New Player Build Help

ShadowMole25

I am extremely new at this game, my character is only level 19, but I have been experimenting with builds for the future. I am not a min/maxer, and I am mainly a solo player. Is this build viable for me to be able to solo?

http://eso-skills.com/skill/index.html?m1=924002019011902091509001&m2=000192100040904091109201&i=25&p=906290729092908202920262027202820252551355235533315130513063307330813091325232622304234423342324231411131122113211521013102210321052916291729182919292929282927292620052006200720082009241624172405240624072&a=261026&c=ShadowMole25&b=Wanders-Many-Rivers&j=t&q=340&w=20&m=9

RavenSworn

@ShadowMole25,

First up, welcome to the game!

I saw your skill choices and you seem to have a good grasp of the intended gameplay that you want. Eso can be a bit intense on the info but heres some tips you need to consider.

Certain abilities give out buffs and debuffs and these are further grouped into major and minor ones. Currently, you cannot stack two similar major buffs but you can stack one of each group; major and minor. Eg: major brutality from Rally can't stack with major brutality from Power extraction ( if im not mistaken) but you can stack a major brutality with a minor brutality.

NBs are generally an assasin class, a class that hits hard from the shadows. That being said though, you can always be the skirmisher or warrior type using the NB class. Certain abilities like Mirage and Shadow Image helps mitigate the damage you will be taking in melee. I myself uses ambush, cleave, mirage executioner, rally for my two hande, weaving in and out of battle making sure I have my targets infront of me.

You can also keep your stats equal in the three section ; magicka, health and stamina. However, its much much better if you either focus on stamina or magicka. Alternatively, you can put all your points in health to have that healthy amount of hitpoints while enchanting your armor to your designated damage resource.

Examples of what I use for my own two hander / bow NB.

Ambush - Cleave - Rally - Mirage - Executioner/Killer's blade for groups

Focused Aim - cloak ( crit morph) - Reaper's Mark - Cripple - venom shot. For bow single target, stealth mode.

Cloak, concealed weapon, killer's blade, wrecking blow, refreshing path for sneaky backstabbing

Acid spray, bombard, cloak, venom shot, grim focus for groups using bow.

Hope this helps mate!

Stannum

Wellcome.
No this build is not viable for soloing. You can take out common mobs but even WB will be problem.
The main problem is too mach mixing. The main idea of ESO mechanics is that skills that use magika scales of spellpower, magika pool and use spell crit and skills that use stamina scales of weapon power, stamina pool and weapon crit. Medium armor of 5 boost weapon dmg, light armor of 5 boosts spell crit and penetration (and you can use only 7 pieces of armor so cannot get all bonuses).
So all good builds are focused either on magika use (most spam attack skills are class or staff magika skills and stamina is used mostly for blocking/rolling) or on stamina (most spam attack skills are stamina class and weapon skills and magika skills is used for buffs and support).

ShadowMole25

Thanks for the advice, like I said I am still new to the game, and am still learning the mechanics. I will probably lower stamina , and put more into magicka since I only have 3 stamina skills, or I may change my entire build. I am not trying to use a cookie cutter build, even though those they are usually the most effective.

My main goal with this build was to do a lot of DoT, rather than burst damage, and have a few self heals. I was also looking over my skill bars and noticed that Piercing Mark causes both Major Fracture and Major Breech. Is this an exception to the Major/Minor stacking rule.

ShadowMage

ShadowMole25 wrote: »

Thanks for the advice, like I said I am still new to the game, and am still learning the mechanics. I will probably lower stamina , and put more into magicka since I only have 3 stamina skills, or I may change my entire build. I am not trying to use a cookie cutter build, even though those they are usually the most effective.

My main goal with this build was to do a lot of DoT, rather than burst damage, and have a few self heals. I was also looking over my skill bars and noticed that Piercing Mark causes both Major Fracture and Major Breech. Is this an exception to the Major/Minor stacking rule.

First of all, don't let anybody tell you that hybrid builds don't work. As I mentioned in another topic, you really have to try to make a build that sucks. If it's what you want to do, go for it.

As for the Major Fracture/Major Breech stacking, they are two different debuffs. You can put as many unique buffs/debuffs as you want, but they don't stack with themselves. The Major Fracture/Breech above will stack with each other, but if you tried to put another Major Fracture on the enemy it wouldn't stack because Major Fracture is already there. You could, however, put a Minor Fracture on the enemy and it would stack with the Major Fracture.

Stannum

Really in ESO DoTs are not very powerfull. But if you going to do magika non-burst good survival build google for sap tank builds.

Celless

Piercing Mark will follow the major debuff rule. Surprise Attack or Pierce Armor will not stack with the Major Fracture component of this.

ShadowMole25

I just checked my skills and the only ones that cause the same buff/debuff are Soul Harvest and Lethal Arrow, which I do not think are generally used back to back, so I should be good with buffs and debuffs. But thank you for the advice, I will use it on future characters.

golfer.dub17_ESO

shadowmage016b14_ESO wrote: »

First of all, don't let anybody tell you that hybrid builds don't work. As I mentioned in another topic, you really have to try to make a build that sucks. If it's what you want to do, go for it.

I've yet to see a hybrid build that works.

I assume if one does somehow work, it's min-maxxed to all hell and back, using specific set gear in order to make it feasible.
I.e. not something someone brand new to the game should attempt.

Ability damage is based on resource pools. Splitting those pools leaves both magicka AND stamina weak. Common sense.

ShadowMole25

While, l sacrifice damage for my magicka skills, l am able to have more stamina for dodge rolls, blocking, and breaking cc. If I find that this does not work like I expect, I can always respec my attribute points. I at least want to try this build before I change it as I am still only level 20 and I am not having much trouble in pve. I have also tried pvp and was able to get 60 kills over three days. So it works so far, but that may change and I will adapt.

ShadowMole25

By the way, just because I am saying that I don't want to change this build right now, does not mean that I am ignoring advice from more experienced players. This is just my first character and there is a certain play style that I wanted to try. I will definitely use this advice on other characters.

RavenSworn

I might be late replying to this but i had an idea for your DoT-type of NB. Kinda like the Warlock class in WoW. However, DoTs are not highly recommended for solo since most of the mobs either 1) die too quickly 2) kill you 3) overwhelm you in numbers which then makes it harder for you to maintain your self heals.

a Warlock type would definitely use magicka and destro staff as the main source of damage:

Reaper's Mark
Twisting Path
Destructive Reach
Crippling Grasp
Impale

Soul Harvest

Just a thought right here, you can always experiment and there are better, more efficient builds.

ShadowMole25

uniq_faznrb18_ESO wrote: »

I might be late replying to this but i had an idea for your DoT-type of NB. Kinda like the Warlock class in WoW. However, DoTs are not highly recommended for solo since most of the mobs either 1) die too quickly 2) kill you 3) overwhelm you in numbers which then makes it harder for you to maintain your self heals.

a Warlock type would definitely use magicka and destro staff as the main source of damage:

Reaper's Mark
Twisting Path
Destructive Reach
Crippling Grasp
Impale

Soul Harvest

Just a thought right here, you can always experiment and there are better, more efficient builds.

Personally I really like my bow/dw combo, but it may change. As for mobs, I can hit them with poison injection 3-4 times and then run around avoiding them until they die. Bosses aren't really all that hard for me either right now. I do expect the game to get harder as I get into higher levels though.

PvP on the other hand, is extremely challenging. There have been some encounters where I have almost killed a player only to be ambushed by his buddy, but I guess this is to be expected. I'm not concerned with getting good at PvP yet, but hopefully I get better through experience.

ShadowMage

golfer.dub17_ESO wrote: »

shadowmage016b14_ESO wrote: »

First of all, don't let anybody tell you that hybrid builds don't work. As I mentioned in another topic, you really have to try to make a build that sucks. If it's what you want to do, go for it.

I've yet to see a hybrid build that works.

I assume if one does somehow work, it's min-maxxed to all hell and back, using specific set gear in order to make it feasible.
I.e. not something someone brand new to the game should attempt.

Ability damage is based on resource pools. Splitting those pools leaves both magicka AND stamina weak. Common sense.

I have a DW/Destro Sorc and have my attributes split between stamina and magicka (with a few more in stamina). I don't PvP and I don't use addons so I don't know what my actual damage is. What I do know, is that I don't have much trouble doing PvE stuff, so my damage can't be too horrible.

ShadowMole25

So I am now level 33, almost 34, and I have updated what I hope to be my end game build. I have taken what you guys said into account as well as my own experiences in both PvP and PvE. What do you think of it now?

http://eso-skills.com/skill/index.html?z=PIpR9tL@D8EnzE9%BSpR8@DA03SZX&p=916291729182919290629072908290920052006200720082009202520262027202820292101310221032104210521113112211321152230423142324233423443051306330733081309131513252326240524062407241624172551355235533&a=121238&c=ShadowMole&b=Wanders-Many-Rivers&j=t&q=250&w=20&m=0

TheSunAlsoRises

for PvE, general leveling, i use this:

http://eso-skills.com/skill/index.html?z=PIpR9tL@D8EnzE9%BSpR8@DA03SZX&p=916291729182919290629072908290920052006200720082009202520262027202820292101310221032104210521113112211321152230423142324233423443051306330733081309131513252326240524062407241624172551355235533&a=121238&c=ShadowMole&b=Wanders-Many-Rivers&j=t&q=250&w=20&m=0

slight variations for DPS in dungeons. i haven't done much PvP since i came back so i can't comment on a build for that.

for general outdoor mobs, i might mark some, then run in after casting scorched earth and maybe bombard, then "weave" light attacks with whirling blades and maybe a killer's blade to get some more hp back.

EDIT: also, if i were to critique your build, dot's really don't add value in short fights. if you aren't severely undergeared, you should be able to drop a pack of 2-3 mobs before the time it would take for the dots you have to finish ticking.

i'm not sure if this is your first character or not but hopefully, if you're running dungeons, you can get yourself a good set of 1 handers and bow to help drop mobs.

i'm also assuming the build you posted is an "end game" build. my nb is currently V1 and i use the setup i have posted (more or less) when grinding. of course, i adapt for the situation..

ShadowMole25

Currently, I am not using DW as much because I am leveling Bow to get up to Snipe.

I'm not having any trouble with mobs in PvE, I can hit them with 2 or 3 DoTs and then forget about them. The only trouble that I have is when I face 5 or more for the most part.

In PvP, I try to add support to frontline fighters with my Poison Injection and CC's. I am rather squishy, but I am successful in most 1V1 situations as long as I wasn't ambushed.

This is also my first character.

ShadowMole25

Does anyone have any suggestion or advice on my build?

RavenSworn

I have to say pve and PvP would have two different builds. Players will react differently to your actions than the npcs so it pays to have two different builds for it.

The build that u linked.. I'd swap shadow image and shadowy disguise with each other. I'd rather be able to jump back when I am in melee so I can escape any Ccs and i'd want my bow to hit as hard as I can. Which shadowy disguise can give with its guaranteed crit buff.

ShadowMole25

That makes sense, I don't have snipe or summon shade unlocked in game yet, so I haven't been able to test them out for myself yet.

I have also been looking up end game sets, and I believe that the 5 piece Archer's Mind medium armor set, 2 pieces from Undaunted Unweaver light armor set, the jewelry pieces from the Shadow Walker medium armor set, and weapons from Night Mother's Gaze crafted set would be good for my build once I'm at end game.

Davadin

Ok OP, welcome welcome!!

Yes, it's viable. Is it optimal? Not quite. BUT if it's fun, you SHOULD USE IT.

If it becomes less fun (you die more often or having trouble with bigger higher level mobs), then simply reset your points and build it again. It's the beauty of the game.

DO NOT follow those min-maxers advise saying certain build sucks and you can only do specific cookiecuter builds to enjoy the game bla bla bla....

I switched around from pure magicka, then pure stamina, then hybrid, over and over before I hit 50. Then mostly magicka on first few VR levels, then hybrid again, and now with 2.0, it's Stamina all the way. All along the way I survived group content, PvP, and solo....

So yes, that build works. But I would challenge you to experience yourself on which skill rotation you're comfortable with and feel free to swap around; because of different PC config, LAG, personal choice, etc.... everyone's different.

If I were you, I would though, change up to use more stamina-based skills as DW is great together with Bow, and put more points into health and stamina for solo survavibility.

Have fun!

dancing.in.the.webeb17_ESO wrote: »

Really in ESO DoTs are not very powerfull. But if you going to do magika non-burst good survival build google for sap tank builds.

a bunch of DK would disagree with you.....

ShadowMole25

I actually haven't looked up builds, I have just been studying what the skills do and using them to test them out for myself. I am not really using my DW at the moment because I am trying to get Snipe as soon as possible.

I have found that I rely on Fear and Shadowy Disguise when in PvP in order to not die. This may be because of my play style though. I have a bad habit of charging into the enemy without realizing that no one is following me, which leads to me dying often. That said, I did make it to 35 on the Emp board for EP in Blackwater last night, so I guess I am somewhat effective.

golfer.dub17_ESO

shadowmage016b14_ESO wrote: »

I have a DW/Destro Sorc and have my attributes split between stamina and magicka (with a few more in stamina). I don't PvP and I don't use addons so I don't know what my actual damage is. What I do know, is that I don't have much trouble doing PvE stuff, so my damage can't be too horrible.

I can do Solo PvE content with no armor and just a small handful of skills. And I'm not even exaggerating when I make that statement. Sorry but that's not a meaningful argument. Now if you say "I'm doing 11k dps in trials", then I'll be inclined to listen.

For soloing, do whatever you want. If you're in a group though, I expect you to pull your weight.

DO NOT follow those min-maxers advise saying certain build sucks and you can only do specific cookiecuter builds to enjoy the game bla bla bla....

I switched around from pure magicka, then pure stamina, then hybrid, over and over before I hit 50. Then mostly magicka on first few VR levels, then hybrid again, and now with 2.0, it's Stamina all the way. All along the way I survived group content, PvP, and solo....

If you're running dungeons, no, you need a focused build.

I'm not against unorthdox builds entirely, some people know how to theorycraft and can make it work.

Most unorthodox builds though are just some guy with little understanding of game mechanics being a burden on everyone else in the group, making them work extra hard to make up for his lack of input.

My normal dungeon group can seamlessly run most dungeons. But when we start taking in randoms we see the most amazing nonsense. Dungeons that we would normally clear in ten minutes without any deaths would start taking three times that long with the "I'm a medium armor dual-mace healer" ruining everything.

ShadowMole25

I'm not looking for a min/maxed build, I'm looking for something that is fun to play and can clear everything in both PvE and PvP. I do not care if certain things take longer because longer fights are more fun to me.

I am also not trying to start an argument, I am simply looking for constructive criticism. Thank you.

RavenSworn

This is a shameless bump on my thread but I posted something like themed builds or fun builds on the player guides forumshttp://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/166838/themed-builds#latest

ShadowMole25

I think my build is a slightly different version of your survivalist hunter. I use mass hysteria, shadowy disguise, and dodge rolls to get out of danger. I use 2 light pieces, instead of heavy so that I can use my class skills more often.

I have been doing a lot of PvP and have found that mass hysteria combined with soul tether are great for sowing chaos into enemy lines. Well at least in Blackwater.

RavenSworn

Well I use heavy to make full use of my shadow barrier passive bonus duration. That extra armor helps since bow and dw doesnt have that much damage mitigation like say 2handers.

But yes, soul tether and mass hysteria is funny at the least. Not to mention shadowy disguise to 'jump' out of danger lol.

C0pp3rhead

As far as your attribute distribution is concerned:
I advise new players to put most, if not all, of their attribute points into health. More magicka will make your magicka abilities hit slightly harder. More Stamina will make your stamina abilities hit slightly harder. However, survivability is much more important, especially for new players. Once you figure out the basics of PvE and PvP, you can start moving in a direction that will result in a more fragile (glass cannon-y) build. Even at the highest levels of play, putting all your points into health is a viable strategy if you know how to properly outfit yourself with the right equipment.
I hate being squishy.
As a healer, I concentrate on spell cost reduction, mana regen, and health. If I die, I cant heal anyone. If I run out of magicka, I can't heal anyone. If I can't heal anyone, everyone dies. I have a pitiful stamina pool and regeneration, but I have just enough to block and dodge roll when I need to.


As far as your build is concerned:
I would advise staying away from hybrid builds until you have a more thorough understanding of the game. Running a hybrid build requires the player to recognize the minimum amount of each resource they can have at any time. For example, a Dragonknight tank must recognize that s/he must have at almost all times enough magicka to cast Green Dragon Blood. The lower the health of the Dragonknight, the more this ability heals them. However, the tank must recognize when they will have enough stamina to block a potentially fatal blow when they only have half of their health. What makes things truly complicated is that the tank must draw from their stamina to taunt the boss, while relying on magicka for crowd control and some protective abilities. It's a balancing act that requires a good feel for the game, and a thorough understanding of class mechanics.


When soloing, I have found the following strategy to be effective, especially while leveling:
While your character is leveling from 1-50, use magicka and develop your class skills along with the destruction staff and restoration staff lines. The restoration staff will be especially useful because it will allow you to heal and shield yourself. Equip 5 pieces of light armor, 1 piece of medium armor (legs or helm), and 1 piece of heavy armor (chest). This will maximize the utility of your armor while leveling all armor types. Use enchants and armor sets that provide bonuses to spells and magicka. All of your base (unmorphed) class skills draw on magicka. From 1-50, you should concentrate on familiarizing yourself with your class abilities and recognize how they function.
Once you hit veteran levels and move onto the other alliance zones, respec your abilities and start over. From V1 and forward use class skill morphs that draw on stamina. Effectively starting your character over also adds a bit of excitement to exploring areas that feel like new character areas. Pick two stamina weapon types to equip. Focus on leveling those skills while you familiarize yourself with your class' stamina abilities and these new stamina weapon abilities. After a while you may decide to switch to a new weapon, or combine your magicka-using class abilities with your weapon abilities.


You don't seem like the kind of person to resort to cookie cutter or flavor-of-the-month (FotM) builds. There is no reason to overhaul your character just because someone says, "It works better." Understanding what works for you and what works in different situations is critical to being a good player. If someone shoves a build in your face and says, "Do this," you will ultimately fail if you don't understand why. A good player sees a build and says, "I like what they did here, but this is kindof meh." A thorough understanding of your class skills and weapon abilities will make the game more enjoyable in the long run. This is why I use the above system. It may not be as quick or efficient as grinding out xp with whatever gear and abilities I can get my hands on, but it makes me a better player.

ShadowMole25

I have made some changes to the build to reflect my play style. I am squishy, but I am able to use my CC to stay alive in some situations. I mainly PvP right now and have begun grouping. I guess I am using a stamina, dps build, but I like having points in Magicka so I can use more of my CC and live slightly longer. I do die a lot in PvP, but that is fine because I am dying to tactical mistakes, such as solo charging up the keep stairs when no one else would follow. When I stay with the group, I am able to do a lot of damage though.

This is the new build:

http://eso-skills.com/skill/index.html?z=PJf4ORK@D8EpXKP%5_1yq@DA01wvX&p=916291729182919290629072908290920052006200720082009202520262027202820292101310221032104210521113112211321152230423142324233423443051306330733081309131513252326240524062407241624172551355235533&a=121238&c=ShadowMole25&b=Wanders-Many-Rivers&j=t&q=250&w=20&m=0

leshpar

I'm doing a hybrid stam templar build that I can best describe as a "second edition dungeons and dragons thief/cleric multiclass" if you know what that means. Which basically means splitting my attribute points between stam and magicka (roughly 30 stam 20 magicka for vr1) and I am currently level 33 holding roughly 1500 dps in argonian form and roughly 4000 dps in wolfie form (yes, I am a WW). I am also able to heal all the group content I have done so far. I plan on making my gear at max level work towards this hybrid build. Its fun, its viable, and its "me."

The point of saying this is to basically play how you want to. You'll still be able to handle all in game group content. Sure, others will do better than you, but you should never expect to be the best at anything even if you use the build that other super awesome dps does. Play how you want and you'll be better at the game than you will be if you play the way the min maxers say to.

ShadowMole25

So I have been bored over the last couple of days because my university has been under a DDOS attack, and surprisingly, the only site that has consistently worked are these forums. So I have been designing a few other nightblade builds for my other characters. They are all different, but hopefully they are all at least viable, if not optimal.

http://eso-skills.com/skill/index.html?z=SkgWbql@DKGY8_1%5+Eve@DA01wvX&p=9262927292829292916291729182919290629072908290920052006200720082009205520562057205820592581358235833229123043051306330733081309131513252326240524062407241624172&a=000062&c=ShadowMole25&b=Asuna_Deathshadow&j=t&q=070&w=50

http://eso-skills.com/skill/index.html?z=QnYSKx_@oU2hE8%5_2Ab@DA01uTH&p=009200820072006200525613562356331113112211321152121312221232125290629072908290929162917291829192926292729282929240524062407241624172305130633073308130913151325232622291&a=000062&c=ShadowMole25&b=Highlighter&j=t&q=052&w=50&m=b

http://eso-skills.com/skill/index.html?z=MDDp0ag@CCKBhX%9VOE3a@DA5_NUC&p=5213522352334052406240724162417291629172918291929262927292829292906290729082909201520162017201820192315131623172318231923051213221422151216221712181101310221032104210521213122212321242125232523262&a=620000&c=ShadowMole25&b=Milena_Shadowstalker&j=t&q=502&w=11&m=8