Unable to find a suiting class.

Djidjika · August 2018

Hello everyone.

I've been an MMORPG player for roughly a decade now and this is the first time that I failed to reach the endgame, not because I don't understand the basics of the game, I do, but because I hate every single character I made, and I hate most of the online guides. Allow me to elaborate.

-First character I made was an Argonian Templar, figured I could play a Paladin tank as I do in most other MMOs, boy was I wrong. No class specific AoE CC, root stun whatever it may be, it doesn't exist. Getting agro in dungeons is is a hot disorienting mess. Got to ~CP150 using him and ditched him.

-Second character I made was a recommendation from a buddy of mine that has been playing this game for a lot longer than I have. I rolled a nonpet Magsorc. I used him to reach my current CP and It was alright. By alright I mean boring. 6 Active spells, 4 passive boost spells. Now If we deduct the 3 DoT spells (Blockade, Lightning, Curse), hey, that leaves us with 3 spells, 1 of which is a shield that needs to be slotted because most tanks in dungeons fail to properly agro trashpacks.

I decided that I would like to play a stamina DPS. What did I find out?
Nightblade: DW/Bow
Dragonknight: DW/Bow
Sorcerer: DW/Bow
Templar: DW/Bow
Warden: DW/Bow

1.Classes are way too homogenized.
2.Racial passives dictate too much

Then I decided that I'd like to give it another go at tanking, farmed Warden monster, Ebon Armory, Torug on my Sorc and I was prepared. I rolled an Argonian DK. He loaded in, looking fresh, went to the bank to pick up the Training gear and XP boosts for that mighty Greenshade slaughterhouse, got to Greenshade, opened up the CP menu, realized that half of my CP are going to be spent on damage perks. Then I realized 2 things.

1. Huge agro problem in dungeons with any tank due to the lack of skills/abilities, which I was going to make work somehow and leave it be.
2. You're forcing me to spend my CP to boost my damage, as a tank, if that damage would help me somehow in Delves, quests, (((public))) dungeons et cetera, Id be fine with it. But guess what its not going to help in the least If I don't farm other sets and different types of weapons, in which case I wouldn't be playing my tank anymore. I would only be sharing the same chassis with him and that's it.

Now for the final part of this thread I ask you, because I like to remain optimistic
Can anyone point me to a nice guide for a nice DPS character, preferably stamina (not necessarily), that doesn't use a bow? The more complex the better.
And please, feel free to correct me if I said something wrong up above.

Marabornwingrion · August 2018

If tanking or damage dealing is not for you, make a healer.

Tasear · August 2018

So you feel bar slots are limited?

Djidjika · August 2018

Tasear wrote: »

So you feel bar slots are limited?

As an ex WoW player, I'm used to looking at 50 abilities that are usable whenever, so yes, they definitely are limited IMO.

The_Lex · August 2018

I guess I don't understand the aggro problem you faced as a DK tank. Talons lock down the trash. Chains pull and Inner Fire is a ranged taunt. Inhale is an AOE interrupt. There isn't an AOE taunt, so you have to prioritize the heavy hitting trash.

Valrien · August 2018

Tasear wrote: »

So you feel bar slots are limited?

I think he feels that bar slots are limited, there's no real defensive options in the Mage Tree (because tanks dont to a ton of damage for the % boosts to be worth it), and that classes are far too homogenized.

I will say though OP that just because the meta uses all the same weapons doesnt mean they all play the same. They're all at least different enough to be able to feel it. Just not super different

VaranisArano · August 2018

So, since I main a tank, I noticed that you seemed to expect tanks to do something they can't: hold aggro on everything.

Tanks in ESO have 4 possible taunts with which to hold aggro. All of those taunts are single target, so that means that tanks simply can't hold aggro on every single add in a mob. That's okay, because the DDs and healer ought to be able to take a hit or two from an add.

What tanks ought to do with aggro:

Taunt the boss and priority adds. Priority adds are minibosses and adds that can one shot a DPS, like those wielding 2handers. They can taunt with Puncture for the debuff, or Inner Fire/Ice Staff heavy attack from range, or I've even had one tank use the Tormentor set with a charge ability, but certain targets need to be taunted.
Get starting aggro on the rest of the mob with an AOE skill. Aggro in ESO is interesting, but the gist is that mobs aggro on whoever hits them first, but they have a short attention span. If the tank hits them all first, they'll pay attention to the tank for a little bit and then lose interest. That's okay, because it gives the tank time to taunt the priority adds. This also means that if a DD rushes ahead and hits a mob before the tank, guess who has aggro from the mob? The DD does. (For a more detailed description of mob aggro, look here: https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/391895/a-guide-to-aggro)
Crowd Control the rest of the mob. A tank wants to group up the mob so that the DDs can burn them down with their ground-based AOE skills. This can be done with anything that locks, stuns, or slows the enemy. I've done it on a stam sorc tank with just caltrops. DKs have Talons, which is excellent for this, and Chains which is perfect for grabbing those annoying archers in the back and dragging them into the fight. (For other classes, I believe that Silver Leash from Fighters Guild now acts similar to Chains.) This also helps with the whole "mobs start to lose interest in the tank" issue caused by how aggro works.
Control the Boss. The tank needs to hold the boss more or less still in the DDs ground-based AOEs (that's where most of their DPS comes form). The tank blocks or interrupts the boss' big attacks, though please note that nearly all bosses have an attack that is specifically directed at someone other than the tank so the DDs and healer must stay alert. On some dungeons, there are mechanics specific to the tank, and in others the boss is untauntable due to its mechanics, so the tank swaps to doing DPS.

End-game Tanks in this game control the battlefield through CCs and taunts while debuffing enemies and buffing group members. They won't take every hit and they can't taunt everything on the battlefield. However, when the tank is spot on with their role, everything else becomes much easier for the DDs and healers simply because each fight is done efficiently.

Side notes:

1. There are four taunts in this game, all single target.
Puncture (One-hand and shield), great debuffs
Inner Fire (Undaunted), great from range
Ice Staff Heavy Attack with Trifocus passive (Destruction Staff), good for magicka tanking
Tormentor set with a Charge ability

2. Remember that bit about holding the boss still because your DDs get most of their damage from ground-based AOEs? That's why nearly every single stamina DD slots a bow on their back bar. Endless Hail is the best ground-based AOE in the Stamina play book, followed by Caltrops from the Assault skill line. Every stam class has their unique class skills that let them play differently as DDs, but they all use Endless Hail because its essential to combine its DOT with their single target skills to get high DPS.

Royaji · August 2018

It sounds like you dislike the game for not being a WoW-clone. And if it is the case you will probably never be happy with it. One of the main selling points for ESO is that it is not WoW.

Regarding your tank issues: as Varanis said, you will have to leave WoW mentality at the door if you want to try ESO tanking. You are not taunting everything, you are preventing one shots. Taunt the big guy and get to stacking adds. DDs are tanky enough to survive some small adds wailing on them. Especially if you have a healer in the group. Also, no competent tank puts point into damage CPs. If your issue is the blue tree then put 100 in blessed and elf born because it increases your healing.

Regrading stamina DD: you can make a dw/2h build but you will have to deal with the limitations this build will put on you. Bow is really hard to by pass since it has both best stamina dots available: poison injection and endless hail. They are pretty much impossible to beat. Without bow you should be good for most vet dungeons and easier trials with a casual group. But I wouldn't exactly call this endgame.

If you want a complex and difficult rotation you should probably give a shot to MagBlade. They have the highest skill ceiling and the highest possible DPS available to match.