Class advice for new / kind of returning player

[Kurosu]

Hello.

I know this is a common question so apologies in advance.

I played shortly on beta testing and a few years ago until level 30-ish. I am thining of giving the game another chance considering the upcoming Mora content.

I plan to start with a fresh dark elf. Would you recommend Nightblade or Necromancer considering the balance of today ? Mostly interested in solo play, main focus is to see the story /lore of everything, endgame I will probably not do much if I reach it.

From what I have read online, Necromancers were OP in release but got nerfed, still perform amazing though due to collosus and have very good Aoe. However people claim its rotation is difficult + some abilities cannot be used in towns. Nightblade I remember both Magic and Stamina being good, with tanking being not a very good option , plus it has the advantage of stealth which I will assume matters for open world content. However, less forgiving if you make a mistake when solo

Any tips/insight from old players ?

[Thomas D.]

Out of those 2. Nightblade for PvP. Necromancer maybe for PvE.

Stealth is almost useless in PvE (except for ignoring / bypassing enemies). And the very few situations where it can be handy could be done on other classes for example by crouching, going vamp or using invisibility potions.

But probably you are better of choosing warden, its easy and good at almost anything, also it works great for solo play.

Good heals and some tankiness make up more forgiving characters (but dont go to far here, because you usually still need damage) thats why wardens are good because they have access to good heals (mag and even stam, in endgame they are even the best group healers) plus they can be bulky (good for tanking, pvp and solo play) plus they can have good damage and they have easy access to plenty buffs. Further the warden can have a pet (bear) which is able to take some hits for you (similar to the Sorcerer Pets).

Templars are also another easy and good choice for beginners / solo players. But they arent that great in endgame anymore.

Still every character is more tanky and does more damage than a few years back plus overland got really easy, so that you might even feel asleep with the worst class and a bad build. So dont worry to much about being bad at overland, this would be a real achievement... Or in other words: overland is an absolute joke to what it once was and what you might have experienced in the beta - you can even do it naked and laugh at most stuff you encounter... If you grab a companion you can even do it by being afk xD...

Just stay away from Sorcerer, sure, a fully leveled up Sorcerer can be also ok for solo play, but stuff like healing comes very late and is not that easy / reliable as on other classes, so its not that great for beginners as often stated. And its not great at endgame, too, its mediocre or even bad at almost everything (except the easy oakensoul one bar heavy attack build or pure single target ranged damage in perfect situations). It has least access to buffs and you will struggle to get a proper solo build (you will miss out on stuff more than on other classes). And its worse in group play / endgame than most other classes. Further its bottom line in PvP. Additionally it gets nerft every patch, its like ZOS literally want to destroy the class completely right now (maybe because the upcoming new arcanist class shall fill the role that the sorcerer once was?)...

If you would be interested in endgame I would highly recommend a dragon knight because its great at literally almost anything (except for group healing where it is just ok).

And yes necromancers were strong. But they got directly and several times indirectly nerfed for PvP and PvE, so yes they arent that great anymore. Btw. they were second best tanks for a long time, now they are on the bottom end close to nightbaldes, not because they arent tanky but more because theire buffs arent that usefull anymore. The collossus was btw. strong because of the strong debuff it provided, but the debuff got nerfed and several sets were introduced that can provide the same debuff (with higher uptime) on any class (usually worn by tanks or healers), so the collossus is obsolete and not that great anymore, somtimes you are even better of using a non necromancer ultimate nowadays (like the destruction staff ultimate)...

Finally in a few months a new class will appear, the Arcanist. I guess it will be overpowered (dragon knight level of overpowered), as all DLC classes were at the beginning.

Maybe this thread is also helpful: https://steamcommunity.com/app/306130/discussions/0/3824158683369794907/

[Kurosu]

Thank you for your insight on all classes, however I am only interested in those 2 (for now) Warden is however my third option and I will eventually check that one out as well ( maybe on a breton).
Considering what you have said it seems the info I read that necromancer is wanted for his collosus is obsolete . I might go Nightblade in this case.

I do have my eyes on Arcanist due to the relation with Mora. But I fear they will receive the same old treatment : OP at start to "advertise them" then eventually nerf them .

[marstinson]

I'm going to differ a bit with Thomas' excellent answer and argue that the Nightblade is a very good class for PvE play. I'll confess that a lot of this is driven by (1) my main is a Dunmer Nightblade and I've had an absolute blast with that toon and (2) I don't PvP, so can't tell you how good/bad the class is for that.

The sustains for the Nightblade are very good, especially with it having a health-replenishing spammable. I won't claim it's unkillable because I've definitely been one-shotted at CP800+, but it can do a slugfest pretty well; its a very durable class. It pairs well with Dunmer racial passives and can be respec'd to either StamBlade or MagBlade with little problem. It's mostly a case of pairing with appropriate gear. I think it works particularly well as a DPS, but it can tank if necessary. It's not great on the group heals, though. It's one of the two classes I'd normally recommend for a starting player (the other is Templar) because its mechanics are very straightforward.

I'm much less fond of my Altmer Necro, but mostly because I'm still trying (and failing) to get a good grip on corpse management. Some of the Necro class skills count as crimes, so it's probably not a class you'd want to use for the casual PvP you often see in towns. But there ain't no guards in dungeons or most overland areas, so who cares? IMO, the biggest problem with the Necro is that the rotations can get a bit fiddly. If you're good with rotations, then no big deal. If your gamertag, like mine, should read "Fumble Fingers", then it's probably a class to avoid.

As the true endgame is furnishings and fashion, any class will work. But count me as a big fan of Nightblades for everything else.

[Entity]

My stealth Stam Khajiit Nightblade is excellent for solo content. The speed I can get things done, even moving quickly through delves etc and bypassing a lot of the trash mobs, means I use it pretty much for all solo content. The stealth aspect is one of my favourite parts.

[vior wolfkin]

My favourite race has to be Khajiit ! A great all rounder and somehow it feels better for the the storyline , which to me is very important ! ... Dragonknight has proven best for me in SOLO play , but Templar is pretty good too . Nightblade would i think be my favourite if thieves guild and assasin quests were actually worth bothering with ! ... My preference would be magic based ! but i have found that magicka based abilities seem to of been severely nerfed of late and Stamina or hybrid builds are far superior ! ... Honestly though ? half of the players would tell you i am wrong ! ... truth is though that it is all about personal preference ! ...You will need a min of 3 characters so try 3 different classes , 3 races and mix it up a bit

[Kurosu]

Originally posted by vior wolfkin:

My favourite race has to be Khajiit ! A great all rounder and somehow it feels better for the the storyline , which to me is very important ! ... Dragonknight has proven best for me in SOLO play , but Templar is pretty good too . Nightblade would i think be my favourite if thieves guild and assasin quests were actually worth bothering with ! ... My preference would be magic based ! but i have found that magicka based abilities seem to of been severely nerfed of late and Stamina or hybrid builds are far superior ! ... Honestly though ? half of the players would tell you i am wrong ! ... truth is though that it is all about personal preference ! ...You will need a min of 3 characters so try 3 different classes , 3 races and mix it up a bit

Can you elaborate on the need of 3 characters? Did start with Nightblade and made a breton necromancer to check out later