Seeking Solo Magicka Sorcerer PvE build that doesn't use a Pet

Faulgor · July 2022

Zodiarkslayer wrote: »

Faulgor wrote: »

Zodiarkslayer wrote: »

I found it intriguing to theory craft a sort of Lightning themed Sorcerer. Sadly, I wasn't able to make that a one bar build.
Here is my take, and it has a LOT of survivability in it.
It is suboptimal, though. More like a theme build, really.

Damage will be somewhere between a wet noodle and a wet towel. But it'll get you through Base Game Veteran Dungeons.

Storm-Cursed's Revenge + Heartland Conqueror + a Mythic or Monster set of your choice.

The secret is to use Charged trait with Heartland Conqueror to proc the shock status effect a ton, which deals a little bit of shock damage up front and helps to proc the Storm-Cursed set. I couldn't believe what a difference it made, but my DPS jumped almost 20% with Heartland Conqueror (I used Infallible Aether before).
It's the ultimate shock sorc and it rocks. Single target is respectable and the cleave damage is nuts.

That is a good hint. I was contemplating that set as well, but I ultimately decided against it, because of the proc chance.

To have that damage proc reliably per second, I would need to run at least 6 shock damage sources in parallel. It is only 15%. That is really low. And to have six shock sources is really stretching the Sorcerer Class's capabilities. And of course the original request of the OP, because there would need to be at least one pet
Or you need at least six enemies at the same time, which is also a stretch.

And the Charged trait, that you describe is only affecting the chance of the status effects. Meaning in our case only concussed. Your felt damage increase is probably a combination of the additional penetration and weapon damage from the set bonuses, plus the near 100% uptime of the minor Vulnerability debuff, that comes with the concussion status effect. And possibly the added uptime of off balance from your wall of lightning (Unstable or Blockade).

Pets don't proc Storm-Cursed, so I don't run any. My shock skills are Lightning Flood, WoE, Boundless Storm on backbar, and Shock Reach and Crushing Shock on front. Heavy Attack when off balance, otherwise just normal light attack weaves. I slot Bound Armaments for the passive, but it's difficult to put into the rotation.

The deal with the charged trait + Heartland Conqueror (960% proc chance) is that it procs Concussed all the time, which deals a little bit of shock damage. What is usually minuscule and irrelevant damage however can proc Storm-Cursed just like any skill. You don't need to have 6 active shock DoTs when you deal shock damage with Concussed.

It's really down to the massive boost from Heartland Conqueror. In all other aspects it's simply inferior to Infallible Aether, which I replaced it with - no crit bonuses, no Minor Slayer, no Heavy Attack bonus, not to mention Infallible Aether had 100% Minor Vulnerability uptime already.

100% chance from Destro passive, 60% from CP, 960% from Charged HC, that's +1120% chance to proc concussed. That's more than twelve times the base chance. An AoE DoT that usually only procs a status effect with a 1% chance now procs Concussed with 12%. It really adds up.

And it's not my discovery, I just read it on Reddit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/elderscrollsonline/comments/uxd670/comment/i9x63yh/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

Zodiarkslayer · July 2022

This discussion is off topic of the original thread topic.

@Faulgor
Yes.yes.yes. You are completly right about the chances of concussed and how Charged and Heartland Conqueror work. I never denied that. But...

Here is the link to the set. Just to make sure we talk about the same thing: https://eso-hub.com/en/sets/storm-curseds-revenge

It says nowhere that the damage proc is in any way influenced by the concussed status effect. Or does it? It just says: Shock Damage. That of course includes the shock damage from a shock glyph and the subsequent instant shock damage tick of concussed status. If you mean that you can cascade shock damage this way, you are wrong. The subsequent damage tick cannot reapply concussed. That is a necessary exclusion of how status effects work. Of course you effectively double up the numbers of dice rolls, so to say. But that doesn't change the 15% chance of the Storm Cursed's Revenge proc.

And as far as I know, proc chances of proc damage can generally not be influenced by anything within a players control. To the contrary. Proc chances serve as a counterbalance to the proc's strength.

I find it difficult to believe, that a 5 piece set bonus effect behaves completely different from what the description states. However, I shall not exclude, that I am wrong.

Edit: Changed wording for clarification and avoid misunderstandings.

Faulgor · July 2022

Zodiarkslayer wrote: »

It says nowhere that the damage proc is in any way influenced by the concussed status effect. Or does it? It just says: Shock Damage. That of course includes the shock damage from a shock glyph and the subsequent instant shock damage tick of concussed status. If you mean that you can cascade shock damage this way, you are wrong. The subsequent damage tick cannot reapply concussed. That is a necessary exclusion of how status effects work. Of course you effectively double up the numbers of dice rolls, so to say. But that doesn't change the 15% chance of the Storm Cursed's Revenge proc.

There, you've solved the mystery.

SilverBride · July 2022

I took several of the suggestions in this thread and this is what I came up with. It's far from meta but it suits my playstyle and I am really enjoying it. Thanks to everyone for your suggestions and input!

Gear:

Mother's Sorrow and Julianos, all purple quality, all Divines, with the Oakensoul ring.

Mother's Sorrow Inferno Staff, Precise, gold quality.

All pieces are enchanted for damage and mana regeneration.

Mundus:

I use the Thief Mundus stone.

Skills:

Critical Surge
Crystal Fragments
Structured Entropy
Flame Pulsar
Dark Conversion

My ultimate is Greater Storm Atronach.

Buff Food:

Witchmother's Potent Brew

Paralyse · July 2022

I know I'm coming into this a bit late but I thought I'd share mine just in case

1 Bar No Pet Sorc (Oakensoul)

Front bar:
Bound Armor (bar buffer, don't cast)
Critical Surge
Unstable Wall of Elements (single target or AoE wall spam)
Force Pulse
Crystal Fragments (only on proc)
Greater Storm Atro (ulti)

Buff food: Witchmother's Potent Brew or Clockwork Citrus Filet
Potions: tri-stat (e.g. Crown Restoration Potion)

Blue slot CP: Wrathful Strikes, Deadly Aim, Fighting Finesse, Master At Arms
Red slot CP: max health, armor, regen (the usual 3) + flex slot (siphoning spells or celerity if not running False Gods, otherwise free roll dodge or something else defensive if needed)
Mundus - Thief

Gear set 1 - (Perfected) False Gods or Julianos, for body pieces, all Magicka.
Gear set 2 - Mother's Sorrow (shoulders, destro staff - infused / weapon damage, and jewelry - bloodthirsty / spell damage)
Monster sets: Valkyn Skoria or Nerien'eth (1 pc med, 1 light) for AoE and Kjalnar or Stormfist (single target only)
Mythic: Oakensoul Ring (infused or bloodthirsty / spell damage)

For a more "tanky" build, slot in 1 pc heavy armor and change bound armor for empowered ward.
If sustain is still an issue (it shouldn't be) swap out bound armor for dark conversion.

Didgerion · July 2022

SilverBride wrote: »

I am looking for a Solo Magicka Sorcerer PvE build that doesn't use a Pet. I just cannot stand having these things hovering around in my way. Right now I am a Vampire but thinking of curing, so looking for a build that would work well for me. I prefer a single bar build if possible as I have never liked bar swapping.

Thank you.

Just roll a templar and name it "The One Bar Sorcerer"

Paralyse · July 2022

The jabs are real.