New Creation NB Advice needed

DenMoria

So I've created my first true nightblade, a Khajit black panther in Auridon (not my favorite choice, but I do try to keep with the basic parameters).

Previously I have greatly relied on draining health and duel wield capabilities when trying out NB, but am wondering what y'all think are the best aspects for a NB to have in the 1-50 range and, later in Cyrodil.

Not a huge fan of the grouping aspects or the PvP, but, truly do want to find out what all the fuss is about.

As so many of your have been playing an extended period and know so much about the capabilities of the classes, what are your thoughts on what makes a Night Blade a viable, long term investment.

(Just an FYI: No crime for me that I can avoid. Okay... by crime I mean stealing, murder is aokay!)

Violynne

NB was a challenging play style for me. Despite the quick DPS damage, it takes nearly twice as long to take down enemies because DW has such low-damage weapons.

Despite the challenge, I loved playing it because of the "up close and personal" combat style.

I ditched provisioning early, which was a stupid, stupid mistake. If you're playing NB, get your provisioning skills up. The health+stamina buffs will be extremely helpful since NBs can't generate health buffs easily (and potions won't do you squat).

Get to researching medium armor ASAP: 3 traits per armor. Once you do this, you want Night's Wind (found outside of Skyfall) which boosts stamina and removes speed and sneak costs.

The loss of sneak costs and speed works fantastically well with the guaranteed crit hit on stealth.

Keep your weapons at level at all times, even if you can't armor. Those few extra damage points help. I always used the armor penetration trait on weapons. I'd also recommend you improve them to at least one level, but two is preferred as the penetration increases to 6%.

Play around with skills to see which works best for you. As you get into higher levels, you'll start facing more enemies, so taking them down as quickly as you can is helpful.

I've been playing a sorc of late, so I forget the NB skills, but there's one which stuns enemies for 4ish seconds. That was my most often used skill, only topped by Rapid Strikes (for obvious reasons).

For attributes: 5 stam for every 1 health. I didn't use magicka, as I had enough to do 3 cloaks, which was more than enough. You can play around with provisioning items for stam + mag if it's more helpful.

Good luck and remember: it's about having fun, even if the class can be frustrating at times.

TitanJeff

Violynne hit on quite a few key points I would make as well.

I'd make learning provisioning a priority. I went blacksmithing, clothing and woodworking for my Stamina-based NB so I could make my own stuff. That's all well and good except many of the quests have weapons/armor as rewards. I tried to go 8-10 levels without making new stuff and found I was just too weak so put on found or rewarded gear.

With eating food to boost stamina and health, I was/am getting crushed by most bosses.

I went NB so I could use a bow. Truth be told, it's pathetic early on. I'm having a blast with it now after getting a few of the bow skills. I'm also DW which has proven to be interesting and, I've discovered, learning to block and roll is sometimes as important as style of attack.

It's fun. Frustrating at times but fun.

MrTarkanian48

I am a Khajiit VR6 Stamina Nightblade. This is my first build on this game but I'll give you some ideas that I have found useful.

Lots of good info from above:

1)Definitely agree on provisioning. Level it up asap and get some blue recipes that boost health and stamina. Keep those food buffs up 100% of the time because it makes a world of difference.

2) Alchemy helps alot too. The potions you can make at high level are very powerful. Panacea of Weapon Power gives weapon damage/weapon crit/restore stam and stam recovery. There are others that give immutinity to snares and CC, provide invis, increase speed etc. Youre going to want these tools later.

3) I originally was investing attribute points between health and stamina at a 1:1 ratio. I have since changed and put everything into stamina. It leaves you kinda squishy, but makes you hit hard. Do what you wish here based on your play style. I personally picked khajiit NB to be a sneak/assassin type build and not a tank. I die alot when I rush into a group of enemies in PVP. I typically stealth, pick off a player, get back into stealth and find my next victim. Or get in the back of a group and lob some lethal arrows in.

4) In my opinion DW has two things going for it. The extra item for a crafted set bonus is nice. 1 dagger, 4 armor pieces, and bow as Night Silence, then the last 3 armor Ashen Grip gives alot of stats. Also steel tornado is a killer AOE attack. I ultimately switched to 2 handed though because...

5) Stamina Nightblades don't have much for healing. If you invest in Stamina your swallow souls hit like a wet noodle and dont give much in health in return. Killers Blade and Mark target give alot of health back when you kill enemies but situations will arise where you cant pop a potion and there is nothing to kill to get health (boss fights or multiple opponents in PVP). 2 hander Momentum morphed to Rally is AMAZING. Provides a good heal and boosts weapon damage 20% for 30 seconds (eliminating the need for sap essence/power extraction on your bar). Ive found two hander is superior for me. DW is great for steel tornado in dungeons when you have a good healer, but otherwise I think Rally is a must.

DenMoria

So it IS possible to play a 2 handed NB! I was wondering. Was thinking about a Harley Quinn build at some point and, as you know, she uses a REALLY big hammer.

Thank you so much for the valuable advice all!

Baronh2o

Wow not one person spoke up for the magicka NB. I guess I will have to do the heavy lifting on that front .

If stealth and using cloak is important to you...if spending a lot of time invisible is important to you I would go a magicka build. They are tons of fun to play in Cyrodil because you don't necessarily have to kill someone to ruin their day / plans (although magicka NBs are very capable at killing in PVP). I can't tell you how many times I've cloaked up to the enemy's siege line and burned multiple siege weapons without getting caught.

Magicka builds do less damage than stamina, but here is a good link and read about a duel wield / resto staff NB.

deltiasgaming.com/2015/04/10/umbra-nightblade-leveling-build/

This build is super durable and awesome with some practice.

DenMoria

Baronh2o wrote: »

Wow not one person spoke up for the magicka NB. I guess I will have to do the heavy lifting on that front .

If stealth and using cloak is important to you...if spending a lot of time invisible is important to you I would go a magicka build. They are tons of fun to play in Cyrodil because you don't necessarily have to kill someone to ruin their day / plans (although magicka NBs are very capable at killing in PVP). I can't tell you how many times I've cloaked up to the enemy's siege line and burned multiple siege weapons without getting caught.

Magicka builds do less damage than stamina, but here is a good link and read about a duel weild / resto staff NB.

deltiasgaming.com/2015/04/10/umbra-nightblade-leveling-build/

This build is super durable and awesome with some practice.

Very cool! Thank you so much.

leepalmer95

I really like to mess around with people in cyrodill... nothing like marking people from 60 meteres away and watching them panic.

RavenSworn

I agree with most of the points up here but if its one thing i don't agree is that Stamina users can't stand the long run in PvE. while that is true with the fact that unless you are specced into 2handers and ultimately rally, you dont have much healing but i found that i can still be healed via potions, Ref path and Soul tether. there were many times that i almost died as a DW / Bow stamina nb but Soul tether and pots helped me regain the edge. It is really all about resource management in this game.

However, you will die and die more often than magicka nb simply because of our inability to cloak spam and not lose our main damage resource pool. Funnel health spam is so cheesy its not even funny for magicka nb PvE.

You can also change up our armor and get Whitestrake. that damage shield on low health really helps you for that last few seconds you try to gain either your pots or your ultimates up.

Floki_Vilgerdarson

Use a bow and massive stamina. Deltia has a character on You Tube called "one shot" willy or something. Check out his build.

Soleya

Violynne wrote: »

Get to researching medium armor ASAP: 3 traits per armor. Once you do this, you want Night's Wind (found outside of Skyfall) which boosts stamina and removes speed and sneak costs..

Just so the OP doesn't get confused. The armor is Night's SIlence , it's 2 traits required, and it's outside Skywatch.