1.6.2 Nightblade Magicka Builds Ruined!!! I'm Done! ZoS Read!

Cody

and I personally just want haste back. I want it brought back and FIXED. the concept was fantastic, and it actually worked every now and then. Haste, unlike Agony, was/is not a lost cause. it just needed some fixing, idk why ZOS decided to just replace it. Seriously, they scrap and replace haste, but leave Agony as it is??? the only change being a decreased cast time????

If there was a NB ability that truly needed replacement, it was Agony, NOT haste. Grim focus sucks; it is almost impossible to get off 8(or whatever number it is) light attacks against an enemy during a fight. In PvE it MAYBE could be done, but not PvP. ZOS needs to start weighing in BOTH parts of the game when making changes.

Bring back haste; fix it, and replace Agony with either:

A. a good, quick, reliable self heal(sorcerers also need one since im talking about it:/)
B. A class based damage shield.(maybe some kind of "siphoning shield" that heals the NB based on damage taken? make the shield have a medium sized resistance value so it cant be spammed and hid behind entire fights.)
c. make it a mass CC similar to talons(duration about 4 seconds and all that stuff)

those are my only gripes. I have never made a magicka build NB, not even back in the days of "go magicka or die" so I don't know the state of NB magicka builds. I have always played a hybrid build(I consider it hybrid nowadays, but some consider it stamina, either or) and the current changes work well with me(I cant wait to use the stamina based ambush! muhahahahaha!!!!!!!, many kills will be had)

My advice; go resto staff and either DW or 2H. And only use the melee weapons when facing DKs with reflective scales.

NordJitsu

Magicka builds got nerfed across the board. Not particular to NBs.

F7sus4

Cody wrote: »

Grim focus sucks; it is almost impossible to get off 8(or whatever number it is) light attacks against an enemy during a fight. In PvE it MAYBE could be done, but not PvP. ZOS needs to start weighing in BOTH parts of the game when making changes.

You can spam light attacks with Resto-staff for example. They are quicker now, but you're spending your whole rotation just to trigger the Grim Focus and have 1 mediocre damage blast in the end, which is idiotic.

Cody wrote: »

Swallow Soul/Funnel Health, while it may not have huge numbers, is such low cost that it can be spammed without worry....

That's the actual issue. You need more DPS to be good damage dealer - not the cost reduction. If someone is a casual VR14 player, he won't care much anyway. But if someone's doing end-game content (Sanctum Ophidia, Hard-mode Trials, Veteran DSA), he will care. So do I. (btw, knowledgeable players were able to sustain Funnel Health with its higher cost for approx. 8-10 minutes in 1.5 with no problem anyway).

Siluen wrote:

I highlighted aspects that could refer to both magicka and stamina builds

A bow build with Funnel Health on its bar (dump-casting is bad for DPS, btw) isn't addressing (or allowing to get appropriate insight on) dedicated Siphoning Magicka builds' issues at all, I'm sorry.

F7sus4

(edited: double post)

Cody

double post!!

kaithuzar

Here's what I do & it's not terrible. (forgive misspellings pls)
5x infallible aether
3x twilight
3x soul shine

Now, for some reason v10 Soul shine gear gives approx. 5% crit for 3 piece bonus. Yet v12 wrath of imperium aka dominion rings & staff only give 3%??? What gives for lower level items giving higher bonus stats???

I would like to test:
5x infallible aether
2x torugs pact or 2x normal aether gear
3x wrath of imperium dominions staff & rings on main bar
w/ off hand sword/shield/neck (dominion's set which reduces ultimate cost)

Main bar rotation: (key is to start with entropy then weave heavy attacks & ss)
spell sym, swallow soul, struct entropy, impale, mage light
ultimate: soul harvest

Off bar: (something along this but maybe will change?)
spell sym, mark target, struct entropy, shades, mage light
ultimate: veil

Attribs: 52 pts in health, 10 pts in magic
(my race is high elf)

*Note: also i've been trying to test if it's better to have thief mundus or shadow since things have changed; let me know your thoughts & i'll let you know mine =p

-kai
tko, deviance, 8divines, purple, mc

GRxKnight

kaithuzar wrote: »

Here's what I do & it's not terrible. (forgive misspellings pls)
5x infallible aether
3x twilight
3x soul shine

Now, for some reason v10 Soul shine gear gives approx. 5% crit for 3 piece bonus. Yet v12 wrath of imperium aka dominion rings & staff only give 3%??? What gives for lower level items giving higher bonus stats???

I would like to test:
5x infallible aether
2x torugs pact or 2x normal aether gear
3x wrath of imperium dominions staff & rings on main bar
w/ off hand sword/shield/neck (dominion's set which reduces ultimate cost)

Main bar rotation: (key is to start with entropy then weave heavy attacks & ss)
spell sym, swallow soul, struct entropy, impale, mage light
ultimate: soul harvest

Off bar: (something along this but maybe will change?)
spell sym, mark target, struct entropy, shades, mage light
ultimate: veil

Attribs: 52 pts in health, 10 pts in magic
(my race is high elf)

*Note: also i've been trying to test if it's better to have thief mundus or shadow since things have changed; let me know your thoughts & i'll let you know mine =p

-kai
tko, deviance, 8divines, purple, mc

I was thinking along the lines of something sypher put in a video a week ago...desto one bar and resto the other...5 piece seducer is a must and some combination of aether and another set...it's still in theory craft mode here.

Bar 1 (Destro): Sap essnece, Entropy, Impulse, Funnel Health/Swallow Soul, The new assault skill that places a bomb on someone ||| ulti = Bats

Bar 2 (Resto): Force Siphon, Healing Ward, Harness Magicka, Rapid Regeneration, Shadowy Image ||| ulti = veil

These bars aren't set in stone and I might want to test crushing shock/force pulse on the bar...Need to find room for a gap close is the problem

Xsorus

whitebeard00 wrote: »

Since the beginning of ESO have laughed at everyone complaining about NB, always found them very fun and effective at healing/dps/tanking, so flexible... however, have to agree w/ this. Used my magicka NB build on the PTS and really struggled, mixed it up a lot w/ different skills, but was very very squishy. Compared to the Templar magicka build there was no comparison. Templar could solo anomolies, NB struggled in Spellscar.

Ummm I can pretty solo spellscar still by spamming sap essence

Suntzu1414

H3kkx wrote: »

Agony need to be a usefull Dot !
Than i will be Happy with this class in a Magica build!

*Hate Agony*

Sorry missed the earlier "chiming in" time.
But i must agree, belatedly


Don't hate the person...
Hate Agony.


Kill Well
ST

kaithuzar

lol, sup noxus,
Yea, entropy, sap essence, impulse, bats is gonna be wicked for aoe dmg.

For single target might want to swallow soul instead of funnel for both pve & pvp. Prior to 1.6 you could gain ult rapidly b/c funnel was healing 2 targets & that would really increase the ult gain over swallow soul. Now ult is gained differently so you definitely want swallow soul as it gives you increased heals 2 different ways!

But personally for pvp, I still enjoy ambush surprise attack combo, although that may change as I need to look at which version of ambush & surprise attack I can still use as a magic based player.

I've always been preaching for more people to use Arch-mage since it has the same 5 piece bonus as seducer yet adds sp dmg & has a neck piece. I'm not sure how impen has/will change with 1.6 as I didn't test that but it's another option.

We all came to the conclusion that sp dmg was the way to go when we tested 1.6 b/c crit was jacked, but after they semi-fixed crit 1.6.2, I believe it to be viable again. But maybe crit will be useless in pvp still???
Mephalas & Valkyn skoria are known best sets for dps, but engine guardian or others could be cool for pvp.

Healing ward or also evasion if you wear like a medium shoulder or head set could be cool. Reso is great if you're having resource problems & might be the way to go in pvp where there isn't too much heavy attacking. If you chose the destro heavy attack method you might want to look at the destro aether jewlery for the bombs in combo with the infallable aether & whatever shoulders/head (if exist) that could proc off that.

Of course I still like messing around with clench & master staff builds but who knows if that will actually become "a thing" XD

-kai

Digiman

F7sus4 wrote: »

(This topic is complementing, supporting and expanding the other topic on the state of magicka builds in ESO 1.6)

Nightblade Magicka builds are completely worthless in 1.6. Siphoning builds - rest in peace. And why did this happen:

Passives:

Pressure Points nerf - You nerfed 3% to 2% per Assassination ability. The answer is: No. We are damage dealers. We need Crit. There's nothing to discuss. Period. While the 1% doesn't change anything in PvP where most people use ca. 500 Impenetrable, in PvE it is a deal breaker.

Transfer nerf - You nerfed 2 Ultimate points gain down to 1 and added 6 seconds cooldown. If you did elementary-school level math you'd know it means just 1 more Veil of Blades every 25 minutes of constant Siphoning spell spamming. There should be no cooldown at all, or arguably 1-2 second cooldown at worst, especially with those crippling Ultimate nerfs.

Shadow Barrier - nice, but useful only for melee/stamina builds, actually. No Magicka build spam casts Shadow abilities to benefit from it. Also, you shouldn't be indirectly forced to use Heavy Armor on stealthy Class Passives! It's a grotesque.

Class Abilities:

Strife (Funnel Health/Swallow Soul) - While we appreciate the cost reduction, it's not really needed. What is needed is more damage. At this moment, even with constant 20% Spell Damage buff from Entropy, the spell doesn't provide appropriate damage output in the rotation.

Crippling Grasp (Cripple morph) - Removal of immobilize made it one-sidedly inferior to Debilitate. As above, DoT output is not enough.

Grim Focus - The whole new ability is just a misunderstanding and Haste was OK as it was. You can clearly tell that by the number of topics on that issue at theorycrafting forums.

Twisting Path - While already buffed by 33%, the damage output of this ability is still too small to be worth slotting. The server meta-data probably suggests otherwise as many players actually spam-cast it - actually, for PvE fast running or Sorcerer PvP chase.

Soul Tether (Soul Shred morph) - Damage of this ability is equivalent to 2 Impulse casts. While relatively low cost of 150 Ultimate points allowed to use it as additional source of damage in 1.5, the new method of gaining Ultimates prevents this from happening, thus rendering this ultimate useless. So the class should either be able to gain Ultimates almost as fast as in 1.5 or the cost should be 80 Ultimates (arguably 100 Ultimates).

Veil of Blades tripple nerf - 1) You should have kept the additional 30% of damage reduction for the caster. This ability forces you to stay close-range with your enemies (contrary to Sorc Atronach Ultimate which gives you a virtual tank), so you need more survivability for that time. Yes, it was Nightblades' only "Oh s#1t!" button that allowed to survive on many occasions, especially solo, and especially with new Light Armor squishiness. 2) The healing synergy is useless - it's healer's task, not Nightblade damage dealer . (Healing bonus would be nice for defensive Bolstering Darkness morph, but not for Veil of Blades: more damage reduction and DPS is adviced). 3) Also, the cost is too high with the new standard of gaining Ultimates and especially with crippled Transfer passive. 4) And no, the new Catalyst doesn't really help here, since this Ultimate isn't worth spending the cost anymore at all.

ZOS:
If the only advice that is given to 1.6 Magicka Nightblade builds is to, actually, switch to 2-handed/Bow to be competitive at all, then it clearly means you have a lot of work to do on improving it. The only thing is you're blind to it.

rogue_gamer32b14_ESO wrote:

Needless to say ZoS. You need to fix (snip) Nightblade damage with magicka builds asap. If I am forced to reroll or respec to a stamina based build. Don't dough that I'll simply drop this game like a rock. Players didn't work their butts off, to be stepped on. Meanwhile you listen to a vocal minority and ruin the game.

Get it together and fix this...this isn't a request or a suggestion anymore. You beta tested the game on pc players for almost a year now. As if we weren't crapped on enough...If Sorcerers aren't fixed properly by 1.6 live release...then peace. I'm done paying for a game, where the few crying out loud...out weigh the many.

So, kind developers - please keep in mind that you wreck thousands of hours of some of the finest players who spent that time on gameplay, research and improving their characters - and just because you're unable to conduct your own "improvement" patches is not an excuse for wrecking established build archetype.

At least you have other builds that aren't taxing, besides NB aren't meant to be pure magicka, a hybrid sure, but full not full magicka. Might as well roll sorcerer but I guess judging from this many sorcerers will roll and spec this.

GRxKnight

kaithuzar wrote: »

lol, sup noxus,
Yea, entropy, sap essence, impulse, bats is gonna be wicked for aoe dmg.

For single target might want to swallow soul instead of funnel for both pve & pvp. Prior to 1.6 you could gain ult rapidly b/c funnel was healing 2 targets & that would really increase the ult gain over swallow soul. Now ult is gained differently so you definitely want swallow soul as it gives you increased heals 2 different ways!

But personally for pvp, I still enjoy ambush surprise attack combo, although that may change as I need to look at which version of ambush & surprise attack I can still use as a magic based player.

I've always been preaching for more people to use Arch-mage since it has the same 5 piece bonus as seducer yet adds sp dmg & has a neck piece. I'm not sure how impen has/will change with 1.6 as I didn't test that but it's another option.

We all came to the conclusion that sp dmg was the way to go when we tested 1.6 b/c crit was jacked, but after they semi-fixed crit 1.6.2, I believe it to be viable again. But maybe crit will be useless in pvp still???
Mephalas & Valkyn skoria are known best sets for dps, but engine guardian or others could be cool for pvp.

Healing ward or also evasion if you wear like a medium shoulder or head set could be cool. Reso is great if you're having resource problems & might be the way to go in pvp where there isn't too much heavy attacking. If you chose the destro heavy attack method you might want to look at the destro aether jewlery for the bombs in combo with the infallable aether & whatever shoulders/head (if exist) that could proc off that.

Of course I still like messing around with clench & master staff builds but who knows if that will actually become "a thing" XD

-kai

I thought about arch mage and it might actually work if I use a dominion destro staff set or use the aether staffs for the other three piece...shoulders would definitely be Engine Guardian since I plan on staying at a ranged distance from the target, Malubeth is too good though so it may end up being that I go in that direction...but then I sacrifice aether for it so IDK if an undaunted set is actually worth it...I think Lotus Fan is the magicka version of the teleport strike now so it might become time for me to test that out as a gap close should I need one...we'll have to meet up on the PTS at some point to start the theory crafting with the other NB's in our guild that want to do this path.

Jaerlach

Best troll thread. No one noticed the identical formatting to the sorc thread?

F7sus4

Jaerlach wrote: »

Best troll thread. No one noticed the identical formatting to the sorc thread?

F7sus4 wrote: »

(This topic is complementing, supporting and expanding the other topic on the state of magicka builds in ESO 1.6)