Which class is better for a ranged, glass cannon, magicka set up?

MaxJrFTW · November 2018

So yeah, which class is better suited for that play style. I don't necessarily mean ganking, i mean high risk, high reward, lots of damage done and potentially taken.

From what i understand Nightblades are the way to go. Sorcerers do higher damage consistently but it you go full glass cannon you'll die the moment someone looks at you. Templar from what i've seen can be very hard on potatoes, but not as effective against better players. I don't know, not a lot of ranged magplars around.

Moonsorrow · November 2018

Nightblade

Obviously magblade, can go full glass cannon.. if you get focused on by enemies, just cloak away, reposition and then pew pew again.

JAwtunes · November 2018

Nightblade

Yep NB with Caluurion’s

Minno · November 2018

Sorcerer

Different flavors:
- shadiw mage with cloak - NB
- mobile lighting mage with ranged burst - sorc
- stationary light battery platform - Templar.

I'd say the best is Sorc. Undodgeable/unblockable curse burst and passive execute

Biro123 · November 2018

Nightblade

Minno wrote: »

Different flavors:
- shadiw mage with cloak - NB
- mobile lighting mage with ranged burst - sorc
- stationary light battery platform - Templar.

I'd say the best is Sorc. Undodgeable/unblockable curse burst and passive execute

I'd say worst is sorc.. the need to stay alive long enough to set up your 4-second burst makes glass-cannoning not work this patch imho.

Minno · November 2018

Sorcerer

Biro123 wrote: »

Minno wrote: »

Different flavors:
- shadiw mage with cloak - NB
- mobile lighting mage with ranged burst - sorc
- stationary light battery platform - Templar.

I'd say the best is Sorc. Undodgeable/unblockable curse burst and passive execute

I'd say worst is sorc.. the need to stay alive long enough to set up your 4-second burst makes glass-cannoning not work this patch imho.

That is very fair to say!

NB ranged is a beast I agree.

CatchMeTrolling · November 2018

Nightblade

Magblade for sure but don’t sleep on ranged magplars either.

ATomiX96 · November 2018

Nightblade

you can reset fights by pressing one button

thankyourat · November 2018

Sorcerer

It depends if you want pure range than sorcerer is the way to go. Magblade you have to go into melee range to get kills. The survivability on a glass cannon sorcerer would also be higher than on a glass cannon magblade because damage shield absorb more damage than Cloak and not getting hit isn't really a option in open world cyrodiil.

This isn't too say that sorcerer is better than magblade or vice versa. I'm just saying if you want a pure high damage range build sorcerer is better in that department. There are a lot of good heavy armor magblade builds that rely on healing going around right now. IDK about Templars at all but it does have ranged options so if you are creative it might work.

pzschrek · November 2018

Nightblade

Sorcerer may be a bit tougher solo, but that 4-second burst combo that you can't get off solo is still devastating if you have a brawler partner to disrupt and get in people's face. Sorc does hit a bit harder this patch and this lets you take advantage of that.

MagNB is in theory a better class for this, and is probably the king of this outside of cyro objectives, but it doesn't synergize quite as well with a brawler partner as well since it can take more beating and has more tools for tower fights where you're going to have a lot of AoE in a tight space or generally any situation that's going to keep a NB uncloaked.

arkansas_ESO · November 2018

As somebody's that's played glass cannons on both:

NB has higher damage potential if you're going all-in, but sorc's damage is less easily mitigated.

NB ideally wants to use Soul Harvest to buff their Assassin's Will for the highest damage, but requires going melee range on a glass cannon that can't easily reposition due to shade bug. Sorc can just weave Overload into their combo.

NB is going to be hard countered by certain classes (DKs with wings, Wardens with Shimmering) whereas a full-damage sorc can still burst through. Fury and Curse being unreflectable and Rune Cage being ranged help out a lot against mag DKs, for example.

NB sustain is based around Siphoning Attacks, which requires you to maintain an offensive tempo, whereas sorc can more easily sustain while kiting through Dark Deal.

It's personal preference, but I found better results on sorc than NB, and I feel like I'd still pick sorc this patch because having that extra shield seems almost mandatory for glass cannons after the Healing Ward nerf. You just won't have enough sustain to reliably use Cloak to mitigate if you're building all for damage, and magblade's burst is backloaded anyways.

Emma_Overload · November 2018

Nightblade

Sorcerer would be best at 28 meters, but your Nightblade will be much more useful when you discover that there is no such thing as ranged combat in ESO.

FearlessOne_2014 · November 2018

Nightblade

Emma_Overload wrote: »

Sorcerer would be best at 28 meters, but your Nightblade will be much more useful when you discover that there is no such thing as ranged combat in ESO.

This right here. With spammable long range gap closers being a thing in ESO. Ranged PvP combat simply does not exist in this game. Even BnS had somewhat ranged combat where gap closers couldn't be spammed. And that was a melee MMO. This is the only MMO i've played where ranged combat is useless.

fred4 · November 2018

FearlessOne_2014 wrote: »

Emma_Overload wrote: »

Sorcerer would be best at 28 meters, but your Nightblade will be much more useful when you discover that there is no such thing as ranged combat in ESO.

This right here. With spammable long range gap closers being a thing in ESO. Ranged PvP combat simply does not exist in this game. Even BnS had somewhat ranged combat where gap closers couldn't be spammed. And that was a melee MMO. This is the only MMO i've played where ranged combat is useless.

At least when Swift was at 10%, gap closers had become less popular, and Rune Cage was still instant. Magsorc could do some interesting things, like Streak from the top of one tower, on the outer walls of a keep, to another, then turn around immediately for attack. The best players have that creativity or, at least, have learned the tricks of their trade. I was actually the one caught out, as I tend to get frustrated by strategic play. A similar principle in IC. There are locations where a sorc is able to streak onto protected platforms. Good players will use that to reset a fight.

fred4 · November 2018

arkansas_ESO wrote: »

As somebody's that's played glass cannons on both:

NB has higher damage potential if you're going all-in, but sorc's damage is less easily mitigated.

Insightful post. I just want to elaborate on a few things that come to mind.

NB ideally wants to use Soul Harvest to buff their Assassin's Will for the highest damage, but requires going melee range on a glass cannon that can't easily reposition due to shade bug. Sorc can just weave Overload into their combo.

Both can use Soul Assault, but I agree that Soul Harvest is the better and more versatile skill. Soul Assault leaves you open to counter-attack and is quite useless in tower fights, due to LoS. I use Incap for the CC.

NB is going to be hard countered by certain classes (DKs with wings, Wardens with Shimmering) whereas a full-damage sorc can still burst through. Fury and Curse being unreflectable and Rune Cage being ranged help out a lot against mag DKs, for example.

Having played both warden and DK, I agree about DK, less so about warden. Flapping wings on a DK tends to shut down ranged magblades hard, because of the reflect. They tend to back off as their own attacks keep hitting them. The warden shield, though, people give you ultimate, but they can just bombard it and may succeed in powering through. This is from the PoV of a stam DK / stamden who cannot sustain either shield indefinitely.

fred4 · November 2018

Why is magden not on the list? I don't know how I'd build this patch, but magden was good for an average player, like me, when it first came out. Underrated. A basic Necropotence magicka stacking build had strong defenses (Dampen), great self-healing, decent-ish mobility (Bird of Prey, snare reduction passive), and tons of raw damage. Almost all of that has been nerfed, come to think of it, e.g. speed, CC (Arctic Blast looks like a bad joke), and shields. Yeah...

I played ranged magplar for a short while, e.g. with Crushing Shock and Dampen shield. I liked it, quite effective, but playing both Ranged and with Sweeps, it soon became apparent that Sweeps combines better with tankiness, not shields. What makes magplar unique, when you play mainly in IC, is that they are nigh-on invulnerable while they engage NPCs with Sweeps. You can be sniped while taking a flag. It does not matter. You deal with the sniper afterwards.

For solo play I would say it's between NB and sorc. Other classes aren't even in the running due to their lack of mobility / escape mechanics. People use Mist Form, but I'd take Cloak / Shade / Streak any day. That said, I love my magplar for it's versatility. You only need minimal build changes to be decent in nTrials and vDungeons, and I love giving shards to people. It's what I run vDSA with. That's a boon for someone whose main focus is PvP.

Starlight_Knight · November 2018

Sorcerer

Endless fury - Implosion. nuff said.

fred4 · November 2018

FearlessOne_2014 wrote: »

Emma_Overload wrote: »

Sorcerer would be best at 28 meters, but your Nightblade will be much more useful when you discover that there is no such thing as ranged combat in ESO.

This right here. With spammable long range gap closers being a thing in ESO. Ranged PvP combat simply does not exist in this game. Even BnS had somewhat ranged combat where gap closers couldn't be spammed. And that was a melee MMO. This is the only MMO i've played where ranged combat is useless.

Get a master ice staff and spam Frost Reach on people then

. Not kidding, btw. Very effective in 1v1.

kaithuzar · November 2018

Sorcerer

JAwtunes wrote: »

Yep NB with Caluurion’s

That’s not “ranged”

MaxJrFTW · November 2018

fred4 wrote: »

Why is magden not on the list? I don't know how I'd build this patch, but magden was good for an average player, like me, when it first came out. Underrated. A basic Necropotence magicka stacking build had strong defenses (Dampen), great self-healing, decent-ish mobility (Bird of Prey, snare reduction passive), and tons of raw damage. Almost all of that has been nerfed, come to think of it, e.g. speed, CC (Arctic Blast looks like a bad joke), and shields. Yeah...

I played ranged magplar for a short while, e.g. with Crushing Shock and Dampen shield. I liked it, quite effective, but playing both Ranged and with Sweeps, it soon became apparent that Sweeps combines better with tankiness, not shields. What makes magplar unique, when you play mainly in IC, is that they are nigh-on invulnerable while they engage NPCs with Sweeps. You can be sniped while taking a flag. It does not matter. You deal with the sniper afterwards.

For solo play I would say it's between NB and sorc. Other classes aren't even in the running due to their lack of mobility / escape mechanics. People use Mist Form, but I'd take Cloak / Shade / Streak any day. That said, I love my magplar for it's versatility. You only need minimal build changes to be decent in nTrials and vDungeons, and I love giving shards to people. It's what I run vDSA with. That's a boon for someone whose main focus is PvP.

Because a magden can't be a glass cannon.

CatchMeTrolling · November 2018

Nightblade

MaxJrFTW wrote: »

fred4 wrote: »

Why is magden not on the list? I don't know how I'd build this patch, but magden was good for an average player, like me, when it first came out. Underrated. A basic Necropotence magicka stacking build had strong defenses (Dampen), great self-healing, decent-ish mobility (Bird of Prey, snare reduction passive), and tons of raw damage. Almost all of that has been nerfed, come to think of it, e.g. speed, CC (Arctic Blast looks like a bad joke), and shields. Yeah...

I played ranged magplar for a short while, e.g. with Crushing Shock and Dampen shield. I liked it, quite effective, but playing both Ranged and with Sweeps, it soon became apparent that Sweeps combines better with tankiness, not shields. What makes magplar unique, when you play mainly in IC, is that they are nigh-on invulnerable while they engage NPCs with Sweeps. You can be sniped while taking a flag. It does not matter. You deal with the sniper afterwards.

For solo play I would say it's between NB and sorc. Other classes aren't even in the running due to their lack of mobility / escape mechanics. People use Mist Form, but I'd take Cloak / Shade / Streak any day. That said, I love my magplar for it's versatility. You only need minimal build changes to be decent in nTrials and vDungeons, and I love giving shards to people. It's what I run vDSA with. That's a boon for someone whose main focus is PvP.

Because a magden can't be a glass cannon.

They can. Their toolkit would go to waste playing purely ranged though and for that they don’t deserve to be on the list.

WuffyCerulei · November 2018

Templar

Templars got pretty buffed this patch and are doing better than nightblades in both damage and sustain. Heck, a friend who was playing a magblade in vAS+2 went magplar and loves it. While our magblades are unfortunately struggling to sustain. And the best builds for magplar dps is all ranged.

idk · November 2018

The answer is not a constant. It changes, almost with each update. Heck, whatever class that poll says is best just might be the next one to be nerfed as a result.

CatchMeTrolling · November 2018

Nightblade

WuffyCerulei wrote: »

Templars got pretty buffed this patch and are doing better than nightblades in both damage and sustain. Heck, a friend who was playing a magblade in vAS+2 went magplar and loves it. While our magblades are unfortunately struggling to sustain. And the best builds for magplar dps is all ranged.

Sure we’re talking about pve or pvp? I’m lost at the sustain comment, no magblade should struggle to sustain besides melee.

Gilvoth · November 2018

Sorcerer

as you all know, it bears repeating obviously. if you want a proper vote then you need to get all of the @names in eso because this forum is a very small % of the games community.

a very Large portion of eso community never come to these forums.

jaime1982 · November 2018

WuffyCerulei wrote: »

Templars got pretty buffed this patch and are doing better than nightblades in both damage and sustain. Heck, a friend who was playing a magblade in vAS+2 went magplar and loves it. While our magblades are unfortunately struggling to sustain. And the best builds for magplar dps is all ranged.

Um, huh? Magblade struggle to sustain?

BigBadVolk · November 2018

jaime1982 wrote: »

WuffyCerulei wrote: »

Templars got pretty buffed this patch and are doing better than nightblades in both damage and sustain. Heck, a friend who was playing a magblade in vAS+2 went magplar and loves it. While our magblades are unfortunately struggling to sustain. And the best builds for magplar dps is all ranged.

Um, huh? Magblade struggle to sustain?

well there are some who struggle with that

kaithuzar · November 2018

Sorcerer

CatchMeTrolling wrote: »

WuffyCerulei wrote: »

Templars got pretty buffed this patch and are doing better than nightblades in both damage and sustain. Heck, a friend who was playing a magblade in vAS+2 went magplar and loves it. While our magblades are unfortunately struggling to sustain. And the best builds for magplar dps is all ranged.

Sure we’re talking about pve or pvp? I’m lost at the sustain comment, no magblade should struggle to sustain besides melee.

Idk why but this question irks me so bad. This is the pvp section of the forum; welcome. Now please stop asking if we’re talking in respect to pve....

SHADOW2KK · November 2018

dwemer_paleologist wrote: »

as you all know, it bears repeating obviously. if you want a proper vote then you need to get all of the @names in eso because this forum is a very small % of the games community.

a very Large portion of eso community never come to these forums.

Very true, sorta given up saying the same thing, why people do polls on here completely baffles me, you say a number of times, that the vast majority of the playerbase never come here, yet they still persist on their polls.

CatchMeTrolling · November 2018

Nightblade

kaithuzar wrote: »

CatchMeTrolling wrote: »

WuffyCerulei wrote: »

Templars got pretty buffed this patch and are doing better than nightblades in both damage and sustain. Heck, a friend who was playing a magblade in vAS+2 went magplar and loves it. While our magblades are unfortunately struggling to sustain. And the best builds for magplar dps is all ranged.

Sure we’re talking about pve or pvp? I’m lost at the sustain comment, no magblade should struggle to sustain besides melee.

Idk why but this question irks me so bad. This is the pvp section of the forum; welcome. Now please stop asking if we’re talking in respect to pve....

Point clearly flew way over your head...

Edit: Not to mention a stupid response as well since the original post mentioned pve.

MaxJrFTW · November 2018

SHADOW2KK wrote: »

dwemer_paleologist wrote: »

as you all know, it bears repeating obviously. if you want a proper vote then you need to get all of the @names in eso because this forum is a very small % of the games community.

a very Large portion of eso community never come to these forums.

Very true, sorta given up saying the same thing, why people do polls on here completely baffles me, you say a number of times, that the vast majority of the playerbase never come here, yet they still persist on their polls.

I'm asking a question, and the simplest way to get an answer is with a poll. If that baffles you then i don't know how you get through your day to day life.

36 people voted nb, 14 sorcerer, 4 magplar. I'd say the poll did the its job just fine...

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Which class is better for a ranged, glass cannon, magicka set up?

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