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Ember and Isobel, theorycrafting

phaneub17_ESO
phaneub17_ESO
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Ember has no Daedric Summoning, not even temporary pets, that's kind of disappointing.

https://eso-hub.com/en/companions/ember
Her Ultimate is Eye of the Storm morph from Destruction Staff rather than a class ability, filling out the rest of the Lightning Caller tree is Crystal Shard, Mage's Fury, and Lightning Splash. Her Mischievous Caster has Lightning Form, I assume Trickster's Trap is Daedric Mine, and Restraining Prison (Encase morph). Her final tree Playful Schemer uses non-sorcerer class ability with a basic direct heal, a mini-haste ability with Second Wind, and Ward Ally.

Overall she does have some nice AOE effects with Lightning Form, Lightning Splash, and her Ultimate. She may prove more useful than Mirri with Dual Wield and Shattering/Aggressive Medium Armor; I'll set up her up with Shocking Burst, Spinning Steel, Razor Cape, Hurricane Visage, and Second Wind. This would give you two kinds of cast and forget (third with her Ultimate) AOE pulse damage with damage reduction, a ranged AOE attack and a melee AOE attack followed by cooldown reduction to bring everything back up. No Masque of Torment, but her Entomb (Restraining Prison) would work sort of like that.

Isobel is a Templar, go figure. /sarcasm

https://eso-hub.com/en/companions/isobel-veloise
Her Ultimate looks to be a Dawnbreaker variant with Sun Fire, Puncturing Strikes with Empower, and Radiant Destruction to fill out her Blazing Might tree. Brilliant Shield tree has Sun Shield without the damage component, Toppling Charge morph, and what looks like an AOE cone version of Piercing Javelin; that's actually kind of neat if you could line up enough targets. Healing Grace has a unique burst heal with secondary heal over time, Cleansing Ritual with a snare, and Purifying Light morph.

Her Ultimate may suffer the same problem as Bastian where you need to have her in melee range to make it useful, so putting on any ranged weapons that aren't Frost Staff may prove to be counter-intuitive. I'll likely set her up with Two-Handed and Quickened Medium Armor to make use of her Gallant Blitz (AOE off-balance), Holy Ground (instant snare), Penetrating Strikes (Empower bonus), Sunder, and Spear of Light (AOE Knockdown). Like Ember she too has quite a bit of AOE at her disposal AND has a gap closer that hopefully is more reliable than Mirri's Warp Strike which has a tendency to cast and do nothing.
  • ShawnLaRock
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    I would still rather see charts of accurate Aggressive & Shattering numbers, as well as a numerical Crit number - for Companions as a whole - before specifics with the new ones’ abilities.

    S.
  • phaneub17_ESO
    phaneub17_ESO
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    I would still rather see charts of accurate Aggressive & Shattering numbers, as well as a numerical Crit number - for Companions as a whole - before specifics with the new ones’ abilities.

    S.

    This is my take on the companion stat values, some of it is outdated I'm not going to lie. That extra .3% actually does make a difference on Aggressive so stopping at 20.1% vs 20.4% has a slight boost, but not by much.

    https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/589985/

    And for listed damage numbers vs real damage done:
    https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/590929/
    Edited by phaneub17_ESO on April 15, 2022 4:43AM
  • vsrs_au
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    Here's a thought: can another Combat Metrics plugin be added to give stats on the companions ?
    PC(Steam) / EU / play from Melbourne, Australia / avg ping 390
  • Bat
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    Ember has no Daedric Summoning, not even temporary pets, that's kind of disappointing.

    That's a relief actually!
  • ArchMikem
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    Get ready for some renewed interest in Solo Vet Dungeon runs when Sorcs can now bring TWO Lightning Storms to bear.
    CP1,900+ Master Explorer - AvA One Star General - Console Peasant - The Clan
    Quest Objective: OMG Go Talk To That Kitty!
  • SammyKhajit
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    It would’ve been so much better in today’s reveal to show footages of Ember or Isobel in combat. This one was very excited when they started talking about the companions, but was disappointed that it was quite superficial in details.
    Edited by SammyKhajit on April 15, 2022 8:43AM
  • Tommy_The_Gun
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    I hope Ember can be summoned in Cyro... Imagine all those negates :D
    Edited by Tommy_The_Gun on April 15, 2022 8:46AM
  • Jim_Pipp
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    Hey phaneup. First of all thank you for your great write-ups, I re-read your posts, you have a great way of testing the fundamentals and theory-crafting from there.

    I wish we knew the ability cooldowns. I'm hoping Ember's many AoE DoT's follow the 12 second cooldown for 8 seconds duration standard (like razor cloak, sunder, rejuvenation, etc), because with all quickened that will give near 100% uptime on all those DoT's.... But her hurricane says a 20 second duration? My other thought about Ember is that enough AoE DoT's might finally let focussed pull ahead of quickened in DPS against multiple mobs.

    I'm very excited about Isobel for an all-in-one tank healer. Her healing grace skill line is all HoT's, so a taunt and... reverse entropy for a 4th heal over time?

    Edit
    Do you have any idea insights into how companion resistance works? Do our skills (warden's frost cloak) or sets (lord warden) increase their resistance. Do their dmg reduction skills stack (e.g. razor cloak and ghostly evasion for Mirri)?
    Edited by Jim_Pipp on April 15, 2022 10:06AM
    #1 tip (Re)check your graphics settings periodically - especially resolution.
  • phaneub17_ESO
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    I think the 20 seconds is an old number or just copy/paste from player skills, the number will probably reduced to 12 seconds in the final build. Otherwise it looks like Ember is built around making Augmented stat actually useful as she has a total of 5 abilities, including her Ultimate, that have 8 seconds duration and filling the last slot with Second Wind if you're not doing Light Armor. Now they won't be higher than 11 seconds with full Augmented, but if that storm buff stays 20 seconds would be a whopping 26 seconds.

    Focused still won't be a good choice with Ember, that brings her critical strike chance to 34%, but still has base 1.50% critical damage unless you're buffing her with Minor/Major Force. However just having 3% critical chance at all means a higher damage increase over other companions since their base critical chance is 0%.

    When we buff them most stuff works for them like increased armor/spell resists, weapon/spell damage, penetration, Minor/Major Force (only with Focused gear otherwise increased critical damage of 0% critical chance is still 0). Obviously anything that boosts magicka or stamina recovery does nothing for them. Many of their defensives are based on their max health so providing Toughness is a good choice with a Bastian/Isobel tank.
  • Remathilis
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    So right now, I have Bastion as a tank and Mirri as bow DPS. I had thought to make Ember a mag DPS and Isobel a healer, but I'm starting to question if that is wise. Which companion would make the best tank and which the best healer?
  • SydneyGrey
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    I just hope Isobel isn't going to be a butt every time I find a Thieve's Trove ....

    *EDIT* She is ....

    Edited by SydneyGrey on April 20, 2022 6:03PM
  • phaneub17_ESO
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    Remathilis wrote: »
    So right now, I have Bastion as a tank and Mirri as bow DPS. I had thought to make Ember a mag DPS and Isobel a healer, but I'm starting to question if that is wise. Which companion would make the best tank and which the best healer?

    I'm going to keep Bastian as a Tank since his extra health boost makes a difference on whether he gets one-shot killed and boosts most tanking abilities like Drake's Blood or On Guard with a full Vigor build. I'll be swapping Mirri to 1h+shield Healer with Twilight Mantle, Blood Transfusion, Life Absorption, Life Siphon, and Reverse Entropy so she provides some damage while healing. Ember's Shared Wards may suffer from the same problem with Basalt Barrier, in most hard fights it gets fully consumed in a single hit which loses the bonus healing received immediately; will the extra healing effect fall off when Ember's shield is consumed too?

    I avoid using Ranged weapons until we can disable their dodge roll mechanics so for me its 1h+shield, dual wield, two-handed, or frost staff. Bows, Resto, Lightning, and Fire Staff are too problematic for my taste with them rolling away into the next plane of existence especially on characters I don't want to slot a taunt for their sake.
  • Necrotech_Master
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    right now i have bastion set up as a healer, but i may end up altering this plan and setting isobel to be the healer and turn bastion into an actual tank, ill probably set up ember as another ranged dps option, that uses a staff instead of a bow (mirri is using a bow)
    plays PC/NA
    handle @Necrotech_Master
    active player since april 2014
  • SammyKhajit
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    SydneyGrey wrote: »
    I just hope Isobel isn't going to be a butt every time I find a Thieve's Trove ....

    At least we will be scolded by Laura Bailey’s dulcet tone o:)
  • ADarklore
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    I'm just glad we're finally getting some Companion AOE's!! I mean seriously, what is 99% of the enemies we face... MOBS. Yet, both Mirri and Bastian have mostly single target attacks. So this and the other mentioned 'personality' changes are much appreciated... I just hope Isobel isn't giving negative rapport every time we loot a thieve's trove or freak when using the blade of woe.
    CP: 1930 ** ESO+ Gold Road ** ~~ Stamina Arcanist ~~ Magicka Warden ~~ Magicka Templar ~~ ***** Strictly a solo PvE quester *****
  • ADarklore
    ADarklore
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    Also... we really need to find out what the cooldowns are before we can really begin contemplating builds.
    CP: 1930 ** ESO+ Gold Road ** ~~ Stamina Arcanist ~~ Magicka Warden ~~ Magicka Templar ~~ ***** Strictly a solo PvE quester *****
  • Khold90
    Khold90
    Soul Shriven
    I currently have Bastian as tank and Mirri as bow dps. If Isobel does indeed have a melee range ult then I'll probably go Bastian tank, Mirri bow dps, Isobel melee healer, Ember mag dps. Mirri being more single target and Ember being more AoE focused.

    With most of my characters being healers or tanks having the extra dps is great.
  • ADarklore
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    I see ESO-Hub has updated the Companion skills list, BUT... they didn't list the specific cooldowns, which are important factors when creating any companion build.
    CP: 1930 ** ESO+ Gold Road ** ~~ Stamina Arcanist ~~ Magicka Warden ~~ Magicka Templar ~~ ***** Strictly a solo PvE quester *****
  • SydneyGrey
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    I was playing with both Isobel and Ember yesterday on the PTS. I can say they both have charming personalities and great voice acting.

    Isobel hates killing innocents and stealing.
    Ember is ok with killing innocents and stealing. She's even ok with you using the blade of woe, however she gets a decrease in rapport if you get a bounty while doing those things. I love that. Basically, she gets upset if you get caught. >:)
  • ADarklore
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    SydneyGrey wrote: »
    I was playing with both Isobel and Ember yesterday on the PTS. I can say they both have charming personalities and great voice acting.

    Isobel hates killing innocents and stealing.
    Ember is ok with killing innocents and stealing. She's even ok with you using the blade of woe, however she gets a decrease in rapport if you get a bounty while doing those things. I love that. Basically, she gets upset if you get caught. >:)

    In regards to Isobel, define 'stealing'. Are we talking outright theft/pickpocketing or Thieve's Troves too?!? I've be OK with general theft, but one of the things I absolutely hate about Bastian is his issue with Thieve's Troves.
    CP: 1930 ** ESO+ Gold Road ** ~~ Stamina Arcanist ~~ Magicka Warden ~~ Magicka Templar ~~ ***** Strictly a solo PvE quester *****
  • Ilsabet
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    ADarklore wrote: »
    SydneyGrey wrote: »
    I was playing with both Isobel and Ember yesterday on the PTS. I can say they both have charming personalities and great voice acting.

    Isobel hates killing innocents and stealing.
    Ember is ok with killing innocents and stealing. She's even ok with you using the blade of woe, however she gets a decrease in rapport if you get a bounty while doing those things. I love that. Basically, she gets upset if you get caught. >:)

    In regards to Isobel, define 'stealing'. Are we talking outright theft/pickpocketing or Thieve's Troves too?!? I've be OK with general theft, but one of the things I absolutely hate about Bastian is his issue with Thieve's Troves.

    I lost rapport with Isobel when I looted an innocent NPC's corpse (that we had just gotten done murdering), but not for pickpocketing or stealing from a regular container nevermind she did get a -1 for stealing from a backpack, so maybe I was just on cooldown before. I didn't find any thieves troves to check.


    Someone should make a thread for collecting data on rapport so I can post my findings without having to manage compiling all of it. >_>
    Edited by Ilsabet on April 19, 2022 5:25PM
    Ilsabet Menard - DC Breton Nightblade archer - Savior of Pretty Much Everything, Grand Overlord & Empress Nubcakes
    Katarin Auclair - DC Breton Warden healer & ice mage
    My characters and their overly elaborate backstories
    Ilsabet's Headcanon
    The Adventures of Torbyrn Windchaser - Breaking the Ice & Ashes to Ashes
    PC NA
  • ADarklore
    ADarklore
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    Ilsabet wrote: »
    ADarklore wrote: »
    SydneyGrey wrote: »
    I was playing with both Isobel and Ember yesterday on the PTS. I can say they both have charming personalities and great voice acting.

    Isobel hates killing innocents and stealing.
    Ember is ok with killing innocents and stealing. She's even ok with you using the blade of woe, however she gets a decrease in rapport if you get a bounty while doing those things. I love that. Basically, she gets upset if you get caught. >:)

    In regards to Isobel, define 'stealing'. Are we talking outright theft/pickpocketing or Thieve's Troves too?!? I've be OK with general theft, but one of the things I absolutely hate about Bastian is his issue with Thieve's Troves.

    I lost rapport with Isobel when I looted an innocent NPC's corpse (that we had just gotten done murdering), but not for pickpocketing or stealing from a regular container. I didn't find any thieves troves to check.


    Someone should make a thread for collecting data on rapport so I can post my findings without having to manage compiling all of it. >_>

    Thank you for posting!! Yes, like last time someone started a thread and was keeping track of what Mirri and Bastian's rapport consisted of... which was appreciated.

    I believe 'Thieves Troves' count the same as stealing from a regular container, I'm guessing (hoping) that it's the same principle and Isobel won't get mad about Thieves Troves.
    CP: 1930 ** ESO+ Gold Road ** ~~ Stamina Arcanist ~~ Magicka Warden ~~ Magicka Templar ~~ ***** Strictly a solo PvE quester *****
  • Ilsabet
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    Looks like Isobel gets a -1 penalty for thieves troves. Not the end of the world in my opinion, but still a ding.
    Ilsabet Menard - DC Breton Nightblade archer - Savior of Pretty Much Everything, Grand Overlord & Empress Nubcakes
    Katarin Auclair - DC Breton Warden healer & ice mage
    My characters and their overly elaborate backstories
    Ilsabet's Headcanon
    The Adventures of Torbyrn Windchaser - Breaking the Ice & Ashes to Ashes
    PC NA
  • Ilsabet
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    Also (as corrected in my post above), I did just now get a -1 for stealing from a backpack in front of her. So that does appear to be a thing, but subject to cooldowns.
    Ilsabet Menard - DC Breton Nightblade archer - Savior of Pretty Much Everything, Grand Overlord & Empress Nubcakes
    Katarin Auclair - DC Breton Warden healer & ice mage
    My characters and their overly elaborate backstories
    Ilsabet's Headcanon
    The Adventures of Torbyrn Windchaser - Breaking the Ice & Ashes to Ashes
    PC NA
  • Ilsabet
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    Ilsabet wrote: »
    Someone should make a thread for collecting data on rapport so I can post my findings without having to manage compiling all of it. >_>

    Okay fine I went ahead and made a thread. Have fun. :D
    Ilsabet Menard - DC Breton Nightblade archer - Savior of Pretty Much Everything, Grand Overlord & Empress Nubcakes
    Katarin Auclair - DC Breton Warden healer & ice mage
    My characters and their overly elaborate backstories
    Ilsabet's Headcanon
    The Adventures of Torbyrn Windchaser - Breaking the Ice & Ashes to Ashes
    PC NA
  • Jim_Pipp
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    I thought it would help to have the cooldowns for all the skills, I noted them from the new videos from Azryel gaming linked below. I'll mention the cooldown in bold and the (duration in brackets and italics) because we have some interesting ways to get near 100% uptime on some skills, especially with Isobel's "enchanted" racial bonus, or Ember's ability to reduce cooldowns by 5 seconds.

    Isobel.
    Blazing might skill line.
    Boneslayer ultimate - costs 200 ultimate, (10 secs).
    Penetrating strikes -15.5, (lasts 1 secs)
    Sun Brand - 11.6, (8 secs)
    Divine destruction - 7.8, (lasts 3 secs

    Brilliant shield skill line
    Solar ward - 7.8, (6 sec)
    Galant blitz - 11.6, (off-balance 7 secs)
    Spear of light - 15.5, (4 sec stun)

    Healing grace skill line
    Blessed sacrament - 7.8, (8 sec - so longer than it's cooldown!
    Holy ground - 15.5 (8 sec)
    Beam of reproach - 11.6, (8 sec)

    Ember
    Lightening caller skill line
    Raging storm ultimate - costs 200 ultimate, (8 secs)
    Crystal blast -8, (direct damage)
    Shocking burst - 12, (8 secs)
    Thunderous strike- 16, (direct damage)

    Mischevious caster skill line
    Entomb -16, (8 secs)
    Hurricane visage - 12, (20 seconds! Confirmed... Much more duration than cooldown)
    Tricksters trap - 8, (3 sec stun)

    Playful schemer skill line
    Quick fix - 8, (burst heal like kindle)
    Shared wards - 12, (6 sec dmg shield)
    Second wind - 16, reduces other cooldowns by 5 secs

    With thanks to Azryel gaming for his new videos, one of my favourite content creators, although maybe we could improve on his companion builds
    https://youtu.be/E7T69HM3MAM
    https://youtu.be/JMKl4Dx7vKs
    Edited by Jim_Pipp on April 20, 2022 5:50PM
    #1 tip (Re)check your graphics settings periodically - especially resolution.
  • phaneub17_ESO
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    Edit, derp moment, she has 3% by default cooldown reduction.

    Now with Second Wind unlike Haste with a full cooldown reset, you're going to want to put longer cooldown abilities in the front and shorter ones closer to the back to get the most out of it.
    Edited by phaneub17_ESO on April 20, 2022 10:08PM
  • Monte_Cristo
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    SydneyGrey wrote: »
    I was playing with both Isobel and Ember yesterday on the PTS. I can say they both have charming personalities and great voice acting.

    Isobel hates killing innocents and stealing.
    Ember is ok with killing innocents and stealing. She's even ok with you using the blade of woe, however she gets a decrease in rapport if you get a bounty while doing those things. I love that. Basically, she gets upset if you get caught. >:)

    Does Isobel gain rapport if you kill an undead, like Mirri does with goblins? Would be a fitting trait for a templar. And do they both like books, as the first 2 companions both did?
  • Ilsabet
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    SydneyGrey wrote: »
    I was playing with both Isobel and Ember yesterday on the PTS. I can say they both have charming personalities and great voice acting.

    Isobel hates killing innocents and stealing.
    Ember is ok with killing innocents and stealing. She's even ok with you using the blade of woe, however she gets a decrease in rapport if you get a bounty while doing those things. I love that. Basically, she gets upset if you get caught. >:)

    Does Isobel gain rapport if you kill an undead, like Mirri does with goblins? Would be a fitting trait for a templar. And do they both like books, as the first 2 companions both did?

    Isobel's hate target is Daedra. She gains +1 for killing grunts and +5 for boss-rank Daedra (like group dungeon or dolmen bosses). Neither new companion gains rapport from reading bookshelves.

    I've got a big ol' rapport compilation list going over here if you'd like to see what we've come up with so far.
    Ilsabet Menard - DC Breton Nightblade archer - Savior of Pretty Much Everything, Grand Overlord & Empress Nubcakes
    Katarin Auclair - DC Breton Warden healer & ice mage
    My characters and their overly elaborate backstories
    Ilsabet's Headcanon
    The Adventures of Torbyrn Windchaser - Breaking the Ice & Ashes to Ashes
    PC NA
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