What's a good IC build for mostly doing the district bosses?

KekwLord3000 · January 13

So been a Pve main for like quite a while now and wanted to dip my toes in pvp, I was wondering what would be a good build for IC to farm the bosses upstairs?
So I've seen a WW build with essence thief warrior poet oaken and baron thirsk, will that be fine? As I have 0 knowledge in pvp not really sure if it's an OK build or some Alcast/Xynode "build".
My biggest concern is to not get ganked by some kekblade running around while I'm doing the wb's.
Tia

MincMincMinc · January 13

The problem most pve players have when trying pvp is that they cant understand a build that does a perfect balance of all 3 tank, heal and dps. You eventually will learn how to make a choice like whether you should do a tank vs a dps choice. Do you need major evasion or an 8% damage buff? Simple build choices you'd make in pve like going max stam food instead of something like bear haunch or hissimir.

Give us a class and mag/stam so we can better help. Alcast does not make pvp builds, just get that out of your mind.

IMO IC bosses are one of the best designed pve because they are heavily skill based in the old sense. You can solo them or fight with a group and everyone is engaged. Current day pve mainly feels like standing still and doing a macro-able parse.

Just know, you will get ganked and you will die. Just accept that and try to analyze what went wrong and didnt work. Every death should be a learning experience. Was it your build that limited your actions, or was it your actions that lead to your build flopping?

xylena_lazarow · January 13

Try using a solo IA build but put 64 points into hp and use Bear Haunch food.

fred4 · January 13

I think you need to have some interest in PvP to feel at home in IC. I recommend duelling to every beginning PvPer. You could also "learn on the job", if you find that more fun. Either way you will be killed at first. Ganking isn't the only way that happens. You may also be zerged or, as an outright tank, you may be drawn into endless fights that prevent you from farming. It is for that last reason that nightblade is my favorite class in IC, specifically a magicka perma-cloaking speed build. This is the build that most allows you to do what you want, to disengage from PvP, to isolate bosses for solo farming, to bring your Tel Var home.

That said, there are other options. I've seen players, possibly it was a warden, so outrageously tanky their health merely dropped to 97% regardless of how I attacked them. However, I don't know what the build was. Another option is a (sorc) heavy attack build, simply because the tri-focus passive with a Lightning Staff can do so much AOE splash damage, you may casually wipe some nightblades by continuing with your boss fight.

Werewolf got nerfed a while ago. I have a sorc WW friend who PvPed on that class for years. His favorite. He gave up and is now playing that character as a regular sorc. Essence Thief is thought of as a duelling set. In open world things are frequently too chaotic for you to pick up the buff. Still, a health build with Essence Thief sounds like it may be viable for a WW. Worth a try.

I'm basically an IC specialist. It is my favorite place. Having started life as a DK, my own feeling is that there are only two classes for solo play, nightblade and sorc. Classes that specialize in movement and escape. If you play any other classe, if you favor tankiness over movement, it's possible to do just fine while your faction dominates IC. Otherwise you will find yourself:

Being an outright troll tank, doing no damage.
Experienced, but locked into an endless fight in the crevice between some stairs and a wall.
Dead.

While you can always queue for and port out to Cyrodiil, in order to save your Tel Var, I prefer not having to do so frequently. A streaking sorc is one option to run away and is easier to play than a cloaking nightblade. The latter, though, is your best bet for disengaging from fights altogether. It's not always the best. Some enemies specialize in hunting nightblades and can make your life hell. However, on average, Cloak is IMO best for solo play and Tel Var farming in IC.

I don't know whether this would be up your street, so I'll merely outline my personal magblade build:

The Esoteric Greaves will make you almost impossible to gank. Viable on magblade and magsorc.
I build for speed, e.g. Steed mundus, all Swift jewelry, Concealed Weapon, Race Against Time, and so on.
The combination of Rally and Siphoning Attacks can give you (near) perma-cloak sustain while moving.
I use a Soulcleaver front bar. It's a good compromise for IC, e.g. for healing from damage during boss fights.
I use Wyrd Tree's Blessing on the back bar. Cleansing all effects when you start cloaking helps with this playstyle.
Balorgh for the damage. I am a PvPer after all.

fred4 · January 13

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

moo_2021 · January 15

KekwLord3000 wrote: »

So been a Pve main for like quite a while now and wanted to dip my toes in pvp, I was wondering what would be a good build for IC to farm the bosses upstairs?
So I've seen a WW build with essence thief warrior poet oaken and baron thirsk, will that be fine? As I have 0 knowledge in pvp not really sure if it's an OK build or some Alcast/Xynode "build".
My biggest concern is to not get ganked by some kekblade running around while I'm doing the wb's.
Tia

you'd want stage 4 vampire and major expedition so that when you need to hide and run, you can actually hide and run. And being able to run back to bank in stealth is essential if you want to farm telvars

fred4 · January 15

moo_2021 wrote: »

KekwLord3000 wrote: »

So been a Pve main for like quite a while now and wanted to dip my toes in pvp, I was wondering what would be a good build for IC to farm the bosses upstairs?
So I've seen a WW build with essence thief warrior poet oaken and baron thirsk, will that be fine? As I have 0 knowledge in pvp not really sure if it's an OK build or some Alcast/Xynode "build".
My biggest concern is to not get ganked by some kekblade running around while I'm doing the wb's.
Tia

you'd want stage 4 vampire and major expedition so that when you need to hide and run, you can actually hide and run. And being able to run back to bank in stealth is essential if you want to farm telvars

Yeah, there are many options. I only want to add that I see this as an option for builds other than a cloaking nightblade. The cost increase of vamp stage 4 doesn't really mix with cloak. You either build for cloak sustain or for sprinting invisibility, but not both.

I'll admit that my knowledge of vampire builds is limited. I don't want to be one for role-playing reasons. That said, vampire stage 3, if not 4, has been a staple for PvP builds. It's been nerfed, but I'd say it still is. This is the case equally for nightblade gankers as well as tanky brawler types. In my build, however, I eschew vampire to improve cloak sustain.