New Build Advice

Mansome · December 2015

I have a Vet 5 dragonknight redguard I have been trying to level up. I am mostly doing quests and a few dungeons here and there. What I am trying to do is build a character that is able to do DPS/Heal/Tank. I have gone through several respecs and I am just not finding a great build that works well enough. My biggest issue is knowing where to put all my attribute points. Some people say put them all equally, some say do 2 to 1 on health stamina or health magika. What I will do for gear is wear all crafted gear that is infused with the traits for that role. Heavy Armor, all HP, leather armor, all stamina, light armor, all magika. What I am having issues with is killing stuff with the destruction staff or resto staff is painfully slow. Sometimes I can't kill them fast enough. When I had a build that was just leather and heavy armor killing with the bow was always fast. What do I need to do to make killing with destruction or resto staff faster? Lastly if its possible to make a build that does heal/tank/dps what is the best way to make the tank part not so squishy?

Marukeru · December 2015

It feels like you are trying to build a Jack-of-all-Trades that can hold it's own in content. However, it is incredibly difficult to balance all 3 play styles. See, each Role plays quite different from the other 2, this makes it very hard to multi-role effectively. Sure, you can multi-role, but in the end you don't quite hold up to someone who is focusing on a role, or even splitting into 2 roles. Here's a very basic breakdown that may help:

DPS:

Focus on Damage output
Stamina Based (weapon) = Medium Armor and Stats pushing more Stamina
Magicka Based (spells) = Light Armor and stats pushing more Magicka
Often uses an Attribute split akin to - 0:2:3(Durable Stamina) or 3:2:0(Durable Magicka)
Some may focus all Attributes into a single stat, and boost the other with Enchants, ex; 0:0:1 w/HP Enchants

Heal:

Focus on Healing/Support
Magicka Based (Staff) = Light Armor and stats pushing more Magicka
Dragonknight Healers are limited to Restoration Staff
Often uses an Attribute split akin to - 3:2:0 (Durability)or 1:0:0(Pure Caster)

Tank:

Focus on Tanking (absorbing damage and aggro)
Stamina Based (Weapon Skills+Block/Bash) = Heavy/Medium mix for HP, Armor and Stamina
Magicka Based (Spells) = Heavy/Light mix for HP, Armor and Magicka
Most often focuses ALL Attributes into HP (0:1:0)
Some may mix some Magicka or Stamina depending on skills used

While aiming for Damage, you pull back on your ability to Heal or Tank.
While aiming for Healing, you pull back on your ability to DPS or Tank.
While aiming for Tanking, you pull back on your ability to DPS or Heal.

You may have more success choosing 2/3 of the roles to allow better management of Skills, stats and gear. For Example:
DPS/Heal:

Mix Light and Medium Armors
Use this to boost Max Magicka and Stamina as well as boost regeneration with the Passives
Ranged Damage; Use Bow with a Restoration Staff backup
Keeps your range for single target and AoE Damage, while keeping you at safe range to Heal.
Melee Damage; Perhaps Dual Wield with a Restoration Staff backup
Allows you to deal single target and AoE damage in Melee range, while allowing you to use skills like Obsidian Shield or Magma Armor to help teammates. Plus, DW boosts Spell Damage over other weapon choices, oddly enough.

Please understand this is just an example. I have always found it far too complex to try and balance a viable Trinity into one character w/o needing Gear/Stat swaps. I'm sure someone with more experience will come along and either correct me, or agree with me. Either way, I hope this helps in some way.