n00b Nightblade needs help

jebuspowers

Soul Siphon only heals you and allies. Tether heals just you plus stuns. Only a NB healer would use siphon. The same with funnel health, you only need it as a healer. Especially since funnel health can heal pets instead of allies. Funnel also does absolutely nothing for you when solo as well.

TitanJeff

Thanks. Tether seems to be the right choice.

I'm also leaning towards Poison Injection over Venom just because I don't know how often I would interrupt spells as I use it early on my bar.

jebuspowers

No problem. Yeah tether is boss. I don't really use bow, but after looking up the morphs I think either could be good. It sucks that the tool tip is not always accurate, but you can't argue with more damage.

TitanJeff

I'm still getting abused vs. any boss even if a few levels under me.

For example:
I trot up to take on Thoduntor. All my gear is 28-31. I'm level 32. Thondontor is 30.

I am in stealth and hit him with Reaper's Mark followed by a big bow shot then an immediate Poison Arrow. He doesn't move an inch. I start spamming Arrow Spray. I only see minimal movement in his health bar.

Now he's coming after me so I hit Aspect of Terror and repeated quick shots. I'm rolling away and hit him with a Magnum Shot to create some distance. His bar isn't moving. I hit Soul Tether and swap to DW.

I run through my DW bar of Ambush, Surprise Attack, Killer Blades. I'm hitting Dark Cloak and rolling to get away from this guy. I tried Steel Tornado and Incapcitating Strike and, finally, he catches me with a couple of shots and I'm out.

I've struggled with other bosses so far. I've search for a lot of Nightblades vs. Boss thread and this seems to be an ongoing issue. Should I just accept the fact that I'm going to need help against a boss or has anyone figured out some ways to pack more punch against these guys?

jebuspowers

All Nightblade builds don't really shine until higher level. But even at 30 you should be doing OK. Try tanking. The fights will take longer but you'll never lose.

Alucardo

I rolled a magicka nightblade, currently level 19. Resto bar has ward, annulment and rapid regen, while also keeping Strife/Swallow soul up. The bosses that used to kill me over and over again on my stam build barely drop me below 95% on this one, and my health regens back to 100% almost instantly, then I just pop another shield on. I gave up on stamina builds with low level characters

TitanJeff

I think it might be time to learn about making food/beverages to boost health too. Or alchemy since I blow through health tonic.

I'm too cheap to buy that stuff.

jebuspowers

Stamina nightblades get crazy badass later. But they are tough to raise. Magicka nightblades are pretty sick in the beginning, but are typically weak end game. Tanks are kind of weak at first, but get considerably better later on.

jebuspowers

What platform are you on anyway?

Amica

Hey mate, Shashu Dc stam NB. For lvling go with bombard. it pins down the targets and does *** tones of damage. shadow cloak is a must have to give you some distance from targets and lets you bypass a group of mobs etc. Snipe when you get it, and do not listen to these people when they ask why silver shards. That *** hits like a truck and makes for a good rotation with snipe. I would while lvling go two-hander for rally heal dont stress thou that you want duel wield lvled, just add a duel wield ability to a spare slot and it will lvl at the same pace even though you have a bow equipped or two-hander. You just cant use that ability is all. Shadow assault is a must, your can try the fear but while lvling bombard will cover cc for you.
As for everything else that's up to you, as you will find out bombard cloak and snipe will get you to vet 16.
Good luck and hope it helps.

TitanJeff

jebuspowers wrote: »

What platform are you on anyway?

I'm playing with a macbook pro.

TitanJeff

candoaocrwb17_ESO wrote: »

As for everything else that's up to you, as you will find out bombard cloak and snipe will get you to vet 16.
Good luck and hope it helps.

Thanks.

I just opened up Bombard/Acid Spray and was wondering which to use. I didn't know if stacking Acid with Poison would be better than Bombard. Does Bombard work against higher-level baddies?

jebuspowers

Too bad you aren't on ps4 or I could help out more

willymchilybily

TitanJeff wrote: »

candoaocrwb17_ESO wrote: »

As for everything else that's up to you, as you will find out bombard cloak and snipe will get you to vet 16.
Good luck and hope it helps.

Thanks.

I just opened up Bombard/Acid Spray and was wondering which to use. I didn't know if stacking Acid with Poison would be better than Bombard. Does Bombard work against higher-level baddies?

@TitanJeff
some bosses you cannot root/stun so bombard probably wont do anything but slow them down if that. To be honest it is a struggle. I think in your original post you wanted to use DW and Sap essence, and bow. And that combo though great for damage, doesnt give much survivability against CC immune enemies. all i can think is to try to use siphoning strikes and cross your fingers you can tank him.

2 handers have ralley which gives some regen every 2 seconds and a damage buff, but even nightblades normally rely on high burst damage and killing for health regen, and CC. so some bosses are just impossible solo

I recently switched to stamina dragon knight from magicka and found i couldn't take on a particular VR7 world boss in aldmeri dominion starting zone becuase its 3 mages who spawn adds, and now i dont have my reflects, heals and AOEs its much tougher. same is true for NB facing a boss that cannot be stunned. if you cant fear,stun or root, or you dont have adds which yo can use mark target and kill(or killers blade) to return health to you, its going to be very tough at your level with your limited number of skill points.

i would say grab a buddy to help you. if you even say on here your faction/server being pc im sure there are plenty who could help.

TitanJeff

willymchilybily wrote: »

i would say grab a buddy to help you. if you even say on here your faction/server being pc im sure there are plenty who could help.

The more I read around the forum, the more I realize one-on-one with the bosses is going to be a struggle. I've accepted it as the nature of the beast and not that I'm overlooking something.

I went back to see Thoduntor after eating some food and was hanging on by the skin of my teeth when another guy jumped in and helped me finish him off. I don't know whether I'd gotten it done on my own. I was drinking up a lot of health potions but holding my own.

I don't mind battles vs. a boss being 40/60 or even 30/70. I like that I have to use different tactics depending on who I face. I'm getting much better with defensive tactics. It's a very different approach than the toe-to-toe hammering I did in Skyrim.

jebuspowers

As a Nightblade tank I have only had 1 boss I couldn't kill myself. She and her adds wasted me. Went back a few levels later and she iced me again. I had top figure out that I needed to get her away from the little lake she spawns in and after that I basically had prison sex with that world boss.

Moral of the story is it might not be your bar, your gear, or your class. It might be your role. You started this thread a while ago and went up 6 levels. Unless you play VERY casually then you should be higher.

TitanJeff

jebuspowers wrote: »

Moral of the story is it might not be your bar, your gear, or your class. It might be your role. You started this thread a while ago and went up 6 levels. Unless you play VERY casually then you should be higher.

I'm at 33 1/2 now. My gear is below my level right now as I plan on building new stuff once I hit 34.

I am pretty causal as I've gone up an average of 5 levels per week since starting the thread. But I'm not in any hurry. And I probably sneak by too many things I should be blasting.

jebuspowers

You should give tanking a shot. Especially since you don't play often I'm assuming you probably play mostly solo. Give tanking a try because it's the only role you can play where your survival is not situational, it's pretty much guaranteed.

Soleya

World Bosses are really meant to be taken on by a group. You can invite other players to help you kill off a world boss, or join a guild, some do boss runs and most have members who would come out and help you clear off a boss you are struggling with.

Some WB's are easy enough to solo, others are really tough.

jebuspowers

Dolmens, yes. World bosses I would say are more a personal challenge. I actually get mad when people come help me with a world boss.

gilbegger

Lots of good advice here.

I too started my stam Nb out as DW/Bow. But around lvl 20ish I broke down and went 2 Handed/Bow.

Best move by far. It dramatically improved my survivability and Burst. There wasnt much I couldnt handle. The only thing that would bring me down was an occasional "brain fart" on my part.

I was mixing too many magika abilities from the dual wield line and being a stamina based character they were lacking punch. Two handed is more single target but there is a passive that makes your attacks hit multiple enemies although at lower damage.

When I encounter 3 mobs in a dungeon (99% of the time I solo) my encounters go like this..

1. teleport / Brawler (get your shield up)/ Uppercut / Executioner = dead enemy

(the other 2 enemies are possitioning themselves...casters almost always move back to cast spells while the other melee moves to you...or an archer starts attacking with bow)

2. Uppercut (melee or archer)...while they are flying backward and getting up...they are out of the fight for at least 3 seconds...so I repeat #1 on the caster = dead caster

3. repeat #1 on last remaining

Boss fights start like this..

1. Snipe from stealth (debuffs boss...minor fracture maybe?..lasts 20 or 30 seconds)...and you can usually get off 3 shots before they get to you...If they are caster...time your Poison Arrow so that you interrupt their spell.

2. Brawler (shield)/ Rally (self heal HOT)/Uppercut/Executioner (mix in heavy attacks so you dont run out of stamina)

Dodge roll as needed (speed buff passive helps a lot)...

Reapply snipe debuff when it expires...

I do have a question for you guys though...I have put every point I have into Stamina. I havent really needed any in anything else. I dont run out of magika because I limit the magika based abilities on my bar. My question is...how many points should I put into Health?

I am V7...at what point does putting points into stamina have "diminishing returns"? Im on Ps4 so that info isnt obvious to me.

I hear 20k health is the mark you should try and reach..

Thank you in advance.

jebuspowers

You want probably a minimum of 18k health. But that's with food. I'm on ps4 too, v6 NB tank

Rune_Relic

TitanJeff wrote: »

I'm still getting abused vs. any boss even if a few levels under me.

For example:
I trot up to take on Thoduntor. All my gear is 28-31. I'm level 32. Thondontor is 30.

I am in stealth and hit him with Reaper's Mark followed by a big bow shot then an immediate Poison Arrow. He doesn't move an inch. I start spamming Arrow Spray. I only see minimal movement in his health bar.

Now he's coming after me so I hit Aspect of Terror and repeated quick shots. I'm rolling away and hit him with a Magnum Shot to create some distance. His bar isn't moving. I hit Soul Tether and swap to DW.

I run through my DW bar of Ambush, Surprise Attack, Killer Blades. I'm hitting Dark Cloak and rolling to get away from this guy. I tried Steel Tornado and Incapcitating Strike and, finally, he catches me with a couple of shots and I'm out.

I've struggled with other bosses so far. I've search for a lot of Nightblades vs. Boss thread and this seems to be an ongoing issue. Should I just accept the fact that I'm going to need help against a boss or has anyone figured out some ways to pack more punch against these guys?

Some bosses are DPS race that are immune to everything.
To bring them down by bow takes a long time.
You cant stand in their face and live.
Evasion/Range is your mitigation.

You use light attacks that don't cost you any resource.
Chuck in a Heavy now and then to get some resource back or a snipe if you can spare the resource.
You then use the saved resource for dodge roll and/or sprint..or using increased movement/cloak magicka dump...until 1.7 hits anyway
You have to keep moving and sometimes fast.
Cloaking ups your armour and often drops a target lock.

I find such fights nerve racking after 10 mins when the boss is nearly dead you can get 2 shot and out.
Stay away and take your time lol.

jebuspowers

Meh, just tank up. I run right into a group full of bad guys with the world boss and hit ambush soul tether path and sap. Bone shield for extra mitigation. I'm talking guaranteed wins. Just roll dps when you are grouped and tank the world.

TitanJeff

jebuspowers wrote: »

Meh, just tank up. I run right into a group full of bad guys with the world boss and hit ambush soul tether path and sap. Bone shield for extra mitigation. I'm talking guaranteed wins. Just roll dps when you are grouped and tank the world.

Now you're losing me. What is Bone shield?

When you say "tank" are you talking going full heavy armor and dropping DW for 2H?

jebuspowers

Tank meaning heavy armor and 1 handed weapon plus shield. Bone shield is an undaunted skill and great for any tank. You can use 2 handed if you want as an alternate. Some of the 2 handed skills are good for tanking.

TitanJeff

I finally hit 34 so went and upgraded all my gear. Got 5 pieces of Night's Silence and 4 of Ashen Grip, ate up, and then went after some bosses. It made a world of difference.

All went very well. Only one death due to my own goof. I'll be making it a point to update my weapons more often and having a snack before a boss battle. My critical is now around 33% which still seems a little low to me. I have 25 stamina, 6 health and 2 magicka going right now.

I finally opened Snipe. I was pretty excited about it since it was the final bow skill. I'm not sure I like it. I'm going to try it as an opener today though don't know if it'll be more powerful than a big shot followed immediately by venom arrow.

RavenSworn

TitanJeff wrote: »

I finally hit 34 so went and upgraded all my gear. Got 5 pieces of Night's Silence and 4 of Ashen Grip, ate up, and then went after some bosses. It made a world of difference.

All went very well. Only one death due to my own goof. I'll be making it a point to update my weapons more often and having a snack before a boss battle. My critical is now around 33% which still seems a little low to me. I have 25 stamina, 6 health and 2 magicka going right now.

I finally opened Snipe. I was pretty excited about it since it was the final bow skill. I'm not sure I like it. I'm going to try it as an opener today though don't know if it'll be more powerful than a big shot followed immediately by venom arrow.

Snipe is good for openers as a soloist, spamming Snipe requires either you to be in a group or in pvp when the target is distracted. Snipe is also best used in stealth, not invisible and can usually one shot a mob, with the right mix of abilties and situation.

TitanJeff

uniq_faznrb18_ESO wrote: »

Snipe is also best used in stealth, not invisible and can usually one shot a mob, with the right mix of abilties and situation.

It looks like I've learning something new today because, when I was crouched, I assumed I was in stealth AND invisible. Is this not the case?

This could be a game-changer.

RavenSworn

Cloak grants you invisibility but not stealth. Crouching grants you stealth bonuses and invisibility (well sort of) at a reduced rate of movement. A stealth attack will always grant you bonus attack damage which is higher than a crit damage though it can be both. The direction the enemy is facing is also crucial, you get a stealth attack stun if the enemy is facing away from you. With the first passive from the bow skill line, the farther you are away from the target, the higher the damage.

So in essence, a good situation for Snipe is: be as far away as you can from target, crouch, get the hidden icon on your cursor, cast reapers mark on target, cast Snipe, while casting hold the attack button for heavy attack for a Snipe + heavy attack weave. This will stun the target or totally one shot it. Damage is increased if a) you use 2hander and cast Rally pre battle b) you cast a shadowy disguise before Snipe which will guarantee a crit strike c) casting camouflage hunter for Buffs.

Hope this helps
-RavenSworn