Difference between a STM DK and a MGK DK

rodriguezsteveXP_ESO

Hello I'm new to the game (PS4) and I wanted to know what is the difference between a Stamina based DK and a Magicka based DK, What are their play styles?What are the best races for each one? and which do you guys prefer?
Im not looking to tank just pure dps

rodriguezsteveXP_ESO

Anyone?

Cuyler

Stam DK - uses stamina weapons (2H, DW, bow) and stam morphs
Mag DK - uses staffs and magicka morphs

I think currently mag DK still has the higher of the two's dps. This is due to a couple key skills not having stamina morphs, for example molten whip. In general stam DKs are for tanking and magicka is for dps.

Which you ultimately choose will depend on what weapon you like to use. If you like being a caster with staff go magicka DK. If you're really against that or have a tendency to really like 2H or something go stamina.

General consensus for pure DK dps is Dunmer and magicka. the top builds can be found here

rodriguezsteveXP_ESO

is there a big difference in dps between the two and can i be a Mag dk and use a 2h?

Cuyler

rodriguezsteveXP_ESO wrote: »

is there a big difference in dps between the two and can i be a Mag dk and use a 2h?

From my experience yes there is a big difference. Most stam builds I see are maxing around 18k whereas magicka are maxing around 23k

2H uses stamina to pull from and scale damage off of. If your mag DK your main resource pool will be mag obv and your stamina will be much lower. Because 2H damage scales off of stam this would not be recommended.

Tankqull

rodriguezsteveXP_ESO wrote: »

is there a big difference in dps between the two and can i be a Mag dk and use a 2h?

you can use a 2 sword, its substantial but not gigantic as you loose the cheap filler ability and have to weave a light/heavyattack of a not supported weapon choice as the 2h is depending on stamina whilke you are stacking magica.

Cuyler

Pro Tip: If you want highest dps you need to specialize in one or the other. Hybrid builds end up being able to do everything mediocre, and nothing great

rodriguezsteveXP_ESO

So if I wanted to roll a Mag DK i would have to use a staff to max out my dps?

Cuyler

Cuyler wrote: »

Pro Tip: If you want highest dps you need to specialize in one or the other. Hybrid builds end up being able to do everything mediocre, and nothing great

If you really want to go 2H then go stam build and stam race

Cuyler

rodriguezsteveXP_ESO wrote: »

So if I wanted to roll a Mag DK i would have to use a staff to max out my dps?

That is correct the way the game is currently balanced.

Tankqull

Cuyler wrote: »

Pro Tip: If you want highest dps you need to specialize in one or the other. Hybrid builds end up being able to do everything mediocre, and nothing great

well depending on your class and skill use 2h/dw can be the better choice for magica users thx to the way higher spell dmg they provide compared to the staffs. but in genral you are absolutly right do not even bother hybriding in this game.

rodriguezsteveXP_ESO

Can I dual wield a staff/2h or two 1h as a Mag and is Mag DK the best for pvp?

Cuyler

Tankqull wrote: »

Cuyler wrote: »

Pro Tip: If you want highest dps you need to specialize in one or the other. Hybrid builds end up being able to do everything mediocre, and nothing great

well depending on your class and skill use 2h/dw can be the better choice for magica users thx to the way higher spell dmg they provide compared to the staffs. but in genral you are absolutly right do not even bother hybriding in this game.

I've already looked into it (actually tested it) and from what I can see it's just hype. The additional Spell damage is not worth loosing elemental ring and in addition most of the damage for mag DK comes from elemental (aka fire) which is provided solely by the inferno staff heavy attacks and molten whip. Finally dw/2H will recharge stam and not magicka.

Cuyler

dbl post

allthatsleft

Double Destro staff, or Dual Wield/ Destro is the way to go for end game pure magicka dps. The passive bonus you get from dual swords increases spell power more than any other weapon. Yes, ALL weapons have a weapon damage and spell damage boost. Melee weapons happen to do more damage than ranged. The only issue is, the dual wield weapon skills will be useless to you. So 100% level up a destruction staff. Just experiment and see how it goes. If you use DW don't put any skill points into it, just equip them for the passive damage boost. Once you have access to the Nirnhoned trait for these weapons, having two swords equipped with Nirn will let you seriously NUKE everything.

Cuyler

You'll just have to trust me on this one the DW/2H thing is not worth it for a mag DK. literally 60% of the damage comes from heavy attacks (not fully charged) and molten whip. You gimp yourself by removing the elemental effect when using DW or 2H in exchange for a measly 150+ Spell damage. This is because when u use valkyn skoria set the burning proc from the inferno heavy attacks procs valkyn. In this case you want more DoTs not less which is what your doing when you go to DW. It's a nice gimmick but not worth it...

rodriguezsteveXP_ESO

well then it seems Mag DK is the way to go, and what weapons should use when leveling?

Cuyler

Well when leveling it doesn't matter that much. As long as destro is on one bar and that's the bar you use most of the time it will level. The key when leveling is to constantly switch out skills (usually as you unlock the morphs) so that you don't have to level them when your v14 which is significantly slower.

Edit: For destro unlock destructive clench and use it until your unlock force shock, then use that until you have impulse. this only requires one bar. weakness to elements is needed as well

rodriguezsteveXP_ESO

are there any weapon skill that I should keep in mind for a Mag DK

Cuyler

rodriguezsteveXP_ESO wrote: »

are there any weapon skill that I should keep in mind for a Mag DK

All of the destruction skills except for wall of elements. Note: destructive touch is only needed to level the skill line until you unlock force shock then you can get rid of it

Cuyler

If your just starting out and going this route I recommend seriously thinking about using Dunmer as your race if you haven't already

rodriguezsteveXP_ESO

Dunmer Mag DK got it, and I bought the Imperial Edition with the explorers pack so I can choose whatever faction I want, what do you guys think is the best starting Area?

Hardicon

Dunmer or HIgh Elf, or Breton are all good magic based races. Dunmer gets extra fire damage but so does high elf, in effect dunmer will only get a percentage or two more damage than high elf though, unless I missed something. High elf gets more magic regen though than dunmer so its a tradeoff I guess. Best stam races are Redguard, Imperial and wood elf probably. However Nords and Orcs appear to get some good tanky type traits. Argonions are fairly useless but they are the coolest looking race in the game, plus they are lizards.

Cuyler

I personally would base your choice off of which faction performs the best in PvP or simply has the highest population. Or where your friends may be. EP I think has the most.

I like AD quests the best, but everyone is different. You'll only be in the starter zones for a couple hours so don't go off of that really.

rodriguezsteveXP_ESO

Are Imperials good for Mag DK?

allthatsleft

Imperials make awesome Tanks but are not the best for Magicka DPS. If you are a casual player and just like the race, then sure be an Imperial. But if you are really into min/maxing and want the most optimal build with the highest damage, go with one of the recommendations everyone gave above. Imperial will not get the same results at end game as the other races mentioned above in terms of pure DPS.

yodased

The difference is one uses stamina as its major resource and one uses magic as its major resource

Cuyler

rodriguezsteveXP_ESO wrote: »

Are Imperials good for Mag DK?

Well I have both and can say with confidence that at the of the day you can make the base resource pools of imperial and dunmer the exact same. ie. 17k HP and 34k mag

The difference is the 7% increase fire damage of the dunmer really takes it to the next level. imperial only get life on melee hit.

With that said, imperial is versatile as hell, if you ever want to tank, magicka imperial DK tank is a min/max build all of its own. Then you can dbl as dps. My imperial pulled 18k on the mage in AA as an example. But again Dunmer would do 20-21k in that situation.

rodriguezsteveXP_ESO

Can I use a Mag DK in close combat or is it strictly range?

rodriguezsteveXP_ESO

And should I use two 1H fire staffs or just one 1H fire staff?

aco5712

this isnt like previous TES games. A staff is considered a 2 hand weapon. You cant dual wield staffs. You can only dual wield one handed weapons. Mag DK can be close range if you use whip. If you want to pvp, mag DK can also use sword and board and be a really big tank/dps.