Magicka Nightblade Post IC Patch: Vampire or Non-Vampire

MrTarkanian48

Pretty self-explanatory. Since the newest patch is Vampire worth it for a Magicka NB?

Shader_Shibes

Non-Vampire

I picked no because vamp changes my lovely dark, spotted fur white, and my lovely blue eyes, umm, white and red.

dreamfarer

Vampire

I'd say it's a much tighter call than it was previously but overall I think the bonuses from Vamp still outweigh the negatives.

Bats is still a good Ultimate, though overshadowed by Ice Comet or Flawless Dawnbreaker (depending on your build), so I don't know that you can count it as a solid strength for Vampire anymore.

Drain Essence got a buff, but it's still on the underwhelming side, especially for a Magicka NB (though being able to replenish Stamina isn't a bad thing even for a Magicka build).

Mist Form I've yet to get a lot of value out of - for escaping from bad situations I tend to find that either Dark Cloak will do the job or nothing will.

Supernatural Recovery is still a damn nice passive but the requirement to have a Vamp ability slotted does seriously impact it's usefulness. Still an overall plus though I'd say.

Undeath is woefully underrated and a definitely positive on any build.

The big draw though is probably Dark Stalker. Yes you can get the same effect as a set bonus, but that means your stuck with Night's Silence which is miserable for a Magicka vamp. Dark Stalker + Concealed Weapon makes for a great combo though where you move faster in Stealth than out of it. Very easy to get into position with that or move through dangerous areas.

The 25% extra fire damage is still an issue, and while you can slot for Fire Resistance that means you're inherently taking a nerf by not slotting for Spell Cost Reduction or Spell Damage on your Jewelry. As a Magicka NB though, you should be able to heal pretty well so apart from fire attacks that get boosted into 1 shot range by the bonus, you should be able to simply power through it.

If you're madly in love with City of Ash, or fighting Flame Atronachs (or if the PvP meta turns to all fire damage, all the time), then Vamp's definitely not a good option. Apart from that though, I think it's very much a preference issue.

Resipsa131

Non-Vampire

I cured after the update, having to slot on both bars kind of killed it for me.

Auricle

Non-Vampire

Hmm. Unless you have a crap ton of CP to put into fire resist, the new dungeons will probably be extra difficult as a vamp. Mist form is great as an escape means if you're not a NB, though. Since you have Dark Cloak, I wouldn't bother. You don't need it.

WyldfireWyrm

Auricle wrote: »

Hmm. Unless you have a crap ton of CP to put into fire resist, the new dungeons will probably be extra difficult as a vamp. Mist form is great as an escape means if you're not a NB, though. Since you have Dark Cloak, I wouldn't bother. You don't need it.

Didn't the fire damage get reduced from 40% to 25%? I would think this would make vampires more popular.

revonine

Vampire

Okay fair enough the update for PS4 has only been live less than a day but I spent a good many hours in IC today and thanks to the fire damage reduction and my CP's fire damage is irrelevant and even dawn breakers barely take off 1/4 of my HP. Although that could be down to people still in their 1.6 builds.
And I dunno if it's just me but damn with the longer TTK Undeath is so good I'm so much harder to kill unless I'm zerged down.I can come back from the brink and heal to with just a rapid regen and a swallow soul.
That extra regen on my cloak bar is nice too let's me permacloak while speccing all into damage.