Hello! This is my first official discussion post on the forums. I appreciate some of the changes and directions this game is going and its outlook on the future but definitely would like to share feedback, particularly on class refreshes considering, as my title implies, I feel something is still missing in consideration. The short answer would be a core class mechanic that encourages skill combinations like Necromancers generating corpses with certain skills and consuming them with others for added benefits, or Arcanists doing similar with crux. What these achieve is that some skills are used not just purely for its immediate effect but for their impact on other skills used later. The initial ideas seen with Shatterspike Mantle adding to the Avalanche passive or the Leap ultimate being a usable combo into dragonfire breath I personally am quite fond of and would like to see more in that direction.

I've done a bit of conceptualization here and these are merely some ideas in my mind I put forward for the sake of discussion and admittedly for my own curiosity as someone who enjoys the process of game design and testing. I've come up with concepts for the other 5 classes of maybe a gameplay mechanic that could be given to each to encourage specific skill use to feed other skills and tried to think of a variety of concepts that aren't limited to "create resource -> consume resource". In some cases I've based myself off some of the ideas ZOS has shared about their view on classes' identities over the years. The idea for any of these is that they would exist outside of the skill lines and would be tapped into by playing into that class by using any of its lines like how crux exist by using any Arcanist skill line. Heck I'd definitely be happy if ZOS acknowledged these ideas even if nothing ends up happening with them.


DRAGONKNIGHT - Heart Furnace: (Dragonknights are my favorite class so I thought about this one a lot)
Your core is like a furnace, it requires fuel and care for the flame to burn brighter. This idea is based as an evolution of the Avalanche passive, but with added flair. Dragonknights would have a heat gauge that works in 2 stages. First stage works like Avalanche currently does, it builds up slowly over time and slowly decays when inactive, adding more power as it fills up. To sweeten it up, each skill line would have one skill that adds a chunk to that gauge on a separate cooldown, so the more lines you have, the faster and easier you could increase that gauge. Second stage would involve overheating the furnace. It no longer fills up passively and instead only through skill usage and may decay faster than the first stage. Pushing your overheat further would increase your damage beyond its limits but at the same time increase the skill cost to make managing the furnace harder. Using a Dragonknight ultimate could consume the overheating excess, maybe a chunk of the base gauge too, for a more effective Ultimate, either by extended duration, increased output or stronger protection, etc. This would also be to give a way to back out of the increased skill cost.


NIGHTBLADE - Lurking Gaze:
Nightblades are experts of focus and subterfuge. They locate their target and execute their scheme. Inspired by the Mark Target skill, some skills would place marks on targets, be it friendly or hostile depending on your objective. This mark could also be removed for convenience. Once a mark is placed, certain other skills could provide additional effects or have their behavior altered when targeted at a marked target. An example could be that Path of Darkness instead turns into an AoE that follows the target, for Refreshing Path becoming a healing path that follows a friendly marked target and accelerates them through major expedition or for Twisted Path a damaging path that follows an enemy and snares them. The standard Path of Darkness should still be usable by not targeting a marked target for use cases when you would want a static AoE and still want to use the original skill as it currently exists. Each skill line would have its set of skills that mark target and skills that have special interactions with marked targets.


SORCERER - Arcane Infusion
Sorcerers are not just powerful, they are resourceful and cunning. Through their skills, they leave lingering magical energy into their target they can later exploit. Some skills now add stacks of lingering energy into your targets that remains dormant until used later. Access to more skills that add stacks could allow faster buildup. Then other skills could come with a side effect of triggering reactions with the active energy in a target. The resulting effects could include a Mage's fury execute detonation amplifying, increasing the resources regained from a Dark Exchange by siphoning it back or a Daedric Curse that additionally weakens the victim. Targets that would die with some lingering energy could have it explode violently.


TEMPLAR - Sanctified Domain
(ZOS seems to love this idea so I'm rolling with it some more) Templars are holy knights that build holy domains their sacred ground. Each skill line provides a special AoE that provides a stack of Sanctity while standing inside. It would be possible to overlap multiple AoEs from multiple lines to increase these stacks and gain stronger benefits from them. Stacks of sanctity would impact the use of other Templar skills granting them increased power or added effects. This could include Puncturing strikes gaining innate penetration per stack, Sun Shield increasing your healing taken while the damage shield holds or Healing Ritual granting extra armor to healed targets.


WARDEN - Shift of the Seasons (My second favorite class here)
As guardians of nature, they are close observers of the passage of seasons and the changes they bring. Through specific skills, Wardens could attune their aura to one of the 4 seasons, each with its sets of benefits. Each skill line would grant access to 2 of the 4 seasons. The more lines, the more freedom to choose a season benefiting your situation. With an active seasonal aura you gain benefits themed around that season, such as bonus resistances and frost damage with a winter aura or bonus to healing and recovery with a spring aura. Some other skills may gain bonus effects if cast with a specific season active and some of these effects may only be possible with a season sourced from another skill line. An example could be the cliff Racer, if cast without a seasonal aura acts as we currently know it, however, if cast with a Winter Aura changes to a frost damage skill, or Arctic Wind during an Autumnal Aura becomes a barrier of leaves that shreds and bleeds nearby targets.