The future of NB and current annoyance

IceDread

I'm a returning player and I see that my NB has been seriously improved.

However,everyone that's not sorcs, is screwed when it comes to crit chance. This since NB needs both weapon crit and spell crit for class skills.

Since NB lacks healing and protective skills it needs to find them in weapons, which is fine. However, this brings my focus to restoration staff and then I need something more. With the need for magica for high damage class skills, and the need to use stamina for movement etc, I'm conflicted about how to go about with it. No matter how I look at it, if not going full magica to me it looks like I'd gimp myself.

This means I need good magica regen. The class however needs medium armor for hiding and well, playing the class as a sneaky type and to have mobility.

I also find myself wanting to go restro + a stamina based weapon line, dont want to be a only staff using NB.

This does not however seem possible, since I need light for class skills magica regen etc and also medium armor and 5 pieces of each light and med, to get the good bonuses.

I simply can not see a way to build the NB I want to play. Sure, I do good atm right now as a light NB in pve, atm I'm only lvling this char, but I can't see how to get it perfect...

What's your thoughts on the situation?

Kraven

NB has the highest crit chance in the game.

NB has Several healing abilities.

1.6 will be making some class morphs use stamina and be based on weapon damage. For me I certainly hope impale is one of them.

NB as it stands right now is second only to DK.

NB is the absolute best at resource management. Run out of any resource toggle on siphoning and fill the bar in no time at all.

Veil is arguably the best Ultimate in the game atm. Arguably because DKs do love their standard.

I personally love where NB is and where it is heading.

Shunravi

^^^^

While standard is good for the DK, veil is good for the group.

With the 1.6 changes, Nightblade is looking to be very interesting. I'm really hopeful about the future of NB.

Aett_Thorn

Many of the Nightblade skills actually go off of spell power and use magika, but use Weapon Crit to determine critical hit chance.

Assassin's Blade, Teleport Strike, and Veiled Strike all use Weapon Crit, so medium armor helps them there. Yes, your healing skills work off of spell crit, but if you're using skills from the Assassination line, you'll increase your spell crit a bit anyways.

I would use 5 medium armor pieces for the crit and stamina regen, and then 2 light armor pieces. Use sets that increase spell damage and magika regen, and you're all set.


Edit -> Also of note, Update 1.6 will be changing approximately 3 powers per class to have stamina-based morphs, so that will help out as well.

IceDread

Aett_Thorn wrote: »

Many of the Nightblade skills actually go off of spell power and use magika, but use Weapon Crit to determine critical hit chance.

I thought that was exactly what I said...

Aett_Thorn wrote: »

Assassin's Blade, Teleport Strike, and Veiled Strike all use Weapon Crit, so medium armor helps them there. Yes, your healing skills work off of spell crit, but if you're using skills from the Assassination line, you'll increase your spell crit a bit anyways.

I would use 5 medium armor pieces for the crit and stamina regen, and then 2 light armor pieces. Use sets that increase spell damage and magika regen, and you're all set.


Edit -> Also of note, Update 1.6 will be changing approximately 3 powers per class to have stamina-based morphs, so that will help out as well.

Already am using 3 sets, one with rigs for magica regen and some self crafted gear with regens.

But I think I'll switch over to 5 med pieces like you suggested. :-)

Helluin

Aett_Thorn wrote: »

Many of the Nightblade skills actually go off of spell power and use magika, but use Weapon Crit to determine critical hit chance.

Assassin's Blade, Teleport Strike, and Veiled Strike all use Weapon Crit, so medium armor helps them there. Yes, your healing skills work off of spell crit, but if you're using skills from the Assassination line, you'll increase your spell crit a bit anyways.

I would use 5 medium armor pieces for the crit and stamina regen, and then 2 light armor pieces. Use sets that increase spell damage and magika regen, and you're all set.


Edit -> Also of note, Update 1.6 will be changing approximately 3 powers per class to have stamina-based morphs, so that will help out as well.

I really hope that Update 1.6 will help in the way you write, but I prefer to be cautious, even pessimistic than be really disappointed having wrong hopes.

Atm as NB in endgame you can perform well in PvE both using a magicka-LA or a stamina-MA build.
The problems arise especially in PvP or if you like to solo.
As everyone knows, stamina pool is used for block, dodge, break and, even removing softcaps, magicka builds are superior and risk to be better.
The only way to solve this is to give an huge buff to passive skills in MA and HA that reduce the stamina used for dodge and block, maybe adding also break.
For example Athletics skill could grant 8-10% to dodge roll instead of 4% per piece of MA.
As already other ones suggested another option is making block consuming magicka or stamina according to what blocked and break free consuming magicka or stamina according to what removed. Another one is to add an additional resource.
I'm really looking forward to read and test the changements on armors, hoping they will solve this.

About NB, honestly I like the way it is now with softcaps and some NB skills scaling on magicka/spell dmg but on weapon crit.
This because you can run also hybrid builds being able to reach softcap both in spell and weapon damage and have both magicka and stamina quite high.
You have to decide between Crit and Spell Penetration and according to that use MA or LA.
Skills like Assassin's Blade, Teleport Strike, Death Stroke, Veiled Strike and their morphs are great with full MA or 5MA+2LA: you can have your agile, sneaky and athletic NB, stamina pool is saved, you have enough high magicka and spell dmg to gain good returns from some magicka/spell damaging utility/support skills like Strife, Cripple and their morphs, Sap Essence, etc.

I'm worried that with 1.6, it will be the end of this build and other hybrid builds.
For NB MA users, magicka will be good just for pure utility/buff skills like Shadow Cloak, Aspect of Terror, Mark Target, etc. and their morphs.
According to what so far revealed, a player seems to have simply two options: go full magicka LA or full stamina MA.
Magicka skills will be based on magicka, spell dmg and spell crit, stamina ones on stamina, weapon dmg and weapon crit.
Yes, we get also 3 class skills with a stamina morph but... even gaining good stats, I presume these skills will consume stamina and so more stamina depletion if you have a stamina build?

What about "play as you want"? Already nowadays in PvE to perform well you have to go stamina or magicka, only in PvP and solo you are able to play efficiently an hybrid build.
This statement then risks to be completely buried: farewell hybrid builds and welcome to "play this way or the other one"?
I hope not.
Devs are always doing an awesome job, so I hope we all be happy about 1.6 and that I'm just too cautious.
Surely, join PTS this time and provide feedbacks will be even more important than usual.

Shunravi

Helluin wrote: »

Aett_Thorn wrote: »

Many of the Nightblade skills actually go off of spell power and use magika, but use Weapon Crit to determine critical hit chance.

Assassin's Blade, Teleport Strike, and Veiled Strike all use Weapon Crit, so medium armor helps them there. Yes, your healing skills work off of spell crit, but if you're using skills from the Assassination line, you'll increase your spell crit a bit anyways.

I would use 5 medium armor pieces for the crit and stamina regen, and then 2 light armor pieces. Use sets that increase spell damage and magika regen, and you're all set.


Edit -> Also of note, Update 1.6 will be changing approximately 3 powers per class to have stamina-based morphs, so that will help out as well.

I really hope that Update 1.6 will help in the way you write, but I prefer to be cautious, even pessimistic than be really disappointed having wrong hopes.

Atm as NB in endgame you can perform well in PvE both using a magicka-LA or a stamina-MA build.
The problems arise especially in PvP or if you like to solo.
As everyone knows, stamina pool is used for block, dodge, break and, even removing softcaps, magicka builds are superior and risk to be better.
The only way to solve this is to give an huge buff to passive skills in MA and HA that reduce the stamina used for dodge and block, maybe adding also break.
For example Athletics skill could grant 8-10% to dodge roll instead of 4% per piece of MA.
As already other ones suggested another option is making block consuming magicka or stamina according to what blocked and break free consuming magicka or stamina according to what removed. Another one is to add an additional resource.
I'm really looking forward to read and test the changements on armors, hoping they will solve this.

About NB, honestly I like the way it is now with softcaps and some NB skills scaling on magicka/spell dmg but on weapon crit.
This because you can run also hybrid builds being able to reach softcap both in spell and weapon damage and have both magicka and stamina quite high.
You have to decide between Crit and Spell Penetration and according to that use MA or LA.
Skills like Assassin's Blade, Teleport Strike, Death Stroke, Veiled Strike and their morphs are great with full MA or 5MA+2LA: you can have your agile, sneaky and athletic NB, stamina pool is saved, you have enough high magicka and spell dmg to gain good returns from some magicka/spell damaging utility/support skills like Strife, Cripple and their morphs, Sap Essence, etc.

I'm worried that with 1.6, it will be the end of this build and other hybrid builds.
For NB MA users, magicka will be good just for pure utility/buff skills like Shadow Cloak, Aspect of Terror, Mark Target, etc. and their morphs.
According to what so far revealed, a player seems to have simply two options: go full magicka LA or full stamina MA.
Magicka skills will be based on magicka, spell dmg and spell crit, stamina ones on stamina, weapon dmg and weapon crit.
Yes, we get also 3 class skills with a stamina morph but... even gaining good stats, I presume these skills will consume stamina and so more stamina depletion if you have a stamina build?

What about "play as you want"? Already nowadays in PvE to perform well you have to go stamina or magicka, only in PvP and solo you are able to play efficiently an hybrid build.
This statement then risks to be completely buried: farewell hybrid builds and welcome to "play this way or the other one"?
I hope not.
Devs are always doing an awesome job, so I hope we all be happy about 1.6 and that I'm just too cautious.
Surely, join PTS this time and provide feedbacks will be even more important than usual.

Exactly my feelings on the matter. I'm really sceptical about what will happen with hybrid builds.

Because, fyi to all those saying it doesn't make sense, they designed it that way to make hybrid viable.