How are magblades in PVE,thinking of my 2nd char ?

Bansidhe1965

Are they good,and how much more difficult than a magsorc ?

It's the only other class that appeals to me tbh

Partomax

Magblades are really good, they are harder to play tho. Still you should get the hang of it.

It's so easy to do vMA with one too ;p

davey1107

If you’re used to magsorc, it should be a pretty easy transition. Maybe the easiest class to transition into a mag blade with. You’ll use the same stave skills you’re used to. A magblade is kinda like a mag sorc who has gone dark and just wants to kill everyone, lol.

Magblades are entirely fun, in PvE and PvP. They are masters of stealth. You will cloak through any parts of the game you want. Walk straight to a delve boss if you like. and they can put out some ungodly Dps. They are squishy, and require some attention to keep alive, which comes in the form of avoiding damage via stealth and evasion, and also grabbing heals via damage abilities.

If you PvP, these are gankers pure and simple. Magblades who know how to hide and gank are sheer terror. In PvE they can compete in any content. Their unique ultimate setup (soul,harvest / destro ultimate) offers them the ability to proc the most powerful skill in the game more often than any other class.


Tips

The playstyle will be really different. You’ll give up shields, in exchange for a ton of healing abilities. You will want to learn to avoid taking damage altogether, rather than mitigating it like you do with sorc. For example, on my sorc i’m about to get smacked hard. I throw up a shield and block and take it. On a magblade I ask how I can avoid it. If I cloak, will the hit fly right past me?

Nightblades can be honed through their class skill passives more than any other class. Pay close attention and learn how these passives work. For example, a shadow skill like cloak or veiled strike...concealed weapon give you a massive resistance buff for a few seconds. Slotting Assassin skills boost your crit. The right bar setup is essential.

Expect a magblade to come into their own at a higher level than other classes. Meaning, some of their best skills are unlocked at high levels, so you won’t have them in full form until your skill lines are high levels. For example, their ultimate soul harvest generates 6 ultimate *per kill*. Slot this on the attack bar and the destro staff ultimate on the back, and you’ll be casting a rain of death every thirty seconds, lol.

The skill Grim Focus is a core skill. It’s powerful and fun, but one of the trickiest to master. It’s mechanic is wonky. Also, don’t underestimate Twisting Path, a skill that can be overlooked but is really powerful.

LEVEL YOUR LEGERDEMAIN. This line has a passive that lets you reduce the stam cost of sneak by 40% at legerdemain level 16. Magblades need this...you will want to sneak a lot, and you don’t want your limited stam pool constantly drained. (Technically I say any class needs this because it’s a powerful buff, but this applies triple to blades). This will take a little grinding, but not so bad. Every once in a while, go to the ships docked at Daggerfall. There are few NPCs. Steal everything, then fence/launder it. If you want to go faster, spend one point to allow 220 daily transactions. In about ten trips you’ll be able to unlock all four points, and this will really help a sneaking magblade.


I have three nightblades on my account and am highly considering adding a Khajiit magblade (just for fun). Out of all my characters, which I have every class in both variations, I spend like 80%+ of my time on my blades because I love the class.

If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask. Just use @davey1107 in the post so that the system notifies me. Happy to help if you run into any questions/issues.

SydneyGrey

Easier than a magsorc, in my opinion. I love my magblade. I have to admit, though, the first time I ever tried a magblade, I ended up deleting him because I didn't quite "get" how to play him. I thought I'd give it another try, though, and I'm so glad I did. He's now possibly my favorite character.
I recommend the skills Path of Darkness and Strife (morphed to Swallow Soul). Swallow Soul is a must-have skill for me. It's super hard to kill him when he uses it.

NoFlash

@davey1107 what's a good beginner set up to use until you can farm vma and trials for better gear?

londonvictoria

Amazing info, thanks. I'm playing a magblade as my first ever eso character. She's fun, but I'm totally guessing how to play/level her. These tips are great! I've been completely underusing her cloaking.

I'm a bit of a bash all the buttons fighter because I've not picked that side of things up yet. Are there good opening combos? What weapon/bar set up would you recommend. I'm only level 20, hovering around that sort of level in the main skill lines too.

I've been using dual weild (a hammer and a dagger I think!) On main bar and a (destro?) Staff that shoots fire on the back bar. As you can see, I'm new and clueless!