Realistically what can you expect from a ganking build?

worrallj

I recently got my nightblade into some scavenging demise + red mountain. A bow snipe out of stealth always crits & procs both. I had thought this would amount to a hefty combo, but seems like not so much. Plus the process are dodgeable and often don't land. I'm sure I could kill a 23k potato with this but a 30k pvpers with good resists that knows how to push the heal button... I don't see it happening. And that's mostly who plays in IC which is where I've been playing lately. Can the average decent pvpers be ganked or is it really only for potato hunting?

Iriidius

Killing a good 30k hp player with a single snipe would be really op. Probably you have to follow up with a second snipe, heavy attack, poison injection than bow ult or something like this. But i dont play bow ganker, most of them are cowardly zerglings that only attack you if you are already fighting other people, so the combo might be not correct.

gariondavey

That combo thankfully has counterplay.
I've had other nbs try to gank me with that combo on my ganker (melee, running old caluurian fb stygian body vate 2h bb selenes set up). I don't think I've ever died to that gank, and then I obliterate them usually if I can catch them before they scurry away.

fred4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsFh2l25KOk

Emmagoldman

^ I ran a similar set up for a long time. It works on potatoes that can't block, heal, or los. Fun to roast noobs, but once it's someone with experience, you get stepped on pretty hard

Thecompton73

As you say both are dodge-able and everyone's first instinct is to dodge-roll when they get sniped. You'd be way better off opening with a stealth melee attack from a flank to get the stun. I've also had luck getting up close in stealth and doing a rotation of lethal arrow-LA-poison injection-bar swap-Dawn breaker-rending slashes-whirling blades. Double dots poison on the DW bar with master weapons makes for a potent stack of dots.

malistorr

ZOS has nerfed anything related to ganking for the past few years. It's obvious that they don't want it to really be a thing (and neither do most players). They've started doing that with bombing as well although that is still a viable way to kill players easily. I've evaluated/tested pretty much all sets that a bow nightblade could use to kill people and none of them will let you 1 or 2-shot a decent player with a good build. The proc sets damage scales from weapon/spell damage. So if you use a couple of those sets your regular damage stats won't be very high. And like you said there are ways for players to dodge/avoid damage. I've found the best success with going for more stat based damage. I'm not going to share my exact build here but I use a combination of speed, stealth, and good stats (for reliable consistent damage) to get my kills. This play style/build means that you won't be dueling or even 1v1ing a good player or you'll probably lose. You'll pick off low health/weak targets and hit people from range. You survive using stealth/speed and getting away/avoiding brawler type toons. Melee/brawler nightblades are a totally different thing however. If the above scenarios sound like something you'd enjoy, go bow/stealth nightblade. If not you'll want to go with another play style like melee/brawler nightblade or pick another class.

DrNukenstein

I've been doing this thing with an infused master inferno staff back barred and caluurion's legacy front barred where I'll gank with crushing weapon weaved with clench, swap cancel, the crit from the back bar procs front bar effects, and then run up for an incap into surprise attack crit. It is glorious when it all comes together, but lot's of moving parts makes it unreliable.

The cheese is that the caluurion proc benefits from the master staff+glyph and all my front bar DW bonuses. Would potentially be better and cooler with the frost staff

Caribou77

Hmmm, I'm gonna respectfully disagree with those who are excited about 1-shotting someone. I like the fight to last long enough to see who can dynamically adjust their combos/play style against a skilled player. Not talking about a tank holding block and waiting to hit Balorghs -- but players who can respond quickly to nuanced moves and spontaneously work a variety of offensive/defensive skills so that the fight becomes a little bit unique. Nothing personal. I understand it's just my preference. Stupid gankers

worrallj

Thank you everyone for the comments. I've switched to a melee no proc build and having much better luck. Much more dangerous than a ranged gank but it actually kills people.