PVP Noob: What to think about in devising a build

Caroloces · July 2016

I've shied away from PVP in the 2 years + I've been playing the game, but last night I went into IC with some guildies and had a blast! The key element to enjoying PVP I realized is to accept death, over and over and over, and not get flustered. But hey, there is a limit to acceptance, and eventually you want to be somewhat effective.

So here's where I'm at: I see a lot of very skilled players both in game and on this forum. A lot of players very generously offer builds that can be emulated. I respect that, but I don't want to copy a build. What I'm hoping for is that players in this forum category might offer a general blueprint for what to think about in devising your own build. I find myself fairly competent in PVE, but I truly got wrecked last night, and I got to wondering how I might organize my build on solid PVP principles, rather than specific recipes for the different classes. How should abilities be arranged for the efficient, rapid-fire play that's required in PVP? What should you think about when choosing sets of armor? How should weapon abilities be coordinated with class abilities?

I fully admit to being a casual player, and don't ever expect to be a PVP god. I respect those players who build with mathematical precision, but my RL doesn't allow for that type of dedication. I'm mostly interested in the broad mindset on PVP that leads to a certain degree of competence.

Thanks so much ahead of time to those who might offer their advice. For what it's worth, I have 3 mains at CP cap: A Magicka Templar, a stam nightblade, and a stam DK.

PS: If you're aware of another website article, discussion, or video, please include link.

Sandman929 · July 2016

I think a general template would be, have a self heal, have a CC, have a gap closer (unless you're all ranged all the time), have a way to get Major Brutality or Major Sorcery depending on if you're magicka or stamina based.

Did I miss anything?

Sandman929 · July 2016

You seem to be asking for specific armor recommendations and skills, but if you don't want to copy someone elses build, that's pretty much what a build is...armor choices and skills that align with passives.

Waffennacht · July 2016

General rules for PvP

3k to 4k for dps builds in spell damage or weapon damage

33k + for your chosen resource pool

More regen stat = useful against better players
Dps stat = better against newer players

Impenetrable is always promoted

CCs are necessary as is a means to deal with them.

Immovable pots and detect pots

Tri pots

Major mending pots

Gold weapons provide 200 more weapon damage or spell damage than their purple counter part.

Unless designed specifically, no less than 20k health

zuto40 · July 2016

You have to think about what you want to do, group or solo play, each has different builds

joshhh_nb · July 2016

All about that burst baby

but impen is a must.
40k+ max magic
22k + health
1300+ recovery ( if you can manage resource)
3.4k - 3.9k + spell damage (spell damage enchants on weapons)
14k + max stam

Lich is meta for mag nbs imo

incite · July 2016

Die, die and then die some more, until you start annalysing what gear/skills/rotation could benefit you more. Everything else comes with experience

tinythinker · July 2016

Waffennacht wrote: »

3k to 4k for dps builds in spell damage or weapon damage

joshhh_nb wrote: »

3.4k - 3.9k + spell damage (spell damage enchants on weapons)

I can confirm that trying to do dps at 1.6-2.1k spell damage is extremely unfun.

Kas · July 2016

Testing builds always takes a lot of time. it can be done on the pts and otherwise is VERY expensive also in terms of materials / gear needed.

Thus, it is really a good idea to copy and start with some cookie cutter build. you don't have to, but it will also make creating your own build much more efficient. If you include super basic decisions, e.g. start with light/medium/heavy armor, you're in for a LOT of work. Just following the meta and doing what others do is just the right thing to do, imho. If you want to set new trends, this should come from tons of experience and a plan, not from wild guesses what might work.

So going from some WORKING build, play and observe what's happening.

Is there a skill you rarely use? consider dropping it.
Is there something that always gets you killed? try to think what to do against it. some examples:
1. "I always get zerged" - this is probably the hardest one to fix, but adding mobility (mistform, manoeuvre, bow bar, streak and high regen) can certainly help.
2. "I die because I'm dead before I can react" - get more HP
3. "I die because my stamina is gone and I cannot break CC" - can you block / dodge less without causing another problem? If no, ask yourself where to get more stamina: can you put more pts into tumbling? Can you get more stamina through regeneration / cost reduction glyphs ?* Do you wear heavy armor and have a s/b or dw bar? Can you maybe jsut sue heavy attacks to manage your stam, etc, etc. There are countless options, finding the most efficient one for your style makes the perfect build.
4. "I die because i cannot counter heal / mitigate incoming damage even when I'm allowed to spam my def" - try to get more armor/spellresist/crit resist (try to figure out what's causing the biggest problems)
5. and so on, and so on
Do your enemies heal before you get them? Try to decide if you want to increase your burst or find ways to prevent healing.
Do i get kited? Try to figure our if you can add snares, immobilized or make yourself faster (gap closers, expedition, etc).
and so on, and so on

Now if you've stabilized, you got a working build. From there, try to squeeze out as much potential as possible. This is different and actually easier than the step above. you only need to know the available items and the math behind how eso works. Find the gear/skill/cp distribution to maximize your power. Many intermediate players do this step but forget the above. They end up killing some noobs, feeling great and are quick to call others cheater when they get their ass handed. Even several youtube'd builds have such problems. Regen vs cost reduction glyphes (see marker * above) is a similar problem.

Again, this second form of min/maxing is the easy part. If you're in a guild with enthusiastic players, these things can also be discussed on TS. Often, someone will have an idea how to further optimize your distribution.

yodased · July 2016

What what I have seen you kind of have to make the choice of being ultimately effective in raw potential maths or your comfort level.

I also, am a pve player lost in the pvp world, so I can relate to your question a lot more than the more pvp centric people. This is the first time I have ever PVP in any game, as most people could tell.

The mindset is different, you have to remember that people are going to continually be on the aggressive unless you give them a reason not to be.

Knowing when to push an opponent and when to step back and heal/purge is key, positioning is also critical. Quite a lot of spells/abilities won't work if they player can't see you, so run behind rocks, trees and buildings.

Use the terrain around you and make sure you have a solid buff bar up.

This was just a rambling post so here is a list:

1. Front bar attack bar, personally I have single target, CC, AOE, AOE, Debuff, Single target ultimate
2. Back bar support bar - > every 6 seconds swap and reapply Mutagen, Healing Ward, Harness Magic, Class, Class, AOE Ult

I personally think quite a lot of pvp players have their back bar on auto-pilot by now, its just instinct to swap, buff, swap, kill.

That to me is the basis of the mindset, know when to push, when to defend, keep your buffs up and always CC if they don't have the white swirlies on their feet.