Sorc is wrecked even for pve.

They need to just make a buff system for shields:

- shields like Hardened and Annulment that scale off a damage resource pool as major shields
- shields that scale of health (or missing health) like igneous, healing ward, & bone shield (on caster) count as minor shields

- You can only self cast 1 major and 1 minor shield on yourself like hardened and healing ward
- Minor shields cast by other players on you stack, igneous from tank will stack with healing ward from healer

Then revert the shield critting, resistance, and cast time changes. All this does is weaken light armor while buffing the *** out of tanks.

You do away with shield stacking on sorcs, while still allowing other magicka classes to have a viable shield. You also free up sorcs another bar slot because they now have to choose between hardened and annulment, not both.

So two main problems are addressed, sorcs no longer can shield stack for crazy amounts and they now have another bar slot for another skill.

If you want to also add a nerf to shields for PVE, nerf the size of the shields by 25%, but also do away with the battle spirit nerf for shields since they will already be 25% less effective and can't be stacked.

No, I won't use empowered ward with the proposed cast time. The indelicate constipation animation combined with the delayed cast? Its embarrassing, weird, ineffective and .. now contentious. To play I will need a shield or some form of instant damage mitigation / heal that isn't a potion. Why that is being stripped from my class and from other magicka classes is confusing.

Tasear wrote: »

bardx86 wrote: »

Tasear wrote: »

Nox_Noir wrote: »

I absolutely hate cast times. They are probably the worst thing about ESO combat. If that cast time thing goes live, the skill will be dead to me.

Is there anything that would make the cast time worth it?

NO! NO! NO! Cast time = dead in PVP. Its a stupid idea. It does nothing to even address the problem ZOS stated. It only adds and artificial delay to my reaction time. Its not fun!

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/5469409/#Comment_5469409

The reason I ask this is because you can see a Dev note. The cast time is unfortunately likely here for next patch.

Their entire reasoning is based on a faulty premise- that the way this cast time will lead to "having to choose between damage and survivability" will make the game more interesting. And let's disregard their claim a year ago that the reason for the Morrowind debacle was that they thought that would make the game more interesting.

I main a petsorc DPS, and I generally pull between 34 and 37k self-buffed, which is already on the low end of the class spectrum, to the point that, particularly with crappy pet mechanics being as they are, sometimes it feels like the only reason I'm allowed in groups for vet trials on my petsorc is that I'm fortunate enough to be in guilds that don't mind it as much. As a petsorc doing heavy attacks, I can sustain fairly well, but already take a hit to dps because they buffed light attack damage and I am incapable of sustaining a light attack rotation on my sorc (I've tried, repeatedly). Now this guy wants me to build for more survivability, sacrificing more damage and more sustain. Because he's decided that makes the game more interesting.

You know what's not interesting, or at least not remotely fun? Constant grey screens and death recaps. Watching my friends and guild mates die around me, dying myself, and us not being able to complete content we used to be able to, either because our damage is too low or we just can't survive. Trying to figure out how the heck, if at all, I can play and contribute in the content I enjoy (vet trials progression with my guildmates) on the class I have played since I started and which has the lion's share of my playtime and achievements (it's not even close) in such a way that I'm still able to fulfill my role as DPS against anything but the ground and don't let down my guild members. Seeing people prepare to leave the game in droves while others claim this is somehow for the greater health of the game and others shout that we brought this on ourselves.

All because rather than fixing pet AI, mechanics that make them a liability to the group or kill the pets over and over again, or Yokeda Kai in vHRC, or all sorts of stuff in vMA (all of which we've been pointing out for months), rather than figuring out how to change mechanics that so strongly disadvantage stamina toons in places like vAS or vCR or improve their survivability (making them actually able to fill a spot in a way that's not "these mag toons got so frustrated they gave up"), rather than anything else, this guy I barely even know and a combat team that feels pathologically incapable of only pulling one or two levers at a time (shields taking poison/enchant effects, taking crits, getting resists, the cast time- that's four, possibly five, levers pulled all at once) and noting the results before doing more changes have decided to spend their valuable and limited quarterly development resources on this. What's worse, based on the very response you linked, hitting shields like this is just their first step in this bewilderingly misguided endeavour. So, assuming this does go live, while we're trying to make sense of this and pick up the pieces in the giant boot-shaped crater we'll find ourselves in, we also get to wonder where the next shoe will drop and whom it will squish. Yay!

Just to be clear, @Tasear , none of my anger or frustration is directed at you or the other class reps. Y'all are in an unenviable position I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy, and y'all seem to be trying your best. To answer some of your actual questions based on what PTS experience I have, no, increasing the max possible duration does absolutely nothing (it still seems to last 5 seconds, if that, so everything above that feels like an empty gesture). The pet does in fact die while I'm trying to recast my shield, either from being focused or because I was killed. And nothing I can think of makes the clunky unreliability of an allegedly one second cast time worth it to me.

Also, lest the devs share the belief I've seen several times, a magsorc will not learn what it's like to be a stamdk from these changes. A magsorc does not have the defensive kit a stamdk does. They have less resistance. They have weaker armor. They don't have as much stam to block or dodge roll. They have (or perhaps had, after this change goes through) a shield. So no. Assuming they don't just give up magsorc and reroll a stamdk, they won't learn what it's like to be one. What it looks like they might be learning, assuming they're even welcome in vet trials, is how to be growled at even more for being a "fake dps" (as building to survive will mean middle tier magsorcs take a dps hit we just can't afford while the folks in the ceiling dps-wise may just shrug it off) or how to stare at a lot of grey death screens.

Because, you know, apparently that's interesting gameplay.

EDIT: To answer your title question, as of now, I don't know. With every passing day, I'm less and less sure I'm going to be playing sorc next patch. A week ago my biggest concern was improving my daedric prey uptime to improve my dps, and now I'm trying to figure out if I'll even be able to dps at all.

I won't use the skill if it has a cast time. Cast times make combat far, far too slow, and I find them un-fun/inappropriate for the action sort of combat ESO (seemed to, or so I thought) strive for.

We've complained for years about how clunky the overload 3rd bar was. Instead of fixing it they flat out removed it - and now, somehow, we're expected to be fine with a clunky cast time on a skill? Not sure how they arrived at the conclusion that this was a sensible decision.

Tasear wrote: »

WrathOfInnos wrote: »

No. I currently use it in most group content, and in Magicka heavy trials (vAS and vCR) I try to pop it every 10s to give the group good Minor Intellect uptime. Giving up one skill out of 10 is worth it, but with the cast time this would become 2/10 and requires giving up too much in a DPS rotation.

The extended duration of the shield doesn’t even help with this, since the regen buff duration was not extended. If it takes 2 GCD’s and a skipped light attack to cast, then the duration of the buff needs to be more than doubled.

Additionally, the Warhorn toughness nerf means that Warden healers will be mandatory for a lot of content. This would be about equivalent making the Ebon set exclusive to DK tanks, RIP build diversity. As an effect, everyone will already have Minor Intellect from Warden heals so it will be redundant for Sorcerers to use Empowered Ward.

Last but not least, I cannot stand cast time skills. They completely break the flow of combat, and drain all the fun. I’ve never been able to really enjoy the Templar class because of all the cast time and channeled skills, and pet resummoning animations have been a strong deterrent for me running pet sorc or magwarden. Even the Psijic channeled acceleration is annoying to use IMO, and that one only needs to be cast every 36s, with low consequence if it drops off. Cast time on shields is an extremely bad idea that I am 100% opposed to.

So potentially a longer duration could make up for losts?

No because shields dont stay up for so long, thats also the case for the light amor shield. If i think to have channeltime shields at the endboss of march of sacrifices ... get a nice big bleeding, have some wolves on you during/after the mistphase xD yeah sounds like fun. Zos should finaly drop the idea of adding casttime and cooldowns to every ability.
But if zos listened to feedback they wouldnt be the zos we all love, right ? xD

For PVE the longer duration might be slighly useful. Dont know how often the shield would actually hold beyond the 9s duration of Hardened Ward.

For PVP duration is completely pointless because every shield will be gone in less than 6s.

Tasear wrote: »

Does the longer duration help keep your pets alive?

Is 10% regain for 10 secs a good buff for the group?

It only helps where you dont need it.

If shields get burned thru the length wont help they will have to be recast.