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Nightblade - Leveling - Weak in veteran levels?

  • GwaynLoki
    GwaynLoki
    ✭✭✭
    Hi, made a little guide to the build I am currently using (VR5), maybe you can find some inspiration for your build here.

    http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/discussion/92688/nightblade-pve-dw-dw-non-vampire-build-nb-basic-tactics#latest
  • GandalfforPres
    GandalfforPres
    Soul Shriven
    Well, here's my two cents. I'm currently a V4 nightblade, and I haven't had the same troubles with veteran zones

    For my build, I use a dual wield/bow combo. I usually run my dual wield build as pure dps, and smaller mob groups. With a sneak attack and the burst damage, I can take out two mobs easy before my stamina and magicka run out. Here's my DW build:

    1. Assassin's Blade
    2. Flurry
    3. Shadowy Disguise
    4. Ambush
    5. Concealed Weapon
    6. Soul Harvest

    I use my bow build as backup for larger groups and situations where I need more survivability. It gives me more crowd control and stun options, as well as the option to replenish health, magicka, and stamina constantly. It take a while longer to grind down the mobs than using my DW build, but it helps a lot in situations I have a tough time staying alive in. It goes like this

    1. Lethal Arrow (opener)
    2. Magnum Shot
    3. Swallow Soul
    4. Malefic Wreath
    5. Siphoning Strikes
    6. Soul Assault

    This build has worked out really well for me. I'm still in the process of tweaking it and I may make changes in the future, but this is close to perfect for me. It gives me that balance between pure DPS and survivability. Hopefully this gives you some ideas for helping you survive more. Granted, it isn't perfect. I die often enough, but most often I feel it's more because of me not playing as skillfully as possible rather than because of my build or point allocation.
  • poochie
    poochie
    ✭✭✭
    Fighting the gargoyle in V-SC. Playing pure NB bow ppl saying its a dps race and ppl complaining because I don't melee we as the group don't do enough damage before it spams that ground-slamming move. The healer says for me to get any heals I have to stay next to the healer behind the boss. If I do that then I'm not doing the most damage(farther away more damage I do) that I can which is already weak as hell. How can I "play" the way I want if this kind of thing is required?
  • Namiel
    Namiel
    ✭✭
    Well poochie, tactics are made to play a game that is funny and not to play a game only to "dps the best i can do". Be like water, my friend: you like the bow tree, go with it! But you have 10 slots available not only 5, equip something to stay alive OR another weapon in the backup slots to grant you best dps in this situation :wink:
    "Be like water, my friend"
  • dirklemonjellob14_ESO
    Seriously is it fair that NB's have to spend 10x as much on repairs as the other 3 classes? NB's need a decent pve healing ability or better damage mitigation pronto.
  • Hotrockets
    Hotrockets
    Soul Shriven
    Armor choice seems to be the primary crutch imo for NBs. Of the three armors, Medium is the ONLY Armor that offers absolutely NO MITIGATION whatsoever. Both Light and Heavy armors provide spell resistance bonuses. I would think one of the options, such as that last useless one (reduce cost of roll dodge) might be to give us a middle ground resistance option, that is maybe half what light gives for spell resistance, and half what heavy gives for physical mitigation, like 2%/2% per piece. Then again, im trying to think logically...
  • Yakidafi
    Yakidafi
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    @mattnoakes‌ @derevan‌ @taylorwilenskiub17_ESO‌

    Hi, I have played the same build since I got out of coldharbour, almost but since I could acquire them and have not changed style just for v rank.
    Before I started the game I used esohead skill calc to look at the skills and see which fit my wanted play style and how I wanted to stay alive.
    I wanted to a dps with criticals as my main dmg source.
    You do not only want good skills, you want them to function well together"synergy".
    I also knew that the skills I picked would be the only skills I would use, because I would put most points in crafting, so 5 skills+ultimate is what I use, no secondary setup.
    I also lack many passives but have taken those I need the most.
    Khajiit nightblade currently v3.

    at v2 I acquired a full legendary armour, since I am a crafter first, I can get it cheaper then most.

    At v2 I needed more skill points so I went into the later areas up to v4(eastmarch). With no problem soloing dungeon bosses and packs of 3 which is the highest you will face unless you aggro more or go in group dungeon.

    Equipment:
    3 light armour and 4medium armour and 2daggers.
    Light armour for magicka regen and spell protection.
    Medium armour for crit hit and stamina regen.
    2 daggers for 8% crit hit plus crit dmg from dual passive.

    Having dual wield allow you to have 3 sets with 3 pieces each, so I have:
    2 different sets that both give 100 armour each and night mothers set which give 20% armour reduction upon a crit hit, very effective.


    I enchanted all my armour pieces with health glyphs.
    I also reallocated my attribute points to 33%magicka and 66% stamina, because stamina attacks are my number one dmg givers. Putting points in stamina or magic also give extra dmg.

    Maybe the legendary armour/ weapon set is what give me the advantage?

    I must say this skill set is far from complete and ultimate and I chose these solely for my lack of skill points in the area and chose the skills that would synchronize best together under all circumstances for my style. Also chosen to focus on killing a single target at a time.

    My skills are:
    Flurry: sequental attacks with higher dmg on the last strik, also make you hit faster for the comming 10 seconds.

    Flying daggers:throw a dagger to snare the enemy, also deal crit hits abd have low stamina cost!

    Shadowy disguise: invisible and deal guaranted crit hit, passiveis must have for more defense and stamina regen

    Killers blade: dead under 25%hp and gain health after kill, need I say more.

    Funnel health(swallow soul better if alone): a little more then 100 hp per hit plus over time.

    Soul tether: stuns everyone, good dmg and dmg over time to the closest enemy

    Synergy:

    Flurry: use it once every 10 seconds for speed bonus, or when you have alot of stsmina and want to do as much dmg as you can. This skill cost alot of stamina so you can not use it recklessly. It does give alot of ultimate points.

    Flying daggers: always open this attack, if there are 3 enemies then you can hit 2 and let the last one come to you so you can kill it alone. Spammable skill due to low cost.

    Funnel health: heal you directly and over time also your buddies. Decent magicka cost able to use alot. Work best if enemy snared and unable to reach you or if you use shadowy disguise.

    Shadowy disguise: invisible 2.5sec, with passive it also give you bonus to armour and spell prot aswell as stamina regen. The regen is invaluable for the skills, the extra defense go above softcap also invaluable.

    Killers blade: everything dies under 25% and it give important direct health.

    Soul tether: give valuable stun in tough situations and deal good dmg.

    I managed to spare 2 points for death stroke and morph to soul harvest, thatgaveme almost a 6th skill to use. It recharges very fast and does ok dmg on single target, I switched soul tether for it to try and so far I like it more because I can use it so often that I am able to kill the enemies faster, soul tether I did not use overly often because it were so helpful athe right times and I want to time it.

    The only downside I have noticed is when I face an elite who isboth immune to snares and can see through my shadowy disguise.

    Hope you found this helpful, I can elaborate this further if you want, Tried to keep it basic. Might have forgot some things.


    Edit: a good topic http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/discussion/78756/updated-general-grievous-nb-build-insane-2-shot-dps-leveling-efficient#latest
    Edited by Yakidafi on 18 May 2014 18:08
    Moons and sands shall be your guide and path.
    PC EU/NA
  • Kevaliji
    Kevaliji
    If you build your NB correctly then you souldnt have any problems. Once i hit VR1 (im VR7 now) i changed my build a bit. Now i can take on 4 VR7 mobs no problem. I run two separate builds one for PvE and one for PvP. I am able to kill ANYONE in pvp with ease, that is if i get the jump on them. NB is a great 1v1 class, depending if you're built for it.

    My PvE build is kind of a support type healer. I use Duel wield/Resto staff.

    My PvP build is more of a Shadow Assassin. Still using both Duel wield/Resto staff.

    If you plan on using the same 10 abilities through lvl 1 and VR10 you are going to be in for a challenge. Switch your abilities depending on the situation. It takes some time to learn the class but i keep seeing posts like this on the forum, people complaining that NB's dont have enough burst dmg. I only laugh now when i see this because NB's have some of the best single target burst damage in the game. AoE spamming DKS cant spam their AoE when i got them stunned and go to town. :P
  • DeLindsay
    DeLindsay
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    "nightblade vr1 isnt hard, vr2 well that is another thing, specially if u ar a vampire Lerysia.. u will see"

    Then put a 1250 Flame resist Glyph on a neck/ring and be done with it. People just can't be bothered to help themselves when the tools are given to them. I'm VR4 and a Stage 4 Vampire but I'm also at VR10 HARD cap for Fire resist which is 2600. Fire does no more damage to me than any other ability. The irony is after becoming fire resist capped, now Frost is what owns me, lol. I have no more issue in VR zones (and I've fully cleared most of the VR10 Delves including solo'ing a few of the bosses while getting Skyshards) than I did 1-49 other than the mobs hitting harder, which is intended.

    VR -vs- 1-49 is this: The mobs die exactly the same but they hit about twice as hard, regardless of what class you play. Even normal VR10 mobs only have ~2800 health and that can be easily burned with a Bow opener (not 1-shot, opener is your first set of burst abilities). Yes I've died a little more in VR than 1-49 but so does every other class. VR are meant to be harder than pre-50. The only thing "wrong" with NB atm is all our abilities that are broken or don't work right (like the comment about invis that won't cast if you're below 700 Magicka). Once ZoS fixes all those we won't be seeing near as much nerd raging over NB as now.

    Also, there is NO REASON AT ALL that NB needs to be capable of what other classes are, we are unique and if you actually learn to play it properly (even despite bugs) you will understand. We don't need to chain pull entire dungeons and live, and I can 100% guarantee you as a ranged NB I can burst down a ST mob faster than any other class with equivalent gear. Our ST burst is incredibly high while our DPS is about average. Healing, all 3 classes are behind Templar, but that's also fine. For tanking DK is preferred, but all 3 others are perfectly viable too. This is ESO not WoW, we don't need homogenized classes that are all capable of exactly the same thing, if that's what some of the NB haters want then there's Wildstar coming soon (created by WoW devs).
    Edited by DeLindsay on 18 May 2014 14:39
  • Nashaan
    Nashaan
    Soul Shriven
    I think a mistake that a lot of NB's make is to try and play vet levels the same way they played 1-50.
    Once I got to Daggerfall I had to completely change my build. I am almost done with the VR2 zone and haven't had too many problems. Groups of 2 and 3 I can take out relatively easy, groups of 4 I have to use batswarm halfway through the fight to stay alive.
    Pre 50 you can faceroll groups of 3 without effort, where as veteran mobs have too much health to do the same thing.
    In my opinion its easier to survive if you make a single target build than an AOE build.

    My VR2 NB vamp:

    5 pces medium armour
    2 pces light armour
    Warlock set (Cowl/ Focus/ Signet)

    - Dark Cloak
    - Surprise Attack
    - Blood Craze
    - Leeching Strikes
    - Invigorating Essence (Vamp Drain)

    My Ultimate is either Batswarm or Dawnbreaker

    Surprise attack will one shot a caster if I attack from behind & stealth, and will also stun a target if used from stealth (Whether behind or facing). As soon as I start running out of magicka I toggle Leeching Strikes and rotate Dark Cloak>Surprise Attack>Blood Craze followed by 4-6 normal click attacks, while I am doing that the enemy is stunned the entire time. Cloak also has the added bonus of cancelling any heavy attacks that are aimed at you.
  • Namiel
    Namiel
    ✭✭
    DeLindsay wrote: »
    Also, there is NO REASON AT ALL that NB needs to be capable of what other classes are, we are unique and if you actually learn to play it properly (even despite bugs) you will understand. We don't need to chain pull entire dungeons and live,

    Totally agree with you.
    AoE are not our strong ability but that's okay: always played the "rogue" type in MMOs and i'm more than used to that situation. With a dual wield NB the real issue i have is that if I don't stealth to reach the mob, the kill takes a lot more...that's it, if i can do the opener to the first mob (he dies in 2 seconds) and finish him by killer's blade, my mana pool is full and i can easily go on with my chain. Only thing i miss is another strong direct damage hit, just in case i am spotted before pulling.
    I want to remember to other NB that the siphoning skill line has one strong CC to avoid being overrun by large groups (agony), and 3 self-heal ability if morphed correctly.

    Edit: one thing i found is totally useless in a PVE content. The passive skill "shadow barrier", when i saw it i was like "omg, fine", but on the field i can assure 4 seconds are wasted by the time the mob needs to react to your opener.
    Let's say there are 3 mobs, i enter stealth mode and open the fight with veiled strike: the stun from veiled strike lasts 4 seconds (and probably the same target has been knocked down by my power attack in the meanwhile). The mobs around my target enters combat, but they take about 3 seconds to realize what is going on... after 4 seconds shadow barrier wears off, tha's why it's quite a waste of sill points.
    Ofc that is different in PVP.
    Edited by Namiel on 19 May 2014 08:43
    "Be like water, my friend"
  • Yakidafi
    Yakidafi
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    @Namiel‌

    I have a totally different experience with shadow barrier in pve, one of the best passives I have.

    sometimes slow to react, sometimes they do power attacks right after you get out of stealth but I can take it then, Bosses/elites are usually not slow to react and often deal good damage.

    I am not sure if the slow reaction is due to latency or not.

    Anyway it is a passive and sometime one will have a surplus of skill points, very soon if one does not put in crafting.

    Moons and sands shall be your guide and path.
    PC EU/NA
  • Namiel
    Namiel
    ✭✭
    You're right about boss and elites. They seems to be quicker than normal mobs to attack you when you are spotted.
    I have a lot of latency (EU server), but this issue seems not related to that: simply mobs wait 2 or 3 seconds before charging their power attacks or spell or swing.

    I'm V1 and have 4 skill points left (wating for jewelcrafting and thieves guild), so i have to agree with you for the surplus of skill points, too :)
    "Be like water, my friend"
  • Axewaffle
    Axewaffle
    ✭✭✭
    I play a shadow mage nightblade, currently v7 and have had no difficulty smashing through content. The build uses mostly siphoning skills with a minor support from restoration and dstruction skill lines.

    The build:
    http://esohead.com/calculator/skills#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

    The build absolute destroys aoe mobs, in fact I think it packs some of the highest aoe damage in the game, with the lotus fan into power extraction into pulsar spam combo, its devastating- and if the mobs are hitting hard, use manifestation of terror while aoeing... they wont go anywhere if you are using an ice staff, they will just take a few steps in random directions while getting aoe obliterated.

    The single target dps of this build is built around high ultimate gains from siphoning attacks, high mobility through the consistant up-time of crippling grasp, and good heals through funnel health and siphoning strikes. Single target, you will find you never have any down time when it comes to magicka or health, and you will always have an endless pool of stamina to draw from for in combat sprint bursts, dodge rolling and blocks. (I choose funnel health because it grants more ultimate points per cast due to the extra healing it provides, it also doubles up as a good skill when I heal dungeons).

    I chose resto staff for my single target dps weapon for the +10% damage passive it gives me, it works wonders on the ultimate and single target damage. When I am questing I have stealth on my bars, when I am in dungeons dpsing, Ill swap that out for impale (the ranged execute). For my aoe bar I went with the destruction staff, as it is simply king of aoe dps, and synergies well with power extraction.

    I leveled the restoration tree aswell, so I can queue for vet dungeons with minimal wait times, and also play with friends if needed, it just requires a quick 2 second skill swap and Im ready to go.

    Mage Nightblades (shadowcasters I like to call them) are absolutely ungodly, the negative buff removal on stealth and the ability to literaly almost spam it endlessly due to high magicka regeneration and returns, means you can solo world bosses and, well almost everything. GL guys.
  • AngersRevenge
    AngersRevenge
    ✭✭✭
    between summon shade, veiled strike and shadow cloak, I was soloing VR10 dungons and world bosses at VR7. I am not saying I am pro gamer or anything but NB have the best CC in the game for solo. Just cloak and stun. Use siphoning stike to keep your magicka up enough to reuse cloak when they become unstunned from veiled strike. with those three abilities, you can keep a mob stun locked fro an infinite amount of time. the issue then becomes if there is 2 mobs your fighting. also, shadow cloak passed any trash mob in a dungeon to get to the final boss. then wack him out.

    I find the NB not as much of a group killer but a single target killer. Although, the shade ability is a life saver when it comes to mulitple targets if you use it right.

    The NB could use a little buff though compared to a DK or Sorc.
    Edited by AngersRevenge on 20 May 2014 16:54
    A true warrior never reveals his heart. Until the axe rips it from his chest.
  • apterous
    apterous
    ✭✭✭
    i'm single target light armor/bow nightblade doing vet6 stuff, no prob, i like the challenge, now the game actually starts to feel like it should've felt at lvl 30 or so.
  • floppelineb16_ESO
    floppelineb16_ESO
    Soul Shriven
    I am playing Nightblade, and here are my two cents..

    This class works a lot differently than the others. Its core mechanics revolve around stealth and control. Yes Control. A lot of you fellas say that Nightblade lack crowdcontrol / CC / AoE snares. In my opinion we have enough to work with. It's all about how you, not only, chose to use these spells, but how you control your own character.
    Be it dual wield or bow. If you want to play Nightblade, utilize your stealth / sneak attacks to deal with one of the mobs. Should be easy enough with your spec to at least take on the first mob, and rid of it pretty quick. And if you cant manage to do that, consider looking over your setup and playstyle.. I usually end up killing the first mob before the others react, when I appear from a proper sneak.

    Once you've killed the first enemy, simply kite or control the next. Soloing, you should not engage more than 3-4 mobs, leaving you with max. 2-3 when you've assassinated your first victim. You can use snares (and they are 40%++), or fear, or the 12 second stun, or what ever you fancy. The problem: I see and hear a lot of players saying they can't take on the next mobs after dealing with the first. That is because they try to use the same spells and abilities they used on the first target... Some even stand there like fools trying to BLOCK the enemy attacks, WE ARE Nightblades, for Talos's sake.. BE THE NIGHTBLADE!!

    Okai I am not so good with words, I will give an example here:

    Senario 1)
    I use my Bow or Daggers, I engage a pack of 3 mobs, killing the first within a couple of seconds, now the others engaged on me, I flurry away and deal damage with spells and stamina abilities. I die.

    Why? Because I lack sustain in fights? Because I cant run fast enough and do not have an AoE snare using my BoW?
    No you play Nightblade wrong. "But ESO said I could use any playstyle!" - yes, but it does not mean it will be AS effective as the "proper" playstyles of each class!!


    You have a variety of options as Nightblade..

    Senario 2)
    I use my Daggers (or Bow), engage a pack of 4 mobs, execute the first enemy within seconds. Now I have 3 left, I go back into stealth using Shadowy Disguise (giving me a 100% crit on my next attack), and the other fiends have not been able to touch me yet, I proceed my slaughter using Surprise Attack, dealing massive damage. Okai now I may be low on resources, and have take a couple of hits. I use Hidden Blade or what ever I fancy to slow and kite one of the enemies, pumping the other full of what ever I can dish out.

    I write too much, and get through with too little...

    Here is the essence: This is not your standard toast MMO, you must use the massive variety of playstyles to your advantage, what ever you chose can workout in any scenario if you not only tweak it to your style, but PLAY it right.. be a better player, stop talking about the Damage Per Second, you found through math, you are doing it wrong.. this is leveling not a raid.
    Edited by floppelineb16_ESO on 19 June 2014 09:33
  • Tiyamel
    Tiyamel
    ✭✭✭
    VR5 Bow Assassin, Weapon Set 1:

    Shadowy Disguise - Morph of Shadow Cloak
    Poison Injection - Morph of Poison Arrow
    Ambush - Morph of Teleport Strike / Concealed Weapon - Morph of Veiled Strike (Ambush for Single Target Mob, Concealed Weapon for packs)
    Magnum Shot - Morph of Scatter Shot
    Swallow Soul - Morph of Strife

    Ultimate is Veil of Blades - Morph of Consuming Darkness

    I don't use second weapon set for combat, I place skills I wish to level there for when im ready to hand a quest in to level those abilities.

    Sneak in behind first mob I want taken down, usually the healer/caster/archer in that order, Concealed Weapon -> Shadowy Disguise and repeat, takes 2 shots usually followed by a Swallow Soul for HoT and to finish mob if necessary, Magnum Shot on next for knockback and root, switch target, poison injection and light/heavy weapon attacks, Shadowy Disguise for kiting and if chance another Concealed Weapon on second mob who will by now be moving again, using Magnum Shot for knockbacks and Swallow Soul to keep health up, im able to take down 3-4 Mob groups and most World Bosses / Public Dungeons solo, not as easily as other classes mind you but I can do it, just takes me longer, I don't intend to reroll and I don't want to respec either, with good gear and potions/food I do ok, point of note tho, Shadowy Disguise sometimes breaks when using Poison Injection, has seen me die on a few occasions, I used to use Snipe but dropped from bar because of breaking invisibility when I needed it the most, which is why I try to leave the most heavily armoured target until last and try to get mob number 2 down as fast as possible before stealthing and going after the 3rd/4th.
    Guild Master of Lost Prophecies, small group of friends playing in Ebonheart Pact, recruitment only accessible through playing with us and making a good impression.
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  • Tigeracer
    Tigeracer
    ✭✭✭✭
    Hi guys and gals! I've read every single comment in this post and have been very impressed with what I've read.
    I've heard that many NB's have been having no trouble between level 3-VR1 and then finding it extremely difficult from VR2+. To be completely honest with you all, there hasn't really been a single easy moment for me as a NB. I have struggled heaps from the very beginning, but I never gave up. I am now VR6 and I have an extremely solid build.

    I play four styles at once, which is extremely hard whilst also being a crafter. I use 185 skill points and have respecced 6 times now.

    I used to be just a single target master, but got really annoyed at being owned by mobs of more than two. In VR content, most mobs are packs of 3. So I made a decent AOE character. I then got to VR3 and found I died way too much. So I made a more tanky character (this also had a lot to do with waiting on a tank for group dungeons). So now, I have four builds in one. Medium single target bow, medium single target DW (mainly PVP), Heavy sword and board tank and a heavy DW AOE.

    I am a Khajiit and have every passive in assassin, shadow, siphoning, one hand and shield, dual wield, bow (except hasty retreat), medium armour, heavy armour, mages guild and khajiit.

    HEAVY SETUP (7 heavy):

    Bar 1 (Sword and Shield):

    Inner light
    Sap essence
    Ransack
    Volcanic rune
    Siphoning attacks
    Veil of blades (ult)

    Bar 2 (Dual Wield):

    Inner light
    Sap essence
    Steel tornado
    Volcanic rune
    Siphoning attacks
    Veil of blades (ult)

    MEDIUM SETUP (7 medium):

    Bar 1 (Bow):

    Dark cloak
    Reapers mark
    Venom arrow
    Magnum shot
    Soul siphon
    Veil of blades (ult)

    Bar 2 (Dual Wield):

    Dark cloak
    Surprise attack
    Flurry
    Impale
    Ambush
    Incapacitating strike (ult)

    The How and Why:

    For general PVE content, I use my tanky build with daggers, only switching to sword and board if I run into trouble. The trick here is that I pop volcanic rune before I get too close. When I get into range, I start using steel tornado with two light attacks in between each use. Once I start actually getting hit, I do the same with sap essence, alternating between it and steel tornado. It's not very hard to pull off unless I'm being stupid. MAKE SURE to stay as close as possible to any casters/ranged mobs.
    If I am fighting a group with multiple casters/ranged, I switch to my sword and board. I use volcanic rune while out of harms way and then run in and start hitting light attacks. As soon as they start hitting back and get me to 80% health, I pop sap essence and BLOCK AS SOON AS I USE IT. This is very important, as it will cancel the animation, but not the command.

    If I am tanking, I use the sword and board with ransack as my aggro, but can swap it out for inner beast if the main baddy is behind a pack.
    Not very difficult, just block everything while throwing out one or two light attacks when your stam is getting low and popping sap essence when your health is getting low. The rest is really up to the DPS guys.

    If you are in a public dungeon or somewhere with huge packs of mobs (8-12), my build is great, but this can be very tricky. The ultimate, veil of blades is the only thing that matters and should be the only thing on your mind. It costs a lot, but it can be obtained quickly with a simple yet tricky strategy. The final passive for the siphoning tree is called transfer. You NEED it to level two.
    Start the same way as you would any other mob (volcanic rune, light attacks and block) but pop sap essence every chance you get. This will set off transfer and build your ultimate quickly. As soon as you get ult up, use it. Just continue until all mobs are dead. Sounds simple, but really isn't, trust me.

    For soloing world bosses or PVP I use my medium build. I won't go into too much detail with this, unless somebody asks me to, but basically start with a stealth opener (ambush or venom arrow) and demolish. For PVP it doesn't matter which you use because they are going to die very quickly either way. I usually just use stealth ambush>flurry>dark cloak>surprise attack>flurry>impale (dead).
    For world bosses, use stealth venom arrow to conserve magicka for invisibility.

    My attribute points are the same as when I first started 18/16/15 and I really don't think it matters all that much. All glyphs on my armour are health, which HELPS HEAPS.

    If all else fails, the most OP build is sword and board/resto staff, just look it up on Youtube, but I myself don't want to be a mage, otherwise I would've chosen to be a sorc.

    Hope you all can benefit from this post, feel free to ask any questions.
  • shadowz081
    shadowz081
    ✭✭✭
    While it is true that VR content is significantly harder, usually most are quite doable as a solo NB, with packs, just remember, NB excels at single burst and not so much on AoE, at least with packs of two or three.
    This is what I usually use:
    5med, 2 light-->5 set Hunding rage and 3 set seducer set, blue quality min.
    Wep 1
    -shadow cloak
    -surprise attack
    -blood craze
    -Rapid strikes
    -Leeching strikes
    -Devouring swarm(It literally makes you a god for the time it is active)
    Wep 2
    Random weapon I have on to hand into quests to lv so xp dont get wasted (Edit: I even have this on when not questing because meh, so this slot is usually useless in an actual fight, and if I post a 'wep 2' build, there would have to be one for resto staff, destro staff and bow for very specific circumstances, such as quests and group dungeons).

    The thing about NB is always initiate from stealth against the weakest of the enemy in the group, stealth(Shadow cloak if must)-->surprise attack-->Blood craze-->rapid strikes. This will usually leave the enemy targeted with little enough hp so you can kill it with a few light hits or another blood craze+a few sec to bleed to death, with this you can burst up to 800 dps, without leeching strikes and with mark target, up to 1.6k dps if everything works out 100%, but I only got that once and usually end up at the 1.1k-1.2k dps with that max.

    After the first target is dead or as good as dead, re-enter cloak and surprise attack the next target, same setup but at the end of rapid strikes hit the guy with another surprise attack to finish him. After this it is just one guy left. Off course this isn't a perfect build with a 100% success rate, hence if you need a break use shadow cloak to pop a potion and surprise attack to stun an enemy.

    In group dungeon though, you can use this to solo as well, but you need to pop devouring swarm in every fight to cripple the enemy enough so you can finish the off relatively quickly and re-enter stealth before they kill you, off course this is much harder to pull of than 3 mob packs as you are fighting against 5-6 enemy all at once...Though I would recommend AoE+devouring swarm for this.

    World bosses/dungeon bosses essentially comes down to this:
    Is it on it is own?
    -Yes-->Can it be stun locked?-->Yes-->Proceed to fight and take some easy xp.
    --No-->Will sparks affect it?--->Yes-->Fight.
    ---No-->Best to call for help...

    -No-->Is it normal adds or a group of bosses?-->Normal adds-->Sneak attack and take down adds--->Back to stun lock portion.
    -->multiple bosses--->Best to call for some help.

    Next up in Gargoyles, CC like surprise attack won't affect them, and only sparks will, and even than, they can do that attack that smashes the ground in front of you for some heavy damage, my advice, dont engage without a group unless necessary.

    And shadow cloak can make solo dungeon a 5 min walk for a free shard and soul gem+maybe a blue item. Oh and use food buffs, they are REALLY important in VR...Also I heard somewhere on these forums that VR mobs ignore 90% armor, just a heads up.

    Source: VR10 NB who lved through mainly questing and world bosses+anchors.
    Edited by shadowz081 on 1 July 2014 00:58
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