Blocking attacks in PvP

Gordon906

I run with sword and shield in PvP and i was wondering when i shoild be blocking because when iget attacked my health goes down so fast I forget to do it. Any advice or suggestion? Im templar imperial btw

WhiteMage

You'd have to provide FAR more imformation for us to be of any real help. I'd wager the problem lies in the gear you are wearing, but either way, if you want to block more, practice it.

bubbygink

I run a destro/restro magblade with only 10k stam so I can't block as much as you can with sword and shield (you can block cast when needed, etc.) but with siphoning attacks I still have plenty of stam to block "heavy hitters" or CCs that can ruin my day. This list is certainly not all inclusive but I always block (or try to) the following things:

• Meteor - this one is the biggest no brainer in my opinion. As soon as you hear that meteor coming in get you block up.
• Magicka Sorc's Crystal frag - another no brainer in my opinion. If I can help it I never let this one hit me. Big damage, a CC, and typically ap art of a Magicka Sorc's burst combo to finish you off.
• Dizzying swing - like crystal frag it is a heavy hitter plus a CC so when you see that 2H being drawn back make sure to block.
• Magicka Templar's Dark Flare - another advertised skill that does a lot of damage. Block it.
• Destructive reach/clench - a pretty televised CC if shot at you from a distance. Block this whenever possible because otherwise it will CC you.
• Templar javelin - a bit trickier to block than destructive reach/clench but worth blocking if possible for the same reason.
• Stamblade's Incap - this one has a bit of a sound you can hear to know its coming. Another trick for this one is to block every time a stamblade ambushes in on you. Stamblades love to use the empower from ambush on their Incap and an empowered Incap is deadly and will come often since it is so cheap. So typically every time a stamblade amushes me I try to throw up block because there is a good chance Incap is coming.
• Heavy attacks - Heavy attacks can hit really hard, in many cases as hard as ultimates (I've been hit with some crazy fire destro heavies). Also, many use heavy attack as a burst combo, e.g. heavy attack + Incap. So when you see somebody loading up a heavy attack make sure to block.
• Crit rush - this one isn't as important as some of the others but this is a relatively slow gap closer that hits hard and is the start of somebody putting pressure on you. So I always block this when I can. The nice thing is that it does more damage from further away so people like to use it from a further distance making it easier to block.
• Snipe - when you hear the snipe sound hold up block, especially if in between fights because you're likely getting ganked. even in the middle of the fight you will want to block because it is a heavy hitter and often spammed (and some times is glitchy with multiple hitting at once).
• Soul assault - while I typically shield stack through this if you don't have that option then you should block the duration of it.
• Any execute - really this is just an in general "block if you are low on health" statement. But it goes without saying that things like a magblade's Impale have to be blocked if you are in execute range or you are going to die. When your health gets that low try block casting your heals/CC until you're out of danger.

I'm sure there are more but that is what I could think of off the top of my head.

Gordon906

WhiteMage wrote: »

You'd have to provide FAR more imformation for us to be of any real help. I'd wager the problem lies in the gear you are wearing, but either way, if you want to block more, practice it.

Practice it is...

Biro123

The hardest - yet most important thing to learn to do in PVP is to defend yourself.

When I was new to PVP, I died so quick, I didn't have enough time in-combat to learn - so I tend to advise most people new to PVP in ESO to start off with a tanky build to have more time to learn to defend.

Durham

Currently everyone can die extreamily quick.... so much DPS out there with spell and armor pen/debuffs....snares/immobilized with no timers.... short stun timmers...

timborggrenlarsenb16_ESO

And one can ask him self... Hmmm, how do you block wothout a shield?????

Artanis

Speaking of blocking in pvp, has anyone tried using ice destro staff? It'd be great to know if it's viable (in terms of defensive functionality) compared to the typical inferno staff used in pvp...

Minno

Artanis wrote: »

Speaking of blocking in pvp, has anyone tried using ice destro staff? It'd be great to know if it's viable (in terms of defensive functionality) compared to the typical inferno staff used in pvp...

I use it for pvp. It drains your magicka hard if you are not careful (similar to blocking with stamina). But it shines for magicka toons because we can now have additional blocking mitigation without using stamina. This means our low stamina pool can be exclusively used to break free/dodge roll.

But I use fire staff for offensive, and ice staff backbar. But it helps since I'm a Templar with healing passives to not have to slot a resto staff.