Magblade PvP help?

resdayn00

Hey guys!

I'm playing a dark elf magicka nightblade. I mostly play casual PvE with Julianos set, use a lot of AoE and DoT skills. Also I tend to use skills that heal me when I deal damage with them. I am also a completionist so obviously I want to get the achievements related to the current event. So my question is, could you please give some tips to someone who isn't a big fan of PvP and doesn't really have experience with it? My only experience is running around in Cyrodiil, sometimes getting killed, however in a delve I somehow managed to fend off and kill 2 enemy players who took me by surprise - I honestly don't know how I killed them.

Some questions I'm mostly interested in:
What are some crafted (or easy to come by) sets to use for my class?
Should I switch to heavy armor maybe? I'm currently using light armor.
I heard many PvP players use impen instead of divines, should I go for it as a magblade?
What are some skills I'll need? I also heard AoE and DoT skills aren't that useful in PvP.
Which campaign should I aim for? I'm CP450 if that matters.
Some pro tips for a complete beginner, please? (in terms of PvP of course)
Should I even bother with the achievements? Do casual non-PvP players even stand a chance?

Thank you in advance!

Grimhallow

First of all the achievements should be really easy to get, as they are pretty passive. The battlegrounds win might be luck if you're not used to small scale though.

As for everything else:

"Easy to Get" PvP gear is sadly somewhat scarce. The best gear sets right now are going to be Amberplasm, Wizard's Reposte, Necropotence, Lich, and Spinners. You can buy Necro, Spinner, and Riposte (though they are pricy), and Amber sucks to farm. If you wan to just get in and get some achievements then you could go Shacklebreaker and use witchmother's brew or stam/mag recovery. In that case I would use this build pattern:

Head/Shoulder: Engine Guardian, Blood Spawn, or Skoria (both light/Impen)
Body: 5 pc Shacklebreaker (Heavy chest and Legs- everything else light- Infused chest and legs- impen everything else)
3 rings of willpower (thats really cheap right now)
Random Sharp Fire Staff w/ oblivion glyph
Random Defending Resto staff w/ spell dmg glyph

(otherwise, you could use a duel wield/jewelry necro build with shade with a necro healing staff- which is more damage, but more expensive and a lot harder to pull off)

I would just do one of the less populated new 7 day campaigns to be honest- even if you don't have max cp

If you run Destro/Resto I would set up my bars like this:
Bar 1: Relentless Focus, Mistform, Entropy, Funnel Health, Impale Ult: Soul Tether
Bar 2: Refreshing Path, Syphoning Attacks, Mistform/Cloak, Healing Ward, Fear Ult: Light's Champion


As far as good gameplay techniques go, I would say that Kena puts on a pretty decent show, though I am probably a tad biased.

Good luck out there!

resdayn00

Thank you very much! That helped immensely, I'll definitely use your tips. Just one more question: Which enchants should I use on my gear? I currently have spell damage willpower jewelry and I use magicka enchants on my armor.

thankyourat

If you are new to magblade in PvP I would definitely go heavy. Heavy shackle breaker or heavy seducer would probably be your best bet for easy to get sets. And you could use you will power jewlery with tristat food and a monster set. That should make you pretty survivable while you learn the ends and outs of playing the class in pvp. As you get better you can keep lowering your survivability for more damage. I think heavy would work best for you because magblade is so difficult in PvP if you aren't careful you can be one shot. Heavy will just allow you to fight much longer

resdayn00

Thanks! I'm still a beginner in PvP so I think I would die just as easy in heavy armor, to be honest. I'm currently using heavy chest+leg and rest light, shacklebreaker, as Grimick suggested. I can die easily, but I'm getting better and better. I mostly stick to my group and can land a few kills, actually I'm almost done with the achievements, somehow landed the killing blow on a Grand Overlord too.

Thanks for the tips!

Chelo

I don't think you are going to learn how to play a MagBlade in just 1 week for this event.

If you are only interested in completing the achievements and that's it, my advice is equip Impale, follow the group and just try to kill steal every other enemy player with low health... Get the 50 kills, and eventually the other achievements.

If you are still interested in PvP after this event, you can do your own research and practice later with more time.

fred4

I agree with Grimmick's set selection, but note if using Necropotence, you must use the shade to reap the benefit. PvPers typically use the Shadow Image morph.

When he says fear, he very likely means Mass Hysteria.

As a magicka NB, you should be using Merciless Resolve, not Relentless Focus.

Siphoning Attacks has been nerfed into the ground. I am not using it anymore, but am using Immovability / Detection / Magicka potions, as well as Escapist's Poison. The great benefit of Siphoning Attacks, in previous patches, was the stam return. You need stam to break free. If you are caught in a CC without stamina, you typically die. If using this ability I prefer Leeching Strikes over Siphoning Attacks, for PvP.

Magicka NBs are able to perma-cloak by using the cloak skill every 2.9 seconds. This will largely allow you to pick fights, and avoid ones that look too dangerous. Should you wish to do this, it is easier to achieve with light armor. You need cost reduction. Mag recovery, obtained from drinks, also helps. Mag recovery from armor stats and jewelry does NOT help. For some reason it works differently out of combat. The mag rexovery figure you see on your character sheet is an in-combat figure only. Shadowy Disguise is the cheaper morph, at rank 4.

Aim for 22K+ health, in PvP. The most useful food, when not wearing Amber Plasm, is typically Witchmother's Potent Brew.

Regards Impen, the quick answer is that using it in PvP is never wrong. The longer answer, for magblade, depends on whether you use shields. Certainly, as a light armor build, you will depend on shields, and since shields can't be crit, Impen is wasted, as long s you have you shields up. The problems is, you won't have them up all the time. Some players will hit you so hard, thay'll tear down the shield in 1 second. That's why you also want Impen. On the other hand, I have lately been playing successfully without Impen on magwarden using a magicka stacking build with 52.6K magicka, resulting in a 10.7K Harness Magicka shield. At that level I feel comfortable ditching Impen. You can achieve this on NB by using Necropotence and Shacklebreaker with Breton or High Elf race.

Harness Magicka pays for itself, and then some, when you are attacked by magicka. It is a VERY noticaeble boon to sustain. Dampen Magic gives you a bigger shield, in light armor. A tough choice.

AOE skills aren't terribly useful, in PvP, although Refreshing Path is a good choice, not so much for the damage, but the heal, the speed, and the shadow passives (increased resistances). DOT skills ARE useful. Crippling Grasp is widely used by NBs. Not everyone is a templar, and few PvPers actually have room to slot Purge, unless in big groups. In small group / solo play, this is not the case.

My last tip is that Soul Assault can get you easy kills. Don't open with it, but if someone is half down, use it then. Half the population doesn't know how to defend against it. Shield, before using it. You are vulnerable to counter-attack. If you are hit hard, be ready to block-cancel it.

fred4

When you set up your skill bars, be sure to avail of the various passives:

Slot at least one Siphoning ability for 8% extra magicka.
Use a flame staff and slot at least one destro ability, to avail of 8% extra single-target damage.
Slot an Assassination ability to gain 10% extra crit damage.
(Optional:) Slot Inner Light for 7% extra magicka, and 10% extra spell crit.

(Optional:) Pay attention to whether the health on your bars is balanced. If possible balance out the bars using an equal number of shadow abilities on both, or possibly slot Structured Entropy and balance with shadow abilities on the other bar.

The build I play is deliberately simple. I avoid the finicky Merciless Resolve and Shadow Image abilities. Many people will cry foul at this. I thus make no claims this the best build, at the highest level, but it' pretty effective nonetheless.

Destro bar:

Funnel Health (Siphoning ability)
Inner Light
Flame Reach (Destro ability, CC, and DOT)
Impale (Assassination ability) - replace with Merciless Resolve, if you prefer
Harness Magicka (on this bar, with Inner Light, to maximise shield size)
Soul Assault

Resto bar:

Concealed Weapon (speed buff while cloaked and use against flappy DKs)
Efficient Purge (to shake off being marked or snared)
Piercing Mark (changes the game against other NBs, increased damage as well)
Healing Ward
Shadowy Disguise (mainly cause it's the cheaper morph)
Light's Champion

I use a rather expensive gear setup, Spinner's (destro bar) + Skooma Smuggler (resto bar). Drinking a detect pot while cloaked will activate a speed buff and lets you see what you're getting into. A Sharpened Spinner's staff will set you back 300K on PC EU. You could simply go Julianos instead. Skooma Smuggler is a personal favorite that few people use.

Wizard's Riposte would be an alternative for the back bar. Probably the best defensive set, one that makes light armor more viable. The 15% debuff, from Riposte, is equal to about 10K armor. Unlike Shadow Image, it is applied to all players who attack you. Unlike heavy armor, it reduces damage to your shields, and thus increases their value. A Defending Riposte resto staff will set you back 100K+, though, as well, on PC EU.

Going with Riposte, Smuggler, or Transmutation - these are all sets that carry over their buff to the other bar. It allows you to run them on the back bar only, thus freeing up space for a 2-piece monster set of your choice with a staff build. I tend to simply use 2 pieces that give me more magicka, bringing total magicka to 44K with Spinner's. I always look for the biggest shields I can get. Alternatives include Infernal Guardian, Grothdarr, Skoria (with more DOTs in the build). You might also use Troll King for greater survibability. NB has a passive that buffs all regen by 15%, thus Troll King is a good match.

Xvorg

Magblade is one of the funniest but hardest classes to play.. and due to certain policies in ZoS (that we don't understand), every one or 2 patches they destroy your playing. Nevertheless, the magblade always rises again despite the tears and "nerf cloak" posts .

For a starter, I sugest you to try a HA set up. Julianos + transmutation is a good combo.

You can start trying different playing styles: Melee magblade, bomblade, sap tank, dotblade, ranged burstbade etc, trying to learn the class mechanics (which are: when you use fear, how to use cloak without burning your pool, how to combine cloak + shade, how to use merc resolve etc) Once you have learnt that, you can focus on a specific build that suits you.

exeeter702

fred4 wrote: »

When you set up your skill bars, be sure to avail of the various passives:

Slot at least one Siphoning ability for 8% extra magicka.
Use a flame staff and slot at least one destro ability, to avail of 8% extra single-target damage.
Slot an Assassination ability to gain 10% extra crit damage.
(Optional:) Slot Inner Light for 7% extra magicka, and 10% extra spell crit.

(Optional:) Pay attention to whether the health on your bars is balanced. If possible balance out the bars using an equal number of shadow abilities on both, or possibly slot Structured Entropy and balance with shadow abilities on the other bar.

The build I play is deliberately simple. I avoid the finicky Merciless Resolve and Shadow Image abilities. Many people will cry foul at this. I thus make no claims this the best build, at the highest level, but it' pretty effective nonetheless.

Destro bar:

Funnel Health (Siphoning ability)
Inner Light
Flame Reach (Destro ability, CC, and DOT)
Impale (Assassination ability) - replace with Merciless Resolve, if you prefer
Harness Magicka (on this bar, with Inner Light, to maximise shield size)
Soul Assault

Resto bar:

Concealed Weapon (speed buff while cloaked and use against flappy DKs)
Efficient Purge (to shake off being marked or snared)
Piercing Mark (changes the game against other NBs, increased damage as well)
Healing Ward
Shadowy Disguise (mainly cause it's the cheaper morph)
Light's Champion

I use a rather expensive gear setup, Spinner's (destro bar) + Skooma Smuggler (resto bar). Drinking a detect pot while cloaked will activate a speed buff and lets you see what you're getting into. A Sharpened Spinner's staff will set you back 300K on PC EU. You could simply go Julianos instead. Skooma Smuggler is a personal favorite that few people use.

Wizard's Riposte would be an alternative for the back bar. Probably the best defensive set, one that makes light armor more viable. The 15% debuff, from Riposte, is equal to about 10K armor. Unlike Shadow Image, it is applied to all players who attack you. Unlike heavy armor, it reduces damage to your shields, and thus increases their value. A Defending Riposte resto staff will set you back 100K+, though, as well, on PC EU.

Going with Riposte, Smuggler, or Transmutation - these are all sets that carry over their buff to the other bar. It allows you to run them on the back bar only, thus freeing up space for a 2-piece monster set of your choice with a staff build. I tend to simply use 2 pieces that give me more magicka, bringing total magicka to 44K with Spinner's. I always look for the biggest shields I can get. Alternatives include Infernal Guardian, Grothdarr, Skoria (with more DOTs in the build). You might also use Troll King for greater survibability. NB has a passive that buffs all regen by 15%, thus Troll King is a good match.

I know you mean well but lets please not recommend skooma smuggler to any aspiring mag nbs please

fred4

It works in the context of my build as my only source of Major Expedition. I like the length of the buff (30s), and that I can activate it in cloak without giving my position away (Path) or running down my magicka (Double Take). You can't incorporate speed into a magicka-based potion. Skooma Smuggler fills the gap. I prefer Immov / Detect / Magicka, or Spell Power / Detect / Magicka pots. Like I said, a personal favorite, that's also got very good 2, 3, and 4 item buffs. However I wouldn't recommend it, if you have Path, Crippling Grasp, or Double Take in your build.

I think fundamentally you select sets to give you damage and sustain. I wouldn't include defense on that list, if you play a shield-based defense, with the exception of Riposte and Transmutation. Shields are powerful, if unforgiving, and something that is worth learning as a magblade, sorc, or warden. Having both Harness/Dampen and Healing Ward in the build, along with the resto ult, makes you quite tanky. I think there are two paths to go down. One is light-armor and shields, the other heavy armor and layering heals-over-time (Siphoning/Leeching Strikes, Funnel, Path, Rapid Regen), and possibly block cost reduction. I have only played the first approach, on magblade. Other players favor a layered heals approach.

To the OP, you can't get around testing and discovering your own preferences. For example, I tried playing melee, but wasn't happy until I switched to a staff-based build. I tried Mass Hysteria, but found it less helpful than everyone makes it out to be. I was used to Fossilize, on DK, and found I prefer making do with Flame Reach. I'm going to get a lot of stick for saying this, becasue Mass Hysteria has a lot of advantages when you make it work. It goes through block, it activates the shadow (resistance buff) passive, it fears multiple enemies, it snares and maims. The disadvantages are the small range, and it's not totally reliable. For example, if you try and fear 3 NPCs, but one of them already has CC immunity, then Mass Hysteria fails to fear any of them. I suspect it's the same with players.

RedFireDisco

Fred's given some really excellent advice for someone who wants to play a NB mix of shadow killing and dueling.

A gank build will be different, employing Clever Alchemist and major sorcery pots.

A non gank, but non dueling build might utilize high crit damage, big heavy attacks (Dark elf, fire staff, empower) to bring targets into execute range.

If you can animation cancel then you'll hit hard. Inner light empowers attacks, giving you 20% more damage (so does entropy).


Swallow soul is the bread and butter ranged skill for a MgNB and if you can weave it with light attacks and meteor + impale you'll keep a safe distance.

Using concealed weapon is theoretically great, but for unskilled players, you'll put yourself in melee range all the while running the squishiest class in ESO.

I believe in most cases opening with concealed weapon is a DPS loss over a heavy flame staff, but when done properly can stun and give a good player enough time to run their combo and take someone out.

I would suggest that all combo attacks be on one bar as bar swapping mid gank is rife with lag induced problems.

fred4

RedFireDisco wrote: »

Fred's given some really excellent advice for someone who wants to play a NB mix of shadow killing and dueling.

Thanks. You have me pegged perfectly. I mostly run around solo, or in PUGs, in IC. I tend to stay hidden most of the time, but when I fight, I am mostly visible. My build is indeed not a ganking build. You can do so, of course, but against better players ganks quickly turn into duels. I think only stamblades are truly the gankers, to be honest. Other than a bomber, who relies on attacking a tightly-bunched zerg, I don't know a magblade who doesn't rely on Merciless Resolve for burst, and that's just not available, up front. The closest thing my build has, for outright ganking, is Soul Assault. Opening with that CAN get you kills, but only against very inexperienced players. I am always prepared to duel it out, and I hold back the ulti until their health is down some.

The risk with my playstyle, and it's a very real one, is that their friends show up, because I'm more of a dueller and too slow getting things done. That said, I've been hit with plenty of Assassin's Will procs, even Meteor combos, that haven't killed me. Once you get experienced, and you are evenly matched, fights take longer. You can outshield a Meteor, especially if you happen to have an Immov pot up and walk right out of the AOE without being CCd in it. Always watch your stamina. Make Immov pots, and drink them when your stamina is down.

fred4

RedFireDisco is right, of course, that you should open with a heavy attack, from stealth, cancelled into another ability, such as your spammable. Empower that and it will give you a nice, bursty opener. I have fallen out of that habit, however, and this has to do with the setup time for that attack. For example, if you are up against a bigger group, you might do the cowardly NB thing of attacking the last member to go through the door into another IC district (not much choice against the odds, hehe). In that case you want to time it so you attack exactly the last guy, and the setup time for a heavy attack is just too long to do that. The other thing is that Funnel Health is a relatively low visibility, low noise attack. If you just start funneling, it can take people a second or two to cop on, while they're busy with an IC boss or mobs.

resdayn00

Thank you all again for these suggestions. My original goal was to complete the achievements for the event, get the laurel and be done with PvP altogether. I completed all achievements in a very short amount of time. However, my opinion about PvP changed drastically and it seems like I'll indeed focus more on it. I'm starting to grasp it. I got 7 kills in a BG match which seemed impossible to me before this event, knowing how I performed previously against other players. I'm going to try out all these ideas and incorporate them into my playstyle. Right now I'm fairly comfortable with my current build, but will have to change it to progress further.