Which one is better AoE ability, storm pulsar or silver shards?

kougaSarutobi · September 2023

Just curious, i,e, they are both good but I want to know other players opinion on this.

Thanks

El_Borracho · September 2023

For PVE? Razor Caltrops. For PVP? Razor Caltrops

Necrotech_Master · September 2023

silver shards is a stam spammable, pulsar is a mag spammable

really kind of depends on your build since you will have problems sustaining a stam spammable on a mag build

silver shards has the added benefit of the fighters guild passives and i think might do a bit more dmg than pulsar, so just comparing the 2 regardless of build, silver shards is better

kougaSarutobi · September 2023

Thanks,

U are correct, I'm running out of stamina when I use silver shards, still working on this. Maybe I can get some advice on this.

Thanks

fred4 · September 2023

Caltrops isn't a spammable. You can't really compare those skills to that.

Depends on class and content.

As an Arcanist: Flail + Fatecarver
As a Templar: Puncturing Strikes
As a Nightblade: Drain Power
As a DK: Fiery Breath

I say this mainly because Fatecarver is so strong, whereas the other class skills bring healing or buffs that probably outweigh what Pulsar and Silver Shards bring to the table. That said Silver Shards has been used in combination with bow skills in PvP due to how it times, e.g. it doesn't have the cast time of Lethal Arrow and combines with it for burst, and I run into Pulsar from time to time for the health debuff in PvP.

I don't believe either of these skills are meta for PvE group play. If you have no other AOE (area of effect) spammable in your build, it's usual to spam Unstable Wall of Elements, because it's a triple utility skill that saves you the skill slot of a dedicated AOE spammable. Unstable Wall is both a DOT (damage over time) and a (delayed) AOE spammable, and it allows for 100% uptime of your Infused back bar weapon / spell damage enchant. This basically relegates both Pulsar and Silver Shards to (in PvE):

(a) Solo play
(b) Thematic (role-playing) builds

In solo play, such as (vet) Maelstrom Arena, I like Pulsar and similar class skills (e.g. the above) for it's immediacy. It's a no BS, easy-to-use skill that doesn't have any weird timing issues. Same goes for Silver Shards. Arguably Silver Shards is better for shooting NPCs out on the ice in arena 5, but Pulsar hits all around which is useful in it's own right.

WrathOfInnos · September 2023

Neither option is great. Which class are you? Most have a better class AoE spammable. Templar for example has Blazing Spear, which makes an excellent AoE spammable, while Arcanist relies on a combination of Ceph Flail and Fatecarver.

kougaSarutobi · September 2023

I'm high elf sorcerer , using crystal fragments for single target and trying to find a good AoE ability.

WrathOfInnos · September 2023

kougaSarutobi wrote: »

I'm high elf sorcerer , using crystal fragments for single target and trying to find a good AoE ability.

Ah Sorcerer is definitely a tough one for AoE. I like to pre-cast Hurricane and Volatile Familiar, then open with a Daedric Tomb cast to proc Minor Prophecy. With Blockade and Flood you won’t need many casts of a spammable, so you should be able to sustain Silver Shards on High Elf (maybe add a few pieces of medium armor to help). Whirling Blades is also a great option if you are willing to use Daggers front bar. If you ever run out of stamina, just throw another Daedric Tomb.

When you are nearing the end of the fight, you can begin executing enemies with Mage’s Wrath. This will relieve your stamina pool and still do great AoE damage.

KlauthWarthog · September 2023

kougaSarutobi wrote: »

I'm high elf sorcerer , using crystal fragments for single target and trying to find a good AoE ability.

If you have a shock staff equipped, you can cast a mages guild skill (with the might of guild passive) and follow up with a fully-charged heavy attack or three for AoE. The damage will not be fantastic without HA sets, but it might be worth it against large groups.

Necrotech_Master · September 2023

WrathOfInnos wrote: »

Neither option is great. Which class are you? Most have a better class AoE spammable. Templar for example has Blazing Spear, which makes an excellent AoE spammable, while Arcanist relies on a combination of Ceph Flail and Fatecarver.

silver shards is more suited as a spammable for pvp, but the OP did not specify pvp or pve as the use case lol

kougaSarutobi · September 2023

My bad I should have said that it is for PVE.

El_Borracho · September 2023

@fred4 he said AOE ability, not spammable. But thanks

Necrotech_Master · September 2023

El_Borracho wrote: »

fred4 he said AOE ability, not spammable. But thanks

direct dmg skills are generally considered "spammables" of which the OP listed 2 direct dmg aoe skills

i wouldnt lump caltrops in with the skills the OP listed either because it is a dot skill

is it a good aoe skill (in general)? sure, but cant really compare a dot to a spammable

kougaSarutobi · September 2023

thx everyone thx for ur input