Lets Talk About Magden

jkloza · March 2018

Hey all,

I’m constantly bouncing between classes trying to find the class that “clicks” with me. I know wardens are supposedly one of the worst magicka based dps in the game currently.

The class I keep coming back to is the warden. I’ve beaten malestrom vet numerous times, it’s the only class I can consistently pull 25-30k dps on.

I’m wondering if anyone else out there is playing a pve DPS warden, and how well they’re doing. I just do norm trials, 4 mans, etc... If I see a pickup group going for vet I’ll give it a shot, but i haven’t done many.

I’m currently running 5 necro, 5 acuity and 1 skoria/groth depending on if I need HP.

Is the class really that far behind the “best”? Invite sure I’ve seen video out there of magden pulling 50k which seems “high” in a trial scenario.

Thanks!

LanceFoxMcCloud · March 2018

Hey there, fellow Magden!
I have mained a Magden on Xbox NA since Morrowind launch and I absolutely love the class and how it fits my playstyle. It has been a long arduous road to bring him up to "par" however. I've golded and tested so many sets it hurts my head just to think about all the useless gold items I have sitting in my bank now... but, that's the price you pay when trying to push the boundaries on a new class I suppose.
Now, there are going to be PLENTY here who may say the magicka side of this class isn't ideal, but that's their opinion. Not fact.
I've successfully completed (multiple times) every vet dungeon there is, vMA, vDSA, vAA, vHRC, nHoF, nMaw, and nAS. (The last three I'm currently in a progression group with to complete on vet.) Previously with the last patch I was running either 5 Juli, 3 IA and 2 of whichever monster fit the situation, OR 5 MA, with 5 Julianos. Always had an asylum flame front, with Maelstrom shock back. This patch however, I'm now running 5 Mechanical, 5 Master Architect, with a shock Mechanical front staff, and Maelstrom flame back. My CP is now much closer to how I had it set in Morrowind vs how I had it last patch. In veteran trial content, I use the clockwork citrus filet for food. In my most recent group parse 2 nights ago I pulled 44k (I was running guard for it). Now, I know it's possible for other Magicka classes to pull more, but I don't often see it. 9 times out of 10 when I do, it's someone who is constantly in need of a res. And for me personally (and I'm sure a lot of other veteran players), I'd rather have someone who can pull a consistent 40k that doesn't need to be picked up all the time, vs a 50k who is always dead. I do know the video you're referring to for the 50k parse, and it's quite impressive. She's got her Magden down for sure. The one thing I will say is that her numbers were from bosses in AA and HrC I believe, but I am unable to compare myself to those situations as console doesn't give us combat metrics on anything except the target dummies.
So, to sum it all up, NO, I do not feel we are very far behind the "best", and YES, it is very viable to efficiently complete vet endgame content with a Magden. The challenge however will be getting other ("elite") members to even consider bringing you because of the widespread preconceived negative notions on the class.
I took my time proving what the Magden is capeable of on XBNA over the last 8 months and am now consistently receiving help requests for various end game stuff.
It can be done, just get in there and make it work!
Magdens UNITE!

datgladiatah · March 2018

I don't know how mechanical acuity/master architect would work on them since the bear ult is so low. The best parses I've seen on magden's have been ones using the bear so idk if there'd be any effect on that. The new beam-based monster set raised DPS on magicka characters a decent amount too. I think they'd at least perform better than magdks now but idk...

jkloza · March 2018

Understood, I don’t have MAster Architect yet, so I’m running 5 necro, 5 mechanical acuity. I’ve got an MA flame staff on front bar, and a VMA lightning on the back. I haven’t been lucky with an inferno staff yet in VMA.

What types of numbers are you seeing on a dummy? I’ve got a 6 mil in my house, and I can hit 25k-27k with the bear. I’m going to grab a 3 mil to see if my numbers are higher, or pretty steady. I haven’t tried citrus fillet yet, I just run blue food.

Thanks!

Vaoh · March 2018

Magicka Warden is good for everything except pure DPS.... so essentially you probably will be looked down upon for bringing one into a Vet trial score run.

Normals dungeons, Vet dungeons, normal trials, fun Vet trial runs, etc.... all of these are fine. Just don’t bring Mag Warden in a score run.

I also completed Vet Fang Lair HM and Vet Scalecaller Peak HM on my Warden - they are definitely behind Sorc/Templar and especially NB in terms of damage, but they aren’t unusable

stileanima · March 2018

I love Magicka Warden, though it is behind other Magicka classes in terms of DPS capability and group utility, while being reliant on an Ultimate that frequently dies to or otherwise attracts deadly fight mechanics. Here's my build if you're interested:

https://youtu.be/RMoR1e4wKw4

I've also got a few videos on my channel of some Mag Warden parses.

WrathOfInnos · March 2018

Warden isn't bad for single target DPS with the bear, 50k in trials is possible. It can get annoying for AoE because to get the most out of it you need to align deep fissure to hit the most adds, which often means you are out of the group and missing combat prayer and heals. The fact that shalks randomly stun an add can also hinder the group, since it prevents tanks from chaining.

As for rotation, I find it easier than magblade, but harder than pet Sorc. It underperforms both of those for DPS.

The real reason wardens aren't great for trials is their lack of group buffs/debuffs. The other classes bring minor sorcery, brutality, prophecy and savagery. Wardens could supply some defense or regen, but only by using an active skill and reducing their DPS. I try to get around this by running Master Architect with the cheap bear ultimate for Major Slayer, but that only applies to 2 others, not 11