is Warden not popular?

BXR_Lonestar · February 27

Thumbless_Bot wrote: »

From a pvp perspective Warden is perfect.... Perrrrrrrfect. Other classes might be stronger or weaker, but, if there were a poster child that they could all align to for balance I think it would be Warden... stam warden in particular.

In PVP, Wardens are extremely formidable opponents.

In PVE, they're mainly just support. Though my guildmate has a beastmaster Warden DPS that he is loving and is getting good results with. It's not META, but its a fun and effective build for the vast majority of ESO Content.

tmacedo · February 27

MaleAmazon wrote: »

But I think the major 'problem' is frost. The Warden was designed around frost, which... kind of doesn´t make that much sense in the first place thematically, except the other damage types were sort of taken. DK gets flame and poison, Templar gets magic and flame and was always a great self healer, Sorcerers got lightning for magicka and physical for stamina, and Nightblades got magicka / physical /disease. (I know they´ve changed the classes quite a bit with patches, but that´s basically it.)

So, the Warden basically sort of got stuck with "stuff other classes don´t have and hodgepodge of leftovers". This means frost damage, and an emphasis on team healing and group play. And ZOS never got frost right - they tried to make it a magicka tank thing, which didn´t quite work. And personally regarding minmaxing I never could get over the fact that some passives were only for frost, when I used other damage types. Yes, I am diagnosed with OCD (no, really, I am).

I have mixed feelings about this. While I like eso uniqueness in its concept of a a Sorcerer, Warden and etc, also for lore point of view, I too feel very weird with these options. Im more like, "ok this is eso sorc and eso druid, im ok with that."

But I would prefer a pure Druid class, all nature, and frost taken elsewhere. Back before High Isle came out i thought wyrd sisters were the equivalent of eso's druids. When HI druids came out i was really amazed by its lore differences with the wyrd sisters and both their existences in the universe. Such a unique thing!

Same with Sorc. I love its theme around summoning from Oblivion. But I would get physical dmg elsewhere, nb for example.

As I said I like the uniqueness of eso, but sometimes I prefer the generic class concept we all are familiar with.

Btw I have my own headcanon of a possible "witch" class, which would be based in The Reach twisted magic, and bleed dmg, red eagle, hargravens, all that stuff. Very lore-based, like arcanist.

Juomuuri · February 27

I've got 4 wardens, a healer, a bow/bow dps, a frost dps and a tank (who is also my PvP character). It's a fun class, and tbh warden tank is just like, hold aggro and buff your group, lol. Very easy to run and I'd recommend it for new tanks over DK (which is imo the squishiest tank class in PvE).

CalamityCat · February 27

My first and main char is a warden, and while I think they take practice I also feel like they're a really versatile class. I haven't tried a tank build on mine yet, but switch from heal to DPS all the time both in PvE and PvP. Once you know the class well, you can do well with it. I love the visuals and find her really fun for solo exploring. I have an arcanist who can do high DPS more easily, but the visuals are ugly and she's boring.

Besides, there's something really satisfying about having a chonky bear fighting alongside you, ready to charge off after your enemies. You do need to be aware that they'll pick fights with everything though. If they set eyes on that trial boss they will 100% start a fight with them. I am not kidding! I find it funny, but you do need to be careful with positioning if you're in a serious group. Otherwise you'll be having to apologise for your bear kicking off during raids

said no one ever · February 27

tmacedo wrote: »

MaleAmazon wrote: »

But I think the major 'problem' is frost. The Warden was designed around frost, which... kind of doesn´t make that much sense in the first place thematically, except the other damage types were sort of taken. DK gets flame and poison, Templar gets magic and flame and was always a great self healer, Sorcerers got lightning for magicka and physical for stamina, and Nightblades got magicka / physical /disease. (I know they´ve changed the classes quite a bit with patches, but that´s basically it.)

So, the Warden basically sort of got stuck with "stuff other classes don´t have and hodgepodge of leftovers". This means frost damage, and an emphasis on team healing and group play. And ZOS never got frost right - they tried to make it a magicka tank thing, which didn´t quite work. And personally regarding minmaxing I never could get over the fact that some passives were only for frost, when I used other damage types. Yes, I am diagnosed with OCD (no, really, I am).

I have mixed feelings about this. While I like eso uniqueness in its concept of a a Sorcerer, Warden and etc, also for lore point of view, I too feel very weird with these options. Im more like, "ok this is eso sorc and eso druid, im ok with that."

But I would prefer a pure Druid class, all nature, and frost taken elsewhere. Back before High Isle came out i thought wyrd sisters were the equivalent of eso's druids. When HI druids came out i was really amazed by its lore differences with the wyrd sisters and both their existences in the universe. Such a unique thing!

Same with Sorc. I love its theme around summoning from Oblivion. But I would get physical dmg elsewhere, nb for example.

As I said I like the uniqueness of eso, but sometimes I prefer the generic class concept we all are familiar with.

Btw I have my own headcanon of a possible "witch" class, which would be based in The Reach twisted magic, and bleed dmg, red eagle, hargravens, all that stuff. Very lore-based, like arcanist.

When i was young i had a minor fascination with druids. Then i discovered they practiced human sacrifices and well that was pretty much that for me. Some things seem interesting until they are closely examined. Well, at least for me...

said no one ever · February 27

Also after reading this thread i think my next toon will be a warden tank

katanagirl1 · February 27

ESO_Nightingale wrote: »

katanagirl1 wrote: »

ESO_Nightingale wrote: »

katanagirl1 wrote: »

I have played every other class quite a bit, but recently created a warden dps when requested by my trials group leads as a “just in case” character. I have leveled her up and slotted the skills listed on the build for the resource I usually use, and I also feel like even in overland that the dps just isn’t as good. She’s running good sets too. When I play her, she feels kind of like my DK PvP character, she has a lot of buffs and it is sort of like a dance to get all those going before switching to the damage bar. That may be just because I usually run around on my stamblade which essentially has no buffs.

I guess my biggest hang up with her is shalks. I just don’t like that skill with the double cast thing or whatever you call it. I also don’t like the swirly arctic blast thing blocking my view of the character. Cutting dive seems slow, maybe I’m just not used to such fancy animations. I hate the bear so I choose other ultimates even at the cost of dps. I wish it hadn’t been shoehorned into the frost theme. I would prefer a flame staff.

So not my cup of tea, some people really seem to like them, though.

You don't have to use a frost staff on warden. Especially not now. I'm pretty sure it's actual best magicka build uses a lightning staff right now.

I did initially have one, but my understanding was you get a significant damage boost with ice staff. It’s not a big deal though, once I get her through the main quest I probably won’t use her for much other than daily crafting writs. I just have several other classes that I like playing much more.

Thanks for your reply.

You did before they changed piercing cold again. Now the only reason why you'd run an ice staff is for frost reach.

Yeah you’re right, I don’t see it anymore. I’ll have to see if she is still carrying that flame staff around. I do have frost reach slotted, though. Thanks for the insight.

TaSheen · February 27

The absolute last thing any of my wardens (or any other magicka character in ESO) would ever use is frost magic. I've never used it in any game - I just plain don't like it. Flame on the other hand....

Stx · February 27

I agree, if they added more skill styles for the animal companion skills the class would be more popular. Non-dunmer feels weird casting shalks or cliff racers. Bear being the only pet option is also restrictive from a theme perspective.

tmacedo · February 27

said no one ever wrote: »

tmacedo wrote: »

MaleAmazon wrote: »

But I think the major 'problem' is frost. The Warden was designed around frost, which... kind of doesn´t make that much sense in the first place thematically, except the other damage types were sort of taken. DK gets flame and poison, Templar gets magic and flame and was always a great self healer, Sorcerers got lightning for magicka and physical for stamina, and Nightblades got magicka / physical /disease. (I know they´ve changed the classes quite a bit with patches, but that´s basically it.)

So, the Warden basically sort of got stuck with "stuff other classes don´t have and hodgepodge of leftovers". This means frost damage, and an emphasis on team healing and group play. And ZOS never got frost right - they tried to make it a magicka tank thing, which didn´t quite work. And personally regarding minmaxing I never could get over the fact that some passives were only for frost, when I used other damage types. Yes, I am diagnosed with OCD (no, really, I am).

I have mixed feelings about this. While I like eso uniqueness in its concept of a a Sorcerer, Warden and etc, also for lore point of view, I too feel very weird with these options. Im more like, "ok this is eso sorc and eso druid, im ok with that."

But I would prefer a pure Druid class, all nature, and frost taken elsewhere. Back before High Isle came out i thought wyrd sisters were the equivalent of eso's druids. When HI druids came out i was really amazed by its lore differences with the wyrd sisters and both their existences in the universe. Such a unique thing!

Same with Sorc. I love its theme around summoning from Oblivion. But I would get physical dmg elsewhere, nb for example.

As I said I like the uniqueness of eso, but sometimes I prefer the generic class concept we all are familiar with.

Btw I have my own headcanon of a possible "witch" class, which would be based in The Reach twisted magic, and bleed dmg, red eagle, hargravens, all that stuff. Very lore-based, like arcanist.

When i was young i had a minor fascination with druids. Then i discovered they practiced human sacrifices and well that was pretty much that for me. Some things seem interesting until they are closely examined. Well, at least for me...

You have a good point. When I was younger i used to like more "darker" classes in games like necromancer itself, assassins and such. Now one of the main reasons I play mostly light or "good guys" classes in games like that is because of my life moral principles (hence my templar pic, fav class). What I meant for the druids in question was more around the superficial things that are common in any rpg, a nature preserver, defender, etc.

But having a sense of proportion, we can just enjoy the game in a healthy way. Like, in Heroes 3 I played a lot the necro town, because its one of the best, but definitely dont like necromancy.

katanagirl1 · February 28

TaSheen wrote: »

The absolute last thing any of my wardens (or any other magicka character in ESO) would ever use is frost magic. I've never used it in any game - I just plain don't like it. Flame on the other hand....

If it’s my main’s class, I will definitely sacrifice optimal dps in favor of what I like to run, and I do for my stamblade. She’s got an old build with mostly weapon skills because I like it that way. It just feels like what she should use instead of magicka skills.

IsharaMeradin · February 28

Warden was the first class that clicked. The first that made it clear how to actually play it. I like it and have used it in all content except vet trials. I don't use discord and until ZOS adds voice chat to the PC game itself, I won't be doing vet trials.

While I've read some guides on builds and tried to follow some, I end up doing my own thing because those builds never make sense to me.

ESO_Nightingale · February 28

TaSheen wrote: »

The absolute last thing any of my wardens (or any other magicka character in ESO) would ever use is frost magic. I've never used it in any game - I just plain don't like it. Flame on the other hand....

Sounds like dk is the class for you

TaSheen · February 28

ESO_Nightingale wrote: »

TaSheen wrote: »

The absolute last thing any of my wardens (or any other magicka character in ESO) would ever use is frost magic. I've never used it in any game - I just plain don't like it. Flame on the other hand....

Sounds like dk is the class for you

I don't like the way the DK class plays. I DO love the way the warden plays. Just because some dev thought frost was a great niche for warden doesn't mean I have to go along with that - thanks, I'll just continue with my "scenic byway" on the road less traveled.

AzuraFan · February 28

TaSheen wrote: »

I don't like the way the DK class plays. I DO love the way the warden plays. Just because some dev thought frost was a great niche for warden doesn't mean I have to go along with that - thanks, I'll just continue with my "scenic byway" on the road less traveled.

I don't like frost magic, either. When the Warden class was introduced, I was thrilled that it had a nature/animal theme. Then the devs ruined it by making frost the intended way to play the class. I've stuck with the animal theme because it's more fun. I did try a frost warden, but she's permanently parked in an Oblivion portal for when that endeavor comes up. Mind-numbingly boring to play (like pretty much all magicka builds). My other wardens will remain with the animal/nature theme. Much more fun.

TaSheen · February 28

AzuraFan wrote: »

TaSheen wrote: »

I don't like the way the DK class plays. I DO love the way the warden plays. Just because some dev thought frost was a great niche for warden doesn't mean I have to go along with that - thanks, I'll just continue with my "scenic byway" on the road less traveled.

I don't like frost magic, either. When the Warden class was introduced, I was thrilled that it had a nature/animal theme. Then the devs ruined it by making frost the intended way to play the class. I've stuck with the animal theme because it's more fun. I did try a frost warden, but she's permanently parked in an Oblivion portal for when that endeavor comes up. Mind-numbingly boring to play (like pretty much all magicka builds). My other wardens will remain with the animal/nature theme. Much more fun.

Agreed all the way! I never even tried a frost warden, because I just don't like that theme in magicka. And yeah, magicka really isn't fun.... I really can't remember the last game where I used a magic wielder. Might have been as far back as the SSI Gold Box games....

madman65 · March 1

Subterranean and Stampede are awesome on my Warden, great burst DPS. I start with Subterranean then the Stampede and they both go off at the same time, big burst of damage. When ESO gave us scripts, I started theory crafting and it is the best. Use Interrupt affix on Stampede to off balance then Chilled and Piercing Cold status to get damage done.

AngryPenguin · March 1

Wardens are great all around for most activities. They can be a bit weaker with PvE dps, but they're still pretty strong. All around it's one of the strongest classes. They're great healers and tanks in both PvE and PvP and can still do competitive PvP dps for sure. I don't PvE dps with warden much, so can't really speak to that.