How do ESO classes compare to EQ/GW2 classes? What class are you playing at launch?

Hello,

With 6 weeks to go before launch, it's time for me to get serious about choosing a starting class.

I was curious how the DragonKNight, Templar, Sorcerer, and Nightblade classes compare to other games we've played as a guild (EQ1, GW2).

In EQ1 and GW2, I liked the variety of classes.  Having only 4 classes in ESO is a little confusing, so this is why I'm here asking :)

Let me give you a brief background on the classes I like to play, and maybe someone out there can direct me to the ESO class that will work for me.

In EQ1, I played every type of healing class (Cleric, Shaman, Druid).  Healing is something I gravitate towards in MMOs.  At the same time, I also spent alot of time playing Hybrid classes (ShadowKnight and Paladin).   Ultimately, my favorite class in EQ1 was the Necromancer.  Loved the pet and offensive spells, and defensive abilities.

In GW2, I was a little out of my element since there is not the 'holy trinity' - no dedicated healing class.  So I played all the classes.  In GW2, I did not like the Necromancer, nor did I like the Mesmer.  On the other end of the spectrum, the Guardian, Ranger, and even the Warrior classes were too easy.  The Guardian/Ranger were over powered IMO.  And for me, in the middle, there was the Engineer and Thief.   At the end of the day, I liked the Guardian since it felt the most like an EQ1 Cleric/ShadowKnight.  I also liked the GW2 Ranger for having a pet, and was a solid class, good for exploring.

Now, enter ESO.  I don't see which of the 4 classes are heals.   From the Foundry website, I learned DragonKnight is Offensive Melee.   Templar is Defensive tank.  Sorcerer is Offensive spellcasting.  And Nightblade sounds like your Thief/Rogue class.

If I want to heal, which class do I pick?  If I want to play something like an EQ1 Shadowknight, what class?  Is there a pet class?  

What class are you playing? 

I'm playing a templar, even though there are only 4 classes each has so many combinations its going to take time I think for me to settle on one. You mentioned alot of healing, the templar has the main healer line in its build you can go sold steel wall tank OR fluffy soft cloth power heals. See http://www.esotemplar.com/ for some good info.

http://www.esotemplar.com/class/elder-scrolls-onlines-warrior-of-light-the-templar/

» Edited on: 2014-02-13 11:34:57

» Edited on: 2014-02-13 11:35:25

My view of how classes in ESO "compare" to any other MMO: they don't.

The system is completely different. I'd recommend having a look here: http://tamrielfoundry.com/ (oh, re-reading, i see you've already read this, I'll leave the link anyhow).
Then consider that any class can fill any role. The only way in which I think you might limit yourself at all is trying to heal w/o playing Templar. I suppose there is a second limitation: only sorcerer has any "pet" abilities.

In your above post, you've tried to define classes narrowly and it really doesn't work that way. Templar is a great offensive spell caster or offensive melee. Any class can use stealth.

We really need to reshape our thinking from "Class" to "skills".

In ESO classes are a starting point. There's a certain set of class skills related to that but you can choose to completely ignore them and put your skill points into other skill lines.

The ESO way is to define your own playstyle by how you spend your skill points. Heck, if you want you can put every point into crafting skills and be a master craftsman with very basic combat skills. I don't know how this would work as far as progressing your character through the game, but it's just one extreme option.

ESO lets you allocate your points between armor, weapons, crafting, etc. If you choose you can be a plate wearing, sword wielding sorcerer. You just need to spend your points in those lines.

I really like the system of skill lines because it really changes everything. They plan on having a Theif and Brotherhood guild. So that will add new skill lines (I imagine). This system they have in place means they can add new skill lines down the road with ease. It will be great to see what builds people come up with. 

@Pyrrhic Yes, the guilds do add skill lines. So do the werewolf and vampire options (and I believe these two add weaknesses to balance the benefits they give as well).

So Templar is the only healing class?  And if I pick Templar, i have to choose between heal or tank?  I can't do both?  I would need to make 2 templars, one for healing, and one for tanking?  (In WoW, I believe you can switch between 2 specs for each class.)  

Or do you mean you have a limited number of skill points I can spend between heal/tank skills?  So I could go 50/50 tank-heal.? 

Anyone going to start with something other than Templar?  

Anyone going to play more than one class?

Templar is the only class with a dedicated healing skill/spell line. So yes, Templar is the class that can fill the healer role in the traditional holy trinity sense.

There's a skill calc here. It's still a work in progress and is missing some of the morphs still. But it might help give you ideas on what you might like to do.

I still haven't decided which I'm picking for my starting point. I used to love my Cleric in EQ1, and I play rangers or ranger equivalents in just about everything hehe So I guess I'll end up picking Templar or Nightblade for my first character. But I also really loved my Mage in WoW *sighs* too many options/decisions hehe

While Templar is the only class with a healing skill line, there is a healing skill line through the restoration staff as well so you can be a healer without having it in your class skills. Any class can use the resto staff so anyone can be a healer if they spend points on those skills.

I bet we'll be seeing a lot of resto staff Templars for max healing options.

Also, the way I understand it, you can only have so many active skills on your bar at a time (correct me if I'm wrong here please). This would mean that while you may be able to learn everything, you could only use a select few and would build your character around this.

Is there any clarification on weapon swapping? Is it just two weapons? Would this mean you could effectively switch between a tank role (say sword and board) and a healing role (resto staff) in combat as needed? 

Well with each new game like this I always default to warrior for some reason.  I think its because I like smashing things with big swords.  

Garyc,
Try reading this to get up to speed on the ESO system. It's a bit much to ask it be described in a forum post.

Try reading this?   Was there suppose to be a link? :)

I was just asking what starting class everyone was going to play.   I did not mean to ask too much of anyone. :)  Just am excited to learn as much as I can about a game that is 6 weeks away from launch and still in closed beta.

Yep, should have had this: http://elderscrollsonline.info/skills

Sorry about that.

For what it's worth, my guardian and Templar play completely differently. In my case that's not necessarily a good thing since I like my guardian a lot more, but I also went sword and board and didn't get high enough level last beta weekend to be able to dual wield. That being said , there seems to be multiple ways to play each ESO class, whereas GW 2 offers far fewer "viable" builds. 

Despite at least 6 months of theory crafting, what class and race I'm going to play is still up for grabs. With so many Active and Passive abilities tied to skill lines OTHER than your class, it opens up possibilities for different play-styles w/o having to roll another character.

The only advice I have is to look JUST at the class and race abilities and make a selection as abilities associated to those are locked and you'll have to roll another character to experience others. All other abilities (weapons, armor, guild) can eventually be learned and pointed into after a skill point reset.

Right now I'm leaning Dunmer Templar; and as stated above, while Temp's can heal w/o restro staff, it has some nice passives worth skilling up for.

Here is some impressions of what I got to do in testing, which I CAN talk about:

1) This is not exactly like any other mmo and it is not exactly like other ES games.  It is an interesting mix of the two with its own flavor.

2) The options for classes due to the trait lines just make 4 classess feel like way more.  I know of nightblades that actually took traits that made them seem very much like a sorcerer.  I have tried Templar the most and have found a way to be quite durable as something sort of like a Paladin though I'm more off tanky and maybe better on healing.  I got a nice group heal I can use even while doing in your face smashing with a 2H or sword and board combo.  I've done a heavy armored, melee weapon toting sorc that was fun, too.

3) It lets you lean towards the old mmo trinity style, but I find that the purest of this will need to break the mold slightly for solo play once leveled some.  Grouping definitely allows for trinity purests to have some fun though.  Then again in those trinity systems, you usually had to group or rely on potions/food to cover what you don't have from the group.  And of the MMOs I've played this trinity idea was not exactly the same in any of them.  It was more of a general overall setup with varying nuances you learned to deal with per game.

4) Don't discount a class before level 10.  It takes time to flesh out the options and get a feel for the game.  You cannot jump into this game with any assumptions based on any other game.  This will just give you heartburn or a headache or both!  ;)  I will say once you played something to 10 and if you then move on to an alt, the alt will seem easier to figure out due to knowing the game mechanics better.

Since I knew the characters would be wiped after each beta (except this last one, to my surprise), I wasn't in a desperate hurry to see how high I could level.  So, I looked at each beta as an opportunity to try out a few race/class combinations.  In all honesty, I really liked my Argonian Templar, but can't quite see myself as a lizard--no offense.

In the end, I like the idea of a Dark Magic Sorcerer. This build has a number of Crowd Control skills and I'm a control freak.  Marry that with any race with good magic skills and you have a winner.  In one of the dungeon videos, I saw a Breton Elementalist using a restoration staff and was able to heal the party and deal out a little dps and cc as well. 

Keep in mind, casters aren't going to be allowed to sit on the fringes of the fight and deal dps/hps, they have to be as agile as any class out there.  In addition, with the self heals, potions, and provisions available to all classes, gone are the days of a dedicated healer responsible for the group's well-being.

So look for me to choose either a Breton or Dark Elf Dark Magic Sorcerer.

I agree with Bri. ESO allows you a ton of flexibility in how you design and play your character, so much so that no two characters will be exactly alike. I know a lot of MMOs have toted this phrase over the past 15 years, but in the case of ESO, it has never been more true.

I plan to play a few different characters, but mainly I will be playing an Argonian Nightblade using Bows and Dual Daggers, specialized in Assassination and Shadow magic.

The character is modeled after the fabled Shadowscales. He will be closely associated with the Dark Brotherhood once the opportunity arises.

I've played the DK, Templar, and sorc and i really havent played them enough to decide on one or the other.  I forsee my 8 character slots filled day 1 as i test drive them all.  With the build diversity, its alot tougher than previous MMO's to decide on a character.

You should be able to switch back and forth between roles once you get enough skill points, which I think will take a while from what I saw on beta weekends. After that it is just what skills you slot in your 5 available skills at a time, what armor you wear, and what stats you buff up with weapons/armor/food. Obviously some classes are designed to be good at a certain role and not so good at others though. You 'can' play a sorcerer in heavy armor with a restoration staff to heal with but that may not be an optimal build.

I tried out templar with sword/shield the first weekend and sorcerer with a bow and medium armor the second weekend.

Everyone should keep in mind that by end game. 1 single toon will have the skill points to be  pretty much 3 full different classes in one  body. (  unless you put a lot of points in crafting).  This means you can be a tank build sword and shield. heavy armor...... then you can put on 2hander and change abilities and be a full on dps... then you can put on your light armor set  and staff and be a full 100% crazy healer.  ALL on one charater.

\  Ronin

Well, I am an odd duck...  I first really needed to decide what weapon I want to use the most - then from there what secondary skills would I want.  I like the bow - I have always liked the bow and in most games I have a ranger and a caster.  With ESO I can have both in one character which is where my ranger with sorcerer abilities will come into the light.   See, anyone can be a ranger since anyone can use a bow it just depends on how deep you go into the bow is what makes you a heavy ranger or a "ranger light" - much like decaf coffee.

I personally love all of the bow skills and will swap this out with the destruction staff primarily with fire - since I just love knockback.  I won't concentrate too heavily on magika but put more into stamina and health and wear medium armor - since the bow is my primary.  I had to look carefully at the sorc skills and the Night Blade skills and make a very tough call but it really comes down to what I want as secondary skills since any class can do about the same with the bow.   (I even ran a NB with a bow/staff for awhile and had great fun).

For those that never had the chance to test on the weekends or otherwise - this might be a daunting challenge.   Just have fun - fill up those slots and be prepared to compromise what ever you thought was the way to do it in other MMO's.

I can't wait for my sorc assassin to join the Dark Brotherhood - letting arrows, fire, and lightning fly.   Like I stated in the beginning - I am an odd duck :)

I love your character idea Morigana. I'm also a bow lover... bow and flames just make me go all warm and fuzzy, but it's never really been possible for me to have both at the same time on the one character (apart from the occasional flame arrows skill). I've been trying to decide on whether I go with a Sorc or a NB with a bow, and how I want to get my fires. I still can't decide!

Garyc, I generally gravitate toward one of two typical stereotypes when choosing a character in an MMO.  My first character will always be an attempt at a thief/barbarian style character, light-medium armour melee orientated adventurer type.  I grew up reading Fritz Leiber & Robert Howard short stories so Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser & Conan the Barbarian are always at the forefront of any character I make, I don't RP so it's just a character extension.

So going by this standard I will most likely aim for physical skill sets and not worry too much about the class unless it is just for passives or one or two skills for flavour.  I will be focusing on Medium armour, two-handed weapons, dual wielding, bow, and maybe backing it up with some heavy armor and sword & shield if I have enough skill points.  Class doesn't really matter for this style of character which is great because I can try it out with each of the classes and settle with the most enjoyable.

The second stereotype character I generally play is a melee cleric aka D&D cleric.  So for this I will probably be playing a Templar with Mace & Shield, heavy armor, restoration staff and healing skills.  I'm not sure how it will pan out though, I'll have to wait until launch to see if it works with their magicka/stamina resource system.

Sorc with a bow...Interesting. I am going to have to think about that combo! I was originally going templar but after reading this thread I bet I will end up playing all classes till I find the right fit.

I've tried sorc with a bow, sorc wearing heavy armor with a 2hander, DK wearing leather and dual daggers, nightblade wearing a robe and using a staff, and a lot of other seemingly weird combos. Everything I have tried felt like it was perfectly viable. You can really get creative with your builds.

@Soulshine, that is definitely true, especially in the early game.

At higher levels when you have larger resource pools and regen rates, you may have an easier time focusing on either magicka- or stamina-based skills instead of both.