Nightblade - is there a bonus for attacking from the rear?

Razzak

If I use crouch and become "stealthed", I can sneak to my enemy lot easier and attack him in the back. Does this (with exception of skills that actively benefit from invisibility or stealth) do any more damage? Is there a back and/or side attack bonus?
If there is some sort of "back attack" bonus on damage, does it apply to only the opening strike (me being stealthed) or during entire combat? Meaning every time I hit my enemy in the back I will do bonus damage?

Gaudrath

Sneak attacks are always critical hits IF they come from behind the target. This applies both to melee attacks and shots from the bow.

If you stealth and shoot your target in the face, it will just be a normal attack. So you need to shoot/stab them in the back to auto crit.

I have noticed, but am not 100% sure and could not find concrete info on this, that if I get hit by mobs in the back, they seem to be doing more damage. If that is the case, I imagine it works the other way around too.

Razzak

Is it only sneak attack (being crouched) or every attack to the back that counts as bonus?

luckyjoemcb14_ESO

Only sneak that I have noticed, Also there seems to be a 1s ( maybe more with talents) Stun that occurs as well with a successful sneak attack from behind

Tiyamel

sneaking from behind also gives you the benefit of being able to get a lot closer to your intended target than if you were coming from the sides or front

sSolutionSs

I love attacking from the rear it always leaves some kinda demoralizing effect on the target after lol...

zaria

sSolutionSs wrote: »

I love attacking from the rear it always leaves some kinda demoralizing effect on the target after lol...

Yes, target need to turn around and target you, this give you an chance for an follow up hit.

Yankee

luckyjoemcb14_ESO wrote: »

Only sneak that I have noticed, Also there seems to be a 1s ( maybe more with talents) Stun that occurs as well with a successful sneak attack from behind

It does matter being behind the mob.

If you stealth up behind and hit them with Veiled Strike, it will stun them. Often it will one shot them. If not, a heavy hit before the stun wears off knocks the mob down. Most will not survive that even in VR content.

Also you can Shadow Cloak and then use Veiled Strik to stun. You will not get the same huge damage as the first stealth strike but the mobs will stop anything they were casting when you disappear.

As long as your Magicka holds up you can lock down any stunnable mob.

That is the main reason I prefer Veiled Strike over Assasins Blade.

But ya, always try to do it from behind.......

mechasauce

...only in prison..

Hawke

Also, sneaking from behind for the first attack is for everyone, not just nightblades. Excellent way to start a fight in Cyrodiil

fennecbuttrwb17_ESO

mechasauce wrote: »

...only in prison..

Real mature.

Stautmeister

Yea i tend to notice it doesnt affect mobs. As a tank i got the habbit to tank the mobs facing away from the group, however due to the range limitation on healers etc i found it more effective to not do this so healers have an easier time.

mips_winnt

Razzak wrote: »

If I use crouch and become "stealthed", I can sneak to my enemy lot easier and attack him in the back. Does this (with exception of skills that actively benefit from invisibility or stealth) do any more damage? Is there a back and/or side attack bonus?

Absolutely, personally I use surprise attack as my opener from stealth and behind the target, for normal mobs more often than not this is one shot kill (and for anything else you'll do a huge amount of damage and stun them). In order to use this effectively it takes a bit more planning and positioning for your attack on large packs (but it's more fun that way) the only downside is the packs of fools running around face tanking everything ruining your well planned out stalking but on the bright side it's all worth it for those times when you cut through a pack of 5-6 tough mobs and walk away with barely a scratch.

Using stealth in combination with rear attacks is definitely a big plus for Nightblades that want to play assassination/commando style.

Kyosji

I know in beta it sure felt there was one. In beta it felt like I had a great damage boost by being stealthed, but a greater bonus if I was stealthed and from the rear. I haven't noticed it at all since launch, and I don't even notice a stealthed bonus anymore so I stopped bothering.

mips_winnt

Kyosji wrote: »

I know in beta it sure felt there was one. In beta it felt like I had a great damage boost by being stealthed, but a greater bonus if I was stealthed and from the rear. I haven't noticed it at all since launch, and I don't even notice a stealthed bonus anymore so I stopped bothering.

Go hit a mob from the front with an attack, then stealth up from behind and hit a similar mob with the same attack, compare the health bars after each, trust me you'll notice the difference.

mips_winnt

Yankee wrote: »

That is the main reason I prefer Veiled Strike over Assasins Blade.

Good choice since Veiled Strike is designed as an opener and Assassins Blade is designed as finisher (Assassins Blade = Targets with low health take +300% damage.), personally I kinda prefer using Blinding Fury with the Slaughter passive as a finisher since it makes use of the stam resource pool but that's just me.

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