I like the shield nerf.

Bigevilpeter · September 2018

Shields are one of the main reasons why Magicka characters are outclassing stamina characters in many things, in PvE there are already 3 trials where stamina Dps are just not used, and in vMA omg its so much easier to do it with a magicka character.

I'm not and expert in PvP but my opinion is that its also better to mitigate damage than heal it and that is exactly what shields are. The only way to kill a sorc was to stun him so he can't spam shields.

The cast time makes shield casting strategic and not just something you can spam.

Personally I have 9 characters of all classes Magicka and Stamina and all endgame so I'm not biased to any type of resource DD. This patch though still didn't help stamina DDs in trials at all, but made Magicka characters slightly weaker. They will still be Trial meta, but will need to be more strategic.

[edited title]

Everstorm · September 2018

I never liked shields, prefer not to use them even on my magicka characters. But I still think it's a dumb change. It's too fundamentle of a change, people are too used to it. If they'd add cast time to heal skills I use I would be very annoyed too.
I do like the resistance change, might make shield proc sets more interesting (for my playstyle).

Latios · September 2018

Shields are only tremendously abusive in CP campaigns, but a lot of things there are, anyways. I can always burst a Sorc without trouble in a BGS by myself with a good rotation, shield spamming or not. The cast time is, therefore, way too much of a nerf. Being able to apply poisons, weapon enchants and crits on shields is already enough of a nerf. As for PvE, the problem is with range/meelee unbalancing DPS wise. Nerfing shields will not make stamina characters used more on trials like AS +2 or CR +3, but making Bow/Bow a viable, competitive DPS build will.

Gnozo · September 2018

Magicka dps are mostly bis for the trials cause they are ranged and most of the mechanics are oneshot anyway so Ye. Healer not really needed in dungeons due to either low damage or one shot mechanics and range dps is less risky.

gepe87 · September 2018

Oh good. And spam cloak? It feels good to cloak when you are losing? Without any penalty? And permablock? Its nice to have a tank that never dies and.you get vet achivements. More brains in that too.

TheYKcid · September 2018

Bigevilpeter wrote: »

I'm not and expert in PvP but my opinion is

And this, ladies and gents, is why we get doo-doo for patch notes.

Qbiken · September 2018

Shields are one of the main reasons why Magicka characters magicka nightblades are outclassing stamina characters in many things,

If your statement was true, we would see quite a few magicka Templar, DK´s in trials, but I can´t remember last time I saw a magplar in a competitive PvE scenario. For the melee spots, stamina still outshines magicka in terms of DPS.

in PvE there are already 3 trials where stamina Dps are just not used

I´m curious on which the third trial you´re referring to. And if we talk Asylum and Cloudrest, stamina is definitely used (even for score runs). Not sure where you get that idea from.

and in vMA omg its so much easier to do it with a magicka character

.
That´s why stamina classes get about the same scores as their magicka counterpart...... (not talking about the extreme outliers like LZH that gets 610k scores on magblade)

The cast time makes shield casting strategic and not just something you can spam.

For me it´s strategic to use your shield often when there´s a lot of incoming damage not before. I want combat to feel fluid, and having a cast time on shields is not my definition of fluid combat. And I see people saying that using shield repeatedly are "brainless", which I don´t get since no one in their right mind spams their shield in PvE unless they´re close to dying or are under a lot of pressure.

As a stamina player you can always use either vigor or blade cloak to improve your survivability.

WuffyCerulei · September 2018

I think the issue with the shields having cast times is that no other defensive skill is casted or can be interrupted. Like Mist Form is technically channelel or casted, it can't be interrupted. All other casted skills either heal/restore resources (templat ulti and dark exchange), damage (snipe, uppercut, some templar skills), or stun/buff (Time Stop and Channeled Acceleration). Medium armor wearers don't need to cast vigor/shuffle. Heavy armor wearers don't need to cast their defensive skills. But now light armor people have to, and we're the squishiest.

Morgul667 · September 2018

Sure

Like us stamina players, use our brain when we dodge roll

It is too much a nerf

Bigevilpeter · September 2018

Morgul667 wrote: »

Sure

Like us stamina players, use our brain when we dodge roll

It is too much a nerf

Dodge roll is too expensive compared to shields and you can't use skills while dodge rolling, also with block you need to drop block for a lot of skills

Latios · September 2018

Bigevilpeter wrote: »

Morgul667 wrote: »

Sure

Like us stamina players, use our brain when we dodge roll

It is too much a nerf

Dodge roll is too expensive compared to shields and you can't use skills while dodge rolling, also with block you need to drop block for a lot of skills

Get a 2,5k Stam regen build with 35k+ Stamina, 3 well-fitted pieces, and dodge roll isn't very costly at all. Vigor, dodge roll 1-2 times, run behind something to avoid attacks and you are good to go in 3-5 seconds. If you are facing a magicka character, just keep dropping CC and pressure and the person will end up running out of stam. This nerf will make Sorcerers a 'burst or die' type of gameplay in PvP, and that's pretty lame.

Morgul667 · September 2018

Latios wrote: »

Bigevilpeter wrote: »

Morgul667 wrote: »

Sure

Like us stamina players, use our brain when we dodge roll

It is too much a nerf

Dodge roll is too expensive compared to shields and you can't use skills while dodge rolling, also with block you need to drop block for a lot of skills

Get a 2,5k Stam regen build with 35k+ Stamina, 3 well-fitted pieces, and dodge roll isn't very costly at all. Vigor, dodge roll 1-2 times, run behind something to avoid attacks and you are good to go in 3-5 seconds. If you are facing a magicka character, just keep dropping CC and pressure and the person will end up running out of stam. This nerf will make Sorcerers a 'burst or die' type of gameplay in PvP, and that's pretty lame.

i feel sorry for magicka builds that rely on shields

Septimus_Magna · September 2018

Bigevilpeter wrote: »

The only way to kill a sorc was to stun him so he can't spam shields.

You honestly hit the nail on the head with this comment.

Sorcs die quickly when they cannot spam shields, what do you think happens with a 1 second cast time?

If sorcs would have alternative options to mitigate dmg it would be a different story. Having to rely solely on shields and heavily nerfing the only viable defense is just unfair. There are many skills that can be improved to increase survivablity without having to touch shields. Make the active effect of Bound Armor something useful with a decent duration or buff Lighting Form to give more than just major ward/resolve. Now add a minor/major system to shields so sorcs cannot stack Hardened Ward+Annulment and the problem is solved.

No need for clunky cast times, every magicka build can run one major dmg shield along other defensive skills.

Sorcs (like all other classes) should have a viable instant cast defensive skill, I really dont care if its a shield or something else.

sevomd69 · September 2018

Bigevilpeter wrote: »

Shields are one of the main reasons why Magicka characters are outclassing stamina characters in many things, in PvE there are already 3 trials where stamina Dps are just not used, and in vMA omg its so much easier to do it with a magicka character.

I'm not and expert in PvP but my opinion is that its also better to mitigate damage than heal it and that is exactly what shields are. The only way to kill a sorc was to stun him so he can't spam shields.

The cast time makes shield casting strategic and not just something you can spam.

Personally I have 9 characters of all classes Magicka and Stamina and all endgame so I'm not biased to any type of resource DD. This patch though still didn't help stamina DDs in trials at all, but made Magicka characters slightly weaker. They will still be Trial meta, but will need to be more strategic.

Didn't you quit this game?

Imperial_Voice · September 2018

Ive always played a Sorceror, its genuinely the most enjoyable class for me. I've played it when its been so OP it wrecked content and Ive played it when its been nearly useless and I cant imagine a simple shield nerf is going to suddenly ruin the class for me. The change sucks for a lot of players who previously relied a great deal on shields and I get their frustration but the class isnt suddenly "dead." To be honest I have personal doubts that the shield change in its current iteration will even go live but their reason for altering the way shields work is, at the very least, valid. Shields are and have been quite overpowered in PvE combat as well as in PvP.

I understand that this is going to severely impact the playstyle of many players, but how is that different from any other patch which alters class abilities?

Juju_beans · September 2018

It's not that the class is dead; it's that the play style (spamming shields) is dead.

Ender1310 · September 2018

This pleases me so much. Because this has been a problem for a long time. Sorc players would come to the forums and say L2P. Your class has been carrying you and the Devs agree. This pleases me so much.

With that said. I think this may be too big a nerf. What if streak were taken off of diminishing returns? Would a hard nerf to shields be warranted at that point? Just saying I have a sorc alt. This may be too much.

But thank you ZOS if for nothing else than to validate our opinions and un-validate all the so called sorc expert players that according to them have the worst class in the game and its only their leet skills that give them kills lolz. Scare them with this and then implement something less harsh. But shields do need a change.

IlCanis_LupuslI · September 2018

Bigevilpeter wrote: »

Shields are one of the main reasons why Magicka characters are outclassing stamina characters in many things, in PvE there are already 3 trials where stamina Dps are just not used, and in vMA omg its so much easier to do it with a magicka character.

I'm not and expert in PvP but my opinion is that its also better to mitigate damage than heal it and that is exactly what shields are. The only way to kill a sorc was to stun him so he can't spam shields.

The cast time makes shield casting strategic and not just something you can spam.

Personally I have 9 characters of all classes Magicka and Stamina and all endgame so I'm not biased to any type of resource DD. This patch though still didn't help stamina DDs in trials at all, but made Magicka characters slightly weaker. They will still be Trial meta, but will need to be more strategic.

@Bigevilpeter don't know what ur talking about.
I've been called a pve scrub before and despite that I've gotten my flawless conquered on stamblade(that 1 was awful took me 5 attempts)
Stam dk(2 attempts)
Stamsorc ww(with bugged resistance basically like a unbuffed human) 1st attempt.
Vmsa is easy on stam
U just need 2 thimgs=Vicious Orphidean
1pc chudan+1pc pirate skl3ton
Me as a pve scrub who barely hits 43k dps on a Stam blade and only 45k on ww where others hit 50k/65k on ww has no issues on Stam but big issu3s on mag(never got the hang of it I prefer hots vs shields)