Sorcerers - let's discuss skills !

[ablueman]

Originally Posted by Callsign My current version of a Sorcerer tank build.

You cant use skills from 2 different weapons at the same time bud. otherwise fairly similar to what I'm aiming for although I thought about putting more CC in place and swapping between resto and sword n board.

The only other thing Im worried about is whether I will do enough dmg with all my skills being defence and not improving my weapon damage. No point in tanking if you cant maintain enough hate/aggro to keep the mobs on you unless your soloing a lot or kill things quick enough.


Whatever you do to start a sorc, I don't see any reason not to get the first skill available in each skill line initially as early as possible. You will start getting the available points to get skills in that line (something people seem to be forgetting in their initial builds, unless they reset skills and (perhaps even then, if they make the first skill a pre-requisite)).

Crystal shard is an amazing skill to start with. Get this as early as possible. I cant see any build not benefiting from this initially .. its your bread and butter. CC and decent dmg. Get this as early as possible.

The unstable summon, 1 point gets you started in the summoner line if you want curse or the bound armour. Its surprisingly useful even if its just to distract a second foe whilst you deal with your primary target.

Mages fury, is a bit more of a choice, but I really wanted lighting form and I needed something to get it. Plus, its great for spamming some quick dmg to finish things off. especially when you mix soul trap and this both with the mana recover morph.

If you get all of them you pretty much kill everything before it gets to you making for faster leveling. Reset stills later for your proper build probably at about 15 when you get to swap weapons etc. you can pretty much level to 15 with skills and no weapon as a sorc. All you needs a bit of mana regen.

[Callsign]

Originally Posted by ablueman You cant use skills from 2 different weapons at the same time bud. otherwise fairly similar to what I'm aiming for although I thought about putting more CC in place and swapping between resto and sword n board. The only other thing Im worried about is whether I will do enough dmg with all my skills being defence and not improving my weapon damage. No point in tanking if you cant maintain enough hate/aggro to keep the mobs on you unless your soloing a lot or kill things quick enough. Whatever you do to start a sorc, I don't see any reason not to get the first skill available in each skill line initially as early as possible. You will start getting the available points to get skills in that line (something people seem to be forgetting in their initial builds, unless they reset skills and (perhaps even then, if they make the first skill a pre-requisite)). Crystal shard is an amazing skill to start with. Get this as early as possible. I cant see any build not benefiting from this initially .. its your bread and butter. CC and decent dmg. Get this as early as possible. The unstable summon, 1 point gets you started in the summoner line if you want curse or the bound armour. Its surprisingly useful even if its just to distract a second foe whilst you deal with your primary target. Mages fury, is a bit more of a choice, but I really wanted lighting form and I needed something to get it. Plus, its great for spamming some quick dmg to finish things off. especially when you mix soul trap and this both with the mana recover morph. If you get all of them you pretty much kill everything before it gets to you making for faster leveling. Reset stills later for your proper build probably at about 15 when you get to swap weapons etc. you can pretty much level to 15 with skills and no weapon as a sorc. All you needs a bit of mana regen.

You can indeed use skills from any tree with any weapon. There are no restrictions. It's a feature of the game. I was doing it in beta. One thing I do need to change is the passives in the One Hand and Shield tree as they are not going to benefit a Sorcerer tank who is going to use a staff.

I considered picking up the taunt in the Undaunted tree as it is a range taunt, but lacks considerably to the taunt in the One Hand and Shield tree and would really only benefit someone if they wanted to kite a mob around.

I also changed the #5 skill to Dampen Magic to act as an all around Damage shield instead of Bound Aegis, which only increases armor at a cost of Magicka, and the Ultimate to Absorption Field as an enemy control + health and magicka regen source. I'm torn on the Ultimate that I really want to use as there does not seem to be one that covers multiple situations very well.

[ablueman]

Originally Posted by Callsign You can indeed use skills from any tree with any weapon. There are no restrictions. It's a feature of the game. I was doing it in beta. One thing I do need to change is the passives in the One Hand and Shield tree as they are not going to benefit a Sorcerer tank who is going to use a staff. I considered picking up the taunt in the Undaunted tree as it is a range taunt, but lacks considerably to the taunt in the One Hand and Shield tree and would really only benefit someone if they wanted to kite a mob around. I also changed the #5 skill to Dampen Magic to act as an all around Damage shield instead of Bound Aegis, which only increases armor at a cost of Magicka, and the Ultimate to Absorption Field as an enemy control + health and magicka regen source. I'm torn on the Ultimate that I really want to use as there does not seem to be one that covers multiple situations very well.

Hang on, You can use any skill from any skill tree with any weapon, however you CANT use a weapon specific skill unless your using that weapon. At least thats my understanding.

I could be wrong but I am fairly sure thats what I was seeing in the beta.

If your sure thats true then I will be significantly changing my build lol.

As far as the ultimate, I only used negate magic which was useful, but i think at least initially I will be swapping it out for Storm Atronach. It tanks and does dmg. AoE if you morph it right..

[Callsign]

Originally Posted by ablueman Hang on, You can use any skill from any skill tree with any weapon, however you CANT use a weapon specific skill unless your using that weapon. At least thats my understanding. I could be wrong but I am fairly sure thats what I was seeing in the beta. If your sure thats true then I will be significantly changing my build lol. As far as the ultimate, I only used negate magic which was useful, but i think at least initially I will be swapping it out for Storm Atronach. It tanks and does dmg. AoE if you morph it right..

You can use weapon skills with any weapon, but you cannot benefit from the passives in a weapon tree unless you are using that weapon. It would be pretty bad on their part if they said you could not use any skill outside out your class skills and weapon that you have equipped. It would ruin one of the main features of the game. I can see it said from players now. You mean I have to have a Resto staff equipped to heal myself?

However, the tanking style that I am building for would benefit considerably more to have a range taunt as my "spam" attack is ranged, and melee would get damaged by the shield effect. It's something to look into, but I won't know until I actually get this build set up in game, one of the deciding factors for man builds out there.

I'm not sold on the Storm Atronach as an Ultimate for a tank. It has a small radius and would require enemies to be stacked to get the full benefit, which is unlikely to happen with how the AI works in the game. I would rather use the Mage's Guild Ultimate morphed to Ice Comet that would knockback and snare targets for control. It has a similar range, but once again, may benefit more on the build that I chose. The benefits of Absorption Field are more situational. Sure there is a stun and silence effect, but the dispel effect requires enemies to put down placed effects on a consistent enough basis to benefit from the 15% health and magicka return.

[ablueman]

Originally Posted by Callsign You can use weapon skills with any weapon, but you cannot benefit from the passives in a weapon tree unless you are using that weapon. It would be pretty bad on their part if they said you could not use any skill outside out your class skills and weapon that you have equipped. It would ruin one of the main features of the game. I can see it said from players now. You mean I have to have a Resto staff equipped to heal myself? However, the tanking style that I am building for would benefit considerably more to have a range taunt as my "spam" attack is ranged, and melee would get damaged by the shield effect. It's something to look into, but I won't know until I actually get this build set up in game, one of the deciding factors for man builds out there. I'm not sold on the Storm Atronach as an Ultimate for a tank. It has a small radius and would require enemies to be stacked to get the full benefit, which is unlikely to happen with how the AI works in the game. I would rather use the Mage's Guild Ultimate morphed to Ice Comet that would knockback and snare targets for control. It has a similar range, but once again, may benefit more on the build that I chose. The benefits of Absorption Field are more situational. Sure there is a stun and silence effect, but the dispel effect requires enemies to put down placed effects on a consistent enough basis to benefit from the 15% health and magicka return.

That clears up my understanding, I think I assumed the passives situation was for active too. Thanks

Still considering race for mine. I think the little extra dmg possible with High Elf sells it over Breton. But I am wondering if with the softcap on regens etc, whether either breton or high elf will be worth it. Should I get racials that beef up my secondary regens that I want or adds to health recovery. Or will I regret it as the regen scales up and I want to put extra on mana regen.

I wonder what the max magicka regen will be at 50 and if you can hit it without racials / sorc skills and Equipment. Can I afford to split focus maybe go redguard or nord or imperial or something strange. lol

If you could pump mana and stamina regen enough you could really improve Dark Exchange and get massive healing / mana though that. You only need to be able to hit Dark Exchange every 10 seconds or so and you can refill your health and mana pretty much.

Will racial healing or skills affect incoming health from that? 1200 health a second is massive even without +5% here and there.

[Callsign]

Originally Posted by ablueman That clears up my understanding, I think I assumed the passives situation was for active too. Thanks Still considering race for mine. I think the little extra dmg possible with High Elf sells it over Breton. But I am wondering if with the softcap on regens etc, whether either breton or high elf will be worth it. Should I get racials that beef up my secondary regens that I want or adds to health recovery. Or will I regret it as the regen scales up and I want to put extra on mana regen. I wonder what the max magicka regen will be at 50 and if you can hit it without racials / sorc skills and Equipment. Can I afford to split focus maybe go redguard or something strange. lol

Breton is definitely the go to race for spellcasters or heavy magicka users. Magicka recovery is easily capped, making High Elf lackluster, while magicka cost reduction seems to have no cap. In the long run at level 50 with gear, racials will mean something to a certain extent, but if you are beating yourself over whether to play a race you love over a race that has better passives, go with the race that you love. Racials won't matter that much.

[ablueman]

Originally Posted by Callsign Breton is definitely the go to race for spellcasters or heavy magicka users. Magicka recovery is easily capped, making High Elf lackluster, while magicka cost reduction seems to have no cap. In the long run at level 50 with gear, racials will mean something to a certain extent, but if you are beating yourself over whether to play a race you love over a race that has better passives, go with the race that you love. Racials won't matter that much.

I have no race I really love, im all about the passives. But as you say if its a passive that can be capped, my gut feeling is that its worthless getting that racial and that you will be able to cap it in another way.

If you cant cap spell reduction cost that does sound great, but will you need to reduce cost if you can just spam dark exchange and get the benefit of even greater health recovery.

You can enchant spell cost reduction cant you ?

[Callsign]

Originally Posted by ablueman If you could pump mana and stamina regen enough you could really improve Dark Exchange and get massive healing / mana though that. You only need to be able to hit Dark Exchange every 10 seconds or so and you can refill your health and mana pretty much. Will racial healing or skills affect incoming health from that? 1200 health a second is massive even without +5% here and there.

I believe that Dark Exchange is a must and staple to any heavy Magicka build that a Sorcerer may have. It is just way to good to pass up and it is probably the best magicka return in the game, by far. A larger stamina pool won't mean anything with the ability as it converts by percentage, but a player is going to need a certain level of Stamina regen in order to have infinite resources.

I don't think it is worth rolling a race like Redguard for Stamina regen, as Magicka reduction will mean more in the long run.

[ablueman]

Originally Posted by Callsign I believe that Dark Exchange is a must and staple to any heavy Magicka build that a Sorcerer may have. It is just way to good to pass up and it is probably the best magicka return in the game, by far. A larger stamina pool won't mean anything with the ability as it converts by percentage, but a player is going to need a certain level of Stamina regen in order to have infinite resources. I don't think it is worth rolling a race like Redguard for Stamina regen, as Magicka reduction will mean more in the long run.

I do understand that its done on percentage. What im more interested in is whether you will need spell reduction so much at level 50. When you will have such a large pot and such a high amount of magicka incoming from dark exchange. I guess we will have to wait and see.

Will you be in Daggerfall or are you going to be in another alliance, it would be interesting to play alongside you in some ways and see how different they are

Originally Posted by Callsign Hard to say. http://www.esohead.com/items/26614-g...ent-of-magicka would suggest maximum Magicka is increased, but there does not seem to be a magicka reduction enchantment.

Im sure I enchanted something, I think it was 6 points less or something not a % though

[Vuelhering]

Originally Posted by Callsign You can use weapon skills with any weapon, but you cannot benefit from the passives in a weapon tree unless you are using that weapon. It would be pretty bad on their part if they said you could not use any skill outside out your class skills and weapon that you have equipped. It would ruin one of the main features of the game. I can see it said from players now. You mean I have to have a Resto staff equipped to heal myself?

You have that backwards. Weapon-specific skills cannot be used without that weapon equipped. If this were not the case, why would you ever swap weapons? To heal yourself, you can use one of the many skills most classes have to heal. In the case of sorc, they're limited on healing and yeah, they might have to equip a resto staff. That's why you can switch weapons at 15.

Do you really think you can do, e.g., a critical charge while wielding your staff instead of a 2Her? You can't.

As far as passives not applying, most passives are written to apply to the particular weapon, however some passives are written as if they apply to others, too.

[Blodskjegg]

I tought of choosing sorc - summoner and dual wield axe with medium armor and focus on stamina. Is that a viable build? Creatures as extra dps and just know ppl out with axes...

[Sharp]

With the amount of freedom we have on weapons and skills, has anyone looked at some high-dps builds? I am curious, as I grow towards level 50(48 currently) I am looking at streamlining my build, right now, it was just in the moment, leveling this is what I need now type build.

[Drimacus]

Originally Posted by Callsign You can indeed use skills from any tree with any weapon. There are no restrictions. It's a feature of the game. I was doing it in beta. One thing I do need to change is the passives in the One Hand and Shield tree as they are not going to benefit a Sorcerer tank who is going to use a staff. I considered picking up the taunt in the Undaunted tree as it is a range taunt, but lacks considerably to the taunt in the One Hand and Shield tree and would really only benefit someone if they wanted to kite a mob around. I also changed the #5 skill to Dampen Magic to act as an all around Damage shield instead of Bound Aegis, which only increases armor at a cost of Magicka, and the Ultimate to Absorption Field as an enemy control + health and magicka regen source. I'm torn on the Ultimate that I really want to use as there does not seem to be one that covers multiple situations very well.

Wait a second, seriously....
I can use Snipe with a 1h Weapon? I mean, seriously... can i? I mean... WHAT? ;-)
Can someone please confirm that?

[Xizam]

I was thinking about using this build: http://esohead.com/calculator/skills...k7pcvKVB6cvKVO

It is meant for group PvP, not solo. I will depend on others for my defense while laying down the maximum amount of pain.

It's very focused on destruction, with a mage ultimate and just one dark spell.
This build should give me high single target damage (Elemental Susceptibility -> fire destruction staff / destructive clench) as well as very strong pbAoE damage by using the other 3 abilities combined with the ultimate.

The thing I am worried most about is the high stamina costs and high vulnerability.
I'm considering using medium armor over light armor, in order to gain the stamina bonus and to be a bit more beefy.

What do you reckon?