magic or stam nightblade

propain · January 2025

Hello, I haven't played the game is many years and decided to start a fresh character to learn to game again. Ive decided that i am going to play a Nightblade for my class but I need help deciding what to do after that. What weapon combo should i use and should I play as a magicka or stam build? I plan to only do casual PVE content and im sure it doesn't matter to much while leveling but i still want to get things set up. I don't plan on trying to be some super mix / max player and again just doing casual dungeons and maybe trials and the other PVE stuff. So again which tends to be better for that? Magicka or stam build as a nightblade?

Soarora · January 2025

Anything works in casual dungeons as long as you do some level of damage as a DPS. It may be helpful to have a ranged build though because especially in newer dungeons, there can be a lot of area-denial. Should still stand in front of the healer when you can but sometimes there's just so much to run around and do.

Hapexamendios · January 2025

I've got a stam blade that is bow/bow and a mag blade that is also ranged. Both are fun to play.

BXR_Lonestar · January 2025

Nightblade is not in a great spot in PVE tbh. In fact, my PVE progression group is having me level up my nb as a healer just because all the other damage classes have higher DPS and the nightblade's unique passive is not worth the damage loss if you slot in a nb in the dps role.

I saw in your previous posts that you are a returning player, and my recommendation for you would be to make a high elf or dark elf pet sorc, run 2 pets, and run a heavy attack build (seargants mail from wayrest + storm master from tempest island, or swap storm master for macabre's vintage from west weald) with the oakensoul mythic. This setup is an easy 70-80k dps once you get your champion points up to around 14-1600, and its not a difficult playstyle to learn. I use this setup to farm everything from overland, dungeons, and even some trials (if I'm not playing support).

LootAllTheStuff · January 2025

My main is a stamina NB running dual wield/destruction staff. As far as PvE content, I'd suggest it depends a little bit on how deep you want to go with that. Story and side quests in overland should be fine. Base game delves and public dungeons likewise (if you have CP points from prior characters, that can make things much smoother until you unlock more skills and passives).

It took me a while to get build and gear to the point of tackling Craglorn group content solo, but I'm at that point now and it's fun - just the right balance for the increased mobs and bosses compared to base game. World bosses for me have been a bit more hit-and-miss - it depends on whether there are adds by default, and if the boss spams AoE.

To the previous poster's comment: I do content mostly solo, and now with a companion (Sharp). I've balanced out my build to add in a bit more healing, and it seems to work well. Some boss fights leave me wishing for a bit more DPS, but that may be a gear issue which I'm now in a better position to fix. I'd say go for it if that's what you want to do (DW/bow is also fun).

Navaac223 · January 2025

My only pve DD character is a stamblade so I've been playing a lot with him. For pure dps, stamblade is better, but not by a lot.
If you only want to play casual dungeons, however, ranged nightblade is better because you won't have to stay in melee range all the time. Now, you just have to choose between stam or mag based on wich one feels better for you.
Just please, for the love of god, don't be one of the ranged DDs that stand 30m behind the group : here's a highly detailled guide I found online :

Djennku · January 2025

Soooo many different ways to make a nightblade and have it be extremely fun and effective for whatever your goals are. Do you have any preferences to melee/ranged, weapon type, or anything you personally prefer nightblade wise? Depending on what you like personally, I can recommend many things to check out!