Off Balance - Magicka Templar PVE Build
Written guide updated for : Update 39 Q3 2023
This PVE Templar magicka DPS build was made for players of all skill levels. Of course, the more advanced player will get more out of it but this will perform well in anyone’s hands so long as you follow it correctly and understand HOW it works. This does involve a little knowledge of the skills applied and their passives attached to them in order to act on instinct if needed when something goes wrong. This is capable of solo, 4 player, and 12 player content throughout the game YES including the really hard stuff!
The reason this is called “off-balance” is simple and that is that this is centered around pumping out as much area of effect damage as possible, solo AND group based WHILE offering a major support factor to the fight without upsetting your DPS. Here we are using a lot of lightning damage to further push concussion for those off-balance procs AND add as much AOE damage as possible while still pumping out high single target damage, alongside good sustain AND survival.
We also offer sustain and healing bonuses AND actual heals to the group and we don’t have to ever alter our rotation for it to be effective! Everything you need in one tidy package!
Debuffer! You can keep minor vulnerability up all of the time if your rotations are clean (+5% damage for the group) due to that being part of the concussion status effect.
Survival! You heal from your damage (sweeps and beams) so you actually stay alive by doing damage and have a shield for emergencies!
You can keep a healthy up time on off-balance to improve your and your group’s increased heavy damage resource gain (70% extra damage and 100% extra back from resources) while also returning the favor to the dragonknights in the group by allowing them the effect required for their backflip whips! 😉
Your sustain and ability to apply HIGH AOE with the lightning staff as and when needed…heavy attack into a bunch of adds and everything dies fast while at the same time you REGAIN magicka for a fully heavy attack, AND remember while a target is off balance your heavy attacks gain DOUBLE resources!…very handy.
The heavy attack part of the rotation (if required) not only does high single-target AOE damage but also keeps up your sustain by default.
Overwhelming applies a really good amount of free DPS just for using your class abilities and at the same time offers even MORE concussion status effects = off balance
Many builds out there focus mainly on weapon abilities and negate the point of the class. This utilizes the class abilities almost equally if not a little more than weapon skills making it more of a reason to BE a Templar rather than just putting force pulse on everything, get those sweeps in! 🙂
This is a VERY “balanced” build, using “off-balance” to make it so!
Fashion First!
As demonstrated in the video, our fabulous ESO fashion setup and dress choice for this character is as follows:
Head: Light Tsaesci
Shoulders: Light Scaelcaller
Chest: Heavy Assassin’s League
Legs: Heavy Thieves Guild
Hands: Light Dragonguard
Belt: Medium Dro’mathra
Feet: Light Silken Ring
Front bar: Abnur Tharn Staff
Back Staff: Telvanni Staff
The Three colors we are using are Legate Black (any black will do), Obsidian Black, and Frozen Blood Red.
NOTE: This is the Original Off balance Fashion, for the most RECENT one, check the fashion time stamp in the video!
Skills
1) Purifying Light
2) Barbed Trap
3) Radiant Glory / Radiant Oppression
4) Puncturing Sweeps
5) Inner Light
Ultimate – Flawless Dawnbreaker
Destruction Staff (lightning/flame)
1) Inner Light / Harness Magicka
2) Unstable Wall Of Elements
3) Solar Barrage / Ritual Of Retribution
4) Channeled Focus
5) Blazing Spear
Ultimate – Elemental Rage / Shooting Star
Champion Points
- Untamed Aggression
- Thaumaturge
- Deadly Aim
- Wrathful Strikes
Backstabber is not required nor is fighting finesse unless crit damage buffs and bonuses are not supplied by your group.
- Rationer
- Liquid Efficiency
- Treasure Hunter
- Steed’s Blessing
What you do with this tree is NOT make or break for mechanics or combat in general just quality of life.
- Boundless Vitality
- Rejuvenation
- Fortified
- Siphoning Spells
These are designed to increase your health/armor and at the same time manage your resources.
The video below explains how the changes work in more detail. Of course, over time, additions will be and have already been made to the system but the main BASE of it is the same.
Rotation
Front bar – Light attack, Purifying Light…Then Light Attack, Puncturing Sweeps x5, Barbed Trap, weapon swap
Back bar – Blazing Spear, Light Attack, Solar Barrage, Light Attack, Unstable Wall Of Elements, weapon swap…
Start again!
NOTE: The Ritual of retribution skill and solar barrage are double the timer of Unstable Wall Of Elements and the Blazing Spear, so you only need to cast this ONCE every SECOND rotation, as explained in the video.
Advanced: While the above rotation is perfect and will allow for great damage output in all situations, if you WANT to be a little more technical you can track purifying light. As soon as it has run out, reapply it (excluding execute) and that way you can get a tiny bit more damage out, but that will require a lot of concentration and some may find they fumble their rotation and get less. So again, this is only if you want to do a TINY bit more damage. But that is entirely up to you and down to player skill more than anything.
Execute Rotation: At 40% and under, your rotation gets a lot simpler. Maintain Solar Barrage, Maintain Wall of Elements (this way your back bar glyph can always fire and you always have the 5% increase to Templar ability damage) While they remain active, literally just spam light attack, Radiant Glory/oppression. As soon as your back bar abilities are due for a refresh, cast Light attack, Barbed Trap, weapon swap. Reapply those two dots as and when necessary and get back onto spamming beams again.
Simple as that!
Poisons, Potions, & Food
You can use Tri-stat pots if you are using degeneration OR if you are really fancy and going for the squishier mode as mentioned in the video…you can make spell pots.
Food is very simple, the highest level food you can consume with 2 stats only, MAX health and MAX magicka. There are 3 variations of recipes but all are the same in the stats they give so your choice of which one you use.
Tri-pots:
Columbine + Mountain Flower + Bugloss + Lorkans Tears
Spell pots:
Lady Smock + Water Hyacinth + Cornflower + Lorkhan’s Tears
Food:
Minstral Banana-Bunny Hash – Small game(1) + Bananas(2) + Seasoning(3)
Melon-Baked Parmesan Pork – White Meat(1) + Melon(2) + Cheese(3)
Solitude Salmon-Millet Soup – Fish(1) + Tomato(2) + Millet(3)
If you would like to make your own potions, I now have a fully functioning potion maker on the website. Here you can TEST any combination of potion or poison you like and check the outcome without having to know the combinations in-game! Check here for the App, working on Android and IOS – Potion Maker
Gear Setup
Below is a chart showing the overall gear set-up, noting the optimal set requirements in terms of weight, enchants & traits!
We are using the Thief Mundus stones alongside 64 Attribute points into Magicka
We are a High Elf but other races are also usable. Dark Elf, Khajiit, or Breton are good substitutes. However As explained (and shown) in the video, Orc is actually a VERY nice alternative if you want to be a Brawler-Plar!
Gear Setup
| Slot | Gear Set | Weight | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head | Ilambris / Zaan | Medium | Divines | Magicka |
| Shoulders | Ilambris / Zaan | Medium | Divines | Magicka |
| Chest | Arms Of Relequen / Azureblight Reaper | Medium | Divines | Magicka |
| Waist | Overwhelming Surge | Light | Divines | Magicka |
| Hands | Arms Of Relequen / Azureblight Reaper | Medium | Divines | Magicka |
| Legs | Overwhelming Surge | Light | Divines | Magicka |
| Feet | Overwhelming Surge | Light | Divines | Magicka |
| Ring 1 | Arms Of Relequen / Azureblight Reaper | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Spell Damage |
| Ring 2 | Arms Of Relequen / Azureblight Reaper | Jewelry | Bloodthirsty | Spell Damage |
| Necklace | Arms Of Relequen / Azureblight Reaper | Jewelry | Infused | Spell Damage |
| Weapon 1 | Overwhelming Surge | Sword | Charged | Flame |
| Weapon 2 | Overwhelming Surge | Dagger | Charged | Poison |
| Weapon 3 | Maelstrom | Lightning / Inferno Staff | Infused | Weapon / Spell Dmg |
Weapons: For the front bar you can use dual wield OR Lightning, i personally would recommend lightning and if you do so (as mentioned in the video) you need to be using the precise trait along with the POISON glyph.
NOTE: AS EXPLAINED in HUGE detail in the video. Yes, you can use a flame staff on the BACK bar (not the front) IF you can guarantee that off-balance is 100% controlled by someone else in your group already. If not, stick with lightning staff. We can provide it all day long by default. So if it is not there, the build is designed to do that…If it IS there, then sure, swap out the BACK bar only.
Bear in mind if you are gauging “potential” as most people claim to do on the dummy, then of course the dummy has a 6% increase to all flame damage (dragon knight engulfing flames) AND also 100% control of off-balance ALREADY. So THAT is a situation where demonstrating flame makes sense. Again, if your group does NOT have off-balance covered, stay with lightning.
Gear Locations
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