Questions from returning player

Neiska · February 13

Hello Forums,

I have decided to start playing ESO again after a 3 year break. The last time I was playing was in 2021-timeframe. I didn't play for overly long the first time, so I don't remember a whole lot. So for all intents I consider myself a newbie.

1. I tend to favor either tanks or pet classes in MMOs, but IIRC they had recently changed how armor/stamina drain works if I am not mistaken. What I do remember is after a patch suddenly not having enough stamina to do anything at all. Is that still a thing or have there been updates/changes in those 2-3 years?
2. I am debating on making a Necro Tank, or a Pet Sorc, undecided as of yet. I am not even sure how good or needed those things are currently. I seem to recall there was a big shortage on tanks before, which is what led me to being a DK previously. Is this still the situation or have things been a bit more balanced?

Thanks bunches in advance!

Necrotech_Master · February 13

theres usually always a shortage of tanks lol, a lot of that is how the game is set up, for like normal content tanks are almost not even needed, but are important in vet content and resource management is a big thing

most tanks tend to run ice staff/1h+shield so they can alternate which resource they are consuming for block (since you have 0 regen for that resource while blocking), the block cost can trigger up to 4x per second, and does not work against sources of dmg considered to be dots

as far as im aware they havent really changed anything major with blocking in terms of functionality that would impact resource generation

pet sorcs are not usually used for tanks, because they eat up too much bar space, but pretty much all of the classes can make pretty decent tanks, though DKs are definitely still the easiest (magma shell helps a ton lol)

El_Borracho · February 15

Necro tanks are very strong and very much in demand for trials. Necro, DK, and warden are the top 3 in terms of tank classes, in my opinion. Sorc tanks can be effective in dungeons, but anything can be effective as a tank in dungeons. I can't remember the last time I saw one in a trial.

Necrotech_Master · February 15

El_Borracho wrote: »

Necro tanks are very strong and very much in demand for trials. Necro, DK, and warden are the top 3 in terms of tank classes, in my opinion. Sorc tanks can be effective in dungeons, but anything can be effective as a tank in dungeons. I can't remember the last time I saw one in a trial.

one of the people i regularly play with has a tank setup for every class, and some of his favorites are NB tank and sorc tank lol, and this is tanking vet trials (i cant say for anything past that as i dont really partake in any serious progs so i dont know what he tanks in for those situations)

Neiska · February 15

Thank you for the feedback, appreciate it. I am not expecting to be kiss-your-elbow elite or even close to that. I've been gone for some time and I expect it will be awhile before I am ready to even begin anything like that. So long as Necro Tanks aren't complete garbage etc I am content with that.

I was wondering how come I rarely see other classes tanking though, such as Warden or Sorcerer. I see DK tanks often, even out and wandering on my own.

Ph1p · February 16

The most common trial tanks right now are DK, Necro, and Arcanist. Other classes are still viable but much less common, although it really depends on how ambitious your tanking and how optimized your group is. I have a Warden tank, for example, and used it in a vCR+3 prog group, but as a class it doesn't add much, especially since many organized trials already have a Warden healer. At the other end, you can actually see quite a few sorc tanks in really optimized score-pushing groups, but they act more as a DPS hybrid than a classic tank.

If you struggle with sustain, I would try cost-reduction glyphs on Infused jewelry. It makes a huge difference, especially in long fights. Be a bit more selective in your blocking, which eats up resources and prevents regeneration, and remember to take synergies and heavy attack at suitable moments to get resources back.

I would actually NOT recommend the Destruction Staff passive that allows you to block with magicka. It may seem like a nice fall-back option, but you can quickly run out of both resources that way. And then you have no means to cast utility skills or self-heals, most of which cost magicka.

El_Borracho · February 16

Neiska wrote: »

Thank you for the feedback, appreciate it. I am not expecting to be kiss-your-elbow elite or even close to that. I've been gone for some time and I expect it will be awhile before I am ready to even begin anything like that. So long as Necro Tanks aren't complete garbage etc I am content with that.

I was wondering how come I rarely see other classes tanking though, such as Warden or Sorcerer. I see DK tanks often, even out and wandering on my own.

Its because DK and Necro have great tank skills built into their class skills. Wardens do as well, they are used a lot in raids. Strong CC's, buffs for the group, debuffs for the boss, and survivability. I forgot about arcanist, they are also very strong, I just have not tried it out as a tank yet.

Nightblades and sorcs can be good as they have strong shields and debuffs, but their tank toolkit is not on the same level as DK, necro, or warden, so its more challenging to tank with them. Templar is by far the worst class for tanking. Its not that it can't be done, but they don't have a class CC, can feel very squishy, and can be quite hard in comparison to the top classes.

The big difference is tanking trials versus dungeons. In trials, tanks are expected to tank, but also to provide support in terms of buffs/debuffs for the group. Same could be said for dungeons, but to a lesser degree, so you can run a more selfish setup in dungeons, which allows for all classes to be viable tanks. Like @Necrotech_Master and @Ph1p have said, people have brought nightblades and sorcs to tank trials, but its rare in the guilds I am in. To the point that I can only think of 3 players across 3 trials guilds that do it effectively.