Advice for Stamina DragonKnight

Marukeru

I'm making an Orc DragonKnight and I'm looking for some pointers.
I would like to run 2H and 1H/Sh (2H for general damage, 1H/Sh for defense), preferably with a focus on Stamina while using magic for supplemental damage or defense.

This build is almost exclusively PvE with friends and sort of an RP play through.

Please offer advice on skill bars, morphs, gear and attributes. All voices are heard

Saint314Louis1985

My only char is a v16 stam dk that uses 2H and 1H/SH.

Stam DKs dont really have alot of variation as far as skills go. You definitely want to pay close attention to the DK class passives as they are what makes a stam dk viable.

Generally, most bars are close to as follows:

2H bar (for dps)

executioner
crit rush (i use brawler for PVE)
wrecking blow
rally
igneous shield
dawnbreaker ult

1H/SH
ransack
volatile armor
fossilize (caltrops for PVE)
green dragon blood
vigor
dragon leap ult

Some of those skills are high level and take time to obtain. Other options are searing strikes, dark talons, evil hunter, or Magma armor ult. The thing about stam DK is that most of our class skills are magicka based and they dont do a whole lot with a stam build. I do like you mentioned, and use my 2H bar for DPS and then use magicka defense skills on my 1H/SH bar.

All attributes should be stam. You can mix in a few health glyphs on your armor if you need more HP.

This build has really high survivability in PVE due to all the self heal & DK sustain. You can DPS and tank in the same dungeon most of the time with exception of a few really tough vet dungeons.

Hope that gives you somewhere to start. good luck and hope you like the dk!

AverageJo3Gam3r

Biggest tip is to PvP until you get vigor. It's the best stam-based self heal.

Marukeru

Interesting loadout.
Seems your DPS with 2H is pretty straight forward and single target. Would it make sense to mix in an AoE damage skill on the 1H/Sh bar to help hold group aggro? Obviously the Blood+Armor gives the Shield bar good durability.

Would it be worth it to pick up Werewolf at all, or stay a clean-blood? (I hold no interest in Vampire)

Saint314Louis1985

Marukeru wrote: »

Interesting loadout.
Seems your DPS with 2H is pretty straight forward and single target. Would it make sense to mix in an AoE damage skill on the 1H/Sh bar to help hold group aggro? Obviously the Blood+Armor gives the Shield bar good durability.

Would it be worth it to pick up Werewolf at all, or stay a clean-blood? (I hold no interest in Vampire)

Caltrops is an AOE that works good in PVE (initial dmg + DOT and snare). Also 2H brawler is an AOE that gives a damage shield each time you hit an enemy and applies a DOT to targets. You could use burning breath (aoe stam option, weak initial dmg but applies debuff) or another for DKs is Ash cloud, but its a magicka skill and the cost is pretty high.

My char is a WW but i only had it because the stam regen passive use to be in effect without slotting any skills. Its not like that anymore. I dont care much for the actual WW skills. There is no penalty for WW unless you transform, so you could try it, and if you dont like it there is no harm done.

Marukeru

Saint314Louis1985 wrote: »

My only char is a v16 stam dk that uses 2H and 1H/SH.

Stam DKs dont really have alot of variation as far as skills go. You definitely want to pay close attention to the DK class passives as they are what makes a stam dk viable.

Generally, most bars are close to as follows:

2H bar (for dps)

executioner
crit rush (i use brawler for PVE)
wrecking blow
rally
igneous shield
dawnbreaker ult

1H/SH
ransack
volatile armor
fossilize (caltrops for PVE)
green dragon blood
vigor
dragon leap ult

Would it not be better to put Igneous Shield and Green Dragon Blood onto the same bar? Mayhaps use Volatile Armor to help provide armor while dealing damage at the same time, along side a Rally for a HoT+HoEE(Heal on effect end)?
This would keep DPS higher on the 2H bar, right?

Maybe move Igneous to the 1H/SH bar along side Green Dragon Blood and Vigor, providing a stronger heal to allow greater durability in "Tank-mode"? As well as granting a shield to allies in the process?

Just some thoughts.



:AFTER THOUGHT:
Seems that the heavy armor increase through Ransack and Volatile Armor give the 1H/SH some serious defense against physical attacks, while Igneous Shield is just that, a shield rather than increased defense.
So which would be better suited on a defensive POV? Shield + Heal(+HoT) or Increased Armor + Heal(+HoT)?

I also noticed that there isn't much that can be done against spells here with lack of spell resistance in the skills. Should I take Ransack over Pierce Armor simply for the defense? Or would it be okay to go for the group damage increase?

I enjoy any and all information provided in this discussion, and I thank all those who have replied so far.

Saint314Louis1985

Marukeru wrote: »

Would it not be better to put Igneous Shield and Green Dragon Blood onto the same bar? Mayhaps use Volatile Armor to help provide armor while dealing damage at the same time, along side a Rally for a HoT+HoEE(Heal on effect end)?
This would keep DPS higher on the 2H bar, right?

Maybe move Igneous to the 1H/SH bar along side Green Dragon Blood and Vigor, providing a stronger heal to allow greater durability in "Tank-mode"? As well as granting a shield to allies in the process?

Just some thoughts.



:AFTER THOUGHT:
Seems that the heavy armor increase through Ransack and Volatile Armor give the 1H/SH some serious defense against physical attacks, while Igneous Shield is just that, a shield rather than increased defense.
So which would be better suited on a defensive POV? Shield + Heal(+HoT) or Increased Armor + Heal(+HoT)?

I also noticed that there isn't much that can be done against spells here with lack of spell resistance in the skills. Should I take Ransack over Pierce Armor simply for the defense? Or would it be okay to go for the group damage increase?

I enjoy any and all information provided in this discussion, and I thank all those who have replied so far.

You can set your bars up however you like. test it out and switch as you see fit.

the reason i put igneous shield on the 2H bar with rally is not because of the dmg shield. The dmg shield sucks tbh. If you need a dmg shield spam brawler in a big group of adds and your dmg shield will max out pretty quick. The thing that makes igneous shield work is the +percent to healing. Plus its a magicka skill on the 2H bar that I have full of stam skills only. I like to keep the temptation to burn thru magicka as low as possible lol, and I mainly run my 2H bar.

Some people dont know but if you click rally before its timer expires, it gives you a dam good burst heal based on how long the first rally has been left active. The longer its in effect, the bigger your burst heal.

The way I use them together is pop igneous shield, then pop rally. Let rally do its thing for a while and then if i need a burst heal, i pop igneous shield then hit rally again for the burst. It keeps me alive while not having to switch to my other bar mid fight and i can continue to dps. Thats my reasoning for igneous shield on the 2H bar.

GDB is also a burst heal, mainly for PVE. I keep it on the back bar simply because i dont use it as much as it costs magicka but if im about to die i pop GDB for burst then vigor for HOT.

If you are really low on hp midfight and youre DPSing, hit your igneous shield, burst heal rally, quickly switch bars, hit gdb then vigor.

I tend to switch my bar set ups slighty if I go into a dungeon knowing Im going to be the tank, but its pretty much the same skills. The key is to figure out how you want to play your character and set your skills up accordingly. Pay attention to the secondary aspects of each skill as alot of them tie in to boost other skills.

I believe volatile armor boosts both magic and physical dmg by about 5k @ v16. I havent really looked in a while but Im pretty sure.

AverageJo3Gam3r

Another thing to remember about igneous shield is it will give you 5% stamina back when cast due to earthen hearth passives. So I keep it on my dps bar to convert magicka to stamina to help with resource management.

Marukeru

I've run over your posts a few times, and soaked in the information you've shared. I really am liking what I get from your build.
The vibe feels very much so similar to my normal play style.

I've also come across the Unstoppable Force on the Battlemaster's Corner and am thinking of sort of mixing the 2 builds to really hone in on what I would like most to get from this character and class. I mean, thy share a lot of abilities, and while the Unstoppable Force is more defensive, your concept offers a bit more offense.

I feel that as an Orc, I can hold back a bit on pushing my health a little since I get a boosted Max HP from passives, and can instead put that little bit of space into other attirbutes. Speaking of passives, Orc gets a nice weapon damage increase, which allows me to use that 2H bar for some better offense, while still allowing me to deal moderate damage on my 1H/SH bar.

*Now if only I can stop wanting to also make a Redguard to play while my friends aren't around! I keep wanting to level a Templar but just can't find a groove with them like I can with Dragon Knights

Thank you again for your help, you guys are awesome!

Marukeru

I've thought about it a bit. What would you guys recommend for skills if I wanted to use the 2H bar for trash in dungeons, with some AoE skills and a little bit of control (Like Burning Talons) -- While using the 1H/S for Tank-Mode with my Shielding/Regen/Heals?


Or, would it simply be better overall to drop the 2H and move to DW with the Whirlwind + Burning Talons? I'd want to be able to help burn down as many primary targets as possible alongside my DPS for trash. Which would be most effective?

EDIT::

How would this play out, in your opinions?

TRASH BAR: Dual Wield

• 1) Rending Slashes i]Twin Slashes[/i Single Target dmg, for picking those bigger targets in Pulls
• 2) Steel Tornado i]Whirlwind[/i Bigger Radius for burning down the softer mobs before focusing tougher ones
• 3) Burning Talons i]Dark Talons[/i AoE Immobilize and DoT
• 4) Green Dragon Blood i]Dragon Blood[/i Heal + Regens
• 5) Flames of Oblivion i]Inferno[/i Boosted Critical and fireball damage
• U) Flawless Dawnbreaker i]Dawnbreaker[/i Cheap Ult for damage, and boosted Weapon Damage while slotted

BOSS BAR: 1 Hand & Shield

• 1) Pierce Armor i]Puncture[/i
• 2) Burning Embers i]Searing Strike[/i
• 3) Unstoppable
• 4) Green Dragon Blood i]Dragon Blood[/i
• 5) Igneous Shield i]Obsidian Shield[/i
• U) Corrosive Armor i]Magma Armor[/i

AverageJo3Gam3r

That should work. I'm a full tank and I have a similar setup for PvE. I use brawler as my AoE, but that could be steel tornado too.

1HS Bar: pierce armor, absorb magic, extended chains, igneous shield, coagulating blood, werewolf transformation
2H Bar: brawler, turn undead (will be caltrops when I unlock it), choking talons, volatile armor, rally/shuffle, dragon knight standard

I don't actually use the werewolf ultimate, simply slotting it for the additional stamina regen.

Marukeru

:EDIT: It seems that Stam DK, with its no stam regen while blocking, isn't as strong as my brain wants it to be.
I hunt and search through various posts daily, and have yet to find any build or guide that suits my playstyle/weapon choice. So for now, I wing it.

I feel bad because I am still struggling with this. I just haven't been able to settle into anything that feels right.
Plus, I struggle with anything PvP, so I haven't been able to pick up any PvP skills, and I am still trying to level my Guild lines, so I lack their Ultimates.


I have gotten comfortable with 1H/SH running:

• Pierce Armor
• Unstable Flame
• Draw Essence
• Green Dragon Blood
• Volatile Armor
• Magma Armor

My problem? It is mostly single target and durability, and I NEVER switch my bars because I have yet to find a second bar that I want to spend any time using >.< I am often cozy on that bar for bosses, but can struggle with trash and general questing when I have to deal with 4+ enemies. I keep trying 2H but it just doesn't feel right and I don't know why. I tinkered with DW but that also felt lack luster. And I prefer to stay in melee range to tie up my enemies, which kinda leaves me with just another 1H/SH bar (which imo is difficult to make an AoE/Trash bar)
I've searched and searched, but I can't find anything that feels like it suits my play style.

I'm level 45 now and using 1 dang bar for most, if not all, content!

I need some strong guidance on how to best utilize that second bar in such a way that I find myself WANTING to use it over the other in trash situations. Do I honestly need to push into DW for the Tornado AoE?