Any Point Playing DK With All The Nerfs/Updates Leveling Classes & Now New Class Coming Out?

KyleTheYounger

I'm a SUPER casual PvE gamer who has yet to complete the base game MQ i.e beating Molag Bal. Since I bought ESO in 2016, I'd really like to complete the base game MQ before I kick the bucket or by time 2024 rolls around. Whichever comes first.

My oldest most experienced toon is a DK lvl 980 which alternates between dual wield axe/sword and staff in battle tactics. He wears heavy armor crafted sets (for PvE immersive purposes) Which is probably the worst strategic and tactical gear to wear when tanking end dungeon bosses solo. Especially in group PvE situations where most of the newer public/group dungeons are designed to test player survivability.

Anyways, as a result of my gear & build setup, I'm unable to beat Bal in the MQ (even if you strategically die several times to drop Bal's HP to about 50% his max HP). This is because my toon constantly dies when fighting magicka based NPC bosses over 1M+ HP. Regardless whether they're base game or DLC/dungeon DLC. And especially the more recent DLC bosses which ZoS made more challenging like any of the ones since the Blackwood DLC release

As a result of that, I can't fully experience or complete the game content that was intended for the solo player.

I've been researching the best heavy armor sets and toon builds to achieve this. Just in time for ZoS to nerf/update/re-level an OP advantages in all the game's PvE/PvP fighting mechanics as soon as I finally settle on the best build. And especially class mechanics which obsoletes all the time I put into researching said class/character/armor/weapon build.

I'd really like to be able to tank at least the base game bosses (both overland & dungeon) solo to get some experience before facing Bal in the MQ. However, this was an ever increasing challenge given my toon's complete incompetence and gear setup when trying to beat a single, immobile, non sentient target dummy at 1M+ HP

It seems the best and OP sets are either light or medium armor sets. And 99% of these are not craftable and/or need to be acquired from final vet dungeon and/or trial Boss drops. Which aren't possible for my toon given their gear & build deficiency. So could someone elaborate

if any OP heavy overland/dungeon armor sets survived ZoS last nerf:

• which character class on average, is still the best to solo tank an end of dungeon final boss like Bal?
• which craftable heavy armor sets (comparable to trial/vet dungeon heavy sets) would be best in solo fighting 3M HP bosses (Bal being my ultimate objective)
• if said craftable sets don't exist, then which dungeon/trial sets would accomplish same objective?

With every DLC/Chapter content update, it increasingly seems that ESO was designed for magicka wielding class builds if you're a solo PvE player. My DK toon simply cannot tank a 1M+ HP boss solo while having to rely on his DK melee based skill tactics. It's child's play for magicka based bosses and other non boss NPC mods to drop him from range with their magicka based attacks.

And given the overhaul increase in HP that ZoS has given end dungeon/chapter/DLC bosses since base game release, it's become increasingly impossible to beat these high level bosses if you're not magicka class based. Or wearing light/med/monster gear combo. Which you can only acquire through beating said high end level bosses in the first place.....

fizl101

It is definitely possible to defeat on a non mag character, as I did the main quest on my main character on a half stam half health templar wearing whatever armour I picked up on the way (this was a long while back before I was brave enough to join guilds, or do anything harder than a delve or the storyline). At the time I thought I was an amazeballs player, I finally got the guts to join a guild, tried a dummy parse and hit a whole 7k. I was DC at the time, so I would have been wearing sets that were available in glenumbra etc. I still main a stam character, my only mag based one until very recently was a healer. I don't play DK but they are probably the most OP in both PVE and PVP at the moment, so I would definitely try to sort your character to a way that works for you

I'm not sure about the solo tank side of it, but bear in mind if its the look of the armour that is important to you, you can always change the look with a motif and wear whatever weight works best.

With regards to craftable sets, maybe look at ancient dragonguard, druids, heartland conquerer and pair it with something like hundings rage on weapons and jewellery if you are stacking into stamina to make something for solo play rather than a pure tank, otherwise you will take forever to kill anything

Pet

DK is the strongest class in the game right now, what nerfs? They're about to make the gap between it and other classes even bigger too lmao.

PeacefulAnarchy

For the playstyle you're describing sets aren't a big deal, you're not optimizing and you're doing content on normal, so rotation and positioning and strategy are going to be the things that get you through. Using heavy instead of light or medium is going to hurt your damage, but you seem to be otherwise playing offensively with dual wield and a staff, so you're not limited by the usual things that make real PvE tanks do low damage (low mag+stam, lack of offensive skills and traits, support sets).

ZOS hasn't made major combat changes since September and don't seem to be doing so this coming patch, so you don't have to worry about big nerfs/updates until at least June.

When you say "solo tank" what exactly do you mean? If you just mean beat a boss solo with agro on you all the time then it should be doable. If you mean stand still in a boss's face and wail at them expecting your resistances and blocking and self healing to keep you alive, then yeah I don't know if that's possible for some DLC world bosses or DLC dungeon bosses. Even a fully supported PvE tank in a group and certainly those powerful light/medium meta gear dps need to move around to avoid damage.

If your sets must be crafted orders wrath with hundings on stam would be good, plenty of other reasonable options depending on playstyle and preference. If you're not using monster sets or mythics either then add a couple of druid pieces. Make all enchants stam, all points stam, and use bistat food to prop up your health and stam. You could also use sugar skulls, or bistat+stam regen if you need sustain. I'm assuming you want to go stam, you can do something similar with mag replacing hundings with julianos.

As for stam vs mag, stam can use a bow if you want range, but also you say you're using a staff. With hybridization your staff and mag skills will hit just as hard on a stam build, so you can use them for some range damage in situations where you need to be further away. Sustain will be hard if you're always doing that, but most melee danger phases are temporary.

If you want to look for builds don't look at PvE damage builds or tank builds, look for PvE builds with crafted gear options then just craft heavy instead of light or medium but otherwise don't change the traits/enchants/skills/rotation.

Jarl_Ironheart

KyleTheYounger wrote: »

I'm a SUPER casual PvE gamer who has yet to complete the base game MQ i.e beating Molag Bal. Since I bought ESO in 2016, I'd really like to complete the base game MQ before I kick the bucket or by time 2024 rolls around. Whichever comes first.

My oldest most experienced toon is a DK lvl 980 which alternates between dual wield axe/sword and staff in battle tactics. He wears heavy armor crafted sets (for PvE immersive purposes) Which is probably the worst strategic and tactical gear to wear when tanking end dungeon bosses solo. Especially in group PvE situations where most of the newer public/group dungeons are designed to test player survivability.

Anyways, as a result of my gear & build setup, I'm unable to beat Bal in the MQ (even if you strategically die several times to drop Bal's HP to about 50% his max HP). This is because my toon constantly dies when fighting magicka based NPC bosses over 1M+ HP. Regardless whether they're base game or DLC/dungeon DLC. And especially the more recent DLC bosses which ZoS made more challenging like any of the ones since the Blackwood DLC release

As a result of that, I can't fully experience or complete the game content that was intended for the solo player.

I've been researching the best heavy armor sets and toon builds to achieve this. Just in time for ZoS to nerf/update/re-level an OP advantages in all the game's PvE/PvP fighting mechanics as soon as I finally settle on the best build. And especially class mechanics which obsoletes all the time I put into researching said class/character/armor/weapon build.

I'd really like to be able to tank at least the base game bosses (both overland & dungeon) solo to get some experience before facing Bal in the MQ. However, this was an ever increasing challenge given my toon's complete incompetence and gear setup when trying to beat a single, immobile, non sentient target dummy at 1M+ HP

It seems the best and OP sets are either light or medium armor sets. And 99% of these are not craftable and/or need to be acquired from final vet dungeon and/or trial Boss drops. Which aren't possible for my toon given their gear & build deficiency. So could someone elaborate

if any OP heavy overland/dungeon armor sets survived ZoS last nerf:

• which character class on average, is still the best to solo tank an end of dungeon final boss like Bal?
• which craftable heavy armor sets (comparable to trial/vet dungeon heavy sets) would be best in solo fighting 3M HP bosses (Bal being my ultimate objective)
• if said craftable sets don't exist, then which dungeon/trial sets would accomplish same objective?

With every DLC/Chapter content update, it increasingly seems that ESO was designed for magicka wielding class builds if you're a solo PvE player. My DK toon simply cannot tank a 1M+ HP boss solo while having to rely on his DK melee based skill tactics. It's child's play for magicka based bosses and other non boss NPC mods to drop him from range with their magicka based attacks.

And given the overhaul increase in HP that ZoS has given end dungeon/chapter/DLC bosses since base game release, it's become increasingly impossible to beat these high level bosses if you're not magicka class based. Or wearing light/med/monster gear combo. Which you can only acquire through beating said high end level bosses in the first place.....

Dragonknight is a very strong unkillable class. I mailed Stamina DK for years and I could solo normal and vet dungeons with mine and this was BEFORE pale order was a thing, only vigor and rally. I played nord in medium armor for solo and its a wall of meat. Dubious Camoran for food and great sets that are craftable are HUNDINGS RAGE, ANCIENT DRAGONGUARD, NIGHTMOTHERS and ORDERS WRATH. Molag Bal is also the easiest boss due to him being a overland boss technically.

What sets are you using? What skills? CP? Food? Race? Etc. Give us that info so we can better help you

Charon_on_Vacation

op, tell us what server you are on.
i'm not playing the game anymore but i'm sure someone here would be willing to take you under his wing and you'll be able to do all that stuff in no time.
it's really not hard once someone explains to you, how things work and what you have to keep in mind.

KyleTheYounger

Oh welp. Good to see I didn't waste crowns in the store to change my class to Soc out of sheer ignorance.

I'm really happy with DK and it's a fun class to play. But it just seems that whenever I stumble across an overland or dungeon boss, finally work up the stones to solo blitz it, the inevitable happens.

Every boss gets immortally offended by the pitiful handful of DPS damage offering my toon was barely able to scrape together and slap them with. Right before he joins Mirri in another much needed dirt nap. Lol

Only to experience absolute humiliation of witnessing (while attempting to resurrect yourself after the Aetherius screen of death) another magicka based player roll up in there. And basically tank the Boss to death 1000% solo in less than the time it takes my toon to resurrect himself. LMAO.

Anyhow, from all your replies it seems my DPS output and/or armor/gear sets are what's causing my battle survivability dysfunction. I was hoping to be able to craft at least one high level, heavy set and/or combine it with another heavy or med/light set to max my toon's armor/weaponry combat readiness.

But thanks again for all your replies and help

@Jarl_Ironheart ty so much! I'll post the info you requested asap. (currently at work and so need to post on break time) >.<

fizl101

just to say if when you say overland bosses you mean world bosses (skull and crossbones on the map) they aren't really designed to be solo'd and are much tougher than Molag Bal. There are people who solo them, but isn't expected to be the norm to do so, so don't worry if they wipe the floor with you, they are designed to be killed by groups

KyleTheYounger

What sets are you using? What skills? CP? Food? Race? Etc. Give us that info so we can better help you

• All my racial, crafting and 99% of my DK skills are maxed since my toon is 900+ at this point.
• I have a zillion Crown Tri-Restoration potions on quick bar so typically spam those. Sometimes use my own crafted health potions which are less effective on average.
• Sounds dumb I know, but I typically eat food for RP purposes. So typically waste high level blue/purple food and drink (next to the green stam ones) RPing my toon eating breakfast/lunch/dinner/supper etc. With the occasional blue magicka coffee to keep him awake at night. Lol.

Stupid habit yes. But haven't unlocked those Rationer/Liquid Efficiency perks in the Craft constellation menu which let you extend duration/buffs of food & drink you consume. That being said:

Race: Nord (all passive racial skill lines maxed)

Base skills
Magicka: 38 Health: 23 Stamina: 3

Permanently active effects:

• Lycanthropy (not typically slotted. Only used for purely solo PvE purposes)
• Boon: Mage
• Minor Vitality (8% healing bonus from heavy armor set bonus)

Classes:

• DK (designed for magicka not stam)
• Werewolf (more for PvE gameplay. Since transforming in public / vet group dungeon scenarios typically end up in another embarrassing and premature dirt nap with Mirri O.x

Armor sets are all Legendary, heavy and health based focused to enhance survivability:
---1st set: Vampires Kiss: all gold armore for chest, head, shoulders, hands & feet
---2nd set: Order of Diagna: Gold belt & legs, a blue necklace & 2 purple rings.

Weapons set: all generic but legendary level:
---sword 1h frost damage; using infused enchant
---axe 1h fire damage (strong hand); using charged enchant
---fire staff 2h fire damage; using charged enchantment
Staff tactically used to compliment DK skills for dealing fire damage if staff equipped. Utterly useless for some enemies who're fire based and/or immune.

Using generic weapons was the dumbest waste of legendary mats I know. But I made these way back at CP 50. Long before I understood the priceless value of set based weapons like Hunding etc. So pls don't judge. I'm simply trying not to repeat same mistake this time around.

Guild Skills:
Mage, Fighters, Undaunted, DB and Theives guild skills are all lvl 10 maxed. Still working on Psijic line. Not sure which of these (besides obvious magicka advantage the Mage guild line offers) are good ones to add to your skill bar

• Combat Skills (All slotted skill line abilities are Lvl IV and are in order left to right. Cycle through these in fights:)
• Also heavy armor skill line maxed out for wearing required number armor

---front end main bar (when stuck in close combat and/or need to melee way out): 1h axe/sword combo
---DK Flame Lash, Blood Thirst, Draw Essence, Deadly Cloak, Inner Rage. Ultimate: Dragon Standard

---back end backup bar (for ranged sneak attacks & better survivability): fire staff
---Slotted abilities: Crushing Shock, Ring of Preservation, Draw Essence, Inner Rage, Structured Entropy. Ultimate: Shooting Star

Food & drink:
Since I'm level 10 provisioning/potions I can make just about any level food (minus a few high end recipes I've yet to unlock). So just need to get an idea of which food/drink combo make the best OP buffs in combat readiness.

PS what are

1.stacks and stacking mentioned in an armor set (when you wear the max number armor pieces aka 5+)? What does a stack of a bonus buff/ability supposed to do?
2. Physical penetration v. Crit. Which of these is superior for solo tanking/dps Dungeon/Overland Bosses. And for PvE based gameplay in general?
3. Under the Warfare constellation: what is better for self healing yourself in PvE game play and Boss battles. Is Blessed (healing received) better than Quick Recovery (Healing Taken)? I've already maxed out Quick Recovery by default of maxing out all health survivability perks in Staving Death.

For example, if you consume a potion/food/drink with healing buffs, does that auto/self heal count as "healing done" under the Blessed perk? ie does any healing that your toon does automatically heal THEM regardless whether they're trying to use spells/potions to heal another player or NPC?

Tandor

You don't need to be able to solo world or dungeon bosses (as opposed to delve bosses), or come even close to doing so, in order to complete the main quest.

KyleTheYounger

@PeacefulAnarchy I'm trying to be mag DK not stam. What about Mother of Sorrow set as armor? Also something that specializes in magnifying/amplifying fire damage (given DK class) in weaponry.

thx again for the insightful feedback!

KyleTheYounger

Tandor wrote: »

You don't need to be able to solo world or dungeon bosses (as opposed to delve bosses), or come even close to doing so, in order to complete the main quest.

You don't understand. My toon always needs to take his obligatory dirt nap after a min or so into combat of a typical overland/dungeon (NOT delve) boss. Basically any boss that is 1M+ in HP is a struggle with his present skill line/combat readiness and armor sets.

So yes, he needs to be able to beat a 3M HP boss consistently on his own before facing Bal. Otherwise it will end up being a complete waste of time on both our parts. My toon will end up hating me more than I'll be hating myself at that point. Because I'm fairly certain you can't quit/drop the endgame MQ quest once you finally enter & face Bal, Right before I rage quit my keyboard across the room. O.x So rather not venture down the final MQ rabbit hole before gaining this sustainability ability. But pls correct me if my assumption you can only face Bal once is the case, as I'd love to do multiple test runs through Heart's Grief. I don't want my toon end up being stuck in this conclusion to the MQ until he can beat Bal.

So trying to be an OP mag DK with vast reserves of health and as much supporting 2nd tier stam possible. Ideally like to deal dps as fast as possible. Toon is good at hold his own moving around/dodge/deflect etc. But the level of dps he's putting out in those ultra heroic moments is insufficent in dropping any 1M+ Boss health by a meager 25%. NVM to the 50% level achievement right before he takes another obligatory dirt nap next to Mirri. Lol.

Snamyap

KyleTheYounger wrote: »

Tandor wrote: »

You don't need to be able to solo world or dungeon bosses (as opposed to delve bosses), or come even close to doing so, in order to complete the main quest.

You don't understand. My toon always needs to take his obligatory dirt nap after a min or so into combat of a typical overland/dungeon (NOT delve) boss. Basically any boss that is 1M+ in HP is a struggle with his present skill line/combat readiness and armor sets.

So yes, he needs to be able to beat a 3M HP boss consistently on his own before facing Bal.

No, I don't know what you are doing but Molag Bal in the main quest is nowhere near as hard as any dungeon boss out there, not even remotely close. Just because he has a lot of hitpoints doesn't put him in the same ball park. Keep in mind that in the main quest you get a huge buff from Meridia. I defeated the MQ long, long before I managed to solo world bosses and dungeons.
Do you use any of the self healing options available to you? Like Burning Embers, Bloodthirst and Blood Craze?

Snamyap

KyleTheYounger wrote: »

Tandor wrote: »

You don't need to be able to solo world or dungeon bosses (as opposed to delve bosses), or come even close to doing so, in order to complete the main quest.

Because I'm fairly certain you can't quit/drop the endgame MQ quest once you finally enter & face Bal, Right before I rage quit my keyboard across the room. O.x So rather not venture down the final MQ rabbit hole before gaining this sustainability ability. But pls correct me if my assumption you can only face Bal once is the case, as I'd love to do multiple test runs through Heart's Grief. I don't want my toon end up being stuck in this conclusion to the MQ until he can beat Bal.

You can fight him as often as needed, until he is dead, you can leave and reenter the area at any time. There is not a single fight in the game where you only get one shot.

Tandor

I think it's pretty clear that the OP totally misunderstands the situation where Molag Bal is concerned, and that's entirely fair enough so I don't mean this as a criticism. The fact is, however, that Molag Bal is in a quest instance, not a dungeon, and is not remotely tough to defeat compared to dungeon or world bosses. Almost nine years into the game I know I can't solo any world boss or dungeon boss, I don't have the build, gear, or desire to do so. No delve boss is anywhere near a challenge, however, and nor was Molag Bal when I completed the main quest without difficulty years ago. I don't believe he's been strengthened since then, probably to the contrary given the trend to lower difficulties with the likes of Doshia.

OP, you state that you're unable to beat Molag Ball, but have you actually tried? There's no reason why you shouldn't be able to, especially if you're telling us that you have 980 CPs.

Oreyn_Bearclaw

I think you are really mixing build philosophies here.

First, i would only use the term Tank, if you are specifically in 4/12 man content. In that scenario, its heavy armor with a sword and shield unless you really know what you are doing. You taunt the boss, hold him in place, let your group kill him. Bonus points if you can toss some buffs to your group along the way. Damage is not your job when tanking.

That style of play has NOTHING to do with solo play or trying to beat the main quest.

When you are solo, you are not a tank, DPS or healer, you are all three. That said, this game favors a hefty amount of offense for all questing and solo. My first instinct is you are splitting your build in too many directions, which means you are mediocre at everything.

DKs are natural tanky, no need to over do it for the main quest.

Skills:
-You have a source of major resolve (armor buff) from Spiked Armor and its morphs. Cast it pre fight and keep it up.
-You have a burst heal from Dragon Blood and morphs. Cast when your health takes a big hit.
-Molten whip is a good spammable, but you might do better with something like Force Pulse from the destruction staff line to give you some range.
-Flames of Oblivion should be on your main bar for the Weapon/Spell Crit buffs, that way you can use your tri pots for resources. .
- Molten Armaments should be on your back bar. This gives the weapon/spell power buffs, cast pre fight, recast when it expires. The combo of Flames of Oblivion and Molten armaments means you are getting your two most important buffs without needing to use weapon/spell power potions, allowing you to use Tri Pots for all your resources.
- Your best single target DOT is burning embers. It does strong damage, and heals you when it expires. You can also recast early for a burst heal.
-Your best Debuff when solo is probably noxious breath as its a nice DOT, but also gives you major breach/penetration.
-Eruption is your best ground AOE, its long duration, cast it early in the fight where the boss or enemy is standing. Usually, in overland, once is enough unless they move out of it.
-Elemental Blockade, a strong ground AOE from the destruction staff line, I would make room on your back bar, especially if running double staff.

Gear/consumables:
If you are struggling with killing the main boss, I strongly suggest going double fire staff. Play to a DKs strengths of fire damage and magic builds are generally easier to play. Your combo of DW and Fire staff just isn't doing a lot for you at your level. Nothing wrong with the same weapon on both bars. If going double staffs, back bar is infused with weapon damage enchant, front bar is precise with flame damage enchant.

I would also suggest a mixture of Light and medium armor. Heavy is counter productive in overland. You gotta be able to kill stuff. I would suggest that for overland, going with all Divines armor and running Thief Mundus. I would put all your points into magic, other than maybe a few into health. I would run either tri stat food, or something that gives a boost to magic and health, or maybe magic and magic regen. I always run Ghastly Eye Bowl (gives magic and magic regen), but you might find your health a touch low for your liking.

I would highly suggest making some "orders wrath" gear. There is no better bang for your buck in terms of damage, and its easy to get. You can pair with another DPS set, or if you want, something a little more tanky. I will assume you have no trial gear, so something like Orders Wrath and Julianos is fine for overland. Build your gear for damage, use your class abilities to survive. You can either add a 2 piece monster set or a mythic item like Pale Order and a one piece monster set.

To answer your questions:

1.Each set has certain bonuses. Most sets are 5 piece. So you want to wear 5 pieces of that set. Wearing 6 is a redundant waste, wearing 4 means you don't get the last bonus, which is always the most powerful. Some sets like monster sets (from vet dungeons and the golden vendor) are 2 piece bonuses. Mythic items are a single piece bonus. Pale order is very strong solo. Oakensoul is also very strong, but limits you to one bar. Most builds are 5/5/1/1 or 5/5/2, as you have 12 weapon/armor slots on a given skill bar (2H Bow and Staff count as 2 slots). The numbers equate to the number of set pieces required for a given set.

2. There is not a straight forward answer. Almost every enemy in PVE has 18.2k resist, so you want to get to 18.2k penetration to do max damage. Any more is wasted. Its pretty hard to get there on your own, so usually penetration is a stronger choice when solo if it comes to tradeoffs. As a tank, you dont really care about either for yourself, but one of the main jobs of a tank is to give their group penetration. Major/Minor breach are the two most obvious ways. If buildling for damage in a group setting, you typically favor crit over penetration, because your group is giving you the penetration you need. When solo, Noxious breath will give you major breach, I wouldn't worry too much about penetration after that.

3. For CP when solo, go for damage. A really safe all around combo is Fighting Finesse (crit damage), Master at Arms (direct Damage), Wrathful Strikes (Weapon/Spell Damage), and a flex spot. If you want a little tankiness, go for it. I would not slot any healing CP, unless playing a healer. Its overkill. I would honestly do a 4th damage CP like Thaumaturge on a DK to boost Damage over time, but there are other options. Backstabber is very strong if you can flank your enemy but useless if you cant.

I use my DK as my quester, and I can absolutely face roll anything in overland and also roll right into vet dungeons as a DPS. Tanking is a completely different build, but I would never do questing as tank.

My skill bars look something like this, both are fire staffs.

Front Bar:
-Force Pulse or Whip, force pulse is easier form range, whip is more damage. If you want to go Duel wield front bar, you need to run whip.
-Burning Embers, Single target DOT, also a burst heal if I reapply it early.
-Noxious breath, Conal DOT and source of major Breach
-Flames of Oblivion, 15 second DOT, certainly keep it up, but more there for the Major Prophecy buff
-Inhale, both morphs have merit. When you have 3 or more enemies, Cast, wait for it to go off, cast again. Strong AOE and self heal. Can be replaced with something else like a shield (annulment) when doing single target fights.
-Meteor, from mages guild, mostly for the passives.

Back Bar:
-Eruption, Strong Ground AOE
-Unstable Wall, another strong ground AOE. This will also proc your back bar weapon enchant. Always make your back bar weapon infused with a weapon/spell damage enchant for damage or a crusher enchant for tanking with a group. Keeping up this skill will ensure 100% uptime on your back bar enchant if the weapon is infused and the enemy is standing in the area. Cant stress how crucial this is.
-Molten Armaments, Cast prefight and keep it up, gives you major sorcery and gives you empower.
-Dragon Blood, this is your burst heal.
-Spiked Armor, this is your armor buff. Keep it up.
-Standard of might. Best DPS ultimate, can also go with corrosive armor for a little more defense.

1. Before the fight, prebuff: Molten Armaments, Spiked Armor, Flames of Oblivion
2. Open with your ground DOTS, eruption and unstable wall, and your ultimate if it is up.
3. Follow with your sticky DOTs, Noxious Breath and Burning Embers
4. Use your spammable when everything else is ticking, either force pulse or whip.
5. Reapply buffs and dots as they expire
6.Dragon blood is your oh crap button, also remember you can either double cast or reapply Burning Embers early for a burst heal, draw essence is also a burst heal. DKs frankly have stupid amounts of heals.
7. Rinse Repeat.

My Gear is 5 piece Orders Wrath, 5 Piece Tzogvins (can be replaced for another DPS set), 1 piece Pale order (self heal) or Ring of the hunt (speed), I swap between the two, and 1 piece Slimecraw for the crit bonus (any one piece monster set will work here, don't over think it).

Snamyap

Oreyn_Bearclaw wrote: »

2. There is not a straight forward answer. Almost every enemy in PVP has 18.2k resist, so you want to get to 18.2k penetration to do max damage. Any more is wasted. Its pretty hard to get there on your own, so usually penetration is a stronger choice when solo if it comes to tradeoffs. As a tank, you dont really care about either for yourself, but one of the main jobs of a tank is to give their group penetration. Major/Minor breach are the two most obvious ways. If buildling for damage in a group setting, you typically favor crit over penetratoin, because your group is giving you the penetration you need. When solo, Noxious breath will give you major breach, I would worry too much about pen after that.

I'm sure you meant PvE but just wanted to add that overland/quest mobs have 9,1k resists, 4-person dungeons and trials have 18,2k resists.

rauyran

OP you wrote that you upgraded your weapons when you were CP 50 and it makes me wonder about the levels of your gear. When you look at the tooltip, are they all level 50 and CP 160?

Oreyn_Bearclaw

Snamyap wrote: »

Oreyn_Bearclaw wrote: »

2. There is not a straight forward answer. Almost every enemy in PVP has 18.2k resist, so you want to get to 18.2k penetration to do max damage. Any more is wasted. Its pretty hard to get there on your own, so usually penetration is a stronger choice when solo if it comes to tradeoffs. As a tank, you dont really care about either for yourself, but one of the main jobs of a tank is to give their group penetration. Major/Minor breach are the two most obvious ways. If buildling for damage in a group setting, you typically favor crit over penetratoin, because your group is giving you the penetration you need. When solo, Noxious breath will give you major breach, I would worry too much about pen after that.

I'm sure you meant PvE but just wanted to add that overland/quest mobs have 9,1k resists, 4-person dungeons and trials have 18,2k resists.

Good catch. Yes, meant PVE. Yeah, pretty much anything is either 9.1 or 18.2k in PVE. I just assume for ease its all 18.2k. But you are correct that overland is 9.1 (there might be a handful of exceptions, but not super important). Either way, what I said before, "When solo, Noxious breath will give you major breach, I wouldn't worry too much about pen after that." That and some light armor and you will have enough pen for anything overland, and in group dungeons, pen really isnt your responsibility. Honestly not sure about delves and public dungeons in terms of what pen they have, it just doesnt matter that much. Outside of a group setting, major breach is plenty in terms of pen.

Anybody ever test how much armor Molag Bal has? Would be curious to know.

Oreyn_Bearclaw

rauyran wrote: »

OP you wrote that you upgraded your weapons when you were CP 50 and it makes me wonder about the levels of your gear. When you look at the tooltip, are they all level 50 and CP 160?

Yeah, good call. Get that gear to 160 CP. Sorry if you wasted gold mats, but gold CP 50 gear isn't helping you.

Pro Tip: The only gear you really need to gold out is your weapons. Poor mans way to upgrade is purple armor and jewelry with gold enchants and gold weapons. You simply wont notice the difference. If you are on PC/NA, ill make you some gear, just shoot me a message. I have Rosin and Kuta coming out of my....

Oreyn_Bearclaw

KyleTheYounger wrote: »

What sets are you using? What skills? CP? Food? Race? Etc. Give us that info so we can better help you



Weapons set: all generic but legendary level:
---sword 1h frost damage; using infused enchant
---axe 1h fire damage (strong hand); using charged enchant
---fire staff 2h fire damage; using charged enchantment
Staff tactically used to compliment DK skills for dealing fire damage if staff equipped. Utterly useless for some enemies who're fire based and/or immune.

I am not aware of any enemy in ESO that is immune to fire damage. Fire staff is the best element for damage if running a staff, especially on a DK. Double fire staffs is a very strong option for damage. Will you technically do max damage with DW front, 2 hand back, yes, but to be very candid, if you can't kill molag bal, min maxing like that is not something you should be doing. Fire staffs are safe and very effective against every PVE enemy in the game.

Ill shut up now, happy to answer any questions you have.

Kisakee

KyleTheYounger wrote: »

Any Point Playing DK With All The Nerfs/Updates Leveling Classes & Now New Class Coming Out?

Yes - fun.

Kirawolfe

Yes?

Dude, you breath fire and one of your ultimates gives you massive dragon wings. You must do this thing.

KyleTheYounger

Charon_on_Vacation wrote: »

op, tell us what server you are on.
i'm not playing the game anymore but i'm sure someone here would be willing to take you under his wing and you'll be able to do all that stuff in no time.
it's really not hard once someone explains to you, how things work and what you have to keep in mind.

ty! NA but I play infrequently due to work constraints. Which is why it's literally taken me since 2016 to get my oldest toon up to level 900+ lol

If there are ppl who're way less filthy casual like myself (ie who're almost always online) then that would be the easiest way to synch up with them.

KyleTheYounger

Oreyn_Bearclaw wrote: »

I am not aware of any enemy in ESO that is immune to fire damage. Fire staff is the best element for damage if running a staff, especially on a DK. Double fire staffs is a very strong option for damage. Will you technically do max damage with DW front, 2 hand back, yes, but to be very candid, if you can't kill molag bal, min maxing like that is not something you should be doing. Fire staffs are safe and very effective against every PVE enemy in the game.

Ill shut up now, happy to answer any questions you have.

Whenever you attack some NPCs (regardless whether in dungeons/delves/overland or even on missions) you sometimes get a "Target is Immune" message at top right corner of screen. So spamming any fire based weapon (staff axe etc) does absolutely zero damage to these boss/mini boss or otherwise hostile NPCs. Think first time I encountered this was in one of the public dungeons in Blackwood. Most mini boss and final bosses there use some form of fire. And so this immunity made sense. Switching to another weapon type frost/shock etc does create damage however

Snamyap wrote: »

Do you use any of the self healing options available to you? Like Burning Embers, Bloodthirst and Blood Craze?

Yes I've used the first DK skill line quite a bit. The last 2 are permanently slotted on my 1h axe/sword bar. All dual wield and DK associated skills are level IV maxed out. Still no major difference in how soon it takes my toon to die. And that's him cycling through all his abilities on a frequent basis, moving around to avoid NPC area damage, maxed out DoT/AoE skills slotted etc. etc.

Based on folks feedback, it seems I have the right class and idea for a good DPS build. But need to work on optimizing my toons dps capability (instead of focusing on tank one?) Either way, the current armor Vamp Kiss/Order Diagna are insufficient in protecting & sustaining him from extensive AoE damage. Think of the firey chaos in Blackwood public dungeons. He doesn't last very long in any of the Blackwood Oblivion hell holes with that armor and skill line setup

Oreyn_Bearclaw

KyleTheYounger wrote: »

Oreyn_Bearclaw wrote: »

I am not aware of any enemy in ESO that is immune to fire damage. Fire staff is the best element for damage if running a staff, especially on a DK. Double fire staffs is a very strong option for damage. Will you technically do max damage with DW front, 2 hand back, yes, but to be very candid, if you can't kill molag bal, min maxing like that is not something you should be doing. Fire staffs are safe and very effective against every PVE enemy in the game.

Ill shut up now, happy to answer any questions you have.

Whenever you attack some NPCs (regardless whether in dungeons/delves/overland or even on missions) you sometimes get a "Target is Immune" message at top right corner of screen. So spamming any fire based weapon (staff axe etc) does absolutely zero damage to these boss/mini boss or otherwise hostile NPCs. Think first time I encountered this was in one of the public dungeons in Blackwood. Most mini boss and final bosses there use some form of fire. And so this immunity made sense. Switching to another weapon type frost/shock etc does create damage however

That is simply not true.

My best guess is what you are seeing is that you are proc'ing the Warmth Passive under your Ardent Flame skill line, which applies a snare to targets. Targets can be immune to snares, knockbacks, stuns, etc. There is no enemy in ESO (PVP or PVE) that is immune to fire damage. Double fire staffs is absolutely a strong way to play DK for any PVE content. I have done just about every hardmode in this game with a fire staff in my hand.

Certain bosses also have invulnerable phases where they took no damage whatsover while a mechanic plays out, but again, nothing and nobody are immune to fire. Sorry, but you are operating with bad info here.

KyleTheYounger

Tandor wrote: »

OP, you state that you're unable to beat Molag Ball, but have you actually tried? There's no reason why you shouldn't be able to, especially if you're telling us that you have 980 CPs.

Honestly since getting the game back in 2016. No....

Also per another forum member's helpful clarification, it seems you can redo meeting Bal as it's just a quest instance. And....

since everyone in here and their mother's uncle is swearing fasting that Bal is everyone's Bottom female dog, then I guess I'm finally getting the stones and wood up to do something about this terrifying 6 year overgrown pixelated Boogey Man.

I'm going to dismiss Miri (so she can't make fun of my toon), stroll right through the thick of Heart's Grief slaying his way left and right. Right into Bal's Daedric Princeling man-cave.

If the event of resurrecting what mangled meat is left of my poor toon's corpse becomes a reality, then fear not.

I'm 100% confident what's left of my toon will know EXACTLY where to find you personally here in the nirvana of ESO forum land Tandor. My toon has a LONG digital memory. Just 'member that...

Ok. Here goes nothing....

Kisakee

You can kill about every quest enemy with only light attacks while looking the other way when you have at least half way decent gear. I'll wait till you come back and tell us how boring it was.

TaSheen

I wish it had been boring for me. Bal, Muulamniir, Kaalgrontid, Vandacia.... I never got as far as Dagon.

Suna_Ye_Sunnabe

If you're looking for something to boost that flame damage that's easy to get/farm/buy, may I suggest silks of the sun for jewelry and weapons?
For jewelry: you can put weapon or spell damage enchants on, and make it bloodthirsty trait for even more damage.
Weapons: Might I suggest two daggers for front bar? You can use the outfit station to make them appear as a sword and axe Nirnhoned trait on main hand weapon with poison enchant, and charged trait with flame damage enchant on the off hand. (Daggers really increase your critical rating, so that will help offset the loss from heavy armour). For the backbar staff, you can run infused trait on the inferno staff with an absorb magicka enchant, or better yet, a weapon/spell damage increase glyph for most damage, if you can sustain it.

For body, you can craft Order's Wrath or Diamond Victory, in heavy, and still be fine. Just put max mag enchants on all armour, all divines traits on armour.

The best help of all, for solo, is to get the Ring of the Pale Order as well, but that's optional!

For skills, you can run whip for your main damage, with flame breath or noxious breath (I'd recommend noxious breath for the armour shred, since you're solo), burning embers (this doubles as a nice heal over time!), eruption, flames of oblivion, wall of elements on your backbar staff, and molten armaments/degeneration for your major sorcery. You'll probably want camouflage hunter from the fighter's guild slotted on whichever bar you're not using flames of oblivion on, to give you passive damage and even more critical rating
For heals, may I suggest coagulating blood and/or vigour? Both are great together

For ultimates, standard of might is one of the finest in the game. I like having Dawnbreaker on the other bar.

For Mundus Stone, you'll want the Thief, again to help with critical rating.

For Warfare cp, might I suggest Deadly Aim, Master at Arms, Wrathful Strikes, and perhaps Reaving Blows or Fighting Finesse for you blue slottable cp? You can choose 3 out of 4 is you can't get all yet, as you'll also need passives in the Staving Death and Extended Might subtree- namely, 10 points in quick recovery to get 20 points into preparation, as well as points for Piercing, Flawless Ritual, and War Mage.

For Fitness tree, may I suggest Boundless Vitality, Fortified, Rejuvenation, and Siphoning Spells for your slottables? And any other passives you can.

Other than that, quick slotting tri stat potions is a great idea!



I hope this will help, as I truly want to see you succeed in your goal, and enjoy your build!

shadyjane62

No point if you are buying new chapter.