Can I have some opinions on build please?

ForeignerAUS · November 2015

I’m a V16 dunmer DK, magicka build (5H/1M/1L, S&B/resto, 5 Julianos, 4 Magnus, 3 Willpower). Sometimes I drop people quite quickly, but in general I’m thinking I could do better with a stamina build (2H/bow), even though I’ve got the wrong race for it. I see stamina builds around me killing much faster than me (mainly wrecking blow spammers) and who are seemingly able to break free and dodge roll infinitely, whereas I struggle with both magicka and stamina sustain in a long fight. Should I stick with magicka or switch to stamina despite being the wrong race? Reroll is not an option. I'm relatively happy with my magicka build so please no comments on that, just on whether or not you would switch to stamina if you were me.

Waffennacht · November 2015

I know the feeling. I would suggest doing the change, if only to see what its really like. Even if you don't like it, at least you can stop wondering. I mean I did it, didn't like it, but now I know.

Moglijuana · November 2015

Why not try 5l/1m/1h. Your magicka sustain will be much better and you will also hit a lot harder. It's a little tricky since you're kinda squishy but you can drop someone much quicker. As far as wrecking blow spammers all you have to do is walk into them the whole fight and their dps is gone because their attack will cancel.

ForeignerAUS · November 2015

Thanks for the comments. I toyed with just trying it, but unfortunately I'm not rich enough for that, so unless people overwhelmingly say it's the way to go, I'm not really willing to craft all that gear and reset the CPs. I occasionally try the 5L thing, but you're right, it's tricky and I seem to die a lot. As for walking into wrecking blow, does that really work? I had no idea . . .

Moglijuana · November 2015

ForeignerAUS wrote: »

Thanks for the comments. I toyed with just trying it, but unfortunately I'm not rich enough for that, so unless people overwhelmingly say it's the way to go, I'm not really willing to craft all that gear and reset the CPs. I occasionally try the 5L thing, but you're right, it's tricky and I seem to die a lot. As for walking into wrecking blow, does that really work? I had no idea . . .

Yea, once they fix some of the DK skills 5l will be a bit better to handle. Its a VERY glass cannon build lol but it's still fun. And YES! if you see someone spamming wrecking blow move towards them at an angle, or directly through them and their animation will cancel because you are out of the cone. Nothing is more satisfying seeing a frustrated player trying to spam his WB and seeing it not go off lol. It takes some getting used to but it works

.

Waffennacht · November 2015

It's just you gotta be really aware of it. Not always easy to tell if they are WBing.

Personally I'm so focused on my rotation I tend not to notice such things.

I would give more advice if I knew more about DKs. Sadly I do not.

I can't help but think a stam build could be pretty boss. Vigor, WB, alone call to me, CC breaking more often... actually using a roll dodge... i can just picture it... running dw back up for tornado... (take tha nb) plus caltrops...

Honestly, I totally can see enough reasons to do it. I would have an stam alt, if I was done with my main.

Moglijuana · November 2015

Waffennacht wrote: »

It's just you gotta be really aware of it. Not always easy to tell if they are WBing.

Personally I'm so focused on my rotation I tend not to notice such things.

I would give more advice if I knew more about DKs. Sadly I do not.

I can't help but think a stam build could be pretty boss. Vigor, WB, alone call to me, CC breaking more often... actually using a roll dodge... i can just picture it... running dw back up for tornado... (take tha nb) plus caltrops...

Honestly, I totally can see enough reasons to do it. I would have an stam alt, if I was done with my main.

Try playing with your ability bars turned off. I've memorized mine and it lets me focus more on what my enemy is doing rather than looking at my abilities. It's hard but it honestly makes the game a lot more fluid

. Plus you get that much more screen space!

Chadwikid · November 2015

Stamina dks are very powerful and the easier of the two DK versions to play. That said they lack the survivabilty of a magicka DK or the versatility and are limited in build and okay style. They are essential just a different take on just about any stamina class (excluding nb). Crit Rush, wb, wb, wb, wb, executioner. Boring, and I find, easy enough to kill so long as you don't get per a cc'ed from the broken cc resist mechanic, assuming you let them hit you of course. Walking through works, rolling works, blocking works.

A well played magicka DK in pvp...that is a force to be reckoned with. Yes DK is a shadow of its former self and really needs some love and there are issues. It can work very successfully it is just not very forgiving at all and requires a decent lol of skill and knowledge. It is also essential to understand the actual class roles that a DK is supposed to fulfill. I see 3 roles...

Fire Mage. Awesomely cool and powerful particularly in pve. Wears light armor and is squishy. What you would consider a "glass cannon" build although not in the traditional sense like a sorc. Fairly easy to solo in pve thanks to awesome DK skills. Reliant on a healer in pvp is a back of the bus caster capable of putting out significant damage although significantly reduced in pvp due to the ease with which DoTs can be purged/removed.

Tank. Super powerful in its own way. This is not a burn me down quick class. A much tankier class wears heavy armor. Comes in two "variations"...straight up traditional tank...you'll kill everything...eventually cuz you won't die in pve and you'll hold off the enemy so your group can kill them in pvp. Healer reliant to a degree depending on the size of the group your tanking and your set up.

And my personal favorite...

battle Field Champion. A battle field champion picks a spot on the field and claims it as his own decimating all those that enter. A tanky class (less than a traditional tank) but capable of doing a good amount of damage and using that damage to heal himself. No issues in pve very good survivabilty and much better damage than a traditional tank. In pvp very capable can choose to tank for a group (healer reliant depending on group size) or provide pressure and kill or solo and very capable of 1vXing.

I run a "champion" build. Dunmqer. S/b on both bars. 5h and 2L. Cp's in blocking expertise. Resource management is key as well as being aware of what's going on around you. This is a war of attrition build. You will not out dps anyone. You will run them out of resources then you will kill them. You will force them to play your game. You will pressure them until they make a mistake. Let the dodge rollers dodge roll. Force them to. Talons talons talons. If they are rolling they will not hurting you they are wasting their resources. Ultimate and potions to help manage resources and keep pressure. A good build...required. Skill...required.

If you have all of these things this is a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield and anyone that says that a magicka DK is dead in pvp will change their mind and cringe the next time they run across a champion heavy armor magicka DK.

Johngo0036 · November 2015

@ForeignerAUS - I also have a similar dilema,
However i found a way not to take so much damage,

Use the Medium armour skill and morph it to shuffle,
Your sustain will be a load better as you are not getting hit as much,

I also use 5 Light, 1 Heavy, 1 Med,

Try it I really found it helps me alot.

ForeignerAUS · November 2015

Ok, thanks all. I don't feel the need to try stamina any more, for the moment, so money and mats saved. I will just tune and practice my magicka build.

RoamingRiverElk · November 2015

I've played magicka DK a lot, and somewhat after the IC, but in 5 light 1 med 1 heavy. Dual wield and resto, with a lot of passives in healing done / received. Magicka DK does have a place in a group. In nearly every kind of fight where there are equally as many players on both sides, you should probably be fine if you 'know how to play'. But. Magicka DK without a shield IS squishy. Tankier with a shield for sure, but you pretty much need either tons of investment in healing done to be able to use dragon blood as your heal (combined with igneous shield ofc), or to use a resto staff to heal yourself with a healing ward and blessing of restoration. In outnumbered situations you probably still need someone else to heal you too, and in those situations you may go out of stamina pretty quickly I guess, if you're getting focused (and can't escape because... you're a DK...).

I haven't really tried heavy armor much, I just feel that I have to sacrifice damage or sustain too much with 5 heavy. But some people do use that kind of a build, I guess it works for them. The thing to do then is probably to focus on regen and spell dmg.

Magicka DKs are a shadow of what they used to be. I was watching Sypher's stream last night in which he plays a magicka DK. He pretty much made his name originally by playing a magicka DK, he definitely knows what he's doing. Here's the video: http://www.twitch.tv/sypherpk/v/25459189 The DK portion starts at about 1 hour 20 minutes. It pretty much sums up the current state of magicka DKs. I think he did mention that he'd try heavy armor if it wasn't so expensive (or something like that). So it's not his 'optimal' build, but still... The video showcases magicka DK's weaknesses well. If he didn't spec into so much damage, he wouldn't be able to kill things fast enough in 1 v X, but on the other hand, his HP is really low. I wouldn't go for less than 25k HP on a magicka dk. But that means much less max magicka. His stamina management is another huge weak point with that particular build. Magicka DKs really just need *everything*... A lot of magicka regen, stamina regen, at least 24k hp, tons of max magicka for damage, a lot of max stamina to be able to block / dodge roll / run , a lot of points in healing because a magicka DK can pretty much only have a strong damage shield when s/he's in LOW HEALTH. As in, near execute range, with healing ward. Which is inherently very risky compared to magicka sorcs, who can already have a strong shield in full health (I'm NOT saying nerf sorcs

). And magicka DKs can't protect that healing ward with a strong shield so it would have time to heal the DK.

Well, long story short... Magicka DK is possible to play in a small group that is really good and supports each other really well, but come zerg... it's really difficult to get away. Mistform and clouding swarm are great, but right now in Cyrodiil, it's risky to play as a vampire because of camo hunter procs and dawnbreakers.

If I were you... Well... if you have enough gold and patience to get the stamina sets, go for it. But I know a lot of longtime magicka DKs who tried stamina DK, but didn't like it and the most common word associated with their DK these days is 'crafter'.

I would also say that stamina DKs probably do have more survivability with the right sets and playstyle - like that set which gives you damage mitigation when you're CCd. But... it just is very different to play a stamina DK so it may not be for you, if what you really love is playing a *magicka DK*. Magicka DK could have ok survivability too (for a DK ... -.- ) but you would have to sacrifice damage for that... I don't think Dunmer is a bad race for doing stamina... Sure, it's definitely not the best one, but... I don't think that should stop you from experimenting with stamina DK at all. One pretty much does need Vigor unlocked though.

Lithium Flower · November 2015

Earlier in the game, tanking on a DK used to be awesome. You had moments of feeling invincible in the face of countless enemies (human or AI) and that was the quintessence of the class. The tankiness combined with good AoE damage. It was balanced by lack of escape and mobility. Your job was to hold the line and you felt you had the correct tools to do that effectively.

Now every single class has better tools for tanking surviving and doing damage.

I've been force back on a DK crafter due to the harvest mechanics in Orsinium and it's frustrating to play.

So yeah my imperial DK tank's best use is crafting. I wish I could change his class to sorc so bolting around would save me some time and maybe I'll have a chance to get back on my mains during the course of a typical evening.

ForeignerAUS · November 2015

Ok thanks for the input. I really don't know what to do now.

So let's say I want to try stamina. How does this sound:

2H/bow, 5M/2H, 5 Hunding/3 Night's Mother/Agility jewellery
Crit rush, wb, executioner, rally, evil hunter
Lethal arrow, arrow spray (or whatever that skill is for trash mob aoe), elude, vigor, caltrops
Werewolf

Something like that?

Waffennacht · November 2015

Im really glad I revisited this thread, even though I am a sorc, I was given a great idea for sustain and resource management. Now I can't wait to try it out.