Alteration Staff Skill Line: Magicka Tanking

MyPrist · February 2020

Vercingetorix wrote: »

Several expansions have passed (with a new one on the way) and ice staves are still trash. Why? Trying to slap on a half-baked tanking mechanic to a DPS weapon skill line is BAD. The answer is to have a skill line for magic users DEDICATED to tanking, with passives to augment and support it. Alteration magic is defensive in nature, providing protection, altering defenses, and providing utility effects – tanking is natural fit for this school of magic. Any values presented in abilities listed below are subject to change and are only there for illustrative purposes.

- Alteration staff heavy attacks would restore magicka and blocking with Alteration staves consumes magicka. Alteration staff attack animation is similar to the Restoration staff.
- With Alteration staves taking over the role of magical tanking, Ice staves and their passives can be re-focused on damage.

Alteration Staff Skills:

Vex: Target an enemy with an energy blast up to 28m away, afflicting them with Major Breach and taunting them for 15 seconds.
- Morph 1: Target is also afflicted with Major Fracture for 15 seconds.
- Morph 2: You also gain Minor Heroism, granting you 1 Ultimate every 1.5 seconds for 9 seconds.

Transmute Flesh: Caster alters their flesh into a hardened metal, gaining Minor Resolve for 20 seconds.
- Morph 1: Enemies striking the caster are afflicted with Minor Maim for 12 seconds.
- Morph 2: Reduced cost and caster also gains Minor Expedition for 20 seconds.

Burden: Caster fires a blast of energy in a targeted 8m radius area, dealing X magic damage and snaring all enemies in the area by 30% for 4 seconds.
- Morph 1: Radius increased to 12m.
- Morph 2: Deals significantly less damage, but increases the snare to 70%.

Molt: Caster magically sheds off malignant effects, purging up to 2 negative effects.
- Morph 1: Caster also purges 1 negative effect from a nearby ally.
- Morph 2: Reduced cost and can purge an additional negative effect.

Illuminate: Caster summons a Magelight that occasionally attacks nearby enemies and provides Minor Protection for 25 seconds. Magelight attacks with small blasts of light, dealing X magic damage. (Counts as pet)
- Morph 1: Targets struck by the Magelight are afflicted with Minor Vulnerability for 10 seconds.
- Morph 2: Magelight no longer attacks enemies, but decreases the cost of your active abilities by 3%.

Ultimate (250) - Mass Transmogrify: Caster unleashes a large blast of energy, dealing X magic damage in a 12m radius. Enemies damaged by this ability are afflicted with Major Mangle, lowering their maximum health by 15% for 8 seconds. (Bosses immune to Major Mangle)
- Morph 1: Significantly increases damage dealt.
- Morph 2: The Major Mangle debuff can no longer be purged, but duration is decreased to 4 seconds.

*Just to be clear, the Major Mangle debuff is applied to enemies AFTER the initial damage is dealt.

Passives:
- Reduces the cost of blocking by 20%/36% while an Alteration staff is equipped. Fully-charged heavy attacks with an Alteration staff channel 10%/20% faster.
- Blocking an enemy's melee attack with an Alteration staff afflicts that enemy with Minor Magickasteal for 5/10 seconds.
- Decrease the duration of negative effects on you by 10%/20% while an Alteration staff is equipped.
- Blocked incoming enemy projectiles have a 5%/10% chance of being reflected back to the attacker.
- Attacking an enemy while affected by a negative effect has a 5%/10% chance to transfer the negative effect to the target.

Well, that's it. Let me know what you all think. I feel this a much better solution when the alternative is gimping an entire elemental damage type and giving aspiring cyromancers the shaft. Magical tanking is a neat thing - it was just poorly implemented with frost staves. Tanking NEEDS a skill line dedicated to it - magical tanking should be no different.

There is no need, you already have ice staff, and game mechanick let you tank in it.

All you ask for already exist and can be add to ice stuff if you know the game. There is no need in new stuff, learn to play and it will not be a problem to tank for you with magick ice staff.

Stop make the game worse with stupid ideas.

You can get damage reduction, minor maim, minor heroism through poisons and gliphs, it blocks good, and you even can regenerate magicka through balance to block in it.

Why some new stupid staff must be better than shield and sword ?

Ice staff is balanced now, use it.

May be you will want one shot - cup of tea weapon next, that will kill one shot anything, becouse tea is sooo hot?

Who cares ? All is balanced and good in tanking now.

Vercingetorix · February 2020

Noxavian wrote: »

If we got one of these could we please get a conjuration staff? You have no idea how badly I want a pure summoner focused build to be a thing. That and I'd love to be able to summon an ice and fire atronach!!

It'd be more of a utility staff with skills that summon/buff summons.

I agree - some more weapon skill lines for magicka are definitely warranted. Stamina has Bow, Two-Handed, Dual Wield, and Sword & Shield yet magicka only has Destruction Staff and Restoration Staff. Some folks will argue that Destruction staff contains 3 different staves (technically only 2 since Frost isn't DPS), but melee weapons come in 3 flavors in 2 of their 3 offensive skill lines. There's just more variety with stamina and it's a noticeable discrepancy.

An Alteration staff helps solve 2 problems at once - a new DPS option by freeing up Frost staves and a dedicated skill line to bring magic tanking up to par with traditional tanking. It reuses some assets which saves ZoS time and money, ultimately getting these changes out to the players more quickly. It also shakes up combat a bit more, preventing it from getting stale. I honestly don't see any downsides here other than some development time...

SassiestAssassin · February 2020

This sounds like a fun way to tank, plus it would be *cool* to have ice staves be totally viable for dps (and even more powerful for wardens)

ESO_Nightingale · February 2020

MyPrist wrote: »

Vercingetorix wrote: »

Several expansions have passed (with a new one on the way) and ice staves are still trash. Why? Trying to slap on a half-baked tanking mechanic to a DPS weapon skill line is BAD. The answer is to have a skill line for magic users DEDICATED to tanking, with passives to augment and support it. Alteration magic is defensive in nature, providing protection, altering defenses, and providing utility effects – tanking is natural fit for this school of magic. Any values presented in abilities listed below are subject to change and are only there for illustrative purposes.

- Alteration staff heavy attacks would restore magicka and blocking with Alteration staves consumes magicka. Alteration staff attack animation is similar to the Restoration staff.
- With Alteration staves taking over the role of magical tanking, Ice staves and their passives can be re-focused on damage.

Alteration Staff Skills:

Vex: Target an enemy with an energy blast up to 28m away, afflicting them with Major Breach and taunting them for 15 seconds.
- Morph 1: Target is also afflicted with Major Fracture for 15 seconds.
- Morph 2: You also gain Minor Heroism, granting you 1 Ultimate every 1.5 seconds for 9 seconds.

Transmute Flesh: Caster alters their flesh into a hardened metal, gaining Minor Resolve for 20 seconds.
- Morph 1: Enemies striking the caster are afflicted with Minor Maim for 12 seconds.
- Morph 2: Reduced cost and caster also gains Minor Expedition for 20 seconds.

Burden: Caster fires a blast of energy in a targeted 8m radius area, dealing X magic damage and snaring all enemies in the area by 30% for 4 seconds.
- Morph 1: Radius increased to 12m.
- Morph 2: Deals significantly less damage, but increases the snare to 70%.

Molt: Caster magically sheds off malignant effects, purging up to 2 negative effects.
- Morph 1: Caster also purges 1 negative effect from a nearby ally.
- Morph 2: Reduced cost and can purge an additional negative effect.

Illuminate: Caster summons a Magelight that occasionally attacks nearby enemies and provides Minor Protection for 25 seconds. Magelight attacks with small blasts of light, dealing X magic damage. (Counts as pet)
- Morph 1: Targets struck by the Magelight are afflicted with Minor Vulnerability for 10 seconds.
- Morph 2: Magelight no longer attacks enemies, but decreases the cost of your active abilities by 3%.

Ultimate (250) - Mass Transmogrify: Caster unleashes a large blast of energy, dealing X magic damage in a 12m radius. Enemies damaged by this ability are afflicted with Major Mangle, lowering their maximum health by 15% for 8 seconds. (Bosses immune to Major Mangle)
- Morph 1: Significantly increases damage dealt.
- Morph 2: The Major Mangle debuff can no longer be purged, but duration is decreased to 4 seconds.

*Just to be clear, the Major Mangle debuff is applied to enemies AFTER the initial damage is dealt.

Passives:
- Reduces the cost of blocking by 20%/36% while an Alteration staff is equipped. Fully-charged heavy attacks with an Alteration staff channel 10%/20% faster.
- Blocking an enemy's melee attack with an Alteration staff afflicts that enemy with Minor Magickasteal for 5/10 seconds.
- Decrease the duration of negative effects on you by 10%/20% while an Alteration staff is equipped.
- Blocked incoming enemy projectiles have a 5%/10% chance of being reflected back to the attacker.
- Attacking an enemy while affected by a negative effect has a 5%/10% chance to transfer the negative effect to the target.

Well, that's it. Let me know what you all think. I feel this a much better solution when the alternative is gimping an entire elemental damage type and giving aspiring cyromancers the shaft. Magical tanking is a neat thing - it was just poorly implemented with frost staves. Tanking NEEDS a skill line dedicated to it - magical tanking should be no different.

There is no need, you already have ice staff, and game mechanick let you tank in it.

All you ask for already exist and can be add to ice stuff if you know the game. There is no need in new stuff, learn to play and it will not be a problem to tank for you with magick ice staff.

Stop make the game worse with stupid ideas.

You can get damage reduction, minor maim, minor heroism through poisons and gliphs, it blocks good, and you even can regenerate magicka through balance to block in it.

Why some new stupid staff must be better than shield and sword ?

Ice staff is balanced now, use it.

May be you will want one shot - cup of tea weapon next, that will kill one shot anything, becouse tea is sooo hot?

Who cares ? All is balanced and good in tanking now.

As it currently stands, the ice staff is a hybrid between tanking and dps and frost staff tri focus is the only passive in the game that is detrimental to you and your group under the righ circumstances. How it's been done is in a way that makes the weapon worse for dps as the passives that normally increase damage are instead preserved for block. This needs to be changed. I'm not saying that they need to remove the block passives. But just shift them to elemental susceptibility along with at least major fracture. If the skill has a taunt too, Give the skill a cost and then call it a day.

That way the tank can use any destruction staff they wish and the frost staff can be repurposed for critical damage.