Never played a Sorceror - suggest a build good for solo questing

Epona222 · May 2014

I am very fond of my NB and DK, tried Templar but didn't take to it, would like to try a Sorceror as I have never tried one, but there are so many build ideas out there that it's boggling my mind.

I like grouping and do group occasionally (either with guildmates, or ad hoc with other players around quest areas and dungeons) but as I don't have people available to group with me all the time (I play at odd hours), solo survivability for when I am questing solo is important.

Edit: Oh is bow viable for a sorceror? I have enjoyed using a bow with other classes. Or should I stick with destro staff for ranged? Race will be Altmer.

Woolenthreads · May 2014

Destruction Staff. Daedric Summons to L30 to get Bound Armour. Light Armour. Bow is probably a good idea for the stamina tricks so you can use those when the magicka runs out though a melee weapon or Silver Bolts might serve better because you a slightly more vulnerable IMO as a Sorcerer. There's a lot of variety to choose but the Summons hit your dual skill bars.

Epona222 · May 2014

Thanks for the tips. I always like silver bolts anyway and would have it on one bar for stamina use, I hate having a resource pool go unused!

Woolenthreads · May 2014

Playing a mage is harder than playing a DK. Against the same, or higher, levels, sometimes, you have to stand back and choose your targets carefully or desperately fend off strikers - or just run away. Strangely I found that I was safer from NPC mages and archers because I was slightly more removed from combat and was more likely to see their more subtle attacks. So also take whatever AoE you can. With my current Sorcerer I think I'm going to be looking at the Skill Bar and dropping the second summoned critter for more options because I've reached a point where the lack of options is getting me killed.

Eivar · May 2014

after leveling a Nb to vet levels i started playing a destro staff sorc......it is insanely easy. I don't even use destro staff abilities......my rotation is basically this. Crystal shard to open(high dmg + knockdown) heavy attack from my destro staff, mage's fury. that kills most mobs of equal level. larger mobs with more hp, crystal shard, daedric curse, crystal shard, mage's fury....dead. lol if they can't be knocked down you just need to kite while recasting curse as it explodes and fitting in light/heavy attacks. for AoE i use encase to cc the group, drop lightning splash on them, and then channel a heavy attack with my overload ultimate.....take little to no dmg, every dies when encase wears off(if you take the exploding morph) impulse from destro staff looks great for group dungeons, for the greater mobility but soloing this build has worked very well. Managed to solo my way through halls of the dead public dungeon in windhelm, i took a different path from the ad-hoc dungeon group that formed to test my aoe......was silly i made it around the loop before the group did from the other side lol.

EDIT: forgot to mention i have inner light from mage's guild on both bars the spell crit is well worth it.

Epona222 · May 2014

Which destro staff do people tend to go for? I have Frost at the moment just for the simple reason that when playing other classes, a cryomancer mob is the one I'm most likely to want to avoid.
And what weapon are people using on the second bar, another destro staff or something else?

Eivar · May 2014

Epona222 wrote: »

Which destro staff do people tend to go for? I have Frost at the moment just for the simple reason that when playing other classes, a cryomancer mob is the one I'm most likely to want to avoid.
And what weapon are people using on the second bar, another destro staff or something else?

the best ir probably fire,because of the burning DoT you can affect enemies with, i personally use lightning cause it looks cool though lol. my second bar is resto staff, its just too useful to be able to stop what you are doing and heal, have duo'd dark anchors at level because of that staff

Epona222 · May 2014

Thanks, I might try resto staff when I hit lvl 15. At least level it up a bit so that I can switch to it for Anchors/public dungeons/grouping. I won't be doing any crafting with this character so putting a skill point into something to try it out once I have a few more levels under my belt is not going to be a crippling mistake!

I'm quite liking the frost staff so far, but will definitely give fire a go also, I'll start carrying one of each around with me so I can compare them against different mobs.

I'm currently level 9 and can feel quite fragile if anything gets close enough to start whacking at me, fortunately I have a few methods of preventing that from happening. And as long as I can keep mobs at a distance, I feel quite powerful and am having fun pretty much blowing them up! Not that you can really judge a build so early on of course, but at the moment I am having fun with it.

Thanks to everyone who has responded, it's very unusual for me to play mage types in any game (so the help is much appreciated), but I at least wanted to give it a go and it's been worth it so far

Sleepydan · May 2014

Go all medium armor with a 2h.

Cleave morphed for the bubble, critical charge, critical surge, dealers choice( I chose boundless storm) bound armor.

Epona222 · May 2014

Sleepydan wrote: »

Go all medium armor with a 2h.

Cleave morphed for the bubble, critical charge, critical surge, dealers choice( I chose boundless storm) bound armor.

And that's something completely different to consider! I hadn't even thought of doing anything like that tbh. Doing that, how would you allocate attribute points? You'd want some in stamina for that build I imagine.

Sleepydan · May 2014

When I did it I went all stamina. If I were to do it again I would at least go 50/50 health. It was very easy to overcharge weapon damage with 2h and surge.

Woolenthreads · May 2014

Epona222 wrote: »

Which destro staff do people tend to go for? I have Frost at the moment just for the simple reason that when playing other classes, a cryomancer mob is the one I'm most likely to want to avoid.
And what weapon are people using on the second bar, another destro staff or something else?

I use Lightning with a Flame Enchantment. Gives me the feeling I'm actually doing something and affects regenerating critters. You need the burning effects vs Trolls and Gargoyles.

poodlemasterb16_ESO · May 2014

Wow. My witch is very successful and solos dungeons well above her level. A 16 3 4 build, but I have an enchanter so I can buff my health and stamina. Running 2 heavy and 5 light.

She at level 24 is strong.

Destro Ice and Shards, Silver Bolts, Fury, Curse and Clanfear on one bar.

Destro Fire and Destructive Touch, Silver Bolts, Wall of Elements, Lightning Armor and Clanfear on the other.

Anything her level can come in packs. She is happy with one level 30 and will often take a couple with few problems.

The secret to sorcs is discipline. You have to carefully juggle magic, recovery, which needs stroking and health and stamina. Silver Bolts eats up most of mine.

You will notice 2 knockdowns, well 3 if it's Daedra, and they are important to a sorc. My baby does not like trash on her shoes. The Lightning Armor should be morphed to the high speed version and that makes kiting hilarious.

I got 2 sorcs a DK and 2 NBs. I like the sorcs best so far.