Stamina Warden PVP Build: Taugrim's Brawler

taugrim

Last updated: 2023-05-27, Scribes of Fate (Update 37 / Patch 8.3.5)

This PVP build for Stamina Warden is a frontline brawler that blends AoE damage, crowd control, and mobility. Your role is to charge in, pull targets together, stun them, and apply heavy pressure. This puts opponents on their heels and allows your ranged DPS and healers to cast freely.

This build is optimized for Battlegrounds in Scribes of Fate (Update 37) and also performs well in Cyrodiil / Imperial City.

WRITTEN GUIDE
This in-depth guide provides 20+ pages of information on every aspect of the mechanics and playstyle for the build, including gear setup, skill rotations & usage, and more:
https://taugrim.com/2022/05/11/stamina-warden-pvp-build-taugrims-brawler/

Below are excepts from the guide.

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES
+ Superb AoE damage
+ Superb damage shielding and mitigation
+ Superb armor debuffs
+ Excellent crowd control
+ Excellent mobility
+ Excellent sustain
– Lacks meaningful ranged DPS capability
– Spammable has high resource cost
– Awkward timing on 2nd blast of Deep Fissure

GEAR

• Frontbar: 1-pc Gaze of Sithis, 5-pc Rush of Agony, 2-pc Titanic Cleave, 3-pc Wretched Vitality, 1-pc Magma Incarnate¹
• Backbar: 1-pc Gaze of Sithis, 5-pc Rush of Agony, 5-pc Wretched Vitality, 1-pc Magma Incarnate¹

¹ If you feel you have more sustain than you need, you can replace 1-pc Magma Incarnate with any monster set with Weapon Damage (Balorgh, Kjalnar’s Nightmare, Molag Kena, Nerien’eth, Prior Thierric, or Velidreth) or Offensive Penetration (Archdruid Devyric, Kra’gh, Lady Malygda, or Valkyn Skoria).

SET MECHANICS

• Gaze of Sithis (MRoM): the most stat dense mythic in the game. Greatly boosts your Healthy (3276) and Armor (4000), which allows you to assign all of your attribute points in Stamina and still have a sizeable Health pool. Also boosts your Health Recovery, but keep in mind with Battle Spirit it’s halved (512 effective)
• Rush of Agony (RoA): pulls enemies within 10m when you land Stampede, and after 2 sec deals PBAoE damage to enemies within 7m of you, not where you landed Stampede. In BGs, this accounts for ~11% of my total damage. The AoE pull synergizes terrifically with the AoE CC and AoE damage mechanics of this build
• Titanic Cleave (TC): increases the damage of Brawler (Cleave morph) based on the number of targets hit. That is, TC makes Brawler hit hard in packed fights, and RoA and TC synergize strongly. The perfected set bonus of 1190 penetration boosts all damage
• Wretched Vitality (WV): boosts your Stamina and Magicka Recovery when you apply Major or Minor Buffs (or Debuffs). With this build, WV is backbarred (i.e. the 5-pc set bonus is available only on the backbar), given that casting Ice Fortress procs both recovery buffs, and these buffs persist when you swap to the frontbar

So, in a nutshell

• RoA and TC boost offense
• GoS boosts defense
• WV boosts sustain

SKILLS
FRONTBAR

• Stampede: gap closer that triggers AoE direct damage and AoE DoT ground effect. Stampede’s AoE DoT damage was nerfed in Lost Depths, but it’s still an excellent skill and it procs Rush of Agony
• Brawler: spammable. I do not recommend using Brawler in PVP unless you have Titanic Cleave, as TC greatly improves the per-target damage of Brawler when it hits multiple targets. Brawler also provides a damage shield that scales based on number of targets hit
• Evil Hunter (EH): +12% Crit Chance, +3% Weapon Damage (Slayer passive), and stealth counter (gigantic 12m radius). I previously slotted Reverse Slice here but found that RS competed with Brawler for the GCD in many situations (i.e. I was taking incoming damage), and EH significantly boosts your burst and sustained damage. I found that EH improved my ability to pressure and kill meaningfully
• Deep Fissure (DF): fires conal AoE direct damage twice after 3 and 9 seconds. This class-defining skill allows you to stack your burst, and it applies both Major Breach and Minor Breach (-8922 armor). Always keep targets in your frontal facing to maximize hitting targets with DF, even while CC’d. While I prefer the timing of the blasts of the other morph, Subterranean Assault, the debuffs from DF offer more value in PVP
• Bird of Prey (BoP): on-demand Major Expedition buff (+30% movement speed). Also passively boosts your damage 5% with Minor Berserk buff. BoP received a buff in Lost Depths to also provide 4-sec immunity to snare and immobilization
• Flawless Dawnbreaker (FB): conal AoE direct damage, heavy DoT, and huge Weapon Damage buff. The cost of 125 is not high, so you’ll see high uptime for the 20-sec buff

BACKBAR

• Bull Netch: provides Major Brutality buff (+20% weapon damage), Stamina sustain, and passive cleanse
• Ice Fortress (IF): provides Major Resolve buff (+5948 armor) and Minor Protection buff (+5% mitigation). In combat this skill procs both the 260 and the 130 Stamina and Magicka Recovery buffs of Wretched Vitality
• Leeching Vines (LV) or Resolving Vigor (RV): both are worthwhile options. I list their tradeoffs below. I prefer LV as it synergizes with Green Balance passives and can create a lifesteal debuff on multiple opponents
• Arctic Blast (AB): provides a self-heal that scales off offensive stats, delivers a 3-sec PBAoE stun, and applies a 20-sec PBAoE DoT. With the changes in Lost Depths to AB, Warden finally has a class stun! The stun from AB addresses the biggest hole in Stamden’s class kit and AB synergizes strongly with Rush of Agony
• Quick Cloak (QC): provides Major Evasion buff (-20% AoE damage taken), which is huge. QC provides high uptime on the backbar weapon enchants. The duration of QC was increased by 6 sec in Lost Depths. QC and the backbar weapon enchants account for ~10% of my damage in BGs
• Healing Thicket (HT): low-cost ultimate that provides a burst heal to the lowest-health friendly, then applies a HoT to any friendly who crosses the ground-target AoE, even if they leave that area

taugrim

I was asked about the addons I use.

Here's the list, with my ratings (1/2/3-star):

*** AccountSettings: for copying account settings (e.g. Camera, Gameplay, User Interface, etc)
*   AddedInfoFriendList: to see both character name and account name
*   AddedInfoGroupWindow: to see both character name and account name
*   AddedInfoGuildRoster: to see both character name and account name
*** AddedInfoTargetedUnitFrame: to show race and class
*** AlphaGear: for managing gear & skill builds
**  ArmorSkull: to show physical & spell resistances
**  AssistRapidRiding: for auto-swapping movement buff
*** AUI: using modules for scrolling combat text and minimeter
*** Azurah: for moving UI elements around
*** BetterScoreboard: for viewing class, damage, healing, and char name on BG scoreboard
*   BugCatcherUpdated
**  BuiltInGlobalCooldown
**  ChestMaster9000: to mark chests on map (I made a manual fix in LibMapPins-1.0)
*   CleanActionBarBorders: to add a nice border around skills
*   CombatReticle: to show combat state
*** Cooldowns: to show timers on set cooldowns (I updated src/Data.lua for my cooldowns)
**  CraftingMaterialLevelDisplay
*** CraftingStations
*   DLQI: to show quest with recent progress
*   EnchantedQuality
*** ExoYsQuickslotAssistant: to prevent quickslot (e.g. potion) from being accidentally changed mid-combat
*** FancyActionBar: to see both action bars. also includes timers
*** Greyskull: to show weapon or spell damage
*** GrimFocusCounter: for the quintessial Nightblade ability
**  HarvensAliases: for defining aliases to other commands (I made a code change to make aliases global)
*** HarvensImprovedSkillsWindow: to see morphs
*** HarvensTraitAndStyle: to see whether an item's trait has been researched
*** InventoryGridView: WoW-style grid bag
*** ItemBrowser: to see item sets
*** jovAST: to copy addon settings
*** KillCounter: to track kills in PVP and to see kill announcements in chat
*** LoreBooks: locations on map
*** LostTreasure: locations for surveys and treasure
*   MoreStat: to show detailed hidden stats such as penetration, mitigation
**  Overview: to show build on one screen
*** ScootworksHUD: to show missing food and stable training
*** SkyShards: locations on map
**  SlightlyImprovedExperienceBar: to show an experience bar, a la WoW
**  SpentSkillPoints: to show how many skill points have been spent on skill lines
**  StunBreak
**  USPF: to track skill points
**  VotansImprovedLocations
**  VotansImprovedQuests
*** VotansKeybinder
*** VotansMiniMap
*   VotansTamrielMap

If I had to pick the must-have add-ons for PVP, here's my top 7 (alphabetical):

AUI: using modules for scrolling combat text and minimeter

I use AUI for 2 of its modules. The scrolling combat text is fantastic as it puts ability names to the numbers you see on your screen.

The minimeter is very helpful to understand how much your abilities and procs are contributing to your overall damage and healing.

Azurah: for moving UI elements around

A usable UI enables good gameplay, and Azurah allows you to position any UI element and resize it.

I moved the health, stamina, and magicka bars just below my character, so it's easy to see my resources without having to look down at the bottom of the screen, which is where they are placed by default.

BetterScoreboard: for viewing class, damage, healing, and char name on BG scoreboard

BetterScoreboard really should be built-in to the game. It's great for quickly scanning the scoreboard while you're waiting to respawn, so you can get a handle on how others are faring and whether they're a healer, DPS, or tank.

Cooldowns: to show timers on set cooldowns (I updated src/Data.lua for my cooldowns)

Cooldowns takes some time to configure for new sets, and I've had to edit LUA files (Data.lua) to add new proc sets, so there is a learning curve. I find it indispensable for understanding proc uptime.

FancyActionBar: to see both action bars. also includes timers

This is far better than the default UI, which shows the timers on your other bar. This shows both bars up all the time, with an indicator for which bar you're on.

I found this addon immensely useful for getting used to and growing to like bar swapping in this game.

KillCounter: to track kills in PVP and to see kill announcements in chat

I'm big into having data, and I use the KDR tracking in KillCounter to understand how well a build is performing across BGs.

VotansMiniMap

Zenimax very deliberately designed the game to have a minimalist UI. It's an aesthetic choice, but instead of finding it immersive, I find it lacking context and unhelpful.

The compass bar on the top of the screen simply doesn't cut it for any context, let alone PVP where you need to see where your team mates are and the location / status of any flag(s) in land grab games and flag games.

VotansMiniMap is therefore absolutely essential, so you don't have to bring up the map to see what is going on.

taugrim

Added link to the full guide...

WRITTEN GUIDE
This in-depth guide provides over 14 pages of information on every aspect of the mechanics and playstyle for the build, including gear setup, skill rotations & usage, and more:
https://taugrim.com/2022/05/11/stamina-warden-pvp-build-taugrims-brawler/

WordsOfPower

I always find I get wrecked in medium armour unless a sorc or NB with an effective disengage mechanism.

The trade off between a small amount of extra WD in medium and a huge amount of resistance in Heavy is to me a no brainer for brawlers

But perhaps you're simply a better player than I

taugrim

WordsOfPower wrote: »

I always find I get wrecked in medium armour unless a sorc or NB with an effective disengage mechanism.

The trade off between a small amount of extra WD in medium and a huge amount of resistance in Heavy is to me a no brainer for brawlers

But perhaps you're simply a better player than I

The downsides with Heavy armor are that you not only give up Weapon Damage, you also sacrifice Crit Damage & Healing, sustain, mobility, and Elude.

3 questions for you:
1. Are you running Tri-Stat on all armor pieces? The extra Health creates a larger window for engaging and disengaging without dying and before your Health drops to execute range
2. Are you running Defending on your backbar? The extra mitigation helps when you're trying to recover Health via healing, when buffing, and when running away bravely
3. Are you running Gaze of Sithis or another set that provides defense? The Armor and Health from Gaze of Sithis really helps melee builds with survivability

coletas

WordsOfPower wrote: »

I always find I get wrecked in medium armour unless a sorc or NB with an effective disengage mechanism.

The trade off between a small amount of extra WD in medium and a huge amount of resistance in Heavy is to me a no brainer for brawlers

But perhaps you're simply a better player than I

A brawler in médium can usually permablock (cast the skills while blocking) without problems and disengage the fight with an elude/dodge.. Maybe the problem is you never block or block little and dont use inamovable pots... I learnt a lot just playing permablocking and blocking less each time so u get used to see when to block. Without that in heavy you will die 0.2 seconds later than in medium hahaha I never got used to play in heavy no matter the class... And you can go tanky as hell too with pariah in médium just going with arteum food

taugrim

coletas wrote: »

WordsOfPower wrote: »

I always find I get wrecked in medium armour unless a sorc or NB with an effective disengage mechanism.

The trade off between a small amount of extra WD in medium and a huge amount of resistance in Heavy is to me a no brainer for brawlers

But perhaps you're simply a better player than I

A brawler in médium can usually permablock (cast the skills while blocking) without problems and disengage the fight with an elude/dodge.. Maybe the problem is you never block or block little and dont use inamovable pots... I learnt a lot just playing permablocking and blocking less each time so u get used to see when to block. Without that in heavy you will die 0.2 seconds later than in medium hahaha I never got used to play in heavy no matter the class... And you can go tanky as hell too with pariah in médium just going with arteum food

Yes, block-casting is a popular tactic.

However, there are 2 things to keep in mind about blocking:
1. if you're blocking when the 2-sec Recovery interval ticks, you don't recover any Stamina
2. this build uses Gaze of Sithis, so your Block Mitigation is 0 (i.e. no damage mitigation)

If you want to block-cast, I recommend replacing Gaze of Sithis with a monster set.

I prefer using Essence of Health (tri-stat resources, tri-stat recovery) over Immovable pots.

In my 1st year in PVP, I initially started with more heavy armor (e.g. 5 pieces), then gradually weaned myself off that to more medium pieces. The latter requires more careful play, but your sustain, damage, and healing are all meaningfully better. It takes practice to get used to. The most important thing when running 5+ medium pieces is anticipating when you need to kite/LoS and heal.

Pariah was considered meta a year ago, but with the change to Battle Spirit to 50% reduction in damage taken (it was 44% prior), players are stacking more damage now. Pariah is less popular now, as evidenced by the steep drop in prices for Pariah weapons. I was an advocate for Pariah in 2021 prior to the Battle Spirit change.

taugrim

Added 2nd video...

Carrying a Deathmatch with Good Awareness
This video showcases how to carry a team to a huge comeback win.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9Fl4DaDzFc

Carrying in PVP requires 3 things:
1. A functional build (skills + gear)
2. Good awareness
3. Solid aim / good targeting

I can't stress enough how much good awareness contributes to carrying a team!
ERRATA
1. a 210-pt deficit is 14 kills, not 17. I fail at maths 🤣. Still a sweet comeback ✌️

taugrim

Added the following section to the guide:
https://taugrim.com/2022/05/11/stamina-warden-pvp-build-taugrims-brawler/#ultimate-generation

Ultimate Generation
Here are the main in-combat sources of ultimate generation for this build:

1. Hidden ultimate generation buff that generates 3 ultimate per second for 9 seconds. This is triggered when you land a light or heavy attack or when you heal a friendly (not yourself). It’s critical that you weave in light attacks between your abilities just for this buff alone. Of course, light attacks also provide AOE damage with the Forceful passive in the 2H skill line. You’re also rewarded for healing friendlies with this buff
2. Savage Beast passive in the Animal Companions class skill line. This generates 4 ultimate when you use an Animal Companions ability in combat, once every 8 seconds
3. Combat Frenzy passive in the Assault skill line. This generates 20 ultimate when you kill an enemy
4. Banish the Wicked passive in the Fighter’s Guild skill line. This generates 3 ultimate when you kill an enemy

The first two sources provide constant generation when you're engaged in combat, so they do not depend on combat outcomes. By comparison, the last two sources are entirely dependent on your landing the killing blow, so they won't help you until you kill players. At that point, you can snowball ultimate (23 per kill) to fuel your killing spree.

Many players are unaware of the hidden ultimate generation buff; it is the most consistent form of ultimate generation, so don’t neglect it!

DrNukenstein

Brother, what if this loadout had Dark Convergence in jewels and weapons AND rush of agony in armor slots?

I have theorized the science of a stamina-black hole-gap closer-ganker but haven't seen anyone do it in action nor put up the G's to do it myself.

taugrim

DrNukenstein wrote: »

Brother, what if this loadout had Dark Convergence in jewels and weapons AND rush of agony in armor slots?

I have theorized the science of a stamina-black hole-gap closer-ganker but haven't seen anyone do it in action nor put up the G's to do it myself.

Well that's an interesting idea. Does Stampede's AOE trigger Dark Convergence? Assuming yes, Dark Convergence + Rush of Agony + Merciless Charge would be so meme 🤣🤣🤣.

Also, if you're Dr Nukenstein in-game on PC NA, you're the #1 killer of me according to my addon (KillCounter). You've killed me 11 times over the past 7 weeks, which is more than anyone else.

EDIT: LOL you're @Brazzeharn, I didn't realize that was your character name 🤙

geonsocal

great write-up and vid @taugrim ...thanks

ps - what the heck happened to the warriors tonight???

taugrim

geonsocal wrote: »

great write-up and vid @taugrim ...thanks

ps - what the heck happened to the warriors tonight???

Thanks!

Horford shot a career best 3 treys and White the most treys he had all season. It was nuts. I think the Warriors will bounce back, but I gotta admit I'm nervous. Then again, the Mavs shot the lights out in 2 of their 5 games, and the Warriors still prevailed.

geonsocal

I picked the warriors in 5, not so sure now...

I visited your site, man, you really got this stuff down...very inspiring to see how you've constructed a situation where you are able to really elevate your passion for gaming...

very cool sir

I got a bunch from your vid reference situational awareness during combat, it was very helpful...

not a battlegrounds enthusiast, however your observations and guidance were still very relative and useful for cyrodiil...

DrNukenstein

I know stuff like caluurions, flame blossom, and red mountain are off that new one second rule and can all proc together. DC and ROA probably work the same since there's some delay/ "counterplay" room.

You're probably the #1 sportsman in BG's. Always great to play with or against.

taugrim

Updated per Update 34 (High Isle, patch 8.0.5):
https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/7612725/#Comment_7612725

The Warden changes in High Isle have zero affect on this build.

2H skill line’s Reverse Slice got buffed:

Reverse Slice (morph): This morph no longer deals damage based on its initial hit and instead deals damage to all targets around the initial.

Developer Comment:
This will allow the Area of Effect damage to be increased and decreased by bonuses, and to be calculated separately per target. It will also fix the issue where the damage continuously became weaker as it cascaded outwards, being diminished by each target’s defenses.

This change should improve the performance of Reverse Slice so I look forward to trying it out ✌️

The nerfs to the Warfare constellations affects all builds that use it.

taugrim

After playing the past week in High Isle, I realized I needed to make a set change.

Here's the excerpt from the guide:

In Ascending Tide (Update 33), I recommended Rush of Agony (RoA). However in High Isle (Update 34), multiple classes saw their damage meaningfully buffed (e.g. Stamsorc, Stamblade), and it’s been more difficult to survive with so much incoming damage.

The set I’m now using in this build in place of RoA is Titanborn Strength (TBS), which has an interesting 5-pc bonus that works in the current meta. See below for details.

UPDATED GUIDE HERE:
https://taugrim.com/2022/05/11/stamina-warden-pvp-build-taugrims-brawler/

geonsocal

great stuff...thanks

taugrim

Updated the build based on further experimentation:

In High Isle (Update 34), multiple classes had their damage meaningfully buffed (e.g. Stamsorc, Stamblade) and the new Oakensoul Ring is overpowered, so it’s been harder to stay alive. I realized I needed to adjust my build.

After trying different sets, I initially landed on Titanborn Strength (TBS), which replaced Rush of Agony (RoA). The 5-pc set bonus of TBS boosts Weapon Damage and Offensive Penetration as your Health drops, which increases not only your damage but also your healing. However, after extensive testing with TBS in Battlegrounds, I missed the positional control of RoA, so I switched from TBS back to RoA.

I did make one change to this build compared to the earlier version for Ascending Tide (Update 33): I replaced Resolving Vigor with Living Trellis — see below for details.

UPDATED GUIDE HERE:
https://taugrim.com/2022/05/11/stamina-warden-pvp-build-taugrims-brawler/

taugrim

Added link to the build calculator over on ESO Hub:
https://eso-hub.com/en/builds/taugrim/7e8b38e2-d36d-424f-b2d9-90a939b055f6/stamina-warden-pvp-build-taugrims-brawler

The above link is great for scanning, but the full guide is the best way to digest the build since it's much more contextual / explanatory:
https://taugrim.com/2022/05/11/stamina-warden-pvp-build-taugrims-brawler/

Also, after having played just over 100 BGs with Living Trellis instead of Resolving Vigor, I now strongly prefer Living Trellis to Resolving Vigor because:

1. you can "pre-HoT" yourself
2. Living Trellis provides a broader window to fight before having to heal as it offsets a portion of incoming damage
3. Living Trellis boosts uptime on Accelerated Growth passive (Major Mending)
4. Living Trellis gives you a 2nd option to bail out a friendly taking focus fire

My main concern with pairing LV with Enchanted Growth was a lack of Stamina-based healing, but what I've found is that I am fully utilizing both resource pools, and I can count on one hand the number of times where I ran out of Magicka but still had a meaningful amount of Stamina. It almost never happens.

In builds like this, where most of the offensive abilities use 1 resource pool (Stamina in this case), it makes sense with hybridization to focus on heals with the other resource pool (Magicka in this case). You have a bigger gas tank, so to speak.

As a last note, it has been much harder to stay alive in High Isle. The incoming damage due to buffs to Sorc and bug fixes to NB, plus the introduction of Oakensoul to the game has made it easy for players to have high uptime on very strong high-cost ultimates (e.g. Corrosive Armor, Colossus) while also having easy access to rarer buffs such as Major Force and Major Berserk. All this pressure has forced me to improve my game.

taugrim

Updated per Lost Depths (Update 35):

2022-08-24: replaced Enchanted Growth with Arctic Blast (AB), given that AB was changed in Lost Depths to provide a class AOE stun! You lose off-healing and sustain, but the stun is well worth it

The new Artic Blast addresses the one major hole in the Warden's class kit (i.e. the lack of a stun) and is a welcome change.

I tried the revamped Deep Fissure, but I strongly dislike the extended delay for the 2nd detonation. 6 seconds is a long time to remember when it's going to go off. It's much easier to get in a rhythm with Subterranean Assault. If you're good with the disjointed timing (3 sec, then 6 sec, then 3 sec, then 6 sec, etc), then the debuffs with DF are obviously strong. Super curious to hear what other Wardens think.

UPDATED GUIDE HERE:
https://taugrim.com/2022/05/11/stamina-warden-pvp-build-taugrims-brawler/

I hope to post video(s) showing BG footage hopefully in the next week, but I wanted to get my updates to you in written form ASAP. There's a lot to talk about with Update 35, so many changes!

taugrim

In service of generating more pressure and bursting targets down, I replaced Merciless Charge and Gaze of Sithis with Markyn Ring of Majesty and Agility.

The tradeoff to gain more direct damage is well worth it in Lost Depths, given that kills are much harder to come by.

Farewell Merciless Charge and Gaze of Sithis, you served me well!

For the details on the new gear sets and how they synergize with the "main assist" playstyle, see the full guide:
https://taugrim.com/2022/05/11/stamina-warden-pvp-build-taugrims-brawler

taugrim

A few more salient changes to the build:
1. To better leverage backbar enchants, I replaced Elude with Quick Cloak. QC and its enchants account for ~9% of my total damage in BGs
2. I replaced a Frost weapon enchant on the backbar with Absorb Stamina, to help with sustain
3. I added a tradeoffs section that lists the pros and cons for Resolving Vigor, Leeching Vines, and Living Trellis. All are worthwhile options

See the full update guide here:
https://taugrim.com/2022/05/11/stamina-warden-pvp-build-taugrims-brawler

taugrim

Over a week ago, given that Arctic Blast provides an on-demand AOE stun, I replaced Dawnbreaker of Smiting with Flawless Dawnbreaker. FB has lower tooltips on the direct damage and DoT compared to DoS, but the 300 Weapon Damage buff for 20 sec is well worth it.

See the full updated guide here:
https://taugrim.com/2022/05/11/stamina-warden-pvp-build-taugrims-brawler

budrow

Is the ice comet using artic blast stun an option? Kinda like the old vamp drain

taugrim

budrow wrote: »

Is the ice comet using artic blast stun an option? Kinda like the old vamp drain

The addition of PBAoE to Artic Blast really opened up the mechanics for Warden.

We used to have to slot ults with CC (e.g. Dawnbreaker of Smiting, Ice Comet, or the Sleet Storm ults) that applied hard or soft CC. Now, it's not necessary. Arctic Blast's CC fills the gap in the kit.

You can use Ice Comet if you want a ranged AOE ult, especially for ranged builds.

I've been using Flawless Dawnbreaker for the 300 Weapon & Spell Damage buff for 20 seconds.

So this is to say, we have a lot more options since we have better on-demand access to CC. Go with your preference!

taugrim

The Brawler build now uses the Brawler skill!

Replaced Agility with Titanic Cleave and 1-pc Magma Incarnate, and replaced Dizzying Swing with Brawler.

I was delighted to get the Perfected TC Maul from vDSA in early October and found that it synergizes terrifically with this build. Here’s why: Brawler with TC provides scaling AOE damage and a scaling damage shield. Without TC, Brawler is not worth using in PVP due to the low per-target damage.

Keep in mind that Brawler has a high resource cost. To help with sustain, remember to cast Leeching Vines on a friendly player. This essentially converts your Magicka to Stamina as your friendly gets hit and triggers the reactive heal.

I've been meaning to update this guide for a month and finally got around to it. Happy cleaving with Brawler and Titanic Cleave!

P.S. the change to Piercing Cold (was 10% to Ice/Magic damage in U35, was changed in U36 to 2% to all damage or 12% when wielding an Ice Staff) was a minor buff to my build given that the only source of Ice damage is Arctic Blast.

taugrim

I've optimized my build further, and I'm really happy with how it's performing!

Here's a great example of what this build can do, on a team that started 2v4v4 in solo queue DM:
* 4.1 million damage
* 1.3 million healing



If we had a full team to start, I'd have probably cracked 4.5 mil damage and 1.5 mil, for 6 mil total damage + healing.

Notable changes:
1. Replaced Reverse Slice with Evil Hunter, as RS and Brawler often competed for my GCD, and I found that EH improves my ability to pressure and kill meaningfully (via 12% crit and 3% weapon damage) while also provide anti-stealth utility
2. Changed from using 3 heavy and 4 medium to 2 heavy, 1 light, and 4 medium to maximize the Undaunted Mettle passive

Full details on the build here:
https://taugrim.com/2022/05/11/stamina-warden-pvp-build-taugrims-brawler/

I've got lots of great footage so I plan on posting narrated video(s) soon that explain the build's mechanics and rotations with footage of BGs.

Sergykid

nobody in that board is high mmr, ur image looks biased. You just fed easy medal points to enemy healer.
Build can say it's bad by just having a little glance over it. No chance against anyone half decent or in high mmr bgs.

taugrim

Updates:
1. Replaced Markyn Ring of Majesty with Gaze of Sithis
2. Replaced Subterranean Assault with Deep Fissure for the armor debuffs
3. To adjust to the higher Magicka usage, switched from Serpent to Atronach mundus
4. Invested 100% of attribute points into Stamina, given that GoS provides 3276 Health

In Update 38 (Necrom), the stun for Arctic Blast will have a 2-sec delay, but aside from that, the build should still function well.