Are you happy with your new Arcanist?

ArchMikem · June 2023

Finally got mine to Lvl50 today and got her fully geared with mundus and skill bars. Lacking skill points for a back bar Ult but I'll get there eventually, and I know I'm slower than most so I bet a lot of you have already been playing with your fully kitted Arcanists, even on Console now. How have you been liking the class with full stats? What Role have you chosen to play?

I decided to make a second Healer/Off DPS. I'm staying firmly away from anything tentacle. Spent the last twenty levels grinding random dungeons, getting a feel for the skills/rotation and I think I'll enjoy playing Healer, while using the green beam for support damage. My "MagCanist" is a Khajiit with 54% Crit Chance and a 38% Crit modifier fully buffed, so definitely making use of a Crit Kitty for potentially big heals.

TaSheen · June 2023

I like mine quite a lot. I have one stam one mag on one account both PC megaservers. They actually play pretty much the same, which isn't a problem for me (might be for others).

I'll get Necrom on my other two accounts when it shows up on a major discounted sale at some point (unlike buying High Isle 3 times instantly....)

And mine are nowhere near CP level. I don't level anyone that fast any more.

HidesInPlainSight · June 2023

No.

Crux change killed the class in PvP. Lag, already made them inconsistent to useless in Cyrodill.

Every Arcanist can be ganked 100% of the time. Put an Arcanist on defense, and they can't turn the fight because all resources go into building Crux up, and by the time you can use them to do damage, they get eaten for defense. You repeat until dead.

By the end of the Midyear Mayhem, I expect the majority of playerbase will reach same conclusion. If you are on PC NA, IC, ill be Nightblade 1-shotting every Arcanist I see.

FeedbackOnly · June 2023

I like healing and tanking on it. The visuals for DPS are too short to carry an interest

TaSheen · June 2023

HidesInPlainSight wrote: »

No.

Crux change killed the class in PvP. Lag, already made them inconsistent to useless in Cyrodill.

Every Arcanist can be ganked 100% of the time. Put an Arcanist on defense, and they can't turn the fight because all resources go into building Crux up, and by the time you can use them to do damage, they get eaten for defense. You repeat until dead.

By the end of the Midyear Mayhem, I expect the majority of playerbase will reach same conclusion. If you are on PC NA, IC, ill be Nightblade 1-shotting every Arcanist I see.

Well.... I don't have any use for pvp, so I don't have an issue with "being ganked".

Ragnarok0130 · June 2023

I like healing on my arcanist but he feels more like a buffbot with mediocre heals than a main healing class to me. He won't displace my Templar, Warden, or Nighblade healers in the order of merit, he might not even replace my Necro but he's in front of my Sorc and DK for sure. I'll bring him if the raid lead requests an Arcanist healer though.

I really don't like the crux change, it was completely unnecessary.

ArchMikem · June 2023

TaSheen wrote: »

Well.... I don't have any use for pvp, so I don't have an issue with "being ganked".

It's not fun when you're not a Tank. It's one reason I main a Nightblade, I pop Detect Potions and gank the gankers.

HidesInPlainSight wrote: »

No.

Crux change killed the class in PvP. Lag, already made them inconsistent to useless in Cyrodill. Every Arcanist can be ganked 100% of the time. Put an Arcanist on defense, and they can't turn the fight because all resources go into building Crux up, and by the time you can use them to do damage, they get eaten for defense. You repeat until dead. By the end of the Midyear Mayhem, I expect the majority of playerbase will reach same conclusion. If you are on PC NA, IC, ill be Nightblade 1-shotting every Arcanist I see.

I however don't really see "It gets ganked easily" as a legitimate complaint for the Class. EVERY Class can fall victim to that playstyle, unless like I said, you built for Tanking. I was actually ganked BY an Arcanist once. Rune of Eldritch Horror > Unblinking Eye > Fatecarver. Melted me in under three seconds.

kynesgrove · June 2023

I love my Arcanists. They feel so smooth and reactive to play. Granted I haven't gotten to make a healer yet, but I have a MagDPS, Tank and Solo OakenStamArc.

I tried levelling a Necro recently and it was an absolute boring janky chore versus my Arcanists.

Arcanist has ruined the other classes for me. It could be I'm bored with them, but they feel so incredibly dated versus Arcanist. The new class has made me so aware of all the combat flaws ESO has once again, ones I got used to and made peace with long ago. The other classes' skills feel like you are trying to get old Lego bricks unstuck most of the time and then trying to have fun between it.

ZoS has shown they can make a modern fun class! Now I want more!

Arcanists are very loaded for solo play. Need a big heal without hitting anything that also does 100% more damage below 50% and generates crux? Tentacle. Need a big emergency shield? Beam regardless. You have a lot of flexibility in slot use and tend to have a lot of situational utility. Need to skip a puzzle or a mechanic? Portal.

The bare minimum of skill required is just stack crux and know when and on what to spend them in a very low APM rhythm.

My wrists have been saved! Praise the Woodland Man!

My solo OakenStamArc does easily 50-65k situationally with sub-optimal gear.
First thing I did with her is do a quick deathless VetVateshran, it was heaven.
Solo Bastions/DLC dungeons all day with her, because she's just so fun to play, no bar swaps, just beams. (The antiquity chase was an absolute breeze.)

Now it might be some of the skills have so many extra safe bells and whistles for brand new players. And so that ZoS can rip them off later once everyone had their fun.
But right now I am exceptionally enjoying them!

SimonThesis · June 2023

I love the new arcanist, I think the negativity around it was all talk and people took too much stock into what streamers said about it. My arcanist does crazy high damage especially in pvp, I got grand arcanist slayer on the first day.

Mrfroggy · June 2023

I really like playing my arcanist probably more than any other class i've played in this game. My only complaint/request is a personal preference thing but, I would love to have the companion azandar's ultimate as a skill for my arcanist. That or a dps based transformation skill that makes my character a seeker. Mostly because I think seekers look awesome.

Hapexamendios · June 2023

Too soon. So far it's good. Haven't completely leveled one up yet let alone kitted one out.

Xinihp · June 2023

Yes and no. I like the mechanics of the class which are a nice change of pace. However...

The visuals are absolutely atrocious! I loathed the "everything is green" design of WoW Legion and this is just more of that. It is the most horrible color... like a clown chased 4lbs of banana taffy with a gallon of lime gatorade and barfed in a neon bucket.

I wish ZOS would implement a color change feature for spells/abilities. Like the dye system for armor, only for your actual spell effects. Do that, and I would be happy.

As it is, the visuals are literally migraine-inducing and I am not really able to play it.

Legate_Lanius · June 2023

It’s very enjoyable.

However the beam is a problem both in PvE/PvP : between being permanently interrupted or the damage not being registered at all when you move the beam to enemy player… really not good.

Wish there was a more raw damage spender instead of the beam’s dot.

HidesInPlainSight · June 2023

ArchMikem wrote: »

TaSheen wrote: »

Well.... I don't have any use for pvp, so I don't have an issue with "being ganked".

It's not fun when you're not a Tank. It's one reason I main a Nightblade, I pop Detect Potions and gank the gankers.

HidesInPlainSight wrote: »

No.

Crux change killed the class in PvP. Lag, already made them inconsistent to useless in Cyrodill. Every Arcanist can be ganked 100% of the time. Put an Arcanist on defense, and they can't turn the fight because all resources go into building Crux up, and by the time you can use them to do damage, they get eaten for defense. You repeat until dead. By the end of the Midyear Mayhem, I expect the majority of playerbase will reach same conclusion. If you are on PC NA, IC, ill be Nightblade 1-shotting every Arcanist I see.

I however don't really see "It gets ganked easily" as a legitimate complaint for the Class. EVERY Class can fall victim to that playstyle, unless like I said, you built for Tanking. I was actually ganked BY an Arcanist once. Rune of Eldritch Horror > Unblinking Eye > Fatecarver. Melted me in under three seconds.

its the inability to heal or do damage after gank. No other class has to have a stack of buffs active to heal or do damage. Arcanist heals and damage all come from the Crux mechanic. With 0 Crux to consume, you don't heal. Even vigor heals for *** on Arcanist, without having generated Crux. You literally start every fight at a disadvantage relative every other class.

I spend 99% of my time in game, in IC pvping and farming bosses. When it comes to anit-ganking, I am probably one of,it not the best in PC NA.

This account was purchased when I had an entire pvp guild watching and hunting me for months on end through all of the different IC campaigns, including the under 50 IC camp. Just so I could actually farm without being stalked by a guild.

I know how to counter the best gankers in the game, 100% of the time. Where Arcanist fails, boils down to the fact that the Arcanist can not recover from being put on their backbar, due the Crux mechanic. You can not heal, because you have no Crux, you spend at least 3 GCD's 5k stam 4.5k magicka just for you burst heal after a gank attempt. Waiting 5 seconds to generate a crux passively from your major resolve skill, is not viable.

The only way to survive a gank on Arcanist, is to forget your defense and pressure back. The problem there is, the Arcanist has zero burst. So you have to pressure with sustained damage, which only works if the opponent is dense, and does not disengage. Every single Crux generator can be denied by cloaking or moving to the side. You run into the cycle of spending resources to generate Crux, that you want to spend on offense, but can't because you have to spend defense, until you eventually run out of resources. Arcanis have no mobility, so LoS'ing is a losing game against any other class, you burn more resources, and end up same situation of not having Crux to spend to heal.

Its a fundamental issue with the class, that was able to worked around, by building Crux outside of PvP (on NPCs). Now that Crux fall off after 30 seconds. The class is not viable, outside of a support in a group. In duels, players realize, just pressure hard the first 10 seconds, and the Arcanist can not recover.

HP / and tanking has nothing to do with anit-ganking. Not when I have builds that hit for 70k proc on a single target proc, with basically no pen. Anti-ganking is about avoidance, recovery, and resetting the fight. Thats where the issue lies with Arcanist, the can't recovery once pressured to their backbar, due to Crux mechanic and its changes.

jtm1018 · June 2023

I'm happy I didnt baught it.

h9dlb · June 2023

I'd like to buy necrom but can't as every single bag slot is full with mats

Uvi_AUT · June 2023

Kinda.
Biggest problem is Crux. It essentially makes most if not all other skill-lines useless (like Weaponskills) because it really hampers you to use something thats not generating or using Crux.

LunaFlora · June 2023

one arcanist is level 17 and the other level 18

the first has a build for each role and one to switch to if i want to reset a build, it has most of the champion abilities but not ones specific to builds.
and i've tanked a dungeon with her

i did some skyshard hunting in cyrodiil with my second arcanist yesterday, the enemy gates were open which was awesome

i cant wait to level both arcanists up completely and do more with them

Snamyap · June 2023

Donno yet, she's still training horse speed, not gonna snail speed around.

LalMirchi · June 2023

Yes I'm really happy with my new arcanist. Just got to level 50 and questing away with Azandar. Mount training is still low level but no worries I have the Ring of the Wild Hunt.

_Zathras_ · June 2023

I like it, a lot.

My initial knee-jerk reaction changed once I figured out how to cancel the beam, rather than being locked into its animation. After that it was roses.

My main before was always a mag templar, running solo with destro/restro staves. It has a lot of flexibility, dps, and healing to do what whatever I need.

I find the arcanist to be on par or better. For the first time since launch, I am debating the need to use a restro backbar. I find the arcanist skills, with the synergies that are built into the passives, do a better job.

And then there is the fun factor. It's quick, and I like the sound effects. The building isn't that big of a deal for me, as the builder is rapid fire, which I use to pull and gather. By the time I've grabbed a few mobs, I'm set to create mayhem.

But, like always, try it for yourself if you want a truer read on the class. What I or someone else likes you may not, and vice versa.

ADarklore · June 2023

I am really enjoying my Arcanist. I created an Argonian and Altmer Arcanist, but once I created the Altmer I haven't returned to the Argonian as I'm enjoying the 'character' the Altmer has become.

The class itself is awesome, and as others have said, great for solo play. In a way, I'm glad it has some failings and many people aren't enjoying it- because it means the class probably won't get nerfed, which usually happens when everyone is using and loving a certain class too much.

On PTS, it was already shown to be horrible in PVP and not even close to being OP in Vet PVE content when compared to other classes. In fact, you are pretty much required to run certain gear to even equal other classes in most difficult content, especially trials.

Thus, ZOS should have no need to nerf Arcanist, and in fact, should consider buffing it.

Legate_Lanius · June 2023

_Zathras_ wrote: »

I like it, a lot.

My initial knee-jerk reaction changed once I figured out how to cancel the beam, rather than being locked into its animation. After that it was roses.

Curious, how do you do it ?
I open my inventory but I feel it’s really not the best in the heat of battle.

ADarklore · June 2023

Legate_Lanius wrote: »

_Zathras_ wrote: »

I like it, a lot.

My initial knee-jerk reaction changed once I figured out how to cancel the beam, rather than being locked into its animation. After that it was roses.

Curious, how do you do it ?
I open my inventory but I feel it’s really not the best in the heat of battle.

All you have to do is tap the BLOCK button. I do this all the time. I believe you can also dodge roll out of it too, but block is the easiest IMO. Sadly, I see players all the time using the full length of Fatecarver duration and it's clear they don't know how to cancel it.

Stanx · June 2023

I'm on console. I have my arcanist geared and at CP (1900) and specced to magicka. It is a lot more fun IMO than my nightblade & templar (specced to Mag DPS) but definitely falls short of my petless-sorc in terms of how hard it hits and how survivable it is. I am yet to level Psijic so I'll see if Minor Force improves anything. I am not crazy about the self-healing capabilities of Arcanist and find myself dumping a lot more of my magicka into shields than I normally would.

Currently geared with Pillar, Julianos and Iceheart so there's also a lot of room for improvement with the gear side of things. That said my Sorc is MS and Order's Wrath with one piece Domi and Mora's Whispers so the gear on them isn't amazing either.

I'm enjoying it. It's a passable class. I definitely do not think it should be nerfed at all, doesn't feel anywhere near as over-tuned as Necro was when it dropped. Still have some work to do so I'll call this provisional feedback but overall I'd give it a 7.5/10 in terms of utility and fun. Too squishy, though.

CameraBeardThePirate · June 2023

HidesInPlainSight wrote: »

No.

Crux change killed the class in PvP. Lag, already made them inconsistent to useless in Cyrodill.

Every Arcanist can be ganked 100% of the time. Put an Arcanist on defense, and they can't turn the fight because all resources go into building Crux up, and by the time you can use them to do damage, they get eaten for defense. You repeat until dead.

By the end of the Midyear Mayhem, I expect the majority of playerbase will reach same conclusion. If you are on PC NA, IC, ill be Nightblade 1-shotting every Arcanist I see.

Lol what? Arcanist has one of the best kits to defend against ganks in the game, Crux or not. My Runeguard of Freedom has something like a 15k tooltip - that's a huge automatic heal if I drop down below 50% health. As soon as it procs, you can recast it for a relatively cheap cost. I have yet to be ganked successfully on my Arcanist.

If you're CC immune, you can heal an absurd amount with Curative Surge. Literally just face tanking while channeling it.

Agenericname · June 2023

So far I really enjoy mine. Its nice to have something that isnt so similar to everything else out there.

I dps mostly, sometimes tank on it. I dont heal so I have no input on that. Tanking is fine. At a minimum its interesting because their kit is a little different, but I havent tanked enough with it to really have a firm opinion.

I enjoy DPSing with it. The low APM and lack of necessity to weave light attacks while using the amulet makes it a little easier on the hands and wrist. It seems like its more damage than any of my Oakesoul builds. It has a lot of cleave damage without modifying/changing sets, but some of my other 2 bar builds still do better in pure ST damage.

Thats all PvE. I havent tried PvP yet.

KlauthWarthog · June 2023

The build up, burn down playstyle is quite enjoyable on PvE, but not on PvP.
The main thing I dislike on PvE are the channels, especially while fighting dragons, since there is an abundance of stuff to dodge and block. But, it is not a very big deal.
For PvP, well... everything you do gets telegraphed a mile away, and the build up time means the enemies have a bright green piñata to whack on while you build up your crux.

Hrolthar · June 2023

I haven’t set up a Starcanist yet but my Marcanist is quite fun to play so far even without bothering too much about Crux. What it will be like by the end of the year is the real question though! Depends how much they change it by then as to whether it will become another crafting mule like my Necro did just for Daily Writs etc

emilyhyoyeon · June 2023

Even though I still hate how it's a class and not skill lines, it fulfills the spellsword vibe I was hoping to get well enough, so I'm pretty happy. Game-wise, I went with stamina DD for mine; I haven't tried any other specs or PVP yet.

The tentacle flail skill is really uncomfortable to use though, pretty sure because of the cast time. I prefer LA weaving setups so my arcanist is using runeblades. It makes the flail feel extra clunky, and I already wasn't thrilled about using that skill because of its theme.

Tonturri · June 2023

I've been enjoying it, but haven't reached max yet. It feels a little unpolished - buggy skills, etc. For some reason the weapon-enchant skil isn't generating extra crux when I have zero, starting combat with the single target crux-generating skill doesn't work (fixable by just starting combat with a DoT or something, but still, irritating). Curative Surge has range issues. It simultaneously feels like it has overloaded but also lackluster class skill options, which is a very weird feeling.

Crux feels like it adds a decent flow to skills, though on some levels it feels (and, tbh, is) just a tweaked copy-paste of NB's spectral bow, magsorc frags, etc. I like that it's been woven into the rest of the class skills though - that was nicely done, though I hope they go back and update the other classes as well.

Also, the green...I'm not sure if I like it. I get the aesthetic they're going for but I don't think I like the huge amount of green flying all over the place. Overall think I got my money's worth though. If not for the excess of green aesthetic I'd plan on it being a sole main.