A good dps Build for Magblade plz..

LovesLost13

So I am currently stuck on what I should do type of build I would be going for is max dps (if possible) for pve.. I currently have.

5 piece Julianos
5 piece (keep switching between them) Transmutation and Mad tinkerer

For sets I am not really sure what should use but I guess those are what got me started. I feel like my damage is still extremely low.. only hitting at max with a crit 18k with swallow soul.. Spell damage only reaches 2023.. Which for my friends kinda feels like I fall off alot when they can reach 3k. Idk if its my gear or something else is holding me back.

Morgul667

Alcast builds are a good place to start :

https://alcasthq.com/eso-magicka-nightblade-build-pve/

Transmutation is not a DPS set, put something else, like trial or undaunted gear

Zer0oo

First Transmutation is a pvp set and useless in pve and mad tinkerer is not really better.
a standard setup for pve mag nb:
2xskoria+4trial set(moondancer...)+5julianos
witchmother food so you don't run out of magicka
infused fire staff front bar(shock enchant)
nirnhorned lightning staff on back bar(weapon damage+use lightning woe to proc off balance for the 10% damage boost from the exploiter cp peak)



Second how hard one skill hits does not really mean anything, if you would test your dps on a training dummy it would be way better. And after that you could use an addon to really look into it(combat metrics), if you are console you are kinda screwed at this point since the base game lacks every thing to actually show you your dps pharse and will only tell you your dps on a trainings dummy.

Jarryzzt

Obviously add-ons are very useful (provided they work! Combat Metrics has been on the fritz for me of late for whatever stupid reason...), but even without them you can use game content as "proxy" for the training dummy, more or less. Both from the standpoint of numbers and of "benchmarking".

For example, once the build and at least decent gear are in place, you can solo a normal dungeon (e.g. Wayrest I) and see how long it takes for you to burn down the first and second bosses (the first has sub-1 million HP and no adds; the second >1 million HP and adds). That's a nice proxy "real world" DPS, because unlike with a training dummy you are also moving to avoid attacks or stuns (the second boss has a lot of those). Public dungeon soloing could also be used in this regard, though the bosses have much lower HP values and so there you'd be testing more "burst" than DPS.

From the standpoint of benchmarking, going into a veteran dungeon PUG is a gut check on, in my experience, resource management first and foremost (I am talking about boss fights, of course), as well as how well your chosen rotation can execute under very stressful conditions. Running nMA is also a good way to tell if you can balance DPS, resource management and self-heals while dealing with some...interesting mechanics (vMA I wouldn't necessarily look at that way since it just kills you, over and over, but mileage varies).

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Aside from that, others have already pointed to the Alcast build - and, really, I wouldn't expect that much variation from it for most MagBlades, since the key skills are what they are - and made gear suggestions. Honestly, at some point ZOS ought to notice that 90% of the guides out there just point to Julianos or Hunding and ignore a majority of the other magicka or stamina sets and rebalance the whole category accordingly, but until that day comes...

I will say that while getting to the optimal gear setup (Julianos/Skoria/whatever), there are some ok-ish intermediate sets. Some like Seducer and/or Magnus for sustain, War Maiden-Willpower isn't so bad for MagBlades in particular since all of their class skills are pure magic damage (though that does not help you on attack weaving, Elemental Blockade or the destro ult), et cetera.

I will also note that at least one popular vMA guide for magicka characters (Joy...somebody, forget the rest of the nickname) recommends a resto staff setup for survivability, but that's really getting deep into the woods.