HISTDRINKER

Hi hello, just some random guy with some random build here This build is for the current patch 9.1.5 it is specifically built for Argonians, and I would not recommend playing it on another race, although it is viable. This build is inspired by the Shadowscale and the Hist. Its lore friendly!

Basics of the Build
1. Concept- the concept of this build is to capitalize on the Nightblades ability to siphon power from the enemy and make themselves stronger. The Nightblade further increases their power using potions (drinking Hist Sap). Use different potions to match the battle, weaken your opponent, and strike when the opportunity is right. Very tanky, big burst potential, many burst opportunities, lots of sustain.

2. Gear- Balorghs Head and Shoulders
Clever Alchemist Maces
Rallying Cry Ice Staff
Torc of Tonal Constancy
1pc Trainee (Gallant Chain)

BODY
With Clever Alchemist being crafted, and used mostly on body, you can arrange for any number of heavy/light/medium to your preference. I have Heavy Head Chest Legs, reinforced. Light Shoulders, Gloves Sash Well-Fitted 1 medium boots well fitted. Tri-stat glyph on large pieces, or all if possible. Magicka enchant on small pieces if not. If Tri stat is too expensive, play for your preference. i would just stack magicka for damage.

WEAPONS
Clever Alchemist Maces are sharpened, i think you could go other traits but with everyone being so tanky, I like having a lot of base pen. Balorghs will give you penetration, and incap will allow you for smaller ult dumps for a lil pen boost, but i still prefer to stack pen, as Im not getting any penetration from sets. With this in mind, other weapons may be considered per preference. Daggers seem to be a decent option in this meta, maybe even axes combined with shadow mundus. impen isnt as strong, but crit resist is pretty popular, so that is why i went maces. Clever Alchemist is also frontbar so that lets you get right into the action without having to backbar *drink potion*/flip frontbar then attack. this set up makes back bar ultimate coordinating more difficult. Glyphs are up to you, but I do 1 crusher on my offhand and 1 stam absorb on main hand for sunder. I think a shock glyph, disease, there are other options for mainhand glyph.

rallying ice staff- you need ice staff to balance with Torc of Tonal Constancy. It sucks up magicka with block, so you can easily dump a lot of magicka. on your front bar you block with stam, back bar with magicka. both bars have heals. also useful for applying elemental susceptibility for you guessed it, more pen! i go infused with power glyph.

JEWLERY
Torc of Tonal Constancy - so before this patch I used Sea Serpents coil, but now conceal gives major berserk, so its redundant. I switched to Torc and I realized, I dont need any sustain glyphs on my jewelry. This allows me to do 3 infused potion reduce cooldown gylphs, giving my potions a 21 second cooldown. With Clever alchemist at a 20 second uptime, I can have a huge uptime on a enormous buff. This is the real rub of the build, because I am a nightblade, I also get an additional 20 ultimate. Argonians get additional 3k resources with every potion. So Torc and the jewlery glyphs provide plenty of resource return and ultimate.

Balorghs- ultimate control is a great additional burst potential for the build. since Incapacitating Strike is so cheap, we can activate this buff almost whenever we want, especially with the 20 additional ultimate every 20 seconds from potions consumption. However, since we have such a nice buff from clever alchemist, its usually not necessary to dump incap constantly.

SKILLS

We are Argonian, so we have lots of HOTS! hots hots hots baby, thats how we proc Resolving Vigor, Dark Cloak, Refreshing Path, and Healthy Offering (still a heal). Vigor and Cloak give armor buffs so you need them rolling. Path will activate Concealed Weapon ability, you need it rolling also. Offering is your burst heal.

Utility - Phantasmal Escape, Refreshing Path. I recommend these on the same bar so you can go nyoom

Damage - Power Extraction, Elemental Susceptibility, Merciless Resolve, Killers Blade, Concealed Weapon, Refreshing Path (what whaaat refreshing path 3/3 baybee)
Power extraction is necessary for the buff, but also to debuff especially outnumbered. Elemental Susceptibility is good way to put pressure on targets that purge. Merciless is awesome, makes you are in melee range when you use it for heal. killers blade is a flex spot, you could replace it with Shade, Fear, Lotus Fan, Siphoning Strikes or abilities from Mages guild like Inner Light, FG abilities like Silver Leash, or even Psijic abilities I refuse to grind (shadowscale dont go to school, silly!). Concealed Weapon and Refreshing Path play off of each other, so make sure your path is down at all times for this build.

Ultimate- Incapacitating Strike. I primarily use this for Reave, which gives more resources. I think Thrive in Chaos could be a fine morph or Dawnbreaker, soul tether can be front barred. Incap is also great because its cheap, and it allows you to access balorghs. A 500 incap balorgh with CA and merciless strike into a killers blade is overkill for 99% of targets, and the targets that can survive, werent gonna die anyway. (frickin jala.tte)

Backbar- Soul Tether. Its kinda tricky to use offensively since CA is on your front bar. Mostly a defensive ult, use when outnumbered. I like to pop an Armor potion, drop into a tanky mode on my back bar. Slap em with a soul tether, then in my CA downtime I'll bar swap, and reup on my CA buff. now that I'm tethered, I have incoming healing so I can be even more offensive. Think the concept of the build. Soul Siphon could work too but I feel like that is better in a group scenario.

my set up is: FRONT BAR
ult- incapacitating strike 1 merciless resolve 2 concealed weapon 3 power extraction 4 vigor 5 killers blade
BACK BAR
ult - soul tether 1 elemental susceptibility 2 healthy offering 3 dark cloak 4 refreshing path 5 phantasmal escape

MUNDUS AND CONSUMABLES

Mundus: Lover, again gear lacks pen so we find it elsewhere. I think other mundus's could be viable depending on playstyle. I would consider the Thief, the Steed. The regen mundus will likely not be needed. The Mage may be considered, but having a high magicka pool makes Torc more difficult to manage

Food: Jewels of Misrule, Orzogas Haunch if youre rich. Tristat food may be considered if you do choose regen mundus. I personally find the mag and stam regen to be adequate, and I compensate with using Tristat potions when needed.

Potions- there are too many potions to list, depends on playstyle. BUFFS YOU DO NOT NEED FROM POTIONS include: Minor Protection (Dark Cloak), Brutality (Power Extraction), Major Expedition (Refreshing Path)

So if you make an armor potion, dont make the protection one, make the health restore one. Immove pots are great! Alliance pots are fine, or Detect Immove is fun, as well as Crit/immove pots. I also use Tripots like I stated

Vampirism is not recommended. The cost increase of abilities is too hard to manage. WW could work i dont see why not, but you would have to frontbar WW form.

All attributes are in Magicka. This is to increase damage calculated from base stats

Medicinal Use passive is mandatory for this build, under Alchemy.

PLAYSTYLE
always prepot- you need the cooldown to start running so you can potion later.
choose the right potion- armor potion isnt going to kill jala.tte. crit potion maybe. probably better running away
save ur potion save ur ultimate, save ur merciless- wait for the right moment to blow them up. play defensively to start. you have a lot of armor, just roll hots and get comfy. once theyre too comfortable, blast em! pew pew pew pew

LORE MUSINGS
when we drink the hist we can feel a direct connection to Sithis. as their loyal servants, the Hist grants us clarity and purpose. we are but their instruments, puppets in a divine play of death and worship. argonians never die, we just are reborn into new skins and our essence serves the will of the Void.