Solo Templar DPS build - tips?

Tabris93 · March 2019

I am usually a person who loves ranged combat. Altmer Sorcerer is my main. I also have a Bosmer archer and a Khajiit Nighblade. So my only up-close character is an assassin type.

I want to play a more traditional warrior-class. I know Dragonknight can deal more damage, but I want to go with Templar. I play mostly solo, but with this character I want to do random quests, FIghers Guild, Undaunted and - once I gain levels and get into the class - maybe try out some dungeons.

I don't want to be a healer. Neither do I want to be a tank, as they are too slow to kill stuff in solo (which I do 98% of the time). I want to first and foremost be a heavy armour fighter - sword & board or greatsword.

Do you guys have any suggestion to build? What skills to focus on? For crafting I reckon focusing on Blacksmith, for gear.

Also, any suggestion for race?

amith · April 2019

I play with my wife mostly - My templar can solo most non-vet dungeons and overland bosses.. using a single bar.

Armour - Rattle Cage and Mother's sorrow - to start out with I would suggest Buying Monther's sorrow and crafting Law of Julianos. Monster set I use - Slimcraw for the extra set 8% damage. All divine if you can..

AOE bar - I run Lighting Staff - Charged
Blockade of Storms, Ritual of Retribution, Puncturing Sweep, Radiant Oppression, Inner Light and Ult Thunderous Rage

Single Target (Boss) Bar - Fire Staff - Precise
Vampire's Bane, Honor the Dead, Crushing Shock, Purifying light, Channeled Acceleration and Ult Shooting Star

Buffed stats - with Witchmother's Potent Brew
Max Mag 33,140, Max Health 21,134, Max Stamina 12,138
Mag Rec 1817, Health Rec 374, Sta Rec 546

Spell damage - 2540
Spell Crit - 68.6%
Spell Resist - 15,761
Physical Resist - 11,656

Very simple setup that works very good for my play style.. Rotation is Blockade of Storms, Ritual of Retribution and heavy attack until the first two run out then start over again - only use Puncturing sweep to heal if needed.. And drop Ult and Radiant Oppression at about 30%...

Tabris93 · April 2019

Thank you! I will keep this post in mind as I level up.

I went for an Imperial Templar, it's a lot of fun so far.

What weapon do you use? What would you choose between sword & board or greatswords?

amith · April 2019

I personally have them at all 50 - changed from Sword and Board, to dual wield to using twin staffs - hate it but nothing better for regen.. Still carry sword and dagger (named Rattlecage set)..

BNOC · April 2019

Tabris93 wrote: »

Thank you! I will keep this post in mind as I level up.

I went for an Imperial Templar, it's a lot of fun so far.

What weapon do you use? What would you choose between sword & board or greatswords?

For the type of activity you want to use your Templar for, it doesn't matter really.. you lose a bit of damage with different options but it should still be more than enough.

Ideally, to make things easy you'd run aoe like the guy above said.

In your specific case (Not using a staff) I'd replace Blockade with Solar Barrage.
Most adds will die from you just Puncturing Sweeping(Aoe) with Solar Barrage up(Aoe), but you can use Reflective Light (3 target morph) or Crescent Sweep (Cheap Aoe pulse damage ult) and you'll have no issues with overland, ever.

The other dudes Magicka is very low so he'll be doing a fair bit less damage and I assume that's because he's in heavy - That's up to you, personally I'd go light and just change your outfit style to look heavy as there's no real reason you'd need heavy outside of particular PVP playstyles.

Consider using a staff and blockade, it's great for this type of play - But as above, it shouldn't challenge you without, just slow you down.

amith · April 2019

Correct, I can't stand the "glass cannon" type builds - so I have put points into Heath and ware heavy armour.. so yeah my damage is a little lower, but I feel my survivability is higher allowing me to overcome more mistakes.. it's all up to your play style..

And I do agree - with the changes to make a two hander more usable.. and fun

Tabris93 · April 2019

Yeah, all my other chars are glass cannon. I want a heavy armour tank-ish damage dealer that run straight into battle without worrying too much.

WrathOfInnos · April 2019

Sounds like you want to make a stamina Templar build. I would avoid using Sword and Shield if your goal is doing damage. Greatsword is less popular than dual wield and bow, but actually works pretty well on Templar. Two handed weapons lack a good “spammable” damage ability, but Templars can use Biting Jabs. Stamina Templars usually lack an execute, but Two Handed weapons bring a great one. Also Templars don’t usually have easy access to Major Brutality (20% weapon damage increase), but Two Handed weapons get to use Rally for this, which also serves as a good self-heal.

You’ll do a lot more damage if you wear at least 5 pieces medium armor. The remaining 2 can be heavy to add some more survivability. Look for sets that add weapon crit and weapon damage (like Advancing Yokeda, Briarheart, Hundings, Leviathan, Ravager).

For your 2nd weapon, bow is by far the best damage. Just using Endless Hail and Poison Injection can help a lot with taking down tougher enemies. Caltrops (from Assault skill line) is also a great area damage skill. And Rearming Trap (Fighters Guild skill line) is a great single target DoT. For the weaker enemies you can mostly just stick to your instant damage Greatsword skills.

grizzly375 · April 2019

Agreed if you want to be "in the thick of it" you need to be a Medium Armor stamina build. As pointed out above, DW brings more to the table than 2H, usually, but with Templars spammable jabs, you can relegate the 2Her to just Reverse Slice and Rally.

Back bar needs to be a bow, for melee DPS, because MOST of your DPS will come from Poison Injection and Endless Hail. This is true on every melee DPS build I've ever seen or run.

If you want to be "tankier" pick a tanky race - Nord will give hit points, resistances and increased access to your ultimate; Imperial gives tri-stat restore and big base stamina and health. However, Orc is the current "heavy hitter" for stamina DPS.

I don't find sustain to be hard in PVE with my stamplar, as long as there are bodies on the ground, you can restore stam...

Tabris93 · April 2019

Thanks for your advice, guys! So you don't think it's a big deal to lose the S&B bonus from Imperial?

Wouldn't heavy armour be better for survivability, though?

WrathOfInnos · April 2019

Definitely don’t worry about the Imperial bonus for shield, all it does is level the skill line faster, which quickly becomes useless.

As for tankiness, Templar is naturally one of the toughest classes. You get about 7920 physical and Spell Resistance from casting the skill Restoring Focus, and another 2640 Spell Resistance from Aedric Spear passives. You also get high uptime of Minor Protection from using Jabs, which reduces your damage taken by 8%. IMO heavy armor on a Templar is overkill for most content (maybe PVP or vet trials tanking), and you would lose a lot of offense in heavy vs medium.

Stx · April 2019

My favorite solo builds for templar are both on YouTube. The "nova" magicka templar and the "lord knight" stamina templar. Both are very tanky and deal enough damage to solo anything.

I personally run the lord knight build but I use medium armor instead of heavy and I switch out a few skills.