Thematically speaking I was mainly just trying to find a way to break free of the whole stand your ground. I know my Templar doesn't do massive single target damage but she tears through groups like she's taking a stroll in the park ... I really feel sacred ground has to go as the defining element of the class z it's just not viable now content is more motion driven

I agree the reveal mechanic has to be carefully done as while it's a counter to stealth attacks it shouldn't make them 'unusable.

I don't know if it just my playstyle but I find as a Templar, especially magic one reactive instead of deliberate

If I'm getting into a fight, cleansing ritual when laid down, should be a "this my world step into it at your own peril."

But reality is it's like a panic button for heavy dot cleans and then your forced to leave it behind.but take the cleanse away. But make you want to be invisible don't step into my world

Nightblades will just have to learn how to get behind Templars so they can put an end to that controlled area

I know my class skill changes are not perfect , but I think they have the potential to be explored and implemented in a ways that works and also fits the templars identity as a warrior of holy light

-I think the major buff issue is better solved by just NOT HAVING IT ON A SPAMMABLE, move it elsewhere in the kit where it can be used by more than just stam focused damage dealers and is a far better alternative than shoving a major buff onto a passive

-illuminate is far more interesting in comparison, minus the stealth interaction. There are enough ways to counter stealth in pvp that it doesn't need to be made a class passive

-dont mess any more with Jesus beam 🥲

Personally, Templar has an issue with not enough of the skills themselves are worth using and out dates+not very useful passives. The class definitely needs an update but I just don't particularly like how you went about it.

The sacred ground/hold the line thing is nice IMO which is probably where we differ the most and I think the class should learn more into that but messing with what's probably the 2 most iconic skills of the class isn't the way to go about anything (I still want old jabs back 😭)

There's a bunch of rambling I was doing but I cut it down to just that cause I could go on and on

Jestir wrote: »

"A warrior of Meridia" 🤮

No thank you. The class had always been aedra aligned (Stendarr in particular iirc) and any relation to Meridia has been player side head canon/rp related

Will comment again after reading the rest

Templar Identity Review — Radiant Inevitability

This is not a lore rewrite. It is a thematic alignment.

Across ESO’s major story arcs, the Vestige has repeatedly engaged with radiant power at its highest levels:

• Defeated Molag Bal and survived the Planemeld
• Wielded the restored Dawnbreaker at the Crystal Tower
• Activated and carried the purified Gift of Death
• Fought Mannimarco during the Season of the Worm Cult
• Witnessed Darien Gautier reject divine vesselhood and reclaim mortality

At no point does the Vestige absorb Meridia’s Light or become a vessel. That canon remains untouched.

However, these events reshape how a veteran Templar would understand light.

Templars are not priests of a specific deity.
They are disciplined practitioners of radiant architecture — shaping solar and purifying energy into structured combat forms.

After repeated exposure to divine-grade radiance, it makes sense that the class fantasy evolves from:

• Passive survival
• Static defense
• Raw healing throughput

Into:

• Illumination
• Exposure of corruption
• Escalating pressure
• Judgement as culmination

Light in ESO consistently reveals, destabilizes, and punishes necromancy and concealment. A refined Templar identity should reflect that.

The class should not win because it endures longer.

It should win because enemies cannot withstand the light.

We could still use a similar skill set but instead Meridia s Warrior we name it “Arbiter of Radiant Law.”

That is narratively consistent with:
• Auri-El’s lawful aspect
• Trinimac’s martial honour
• Meridia’s intolerance of corruption

Agree with @ADarklore Jabspam is our identity and it is not a bad one.
Maybe more variations on the jab - drain health, stam and magicka
Javelin - the humiliation spear - love how it tosses foes back (yup it gets used on me)
Radiant Destruction - quintessential iron man move! I love how it makes them run
Rush Ceremony and Honor the dead are kinda similar...I get that
Blazing shield could be made a bit more usefull in PvP, but it does move with your Templar

For Subclassing I would like to see the secondary skill line weakened or cost much more to help balance it out

Closing the Gameplay Loop — Sacred Ground Needs an Engagement Tool

Class Mastery for The Templar identity repeatedly references fighting within consecrated areas of power (“Sacred Ground”).
However, the current class kit lacks a reliable method to bring enemies into those areas.

In practice this results in the following gameplay problem:

[]Templar places Cleansing Ritual / Rune / Nova []Enemy simply steps out of the area []Ranged players switch to bow or ranged abilities []Templar loses the benefit of their own class mechanics

This breaks the intended “hold the line” fantasy because the Templar cannot control where the fight occurs.

Proposed Combat Loop

The Templar gameplay should function as a deliberate sequence:

Consecrate ground → Pull enemies inward → Control the space → Deliver judgement

[]

Illumination Line establishes Sacred Ground.
[]Aedric Spear Line provides the pull and crowd control.
[*]Dawn’s Judgement Line escalates pressure and executes weakened targets.


This structure preserves the class identity without increasing raw damage numbers.

Example Ability Interaction

Cleansing Ritual / Consecrated Ground
Creates the Templar’s area of influence.

Blazing Spear (Gravity Morph)
After a short delay, the spear collapses inward pulling enemies within 12 meters toward the impact point.

This allows the Templar to:

[]Pull enemies into Sacred Ground []Group targets for melee pressure
• Prevent ranged kiting from trivializing the class mechanics

The ability is not intended to replace Dragonknight chains or Arcanist displacement, but to give the Templar a single reliable engagement tool.

Result

Sacred Ground abilities become meaningful battlefield control instead of optional circles that enemies can simply avoid.

The Templar does not chase enemies across the battlefield.

The Templar creates a place where judgement is delivered.

ADarklore wrote: »

SugaComa wrote: »

The Templar creates a place where judgement is delivered.

Well, in all honesty, the other passives are more for DPS, the passives you speak of are more for support- and both tank and healer typically remain in one spot.

The Mechanical Gap Templar Still Has

Almost every class now has a way to control where enemies fight.
Examples:

* Dragonknight – chains pull enemies in
* Arcanist – Rune of Displacement group pull
* Necromancer – totem fear / graveyard control
* Warden – immobilises and area denial
* Nightblade – fear + mobility control

*Templar’s kit mostly assumes enemies will walk into its damage zones voluntarily.
Which is… optimistic.

Jestir wrote: »

"A warrior of Meridia" 🤮

No thank you. The class had always been aedra aligned (Stendarr in particular iirc) and any relation to Meridia has been player side head canon/rp related

Will comment again after reading the rest

Exactly. Leave Meridia out of templar fantasy. Let Rpers do their own lore around that.

In fact its one of the reasons i struggle to subclass templar, considering lore reasons. The closer with non-daedric alignment are wardens, but i find their own linea very non-fitting.

Still, no Meridia, thank you.

SugaComa wrote: »

Closing the Gameplay Loop — Sacred Ground Needs an Engagement Tool

Class Mastery for The Templar identity repeatedly references fighting within consecrated areas of power (“Sacred Ground”).
However, the current class kit lacks a reliable method to bring enemies into those areas.

In practice this results in the following gameplay problem:

[]Templar places Cleansing Ritual / Rune / Nova []Enemy simply steps out of the area []Ranged players switch to bow or ranged abilities []Templar loses the benefit of their own class mechanics

This breaks the intended “hold the line” fantasy because the Templar cannot control where the fight occurs.

Proposed Combat Loop

The Templar gameplay should function as a deliberate sequence:

Consecrate ground → Pull enemies inward → Control the space → Deliver judgement

[]

Illumination Line establishes Sacred Ground.
[]Aedric Spear Line provides the pull and crowd control.
[*]Dawn’s Judgement Line escalates pressure and executes weakened targets.


This structure preserves the class identity without increasing raw damage numbers.

Example Ability Interaction

Cleansing Ritual / Consecrated Ground
Creates the Templar’s area of influence.

Blazing Spear (Gravity Morph)
After a short delay, the spear collapses inward pulling enemies within 12 meters toward the impact point.

This allows the Templar to:

[]Pull enemies into Sacred Ground []Group targets for melee pressure
• Prevent ranged kiting from trivializing the class mechanics

The ability is not intended to replace Dragonknight chains or Arcanist displacement, but to give the Templar a single reliable engagement tool.

Result

Sacred Ground abilities become meaningful battlefield control instead of optional circles that enemies can simply avoid.

The Templar does not chase enemies across the battlefield.

The Templar creates a place where judgement is delivered.

I honestly love the idea of pulls on templar skills of some sort I just never knew about the law of fighting in consecrated areas lol.

I only really play Cryo and would die for a nova ultimate morph called 'Unstable Singularity' that pulls in enemies like the volendrung hammer does. I don't really care if the nova is attached to the player to not I just think a literal dying star is a black hole and should pull enemies for co-ordinated group play.

Happy PvPing!

If an Altmer Templar decided to use Meridia’s power against her, they wouldn't see it as "worship." They would see it as reclaiming stolen property.
Here is how an Altmer Templar justifies using "Meridian" light as an act of rebellion:
1. The "Rightful Heir" Argument
To a high-born Altmer, the Magna-Ge (the star-spirits like Meridia) are their distant cousins.
Their Logic: "Meridia didn't create light; she just shaped it. Since I am a direct descendant of the Aedra, that light is my birthright too."
The Act: By using Templar abilities (which mimic Meridia's "Light of Life"), they are essentially saying, "I don't need your permission to use the sun. I am more 'Solar' than you are, you fallen exile."
2. The Weaponization of "Starlight"
In lore, Meridia’s realm is the Colored Rooms. It’s essentially a prism that catches the light of the sun (Magnus) and bends it to her will.
An Altmer Templar who studies the "Dawn's Wrath" skill line is doing the same thing.
They are using the Aetherial fragments (Varla Stones, Culanda Stones, or just raw magicka) to create a "counter-frequency" to Meridia’s influence.
The Rebellion: It’s like using a captured enemy's artillery against them. They are using the "Light of Life" to burn the "Purified" (Meridia’s slaves), proving that her light isn't holy—it's just a tool.
3. The "Light vs. Light" Paradox
This creates a very cool character archetype: The Solar Rebel.
The Motivation: They hate the Undead (Molag Bal), but they also hate being controlled (Meridia).
The Philosophy: They believe that Stendarr (Mercy) or Auri-El (Order) provides the moral compass, but Magnus (The Sun) provides the battery.
The Conflict: By using "Meridia-adjacent" magic, they are constantly walking a thin line. If they use too much, they risk becoming "Purified" themselves. If they use too little, the vampires win.

Why this is "Lore-Friendly"
​There is a group in the lore called the Luminaries (and the ancient Magna-Ge worshippers). They believe that the stars and the sun are the only "pure" sources of magic. An Altmer Templar who rebels against Meridia would argue that Meridia is a squatter—she’s occupying a source of power that belongs to the Elves.
​"She calls herself the Lady of Light? Please. She is a shadow cast by the sun I inherit." — A hypothetical Altmer Templar.

My idea stems from base game story at the end when we reclaim our soul, Meridian would have made us an auroran to serve her will but in act of defiance we reclaimed our soul and claimed our ownership of the power Meridia bestowed on us to defeat her enemies ... We use the light, but we use it as a big rebellious push back to remind her we are the vestige and we can't be controlled

tmacedo wrote: »

SugaComa wrote: »

My idea stems from base game story at the end when we reclaim our soul, Meridian would have made us an auroran to serve her will but in act of defiance we reclaimed our soul and claimed our ownership of the power Meridia bestowed on us to defeat her enemies ... We use the light, but we use it as a big rebellious push back to remind her we are the vestige and we can't be controlled

Its a very interesting idea indeed. Remembers me of first Ghost Rider movie where Johnny stays with the curse to use against Mephistopheles, much to his anger.

I just prefer to not have any connection at all with Meridia, using a more "pure" form of magic, if possible, independent of artwork or visuals associated with her (I use, btw, unfetahered staff in my toon, but just for the yellow glow, I know its Meridian stuff).

But in the end if the class is made to be Meridian, so be it. Its still my favorite class by far. I am not that familiar with all the pieces of the lore across games, but i would like to not have a daedra as a "source" of power., and Eso's templar gave me that impression.

That's a fair point but I'm no way suggesting templars follow the teachings of Meridia but I do want to use this opportunity to make this refresh solve the modern mobility issue by making the Templar's "zones" of power follow the target rather than the static floor. By acknowledging Meridia as the source of the "Wrath" line, we give the Templar a darker, more potent edge that is perfectly balanced by the Aedric influence of Stendarr and Auri-El.
The result: A class that feels like a master of the Spectrum, rather than a "Jab-bot."

Templars are last so I would say 3rd quarter 2027

Triipzzz wrote: »

SugaComa wrote: »

Closing the Gameplay Loop — Sacred Ground Needs an Engagement Tool

Class Mastery for The Templar identity repeatedly references fighting within consecrated areas of power (“Sacred Ground”).
However, the current class kit lacks a reliable method to bring enemies into those areas.

In practice this results in the following gameplay problem:

[]Templar places Cleansing Ritual / Rune / Nova []Enemy simply steps out of the area []Ranged players switch to bow or ranged abilities []Templar loses the benefit of their own class mechanics

This breaks the intended “hold the line” fantasy because the Templar cannot control where the fight occurs.

Proposed Combat Loop

The Templar gameplay should function as a deliberate sequence:

Consecrate ground → Pull enemies inward → Control the space → Deliver judgement

[]

Illumination Line establishes Sacred Ground.
[]Aedric Spear Line provides the pull and crowd control.
[*]Dawn’s Judgement Line escalates pressure and executes weakened targets.


This structure preserves the class identity without increasing raw damage numbers.

Example Ability Interaction

Cleansing Ritual / Consecrated Ground
Creates the Templar’s area of influence.

Blazing Spear (Gravity Morph)
After a short delay, the spear collapses inward pulling enemies within 12 meters toward the impact point.

This allows the Templar to:

[]Pull enemies into Sacred Ground []Group targets for melee pressure
• Prevent ranged kiting from trivializing the class mechanics

The ability is not intended to replace Dragonknight chains or Arcanist displacement, but to give the Templar a single reliable engagement tool.

Result

Sacred Ground abilities become meaningful battlefield control instead of optional circles that enemies can simply avoid.

The Templar does not chase enemies across the battlefield.

The Templar creates a place where judgement is delivered.

I honestly love the idea of pulls on templar skills of some sort I just never knew about the law of fighting in consecrated areas lol.

I only really play Cryo and would die for a nova ultimate morph called 'Unstable Singularity' that pulls in enemies like the volendrung hammer does. I don't really care if the nova is attached to the player to not I just think a literal dying star is a black hole and should pull enemies for co-ordinated group play.

Happy PvPing!

Could be useful on sun shield. Creates a gravity pull that slows in area x amount then pulls. This skill has been useless for literal years...I think spear shards should have fracture, not pull.

mmtaniac wrote: »

It cannot be killed outside the ritual area, but inside, this buff disappears.

How exactly would that work with siege? I think the max effect would be 50% damage reduction from attacks outside the ritual area.
In a nutshell, it's basically taking DK wings and these refreshes are about reworking identity into making classes unique again.

Not a fan.