Quickmage

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The basic premise for this build is speed-running to level 50.

Race: Orc

For the Swift Warrior passive, to stack on Major Expedition, as well as other bonuses.  This is the primary focus of the build, taking a lot of the time running around the maps out, so I can get more questing, fighting, and learning in.  Doesn’t matter what you spec it for, It works in Cyrodiil, I haven’t really gotten a group together for playtesting it in an Optimized group delve yet.  Sorc-Orc is just faster, and i don’t really have all that much time to waste running between points of interest.  Therefore, I made some sacrifices so this is not the most efficient DPS that ever DPSed.

Alliance: Aldmeri Dominion

Because Kenarthi’s roost can be swept for Skyshards without Questing, just Fast Travel back from Mistral.  Okay, the primary reason is because i love exploring Valenwood, and Auridon is so kiddy land it’s downright boring to play now.  (And i played the hell out of Auridon playtesting diffeerent combinations.)  But for a real reason that applies to you:  It takes 10 minutes to get all the Skyshards from Tutorial Island, while you have to Quest to get them from the other 2.

Class: Sorcerer

Duh, but the reason why is the Mobilizing abilities that also work in combat, and Overload.  This gives you a 3rd bar, Magicka based, so you have something to switch to if you’re depleted, and can use your seccondary weapon for utility.  (Or overload, but I prefer it on a Weapon so i don’t need Ultimate to access it.)

Gear:  Heavy Armor, Inferno Staff, and 2-Handed.

I tried it with Heavy and medium (And Bow to determine that Hasty Retreat doesn’t stack on Boundless Storm) and it turns out Heavy works better.  That’s because this is a Resource manipulation build, with very little Health (Basically just from Racial, and Armor Passives) so it helps not to get 1 shotted from a powerful Boss ahead of level.  (When I playtested this, I killed 20 Golden Saints, and Free Will in a row at level 9.)  Endurance in battle includes Survival, and with the compromises I had to make, Heavy keeps you alive longer.  (That, and the free Racial passive which gives you Experience faster.)  Heavy armor basically means I don’t have to worry about Health, and can concentrate more on the other 2 bars.  I went with training, then transitioned over to Well Fitted until I got The Steed, then switched to The Divines.  I usually go with a Weighted Greatsword of Flame, because axes’ bleed is procced, and that’s invoking the RNGs again.  Sheogorath, he’s an RNG.

Weapons: 2H, and Inferno Staff, for different reasons.

First of all, this is more bursty than DPS.  You can sustain DPS, but for solo PvE Speedruns, you basically want to get fights over with, and recover on the way to the next, rather than draw them out.  Notice a solid Stamina weapon with a Magicka weapon splits resources, but I alternate, 1 resource while the other recovers until the real resource manipulation abilities unlock late game.  Also, I have Physical, Magical, Fire, and Shock damage.  So, if you play rochambeaux with resistant enemies, nothing is resistant to all 4.  Another advantage for training is both weapon skills have great damage potential in their first 2 abilities.  So, you have something close to your final bar early on, and fully morphed/leveled late-game when you start filling up on passives/utility spells.

Stats:  All Magicka, but I sometimes enchant/boon for Stamina/Feat reduction, when the sword lags behind the staff.

Stone:  I get the Steed as soon as I get to Reaper’s March, with enough speed to just beeline for it, through much higher leveled enemies.  (Also, do Bosmer Insight.  It helps, pick one.)

2H Skills:  Clanfear, Critical Charge(Bolt Escape), Carve, Endless Fury, Boundless Storm, Energy Overload.

This is not a primary weapon.  It’s a utility bar for fast sprinting, and weenie whacking.  There’s the big fights you have to worry about, then there’s all those Skeevers, mudcrabs, and Wolves you run into just running around.  This uses them to farm Ultimate for overload.  Doesn’t take a full bar to do that, so the fast travel rotation is also placed here, when everything unlocks.  (Mostly working on Boundless Storm, and Bolt Escape.)

Carve spams up Ultimate for Overload, which gives you a 3rd ability bar.  Also a good all around multi-target DoT, and really good single target Burst just spamming with tapattacks in between to cancel Animations.  With splash damage, and DoTs all around from Lightning Form.   Just straffe around, spread out the damage, and spam up Ultimate to power Overload.  Note, because of magicka focus, this is weak.  Use it on weak weenies, there’s a lot of them.  I also use it’s Reach to Bcakslash, if you hit 2, or 3, the one closest to your cursor gets stunned, but bleed all around, and more Ultimate for me!

Critical Charge:  I use this as much to dash to foxes, and deer running around Auridon as anything else, but you want to beat on Mages, who like to kite.  So, they run back to cast whatever, you charge in for a crit…  Good fight!  As a mobilizer, rather than a damage dealer, I generally save a skill point rather than morph it.  With 3 ability bars to fill, even sweeping for all the points, they don’t pile up until about level 35 when you have both weapons pretty much filled out.  Even with Magicka focus, Mages are weak enough against physical damage, this is still effective against them.

Mage’s Fury:  Okay, I know reverse Slash, but unfortunately, I rarely have any spamina left to actually use it after a bursty multi-target fight.  In duels, and single wandering guard ganks, sure.  However, Executioner is late-game, and you start with Mage’s Fury, so for the most part that’s what I use.  (Use Executioner if/when your respec to Stamina.)

Summon Clanfear:  I love this little guy, I call him my “Health Mule” because of the instant Heal, which works for either of you.  Halfway decent temptank too, so you can solo just about everything except the Undaunted group dungeons(Up to level 50) which are designed not to be soloed.  Another Magicka skill, which conserves your Stamina for Carve, and Sprinting.

Boundless Storm:  Magicka Sorcerer, don’t take the Stamina morph.  Even on the Stamina (Medium, and Bow) version, I left it Boundless, because I need that Spamina for spamming, and sprinting.  Major Expedition for 6 and a half seconds (Plus Swift Warrior, the Steed…) really eats up the map, I usually have to cast it twice per sprint bar, but I don’t need a mount.  I have one, rarely use it, except for sprinting while my other bars fill back up, which is almost never.  Also, raisees your Damage Resistance, and spreads around DoTs, so it’s really a multifunction spell, which is more powerful for the Magicka focus.

Bolt Escape:  I know that’s 6, but I replace Critical Charge when it unlocks.  Also, note 3 Storm Calling abilities slotted throughout the game to unlock this ASAP.  Weaving between this, and sprinting with Boundless Storm, eventually it gets to the point that you run out of map before you run out of resources.  Don’t spam it, just cast it at a good straightaway, pop BS, sheathe, and sprint again.  “Bye Felicia!”  Doesn’t really seem to matter what all you aggro with all the lighting, they just can’t catch you.  If you sprint between the BEs, then you can overlap the Casting Costs/duration while your magicka recovers, and 1 puny little Stamina bar is enough to run straight across Wrothgar, in heavy Armor.  Once you get the Rotation down, Bolt, Storm, Sheathe, Sprint until the Major Expedition wears off, recast…

Energy Overload: Clanfear, Curse/Trap/Entropy, Silver, Fury, Bolt Escape, (Toggle off.)

Okay, the problem with this bar is no Weapon skills, and Sorcerer has some major gaps in their abilities.  So, I’ll start with the Fighter’s guild:

Silver Shards:  Why?  It’s spammable in between tapattacks, but the main reason is it works with Stealth, and hits extra targets.  Also, doesn’t run down your Magicka.

V; Curse:  I know, Crystal Frags is more powerful.  However it’s Random, and when not procced, it takes up both hands so you can’t do anything else but maneuver.  Same reason I don’t use Uppercut/Wrecking Blow except as a Backstab.  (It’s my favorite backstab.)  I hate being stuck in an animation I can’t cancel, or waiting on the RNG to let me win the fight.  This ticks down while you can get another Silver Shard, and 2 more tapattacks in the air.  I mostly use this bar for DPSing bosses and minibosses, anyway.  What I’m saving the Ultimate up from the rest of the dungeon for.

Soul Trap:  Decent DoT, and I like keeping my enchanted weapons charged.  I don’t die all that much, despite the fact that I don’t use potions, nor food.  Don’t even pick them up.  More inventory space.  Also, doesn’t cost a Skill Point, so you can start with it.  So, until I have 5 skill points to spend, or a total of 11 to fill up both bars, I use this as an interrum place holder, and all around cheap DoT.  Usually morph it to return Resources, as one of the focii of the build.  (Poison Arrow is much Much better on the Stamina/bow version.)  Also, by the time I unlock the overload bar (As early as level 6) I often don’t have enough abilities to fill both of them, so ST gets grandfathered in until i get another skill point.

Entropy:  Like the auto-attacks, this gives back Health on strike, and is a better DoT than Soul trap.  Takes a while longer to get, and grind up, though.  Directly replaces ST when you get it.  Either Morph is good, I tend toward Degeneration.  (Weapon Attacks include overload tapattacks)

Endless Fury:  Natch, ranged Execute you can cast before you burst them down, and pays you back Magicka on kill.

Lightning Splash:  Either morph, really nice to have a multitarget DoT, and it’s not bad for burning single target Bosses, neither.

Bolt Escape:  Mostly a panic button for when I get jumped in this mode.  Or, hit up your health mule for Health, really depends on your priorities, and the fight.  I respec the slotted abilities for each dungeon/boss anyway.  Shuffle out any 2 of the weavable attacks (Bolts, Curse, or Entropy.)

Shattering Prison:  CC/Heal, mostly to keep from getting overrun, and keep enemies in the AoE for Palpatining.  I like the shattering effect, mostly because it gives me a distinctive visual when the effect ends.

Keep in mind, I respec this bar for the dungeon, enemies, and boss more than any other.  It’s my spellbook, what are we fighting, and where?  Slot abilities accordingly.

Inferno Staff:

Sorcerer.  You know how to play a Sorcerer?  Well, this one has heavy armor, other than that she’s basically an Inferno Staff Sorcerer:

Firey Touch/Reach/Clench:  I usually go with Clench, for more burn.

Wall of Flames:  Easy to keep up with the duration, weave in power Attacks, and recast:

Lightning Splash:  The rest of my magicka is maintained/reserved for knockback to keep kicking them back into the overlapping AoEs.  Alternate some Charge attacks and you should be able to keep both of these up, if you don’t burn yourself out with Knockbacks.  Don’t do that, sidestep every once in a while, when you’re not standing in someone else’s AoE.  Fight smarter, not harder.

Endless Fury:  Again.  No real surprise here.

Impulse:  Because you’re an Inferno Staff Sorcerer.

Overload:  On both bars, I like Negate Magic for PvP, and I’ll swap it in in Cyrodiil, but this is as specced for solo-exploration, and PvE speedruns.  Energy Overload is the best backup for when you run out of Magicka, because you can keep weaving.  And, the tapattacks do serious damage with a Magicka based Sorcerer, you just can’t spam them all the time without depleting your Ultimate.

Dark Exchange:  I’ve never even unlocked it.  Sorry, I just hate Dark Magic too much to grind it out, and leaving this tree alone basically gives me more slots to grind out Storm Calling, and Weapon skills.  However, in Theory it closes the loop:  Carve Stamina into Ultimate, Overload Ultimate into Magicka, channel Magicka into Stamina(And health) or Stamina into Magicka on the staff-bar.  With low Stamina, and High Magicka, but it puts off switching to Overload when outnumbered.  Without the Weapon skills, and passives, Overload doesn’t do as well against large groups of tough enemies as Inferno Staff, but it doesn’t have to if you Carve up enough Ultimate for the Boss, and can Channel instead.  makes it more efficient for Delving, essentually.  I just don’t have that much patience, at level 50 my Dark Magic is basically capped at 12, to unlock Negate Magic.

So, that’s basically it:  The DPS/Burst ability of an Inferno-Staff Sorcerer, the durability of a Heavy Orc (Reinforced glass, with next to no Health) and a solid backup for resource manipulation.  The differences being rather than relying on Recovery to sustain, you switch modes, and keep weaving to replenish Magicka.  And run around most of the map with a Sword, so you can spam up Ultimate for the next time you need it.  That’s what the first bar is all about, getting to the next fight/quest/wayshrine/whatever, and incidentally deassing the area when you find yourself in over your head.  Between Swift Warrior, Boundless Storm, and Bolt Escape, you’re faster and more mobile than anyone Mounted, without sacrificing survivability, sustainability, or damage potential in an actual fight.  If you prefer, you can switch out to a Restoration Staff, or a Bow (Respec to Stamina) on the other bar, but the first one is all about speed-running, and spamming up overload…

• This topic was modified 1 day, 23 hours ago by  Psiberzerker.