ESO Mythbusters: Dragon Fighting Myths (REDUX)

arena25

Sometime last year, I made a thread busting some myths about Dragons and their abilities.

Well, it's been a while since then, and while we will soon be saying our goodbyes to dragon as everyone moves over to the new world event once Greymoor releases, I want to bust some myths so that if any newcomers want to fight dragons, they can do so while having some knowledge about how to fight them as well. Also, there have been several new types of dragons to fight since I made my previous thread, so let's go ahead and clear up the misconceptions about the dragons. I will be doing 3 posts: One concerning fire dragons, another concerning frost dragons, and the last one concerning storm dragons. We will begin with fire dragons, and the remaining two dragons will be discussed at great length in the next couple days.

Fire Dragons: Mythbusting

Myth 1: Dragons are soloable with the right gear and knowledge.
Fact: At upwards of 14.7 million health, the dragons are the toughest world boss to date (at least, as of right now, I will not comment on how difficult Greymoor stuff will be). They also pack a variety of attacks that will make soloing a dragon impossible. Bring friends! If there is anyone out there who can claim "I soloed a dragon" and WITHOUT using any cheats/exploits, I'd love to hear about them and their strategy.

Myth 2: Shout of Power (Where Dragon goes Fus-RO-DAH!) is an instagib.
Fact: Only if you are caught in the cone and you don't get your guard up. Shout of Power is a dragon's heavy attack, which means all you need to do is block it (default: press and hold RMB). Blocking will prevent you from being knocked up into the air, which that plus the fall damage is what kills players.

Myth 3: As long as I stand behind or to the side of the dragon, I can melee the dragon.
Fact: Tail Lash (where the Fire Dragon will slam his tail into the ground and create several Eruptions) and Wing Buffer (where he swipes his wing, knocking down and backwards players while 3 Fire Tornadoes radiate out damaging players) are very fast ways to die while standing behind or to the side of the dragon. Also, while we're on the subject of meleeing a dragon, please try to avoid it unless you are a fully equipped tank. One good Bite, Tail Lash, or Wing Buffer is usually enough to one-shot anyone that is not named Main Tank.

Myth 4: Scorch (where the dragon flies through the playspace and scorches the ground) is an instagib.
Fact: Only if you stand right in the "path" of the dragon. Scorch is meant to divide the playspace...and as discovered, it divides the playspace into two equal parts. The best way to avoid Scorch is to wait until the dragon chooses his angle, then stay away from the path. Do not approach until the scorch is done and the scorched ground returns to normal.

Myth 5: I don't have to worry about taking damage until I engage.
Fact: With Firestorm, you need to approach and engage quickly, or die quickly. Firestorm is meant to catch AFKers as well as those who try to run away/enter a fight late. Worse, it deals a lot of damage, and damage increases with each tick, so either get in the eye of storm or get burned.

Myth 6: Eruptions are unavoidable and are an instagib.
Fact: Eruptions, whatever the source of the attack, are in no ways an instagib. Just roll dodge out of the way. Also Eruptions are another way to catch AFKers/bots...either get out of the way or get burned. While on the subject, when fighting a dragon you should be moving...constantly. Every inch of the playspace will eventually be affected by an attack. Stand still and you'll be a stain on the wall in no time flat. So keep moving. You can apply this to most other games out there, from first-person shooters to MMOs to MOBAs.

That's it for mythbusting Fire Dragons. Check in tomorrow, where I will bust some myths related to Ice Dragons.

indigorune

you can easily melee a dragon without being a tank.. you just have to pay attention to the wings and tail so that you can roll dodge the attack. and if you miss the roll dodge, just hold block so that the fire tornadoes don't hit quite so hard, then heal up asap. also, don't get under it or even toooo close (just need to be in range to melee, you don't have to be physically touching) or you will die to incineration point (i think it's called). ALSO ALSO if you get soul tear'd (you'll have purpley/gold stuff around you and your health will start dropping) without being a templar and can't heal through it, be on the look out for a purify synergy to get that off ASAP.

Dracane

I have soloed dragons before. Why is that impossible? O.o You can not easily do it on a pure glass damage build. But it works when you know their mechanics. You just need a purge ability and see their bites and headbutts coming. Pet Sorcerer makes it easier. Although I do not know if this still counts as solo for you.

Fus Ro Dah does not one shot you. This is a lie.

TX12001rwb17_ESO

Every Boss without special group mechanics is soloable, it just ranges from very easy to inhuman levels of impossible.

kargen27

I disagree with three. The tail and wing attacks are telegraphed well ahead of time and can be blocked.

D0PAMINE

Uhh, you totally can solo dragons with the right gear and knowledge.

Darkenarlol

i'm soloing all dragons so for me this "mythbuster" is kinda ...busted

most of the attacks are blockable/dodgeable and big ugly dot can be purged

daemonios

*facepalm*

I thought this was going to be instructive, but it's only marginally more accurate than the supposed myths. You can solo dragons if you build for it and treat them like vMA bosses. Manage your resources and prioritize. I find the hardest thing for me isn't even the dragons but the trash they spawn. You can go tanky for survivability, but spanky does the job faster and there are plenty of heals and shields to keep you topped up.

Every dragon attack can be blocked or dodged. Recently I learned even the fire/frost/lightning breath in your face when the dragon singles you out can be evaded by dodging towards it and standing between its neck and wing.

You can absolutely melee a dragon, but standing behind it is the worst way to go about it. Stand in front of it, dodge the bite and the breath, you get NO wing or tail swipes at all.

BoraxFlux

This looks pretty neat, even though someone else chimed in near the end.

Mettaricana

I think we forget that most players on the server can't finish the tutorial without an extensive guide and get confused on basic functions like block dodge and breathing...

BoraxFlux

Mettaricana wrote: »

I think we forget that most players on the server can't finish the tutorial without an extensive guide and get confused on basic functions like block dodge and breathing...

There is always one (or more) crazy enough to achieve a feat like this.
Players like that move the boundaries of the possible, and while most players might not equal that kind of achievement, they never should give up hope on the impossible and exceed their own limits.

So one day they can return to the forums victorious, complaining overland content is too easy :P

Raudgrani

It would probably be very hard, take a very long time, and probably be very, very boring. Dragons are best killed with friends, or at least in the company of a few randoms. I have been killing a few with very few other people, not like these huge mob lynching dragon fights you see most of the time, but like 3-4 people. It takes a long time, and that soul render typ of DOT makes it a bit hard to effectively deal damage while trying to heal through it. Then a horde of "little helpers" appear, and you got your hands full for quite a while before you can even focus the dragon again.

Clearly not made to be "soloable", it's just too much going on to even be worth it.

Starlock

Thanks for posting this!

xaraan

Uh, like others have said, dragons are solo-able. I don't do it with a pure dps build, and some types are harder than others, but as your post seems to try and shoot down: it can be done with the right build. I will say it's harder after they buffed them when Dragonhold came out and to me, not worth it anymore simply because of the amount of work and possibility of dying near the end of the fight and have to repeat the whole thing again. Better to just at least wait for one or two others.

Also, melee is no problem is you actually watch for mechanics. Almost every pug I see around a dragon fight dying is just unaware of mechanics and eating them. Learning those will make it much easier for you when you try and fight a dragon and only have a few people there instead of a zerg to help you. I've often melee'd dragons on my magDK, magplar or stam characters without any problem from wing or tail if you watch for the mechanic. Though I will say the big issue with pugs seems to be them standing too close and not realize they are in the AoE under the dragon (you can melee from farther than that) or not realize the lightning dragon has dropped the moving AoE and it's under them.

I do want to say, seeing tanks mentioned, that it is great to have a tank in a dragon fight. A four man dungeon style group with a tank, couple dps and a healer would feel solid to deal with any dragon. But, tanks need to pay attention when there are other tanks there. If you show up as a tank and it is already being tanked, then find some other way to contribute, don't screw up the taunt making it immune and then both of you become useless for a while.

redgreensunset

The only thing that makes dragons "unsoloable" is that their health makes soloing them take such a damn long time that other people will almost inevitably show up and join thus no longer making it a solo.

xaraan wrote: »

...

I do want to say, seeing tanks mentioned, that it is great to have a tank in a dragon fight. A four man dungeon style group with a tank, couple dps and a healer would feel solid to deal with any dragon. But, tanks need to pay attention when there are other tanks there. If you show up as a tank and it is already being tanked, then find some other way to contribute, don't screw up the taunt making it immune and then both of you become useless for a while.

And I just second this as someone who, albeit not having a main tank (yet), have an alt that can tank a dragon without too much fuss? Because nothing is more annoying than tanking the beast, having positioned it well and some other tank arriving, decide they're "the better option" for the job and just create an almighty chaos in the process.

zvavi

arena25 wrote: »

Myth 2: Shout of Power (Where Dragon goes Fus-RO-DAH!) is an instagib.
Fact: Only if you are caught in the cone and you don't get your guard up. Shout of Power is a dragon's heavy attack, which means all you need to do is block it (default: press and hold RMB). Blocking will prevent you from being knocked up into the air, which that plus the fall damage is what kills players.

I believe the fall damage is the real myth here.

arena25

Alright, I gave you all a couple days to digest this, so now it's time to go with Part 2 of ESO Mythbusters. This one concerning frost dragons!

Myth 1: Ice Eruptions are instagib and unavoidable.
Fact: They are not instagib, and they are avoidable. Also, it helps to keep moving during the fight rather than standing still.

Myth 2: Once frozen by Frost Breath, I'm dead in the water.
Fact: If you're a tank, get your guard up before Frost Breath. Also, you're not necessarily dead in the water once frozen. Healers, pay attention...if a person is frozen by Frost Breath, heal them until the Frost Breath is over.

Myth 3: Blizzard lasts from the beginning of the fight to the end of the fight.
Fact: No. Blizzard eventually fades, but until it does, anyone wishing to join the fight or escape from the fight will take large ticks of increasing damage. Don't approach or disengage until the sky returns to normal! Latecomers, looking at you.

Myth 4: Soul Render turns into an instant GG.
Fact: Keep using your heal abilities if you're hit by Soul Render. If you use your heal abilities correctly, you should be able to survive it (though you might fully drain your magicka/stamina).

And that's it for Frost Dragons. Tune in tomorrow, when I will attempt to bust some myths about Storm Dragons.

daemonios

PSA: there are other threads out there with more accurate information on dragon tactics. Regarding ice dragons, 1) you can avoid the frost breath by moving closer to its shoulder, between the head and the wing, 2) you can definitely join/leave the fight at any time, just shield up/heal through the blizzard and don't stay in it longer than you need, and 3) while you can heal through soul tear, the best option is to cleanse it, which additionally solves the problem of heal spamming draining your magicka.

arena25

Alright, y'all, it's time for the final episode of ESO Mythbusters: Dragon Fighting Myths. This one concerning storm dragons! Let's dive in to this!

Myth 1: Storm Aura (a very large AoE ability associated with Storm Dragons) deals a lot of damage.
Fact: Only on the initial burst. After the initial burst, it will keep moving around the playspace in random directions. Just stay out of the way and you'll be fine. If you do have to move through one before it disperses, move quickly to avoid taking increasing DoT damage.

Myth 2: Lightning Scorch is unavoidable.
Fact: Not if you pay attention. Like the Fire Dragon's Scorch, the dragon will choose an angle and will scorch the ground. Unlike the Fire Dragon, however, it radiates shock bolts outwards, but these are avoidable if you are paying attention. Those bolts, however, do deal large damage if you happen to run into one, so do try to avoid them.

That's it. Short and sweet.

And that is it for ESO Mythbusters: Dragon Fighting Myths. Stay safe out there, friends.

laksikus

I guess the harder part at soloing dragons would be to kill them before anyone else joins the fight