Stam DK is back!!

OBJnoob · May 2023

First off please curb the hatred. I know DKs are wickedly OP and I have been informed that hybrid DK using stam arena weapons is the real meta, not magDKs.

As an old, old stamDK main I kindve disagree because every DK I see uses FoO, whip, and corrosive-- which years ago was really never a stam thing. Today's DKs are a LOT more mag-leaning than they used to be in my opinion.

But okay that was the disclaimer now here's the intro: I hadn't played ESO in a month or two. Was all set to quit but sadly it's the only video game I'm any good at and I got tired of sucking. So I'm like crap... I'm gonna be rusty, let me hop on my old DK and use him in Ravenwatch so I kinda have some training wheels on and don't have to think too hard about my gear.

So... I'm wearing ancient Dragonguard, shalks exoskeleton, and mighty chudan. I'm a non-vampire nord, my attribute points are basically equal across all 3. Serpent mundus, tri-stat food.

Sharpened Maul Front Bar: FoO, shuffle, vigor, wrecking blow, executioner, D-Leap.
Sword and Shield BB: Flare, Igneous Weapons (totally serious,) Coag, Flame Claw, Poison Breath, Temporal Guard.

So you could definitely argue that this is a hybrid set-up as well. You wouldn't be wrong. But it FEELS old-school. It's wrecking blow not dizzy swing but oh man it feels good to be uppercutting people again. And using Shuffle? Amaze-balls. I probably haven't used 5 of any armor weight since hybridization.

Anyway I had a good night, as you can guess, or I wouldn't be making this post. Took a resource solo. Laughably easy. Killed some people 1v1, on and off their guards. LAUGHABLY easy. Got involved in some 8v8 type group fights. Let's just say it felt good, I wouldn't say it was stand-out amazing.

But then! I get up into a tower with an enemy I know very well. I've beaten him before and he's beaten me before. He's on a Warden... I can already tell this is going to be a boring slog-fest. We're up there whacking away at eachother for about a minute and then a member of his team shows up. He doesn't attack me so at first I'm like okay sweet nothing wrong with an audience. Then I see he's healing my buddy. So I start whacking the healer... My buddy doesn't help him even though they're on the same team cuz, I mean, rules and stuff. I kill him in like 10 seconds, and my buddy t-bags him LOL. And then, cherry on top, 2 minutes later I get lucky with some crits and kill my buddy.

So... Obviously just a fanboy rant, nothing too serious here. Or shocking. But I was very pleased with the playstyle and actually felt like I had flex spots on my bar.

Probably need to, uh, not use Igneous Weapons but what can I say I didn't want Rally and I needed a way to get minor Brutality. There are worse things than getting major and minor at the same time.

I do feel a bit slow using only Shuffle but thus far it hasn't been an issue.

You'd think that the healing would be lacking but honestly if you can keep your flame claw on a person or two Vigor and Coag are really all you need.

gariondavey · May 2023

Shalk exoskeleton is one of my favorite sets in no proc, especially on a dk.

"Sharpened Maul Front Bar: FoO, shuffle, vigor, wrecking blow, executioner, D-Leap.
Sword and Shield BB: Flare, Igneous Weapons (totally serious,) Coag, Flame Claw, Poison Breath, Temporal Guard."

Fossilize is one of dks best aspects...I'd really recommend using that. Only an easily blockable leap for stun isn't wise against a competent opponent.

Executioner, wrecking blow, flames of oblivion, shuffle, fossilize, leap
Channeled acceleration (as you already have shuffle, but are missing major expedition which is critical in cyro), noxious, coag, vigor, igneous weapons, snb reflect ult (obliterate sorcs and nbs)

Alternatively, rally would be a solid choice instead of igneous, due to heal + minor endurance.

Exe, wb, foo, rally, fossilize, leap
Rat, pierce armor/noxious, coag, vigor, venom claw, snb ult
This loses major evasion but has better healing, the best major expedition + snare removal skill bundled in 1 (and minor force to stack on your med gear crit damage), better sustain, and a bit more pen if you use pierce armor.

OBJnoob · May 2023

I agree with everything you said. I had Fossilize on my bar but replaced it with Igneous when I had my "oops forgot major brutality moment." I'm very familiar with rally, have been successful with both morphs in the past, but honestly don't think it's as good as it used to be. Especially on a class with a good burst heal. But that isn't necessarily why I'm not running it... I know it's better than Igneous, but I really just don't want it on my front bar. I use Vigor front bar for most of my characters these days I just find it's better/easier to have a HoT running while I'm on offense than a burst heal. If I need to Coag/Rally I'd rather just barswap and block for a bit.

Let's see what else... RaT. Never been a big fan. Of all the buffs warden got like a year ago the one that didn't get talked about much but I thought was the most helpful was Falcons Swiftness, or whatever the base morph is called. I would say that this is the best snare removal and major expedition in the game, not RaT. And I'm probably wrong, mathematically, but I've always kinda ignored crit percentage in PvP and I fully intend to continue doing so. I just personally don't like RNG and in a weird way crits are like procs to me. I like knowing exactly how much damage I do, not waiting for stars to align. And especially on a DK I just feel like stacking weapon damage is the way to go-- screw everything else. Sure, my guy has decent crit rating-- 30% or so and only because of FoO front bar, but it really doesn't interest me at all.

I've always played a slow DK who D-Leaps way too often. To gap close. To stun. To kill. To get resources back. It gets me killed sometimes, for sure. I just don't mind. When people run away from me I tend to let them. People don't tend to chase me because I don't tend to run away, LOL.

Of the things you said I not only agree with but will actually do... I will probably try the SnB Ult. It was actually my first choice I think, but I had a skill point issue. He's one of my oldest toons and he does a lot for me. I will also try to get Fossilize on my bar somehow.

NordSwordnBoard · May 2023

Maybe in six months or a year I can make a similar post about Necro. Glad your DK was fun - I recommend trying wild hunt mythic on DK just to feel the speed, but I also loved using the Torc with those expensive skills.

OBJnoob · May 2023

Yes Necro needs help bad and I hope they get it soon. People say a lot about sorcs but honestly I see good sorcs everywhere I go. Same with templars. Necros are the real strugglers right now.

And I appreciate nobody being like "DK is OP, you suck," cuz I know DK is OP and it's not surprising at all that I'm doing decent. All I'm really happy about is that wrecking blow is fun to use.

I heard a bit about how wrecking blow is hard to aim, cancels itself, has a double aim check and stuff before I actually got back on to use it. I will say it seems less "automatic" than Dizzy, but it's pretty functional in my limited experience.

I'm sure I will try out some mythics in the near future. I just felt like running mighty chudan for some reason.

Afterip · May 2023

I began to meet stam-DC often with Arena duals, Vateshran destro and Mara. Do you have any tips what to do with this death-machine except just run away?

OBJnoob · May 2023

LOL nope sorry can't help ya there!

gariondavey · May 2023

OBJnoob wrote: »

I agree with everything you said. I had Fossilize on my bar but replaced it with Igneous when I had my "oops forgot major brutality moment." I'm very familiar with rally, have been successful with both morphs in the past, but honestly don't think it's as good as it used to be. Especially on a class with a good burst heal. But that isn't necessarily why I'm not running it... I know it's better than Igneous, but I really just don't want it on my front bar. I use Vigor front bar for most of my characters these days I just find it's better/easier to have a HoT running while I'm on offense than a burst heal. If I need to Coag/Rally I'd rather just barswap and block for a bit.

Let's see what else... RaT. Never been a big fan. Of all the buffs warden got like a year ago the one that didn't get talked about much but I thought was the most helpful was Falcons Swiftness, or whatever the base morph is called. I would say that this is the best snare removal and major expedition in the game, not RaT. And I'm probably wrong, mathematically, but I've always kinda ignored crit percentage in PvP and I fully intend to continue doing so. I just personally don't like RNG and in a weird way crits are like procs to me. I like knowing exactly how much damage I do, not waiting for stars to align. And especially on a DK I just feel like stacking weapon damage is the way to go-- screw everything else. Sure, my guy has decent crit rating-- 30% or so and only because of FoO front bar, but it really doesn't interest me at all.

I've always played a slow DK who D-Leaps way too often. To gap close. To stun. To kill. To get resources back. It gets me killed sometimes, for sure. I just don't mind. When people run away from me I tend to let them. People don't tend to chase me because I don't tend to run away, LOL.

Of the things you said I not only agree with but will actually do... I will probably try the SnB Ult. It was actually my first choice I think, but I had a skill point issue. He's one of my oldest toons and he does a lot for me. I will also try to get Fossilize on my bar somehow.

Glad to hear it.

The thing about rally vs igneous is minor endurance on a stam char is great, saving mag is great with fewer coag casts + no igneous casts.

Yes, bird of prey is arguably better than rat, I more so was meaning rat is the best major expedition skill that's widely available and also gives snare and root immunity. The minor force is the cherry on top, especially as you have medium armor so crit damage is already present. Cyro is so big and major expedition is critical imo.

Fossilize is so oppressive...one of dks best aspects.

Spell reflect is so juicy! That's one of, if not, the best things about playing 1h+s backbar.

Good luck.

CameraBeardThePirate · May 2023

Shalk is a slept on set. Minor Heroism is a really powerful buff, and to compensate for the fact that you should be double barring the set, it has an extra line of weapon & spell damage.

More old, unused sets should get this treatment. An extra stat line would help out a ton of the sets that just aren't quite appealing enough.

bachpain · May 2023

StamDK never really went anywhere. It is one of the strongest PVP setups in the game hands down.

OBJnoob · May 2023

CameraBeardThePirate wrote: »

Shalk is a slept on set. Minor Heroism is a really powerful buff, and to compensate for the fact that you should be double barring the set, it has an extra line of weapon & spell damage.

More old, unused sets should get this treatment. An extra stat line would help out a ton of the sets that just aren't quite appealing enough.

Agreed and agreed. Shalks gets some credit in Ravenwatch where I play though. Back when heartland conqueror came out I knew a very good player who used that and shalks on a magDK. And unless my memory is bad that's roughly when magDK started it's current reign of terror... Back when Charged and Combustion got those buffs. He was amazing. One of the first to figure it out on Xbox NA.

Also, while I'm sure you can name some sets that still need the buff you're describing, as a Ravenwatch player I can name a few that already have. They caught my eye as soon as they changed... It was a good change. Vampire Cloak with the "free" minor protection and Rattlecage with "free" major sorcery. Those are the only two I can name right now.

bachpain wrote: »

StamDK never really went anywhere. It is one of the strongest PVP setups in the game hands down.

You're right. I'm just happy to have the wrecking blow style back.

gariondavey wrote: »

OBJnoob wrote: »

I agree with everything you said. I had Fossilize on my bar but replaced it with Igneous when I had my "oops forgot major brutality moment." I'm very familiar with rally, have been successful with both morphs in the past, but honestly don't think it's as good as it used to be. Especially on a class with a good burst heal. But that isn't necessarily why I'm not running it... I know it's better than Igneous, but I really just don't want it on my front bar. I use Vigor front bar for most of my characters these days I just find it's better/easier to have a HoT running while I'm on offense than a burst heal. If I need to Coag/Rally I'd rather just barswap and block for a bit.

Let's see what else... RaT. Never been a big fan. Of all the buffs warden got like a year ago the one that didn't get talked about much but I thought was the most helpful was Falcons Swiftness, or whatever the base morph is called. I would say that this is the best snare removal and major expedition in the game, not RaT. And I'm probably wrong, mathematically, but I've always kinda ignored crit percentage in PvP and I fully intend to continue doing so. I just personally don't like RNG and in a weird way crits are like procs to me. I like knowing exactly how much damage I do, not waiting for stars to align. And especially on a DK I just feel like stacking weapon damage is the way to go-- screw everything else. Sure, my guy has decent crit rating-- 30% or so and only because of FoO front bar, but it really doesn't interest me at all.

I've always played a slow DK who D-Leaps way too often. To gap close. To stun. To kill. To get resources back. It gets me killed sometimes, for sure. I just don't mind. When people run away from me I tend to let them. People don't tend to chase me because I don't tend to run away, LOL.

Of the things you said I not only agree with but will actually do... I will probably try the SnB Ult. It was actually my first choice I think, but I had a skill point issue. He's one of my oldest toons and he does a lot for me. I will also try to get Fossilize on my bar somehow.

Glad to hear it.

The thing about rally vs igneous is minor endurance on a stam char is great, saving mag is great with fewer coag casts + no igneous casts.

Yes, bird of prey is arguably better than rat, I more so was meaning rat is the best major expedition skill that's widely available and also gives snare and root immunity. The minor force is the cherry on top, especially as you have medium armor so crit damage is already present. Cyro is so big and major expedition is critical imo.

Fossilize is so oppressive...one of dks best aspects.

Spell reflect is so juicy! That's one of, if not, the best things about playing 1h+s backbar.

Good luck.

I've been swamped with work for the past few days and haven't gotten to tinker with it anymore. Will definitely see what of your advice I can implement tonight.

My stamDK runs extremely low stamina recovery. Like... I run the serpent mundus, 5 medium, and still only have about 1200. So. I mostly sustain off ultis and tripots. My only point being minor endurance might not be as useful to me as it is for you. While you're talking about saving mag I'm actually over-casting Igneous sometimes just for the stam return every 4 seconds.

And again I'm not arguing any of your points. You're right about everything. But it's nice sometimes to do things differently. I really enjoy all the flex spots I currently have on my bar.

TechMaybeHic · May 2023

OBJnoob wrote: »

Yes Necro needs help bad and I hope they get it soon. People say a lot about sorcs but honestly I see good sorcs everywhere I go. Same with templars. Necros are the real strugglers right now.

And I appreciate nobody being like "DK is OP, you suck," cuz I know DK is OP and it's not surprising at all that I'm doing decent. All I'm really happy about is that wrecking blow is fun to use.

I heard a bit about how wrecking blow is hard to aim, cancels itself, has a double aim check and stuff before I actually got back on to use it. I will say it seems less "automatic" than Dizzy, but it's pretty functional in my limited experience.

I'm sure I will try out some mythics in the near future. I just felt like running mighty chudan for some reason.

Wrecking blow was fixed when they but berserk on it. I actually run it on my templar and have had success, but past couple times I've taken it to Cyrodil, I've been in lag and position desync hell trying to hit it after toppling

OBJnoob · May 2023

@TechMaybeHic Yeah that's rough. I've definitely had some misses but in Ravenwatch things aren't so bad.

It's nice to know it's a decent option for templars-- obviously they need a little something to spice them up. I've wanted to run it on a stamsorc ever since I heard about the impending changes but after taking a month or two off I opted for an easier class to start.

Maybe someday they'll fix the lag. I'm not so sure though. I always strongly recommend Ravenwatch to anyone that really has a rough time. It has its own problems and limitations for sure, and some are very off-putting. But if your main priority is performance and your main stomping ground is Cyrodiil then it's a pretty easy decision.

AuraNebula · May 2023

NordSwordnBoard wrote: »

Maybe in six months or a year I can make a similar post about Necro. Glad your DK was fun - I recommend trying wild hunt mythic on DK just to feel the speed, but I also loved using the Torc with those expensive skills.

I miss my Necro. They're not coming back. Zos loves DKs and they will never nerf or buff anything to be strong than them.