Shield stacking

Amorpho · February 2016

Hi guys. I was wondering what happened when you stacked shields. Do they stack on top of each other or do they occupy "the same layer"? I'll give you an example. If you cast healing ward but you receive too much damage, the ward expires before popping, without granting you any healing. But if I were to cast hardened ward after casting healing ward, would hardened ward shield the healing ward or would both suffer the same damage? If shields stack on top of one another, do I have to cast hardened ward after I cast healing ward if I want the first to shield the second? I hope I made sense...

Whatzituyah · February 2016

I can imagine I heard that Sorcerers can shield stack.

Didgerion · February 2016

They stack on top of each other.

The one you casted first absorbs the damage till it wears off, then the second shield starts to absorb damage.

Amorpho · February 2016

Didgerion wrote: »

They stack on top of each other.

The one you casted first absorbs the damage till it wears off, then the second shield starts to absorb damage.

Does it mean that I should cast hardened ward and then healing ward in order for hardened ward to shield healing ward? Cause my gut feeling tells me healing ward should be cast first and that the shields you cast later protect the previous.

Didgerion · February 2016

Amorpho wrote: »

Didgerion wrote: »

They stack on top of each other.

The one you casted first absorbs the damage till it wears off, then the second shield starts to absorb damage.

Does it mean that I should cast hardened ward and then healing ward in order for hardened ward to shield healing ward? Cause my gut feeling tells me healing ward should be cast first and that the shields you cast later protect the previous.

You should cast healing ward last for the best healing effect.

Think of it like wrapping yourself in balloons .... if you wrap yourself in a balloon then the next balloon cannot go on top of the first balloon - you technically cannot reach outside of the first balloon.

oibam · February 2016

Shields should scale with HP, that would force Sorcs to tone down their insane burst damage in combination with invulnerablity due to shields and extremly high mobility (wich also stuns and damages), because they would have to take a look at their max HP.

Sausage · February 2016

Whatzituyah wrote: »

I can imagine I heard that Sorcerers can shield stack.

I wish they would add Potion of Protection aka Shield. Players can use detect inv potions and inv potions but why cant people use Shield potions, even Unstoppable against Knockback, it'd make that new set more useful too, that one was is good against Shields, even Potion of Speed is in game. Also if there was Potion of Protection, people wouldnt whine so much about NB's high dmg.

Detector · February 2016

Yes. Need Major Buff for absorb shields.

Amorpho · February 2016

Didgerion wrote: »

Amorpho wrote: »

Didgerion wrote: »

They stack on top of each other.

The one you casted first absorbs the damage till it wears off, then the second shield starts to absorb damage.

Does it mean that I should cast hardened ward and then healing ward in order for hardened ward to shield healing ward? Cause my gut feeling tells me healing ward should be cast first and that the shields you cast later protect the previous.

You should cast healing ward last for the best healing effect.

Think of it like wrapping yourself in balloons .... if you wrap yourself in a balloon then the next balloon cannot go on top of the first balloon - you technically cannot reach outside of the first balloon.

But they do stack. What I want to know is if I cast hardened ward (after I have cast healing ward) whether the ward appears on the outside or the inside of healing ward and whether one has to go through it before damaging the healing ward.

Alucardo · February 2016

My 5pc Shield Breaker approves of this thread

olsborg · February 2016

First on first off, if you cast hardened ward first then healing ward, the dmg you take will first be absorbed by hardward and you might very well get the full heal from healing ward.

Amorpho · February 2016

olsborg wrote: »

First on first off, if you cast hardened ward first then healing ward, the dmg you take will first be absorbed by hardward and you might very well get the full heal from healing ward.

Finally a decent answer!

So far I have been casting hardened ward, harness magicka and then healing ward. I'm glad I was doing it right all along

Moonshadow66 · February 2016

@Amorpho I was wondering about the exact same thing during the last days.. @olsborg Thanks for clarifying

Kova · February 2016

oibam wrote: »

Shields should scale with HP, that would force Sorcs to tone down their insane burst damage in combination with invulnerablity due to shields and extremly high mobility (wich also stuns and damages), because they would have to take a look at their max HP.

This had nothing to do with the questions in this thread. I mean this in the nicest way possible: You are an instigating sheep.

I'm going to bite, just to show you something. Imagine a sorc with 37k hp, 20k shields (based on the same scaling as with max magicka) and enough regen to streak around and combo you until tamriel explodes. Doesn't that sound like a nightmare?

Refuse2GrowUp · February 2016

oibam wrote: »

Shields should scale with HP, that would force Sorcs to tone down their insane burst damage in combination with invulnerablity due to shields and extremly high mobility (wich also stuns and damages), because they would have to take a look at their max HP.

Sorry to hijack the thread OP.

If they were to gimp sorcs in the way you suggest, then they would need to also gimp NBs, because currently they are on par with each other in PvP. Here's a thought tho, rather than cry to nerf sorcs or NBs, how about we simply ask for them to buff Tamplars and magicka DKs to make them better.

Besides, how many Sorcs actually shield stack in PvP? I use only hardened ward. Use a resto and add Harness Magicka and Healing Ward to your bars and you will lose quite a bit of SP and burst combo. Personally, I would rather have a crap ton of skills to pile on you to burst you down before you can get thru my ward

EsoRecon · February 2016

Zos needs to change the way shields work. I am sick of combo'ing sorcs and them getting to execute range and they just start spamming their shields. I AM SICK OF ZOS MAKING NUBS GOOD.

Valrien · February 2016

EsoRecon wrote: »

Zos needs to change the way shields work. I am sick of combo'ing sorcs and them getting to execute range and they just start spamming their shields. I AM SICK OF ZOS MAKING NUBS GOOD.

And what do you expect a Sorcerer to do to stay alive? Cloak away? Maybe use Breath of Life? How about spam Wings? Face it, you need to get good because if you can't take down a Sorcerer it's no one else's fault but yours.

Tomato · February 2016

Sounds like you should cc at the end and then execute vs just try to execute for rushed kill

Septimus_Magna · February 2016

Ive tested this and its first-in first-out with shields but that doesnt make the strategy for casting shields always simple.

When stacking Harness + Hardened cast Harness first if you want to have the max effective shield, I mainly do this in pvp. If you get hit by spells Harness will absorb dmg first and dmg after that will be absorbed by Hardened.

For pve Im doing the opposite if I get low on magicka because you get magicka back when Hardened gets hit with Harness underneath. You have to be careful with this because it can appear you have a shield but physical attacks ignore Harness completely. Some bosses can one-shot you if you're running 17k health like I am.

For healing ward the strategy is a little different. If you get low on health and cast healing ward it will be the first shield that gets hit so each hit within 6 seconds will reduce the heal. In theory its best to cast Healing Ward after Harness + Hardened. With stam builds I cast Hardened followed by Healing Ward and then Harness because most stam based attacks ignore Harness but it can help with absorbing ultimate dmg.

Amorpho · February 2016

Valrien wrote: »

EsoRecon wrote: »

Zos needs to change the way shields work. I am sick of combo'ing sorcs and them getting to execute range and they just start spamming their shields. I AM SICK OF ZOS MAKING NUBS GOOD.

And what do you expect a Sorcerer to do to stay alive? Cloak away? Maybe use Breath of Life? How about spam Wings? Face it, you need to get good because if you can't take down a Sorcerer it's no one else's fault but yours.

Exactly this. We run 7 pieces light. Take away our wards and we are simply screwed. We can't cloak like NB, or reflect like DK, nor self heal like Templars. Each class should be unique and stay unique, otherwise there's absolutely no point having different classes. I am a fairly good sorc in pvp and yet I still get killed by other classes. Just get better at the game before asking for a nerf.

Septimus_Magna · February 2016

Amorpho wrote: »

Valrien wrote: »

EsoRecon wrote: »

Zos needs to change the way shields work. I am sick of combo'ing sorcs and them getting to execute range and they just start spamming their shields. I AM SICK OF ZOS MAKING NUBS GOOD.

And what do you expect a Sorcerer to do to stay alive? Cloak away? Maybe use Breath of Life? How about spam Wings? Face it, you need to get good because if you can't take down a Sorcerer it's no one else's fault but yours.

Exactly this. We run 7 pieces light. Take away our wards and we are simply screwed. We can't cloak like NB, or reflect like DK, nor self heal like Templars. Each class should be unique and stay unique, otherwise there's absolutely no point having different classes. I am a fairly good sorc in pvp and yet I still get killed by other classes. Just get better at the game before asking for a nerf.

Shield stacking is OP 1v1 but 2 stam builds wreck shields faster than anyone can cast them.

If Im fighting a sorc on my stam NB I have no trouble bursting through 10k Hardened Ward, you just need to Fear them before they cast Healing Ward so you can burst them down.

With a NB you can Cloak and avoid dmg of 10 or more players, it a totally different kind of dmg mitigation.
The downside is that one detect pot, AOE-attack or Piercing Mark removes the dmg mitigation completely.

ral · February 2016

Alucardo wrote: »

My 5pc Shield Breaker approves of this thread

Lol I remember the days when shield breaker was first released. My sorcerer didn't want me to use him so leved up a Stam dk.

LiquidSchwartz · February 2016

if they nerf shield stacking so only one shield can be active from a player at a time ill resub to eso until then they dont deserve my money

Dalsinthus · February 2016

LiquidSchwartz wrote: »

if they nerf shield stacking so only one shield can be active from a player at a time ill resub to eso until then they dont deserve my money

Eh. What's to stop them from just spamming Hardened Ward again and again? They don't need to stack if they have a huge resource pool and the ability to recast it anytime they need to. Regardless the strategy to defeat them is going to be the same: cc and burst. Or you can slot shield breaker, but the dps from that set is not likely to exceed what a sorc can put out in a 1v1 fight.

Edit: punctuation and line about shield breaker

Amorpho · February 2016

Again - it's only a question of finding a way to exploit every build's weakness. My main is a magicka sorc, but I still die. I hate DK's reflect, NB's cloak (and all their various stuns) and Templar's breath of life. A good player knows how to get around each of these. Quitting because you can't kill a magicka sorc speaks volumes...

willymchilybily · February 2016

This first on first off is the exact opposite to how i believed the stacking worked and how it was described to me. gonna have to test later? has it always been this way?

normally im like damn taking damage cast hardened ward so i can live through the laggy bar swap,and cast healing ward. Realise damn healing ward is exposed thinking i did it in the wrong order. i end up recasting hardened ward thinking i have to cover my shield.

but i've actually been screwing myself? and wasting magicka?

I mean it makes sense first on first off so you cant keep casting over the healing ward and guarantee a big heal but still wow.

Amorpho · February 2016

willymchilybily wrote: »

This first on first off is the exact opposite to how i believed the stacking worked and how it was described to me. gonna have to test later? has it always been this way?
normally im like damn taking damage cast hardened ward so i can live through the laggy bar swap,and cast healing ward. Realise damn healing ward is exposed thinking i did it in the wrong order. i end up recasting hardened ward thinking i have to cover my shield.

but i've actually been screwing myself? and wasting magicka?
I mean it makes sense first on first off so you cant keep casting over the healing ward and guarantee a big heal but still wow.

Yeah I know. I have made the same mistake myself. I often recast hardened ward after I have cast healing ward... not anymore though!

eventide03b14a_ESO · February 2016

Amorpho wrote: »

Hi guys. I was wondering what happened when you stacked shields. Do they stack on top of each other or do they occupy "the same layer"? I'll give you an example. If you cast healing ward but you receive too much damage, the ward expires before popping, without granting you any healing. But if I were to cast hardened ward after casting healing ward, would hardened ward shield the healing ward or would both suffer the same damage? If shields stack on top of one another, do I have to cast hardened ward after I cast healing ward if I want the first to shield the second? I hope I made sense...

You only get the value of the healing ward even if you have other wards. Likewise harness magicka will only protect against magic damage no matter how many other wards are applied. The ward that was cast first takes damage first. As others have pointed out non magic damage would be ignored by harness magicka and start drawing from the hardened ward.

eventide03b14a_ESO · February 2016

Whatzituyah wrote: »

I can imagine I heard that Sorcerers can shield stack.

Anyone can shield stack. Sorcs get a bad rap because we have the strongest personal shield in the game, but there are many other shields available and some are class specific.

eventide03b14a_ESO · February 2016

oibam wrote: »

Shields should scale with HP, that would force Sorcs to tone down their insane burst damage in combination with invulnerablity due to shields and extremly high mobility (wich also stuns and damages), because they would have to take a look at their max HP.

Your comment shows that you are ignorant of how it actually functions in practice. You should educate yourself.

eventide03b14a_ESO · February 2016

Sausage wrote: »

Whatzituyah wrote: »

I can imagine I heard that Sorcerers can shield stack.

I wish they would add Potion of Protection aka Shield. Players can use detect inv potions and inv potions but why cant people use Shield potions, even Unstoppable against Knockback, it'd make that new set more useful too, that one was is good against Shields, even Potion of Speed is in game. Also if there was Potion of Protection, people wouldnt whine so much about NB's high dmg.

Again, you have access to shields too. You just choose not to use them.