Need an Advice as a New Player, Regarding DK.

TheMightyKnight

So ill try to make this short as possible.
I have just started the game few days back, and made a Stam DK because i liked the videos i saw, and i am around lvl 25, i have tried various weapon combs. like 2handed + sword and board, dual wield + bow, and couple of others, and i went to few dungeons as well; and i felt that Stam DK is abit lackluster, and when i opted to be a tank, my "solo questing & leveling" is hit hard, so i am wondering which would be a chill class to play? ( preferably ranged, since i cant be bothered to dodge stuff).

So is MagDK good? for PVE ( solo & dungeons) and for PVP as i intend to do some pvp? also what bothered me with StamDK is that i have to build the class differently when i play pve and pvp, even with different weapons, which is a bummer.

Finally I want to know which class is beginner friendly, and its potential to be good in both pvp and pve; keeping in mind that i am a casual player who can only invest 1-2 hours each day ( roughly speaking), and play a couple more in the weekends.

davey1107

The classes are pretty distinct, and people have their preferences. So whatever feedback you get here, you might need to play with a character through level 25ish to get a sense of how they play. But I’ll offer some pointers.

Fixing your StamDK

This is for me the most boring class to solo quest in...I’m not surprised you got bored. But it’s possible with some reconfiguring he might be more fun so I’ll start with some tips on that. I wouldn’t necessarily delete him even if those doesn’t work...stam DKs are really, REALLY helped by champion points. Maybe you’ll go main another character, then come back to the DK some day when you have a lot of CPs to allocate for him. (Which are earned by account, not character).

1. Don’t tank him early, dps him. Even if a DK wants to be a tank someday, it’s boring to roll through solo pve as a tank. If you boost his dps by wearing mostly medium armor, and using stamina dps sets like Hundings rage, they’re more fun. And put all your attributes into stamina. For me, a DK should start as a dps knight then later become a tank when they’re vet.

2. Rely more on weapon skills. The DKs have some great skills...but a bar loaded with class skills can be boring. On my Stam DK I run him a lot with a DW bar with three weapon skills...they’re just more fun.

Other classes

That said...yeah, DK’s are boring, lol. If you don’t like a stam DK at all, I don’t think a mag DK is the next class to try. They play really similarly. Here are some suggestions that are all-around good choices

Magplar

This might be your best bet. It’s an all-around great class that has awesome class skills and some fun variations with weapon skills. A Magplar is going to fight somewhat similar to your DK, with a lot of close quarters fighting. But they open and close with some powerful ranged abilities. They’re a great class for a beginner because they come with a full toolbox without much trouble earning abilities...killer heals, good dps, Shields. Their primary attack is jabs, which return health as you do damage...this solves your blocking dilemma.

Magplars perform well in pve and Pvp. They have awesome sustain and very good resource management, but have slightly less Dps. A Magplar shows you more or less how they’re going to play by level 20...although there are some really fun avikitiesmyou open late, like radiant destruction.


Stam sorc

I love this class...which is a sort of oddity unique to eso. A stam sorc plays a bit like a Magplar...still seeking to keep enemies nearby...but their damage can be pretty darn high. Stam sorcs get less versatility than other classes. Only 3-4 of the sorc class skills work for stamina, so you end up using mostly weapon attacks with a few class skills. But those class skills are killer - stam sorcs have great AoE Damage, great single target dps potential, great sustain, and one of the best resource return abilities in the game.

My stam sorc destroys in pve, and is also very good in Pvp. This is a class that takes longer to see its full potential. Because they rely so much on weapon skills, some of your best attacks don’t unlock until you’re well on your way to vet. For example, you said you want a range attack - dual wield’s Shrouded Daggers is awesome. My stamblade and stam sorc get like 50k dps per proc. But you’re probably going to be in your 40s when this opens up. Likewise, bow’s Poison inject is awesome. That’s also the last ability to open in that line. So two of your best attacks will come around the time you’re player level 40.


Mag sorc

This is one of the most popular classes. They’re OP right now...they can stack shields that allow them to create a huge magic pool that pushes out endless dps. And they have a lot of range attacks. Here’s the thing...the player base LOVES mag sorc. I find them a bit dull. The skill rotation feels monotonous to me. That goes back to the personal preference thing...I know it’s an awesome class, but no matter what I’m doing I always put my mag sorc away after an hour.

But they do perform amazingly in pve and pvp. They are ultra-high dps, with great resource management and sustain owing to a dev team that likes sorcs too much and gives them ridiculously powerful skills that other classes can’t match, lol.


Stamblade

This might not be the class for you...but it’s my favorite, hands down. I have hundreds and hundreds of hours on my stamblade. The class is massive dps, with decent resource management. But they are squishy as heck, lol. They require a play style that a player either gets, or they don’t...and then they suffer. Stamblades need to sneak and dodge. Learning them means learning to take fewer hits. It’s like boxing vs karate. Your DK just takes fifty punches to the face...a stamblade needs to duck 45 of those, then turn around to stab their opponent in the kidney.

Here’s what I always say...if a player starts with a stamblade, and if they like it and stick with it, they will learn the game inside and out. They can then usually walk into any other class and play well. That’s not true of every class...a Magplar offers so many crutches that I’ve run across a lot of players who start Magplar, then they role another class and can’t survive without the endless heals and wards. But you will suffer learning stamblade...oh how you will suffer, lol. There will be bosses that kill you twenty times. Then one day you’ll get the game, amd murder everything endlessly.

Stamblades do well in pve and pvp. And here’s another big reason I chose it as my first character - cloak gives you invisibility whenever you want it. If you want to fight every monster in a delve, knock yourself out. But if you sometimes want to just go grab a shard...or the boss...or explore the world without being in battle every ten seconds, a nightblade can help with that. I used my main to explore everywhere, then later I brought in several other characters to rotate through. But I did all my questing on my NB.


Those are my recommendations. I have all the other classes too. My stam warden is similar to my stam Sorc...this is also a great class. Magblades are very fun, and like a cross between a stamblade and mag sorc. Stamplars are...meh...to me. Fun enough, but I find myself going to my stam sorc amd stamblade for Dps. I find my mag DK boring.

Hope that helps. If all else fails, rolls a couple of characters and rotate through them until you find one to focus on. If you stick with the game long term, you’ll likely want to play different toons.

tinythinker

Welcome to ESO

A lot of a class' potential is more obvious after getting more skill lines filled out, so whatever you try keep in mind it will play a bit different at lower levels and with fewer options to slot on your bar.

duendology

Hmm, I must disagree with you @davey1107 on StamDK being boring. :P

My very first character was/is Redguard Stamblade...as completely new back then I hadn't known what I got myself into. So, yes, I agree, Stamblades require "flexibility" and practise, she taught me a lot..and I've been still learning. She's my first so I love her!

I've got MagPlar and two SorcMags, I agree they're beginner friendly.. but I got bored you know. I must say I'm having more fun with my Orc DK now.. I've been leveling her now as stam-dps but want her to be a tank. What I find awesome about this class and race I chose.. that I can play with attribute points and , whenever I wish, I can play her as tank or dps (or maybe as both..specifically as dps support).

jnelson1182

I started playing about 2.5-3 months ago an started with a DK, leveling, b4 I knew really anything at all about how different this elder scrolls game works compared to the others I played, I gave up on playing that class because some reason I don't remember & made a mag sorc with a dual pet build. if you haven't try that I enjoyed it up to cp 160 which is when I started getting better gear as well as learning a lot more about the game. one day I got board an figured I should at least get my DK to level50 so started playing him and now only switch back to my sorc when I run into something too hard do do with my DK due to the difference in shields+healing the sorc has over then DK. don't get me wrong the DK has a decent shield an nice self heals but there is something about the way the sorc can use the shields that makes the difference for me. now going into my 3rd month playing the game I rarely use the sorc, its not so much that he is stronger or hits harder he is just a lot more fun for me to play than the sorc, he does awesome damage and the more gear I get that he needs the better he is getting, don't give up on mag DK's I think it is just about getting through the learning curve that this game has than anything else.