage inflicted) or increasing the duration to give solo Templars a better opportunity to reach cap.
These are suggested tweaks, not recommended, as Backlash already performs well for both solo and group play.

Eclipse -*

Eclipse is the same as Solar Flare in that its value is lesser known. Eclipse reflects all single-target spells back at the caster and explodes at effect's end (whether by CC-break or duration end) and can be morphed to explode for more damage or for reflected spells to heal the Templar caster. Aside from some bugs that occur when certain spells are reflected (like Dark Talons), the shortcoming Eclipse is derailed for is being counted as hard-CC, therefore granting CC-immunity on Break Free.

Eclipse, when well timed, is a complete counter to mages and magical builds. Experienced players CC-break immediately, which also lets it serve as a Stamina drain. But some players are frustrated by the CC-immunity it can grant. One way to address it is to have Eclipse function similar to Reflective Scales - it reflects a certain number of spells before expiring or when the duration ends. This can let it be counted as soft-CC since the target is not forced to wait the full duration. Taking it a step further, it has been suggested Eclipse be cast on self, essentially becoming a Templar version of Reflective Scales. While this is one way of addressing the free CC issue, it also invites a heavy nerf as old players should know how overpowered Reflective Scales used to be without a cap on reflected projectiles per cast.

As is, Eclipse can be hard to wield correctly but when it is Eclipse can be very powerful.

Personally,

I would keep the higher skill requirement and potential power -- Leave Eclipse as is.

The limit to one cast active at a time is subject for debate. It is fun to cast several spheres on several targets, but I have only needed to cast it on one target at a time.

Radiant Destruction -

Radiant Destruction is a well known ability at this point. Update 7 has reduced the base damage it deals and the bonus damage for Radiant Oppression. The change makes Radiant Destruction an inferior ability for Stamina builds; for Magicka it is still a viable attack and so far is not a one-button-win anymore.
Radiant Destruction is the most solo-oriented ability in the Dawn's Wrath line and a staple attack for Magicka Templars.

Restoring Light*
This tree contains many healing abilities. While they can be used to self-heal, all are group-oriented.

Rushed Ceremony -*

Rushed Ceremony is the bread and butter of healing for Templars. It can heal for quite a bit with a Magicka focused build. The base heal is enough for small to moderate wounds with Stamina builds. The morph Breath of Life is the prefered one, as it heals 3 targets over 1, but Update 7 has made Honor the Dead able to compete. Honor the Dead offers better Magicka management by refunding itself over a period of time.

Under the current -50% healing, Rushed Ceremony is no longer a clutch/ohS* heal. Dedicated healers can still make health bars move miles, but the average Templar cannot heal a great amount with Rushed Ceremony. This is good in that it reinforces the passive healing style implied by the Restoration Staff line, preventing players from relying on the healer alone to keep them alive.

The smart targeting makes Breath of Life the better choice for solo Templars. Even if the main heal hits someone else, the secondary heals can still hit the caster. The smart heal system itself is what prevents Rushed Ceremony from being a great heal: it targets based on Current HP. If it targets based on HP Percentage instead Rushed Ceremony would be a bit more reliable.

Healing Ritual -*

Healing Ritual is stronger and less costly than Rushed Ceremony, but it has a 2 second cast time and a 10m range compared to Rushed Ceremony's 28m. Lingering Ritual somewhat addresses the range issue by having a delayed secondary heal, while Ritual of Rebirth reduces the cast time by 0.3 seconds.
This ability heals the caster by an extra 30%, making an already strong heal an even stronger self-heal.

The biggest drawback to solo play is the cast time. Increasing the reduction to Ritual of Rebirth to 0.5 seconds would be a start, but 1.0 seconds would be better (but potentially overpowered for such a large heal).

For group play, the small radius makes Healing Ritual inferior to Rushed Ceremony. Increasing the radius to 15m or even 12m will help increase the use this ability sees.

This ability stands to be the Templar's greatest self-heal, as it always targets the caster and even heals said caster for an additional amount. However the cast time prevents this from happening. 2 seconds is too long to wait for a heal in any combat situation, whether PvE or PvP. Even if it means nerfing Healing Ritual's range or heal amount, the cast time needs to be shortened.

Restoring Aura -*

Restoring Aura locks down a slot on bars for the passive +10% to all Regeneration. It can be activated to increase Health and Stamina Regeneration by another 20%. The morph Repentance is more well known as it provides instant recovery over Radiant Aura's extended radius.

Having no passives related to regeneration (Restoring Spirit in Dawn's Wrath reduces the cost of all abilities by 4%), Restoring Aura is the only boost Templars have available. This ability allows Templars to have good regeneration for all resources (short of excellent), but at the cost of an ability slot. Templars that want the passive boost active at all times must settle for having only 4 ability slots on each bar to work with.
For my own builds, that always means giving up an execute, a gap closer, or defensive ability.

Reallocating the passive 10% increase to a passive ability or swapping the passive of Restoring Aura with the bonus of said passive ability (such as Mending) will free up the fifth slot for regeneration oriented Templars. Alternatively, Restoring Spirit could also grant +5% to all Regeneration, making Templars an equal to Nightblades in general regeneration with Restoring Aura also slotted (and Restoring Aura is no longer the sole source of in-class bonus regeneration for Templars).

In regards to granting an in-class AoE CC option, Restoring Aura could be the source of this by disorienting or stunning nearby enemies upon activation.

Cleansing Ritual -*

Cleansing Ritual is one of the few means a player has to remove debuffs. This makes it a powerful ability in the Templar's arsenal, save for the weakness that it only removes 1 debuff from the caster.

The morph Purifying Ritual addresses this by increasing the debuffs removed to 5 at Rank IV. Extended Ritual increases the duration, but this is of dubious benefit.
While it grants a larger timeframe for allies to activate the synergy, it grants little benefit to the caster and the healing provided by this ability is among the lower tier for passive heals.

Extended Ritual needs to be revisited to grant additional healing or further extend the duration, as beyond the debuff removal it does not offer much that other abilities can do better. This is also a great ability to add in-class Minor Maim to, something Templars are lacking compared to other classes. Having Extended Ritual inflict enemies within the circle with Minor Maim will make it competitive with Purifying Ritual.
Alternatively Minor Maim could be granted to the base ability, and some minor damage over time effect added to Extended Ritual.

Rune Focus -

Rune Focus is an interesting skill. It provides a major armor buff but requires the Templar to stand on the rune to remain active. The rune itself is about 5m in diameter, which is just big enough to dodge AoE attacks by an inch and still be standing on the rune. In Update 6 it received a necessary buff: the buff lasts for 8 seconds outside the rune and returning to it refreshes the buff. It is still restrictive of movement, but far less so than previously.

The morph Channeled Focus returns Magicka every half second while the buff is active, refunding the ability cost by more than 100%. Even the 8 second duration outside the rune is long enough to get a full refund, so Templars can simply cast and forget without Magicka cost. The regeneration also helps maintain the use of Magicka abilities for all types of builds (While operating as a Stamina build and using Channeled Focus I have been mistaken for Magicka).

Restoring Focus increases healing received by 8% for the caster and the passive Focused Healing increases healing for everyone inside the rune by 30%. This morph I admittedly have less experience with. It is a good match for healing focused Templars, but I cannot comment much beyond.

Ultimates*
The signature moves of Templars. These are varied and useful in a variety of situations.

Radial Sweep -*

The cheapest ultimate, at a cost of 72 with Restoring Spirit. It deals a modest amount of AoE damage and pulses several times before fading. Unfortunately, it often misses targets even within melee range due to it having a deceptively short range (5m when it looks like 7m or 8m).

Empowering Sweep incurs a flat 15% damage reduction on swing, with a +4% damage reduction per enemy hit. This can let a Templar become highly damage resistant for a brief period of time (8 seconds), increasing the viability of solo play by boosting survivability against multiple foes. The low cost means it can be used frequently, though not constantly.

Crescent Sweep increases the damage of the initial swing by 33% against targets in front of the Templar. Due to the miss rate this morph is less powerful than Empowering Sweep. It is in use amongst Templars, but uncommon. Buffing the damage this morph deals and removing the "in-front" condition will make it more of a room cleaner rather than a strong attack like Biting Jabs. Perhaps even adding an execute effect to it (+100% damage to low health targets, as with Whirlwind).

Nova -

This is the ultimate most known amongst non-Templars. It is the sun we call down to Mundus. It deals AoE damage and reduces damage dealt by 30% for those inside its vortex. The simple counter to Nova is stepping out of it. This ultimate has no CC to accompany it, though a synergy (which requires allies) can inflict stun and extra damage. Solar Disturbance adds a 60% snare, making it harder for enemies to escape its clutches. Super Nova boosts the effects of the synergy, a longer stun and more damage.

At best Nova crushes groups and cripples enemy offense; at worst Nova is area-denial, restricting enemy movement. For such a high cost ultimate (288 with Restoring Spirit), it can be hard to get the full potential out of it. Solar Disturbance helps solo Templars, while Super Nova offers nothing to them. Imparting some CC to the base ability will make Nova more useful, such as a brief root or stun on impact.
Nova is balanced with other ultimates of its cost, so adding a CC to impact will require a cost increase or for another aspect to be removed or for all ultimates of its cost bracket to be buffed to remain balanced.

Rite of Passage -

Rite of Passage is the strongest heal in-game. It heals for at least 2k a second, usually enough to very quickly refill allies health to 100% and maintain it for the duration of the ultimate. The morph Practiced Incantation extends the duration by 50%, but some groups can out damage the heal. This makes Remembrance viable, for its 23% damage reduction to those being healed makes it unlikely any group can out damage the HPS this ultimate provides.

Rite of Passage immobilizes the caster, which is bad in a game where players are encouraged to stay on the move. Luckily the caster is CC-immune and given hyper armor (+12,500 to be precise) to compensate. The visual makes the Templar a bullseye, though. It can be a life-saver for the solo and group Templar, but once cast most enemies will be upon the user.

While more mobility while casting is welcome, there is no obvious way to counter-balance the mobility without severely nerfing the heal or defensive benefits.

I draft this recalling my own experience as a Stamina/Hybrid Templar (106 days, 19 hours, 53 minutes or 2,563.883 hours logged on Live and 30 hours, 21 minutes on PTS; Alliance War Rank 24, Centurion Grade 2), my discussions with various Templars (primarily Magicka) both acquaintances and guildmates from Legion of Magnus, Requiem, Gamebreaker Nation and others, and various opinions I have read/heard over the forums and other media. I have glossed over some abilities in writing this, giving them less analysis than they deserve, but I touched on most points Templars are lacking in when it comes to solo PvP.

Please add your own experiences to it, even if they contradict. I will be refining the sections as I find time in between studying and PTS.
This thread has already seen revisions from opinions conflicting with my original thoughts/statements.

Other relevant threads:
Tanking and Templar CC analysis... (Looking for Tips from other players and Developers as well)
That's it for Templars?
Why Templar is the Worst Designed Class in ESO. *LONG*
Templar Enduring Rays passive – counter-productive?

Akinos · August 2015

This is probably the best, most well thought out and accurate write up of how templars and their skills are, their uses and uselessness. Great post with alot of good info. Take notice, ZOS.

Moricu · August 2015

have you seen @blabafat ? one of the best templar pvp players around

Akinos · August 2015

Moricu wrote: »

have you seen @blabafat ? one of the best templar pvp players around

I talk to blabafat almost everyday about templar stuff. And yes, even he knows and agrees that templars are the weakest of the 4 classes in almost all aspects. Being one of the best, most well known players doesn't mean they don't think their class couldn't use some improvement. Ebonheart Templar has said the same thing also.

That being said, they, like everybody else that didn't reroll the moment they realized that templars aren't up to par, we're just trying our best to adapt with the few tools that we were given.

Moricu · August 2015

I guess its hard to balance a class for pvp and pve , I would think most MMO's suffer it too

yeso112860 · August 2015

I honestly respect the work you have done documenting those, to be honest I did not read it all of it but I will.

Here comes the "but"

The notorious Abraxus Exile EU 1st rank 50 (as far as I know) was playing templar (you can say with enough given time you can go top with any class which also makes being bottom irrelevant but going on...)
After 1.6 end of first Thornblade EU campaign top 100 character combination was 32 NB - 28 Temp - 22 DK - 18 sorc and following month was not so different, today that picture shifted a bit but by no means templar are bottom.

Soris · August 2015

Good write up. I agree most of the things. But you lost me on Blazing Shield. Even though it is making wonders in pve tanking, it doesn't work in pvp. It's simply not enough for anything for its cost.

Around 3500 base cost, with 30k+ health giving 5k shield at most(with CP) that the damage goes unmitigated and can be critted(soon) and hits for 1.2k noncrit on naked targets. This is not even close to your statement "strong enough" And 30k health is not common for dps specs. It is even worse with 20k-25k health.

Radiant Ward is nothing different minus the cost decrease. Shield strength is just 1% more for each enemy.

It is EXTREMELY OVERNERFED AND OUTDATED ability. It got hit by 5 direct/indirect nerfs in just 2 patches for the sake of nerfing hardened ward and harness. To those who need a reminder, click spoiler.

cost increase, general health decrease, battle spirit shield nerf for 1.6 and additional battle spirit nerfs on shield values and damage for 1.7

And the fun fact is hardened ward is still op while all the efforts to nerf it kick the balls of templars.

Ludof · August 2015

Spear Shards -
To allies it is a gift from the Divines, restoring 25% Stamina up front and continued restoration for an additional 10 seconds. Veteran armies mandate Templars use this ability, as near infinite Stamina is a priceless boon. For the Templar throwing these, Spear Shards is ranged a AoE CC that inflicts minor damage. The morph Blazing Spear adds a pulsing DoT, which helps counter Cloak and has a chance of proccing Burning Light. Luminous Shards adds Magicka restoration to the Stamina, which does not assist the Templar.

When well aimed, Spear Shards can be used to close gaps by stunning/disorienting the pursued. However the ability goes through 3 animations from button press before it hits the impact zone: the Templar throwing the spear upwards, the spear racing down from the heavens, and the spear fragmenting just above ground as the bulk impacts the target area. When lag is present, this can mean up to a minute before the spear lands. Consolidating the animations to 2 or less (throwing and impact) will reduce the delay and drastically reduce the potential delay to impact during lag.

The ability for Templars to use the synergy of spears they have thrown will add to solo viability. However, using the synergy unaltered is overpowered (the Templar can spam the spear to restore resources rapidly, even with 6 second cooldown between synergies) so the caster should receive a greatly reduced version. Either scrapping the instant 25% Stamina and receiving only the over-time restoration of resources or receiving a reduced version of both (e.g. 12% Stamina and 800 over 10 seconds or even weaker). This tweak will make both morphs useful to solo Templars and make morph choice harder as only one restores both Magicka and Stamina. Right now, the morph choice comes down to whether the Templar prioritizes group (Luminous Shards) or solo (Blazing Spear) play.
Sun Shield -
"Sun Shield is what gives Templars their survivability."
Sun Shield protects for 15% of the Templar's Health. This is enough to negate a single strong blow and provides merit to investing in health. The +4% per enemy hit goes seemingly unaffected by Battle Spirit (possibly bug), which means the Sun Shield truly shines in 1vX situations. The shield becomes strong when surrounded, resembling its strength without Battle Spirit. The morph Radiant Ward increases the bonus per enemy and reduces cost, making this a better damage shield. Favor is shifting towards this morph as the counter damage Blazing Shield was so feared for has been reduced. Blazing Shield and to a lesser extent Sun Ward, are the Templar's answer to aggressive melee combatants. Both increase in strength based on the number of enemies in melee distance and Blazing Shield reflects half the damage absorbed back at melee aggressors as AoE damage.

The recent changes to Battle Spirit have made Blazing Shield less than it was but, contrary to the wailing, it is still a viable defense. As stated above, 15% of Max Health is enough to take the edge off many a blow. It may not absorb several blows like it used to, but the shield is strong enough to protect from even a Sweeper's stray spell.

Sun Fire -
Weak to moderate damage with a moderate DoT and snare. The snare and DoT are what attract people to this ability. It is a Magicka based snare, reducing strain on the Stamina pool, but most DoTs in ESO are negligible. Morph choice comes down to whether you want to snare multiple targets or a single target for a longer period of time.

With the presence of gap closers and other sources of snare, Sun Fire has little utility.

Removing the DoT to give it higher up-front damage while maintaining the snare effect afterward would make it like a Magicka Flying Blade (Dual Wield ability).

Or a damage based HoT could be added, healing the Templar or an ally while the DoT is active for 10 to 50% of the DoT tick. e.g. 1000 damage up front followed by 2000 DoT over 6 sec, healing for 300 every 2 seconds (roughly half the DoT tick).

In combination with one of the suggestions above (or some other alteration), Vampire's Bane could be replaced with a "Sun Veil" morph, granting Major Evasion and dealing local fire damage as the Templar is cloaked in fire (I imagine it as the Templar becoming made of sun fire, like Akatosh's avatar (see spoiler)).
This would bring back the lost Blinding Light ability in a different form. Using the similar stats as above, "Sun Veil" deals 100 damage every second to nearby enemies and lasts X seconds. The damage and/or duration could increase with each rank.
Fans of Blinding Light would prefer duration, but the +20% duration from Enduring Rays (passive) needs to be taken into account. Currently Shuffle (Medium Armor ability) grants just Major Evasion for 23 seconds (and snare/root immunity for X*0.5 sec where X = worn # of Medium Armor pieces). Making "Sun Veil" similar in utility could be 16 second duration (for 19.2 with Enduring Rays) with small damage from the cloak or a larger damage tick from the fire and a shorter duration to compensate (e.g. 13 seconds and 200 damage per second or 8 seconds and 500 damage per second).

I totally agree with anything here.
Blazing Shield needs to be changed otherwise it will be an other useless morph.
As for the other skills, I love the Spear Shards Sinergy idea and the Sun Veil thing.
Someone from ZOS will read this, hopefully.

Akinos · August 2015

yeso112860 wrote: »

I honestly respect the work you have done documenting those, to be honest I did not read it all of it but I will.

Here comes the "but"
The notorious Abraxus Exile EU 1st rank 50 (as far as I know) was playing templar (you can say with enough given time you can go top with any class which also makes being bottom irrelevant but going on...)

After 1.6 end of first Thornblade EU campaign top 100 character combination was 32 NB - 28 Temp - 22 DK - 18 sorc and following month was not so different, today that picture shifted a bit but by no means templar are bottom.

"Great in groups but unwieldy solo." That's what the OP said about templars. Pretty sure most templars and players in general know that. Posting about achievements a templar has done while being in a guild group isn't helping your argument. Rank 50 is no easy task but, it's also not possible to do solo. Unless you want to spend the next 20 years leeching AP off zergs and what not. However, if another class wanted to solo to rank 50, it would only take them half as long as it would a templar, lol. PvP is all about being fast and efficient, and when it comes down to it, templars aren't much of either.

I'm not saying it's impossible to solo pvp as a templar, I do it quite often. But I will say you will die much more often then you kill.

Cinbri · August 2015

There is nothing to add with current PTS notes, just Templar weaker with every Update. But we must hope for the best. Remember how on previous pts Jabs first was buffed with increased damage, and than double nerfed with free CC and reduced damage.

Soris · August 2015

yeso112860 wrote: »

I honestly respect the work you have done documenting those, to be honest I did not read it all of it but I will.

Here comes the "but"
The notorious Abraxus Exile EU 1st rank 50 (as far as I know) was playing templar (you can say with enough given time you can go top with any class which also makes being bottom irrelevant but going on...)

After 1.6 end of first Thornblade EU campaign top 100 character combination was 32 NB - 28 Temp - 22 DK - 18 sorc and following month was not so different, today that picture shifted a bit but by no means templar are bottom.

Anyone with a good 12+man group have high ranks. Look at these players, probably none of them is bellow rank 40 if it's his/her main char. Ranks made of APs and AP can be earn most effectively by farming pugs.
And Abraxus rerolled sorc after hitting r50 just fyi. Also you can find many posts of him about this foul state of templar class and especially blazing shield ^^

david.haypreub18_ESO · August 2015

Ludof wrote: »

As for the other skills, I love the Spear Shards Sinergy idea and the Sun Veil thing.
Someone from ZOS will read this, hopefully.

At this point, I've lost all hope. ZOS has had over a year to iron out the Templar class, and it has been dead last for the entire time.

They put out a discussion thread for Templars when they were trying to fix them, but they simply didn't listen to the advice they got in it. They removed the Templars' only AoE CC, destroyed Restoring Aura and just ignored the calls to remove the CC from biting jabs, fix the GCD on Toppling Charge, etc.

Now they're double nerfing Blazing Shield.

With no escape and no AoE CC, Templars will remain at the bottom of the barrel, sadly.

On the plus side, my Nightblade is awesome.

Soris · August 2015

Cinbri wrote: »

There is nothing to add with current PTS notes, just Templar weaker with every Update. But we must hope for the best. Remember how on previous pts Jabs first was buffed with increased damage, and than double nerfed with free CC and reduced damage.

Well I hope they keep that approach on bugged things on this new jab bug. I'll be happy then

Bugs are the new features for any templar related issue after all.

Lettigall · August 2015

In ESO there are 3 classes and templars. I kinda accepted already that templars won't be fixed and it's easy now to read patch notes without being disappointed.

About bugged jabs in PTS. I'm pretty sure that result will be fix&nerf, I'm betting that damage from jabs will be decreased after fix.

Akinos · August 2015

I feel like this belongs in this thread:

Alcast · August 2015

yeso112860 wrote: »

I honestly respect the work you have done documenting those, to be honest I did not read it all of it but I will.

Here comes the "but"
The notorious Abraxus Exile EU 1st rank 50 (as far as I know) was playing templar (you can say with enough given time you can go top with any class which also makes being bottom irrelevant but going on...)

After 1.6 end of first Thornblade EU campaign top 100 character combination was 32 NB - 28 Temp - 22 DK - 18 sorc and following month was not so different, today that picture shifted a bit but by no means templar are bottom.

are you seriously comparing Zerg grps with solo play?

You dont really need any class specifics as long as you are a good leader.

Templars are always in Top Leaderboard due to HEALING giving most AP

Cinbri · August 2015

Btw since 1.6 Restoring Focus grants 8% healing buff, not 15%, i.e. nerfed by double effect reduction. With 15% buff i would still use this morph, now it is useless. And ZOS seems doesn't care, wonder that we didnt get Channeled Focus mana regen double reduction nerf.

Ludof · August 2015

yeso112860 wrote: »

I honestly respect the work you have done documenting those, to be honest I did not read it all of it but I will.

Here comes the "but"
The notorious Abraxus Exile EU 1st rank 50 (as far as I know) was playing templar (you can say with enough given time you can go top with any class which also makes being bottom irrelevant but going on...)

After 1.6 end of first Thornblade EU campaign top 100 character combination was 32 NB - 28 Temp - 22 DK - 18 sorc and following month was not so different, today that picture shifted a bit but by no means templar are bottom.

Templars are on top of leaderboard because healing gives a lot of AP;
I don't think all of them gained AP by killing thousand of players 1 vs 1 or 1 vs x.
It is clear to anyone the current state of Templar: Zerg AP Leecher and Great Group Healer;
If you chose Templar for solo play then just change class.
Also I'm happy to see many people complaining about solo playing just like me.

Really nice analysis @Ffasyl

Kas · August 2015

Cinbri wrote: »

Btw since 1.6 Restoring Focus grants 8% healing buff, not 15%, i.e. nerfed by double effect reduction. With 15% buff i would still use this morph, now it is useless. And ZOS seems doesn't care, wonder that we didnt get Channeled Focus mana regen double reduction nerf.

wait for the next patch ^^

concerning the OP: good writeup. missing one difference between blazhing spear and luinous: luminous is a disorient instead of a stun which is probably the most intersting aspect of this morph (instead of the magicka return)

Ffastyl · August 2015

Moricu wrote: »

have you seen @blabafat ? one of the best templar pvp players around

I have not.

Soris wrote: »

Good write up. I agree most of the things. But you lost me on Blazing Shield. Even though it is making wonders in pve tanking, it doesn't work in pvp. It's simply not enough for anything for its cost.

Around 3500 base cost, with 30k+ health giving 5k shield at most(with CP) that the damage goes unmitigated and can be critted(soon) and hits for 1.2k noncrit on naked targets. This is not even close to your statement "strong enough" And 30k health is not common for dps specs. It is even worse with 20k-25k health.

Radiant Ward is nothing different minus the cost decrease. Shield strength is just 1% more for each enemy.

It is EXTREMELY OVERNERFED AND OUTDATED ability. It got hit by 5 direct/indirect nerfs in just 2 patches for the sake of nerfing hardened ward and harness. To those who need a reminder, click spoiler.
cost increase, general health decrease, battle spirit shield nerf for 1.6 and additional battle spirit nerfs on shield values and damage for 1.7
And the fun fact is hardened ward is still op while all the efforts to nerf it kick the balls of templars.

The point I was trying to make with Sun Shield is that while it is nerfed, it is not useless in Update 7. It has become a weak shield, but a weak shield is better than no shield!

david.haypreub18_ESO wrote: »

Ludof wrote: »

As for the other skills, I love the Spear Shards Sinergy idea and the Sun Veil thing.
Someone from ZOS will read this, hopefully.

At this point, I've lost all hope. ZOS has had over a year to iron out the Templar class, and it has been dead last for the entire time.

They put out a discussion thread for Templars when they were trying to fix them, but they simply didn't listen to the advice they got in it. They removed the Templars' only AoE CC, destroyed Restoring Aura and just ignored the calls to remove the CC from biting jabs, fix the GCD on Toppling Charge, etc.

Now they're double nerfing Blazing Shield.

With no escape and no AoE CC, Templars will remain at the bottom of the barrel, sadly.

On the plus side, my Nightblade is awesome.

What ZOS needs to improve Templars is constructive feedback. Between fixing bugs, creating content, and addressing the community, they probably have very little time to actually play their creation. It is easy to say something is wrong, but it is better to define what is wrong and provide possible solutions for it.

Cinbri wrote: »

Btw since 1.6 Restoring Focus grants 8% healing buff, not 15%, i.e. nerfed by double effect reduction. With 15% buff i would still use this morph, now it is useless. And ZOS seems doesn't care, wonder that we didnt get Channeled Focus mana regen double reduction nerf.

Good catch! I said I haven't use Restoring Focus much

. I will edit that in the OP.

Kas wrote: »

Cinbri wrote: »

Btw since 1.6 Restoring Focus grants 8% healing buff, not 15%, i.e. nerfed by double effect reduction. With 15% buff i would still use this morph, now it is useless. And ZOS seems doesn't care, wonder that we didnt get Channeled Focus mana regen double reduction nerf.

wait for the next patch ^^

concerning the OP: good writeup. missing one difference between blazhing spear and luinous: luminous is a disorient instead of a stun which is probably the most intersting aspect of this morph (instead of the magicka return)

I neglected to mention that difference as functionality the two are the same. They both inflict CC on a single target which is usually broken immediately. The base disorient does last for 6 seconds compares to Blazing Spear's stun's 2, but disorient is also broken by damage in addition to Break Free. They can disable enemies for different periods of time, but often for only brief periods of equal length.

I will add a note about this to the OP, though, once I have had time think of how I shall write it in.

The fact of Templars being in the top 100 on Leaderboards not being reflective of their solo capabilities has been mentioned enough that I do not need to comment. Some of the Templars I have chatted with are in the top 10 across several campaigns, and the one thing they all have in common is they lead groups.

The best way to get a feel for Templars in solo play is by dueling. It is 1v1 in a semi-controlled environment. While dueling is not reflective of solo play out in Cyrodiil and the Imperial City, it will highlight some of the strengths and weaknesses this class has in regards to independent fighting.

I have developed some of my most successful builds via dueling, but they are all geared towards countering one specific build of a class (i.e. Magicka Dragonknights or Stamina Nightblades). When a different build or class attacks me, I have almost no defenses against them. This is where Restoring Aura taking up a slot is so crucial. Freeing that fifth slot can allow for a counter to other builds being put in.

Cinbri · August 2015

I really hope that 1.7 will have change to favor templars(despite like many templars i loosing the faith). Not enjoyable to see nowdays how everyone rolling stamina NB, stacking max stamina, weapon damage, nirn armor, sharpened dual/2h maces, even double mundus stone bug with Warrior-Tower to have best defense and using just 3 skills to insta-gibbing every other builds while seriuosly saying that it is balanced and they just most skillfull players.
I think Blazing Spear will be more effective in 1.7 again, even now we can adopt DK duelist LA tank trick: morph to Blazing Spear, wear Valkyn, and in duel we can land it on ourself like DKs using Cinder Storm to proc meteors and prevent from cloaking. We can't root target inside like DKs, but i was surprised how good this combo works in duels vs any melee opponent.

Anazasi · August 2015

Interesting analysis. You have captured all the key defects for Templars. I can't wait to see what happens next. With over 120 days played as a Templar on live I await the future with anticipation.

Joy_Division · August 2015

Ffastyl wrote: »

Moricu wrote: »

have you seen @blabafat ? one of the best templar pvp players around

I have not.

Soris wrote: »

Good write up. I agree most of the things. But you lost me on Blazing Shield. Even though it is making wonders in pve tanking, it doesn't work in pvp. It's simply not enough for anything for its cost.

Around 3500 base cost, with 30k+ health giving 5k shield at most(with CP) that the damage goes unmitigated and can be critted(soon) and hits for 1.2k noncrit on naked targets. This is not even close to your statement "strong enough" And 30k health is not common for dps specs. It is even worse with 20k-25k health.

Radiant Ward is nothing different minus the cost decrease. Shield strength is just 1% more for each enemy.

It is EXTREMELY OVERNERFED AND OUTDATED ability. It got hit by 5 direct/indirect nerfs in just 2 patches for the sake of nerfing hardened ward and harness. To those who need a reminder, click spoiler.
cost increase, general health decrease, battle spirit shield nerf for 1.6 and additional battle spirit nerfs on shield values and damage for 1.7
And the fun fact is hardened ward is still op while all the efforts to nerf it kick the balls of templars.

The point I was trying to make with Sun Shield is that while it is nerfed, it is not useless in Update 7. It has become a weak shield, but a weak shield is better than no shield!

I disagree. A weak shield invites having a lot of unmitigated overflow damage. This is in addition to the resources and time you waste casting this defensive and reactive skill that does not threaten or harm your opponent(s).

Ffastyl wrote: »

david.haypreub18_ESO wrote: »

Ludof wrote: »

As for the other skills, I love the Spear Shards Sinergy idea and the Sun Veil thing.
Someone from ZOS will read this, hopefully.

At this point, I've lost all hope. ZOS has had over a year to iron out the Templar class, and it has been dead last for the entire time.

They put out a discussion thread for Templars when they were trying to fix them, but they simply didn't listen to the advice they got in it. They removed the Templars' only AoE CC, destroyed Restoring Aura and just ignored the calls to remove the CC from biting jabs, fix the GCD on Toppling Charge, etc.

Now they're double nerfing Blazing Shield.

With no escape and no AoE CC, Templars will remain at the bottom of the barrel, sadly.

On the plus side, my Nightblade is awesome.

What ZOS needs to improve Templars is constructive feedback. Between fixing bugs, creating content, and addressing the community, they probably have very little time to actually play their creation. It is easy to say something is wrong, but it is better to define what is wrong and provide possible solutions for it.

Zos had gotten very constructive feedback by articulate people numerous time even before launch when it nerfed restoring spirit. It set a well-established pattern in which ZoS promised to somehow fix/compensate Templars and never followed through. Many, many, many times the issues associated with the global cooldown on toppling charge, the undesirable CC on Biting jabs, the mechanical disadvantages of healing ritual, the absolutes uselessness of Radiant aura since 1.6 and yet here we still are.

The best way to get a feel for Templars in solo play is by dueling. It is 1v1 in a semi-controlled environment. While dueling is not reflective of solo play out in Cyrodiil and the Imperial City, it will highlight some of the strengths and weaknesses this class has in regards to independent fighting.

I have developed some of my most successful builds via dueling, but they are all geared towards countering one specific build of a class (i.e. Magicka Dragonknights or Stamina Nightblades). When a different build or class attacks me, I have almost no defenses against them. This is where Restoring Aura taking up a slot is so crucial. Freeing that fifth slot can allow for a counter to other builds being put in.

Yes and no. In a 1v1 controlled environment, a Templar isn't actually that bad of a class. The problem, as you alluded to, is that it is difficult to counter all the different builds out there and the unpredictable challenges that come with cyrodiil / the IC.

If I am a sorcerer, I can have one single build Vs. every opponent because Hardened Ward reliably protects against everything and bolt escape allows me to disengage against any unfavorable situation. If I am a NB, I don't have to worry about how I am going to use my attack skills against which opponents because Ambush, Surprise attack, and Incapacitating strike work very well against every type of opponent in the game.

If you try to play a light armor templar, you have no skills that offer you mobility which you need, weak shields that are not enough to offset your squishyness, one defensive skill that is only oriented to magic users that does not function if opponents are CC immune (now further limited to a single cast), and no skills that CC / debuff the enemy. That's a lot of holes to fill and that one slot you get from not using Repentance is not going to cover them all.

This is compounded by the fact the Templar's best damage skills, Dark Flare Biting Jabs, and Radiant Oppression are channels that leave the light armor templar defenseless. The first two are difficult to fully bring to bear against aware opponents are actively defending themselves.

All this makes the class very good against PvE mobs yet very cumbersome against reactive and diversified opponents.

Tankqull · August 2015

Soris wrote: »

yeso112860 wrote: »

I honestly respect the work you have done documenting those, to be honest I did not read it all of it but I will.

Here comes the "but"
The notorious Abraxus Exile EU 1st rank 50 (as far as I know) was playing templar (you can say with enough given time you can go top with any class which also makes being bottom irrelevant but going on...)

After 1.6 end of first Thornblade EU campaign top 100 character combination was 32 NB - 28 Temp - 22 DK - 18 sorc and following month was not so different, today that picture shifted a bit but by no means templar are bottom.

Anyone with a good 12+man group have high ranks. Look at these players, probably none of them is bellow rank 40 if it's his/her main char. Ranks made of APs and AP can be earn most effectively by farming pugs.
And Abraxus rerolled sorc after hitting r50 just fyi. Also you can find many posts of him about this foul state of templar class and especially blazing shield ^^

and gets destroyed regularily :P (he not his group) from my pov his influence on fights while playing his chars is
templar >>>>>>>>>>>>NB >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>sorc
but thats just my personal perception

Alcast · August 2015

@Ffastyl

Sunshield i a weakness now, it helps the enemy. for heavy armor uses bc ALL damage will hit you in the face unmitigated. Even on live now, when i see heavy armor tanks pop it and i use howl of agony =18kdmg.....

tinythinker · August 2015

Great thoughts. I recently summarized my latest proposals for Templar changes elsewhere (see spoilers below), which are often compatible with or at least offer a comparison of options alongside those generously written up and shared by the OP. No massive reorganization involved, just updates to keep pace with the rest of the game.

I don't think these would come close to making Templars OP but they would add some flavor to the class and make some skills more viable.

Aedric Spear

Replace the Knockback on Puncturing Strikes and its morphs with Concussion (target deals 10% less damage for the duration of the effect or until they Break Free) or Stun (target can't move or use abilities until effect ends or they Break Free).

Give a 15% base damage increase to Piercing Javelin and its morphs rather than 10% only to the Aurora Javelin morph; increase the range of the Aurora Javelin morph from 20 to 25 meters, increase the travel speed of the projectile to compensate for the longer distance, and boost the extra damage based on distance to a max of 60%.

Increase shield strength to 40% of caster's health for Sun Shield and its morphs. Double the damage on activation for Radiant Aura while either Stunning or Knocking Back those caught in the blast of the activation. Add Disorient (same as Stun but also ends if target takes damage) or Knock Back to enemies in range of the AoE damage effect when Blazing Shield explodes.

Change the Spear Wall passive to add a 10% chance to inflict Minor Maim (15% reduction in target's outgoing damage) for 8 seconds on an enemy whose melee attack has been blocked. [Helps make more of Blocking with the increased cost in 1.6 and the removal of Stamina Regeneration while Blocking in 2.1.]

Dawn's Wrath

Change all spell projectiles in the Dawn's Wrath skill line -- Sun Fire and its morphs along with Solar Flare and its morph Dark Flare -- so that they cannot be Dodged. Target(s) can still Block the projectiles to reduce damage taken, Reflect the projectiles, or Absorb the projectiles. [Dark Flare's cast time and slow travel speed would be balanced by the "no Dodge" effect. This would not effect PvE at all as mobs don't dodge, but it would make the skill more useful in PvP. The target and nearby enemies would still receive Major Defile if it is Reflected.]

Replace Major Prophecy for Vampire's Bane (increase caster's Spell Critical chance by 10%) with Major Breach (lower target's Spell Resistance by 5120) to make the DoT more effective. [Many players already slot Mage Light or get Major Prophecy from a potion.]

Reclassify Eclipse and its morphs as non-CC abilities that cannot be removed by Break Free. They could still be cleansed/purged.

Add "healing effect increased up to 20% based on your current magicka" to Radiant Glory.

Even if those aren't the best ideas, there is no doubt many players who run Templars love the class and would like to see them move in a positive direction.

The class has so much potential! And sure, I will still play it even if nothing much happens, no boycott or strike here. Even with their issues Templars are fun to play.

Yudarl · August 2015

Initially i wanted to start a new thread but it's probably better to post it here.

I and probably many others are very disappointed with the current state of the templar (especially magica templar) in pvp , at least in solo pvp. So I want to make a few suggestions to improve templars in pvp:
Aedric Spear.

Puncturing Strikes: remove the small stun and give us a snare or root( maybe to strong) instead
Piercing Javelin
Binding Javelin: This one is good no improvements needed
Aurora Javelin: useless, my suggestion would be to give this ability a finisher and remove radiant but many templars will probably disagree
Focus Charge (and morphs):fine but get rid of the GCD
Spear Shards : fine
Sun Shield : In 2.1 finally useless. Increase shield strength, dmg and duration. (other ways to make the ability useful again would be something like activating sun shield increases the proc chance of burning light by 10% or grants major expedition for 5s)

Dawn's Wrath:

Sun Fire
vampires Bane: keep the initial dmg but instead of a dot you put a bomb on your enemy that explodes when the enemy is hit by another dawn Wrath ability(Dmg of the explosion similar to curse) .Also works when the target gets hit by vampires bane again .After the explosion the Target is immune to the explosion for 4 seconds but not to the direct dmg.
Reflective Light: fine
Solar Flare:
Dark Flare: increase the speed of the projectile and decrease cast time to 0,8 s
Solar Barrage: maybe give us some kind of aoe debuff (not really needed but would be cool)
backlash . 72% instead of 36% and slightly increased maximum dmg ( needed due to low dmg in pvp with 2.1)
Eclipse: fine but allow us to cast it on multiple targets again
Radiant Destruction: would be fine now but I would love to see it replaced by a ability similar to dks whip(with a stamina and magica morph) ( Aurora Javelin would be the finisher instead )

Restoring Light:

Rushed Ceremony: fine
Healing Ritual : remove this ability and give us back binding flashes or some kind of escape of defensive ability instead
Restoring Aura:
Repentance: fine
Radiant Aura: gives you 25% better regeneration AND STACKS WITH PORTIONS !!!!
Cleansing Ritual:fine
Rune Focus fine but increase the healing buff of restoring focus to 15%

I wanted to give the templar less chanels and casts because they destroy the solo templar and please give us some defense back, healing is not enough !
Please give me some honest feedback I don't want templars to be op but to be competitive again . Maybe my suggestions would make templars to strong but the need a buff!
Thanks for reading
(sorry for my bad English)

danno8 · August 2015

Channeled Focus provides the magicka return completely independent of the circle buff. So that means upon casting you will always get 240 magicka return per second for the full 20+ seconds duration of the skill regardless of any re-buffing from the circle.

The skill essentially free 500 magicka regen.

manny254 · August 2015

I agree with the op's post.

Akinos wrote: »

Moricu wrote: »

have you seen @blabafat ? one of the best templar pvp players around

I talk to blabafat almost everyday about templar stuff. And yes, even he knows and agrees that templars are the weakest of the 4 classes in almost all aspects. Being one of the best, most well known players doesn't mean they don't think their class couldn't use some improvement. Ebonheart Templar has said the same thing also.

That being said, they, like everybody else that didn't reroll the moment they realized that templars aren't up to par, we're just trying our best to adapt with the few tools that we were given.

I think the largest issue with the templar class is that people try make it do what it is not for. Everyone wants to play in this 1v1/1vX legend play style or dodge roll around like maniacs. This is just not what templar is good at, and pointless in the actual alliance war. My stamina builds absolutely destroys most players, but it does so because I use it to actually play the objective. Templar is the weakest class to run around ignoring the objective and being useless to your faction, but it is one of the strongest while playing the objective.

Lastly people have been talking of the damage possible with a min maxed weapon power build on pts, but with the mechanics of jabs the most important things is positioning, and this is something that can not be taught in a build. So while a small amount of people will be able to make these builds work they will not be effective for most players.

david.haypreub18_ESO · August 2015

Joy_Division wrote: »

Ffastyl wrote: »

What ZOS needs to improve Templars is constructive feedback. Between fixing bugs, creating content, and addressing the community, they probably have very little time to actually play their creation. It is easy to say something is wrong, but it is better to define what is wrong and provide possible solutions for it.

Zos had gotten very constructive feedback by articulate people numerous time even before launch when it nerfed restoring spirit. It set a well-established pattern in which ZoS promised to somehow fix/compensate Templars and never followed through. Many, many, many times the issues associated with the global cooldown on toppling charge, the undesirable CC on Biting jabs, the mechanical disadvantages of healing ritual, the absolutes uselessness of Radiant aura since 1.6 and yet here we still are.

This is my point exactly. The 'Development Discussion' thread on Templars is 16 pages long; most of the player comments were simply ignored. There is a further thread on Templar skills bugged/made useless in the combat and character mechanics that is over 30 pages long. ZOS has actually buried the thread so it no longer appears in the top 10 pages of threads.

It took us over a year-- literally, over a year-- for ZOS to admit that the Global Cool Down on Toppling Charge should be removed. Then they went back on their promise to remove it and said it wasn't a bug after all and would not be removed. Then several more months of players begging for it to be removed got ZOS to agree to finally remove it in the next patch. Now we have those patch notes... and there is nothing about removing the GCD on Charge in them.

The problem is not a lack of proposed solutions; the problem is that ZOS is simply not listening to what the players are saying. I seriously believe they actually don't think anything is wrong with Templars at all.

danno8 · August 2015

manny254 wrote: »

I agree with the op's post.

Akinos wrote: »

Moricu wrote: »

have you seen @blabafat ? one of the best templar pvp players around

I talk to blabafat almost everyday about templar stuff. And yes, even he knows and agrees that templars are the weakest of the 4 classes in almost all aspects. Being one of the best, most well known players doesn't mean they don't think their class couldn't use some improvement. Ebonheart Templar has said the same thing also.

That being said, they, like everybody else that didn't reroll the moment they realized that templars aren't up to par, we're just trying our best to adapt with the few tools that we were given.

I think the largest issue with the templar class is that people try make it do what it is not for. Everyone wants to play in this 1v1/1vX legend play style or dodge roll around like maniacs. This is just not what templar is good at, and pointless in the actual alliance war. My stamina builds absolutely destroys most players, but it does so because I use it to actually play the objective. Templar is the weakest class to run around ignoring the objective and being useless to your faction, but it is one of the strongest while playing the objective.

Lastly people have been talking of the damage possible with a min maxed weapon power build on pts, but with the mechanics of jabs the most important things is positioning, and this is something that can not be taught in a build. So while a small amount of people will be able to make these builds work they will not be effective for most players.

You are not wrong in your assessment.

But people don't necessarily run around looking for 1v1 or 1vX. Those come to you. And they happen a lot in between you getting to your teammates or horse simulator. And it sucks to be the worst class at them.