Class/Build Recommendation Needed

Texecutioner187

Looking to get some guidance from the more knowledgeable folks in here... anything helps.

I'm fairly new to PvP and I can do some ranged damage/support but wouldn't mind a tanky build that can get up close in the fighting while still staying alive, as I tend to die quickly the closer I get to the fighting. There's just so many builds and options out there... I'm sure there are a ton of choices, just looking for some guidance for builds/classes that I can look towards to potentially do some damage up close while also holding my own and not dying the second I get into the fray. Any tips help, thanks!

NinchiTV

what class and stam or mag and cp or non cp?

Texecutioner187

NinchiTV wrote: »

what class and stam or mag and cp or non cp?

Lately, I've been playing non-CP. Class and stam/mag I don't have a preference. My goal is tanky damage. I understand I'll have to work a little at it, but IDEALLY... semi-easy tanky damage. I have arthritic fingers so don't like to get too intense with controller play lol

fred4

We should probably ask what class(es) you have levelled.

I don't think any build that can do good damage is truly tanky. When you're watching people who pull that off, a lot of that comes from positioning, experience, combat awareness and selective healing / defending at the right time. Dying the second you move into the fray can happen with any build and only gets better with experience.

I'd avoid nightblades, stamsorcs and stamplars on account of them tending to use movement and/or aggression, rather than tankiness.

Stam DKs should be in the running for you. Inherently tanky and Leap is a satisfying and easy to use skill. Be a Nord, by the way. On the other hand I find mag DKs complicated, especially the way their healing works, so I'd probably avoid.

Magsorcs are ranged. They probably have more of a learning curve ... it kind of depends on whether you like shields and the sorc rotation. They have one of the best escape tools (Streak / Ball of Lightning) and can be tanky, but it's something you have to manage more actively than a heavy armor stam build.

Wardens, both flavors, also tend to be tanky. Magdens tend to be ranged, stamdens melee. Stamdens play similar to stam DKs, Magdens somewhat similar to magsorcs. Magdens are IMO easy play, but rotation focused. The ease of play comes from them being more focused on firing broadsides, rather than bursting down individual players.

Magplars are easy play and have a lot of good skills. They are generally better for group than solo play. Unlike most mag classes they tend to play as melee.

Can't say about necros, since I don't play them, but they appear tanky.

If I were to shortlist, I'd probably consider a stam DK or magplar.

On the stam DK front, go 2H front bar, 1H+Shield back bar. There are different playstyles, but the most effective for all melee stam classes tends to be 2H, these days. In other words, it comes down to whether you like Dizzying Swing and Executioner. Go with heavy armor. Bloodspawn monster set (standard for any DK). New Moon Acolyte front bar (2H), Seventh Legion back bar. 2x Potentates jewelry. Gold food.

Much the same setup would work on a stamden.

For magplar: Light armor. You lose too much damage by going heavy on a mag class. New Moon front bar. Amber Plasm or Shacklebreaker body. Potentates back bar, either 1H+Shield or resto staff. 2x resistance pieces for monster set, such as Chudan + Pirate Skeleton. This is fundamentally squishier than the stam builds, but templar compensates with healing skills, especially Living Dark. If you find this setup too squishy, you may consider some tankier sets, perhaps Buffer of the Swift, but the really good tanky templar sets of the past, such as Pirate Skeleton, have been nerfed.

I feel magden is a bit underrated. This perhaps comes down to them struggling to finish off players and not being a great solo class, but they can hit hard. I tend to go for a magicka stacking, shielding build on magden, 50K+ magicka in CP, but this will not suit no CP as well.

Let us know which class you are leaning towards.

fred4

Here is an example of what a tanky stam DK might look like:

https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Special:EsoBuildData?id=224956

Using a combination of Steed + 7th Legion + gold food + potion that includes health for permanent 2K health regen. Also, because speed is nice.

Bloodspawn for ulti gen. Nothing better on DK.

Running New Moon on front bar and Seventh only on back bar allows fitting 2x Potentates for damage reduction from players.

Heavy armor suits DK and makes you less likely to be one shot.

Nord with the ulti gen and resistances is probably the best race for this build.

Fragmented Shield is standard on DK to get the Minor Brutality and increase Vigor healing.

Forward Momentum, instead of Rally, on a heavy armor build for the snare removal. We're covering healing with Vigor, Cauterize and health regen.

Camou Hunter to bring the crit up (lacking in heavy armor) and for the possibility of Minor Berserk. This leaves you free to use a potion such as Stamina + Health + Lingering Health or a tri-pot. I believe there's also one that gives you stamina, magicka and more ultimate.

Note that Noxious Breath serves to get the Major Fracture, but is also an anti-nightblade skill.

Invasion gap closes and activates the back bar enchant. You can also just leap.

ThePedge

Stamcro

Texecutioner187

ThePedge wrote: »

Stamcro

Why?

Iskiab

I’ve found the best classes for brawling are warden and Necro. DK isn’t as brawly as I thought it’d be as a MagDK, maybe I’m just playing it wrong or my spec is bad, I’m not sure.

Texecutioner187

fred4 wrote: »

We should probably ask what class(es) you have levelled.

Let us know which class you are leaning towards.

Currently thinking stamcro because I read they have a lot of mitigation, currently looking at medium armor for damage output. That and I have two that aren't being used for anything. And to answer your question I missed, I have multiple characters of all classes leveled so can really use any class.

fred4

Stamcro seems like a good choice, but unfortunately I can't help you with it. The above build pattern, incorporating Bloodspawn, Seventh and Potentates on both bars will work on any non-vamp stam class, except maybe stamblade. It incorporates a flat 2K health regen, which I think is quite nifty, but at the end of the day it's just one possible choice and I've tested it only in CP.

Texecutioner187

fred4 wrote: »

Stamcro seems like a good choice, but unfortunately I can't help you with it. The above build pattern, incorporating Bloodspawn, Seventh and Potentates on both bars will work on any non-vamp stam class, except maybe stamblade. It incorporates a flat 2K health regen, which I think is quite nifty, but at the end of the day it's just one possible choice and I've tested it only in CP.

I think on my stamcro I did Bloodspawn, New Moon and Bone Pirate. Not sure about it's tankiness, but it seems to have high damage output. I would prefer slight tankiness over damage just so I can survive "on the front lines"

fred4

Texecutioner187 wrote: »

fred4 wrote: »

Stamcro seems like a good choice, but unfortunately I can't help you with it. The above build pattern, incorporating Bloodspawn, Seventh and Potentates on both bars will work on any non-vamp stam class, except maybe stamblade. It incorporates a flat 2K health regen, which I think is quite nifty, but at the end of the day it's just one possible choice and I've tested it only in CP.

I think on my stamcro I did Bloodspawn, New Moon and Bone Pirate. Not sure about it's tankiness, but it seems to have high damage output. I would prefer slight tankiness over damage just so I can survive "on the front lines"

I have yet to make a medium armor build that feels truly competitive, at least given your priorities. I took my own advice and am now running the exact build I posted. I seem to have judged the sustain just right (for CP) and it's insanely good compared to the faster, but squishier medium builds I'm used to. I am not sure whether that's due to heavy armor, the 1H+S back bar or the synergy of 1H+S amd heavy with the DKs blocking passive and healing. In other words, the options I'd try include 2H front bar + 1H+S back bar, if not already, as well as heavy armor.

I don't think Bone Pirate is optimal anymore. I wouldn't pass up on the health regen in the gold foods. Sugar Skulls, in particular, gives you an insane amount of stats, if you have use for the magicka. Stacking health regen to 2K, as I have done, is another thing I find hard to quantify, but I know from past experience that this amount makes a difference. It's almost like permanent Troll King and don't forget it's not subject to Battle Spirit.

Something I have yet to look into are those potions that give 5K resistances, which now stack with Major Resolve.

NinchiTV

Texecutioner187 wrote: »

NinchiTV wrote: »

what class and stam or mag and cp or non cp?

Lately, I've been playing non-CP. Class and stam/mag I don't have a preference. My goal is tanky damage. I understand I'll have to work a little at it, but IDEALLY... semi-easy tanky damage. I have arthritic fingers so don't like to get too intense with controller play lol

i got you. blood spawn, fury, and another set of your choosing (lot of people pick spriggin or new moon) will work on any stam class and is the meta right now. Dks/wardens are tanky in nature. If you want to go mag stack max mag sets and a monster set (probably a def set if you want tankiness) mag sorc is very easy to play and one of the best mag pvp classes for sure. warden also does it all pretty well too. templar is right behind that IMO.

Texecutioner187

NinchiTV wrote: »

Texecutioner187 wrote: »

NinchiTV wrote: »

what class and stam or mag and cp or non cp?

Lately, I've been playing non-CP. Class and stam/mag I don't have a preference. My goal is tanky damage. I understand I'll have to work a little at it, but IDEALLY... semi-easy tanky damage. I have arthritic fingers so don't like to get too intense with controller play lol

i got you. blood spawn, fury, and another set of your choosing (lot of people pick spriggin or new moon) will work on any stam class and is the meta right now. Dks/wardens are tanky in nature. If you want to go mag stack max mag sets and a monster set (probably a def set if you want tankiness) mag sorc is very easy to play and one of the best mag pvp classes for sure. warden also does it all pretty well too. templar is right behind that IMO.

That makes perfect sense. I was trying to figure out how to incorporate more heavy for resists, I saw Fury set when I was browsing heavy sets but it looked Medium to me so I didn't even keep looking at it... but it caught my eye once already. If I do the Fury set, I assume you would recommend New Moon medium? Any suggestions/contrasts between the two?

Texecutioner187

Texecutioner187 wrote: »

NinchiTV wrote: »

Texecutioner187 wrote: »

NinchiTV wrote: »

what class and stam or mag and cp or non cp?

Lately, I've been playing non-CP. Class and stam/mag I don't have a preference. My goal is tanky damage. I understand I'll have to work a little at it, but IDEALLY... semi-easy tanky damage. I have arthritic fingers so don't like to get too intense with controller play lol

i got you. blood spawn, fury, and another set of your choosing (lot of people pick spriggin or new moon) will work on any stam class and is the meta right now. Dks/wardens are tanky in nature. If you want to go mag stack max mag sets and a monster set (probably a def set if you want tankiness) mag sorc is very easy to play and one of the best mag pvp classes for sure. warden also does it all pretty well too. templar is right behind that IMO.

That makes perfect sense. I was trying to figure out how to incorporate more heavy for resists, I saw Fury set when I was browsing heavy sets but it looked Medium to me so I didn't even keep looking at it... but it caught my eye once already. If I do the Fury set, I assume you would recommend New Moon medium? Any suggestions/contrasts between the two?

Well I guess a better question would be.... do I use Medium(sprig/nma) body and Fury other pieces, or Fury(heavy) body and sprig/nma weap/jewel?

Texecutioner187

Texecutioner187 wrote: »

Texecutioner187 wrote: »

NinchiTV wrote: »

Texecutioner187 wrote: »

NinchiTV wrote: »

what class and stam or mag and cp or non cp?

Lately, I've been playing non-CP. Class and stam/mag I don't have a preference. My goal is tanky damage. I understand I'll have to work a little at it, but IDEALLY... semi-easy tanky damage. I have arthritic fingers so don't like to get too intense with controller play lol

i got you. blood spawn, fury, and another set of your choosing (lot of people pick spriggin or new moon) will work on any stam class and is the meta right now. Dks/wardens are tanky in nature. If you want to go mag stack max mag sets and a monster set (probably a def set if you want tankiness) mag sorc is very easy to play and one of the best mag pvp classes for sure. warden also does it all pretty well too. templar is right behind that IMO.

That makes perfect sense. I was trying to figure out how to incorporate more heavy for resists, I saw Fury set when I was browsing heavy sets but it looked Medium to me so I didn't even keep looking at it... but it caught my eye once already. If I do the Fury set, I assume you would recommend New Moon medium? Any suggestions/contrasts between the two?

Well I guess a better question would be.... do I use Medium(sprig/nma) body and Fury other pieces, or Fury(heavy) body and sprig/nma weap/jewel?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I answered my question.... Fury heavy body pieces would be the resistance buff that I need with only a SLIGHT decrease in overall weapon damage I'm thinking... yes?

fred4

Fury used to be the go to set for tanky 1vX builds. It has been somewhat eclipsed by NMA, which is more consistent, although you could wear both.

Maulkin

You mentioned tank and damage. The tankiest classes that combine an ability to do good burst damage are Necro and Warden. DKs are high damage, but their defence has been gutted quite bit and are a fair bit harder survive and sustain long enough to utilise your high burst damage (when compared to Warden and Necro that is). You can build tanky Templars but you won't do as much damage with them and you can build a very high damage Templar but you will be quite squish, but it's harder to find balance between tankiness and damage than on Warden/Necro. Sorcs and NBs are hit and run artists.

Personally, I still find Warden the most well rounded class. Bar space and buff management might be a bit tough to newcomers, but these are luxury problems really. You have Minor Toughness, Minor Protection, Major Fracture/Breach and Major Mending and Purge all built-in either passively or with your most common skills. And you have every single important buff available in your native toolkit from Major Brutality/Sorcery (Netch), Major Savagery/Prophecy (Lotus), Minor Berserk (Bird of Prey), Minor Vulnerability (Flies), Major Protection (Permafrost) to Major Heroism (Shimmering).

It's very capable class as a solo roamer, one of the best to have in large group and (imo) by far that best all-rounder for small groups. You can't go wrong with levelling one.

Texecutioner187

fred4 wrote: »

Fury used to be the go to set for tanky 1vX builds. It has been somewhat eclipsed by NMA, which is more consistent, although you could wear both.

Yeah, I went to sleep before trying it out in BGs but I did 5 piece Fury, Heavy Bloodspawn and NMA weap/jewel. I golded out the rings and went Infused with weapon damage enchant on all three. Once Fury is fully proc'd, with Rally, weapon damage was sitting at 5000 approx, just had low crit with 37% i think

Texecutioner187

Warden.."Maulkin;c-6695646"]You mentioned tank and damage. The tankiest classes that combine an ability to do good burst damage are Necro and Warden. DKs are high damage, but their defence has been gutted quite bit and are a fair bit harder survive and sustain long enough to utilise your high burst damage (when compared to Warden and Necro that is). You can build tanky Templars but you won't do as much damage with them and you can build a very high damage Templar but you will be quite squish, but it's harder to find balance between tankiness and damage than on Warden/Necro. Sorcs and NBs are hit and run artists.

Personally, I still find Warden the most well rounded class. Bar space and buff management might be a bit tough to newcomers, but these are luxury problems really. You have Minor Toughness, Minor Protection, Major Fracture/Breach and Major Mending and Purge all built-in either passively or with your most common skills. And you have every single important buff available in your native toolkit from Major Brutality/Sorcery (Netch), Major Savagery/Prophecy (Lotus), Minor Berserk (Bird of Prey), Minor Vulnerability (Flies), Major Protection (Permafrost) to Major Heroism (Shimmering).

It's very capable class as a solo roamer, one of the best to have in large group and (imo) by far that best all-rounder for small groups. You can't go wrong with levelling one.[/quote]

This is helpful. Playing No-CP, I'm finding that I am running out of resources very quickly so I'm considering Warden. I went Stamcro first and seem to be having some difficulty with sustain. I've been playing this game for years but always in PvE as a sorc so I have ranged attacking in my brain. When I get up close and personal, I mash skills and run out of resources quick. It might just be a learning curve for myself... but I figured Warden would be a good stepping class with its buffs