General ?'s on DK after patch 1.25

BuzzZaw60 · June 2017

Hello Fellow ESO travelers....

I've got a Level 45 DK mainly for PvE...Dark Elf using DW stamina base and been using a bit of Deltia's and Alcast builds as a guide and for info. However with the new patch and some changes to the DK I had a few questions on both active and passives....

I use both Venomous Claw and Noxious Breath a lot. In the Passive Skill there is Searing Heat where it states...Increases the damage of Fiery Breath, Searing Strike, and Dragonknight Standard abilities by 3% and the duration by 2 seconds.......Does that include the Morphed abilities or just the Standard un-morphed ones in "All Skill Trees"

With the 1.25 patch they nerved Igneous Shield from 6 seconds to 2.5 and with several builds I see this was in the mix. However they reduced the cost of Spiked Armor (Harden Armor morph) and correct me if I'm wrong but seems it would be better suited and used instead of Igneous Shield cost and at 20s versus 2.5? I just don't see Spiked Armor used at higher levels....I am using Green Dragon Blood in the mix.

I never see any builds with Ash Cloud and Petrify....you have reduced movement and Petrify with a 20s stun you would use with weapon skills that proc with DoT's especially with Poison and Flame. Just curious but seems like those could be used a bit more.

thanks for clearing any of these up.

KJ - PS4 - BuzzZaw82

Savos_Saren · June 2017

Hey Bud. To answer some of your questions:

You're using a Dunmer (Dark Elf) which is the prime choice for a magic-based DK... but you're using stamina-based skills. While it's not completely impossible, it's not preferable. Usually, if you're using a stamDK- most people go with Khajiit or Redguard (this will significantly improve your damage).

Yes, Searing Heat should improve those skills because they're "abilities" that fall under those skill lines. Also, Noxious Breath's damage is increased by World in Ruin.

Also, from what I see- your stamDK is a DD (damage dealer)- so, if you used igneous shields- the "group benefit" from it would be lower. (the shields are based off your health) Remember, Spiked Armor gives you Major protections while Igneous Shields gives you a damage shield. They're two different concepts. A set like Shield Breaker will do more damage against a player using Igneous Shields than a player using Spiked Armor. I know quite a few stamDKs that toy with using the Undaunted Skill: Spiked Bone Shield instead.

Finally, Ash Cloud is a great skill when it's morphed as Eruption for a mDK PVEer or perhaps Cinder Storm for a mDK PVPer. Petrify morphed into Fossilize is definitely a useful PVP skill- but doesn't really help you in PVE. A good, persistent AOE for your sDK would be Endless Hail instead of Ash Cloud.

So, the cheapest option (instead of a race change) would be to do a morph respec and change Venomous Claw and Noxious Breath to the magic-based abilities. Put your Attribute points into magic instead of stamina. And, when you make level 50- start adding your Champion Points toward magic-based skills. Right now, you're probably trying to spread your attribute points to stamina (which is fine if you want to be stamina based)- but you're missing out on that huge buff to flame damage that a Dunmer gets...

As a side note: I absolutely love Burning Embers (Searing Strike morph) on my Dunmer mDK- you can tag a bunch of enemies with it and continue to use your other DPS abilities. The heals from Burning Embers are pretty potent!

BuzzZaw60 · June 2017

.

jaburns wrote: »

Hey Bud. To answer some of your questions:

You're using a Dunmer (Dark Elf) which is the prime choice for a magic-based DK... but you're using stamina-based skills. While it's not completely impossible, it's not preferable. Usually, if you're using a stamDK- most people go with Khajiit or Redguard (this will significantly improve your damage).

Yes, Searing Heat should improve those skills because they're "abilities" that fall under those skill lines. Also, Noxious Breath's damage is increased by World in Ruin.

Also, from what I see- your stamDK is a DD (damage dealer)- so, if you used igneous shields- the "group benefit" from it would be lower. (the shields are based off your health) Remember, Spiked Armor gives you Major protections while Igneous Shields gives you a damage shield. They're two different concepts. A set like Shield Breaker will do more damage against a player using Igneous Shields than a player using Spiked Armor. I know quite a few stamDKs that toy with using the Undaunted Skill: Spiked Bone Shield instead.

Finally, Ash Cloud is a great skill when it's morphed as Eruption for a mDK PVEer or perhaps Cinder Storm for a mDK PVPer. Petrify morphed into Fossilize is definitely a useful PVP skill- but doesn't really help you in PVE. A good, persistent AOE for your sDK would be Endless Hail instead of Ash Cloud.

So, the cheapest option (instead of a race change) would be to do a morph respec and change Venomous Claw and Noxious Breath to the magic-based abilities. Put your Attribute points into magic instead of stamina. And, when you make level 50- start adding your Champion Points toward magic-based skills. Right now, you're probably trying to spread your attribute points to stamina (which is fine if you want to be stamina based)- but you're missing out on that huge buff to flame damage that a Dunmer gets...

As a side note: I absolutely love Burning Embers (Searing Strike morph) on my Dunmer mDK- you can tag a bunch of enemies with it and continue to use your other DPS abilities. The heals from Burning Embers are pretty potent!

I apologize for the late reply but thank you very much for the info and insight. FYI...I actually have a Khajiit but he's a NB with Bow and DW.

I've never done a respect of any level on any of the characters and frankly sort of scares me messing with something especially a character I have at 49 on the brink of CP at 50. I sort of took a bit out DK Stamina Builds from both Deltia and Alcast aiming for a DW W/Bow setup leaning more to the "Venom" from Alcast

I've become use to the style and rotation using the DW w/Bow along with some of the abilities so given that...would it be best...and easier...to bite the bullet and respect my "Race" and go with the Redguard.? Not sure what this all involves or cost. Seems if I repec and go with Majicaka I also have to change weapons going with Destruction Staff(s) and eliminating the DW and Bow altogether. Which I'm using with my main....a Brenton Sorc right now at CP105

So it seems to either be .....change Race and keep the DW w/Bow or change weapon to Destructive Staff from DW W/Bow and respect to mag base from stam base.

Savos_Saren · June 2017

Honestly, if you wanted to keep the build you have... there's "work arounds" for it. If you're not trying to be uber competitive and make world class DPS- you could have fun with your build. For instance: You can still use a Dunmer stamDK- and there's a few stamina-oriented sets that would benefit from a Dunmer's flame passive. Check these out:

Heavy Armor:
Way of the Fire:(5 items) When you deal damage with a Weapon ability, you have a 20% chance to deal an additional 4000 Flame Damage. This effect can occur once every 2 seconds.

Medium Armor:
Shadow of the Red Mountain:(5 items) When you deal damage with a Weapon ability, you have a 10% chance to deal an additional 8400 Flame Damage. This effect can occur once every 2 seconds.

Sunderflame:(5 items) When you deal damage with a fully-charged Heavy Attack, you deal an additional 774 Flame Damage and reduce the enemy's Physical Resitance by 3440 for 8 seconds.

And, people still use Valkyn Skoria on some stamina builds... just because it has a nice burst.

So, you could, technically, combine two stamina sets onto your dunmer stamDK and have decent damage. Might be an interesting build, afterall.

Just have fun with it!