Are shields good for dragon knight in pvp?

callahan9119 · July 2015

I'm an imperial. I'm wondering if shield and 1 hander is good in pvp, or do you need to be 2 hander. I don't know how easy it would be to level up my 2 handed skill later on if I find out 1 hander isn't any good. I know in most MMO games I've played, sword and board generally don't do enough dps to be effective in pvp

Lynx7386 · July 2015

It isnt that hard to level up weapon skills later on if you decide to change.

1h/shield seems to be the go-to for most pvp dragonknights, actually. The extra defense the shield provides makes up for using lighter armor to get the most out of your class abilities.

Draxys · July 2015

Heavy armor magicka build with 1H/shield on both bars can be a great build right now. You'll be able to block almost indefinitely with the right build, and you'll hit hard on anyone that's not wearing enough nirnhoned.

callahan9119 · July 2015

Ok thanks. I'm planning on going the heavy armor route. I'm just looking to make a hard to kill mofo that still can put the hurt on. Should I focus on magic? I was planning on going the melee route

Lynx7386 · July 2015

Personally I still prefer 5 light / 2 heavy with the sword and shield. The more light armor you have, the more powerful your class spells will be and the more often you'll be able to cast them. If you go with all heavy armor, you're gaining a negligible amount of defense while giving up all of your resource regeneration and cost reduction perks. A 5 light/2 heavy build will be able to cast reflective scales or talons or molten whip much more often than a 7 heavy build can.

callahan9119 · July 2015

Lynx7386 wrote: »

Personally I still prefer 5 light / 2 heavy with the sword and shield. The more light armor you have, the more powerful your class spells will be and the more often you'll be able to cast them. If you go with all heavy armor, you're gaining a negligible amount of defense while giving up all of your resource regeneration and cost reduction perks. A 5 light/2 heavy build will be able to cast reflective scales or talons or molten whip much more often than a 7 heavy build can.

Bummer, I was looking forward to my guy looking like a badass in heavy armor

Draxys · July 2015

Lynx7386 wrote: »

Personally I still prefer 5 light / 2 heavy with the sword and shield. The more light armor you have, the more powerful your class spells will be and the more often you'll be able to cast them. If you go with all heavy armor, you're gaining a negligible amount of defense while giving up all of your resource regeneration and cost reduction perks. A 5 light/2 heavy build will be able to cast reflective scales or talons or molten whip much more often than a 7 heavy build can.

Only thing about 5 light is your damage mitigation is extremely low, even against spells but especially against stamina builds. With a 5 heavy, 1 medium, 1 light setup and 4 seducer 4 magnus 4 healer sets or something like that, you can block cast to your heart's content. If anyone needs to see the build I'm action, there are some videos I can look up and link.

MaxwellC · July 2015

As a DK I go all heavy armor and 2H only and I still place pretty high on the leader boards (highest I've placed #1, but I usually place around 5-15 on average).

callahan9119 · July 2015

I just read something about how they are gonna nerf stamina regen while blocking. Would this hurt me if I went the sword and board path?

Draxys · July 2015

callahan9119 wrote: »

I just read something about how they are gonna nerf stamina regen while blocking. Would this hurt me if I went the sword and board path?

It will require a little more thought to play, but it will still be viable due to the giant amount of block cost reduction available, and the incoming nerf to damage output.

Pompeyfluff · July 2015

Sword and Shield is viable but you have to play smart if you are a tank build (sounds like you are based on the lower DPS).

Do what I do and act as bait. Get a few NB's around you to watch you and go for a gentle run around and area.Wait for the enemy to jump out of their own stealths and attack you. You keep your health up, and hold them in place while your buddies come charging in for the kills.

Works a treat and makes those pesky NB's on the other side think twice about attacking the lone person again for a while.

Winterpsy · July 2015

My usual setup for pvp (nord DK):

1 bar sword & shield
1 bar either two hander (for assault) or bow (for defense)

You are the spearhead of the group. In battles what I noticed most parties are just pew-pewing each other with arrows and spells. The tanks usually who take the initiative breaking that endless back - and forth dance.
Put on Immovable, shield charge, drop talons, drop cinder storm, drop banner or dragon leap. You can give your team a good window of opportunity to follow, clearing up. Your job's to lock down the enemy as long as possible.

Problem is, when your team does not follow you.

leepalmer95 · July 2015

If you go a magicka dk which i suggest you do for a tank, go Sword + shield with a Destructive staff on swap, you'll need a ranged weapon for both pve and pvp.

Go either 5 heavy/2light for more defence etc... S+shield will be your main bar using skills like Green Dragon blood, Whip, Talons, Reflective scales etc... and you'll use your destructive staff for ranged e.g. keeps, zerg vs zerg (don't be the guy to charge in and die :P )

Or go 5 light/2 heavy or 5 light/1 medium/1 heavy for undaunted bonus, staff will be your main bar, you'll be able to stack magicka and spell power more and do more damage, will your sword and shield will still be useful if people get in your face and you'll be able to do a lot of dmg with Whip+talons while still being able to heal with green dragon blood.

Draxys · July 2015

leepalmer95 wrote: »

If you go a magicka dk which i suggest you do for a tank, go Sword + shield with a Destructive staff on swap, you'll need a ranged weapon for both pve and pvp.

Go either 5 heavy/2light for more defence etc... S+shield will be your main bar using skills like Green Dragon blood, Whip, Talons, Reflective scales etc... and you'll use your destructive staff for ranged e.g. keeps, zerg vs zerg (don't be the guy to charge in and die :P )

Or go 5 light/2 heavy or 5 light/1 medium/1 heavy for undaunted bonus, staff will be your main bar, you'll be able to stack magicka and spell power more and do more damage, will your sword and shield will still be useful if people get in your face and you'll be able to do a lot of dmg with Whip+talons while still being able to heal with green dragon blood.

You don't actually need a ranged weapon as a DK unless you just want to light attack from a distance for ultimate, but you really shouldn't have an issue with that. A DK accels at being in the opponent face and taking a beating while still being able to deal damage. A lot of the best DKs are using double sword and board if they play the tanky type.