Musclemagic

:S Wood elf's got the most game by far!! You're crazy.

Yeah, stealth/invis are different. Magelight will only effect Stealth. Invis won't be gamebreaking, so don't choose a character off of that. The best use of Invisibility is to use it while stealthing on a melee character so that you can get on an enemy without breaking stealth. Mark Target is an amazing spell for NB DPS and that may actually be one of the best abilities in the game. For tank build though I'd recommend not being a nightblade, there isn't enough passive damage reduction. There are ways to make everything work, and gear is going to be more important for pushing you into a role than abilities anyway, so unless you're going for an extremely specific build-type then I would just play what you think will be the most fun!

If you like the idea of not being seen for 2.5 seconds more than you like the idea of any other ability (you only get to choose from 5 per bar + ult) then you can use it. You won't find it on my bars though, there are many better options for specific builds. Yes, going invisible is nice in the sense that it's universal..but you should have counters to most things already so that you can (and should) be using something else that's more specific, and therefore stronger for what you need than stealth. We'll have to wait and see how it unfolds in endgame though, there might be an awesome way to ninja a siege weapon if you have invisibility and you can't any other way (or something similar like that). We'll see mate! But most of the time there will be better options, for sure.

Won't know until I get my grubbies on a beta account of my own, I've only played on a friends.

Can't confirm, but the gear bonuses and the +7% from being a Dunmer will all stack for sure - so I don't see why it wouldn't. 99% positive it will.

Irons is right, the problem with that fire build is that you need to get close for it to be effective. This might not be a problem in most PVE situations (where you're expected to have an enemy on you anyway, since the tank's only meant to hold the aggro of one-two enemies) but in PVP you really want distance from your opponents as a caster. There are several abilities you can use on a DK to become very tanky though, so if you are using a Destro Staff for DPS and then you switch to a resto staff you can heal pretty well and tank quite a lot of damage. If you like more utility then be a mage, if you like more heals then be a templar, if you like more subtlety then be a NB, if you like more direct damage/heals and active tanking with passive recovery then DK is good. It all depends on what you plan on doing with your character to determine what's the best min/maxed. DK will be best for max DPS, you won't be able to get best PVP build at the same time as best PVE build no matter how hard you try so I'd recommend just sticking to one or the other and then fiddling with the others. I am being a templar for several reasons, one of them is because I will be very effective with both of my weapons--being able to completely change my roll without sacrificing (much) performance in one or the other. It's the only build that seems effective in pretty much any situation. You said you just want to cap damage though, so I'd really be a DK firemage. Your group will love how fast things die when you're around, in PVP you'll still do massive damage and then be able to take quite a lot of hits as well when you bar swap.. But remember you will need to be close to the targets. Stealth might be good for entering combat more effectively and avoiding combat altogether. But, you won't be able to stay invisible long during combat and unless you Ult for like..12s or w/e it is..you won't really be able to get away during 2.5s of Invisibility with that re-stealth skill. That's like saying you could uppercut (2h) someone for a 3.5s stun and then run away to restealth? It's not going to go like that. Stealth will only act as a temporary shield against direct damage, a costly one at that for casters because it takes away magicka regen on top of the cost to cast. Yes, you can recast that invisibility a few times.. 5 seconds, 7.5s, 10s, it will add up and you'll be able to get away but Nightblades aren't really "bursty" so the opponent will probably heal during that time and you'll be stuck with no magicka and no kill. Spamming Bolt Escape would be faster and maybe more magicka efficient even to get away than stealth, if we run about 15 meters per 2.5 seconds (which seems about right, just a tad slow) but it'll be instant and depending on the mechanics of the Bolt then it could be even more awesome for several reasons..plus it stuns. Several other examples as well. And, depending on the effective range on Mage-Light, Stealth might not even be good for avoiding combat in general. I know I'll be rocking the mage-light no matter what, since it increases spell power too. I just think that there are a lot better abilities than stealth for the same purposes, but they all have more in combat utility than stealth does. Immediate Edit: I think that stealth/invisibility is good for Melee characters to close distances on Casters. If we were talking about melee-ranged characters then I actually love the idea of stealth for OFFENSE, but not so much for defense still. Yes, it's really good but I think there are better defensive abilities even for melee as well as better escape abilities for everyone.

If you like the idea of slowly killing your opponent with damage over time, while healing yourself with passive healing, then be a NB. If you like the idea of being able to CC your opponent and have anti-cc, then go Sorc. In PVP invisibility won't be very viable because I guarantee most groups will have at least one or two people with a mage-light. Stealth as a resto won't benefit you much anyway, so if stealth is what drew you to NB then I'd recommend Sorc. They both have equal burst damage.. Mage has a bit more passive armor while NB has more passive heals. The only really viable option as 2nd weapon for a resto staff user is the destro staff... bummer.. BUT, here's the deal, if you're a mage then a 1h/shield offers even more tankiness as well as even more CC that synergizes well with the mage. So, if 1h/shield appeals to you, then mage. If not, then I'd recommend using a Bow and going as a NB. (Edit: For the sneak attack increase damage and help managing Stam..more than mage anyway for bow. XD) But--- Trying both during the beta is going to be your best bet...although as a pirate RPer I'd go NB... Hmm ps- To re-stealth in PVE (where it could happen--I wouldn't waste a bar spot on it for PVP when it'll be worthless a lot of the time instead of a usefull ability like your own mage-light! ) combat you'd sacrifice your magicka regen, which would ruin you as a healer unless you have entropy up on many targets at once--which you'll want to do anyway. pps- I think Daggerfall Covenant will be saturated with melee DPS, so this should be a sought after build.

Just submitted the following question: How powerful will Siege Weapons be in the battle for Cyrodiil? Are they basically required in order for your faction to do well in a battle? Could your faction win through their characters alone if they choose not to use the siege weapons or any other vehicle/usable type objects? The reason I ask is because I've never liked games with controlled objects that you can't dictate the stats of. I find that these take away from customization/tactics by an incredible amount. I'd much rather roll with a group of other players that synergize really well so we can kill any other group of players. Trying to get a tactical advantage through boring ol' siege stuff is "busy work" to me... What do you have to say about this?

If they can operate off the Cash Shop then that'd be great, yes. But, no matter how you look at it, paying $15 a month for anything that you will spend hours upon hours on, every week, is well worth it. Get some perspective before you go calling people retarded. Go Ice Skate for 2 hours, one time a month.. $15. Go see a movie.. $15. Drive 30 miles.. $15. Buy dog food for 2 weeks.. $15. How is $15 not worth hours and hours of awesome time? If you don't want to pay to play the game, play a F2P game. If you want to play THIS game... Pay $15 and consider yourself lucky because it's an awesome game (hopefully) that you get to play any time you want for only $15/mo!

If anyone doesn't want their pet from the stress test, I will trade//buy the activation key from you! Reply to this thread if interested. -Muscles

Stress test actually went into overtime because it went so well! They were able to get quite a lot more than they figured they would onto one sub-server zone! ^.^

If this game is even DECENT then I'll be playing it for years, I guarantee it. $15 isn't much. Go to one movie, alone, and get popcorn.. $17 here. Or, play a competitive game with my friends for a month.. $15 (less with yearly renewal)? I mean, there might be better games out there by the end of next year--that's always a possibility, but I'm someone who likes to stick to one game for a long time so I don't even think that would phase me. Again though, this assumes ESO is decent. I'm sure it'll be more than decent, but who knows? I'm just saying that you're getting a lot for $15 a month. Even if it costs $60 up front. Hell, I'd pay $100 a month for a good game. You guys are all assessing it "versus" other game prices like LOL/GW2 rather than assessing if the money is worth the amount of fun you get. I think if you'd rather play a different game, that's your choice, but paying 100$/mo for entertainment is worth it -- considering I've gone out drinking or to the casino and spent several times that amount in one night. $15? Not worried about it.... I AM worried however about the PvP balance of this game and how fun using the siege crap is. I've always hated externally controlled objects in fantasy games.. Hell, even in shooters they annoy me a bit.

"your first morph is where you end your skill progression. You can respec and change your morph choice, but there is no progression after that …" Good to know.

Sorry, I skipped through it. But, I have a question!!--probably because I skipped through it, haha. =( I LOVE this anime, I watched it when it first came out. I've never read a manga before...ever... where do I get this one? I seriously LOVED this show, probably in my top 5 animes. Link me the book(s) on Amazon? XD

Yeah mate! It looked pretty awesome! I actually forgot about it, so thank you for reminding me of it's existence!

Gosh man, I am in the exact same boat right now! I just can't decide what I want to play. One thing for me though, is that FOR SURE I need to stick with one character. If I can unlock emperor/vampire/lycan skills and there is a lot of end-game content then I'd much rather play one character than keep bouncing around (like I normally do >.<.) It's between bow, 2h, 1h/sword, and resto staff for what I like the most. I just really want to wear medium armor, but the only things with that is being magicka starved and not having the bonus defensives from light or heavy. I would really like medium armor because I love mobility more than anything, but I like combat mobility most, so idk if it would even make that huge of a difference. I get the feeling that as you get more gear everyone will be more focused on just one role--like if you've got +healing gear on you won't be very effective at DPSing, +melee damage you wouldn't be good with bow or staff. +ranged you would only be good with bow/destro staff.. but who knows what the items will effect? Maybe it will be like +X to lightning or fire damage which would be awesome for mages/dks, or +X to DOT effects.. I mean..it might get super detailed with the gearing, but since it's Elder Scrolls and not a typical MMO then I don't really know what to expect from gear? XD

I remember one interview, talking about emotes, they said there would basically be a shitload of them--which is super awesome! I hope on PS4 I'll be able to click on them somehow. As an RPer myself I prefer voices, probably because I've played a lot of DND, so the PS4 better have clear/fast chat!! ^.^

Very cool!! That will be super handy having that much customization, in WoW the UI on the chat sucked for trying to customize it..and the voice chat was a joke, but that's a different story, haha. I bet ESO VC will be through externals.

That's really interesting, I like that but I wonder how it'll work for people who aren't in all of the guilds-- More of a broadcast system? I didn't pay attention to it during the video, what was it like?

So far the only confirmed potions are- Dram, Draught, Effusion, Elixer, etc -of Health, Magicka, or Stamina. The price goes up ~25G (starting from 100G) for each. I'm fairly certain there will be a whole slew of others though! ^.^ I'm super stoked to see Alchemy in action!! If it's pretty good then I might reconsider everything and be a NB (Nightblade) for +20% potion effectiveness after all! O_O'

I'm not really read-up on it, but my understanding is that you'll still be able to play most games and such, just not play the PSN games and use the voice-chat/share functions? Does anyone know what you can still do without PSN? If so can you please post it here or send me a link to somewhere so I can read it? It's really great though for people who are playing on PS4/XB, I mean since it's hosted by bethesda and not on PS/XB servers it makes sense that most the money would go to the server host... I'm sure they'll work it out to where they each get a %, but I think the tricky part is how the consumer pays for it--is it included in PSN and then PS pays Bethesda if the players are playing ESO a lot? Like, it's a really tricky model..because if people pay like 15$ for a PSN+ESO account..idk, it's just super weird! I'm sure they'll figure it out though.

I found this interview by reading the posts on the guild forums here: http://theshadowsofaldmeri.guildlaunch.com My commentary on- http://www.tesoelite.com/2013/08/eso-interview-with-maria-aliprando/ (Good watch--or just read what I wrote for a summary! !) "...we want to make sure that players have the same access on the game and not have to worry about subscriptions for their consoles as well as subscription for the game." This is the best news of the interview! The sub will be $15 total for PSN/ESO instead of $15+PSN costs?? Muy bueno!! It kind of sucks that there's a 300 player cap atm on guilds, I have a feeling this one will be much larger than that. It will be cool to weed out the non-elite though and then all enter the same Cyrodiil server as a group and stomp the yard. I don't think there'll be much competition on PS4. I like that 24 players is the biggest "raid" group (we can have multiple groups, obv, and with PSN voice-chat it should work out beautifully), that seems to be a really solid number that is actually doable. I'm glad addons are so supported. I'm wondering what addons will come out for the PS4....I really hope a damage/healing numbers addon comes out, like a scrolling combat text rather than a dps meter. They do say that you could through LUA scripting, but I almost doubt that will ever be implemented on console. Costumes are cool but I'm glad they won't be allowed in PVP. This is just like "Neverwinter" except it should be better (IMO) since it's only one slot it seems...rather than having to get a whole matching outfit, XD. Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood content due after launch?? AWESOME. I'm stoked! Becoming the emperor--I NEED to get this achievement one day! This is my current life goal!!! Well..besides school..I guess, haha! I love that you keep the Emperor skill tree once you get it one time--so, for example, if we get the top 5 members of our guild to get the "emperor" title just one time we will all have a fu----am I allowed to curse in these forums??--- incredible team because we'll have such an edge over all the other groups! I'm glad that grabbing keeps and stuff isn't as big of a deal, things like catapults and crap bore me and I feel it shouldn't be in an MMO that revolve all around your skills.. ps- Maria Aliprando = omg..YEZZyeeeYA!!

@ Irons- I think Altmer would be a good choice for a light armor character because they'll have such high magical resistance that even if they do take more magic damage then it's okay, especially if you're a DK because you get that 80 MR passive. On my templar staffer I'll prob be Altmer too.

1H/Shield + Heavy Armor build: DK- Defensive Posture Obsidian Shield Spiked Armor Dragon Blood Reflective Scale I was thinking that Reflective Scale just for PvP, and either Ash Cloud for the "Shroud" synergy -or- Puncture for the taunt and group melee dps bonus in PvE...but I thought about it a lot and Reflective Scale is just that good when used at the right times..not only does it negate any damage or effects that you'd take, but it does it back at the attacker--that's just insane if you use it at the right times. You'll also notice that this tank build is 100% Magicka Based!! You only use Stamina to get your "defensive posture" on! This is freaking sweet, it allows you to effectively use a Fire Destro staff and Light armor and be the top DPS build in the game whenever you switch to that gear without having to reroll due to your stats being all sub-par for it. ^.^ If I was into PvE more than PvP then this is definitely what I'd be, how freaking sweet is this??

For a self healing/tank/dot build I'd do something like this: Bound Armor, Force Siphon, Entropy, Regeneration, Guardian Circle - Resto Staff Destro Staff (just because it's ranged and for the passives) - Surge, Winged Twilight, Unstable Familiar, Rune Prison, Mage's Fury Explaining why: Open with Destro staff and get your two minions out, Rune Prison whatever you need in a long CC, Surge to buff yourself and then switch to Resto Staff. Get Regeneration and Entropy ticking while you put on Force Siphon and Bound Armor on then start trying to just take them down while your pets are on them too. Lay down Guardian Circle when under heavy damage and your Force Siphon/Bound Armor should take care of the rest. I'd use the Mage's Lightning Ultimate for extra damage when the target is closer to death, or I'd use the dispel/silence thing in PvP maybe. But, also when they're close to death switch back to the Destro Staff and spam Mage's Fury on them (it should only take a couple for them to be finished at this point). Either this, or Siphoning NB tree for it.. hard to know until we see how powerful those self heals are and the damage of pets, etc.. Just an idea. I gotta go though, I start school Monday so I'm super busy lately.. I can only keep popping on for a few mins, lol