Could be a skill difference. The build you're running is up there with one of the tankiest setups you can play on DK, so you really shouldn't feel like you're lacking in that department. If you're not properly rotating your defensive abilities and maintaining pressure, a better player might simply outplay you.

That said, and despite the "tank meta" we're in, damage is very high right now. When you're outnumbered, you're often going to have 20+ negative effects on you - most of them being status effects that stack endlessly. Even as someone with 10,000+ hours spent solo PVPing, I find the current patch the hardest in the history of this game to do so in.

Another factor to consider is what sets your opponents are running. There are a number of overpowered damage-dealing proc sets in the game right now, and people tend to stack them together in order to do large DPS with minimal effort. Masters DW, zaan, maarselok, way of fire, vat ice, jeralls, scavenging maw, just to name a few.

Luede wrote: »

only the setup doesn't let you survive significantly longer, it's the correct way of playing. when do i run out of sight, when do i dodge, when do i block. you have to work quite hard for that in pvp, it's just a matter of experience

Very true, and React’s comment is on point as well. It does seem like players can get away with rocking almost all heavy then rely on procs now, though, which I think puts me at a disadvantage with my present setup. Like if someone has full Way of Fire in heavy armor, they get a strong burst proc in addition to very high resistances. I’m wondering whether I need to change entirely to a heavy armor proc build to contend with it. If that’s the state of PvP now, I don’t know how light or medium armor users can really contend with doing anything else.

What weights are your armor pieces? 5-1-1 medium? More heavy? More light? What are your resists and crit resist? Max health? Do you have HoTs running? Also worth noting that Rangeplar is the best 1v1 spec in the game right now.

I might be outdated as I've been kinda on and off ESO for a while, but from what I remember 25k HP is typically regarded as the minimum you should ever go. That's at the point where a truly skilled player has a tiny sliver of wiggle room to survive a burst if they manage to block, break free from a stun, or dodge roll just in the knick of time.

Also as a magDK you definitely want to always have Coagulating Blood slotted as that's your burst heal. Additionally you want around 2 heals over time, and luckily enough Burning Embers is a great go to here. Burning Embers scales pretty well in 1vX since each application on a unique enemy is as if you've gotten another healer giving you a heal, but if an enemy cleanses this power you're in trouble. Why you also wanna run another heal over time as a backup if you're not quick with Coagulating Blood.

Additionally you always want to keep your armor above 20k as penetration values tend to hover around that mark. If you can reasonably go over 39k without hurting your build too much I'd definitely recommend it as it gives you the necessary damage reduction to survive some of the set ups out there that rely on penetration for damage. There's also buffs like Major and Minor Protection that help, and the Undeath passive if you're willing to become a vampire.

Undeath works really well on Dragonknights since for one... vampire is a melee subclass, which DK's excel at, and Coagulating Blood scales based on your missing health just like how Undeath does. At 50% of your HP Coagulating Blood is boosted by 25%, and Undeath will be sitting at 15% damage mitigation for example. The more damage reduction sources you stack the less effective each is though, so keep that in mind.

This topic has always fascinated me, since all of us have seen this. To understand it, I've studied combat metrics (CM), not just summaries of skills but also the logs. This post might be a little long

In the big picture, there is offense (weapon damage, crit % and crit damage, and penetration) and Defense (stats including resists and crit resists, then mitigation including block , dodge roll, LOS).

Look at CM: did your opponent land more total attacks? One way the best players excel is by always weaving. With dual wield, eg, a heavy or light attack gives the damage from the weapons but also from their enchants. This really adds up.

If they are landing more attacks and it is all due to light/heavy, then you need to weave better.

What if the Light/heavy ratio is similar, but they still land more attacks? This means they are hitting you more than you are hitting them, This is a mitigation issue: they are moving better than you. A lot of expert players jump and juke.

What is the attacks are the same? Check in CM log: are they blocking your key attacks? (CM log shows this) A lot of expert players can see and block the big hitters; spectral bow, DB, leap, ice comet etc.

Now what if the number of attacks are the same and the player is not blocking more?

This is where is gets interesting. Then it is a stat issue.

I've examined this in fights I've had between my DK and other DKs. Both players land engulfing flame, but his hits 50% harder than mine! How is this possible?

You would think if mine hits him less hard, he must have better resists; and if his hits me more hard, he must have better damage. Then the key question: can they really build such that they are superior in every category: better resists, better damage, better heals, and, usually on top of it, much faster?

Well, what probably happens is they hit you with major breach. This shows up in CM. So your resists are less than they seem on paper. Then, they have high burst damage, ie for short windows their penetration/weapon damage peaks and they hit you then (eg their Balorgh's procs). Ok, that explains that their engulfing flames are higher, why are your lower? YOu may not be lowering their resists and you may not be peaking your damage.

The final point is, some players are just very good. If you've never looked at React's videos, check them out on twitch or youtube. He has one where he does a 1v65. I'm sure he got many angry tells accusing him of cheating. But, in reality, he uses LOS very well, he moves very well, and he bursts very well. Some players have thousands of hours of dueling experience and they play in a disciplined fashion (unlike some of us who have a tendency to mash buttons in a tough spot). They block the big hits, they LOS, they keep their hots up, their HP never goes below 50%, the jump and juke, and when they see an opening, the blast you. Hats off to them!

An important sweet spot to identify is how much resistance+ hots u need to stay on the offensive.

If you find yourself constantly needing to burst heal, up your resistance or hots to a point where u find youre able to focus on doing dmg.

It really varies according to class & playing style; you’ll need to find the balance that works for you. My magsorc relies on speed & forethought to survive, & has the lowest resistance & hots of any of my chars. My warden is tanky & almost never dies in bgs, which is actually very boring and I don’t play it anymore. 🙂

Rofl I am in CP cyro with

No CP and
No mythics.

I finally found that build that makes me stand up against them.
It has to do more with my playstyle rather than the sets themselves.

It's not going to beat a whole group of people. However they 1 v 1 me, I can hold my own.
For some reason I take so much damage. Whether it is the NPCs or humans....

33k health
27k stam
15k mag
4k spell damage (7k fully buffed balorgh of course....)
1100 mag and stam recov


The solution was simply movement speed and roll dodge. Well fitted.
I couldn't believe how survivable I became.

If you can, use bow. Roll dodge and you'll get movement speed from bow.
I don't use bow skills...just need that roll dodge on to speed buff. It allows me to quickly make distance between me and the person. I could use race against time but it costs magica.

To beat a person, don't follow them into the tower and play their mind games. Simply stand away and wait for them to get bored and go away or come to you and get wiped. It's not the build that is keeping them alive. Its them quickly shifting out of the line of sight of your skills hitting them keeping them alive. That's why Nb is top tier pvp. They have the skill on hand and the environment.

I decided to make my character run way from their damage distance and I am so alive now.