Bow only STM NB

rodriguezsteveXP_ESO

Is it possible to level up a Stamina based NB with only using a bow and if so what are the skills i should choose and are Stamina based NB good with a bow as there main in end game content and pvp?

TheSunAlsoRises

yes, it's possible to level a stamina based NB only using a bow.

also for reference, at 15 you can weapon swap (if you are new and didn't know that) and you could easily level other weapon lines as you get more skills. i mean you could stick to just a bow but you will easily get skill points and items to level other weapon skills too. i would recommend you do that (you would have lots of points to spare anyway).

as for end game, i've not seen bow NB DPS numbers because most NBs roll 2h or DW for DPS in PvE. on my NB i'm bow/DW. i only switch to bow on fights where the boss moves around a lot and there is fire. my DW dps is higher than my bow dps by a noticeable amount. could you still stick to just bow dps? sure but based on what i've seen, you won't be top dps.

when leveling very early, i usually started with a stealthed heavy attack to one shot a cloth mob. then use scorched earth when mobs run up to me and then use NB skill's like assassin's blade to finish them off. surprise attack if they are not low yet but in melee ranged. i use snipe when i get it to start fights at later levels.

but at v3, i only use my bow to drop scorched earth on mobs before i go in with DW and use whirling blades (aoe).

rodriguezsteveXP_ESO

What does your DPS look like when you are using just your bow?

TheSunAlsoRises

honestly, i've not payed attention to my bow dps. for reference, my DW single target dps on bosses tends to be 6-7k at v3 in blues (using v1 blue sword+dagger). i would like to say my bow dps is somewhere in the 4k-5k ish but that's only a guess. maybe i'll try to just bow dps one day for curiosity's sake.

and while we are talking DPS, i've read elsewhere that at v14, having at least 10k dps is acceptable with 12k+ being considered good. search "light weaving", if you're really interested in maximizing dps.

rodriguezsteveXP_ESO

While leveling did you have any trouble staying alive?

TheSunAlsoRises

no, not at all. get asassin's blade morph killer's blade asap. it gives you back 17% of your max HP if you kill a target within 2 seconds of using that ability on them. you can go through non veteran level mobs like butter. i barely got touched. veteran level mobs die about as fast but maybe get in a few hits...

rodriguezsteveXP_ESO

what race did you choose?

TheSunAlsoRises

my NB is a wood elf (bosmer) whom i picked for the stamina regen passive. most people pick khajit for the crit passive. any race with a stamina racial passive would be a good choice.

this site is a good reference: deltiasgaming.com/category/eso-guides/class-guide/nightblade-class-guide-for-elder-scrolls-online/nightblade-builds/

if you're looking to min/max, he(they?) has some good pointers. but this game is such that you could probably make a breton stamina NB and only be like a few % lower in dps .

Yonkit

TheSunAlsoRises wrote: »

no, not at all. get asassin's blade morph killer's blade asap. it gives you back 17% of your max HP if you kill a target within 2 seconds of using that ability on them. you can go through non veteran level mobs like butter. i barely got touched. veteran level mobs die about as fast but maybe get in a few hits...

No not at all? Bow has win mode all over it. Spam bombard. Profit. For a slightly harder challenge, spam acid spray and move very slowly away from your enemies. Profit. Pretty much anything is easy mode for leveling if you know how to do it.

rodriguezsteveXP_ESO

@Yonkit Have you tried using Bow only in end game content?

Daveheart

Bow DPS is perfectly viable. Generally, focus on the poison morphs, and the poison enchants for weapons are also strong. However, I'd also suggest leveling both two-hander and dual wield as well. You can use the 2H bar primarily for buffing if you only want to do bow DPS, or you can just use if for buffs and executioner. 2H has the advantage of adding Rally, giving you additional weapon damage and makes for a nice HoT with a very big heal if reactivated.

Probably eventually go for a bar with grim focus, rally, camo hunter, reaper's mark, and executioner or killer's blade. Camo hunter, lethal arrow, Acid Spray, Poison Injection + something else for the bow bar. Yonkit will know the NB version better than I do as NB has some more useful class skills than what I was using as a Templar.

rodriguezsteveXP_ESO

so when leveling I should put my points into what?

Yonkit

rodriguezsteveXP_ESO wrote: »

@Yonkit Have you tried using Bow only in end game content?

Yah it works just fine. I do use 2H on my off bar but it's really just a buff bar and execute bar, not a skills bar in PVE content. In PVP the 2H bar is much more important, so you want both leveled by the time you hit max level.

For endgame pve, the bow is silly good. 20k single target on dungeon bosses, face melting aoe on mobs with acid spray. Still one of the strongest builds in the game, though I constantly hear that bow is underpowered in pve. They just don't know

Daveheart wrote: »

Bow DPS is perfectly viable. Generally, focus on the poison morphs, and the poison enchants for weapons are also strong. However, I'd also suggest leveling both two-hander and dual wield as well. You can use the 2H bar primarily for buffing if you only want to do bow DPS, or you can just use if for buffs and executioner. 2H has the advantage of adding Rally, giving you additional weapon damage and makes for a nice HoT with a very big heal if reactivated.

Probably eventually go for a bar with grim focus, rally, camo hunter, reaper's mark, and executioner or killer's blade. Camo hunter, lethal arrow, Acid Spray, Poison Injection + something else for the bow bar. Yonkit will know the NB version better than I do as NB has some more useful class skills than what I was using as a Templar.

Our secretsssssssssss!

rodriguezsteveXP_ESO

THANK YOU @Yonkit AND @Daveheart !! I love playing games with the bow especially ES games and I read alot that bow was so underpowered that it should only be used once to start the fight then switch to either dw or 2h but im really glad I can do great dps with a bow!

pretzl

A bow-build is perfectly viable - both for leveling and end-game content. How do I know this? I'm an avid bow-user myself
Ever since Oblivion, I've used primarily a bow, and an online MMO won't change that!

I personally use Snipe, Poison Injection, Grim Focus, Camouflaged Hunter and Reaper's Mark (nice for PvP aswell) for my bow-bar, then compliment it with DW for AoE attacks. I slot Razor Caltrops (PvP skill, you'll definitely want to make it a project to get it), Mass Hysteria (nice for PvP and groups of mobs)/Ambush, Steel Tornado, Camouflaged Hunter (slot it on both bars to make sure I constantly have it up regardless of what I'm fighting) and Execute to finish any boss-fight off fast and easy.

With a simple bow-rotation of Camo Hunter -> Reaper's -> Grim Focus -> Snipe -> Poison -> light attack -> Snipe -> Poison -> light attack and so on until you proc Grim Focus, you get a really nice ult-gain, stamina sustain is really easy and your avg. DPS will still be competitive with other builds. Any NB Bow-build won't be a record-setting DPS'er, but it's most certainly viable. As long as you have a good set of skills that work for what you want your build to do, aswell as some decent gear (5piece hundings and 3 piece Ashen Grip is a nice "starter-kit") you'll do quite well in most end-game content and definitely for lvling.

For gear I would advise you to also invest in 2-3 pieces of the Air set. It's Stamina Regen is really nice, but with the rotation I listed you'll most likely never run out of stamina until you reach the DW spam.

This is for end-game content, mind you. For leveling I'd advise to get Snipe for the bow as fast as you can, but also look at the bow-lines AoE aswell as the DW AoE Steel Tornado. You'll want a "Jack-of-all-Trades" for your leveling build, which is a hybrid of both AoE and single-target DPS. If you have any further questions, I'd be happy to both help you and show you what I'm currently running

EDIT:
I'll go ahead and add this aswell: http://tamrielfoundry.com/topic/nb-dual-wieldbow-pve-dps-build-1-6-6/
Jeckll has a really nice build which is the base of my own take on the NB Stam Bow-wielder, but I've made my own edits to suit it more to my playstyle. I slot different abilities, but some morphs and general skills are the same. I also run two different sets of bars for PvE/PvP.

Daveheart

Yonkit wrote: »

rodriguezsteveXP_ESO wrote: »

@Yonkit Have you tried using Bow only in end game content?

Yah it works just fine. I do use 2H on my off bar but it's really just a buff bar and execute bar, not a skills bar in PVE content. In PVP the 2H bar is much more important, so you want both leveled by the time you hit max level.

For endgame pve, the bow is silly good. 20k single target on dungeon bosses, face melting aoe on mobs with acid spray. Still one of the strongest builds in the game, though I constantly hear that bow is underpowered in pve. They just don't know

Daveheart wrote: »

Bow DPS is perfectly viable. Generally, focus on the poison morphs, and the poison enchants for weapons are also strong. However, I'd also suggest leveling both two-hander and dual wield as well. You can use the 2H bar primarily for buffing if you only want to do bow DPS, or you can just use if for buffs and executioner. 2H has the advantage of adding Rally, giving you additional weapon damage and makes for a nice HoT with a very big heal if reactivated.

Probably eventually go for a bar with grim focus, rally, camo hunter, reaper's mark, and executioner or killer's blade. Camo hunter, lethal arrow, Acid Spray, Poison Injection + something else for the bow bar. Yonkit will know the NB version better than I do as NB has some more useful class skills than what I was using as a Templar.

Our secretsssssssssss!

Dammit! What have I done?

TheSunAlsoRises

Yonkit wrote: »

rodriguezsteveXP_ESO wrote: »

@Yonkit Have you tried using Bow only in end game content?

For endgame pve, the bow is silly good. 20k single target on dungeon bosses, face melting aoe on mobs with acid spray. Still one of the strongest builds in the game, though I constantly hear that bow is underpowered in pve. They just don't know

wow really? what sort of rotation do you have? and gear?

pretzl

TheSunAlsoRises wrote: »

Yonkit wrote: »

rodriguezsteveXP_ESO wrote: »

@Yonkit Have you tried using Bow only in end game content?

For endgame pve, the bow is silly good. 20k single target on dungeon bosses, face melting aoe on mobs with acid spray. Still one of the strongest builds in the game, though I constantly hear that bow is underpowered in pve. They just don't know

wow really? what sort of rotation do you have? and gear?

I'm intrigued aswell. I can manage 15-16k on most bosses in Vet Dungeons, but I have yet to get close to 20k...

rodriguezsteveXP_ESO

Is this any good in pvp?

Yonkit

TheSunAlsoRises wrote: »

Yonkit wrote: »

rodriguezsteveXP_ESO wrote: »

@Yonkit Have you tried using Bow only in end game content?

For endgame pve, the bow is silly good. 20k single target on dungeon bosses, face melting aoe on mobs with acid spray. Still one of the strongest builds in the game, though I constantly hear that bow is underpowered in pve. They just don't know

wow really? what sort of rotation do you have? and gear?

Morag Tong/Hawkeye with a master bow. Nothing new.

As for a rotation, it's rally, relentless, hunter buff up,

Heavy attack poison injection opener, flip bars and throw caltrops and meteor, flip back do the medium weave snipe rotation and keep injection running, recast relentless once and camo once while weaving, be sure to weave in your focus proc, pop one more injection at around 30% ambush in and assassin execute for all you're worth. It's doable and all about how well you execute it because the rotation hasn't changed and the build hasn't changed at all since 1.5...

Yonkit

rodriguezsteveXP_ESO wrote: »

Is this any good in pvp?

Yes. Good archers are hard to find. There are many archers who wait around in stealth for 2/3rd's of a battle then snipe one person and pat themselves on the back for their excellence (assuming they weren't caught in stealth and steamrolled at some point).

But being a good nb archer is about managing resources through high regen, low health, while still dealing out the damage. It is a squishy build and dark cloak must be your best friend becuase it's your primary form of mitigation and survival. Otherwise you probably need to get comfortable rolling 2H for close combat or SnB instead.

rodriguezsteveXP_ESO

So what tree should I put my points into?

rodriguezsteveXP_ESO

and Imperial a good race to pick for a ST NB

rodriguezsteveXP_ESO

Also What kind of Armour should i wear, all heavy or medium or a mix of all 3?

Daveheart

For a stamina build, wear 5 medium, 1 heavy, and 1 light while leveling. Imperial, Wood Elf, and Redguard are all good choices, but I'm still high on Khajiit.

rodriguezsteveXP_ESO

As a ST NB should I become a Vamp or Were?

Zsymon

I went with Venom Arrow / Lethal Arrow / Bombard / Piercing Mark / Crippling Grasp, for a long time, I couldn't be bothered switching weapons.

In PvE I start with Mark, stealth Snipe, Venom Arrow/medium attack weaving, then Bombard when the enemies got close, and continuue Venom Arrow weaving, alternating with Bombard to keep enemies rooted, until everything is dead.

Against CC immune bosses I kep up Crippling Grasp for the 40% speed, and then run circles around the boss spamming Venom Arrow/medium attack weave, and dodging whenever he comes too close.

rodriguezsteveXP_ESO

So which one of the three tress of NB should i put my points into for bows?

TheSunAlsoRises

bows have their own tree. as for NB class tree, you get enough skill points to train them all. are you on PC or console? on PC there are skyshards addons to help you find all the skyshards in a zone so you can get ample skill points.

rodriguezsteveXP_ESO

Double

rodriguezsteveXP_ESO

TheSunAlsoRises wrote: »

bows have their own tree. as for NB class tree, you get enough skill points to train them all. are you on PC or console? on PC there are skyshards addons to help you find all the skyshards in a zone so you can get ample skill points.

PS4, and any specific ones in the NB class tree that i should have?