Lord_Wrath wrote: »

I've been a magsorc since launch bouncing in and out of Cyrodill. Lately I feel anytime im up against a greatsword user they can output so much damage so quickly I can't get a chance to cast healing ward as im dead before the game can register my health at 0. Typically im knocked back and insta-killed without a chance to break free, if not then im struggling to keep ward up for over a second so i can go on the offensive. Are all magsorcs this vulnerable?

A little about my build, i use shacklebreaker and alteration mastery. Typical sorc offense and defense skills. Buffed stats depending on tri food or witchmothers brew:
40k magica (11k shield) 2500-3100 recovery
15-20k stam 1150 recovery
1500 impen
Close to 10% CP ironclad, hardy, elemental defender and expert defender.

Do you use any other shields besides healing ward? Most sorcs are keeping hardened ward up 100% of time and seem to have little trouble with survivability.

Lord_Wrath wrote: »

@BuildMan - Health sits 21-25k depending on bonuses and whatnot. The thought of sacrificing stats for health i feel would be minimal.

@TBois - Just healing and empowered. Maybe resistances help shields?

Hmm no clue then. Your very tanky for the average sorc. I would try swapping to hardened ward. You could also maybe run twilight and then you can have another form of healing.

Macros can't override the cool down.

Try running harness too and stacking until you're comfortable with when you can get away with a single shield vs when you need 2.

There's a reason almost all sorcs run the same abilities.

Defensively, if you are going to wear curtains, your shield(s) have to be always up, as that is your armor.

If you are having major CC problems, may I suggest immovable pots.

For 2Her users, out-positioning them and staying on the move is beneficial. They need to be within a short range to do damage to you, you do not.

Ghostbane wrote: »

For 2Her users, out-positioning them and staying on the move is beneficial. They need to be within a short range to do damage to you, you do not.

2H user here. If I'm able to pressure a sorc and position the fight the way I want, I'll have the better chance of winning. Like Ghost said, your best bet against us to outposition us and fight on your terms.

I suggest keep your shields up and streaking away when we get too close. And if you see that Dizzying Swing winding up, you'd better either block or be on good terms with Stendarr.

Most imperative is how proactive you are with shielding and how fast you break the stun. A sorc is only ever 2-3 hits from death under the shields , so keep that in mind and limit your windows of vulnerability the best that you can. Make proper use of mines and the root they provide. Don't stand inside them, put two layers between you and the opponent by kiting around the field. Defensive rune and streak are other tools in your kit that will mess up the opponents rhythm if used properly. Run shuffle on your overload bar. With the unchained passive, you can cast it after every stun and basically have major evasion all the time in a 1 on 1 encounter.

Furthermore, looking at your build, I feel it would be lacking vs any strong stam player. I would drop alteration mastery for a set that gives more killing power. The stats alone won't get you the kill though, and to that end you need to be able to deliver the damage. 100% curse up time, applying fury before and not after your killing combo, light attack weaving, timing your frag with the curse explosion, and properly timing your frag after a dodge roll so that it will actually hit are a couple things to work on. In any matchup, pressure/counter pressure will define the fight offensively and defensively. For sorcs, being constantly on the defensive will lead to a battle of resource attrition that you will lose every single time.

As always, the best way to actually improve vs something you struggle with is to find a buddy who runs that kind of build and duel them over and over. Once you get a feel for it and are properly shield stacking, you'll see that 2h is quite manageable for sorcs. Its the shield and dual wield specs that are the real challenge.

As a long time magsorc, I like to build with a useable stam pool.

After getting smashed by a surprise dawnbreaker or something without shields up, I generally animation cancel the break free animation with a dodgeroll. This avoids the followup execute combination and buys enough time to get off a shield or two.

Always hardened ward first. There is a chance healing ward will target some ally you didn't even notice and cause you to get summarily wrecked.

If you see a 2h player charge a heavy attack, I'd recommend blocking. It's pretty common to cancel the heavy animation with incap or dawnbreaker. Blocking it prevents what could be a nasty CC and also has the side benefit of preventing their stam return from the attack.

Make sure you are attacking them. A lot of sorcs end up spamming shields endlessly just to stay alive. If you are ever just spamming shields/heals to stave off death and not attacking, then short of maybe buying a few seconds for a more favorable moment or position, you have lost your fight.

Magsorc may be "easy mode" to some people, but it requires quite a bit of proactive defense and good players will pretty much avoid your burst every single time. It takes practice to be more than a long range noob slayer.