Help an indecisive player choose a class/build?

Athyrium93 · June 2020

I can't find a class/build I love and would love recommendations. I have a breton magplar that's my "main" and switches between healing and dps all the time. I have a ton of fun on her but I'm getting sick of swapping gear/skills/cp on a daily basis. (I've tried dressing room and it seems to be bugged, I've uninstalled/reinstalled and checked everything I could think of but it only swaps gear half the time) and swapping cp is still an issue, so I'm planning to make her a healer only and level up another character as a DPS.

The question is what class/build?

I have a level 50 stam Warden that I thought would be awesome since I've always played a ranger/hunter type character in other games, but it feels so weak compared to my templar, even with good gear and 280+co it's just meh?

Random info that might help with suggestions: I play primarily PVE. Have always favored ranged dps in other games but find myself loving my magplars mid range style and massive healing though damage. I really dislike lightning effects in eso so sorc is probably not a good fit for me. Everyone says NB are hard as hell and I'm only a decent player at best, so I'm a bit scared of playing one and being absolute garbage.

Any suggestions?

Edit for spelling

Finedaible · June 2020

I'd recommend any class except Nightblade as of this writing. Nightblades used to be good years go, but they are hands-down the absolute bottom of the worst right now in both PvE and PvP. I would recommend Templar to a new player since they have high survivability + high damage and a set of easy skills so it's a great class to learn and progress with in both PvE and PvP.

For racial choices, I would recommend Redguard for stamina (physical) based builds or Breton for Magicka (Magic/elemental) based builds since those two have extremely helpful cost reduction passives which help with sustain, something Devs seem determined to nerf with every single patch.

Athyrium93 · July 2020

@Finedaible I'm definitely not arguing that templars are awesome, I actually started with the warden as a healer, got her to level 49 and said nope, then started leveling the Templar that I absolutely love, she's just good at everything, but I really want a dedicated dps and leveling a second temp feels silly.
Maybe it's just easy mode compared to other classes and I suck, but all the skills seem to work together amazingly, and there is a real tempo to play that the warden doesnt seem to have. (Warden is following a alcast build dw and bow with better gear than the Templar has because RNG is a ***)
My real question I guess is, does any other class have that kinda tempo as a dps?

Finedaible · July 2020

Hmm, I'm not sure what you mean by tempo as a dps, but I can relate to not liking the Warden play-style, I really disliked the delayed skills on that class as they feel clunky, though some claim this is a benefit in PvP.

Last I heard Stamina Necromancer is/was the absolute maximized dps in the game so i'd put my money on that class/combo for a dedicated dps character. They have major vulnerability on the colossus too, a debuff which no other class can access.

Everest_Lionheart · July 2020

As I’m leveling up my new magDK and flexing out the skills and morphs it has an ice steady pace, but be warned it takes a solid 30+ levels to begin to come together and it helps to have Julianos and seducers gear for training to get the extra dmg and sustain.

By comparison Magicka Templar is easily playable right out of the box with whatever you get. The MagDK has to grow into its role but has a nice sense of progression. I’m still experimenting and plugging in multiple pieces of a couple builds and trying different morphs but it is starting to make sense.

The issue is lack of a burst heal on the class and even though it has burning embers which works similar to sweeps on Templar the healing is delayed so you have to be more aware of your health. It’s a bit harder to sustain as well but the pace of hitting skills feels smoother and more relaxed. And because you have to play MagDK in melee range for some of the skills it fells like a cross between hand to hand and spell casting. It has a lot of potential for being so easy to use once you get past the initial hump of getting the right skills and morphs unlocked.

Athyrium93 · July 2020

Good to know magdk gets better, I've got one at 25ish... Actually have one of each mag class at lvl 25-35ish plus my templar and stamden at 50 and a stamsorc and stamblade around 20ish.
I just haven't had as much fun on any of them as my templar, but the magblade is probably number 2 in terms of fun right now.... No idea if I'll be able to pull decent dps on her once shes fully leveled and geared but she has been fun to level, I might not be a good enough player to get the rotation down (300ish ping also doesn't help) but the magblade is the way I'm leaning right now. (They will all get to 50 eventually, but deciding on which one to farm gear for and really work on the rotation for is hard to decide)

Finedaible · July 2020

If you like Magblade, you should be able to enjoy PvE content since they can self-heal and use shields. Magblade rotation is one the the most complex in the game however, and it feels like you aren't really rewarded for pulling off those dynamic combos. This is probably why most popular streamers don't even bother with NB anymore i think.

I would steer clear of Stamblade though. They currently have no identity and are basically forced to use a Two-Hander and some other weapon in order to barely function, but at that point you'd be better off using a Redguard DK with a weapons build because it's just far better.

Athyrium93 · July 2020

@Finedaible the self heal and shields really don't seem that good for dps, I guess in overland and solo they are good, but I mostly play dungeons, and have just started vet dungeons, hopefully doing trials in the near future as well. I've read multiple times that magblades are bis for endgame dps, but that the rotation is really tough.
I've gotten the Templar up to 25k dps with sub-optimal gear, healer spec'd CP, and a few passives to yet unlock, and the stamden up to 27k with pretty good gear and optimized CP. (Those numbers are on 3mil dummy, the stamden is just dead most of the time in real content, but the Templars dps is pretty consistent)
I'm just struggling to pick a class to work on getting over 35K with. High ping and slow reflexes means I'll probably never get to the 50k+ dps levels so it doesn't need to be absolute meta, but I don't want to be a drag on the group, so a class with synergy/buffs/debuffs is awesome and part of why I like the Templar so much.

Everest_Lionheart · July 2020

Athyrium93 wrote: »

@Finedaible the self heal and shields really don't seem that good for dps, I guess in overland and solo they are good, but I mostly play dungeons, and have just started vet dungeons, hopefully doing trials in the near future as well. I've read multiple times that magblades are bis for endgame dps, but that the rotation is really tough.
I've gotten the Templar up to 25k dps with sub-optimal gear, healer spec'd CP, and a few passives to yet unlock, and the stamden up to 27k with pretty good gear and optimized CP. (Those numbers are on 3mil dummy, the stamden is just dead most of the time in real content, but the Templars dps is pretty consistent)
I'm just struggling to pick a class to work on getting over 35K with. High ping and slow reflexes means I'll probably never get to the 50k+ dps levels so it doesn't need to be absolute meta, but I don't want to be a drag on the group, so a class with synergy/buffs/debuffs is awesome and part of why I like the Templar so much.

30-35K is the first hurdle to clear. Everyone gets stuck there it seems. You need your trials gear and monster sets, parse food and power pots too. Also get on that 21mil dummy that simulates a trial situation with respect to buffs and debuffs. Your numbers will change. Outside of that it’s just practice. I’m stuck at the same hurdle for the same reason. I don’t have trial gear or a monster set. I’m at 35k on stamden and 32K on magplar. The game is still fun though but I need tons of normal trial runs to complete my gear. Keep getting sidetracked making new toons though, more specific for trials because my warden and Templar were designed to go solo and adapted to trials. The Templar was specific for Maelstrom arena in fact.

Jaimeh · July 2020

Finedaible wrote: »

I'd recommend any class except Nightblade as of this writing. Nightblades used to be good years go, but they are hands-down the absolute bottom of the worst right now in both PvE and PvP.

MagNBs are doing very well in the PvE side of things.

OP, since you already know the templar class, and you like stam/bow playstyle, then you could give stamplar a try, they are very strong this patch, and fun to play: nice sustain, heals, damage, and they also bring minor fracture to a group, via PotL. If you'd like to go for a magicka class, DKs are on fire right now

They can be played in melee range, since you mentioned that you like that, though since the introduction of the vampire skill 'blood for blood' all magicka classes can be played melee (well, all that use this skill in any case--sorcs don't usually slot it). You can create a character on the PTS that will have access to all skills etc., and see how you like the animations, and feel of the class, if you don't want to go through create/delete of characters.

Oreyn_Bearclaw · July 2020

You ruled out the two obvious suggestions for a ranged DD. Sorc is easier, NB has a higher ceiling but is much more difficult in terms of rotation. For what its worth, you really dont use any lighting on a sorc at end game other than maybe an execute and one class ground DOT. Both of these skills are debatable as to whether they merit a slot. An end game PVE DPS sorc is going to run two fire staffs most of the time.

HoosierPappy · July 2020

Imperial Stamcro.
Bow/2hand !

c4t4ly5t · July 2020

Athyrium93 wrote: »

@Finedaible the self heal and shields really don't seem that good for dps, I guess in overland and solo they are good, but I mostly play dungeons, and have just started vet dungeons, hopefully doing trials in the near future as well. I've read multiple times that magblades are bis for endgame dps, but that the rotation is really tough.
I've gotten the Templar up to 25k dps with sub-optimal gear, healer spec'd CP, and a few passives to yet unlock, and the stamden up to 27k with pretty good gear and optimized CP. (Those numbers are on 3mil dummy, the stamden is just dead most of the time in real content, but the Templars dps is pretty consistent)
I'm just struggling to pick a class to work on getting over 35K with. High ping and slow reflexes means I'll probably never get to the 50k+ dps levels so it doesn't need to be absolute meta, but I don't want to be a drag on the group, so a class with synergy/buffs/debuffs is awesome and part of why I like the Templar so much.

I main a StamPlar for PvE DPS, and since I also suffer from high ping (350+ at the best of times) and horrible reflexes, despite having been a gamer my entire life, I think I may be able to give you some advice here.

I have an Orc StamPlar, currently running Briarheart, Vicious Ophidian and Stormfist, and with an insanely simple rotation I pull around 42k DPS on the trial dummy. Last night I actually played around with some setups on the PTS, and by replacing VO with Lokkestiiz (Non-Perfected), and adding a Maelstrom Bow (Non-Perfected), my DPS effortlessly climbs to 56k (with an extremely hasty CP setup). I'm confident that, if I spend some more time on it, I'd be able to hit 60k.

And that's why I absolutely love Templars (I actually have 5 of them). They're easy to play, can put out decent damage, and they can easily boast 2k+ Stam/Mag regen and close to 4k WD UNBUFFED, which means you'll be able to poke mobs for days. Not to mention StamPlar also has access to Repentance, which gives you god-tier sustain.

I will cry my eyes out if they ever get nerfed, since we High-Pingers absolutely need templars in order to be viable in terms of end-game DPS. Luckily they're not really OP at anything, so they usually fly under the nerf radar.